Have you ever been sad because you failed in something? If so, please remember, for often, achieving what you expect is not the most important thing. Here is a story to tell you why.

One day a little boy decided to dig a hole behind his house after watching a science program. As he was working, a couple of boys stopped by to watch.  "What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "I want to dig a deep hole all the way through the earth!" the boy answered excitedly.  The older boys began to laugh, telling him that it was impossible to do it. Then they left.

The little boy kept on digging and digging. Suddenly, a few small colorful stones caught his eyes. He collected them and put them into a glass jar patiently.  Humming a song, he went on digging. The jar was full soon. Then he talked to himself calmly and proudly, "Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I have found in the process of digging !"

The boy's goal was too difficult, but it did cause him to go on, in other words, to cause us to keep working!

Not every goal will be achieved.  Not every job will end up with a success.  Not every dream will come true.  But when you can't achieve your goal, maybe you can say, "yes, but look what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things that have come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really has a meaning.

1.What did the boy do after watching a program?

A．He bought a glass jar.

B．He started to dig a hole.

C．He played with some visitors.

D．He went on watching the program.

2.What did the older boys think of the little boy?

A．He was silly.                            B．He was strict.

C．he was strong-minded.                   D．He was energetic.

3.When did the boy find the stones?

A．Before he met the older boys.

B．When he wanted to give up digging.

C．After the older boys laughed at him.

D．As soon as he began to dig the hole.

4.What does the underlined sentence "It is in the digging that life is lived." mean according to the article?

A．Life is to make a big success.

B．Life is to find the colorful stones.

C．Life is difficult but colorful.

D．Life is on the way to achieve the goal.

5.Which is the best title for this article?

A．Enjoying the process

B．How to achieve goals

C．A journey through the earth

D．Dig a deep hole all the way through the earth.

Last summer vacation, I volunteered to work at a vet’s（兽医诊所）. There I saw a lot of dogs. Minnie was the funniest-looking dog I’d ever seen. Short thin curly hair covered her sausage-shaped（香肠形）body. Her eyes always seemed surprised. And her tail looked like a rat’s tail.

She was brought to the vet because her owners didn’t want her any more. I thought Minnie had a sweet personality, though.“No one should judge her by her looks,”I thought. Finally, I advertised Minnie in the local paper.“Funny-looking dog, well-behaved, needs a loving family.”

When a boy called, I warned him that Minnie was strange-looking. The boy on the phone told me that his grandfather’s sixteen-year-old dog had just died. They wanted Minnie no matter what. I gave Minnie a good bath. Then we waited for them to arrive. At last, an old car pulled up in front of the vet’s. Two kids raced to the door. They picked Minnie up and rushed her out to their grandfather, who was waiting in the car. I hurried behind them to see his reaction to Minnie. Inside the car, the grandfather held Minnie in his arms and stroked her soft hair. She licked（舔）his face. Her tail wagged（摇摆）around so quickly that it looked like it might fly off her body.

“She’s perfect!”the old man said happily.

I was thankful that Minnie had found a good home.

Suddenly, I saw that the grandfather’s eyes were a milky white colour—he was blind.

1.The last three sentences in the first paragraph tell us      .

A. how funny Minnie looked          B. how well Minnie behaved

C. Minnie was a beautiful dog       D. Minnie was dying

2.Why did the writer advertise Minnie in the local newspaper?

A. Because he wanted to sell her at a good price.

B. Because he didn’t want her any more, either.

C. Because he wanted to find a family for her.

D. Because he wanted to have another dog.

3.Why did the boy who called the writer want Minnie?

A. Because he loved all kinds of dogs very much.

B. Because he had seen Minnie and loved her very much.

C. Because his grandfather’s dog was too old.

D. Because his grandfather’s dog had just died.

4.The underlined word“stroke”may mean      .

A. 抚摸         B. 拔           C. 剪           D. 揪

5.Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Minnie wasn’t the type of dog the old man loved.

B. The old man couldn’t see how funny Minnie looked.

C. Minnie knew very well how to make others dislike her.

D. Minnie was like the old man’s dog which had just died

1 

One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said, “Look! There's a horseshoe. Pick it up and put it in your bag.” Thomas said, “It isn't worth（值得） the trouble.” His father said nothing but picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries.

    The father and the son walked on. The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn't a house or even a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on. At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it. After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost some time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth.

    And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, "My dear son, if you had bent (弯身)down earlier to pick up that horseshoe, it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries. Always remember the lesson that anyone who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things.

1.Who picked up the horseshoe at last?

   A. Thomas.    B. The old father.

   C. Both the father and the son.    D. Nobody

2.When the son refused to pick up the horseshoe, the father _______.

   A. felt very happy   B. didn't say anything

   C. beat the son      D. became a little angry

3.The farmer bought _______ with the money after he sold the horseshoe.

   A. some food        B. some water

   C. some cherries      D. some pennies

4.The father dropped the cherries one by one, because _______.

   A. he wanted his son to eat them all

   B. he wanted his son to do more exercise

   C. he wanted to teach his son a lesson

   D. he wanted his son to pick them up

5. From the story, we can learn that _______.

   A. cherries are so delicious that most of us like to eat them

   B. a horseshoe is so expensive that it can bring us a lot of money

   C. if the boy wants to eat cherries, he must pick up the horseshoe

   D. if we want to do some great things, we should start with some small ones