Three boys and three girls were going to Fort Lauderdale and when they boarded the bus，they were carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags，dreaming of golden beaches as the gray cold of New York vanished behind them.

As the bus passed through New Jersey，they began to notice Vingo, He sat in front of them，dressed in a plain，ill-fitting suit，never moving，his dusty face masking his age. He kept chewing the inside of his lip a lot，frozen into some personal cocoon of silence.

Deep into the night，outside Washington，the bus pulled into Howard Johnson's，and everybody got off except Vingo. He sat rooted in his seat，and the young people began to wonder about him，trying to imagine his life：perhaps he was a sea captain，a runaway from his wife，an old soldier going home. When they went back to the bus，one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.

"We're going to Florida,” she said brightly, “I hear it's really beautiful.”

“It is，”he said quietly，as if remembering something he had tried to forget.

"Want some wine?" she said. He smiled and took a swig.  He thanked her and once again returned to his silence. After a while，she went back to the others，and Vingo nodded in his sleep.

In the morning，they awoke outside another Howard Johnson's．And this time Vingo went in.  The girl insisted that he join them.  He seemed very shy, and ordered black coffee and smoked nervously as the young people chattered about sleeping on beaches. When they returned to the bus，the girl sat with Vingo again，and after a while, slowly and painfully，he told his story. He had been in jail in New York for the past four years，and now he was going home.

“Are you married?”

“I don't know.

“You don’t know?” she said.

“Well，when I was in jail I wrote to my wife，”he said. “I told her that I was going to be away a long time，and that if she couldn't stand it．if the kids kept asking questions，if it hurt too much，well she could just forget me, I'd understand. Get a new guy，I said she's a wonderful woman，really something and forget about me. I told her she didn't have to write me for nothing.  And she didn't.  Not for three and a half years.”

"And you’re going home now，not knowing?”

“Yeah，”he said shyly. “Well，last week，when I was sure the parole (假释) was coming through, I wrote her again.  We used to live in Brunswick，just before Jacksonville，and there’s a big oak (橡树) tree just as you came into town. I told her that if she'd take me back，she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree，and I'd get off and come home,  If she didn't want me, forget it, no handkerchief，and I'd go on through.”

"Vow,” the girl exclaimed. "Wow.”

She told the others，and noon all of them were in it, caught up in the approach of Brunswick，looking at the pictures Vingo showed them of his wife and three children. The woman was handsome in a plain way，the children still unformed in the much-handled snapshots.

Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took over window seat on the right side，waiting for the approach of the great oak tree. The bus acquired a dark，hushed mood，full of the silence of absence and lost years. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face into the ex-con's mask, as if fortifying himself against still another disappointment.

Then Brunswick was ten miles, and then five. Then，suddenly，all of the young people were up out of their seats，screaming and shouting and crying，doing small dances of joy. All except Vingo.

Vingo sat there stunned，looking at the oak tree. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs，20 of them，30 of them，maybe hundreds，a tree that stood like a banner of welcome billowing in the wind. As the young people shouted，the old rose and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.

1.Which is right about Vingo?

A．He was a sea captain.

B．He was a runaway from his wife,

C．He was an old soldier going home.

D．He was a prisoner.

2. The underlined word "`exclaimed" probably indicates that the girl was“______”

A. surprised        B:  angry         C:  embarrassed     D.  puzzled

3. From the story，we know that

A．the young people and Vingo loved New York

B．Vingo dressed himself decently

C．Vingo's Wife didn't write to him because she didn't miss him

D．the young people were happy for Vingo because he could went home

4.What is the best title for the story?

A．An Unexpected Return	B．Forgiving My Absence
C．Going Home	D．The Old Oak Tree

 

One day while shopping in a small town in southern California，it was my misfortune to be approached by a clerk whose personality conflicted with mine. He seemed most unfriendly and not at all concerned about my intended purchase. I bought nothing，and marched angrily out of the store. My hostility（敌意） toward that clerk increased with each step.

On the outside，standing by the road，was a dark­skinned young man in his early twenties. His expressive brown eyes met and held mine，and in the next instant a beautiful, dazzling smile covered his face. I gave way immediately. The magnetic（磁力的） power of that smile dissolved all bitterness within me，and I found the muscles in my own face happily responding（回应）.

“Beautiful day，isn't it？”I remarked，in passing. Then，I turned back.“I really owe you a debt of gratitude，”I said softly.

His smile deepened, but he made no attempt to answer．A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby．The woman stepped forward and volunteered, "Sir, but he doesn't speak English．Do you want me to tell him something?" In that moment I felt transformed（改变）．The young man's smile had made a big person of me．My friendliness and good will toward all mankind stood ten feet tall．

"Thank you?" The woman seemed slightly puzzled．

I gave her arm a friendly pat as I turned to leave．"Just tell him that," I insisted．"He'll understand．I am sure !"

