Once there was a piano player in a bar(酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.
"I don't sing," said the man.
But the lady told the waiter, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!"
The waiter shouted across the room, "Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!"
So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!
He had talent(天赋) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.
You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.
【小题1】The lady asked the player to sing a song because _____.

Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences. He always told me, “You should have goals like climbing the mountain.” Without the mountain-climbing that we both enjoyed, we couldn’t have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy. I really got a lot from the mountain-climbing. It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience.
Once we climbed a very high mountain. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing, I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds’ singing. But as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. I wanted to quit climbing, but my father said to me, “You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can’t see it before you reach the top. Only there can you see all of the nice things, which is just like your life.”
At that time, I was too young to understand his words. But later after that, I got to know the meaning of hope in life. I found myself standing at the top of the mountain, and the sky was as clear as crystal.
【小题1】The passage tells us that mountain-climbing was ______ for the father and the son.

When I was19 years old, I had a part-time job in a hospital. At that time I was shy and didn’t believe in myself. I???? talked with others. I wasn’t confident in any future. Later I met a doctor, Mike, and we became good friends. He???? me to believe in myself and try to communicate with others. He helped me learn to enjoy myself. He also asked me to take some important courses. I did???? he told me and did very well.

One day, he asked me what I???? my life to be like. I hadn’t thought about it before. That night, I thought it over and finally knew the life I had been ???? . From then on, I started to work for it.

Later I got a chance to go to college, but I had another friend. At that time I was too ???? to pay for my education. I was very frustrated and didn’t know what to do. When I wanted to????? my dream, Mike helped me again. He ???? to pay for my college education. He helped me ???? asking for anything in return 作为回报.

After graduating 毕业, I got my dream job and I like it very much. Mike made me enter a different ??? . I am so lucky to have met such a good friend in my life.

1.A. usually???? ? B. often????? ???? C. hardly?????? ? D. always

2.A. encouraged?? ? B. invited??? ????? C. taught?????? ? D. allowed

3.A. why??????? ?? B. how??????? ???? C. what??????? ? D. that

4.A. expected??? ?? B. lived??????? ??? C. enjoyed????? ? D. spent

5.A. taking pride in? B. staying away from? C. running out of? D. looking forward to

6.A. rich??????? ? B. weak??????? ???? C. poor?????? ? D. strong

7.A. achieve??? ? B. give up????? ???? C. think up?????? D. hold on to

8.A. agreed???? ? B. continued??? ???? C. offered??????? D. stopped

9.A. by???????? ? B. with???????? ???? C. except??????? D. without

10.A. world????? B. contest?????? ???? C. university????? D. country

---You’ve given us a wonderful Chinese dinner, Mrs. Huang.
--- ______.