It was a cold night in Washington, D. C., and I was heading back to the hotel when a man approached me. He asked if l would give him some money so he could get something to eat. I'd read the signs "Don't give money to beggars." So I shook my head and kept walking.
I wasn't prepared for a reply, but he said, "I really am homeless and I really am hungry! You can come with me and watch me eat!" But I kept on walking.
The incident bothered me for the rest of the week. I had money in my pocket and it wouldn't have killed me to hand over a buck or two even if he had been lying. Flying back to Anchorage, I couldn't help thinking of him. I tried to rationalize (找借口)my failure to help by thinking government agencies, churches and charities were there to feed him. Besides, you're not supposed to give money to beggars.
Somewhere over Seattle, I started to write my weekly garden column for The Anchorage Daily News. Out of the blue, I came up with an idea. Bean's Cafe, the soup kitchen in Anchorage, feeds hundreds of hungry Alaskans every day. Why not try to get all my readers to plant one row in their gardens dedicated to Bean's? Dedicate a row and take it down to Bean's. Clean and simple.
The idea began to take off. Readers would fax or call me when they got something in their garden. Those who only grew flowers donated them. Food for the spirit.
In 1995, the Garden Writers Association of America held their annual convention in Anchorage and after learning of Anchorage's program, Plant a Row for Bean's became Plant a Row for the Hungry. The original idea was to have every member of the Garden Writers Association of America write or talk about planting a row for the hungry sometime during the month of April.
As more and more people started working with the Plant a Row idea, new changes appeared unexpectedly. Many companies gave free seed to customers and displayed the logo, which also appeared in national gardening publications. Row markers with the Plant a Row logo were delivered to gardeners to set apart their "Row for the Hungry."
Garden editor Joan Jackson, supported by The San Jose Mercury News and California's nearly year-round growing season, raised more than 30,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables her first year, and showed GWAA how the program could really work. Texas fruit farms donated food to their local food bank after being inspired by Plant a Row. Today the program continues to thrive and grow.
I am surprised that millions of Americans are threatened by hunger. If every gardener in America--and we're seventy million strong--plants one row for the hungry, we can make quite a decrease in the number of neighbors who don't have enough to eat. Maybe then I will stop feeling guilty about abandoning a hungry man I could have helped.
1.What does the underlined phrase "out of the blue" mean?
A. a bit disappointed B. suddenly
C. as a matter of fact D. attentively
2.The program has been supported by many farmers, journalists and people in different fields for many years. They usually donate many things to it except______________ .
A. money B. flowers C. seeds D. beans
3.Which is WRONG according to the passage?
A. In the eyes of most people, the program can really help the people in need.
B. Nowadays, the program is no longer a regional one, and it arouses the attention of many farmers, gardeners and journalists in the nation.
C. It occurred to the author that they could run such a program the moment he gave the beggar nothing.
D. The author felt relieved and surprised when he saw the program turned into a nation-wide one.
4.Which do you think is the best title to the passages?
A. Plant a row for the hungry
B. How to help others
C. A story of a columnist
D. Not for fame and wealth
Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically (心理) and physically.
Diet products greatly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the amount of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale(秤) instead. All we have to do is to recognize the word “diet” in food labels.
On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without struggle.
The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because eating them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemicals that go into diet products are possibly dangerous in the future.
Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological harm that comes from using them.
1.From Paragraph 1, we learn that __________.
A. diet products fail to bring out people’s potential
B. people have difficulty in choosing diet products
C. diet products are misleading people
D. people are tired of diet products
2.One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to _________.
A. try out a variety of diet foods
B. think twice before they enjoy diet foods
C. pay attention to their own eating habits
D. watch their weight rather than their diet
3.Diet products indirectly harm people physically because such products ______.
A. are over-taken B. are short of basic nutrients
C. have no chemicals D. provide too much energy
4.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
CP: Central Point P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C: Conclusion(结论)
There was once an 11-year-old boy who went fishing every time he went to an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake.
On the day before bass (巴斯鱼) season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching other fish with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure(鱼饵) and put it into the lake. Suddenly the boy felt something very big pulling on the lure. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully brought the fish beside the bank. Finally he lifted the tired fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.
The boy and his father looked at the big fish. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 pm — two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. “You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said.
“Dad!” cried the boy. “There will be other fish,” said his father. “Not as big as this one,” cried the boy. He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats could be seen in the moonlight. He looked again at his father.
Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he had caught the fish, the boy could tell from his father’s voice that the decision couldn’t be changed. He threw the huge bass into the black water.
The big fish disappeared. The boy thought that he would never again see such a big fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today the boy is a successful architect in New York City. He often takes his own son and daughters to fish at the same place.
And he was right. He has never again caught such a large fish as the one he got that night long ago. But he does see that same fish ... again and again ... every time he has an ethical (道德的) decision to make. For, as his father had taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult.
1.How did the father feel when he saw his son skillfully pulling a big fish out of the water?
A. Proud. B. Nervous.
C. Curious. D. Shocked.
2.From the text we know that ______.
