If you have failed in the past to try to make big changes in life, try again now, one tiny step at a time.

     Every year it's the same. As December comes to an end, you think about the new year and all the ways you want to improve your life. But as you start to write down your hopes for the new year, you think about the last year. You excitedly write down all the changes you are going to make, but by the end of January those ideas get lost in your busy life.

Here's a suggestion: Forget the too big, hard-to-achieve goals and just think about the small ones. “We often think that we have to do everything in big steps, even though it's so hard for us to reach it.” said Robert Maurer, who recently wrote the book One Small Step Can Change Your Life. “What we try to do is to begin with such a small step that we can’t find any excuse not to do it.”

     “Kaizen”, a Japanese word, is used to mean to change behavior and attitudes (态度). During World War II, American factory managers were able to increase productivity by trying small, continuous improvements instead of sudden changes. After the war, the idea was brought to a rebuilding (重建) Japan. It made Japan develop fast. The Japanese called it “kaizen”, which means “improvement”.

Maurer studied the idea and did some experiments with it. “Kaizen” could possibly help people succeed in doing everything.

1.At the end of December, people usually ___________ .

A. plan for the last year           B. fail to make big changes

C. try to lose their ideas           D. think about the new year  

2.Robert Maurer wrote a book to tell us ___________ .

A. we should do everything in big steps

B. how to find a small step without any excuse

C. we should try a lot of sudden changes

D. how to change one’s life with one small step

3. The underlined part “increase productivity” in the passage means “___________ “.

A. 增加成本      B. 提高待遇       C. 提高生产率      D. 增加出口量

4. The writer of the passage suggests we should ___________ .

A. take a tiny step to achieve big goals

B. make changes at the end of the year

C. do few experiments with “kaizen”

D. do things with hard-to-achieve goals 

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. You can't find any excuse not to reach a big goal.

B. You can achieve your goals if you are not too busy.

C. ”Kaizen” was brought to Japan during World WarⅡ.

D. Robert Maurer studied “kaizen” and found it helpful.

In May, 2010, I first visited Toronto when my granddaughter needed a serious operation(手术). She stayed at a hospital in the heart of the city because the hospital provide excellent medical treatment for us.  46  it was a beautiful city, my first impression of it was bad. My husband and I rented a room not far away from the            47  . Every day we walked from our apartment to the hospital. On the way we met many  48  things. Poor people asked for money. People walked around them as if they saw   49  . People there always walked quickly  50  smile. I kept smiling at them saying：“Excuse me” every time when I wanted to pass someone.
The city never  51  .. Bright lights and loud music were everywhere.
There were many firsts for me when I was in Toronto. It was the first time I saw the lack of humanity(人性的缺失) for our fellow man. The city felt crowd but __52   
Though I went to Toronto many times. I had no interest to   53   any wonderful  places. I felt uncomfortable when I was there.
When we were back home, I felt comfortable at home. Our neighbors    54  us back with friendly smiles. It is quiet, peaceful and safe. You don’t have to   55   the house or car doors. You can hear water gurgle(汩汩地流)。It’s the life.
【小题1】A. Though           B. When            C. If
【小题2】A. neighbor          B.garden            C. hospital
【小题3】A. unpleasant         B. interesting        C. wonderful
【小题4】A. something         B. anything          C. nothing
【小题5】A.without            B. besides           C. in
【小题6】A. walked           B. slept             C.drank
【小题7】A. quiet              B.lonely             C. noisy
【小题8】A.introduce           B. describe           C. visit
【小题9】A. sent               B. welcomed          C. paid
【小题10】A. repair              B.buy                C.close

A long time ago, there was a big apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play with it every day. But time went by, the little boy had    32    and he no longer played around the tree.

　　 One day, the boy came back to the tree. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a    33    I can’t play with you now.” The boy replied, “I need    34   .” “Sorry, I don’t have any. But you can pick all my apples and    35    them.” The boy picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. He didn’t come back. The tree was sad.

　　 The other day, the boy returned and the tree was so    36   . “Come and play with me.” The tree said. “I need a house for my family. Can you help me?” “You can cut off my branches（枝干）to build your house.”   37    the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.

The tree was glad to see him happy, but the boy didn’t come since then. The tree was lonely again. One hot summer day, the boy came back again after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have    38    for you anymore.

“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am    39    after all these years.” The boy replied. “Good! Please sit down with me and have a rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears…

This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with them. But when we grow up, we    40    them, and only come to them when we are41    trouble. You may think that the boy is cruel（残忍）to the tree, but that’s how many of us are treating to our parents.

1.A. grown up               B. dressed up               C. got up

2.A. tree                   B. child                    C. toy

3.A. money                  B. time                     C. help

4.A. eat                        B. sell                     C. buy

5.A. sad                        B. calm                     C. happy

6.A. So                     B. But                      C. Because

7.A. anything               B. something                C. nothing

8.A. angry                  B. tired                    C. shy

9.A. hate                   B. love                     C. leave

10.A. at                    B. for                      C. in

根据短文，把下列句子补充完整。（5分）

One day , Mrs.Wilson took Tracy and Aben shopping . They went to the supermarket in the new shopping center .

“ Why do you buy things here ?” Tracy wanted to know .

“ Because it is cheaper here than the store on the corner ,” Mrs.Wilson said . “ Help me check the price .”

The Wilsons were not rich , so Mrs.Wilson was always careful with her money . She looked carefully at the prices of things .

She bought a lot of things in the supermarket . When they got home , the children said , “We don’t think you saved any money by going to the supermarket .”

“ Of course , I did ,” Mrs.Wilson said , “ Everything was cheaper there .”

“ We know ,”the children said , “But we came home by taxi because we had too much to carry .The taxi fare was more than the money that you saved !”

Mrs.Wilson added everything up . Her children were right .

“ Well done ,” she said . “ Next time we’ll do our shopping near our home .”

1.Mrs.Wilson went to the supermarket to _______ things because they are ________ there .

2. Mrs.Wilson was always _________ with her money because the Wilsons were ________ .

3. Mrs.Wilson’s ______ helped her check the ________ when they were in the supermarket .

4. After they did some shopping , Mrs.Wilson and her children went home ______ _______.

5. The Wilsons couldn’t walk home because it was too _______ away from the supermarket to their home , and they had too __________ things .