Oh, what a smile can do! Although I have never seen that young man again, I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning．From that day on, I became smile-conscious, and I practice the art anywhere and everywhere, with everybody．

1.Why did the author leave the store angrily?

A．The clerk treated him unkindly．	B．He couldn't buy what he wanted．
C．The clerk didn't speak English．	D．The store's goods were too dear．

2.By saying "I felt the muscles（肌肉） in my own face happily responding" （in Paragraph 2）, the author means __.

A．he was still angry	B．he did not want to smile
C．he would thank the young man	D．he smiled back at the young man

3.The author asked the woman to say "Thank you!" to the young man because the young man_____.

A．had helped the author before	B．taught the author how to smile
C．was a kind employee of the store	D．taught the author a valuable lesson

4.In the passage, the author seems to suggest that we should __   ___.

A．be generous to strangers	B．practice smiling every day
C．smile at other people	D．help people in trouble

 

Even if you are naturally shy, these three tricks will help you to quickly build a new social circle in any new city.

1. Take pictures

One of the great things about taking pictures at an event or party is that it gives you an excuse to get in touch with the person later. Everybody loves seeing pictures of themselves, and it’s very easy after taking a picture to say “If you’d like I can email it to you”. This can be the seed that leads to new connections. The next time you hear about a fun event email your new contacts to let them know about it.

2. Eat alone in public

You might feel self-conscious eating by yourself but it has an important benefit: you are much easier to approach when you are alone. People may be afraid of interrupting you or being rude if you are in a conversation with someone else. Bring a book or newspaper to read (this will make you feel less self-conscious). Plus, having an interesting book with you will give others an excuse to start a conversation if they’ve read it.

3. Join a class, sports team, or club

Yoga, salsa dancing, volleyball, Toastmasters (a public speaking club), a class for work, etc. Take up a new hobby or continue an old one!

These are all great places to meet new people, primarily because you will be forced to see the same people over and over again in the class. You will automatically make friends with them if you have a common interest and are forced to see each other again.

Tips:

* In the beginning, never turn down an invitation from someone, even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally do.

* Email your new friends with fun things to do instead of always asking what their plans are. If they have a better plan you can drop yours and join them. This will help establish you as someone who is contributing value instead of just taking it (people want this in a friend).

* Don’t let little things in life upset you or be a negative person. People don’t want to be around someone like that! 

1.________ can give you an excuse to start new connections.

A．Taking pictures of others

B．Eating by yourself in public

C．Reading interesting books

D．Joining group activities

2.When having meals, you’d better ________ if you want to make new friends. 

A．approach others to show conscious friendliness

B．sit on your own in public places

C．invite others to your apartment to eat together

D．start a conversation with those who have friends aside

3.Which of the following pieces of advice is a tip from the text?

A．Try to be outgoing and talkative instead of being shy.

B．Never turn down an invitation from your friends.

C．Offer suggestions on how to spend time together.

D．Always give a positive response to any request.

4.By writing the text, the author intends to tell us ________.

A．why you should change when you move to a new city

B．how you can make new friends in a new city

C．why you should make new friends in a new city

D．how you can keep in touch with strangers

 

 —What is the man, do you know?

-— I don’t know exactly． But I think he can be ______ but a teacher．

A．anybody

B．something

C．anything

D．everybody

 

You can find language pollution whenever you open a newspaper or turn on your TV set, listen to a popular song at various advertisements. Language pollution exists almost everywhere and can be seen in the following places;

1. Chinese character are written in the complex(复杂的)form. Although simplified(简单的) Chinese characters were accepted for use many years ago, it seems that more and more people like Chinese characters written in the complex form.

2. Many goods are produced in China but carry foreign names, which sound strange and have no meaning at all.

3. Words and expressions being used have a bad meaning. “Ba”(霸), which means bully(巨大的)in Chinese, is one example. Now there are a lot of goods, restaurants, even factories or firms, with “Ba” in their names.

4. There are too many incorrect grammatical expressions. Some films have strange names and incorrect grammatical structures(结构). “Ai ni mei shang liang”, which means “I love you without consulting”, is grammatically incorrect and this kind of expression is now becoming popular.

Some language experts point out that language pollution must be done away with, which is an idea shared by many others and myself.

1..The writer of the passage suggests that______.

A．something be done to make our language pure

B．the Chinese language not have the word “Ba”

C．everything have a good name and a good meaning

D．everybody try their best to stop language pollution

2.. What the writer wants to say is that_______.

A．great difference exists between the Chinese characters written in the complex form and simplified form

B．language used by our newspapers, TV programs, pop songs and advertisements are getting polluted

C．many people agree with the experts on language pollution in China

D．some film writers haven’t studied Chinese grammar

3..The underlined expression “done away with” in the last paragraph means______.

A．got away

B．recycled

C．cleaned

D．ended

4.. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．More Attention to Grammar.	B．Experts’ Good Advice.
C．Films with Strange Names.	D．Pollution of our Language.