A. the father didn’t love his son
B. the father always disagreed with his son
C. the father disliked the huge fish
D. the father was firm and stubborn
3.The successful architect went fishing with his children at the same place because ______.
A. they might catch a big fish there
B. he remembered the moral lesson from his father
C. he wanted to remember his father
D. their children enjoyed fishing there
4.What does the author want to show in the story?
A. It is easy to say something, but difficult to do.
B. An ethical decision is not difficult to make.
C. It is hard to tell right from wrong sometimes.
D. Fishing helps you to make right ethical decisions.
Dear Anne,
I like your column very much. I met a girl four years ago at a gym. She was the one who originally approached me and we became good friends. Then one day, she made me really angry, so angry that I just left and we never saw each other again.
Looking back, I really regret ending things that way. It was a cowardly act on my part, but I had a terrible temper at that time and let the smallest thing get to me. Recently, I’ve started thinking about her again and I looked up her e-mail address. I thought about writing to say “Hi” and apologize for what I did but I’m not sure. She could still be angry with me, or maybe she has forgotten me. I feel very lonely and I want to see her again. What should I do?
Tom
Dear Tom,
She may still be angry with you, and she may have forgotten the friendship between you, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve an apology. Tom, how many of us have wished for the day that someone who treated us badly saw the light and finally owned up? But we rarely get that kind of expected result. So sure, e-mail her and say “Hi”.
Tell her you have been thinking about her and just want to apologize for getting angry and being a coward by walking out on her. But you should remember if she thinks you’re apologizing just because you are lonely, she might dismiss your sincerity. Therefore, don’t mention that. If she wants to see you again, she’ll make sure that happens.
Even if she doesn’t want to be your friend, I can assure you, she’ll appreciate the gesture. And it might make you think twice next time you get angry.
Anne
1.In the letter, Anne is probably ___________.
A. Tom’s friend B. Tom’s teacher
C. a woman reporter D. a columnist
2.What is troubling Tom？
A. He can’t get in touch with his former friend.
B. He regrets letting his former friend leave him.
C. He doesn’t know whether to apologize to his former friend.
D. He is uncertain whether his former friend can forgive him.
3.Which of the following is what Anne advises Tom to do?
A. Tell her that he expects to see her again.
B. Express his sincere apology to her.
C. Tell her that he is very lonely.
D. Beg her to give him another chance.
4.Anne wants to tell Tom that ________.
A. an apology is better late than never
B. he should think twice before he gets angry
C. it’s no use crying over spilt milk
D. he should answer for his wrong doings
完形填空
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It’s a small gas station that has snacks, drinks, cigarettes, and candies. The young man behind the counter knows his _________ by name and what they usually want to buy. He treats children and adults with equal _________ . He reads science fiction behind the counter when business is _________.
One day, three people rushed in and grabbed food off the shelves as fast as they could, _________ not planning to pay for it. He hit the “panic button”, then went over the counter and _________ the front door. It was obvious they were homeless, and equally obvious that they weren’t going _________ with the food. They _________ the food and simply crowded together in panic— knowing the police were _________ the way.
Imagine what they must have felt like when they were told they didn’t have to steal if they were that _________ . “We have food in the back, expired (到期) but still _________ to eat. If you need food, you _________ have some.”
They were told to _________ what they had dropped and put it back, and then asked to sort out the mess. They were doing just that _________ the police arrived. The officers were told the situation was under control and the police were no longer _________ .
This wasn’t what they had _________ . They were being treated as human beings who could right the wrong they’d done. Shocked, they quickly followed orders to take turns and use the restroom to clean up themselves.
Soon three _________ people walked out with all the _________ their arms could hold. They were _________ that, if they needed to come back again, they were to ask and not just grab.
And then the young man went back to read until the next customer came in. He would be the _________ person in the world to say he was a hero. But he gave three people something they were badly in need of —--- a _________ amount of self-respect and a little bit of hope.
1.A. friends B. neighbors C. customers D. passengers
2.A. respect B. pride C. wisdom D. patience
3.A. slow B. busy C. heavy D. crowded
4.A. bravely B. reasonably C. hardly D. obviously
5.A. opened B. locked C. closed D. broke
6.A. nowhere B. somewhere C. anywhere D. everywhere
7.A. hid B. lifted C. swallowed D. dropped
8.A. in B. on C. off D. by
9.A. frightened B. curious C. angry D. hungry
10.A. safe B. easy C. sweet D. able
11.A. must B. can C. should D. need
12.A. bring up B. hand out C. pick up D. hand in
13.A. when B. after C. until D. since
14.A. popular B. necessary C. reliable D. important
15.A. wanted B. planned C. expected D. admired
16.A. dirtier B. cleaner C. cleverer D. quicker
17.A. money B. cigarettes C. drinks D. food
18.A. reminded B. warned C. ordered D. persuaded
19.A. first B. last C. best D. worst
20.A. large B. fair C. small D. full
—You hate David, don’t you?
— __________. I just think he is a bit annoying. That’s all.
A. Really B. Not a little
C. Not exactly D. Not at all
