“Would you tell me which way I should go from here?” asked Alice.

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.

“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.

“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

--- from “ Alice in Wonderland ”

My name is David. And I have a brother called Mike. 

One day, my brother called me and asked me for some advice. He was trying to decide between two job offers:

Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.

Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry(保险业), where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good). 

The second job did not pay as well as the first job (at the beginning), but the pay-off of the second job (in the future) was much greater than the first job. So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.

Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.

Begin with the End in Mind

I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose was to “teach,” but he wanted to make a lot of money first. I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose. I then asked him which job best supported his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supported his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach. He continued on to say, “but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life.” I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money. Things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!

You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well

It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything. I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supported that decision.

Tomorrow Never Comes

My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes. Unless you decide right now to follow your feelings, they will probably never be completed. You only live once, don’t go to the end of your life with one regret.

The Money Will Come

My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. You will always have greater money when you’re doing what you love.

In a word, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.

1. Mike ___________ David one day.

A. visited         B. met        C. made a telephone call to    D. found

2. Mike was trying to ____________.

A. look for a job            B. start a career   

C. wok in an office          D. decide between two job offers

3.As for the life’s purpose, Mike ______________.

A. wanted to teach first                    B. wanted to make a lot of money first 

C. wanted to work in the insurance industry    D. wanted to work 40 hours a day

4. You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well means _____________.

A. you’d better have two horses     

B. you can only ride one horse well

C. you can do everything well.      

D. you can’t do two things well at the same time

5. The best title of the passage is ______________.

A. How to choose a better job    

B. It is more important to begin than to end

C. How to make a better decision 

D. Make more money because tomorrow never comes

Can you write a letter in English? Now let me tell you.

    We always write the date at the end of the letter when we write a Chinese letter. But it is different in English. We have to write it on the top of the right comer. And above the date, we also write the house and the names of our street, city and country. At the beginning of the letter, we often use Dear sir", "Dear Mr/Miss/Mrs... " At the end of the letter, we usually use words like "yours", "Yours ever", "Truly yours".

    It is also different to write an English envelope. If it is to American friend Frank Smith, you should write your name and address on the top of the left corner and write his in the middle.

    Now read the following envelope, please, Then you can know how to write an English envelope.

1．We should put down the date     when we write an English letter．

A．at the end of the letter on the left           B．at the end of the letter on the right

C．at the top of the letter on the left           D．at the top of the letter on the right

2．If Frank Smith wants to write an English letter to Li Mingguo，“Li Mingguo”should be written

A．at the end of the envelope on the left      B．at the end of the envelope on the right

C．at the top of the envelope on the left     D．in the middle of the envelope

3．How do you write at the beginning of the letter when you write to Jia Mingtang，your leader?

A．Jia．                B．Mingtang．             C．Dear sir．        D．Dear Mingtang．

4．To what city is the letter sent?

A．Dezhou            B．King Street              C．Washington          D．New Town

5．       writes this letter．

A．A Japanese student                         B．A Chinese student

C．An Australian boy                             D．An American boy

    Can you write a letter in English? Now let me tell you.

    We always write the date at the end of the letter when we write a Chinese letter. But it is different in English. We have to write it on the top of the right corner. And above the date, we also write the house and the names of our street, city and country. At the beginning of the letter, we often use Dear sir”, “Dear Mr. / Miss/ Mrs. …”At the end of the letter, we usually use words like” yours”, “Yours ever”, “Truly yours”.

    It is also different to write an English envelope. If it is to American friend Frank Smith, you should write your name and address on the top of the left corner and write his in the middle.

Now read the following envelope, please. Then you can know how to write an English envelope.

1、We should put down the date______ when we write an English letter.

   A、at the end of the letter on the left  B、at the end of the letter on the right

   C、at the top of the letter on the left  D、at the top of the letter on the right

2、If Frank Smith wants to write an English letter to Li Mingguo, “Li Mingguo” should be written ______

   A、at the end of the envelope on the left   B、at the end of the envelope on the right

   C、at the top of the envelope on the left   D、in the middle of the envelope

3、How do you write at the beginning of the letter when you write to Jia Mingtang, your leader?

   A、Jia.        B、Mingtang.  C、Dear sir.      D、Dear Mingtang.

4、To what city is the letter sent?

   A、Dezhou  B、King Street  C、Washington  D、New Town

5、______ writes this letter.

   A、A Japanese student          B、A Chinese student

   C、An Australian boy           D、An American boy

My name is Sam . I joined a club called  “ passing help ” last month . Now let me tell you why I joined it.

 One evening this May, on my way home my old car was broken . It was 25 miles from my home . I wanted to get a ride, but there was no car . It was also hard to take a taxi . I decided to take a bus home .I went to a bus stop nearby .

 After a while , a bus came , but it did not go to my town .The bus driver was a   young woman . She was kind and she told me which bus I should take . I waited there for about thirty minutes , but no bus came . At last a car came to me and a woman came out of the car .She was just the bus driver.

“When I reached the bus station , I got to know that the bus to your town couldn't  come ,so I returned here.I just can't leave you here ,” she said , “ Get in my car and I will take you back to your home .”

 “ It is a long way .”I said.

 “ Come on ,sir, ”she said ,“ Let’s go.”

 On the way she told me a story . A few days ago, there wasn't gas(汽油）in her car . An old man drove her up to a gas station and then back to her car.

 When we got to my home , I wanted to give her some money to thank her , but she didn't accept it . “ I only want to help others and do something nice for somebody. Pass it along. ” She said.  

1.What happened to Sam one evening this May?

A. He lost his way.                B. His car broken down.      

C. He was hurt in an accident.       D. He couldn't reach the gas station.

2. Sam didnt think of going home__________ that evening.

A. by train                       B. by bus

C. by car.                        D. by taxi.

3. From the passage , we know that the young woman was _________.

A.a club boss.                 B. a taxi driver       

C. a bus driver.                D.a gas station worker.

4.The young woman wanted Sam to _________.

A.give her some money.          B. get on her bus.  

C. take her to her house.          D. help others just as she did.

5. The best title (题目）of the passage is ________ .

A. A kind old man.       B. Getting a ride.

C. Passing help.         D. A broken car.