Old George bought the black gloves for just $35 ten years ago. They were made of lamb skin, soft and warm and very strong. Until then, he had worn cheaper man-made material. Those gloves never lasted longer than three years. He first decided to buy the expensive gloves, because they would make him feel nice in front of others.

George never let a drop of water or rain touch his expensive gloves, so they looked new. Losing this favourite thing was almost like losing a child to him.

Bad luck! George lost his expensive gloves on New Year's Day.

…

Back home. George was at a loss. In deep winter, he could not do without a pair of gloves. If he bought cheap ones again, he would have to replace (更换) them very soon. If he bought a new leather pair, it would cost $50 now. He was upset that people no longer returned things they found on the road.

After the holiday, poor George decided to buy another leather pair. Before boarding the subway, he went into Value Mart again to see if his gloves had been returned to the Lost and Found Office (失物招领处).

"What colour are they?" the woman in the office asked again.

"Black," he gave the same answer. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men's leather gloves. "Are they?"

"Yes! Those are mine!" George explained, with great joy in his eyes.

1.When did George buy the leather gloves?

A. On New Year's Day.             B. Before the holiday.

C. Ten years ago.                  D. In the winter.

2.Why did George decide to buy the expensive gloves?

A. Because they were black.          

B. Because they made him feel good before others.

C. Because they had a long history     

D. Because they were much cheaper.

3.The leather gloves looked new after years because _______.

A. George took very good care of them.  

B. they were soft and warm.

C. they were expensive.               

D. George washed them with water.

4.How did George feel when he got home on New Year's Day?

A. He was happy.     B. He felt nice     C. He was thankful    D. He felt upset

5.About old George, which of the following is true?

A. He was a very rich man

B. He never bought cheap gloves

C. He believed somebody would return the gloves to him

D. He hadn't ecpected to get his gloves back.

In New York, on a Friday night, a poor young artist stood at the gate of a train station. He was playing his  16   .His music was so great that many people put money into his   17   .The next day, the young artist came to the   18   place, and played the violin as usual. Different from the day before, he took out a piece of paper and put   19   on the ground. The paper read ,“Last night ,a man named George Sang put an important thing into my hat  20   .Please come to get it soon.”   21   about half an hour, a(an)   22   man there in a hurry, “Oh ,it’s you. You did come here.” The young violinist asked   23   , “Are you Mr. George Sang?” “Yes! Yes!” Then the violinist asked, “Did you lose something?” “Lottery(彩票).It’s the most valuable lottery in my 70 years of life,” said the man.

The violinist   24   a lottery ticket. George Sang’s name was on it, so the violinist   25   it to him. Later someone asked the violinist, “Since you   26   play the violin every day to make your tuition (学费)in the university, why didn’t you keep the lottery ticket for yourself?” The violinist said, “   27    I don’t have much money, I live happily; But if I lose honesty, I won’t be happy forever.” Through our lives, we can get a lot and lose so   28   . But being   29   should always be with us. If we act in a dishonest way, we may   30    in a short period(短期). However, from the long-term view, we will be a loser.

George and Betty didn’t have much money, but they wanted to buy a car. Betty didn’t have a  36  , so she was always finding ways to save money.
She  37   vegetables in her garden so that she wouldn’t have to buy any. She made sandwiches for George to  38   to work so that he wouldn’t have to buy his lunch.
Every day George took the bus to go to work and go home. It was not a long trip 39   the bus was slow because of the traffic.
One day, the traffic was even  40  than usual.
“I could run faster than this bus!” thought George.
The next day   41  work he decided to have a try. He went to the bus stop but didn’t take the bus. He ran along beside it on the sidewalk. He had to run quite fast to 42  the bus.
He arrived home. Betty was  43  to see him panting (喘气). She was worried. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
“I ran along beside the bus,” said George. “I saved two dollars and fifty cents without paying the fare.” He thought it would make Betty   44 , but it didn’t.
“ 45   didn’t you run beside a taxi?” she said. “You would have saved six dollars!”

On a Friday night，a poor young violinist was playing his violin at the entrance of the subway station. The music was so great that people slowed down to listen and put some money into his hat.
The next day，the violinist came to the entrance again. He put down his hat as usual. Beside the hat was a piece of paper with some words on it. It said，“A George Sang has put an important thing into my hat by mistake. Welcome to claim(认领)it.”Soon the people were all attracted by the words and wondered what it could be. After a while a man rushed through the crowd，took the violinist’s shoulders and said，“I knew you would certainly come here.”The violinist asked，“Did you lose something?”“Lottery(彩票).”The violinist took out a lottery ticket with Sang’s name on it. Sang took it and danced happily.
Sang was an office worker. He bought the lottery and won a prize of$500，000.But when he gave$50 to the violinist for his wonderful music，the lottery ticket was thrown in, too. The violinist was a college student. That morning，he was going to fly to Vienna for high education. However，when he found the ticket，he cancelled the flight and returned to the entrance.
Later someone asked the violinist why he didn’t take the lottery ticket to pay the tuition fee(学费).He said“Although I don’t have much money，I live happily. If I lose honesty(诚实)，I won’t be happy forever.”
【小题1】The young man played the violin for ________ at the entrance of the subway station.

George and Betty didn’t have much money, but they wanted to buy a car. Betty didn’t have a  36  , so she was always finding ways to save money.

She  37   vegetables in her garden so that she wouldn’t have to buy any. She made sandwiches for George to  38   to work so that he wouldn’t have to buy his lunch.

Every day George took the bus to go to work and go home. It was not a long trip  39   the bus was slow because of the traffic.

One day, the traffic was even  40  than usual.

“I could run faster than this bus!” thought George.

The next day   41  work he decided to have a try. He went to the bus stop but didn’t take the bus. He ran along beside it on the sidewalk. He had to run quite fast to  42  the bus.

He arrived home. Betty was  43  to see him panting (喘气). She was worried. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“I ran along beside the bus,” said George. “I saved two dollars and fifty cents without paying the fare.” He thought it would make Betty   44 , but it didn’t.

“ 45   didn’t you run beside a taxi?” she said. “You would have saved six dollars!”

1.A. work       B. job        C. child             D. house

2.A. grew          B. gave    C. bought        D. knew

3.A. make          B. carry         C. bring            D. take

4.A. or             B. and        C. but               D. so

5.A. larger         B. bigger      C. worse            D. better

6.A. after         B. before      C. finished             D. began

7.A. get out of                   B. get along with 

      C. come up with                  D. catch up with

8.A. excited        B. surprised    C. interested           D. bored

9.A. tired        B. sad          C. clean               D. happy

10.A. When     B. What         C. Why            D. Where