Today, as I was relaxing at the beach, I couldn't help but eavesdrop（窃听，偷听） on a conversation four high school kids were having on the beach blanket next to me. Their conversation was about making a positive difference in the world. And it went something like this…
"It's impossible to make a difference unless you're a huge company or someone with lots of money and power," one of them said.
"Yeah man," another replied. "My mom keeps telling me to move mountains – to speak up and stand up for what I believe. But what I say and do doesn't even get noticed. I just keep answering to ‘the man’ and then I get slapped back（山谷回声） in place by him when I step out of line."
"Repression…" another snickered.
I smiled because I knew exactly how they felt. When I was their age, I was certain I was being repressed and couldn't possibly make a difference in this world. And I actually almost got fired from school once because I openly expressed how repressed(压抑) I felt in the middle of the principals’ office.
I Have A Dream.
Suddenly, one of the kids noticed me eavesdropping and smiling. He sat up, looked at me and said, "What? Do you disagree?" Then as he waited for a response, the other three kids turned around too.
Rather than arguing with them, I took an old receipt out of my wallet , tore it into four pieces, and wrote a different word on each piece. Then I crumbled the pieces into little paper balls and handed a different piece to each one of them.
"Look at the word on the paper I just gave you and don't show it to anyone else." The kids looked at the single word I had handed each of them and appeared confused. "You have two choices," I told them. "If your word inspired you to make a difference in this world, then hold onto it. If not, give it back to me so I can recycle the paper." They all returned their words.
I walked over quickly , sat down on the sand next to their beach blanket and laid out the four words that the students had returned to me so that the words combined to form the simple sentence,        "I have a dream."
"Dude, that's Martin Luther King Jr.," one of the kids said.
"How did you know that?" I asked.
"Everyone knows Martin Luther King Jr." the kid snarled. "He has his own national holiday, and we all had to memorize his speech in school a few years ago."
"Why do you think your teachers had you memorize his speech?" I asked.
"I don't really care!" the kid replied. His three friends shook their heads in agreement. "What does this have to do with us and our situation?"
"Your teachers asked you to memorize those words, just like thousands of teachers around the world have asked students to memorize those words, because they have inspired millions of repressed people to dream of a better world and take action to make their dreams come true. Do you see where I'm going with this?"
"Man, I know exactly what you're trying to do and it's not going to work, alright?" the fourth kid said, who hadn't spoken a word until now. "We're not going to get all inspired and emotional about something some dude said thirty years ago. Our world is different now. And it's more screwed up than any us can even begin to imagine, and there's little you or I can do about it. We're too small, we're nobody."
Together
I smiled again because I once believed and used to say similar things. Then after holding the smile for a few seconds I said, "On their own, ‘I' or ‘have’ or ‘a’ or ‘dream’ are just words. Not very compelling or inspiring. But when you put them together in a certain order, they create a phrase that has been powerful enough to move millions of people to take action – action that changed laws, perceptions, and lives. You don't need to be inspired or emotional to agree with this, do you?"
The four kids shrugged and struggled to appear totally indifferent, but I could tell they were listening intently. "And what's true for words is also true for people," I continued. "One person without help from anyone else can't do much to make a big difference in this crazy world - or to overcome all of the various forms of repression that exist today. But when people get together and unite to form something more powerful and meaningful then themselves, the possibilities are endless.
Together is how mountains are moved. Together is how small people make a big difference.
1.Why were the kids repressed?

A．Because they were scolded by their teachers

B．Because they lacked confidence of making a difference in the world

C．Because they didn’t have lots of money or power.

D．Because one of them almost got expelled from school.

2.What did the writer do when one of the kids noticed him eavesdropping?

A．He argued with them.

B．He played a game with them.

C．He scooted over sat down on the sand next to their beach blanket .

D．He took an old receipt ,ripped it into four pieces, and wrote a different word on each piece.

3.Which of the following is not true?

A．“I Have A Dream” was delivered by Martin Luther King.

B．A national holiday was named after Martin Luther King to honor him.

C．Teachers asked kids to memorize Martin Luther King’s famous speech.

D．Martin Luther King made a difference because he is a man with power.

4.Give a proper Chinese translation to explain the underlined sentence.

A．车到山前必有路???????? B．从我做起

C．团结就是力量?????????? D．三人行,必有我师

5.Which of the following sentences is true according to the story.

A．The kids and the writer are complaining about their life.

B．All of the four kids don’t believe they can change the world.

C．The word on the paper inspires the four kids.

D．The writer’s purpose is to tell them to a faith in the life.

6.Which of the following can be the best title for the story?

A．How adults persuade kids

B．How small people make a big difference

C．How young adults build up their confidence

D．How create a better world to live in

Most of us would say that the older we get, the less we look forward to celebrating another birthday. For children, though, a birthday is that one occasion each year when they are the center of attention all day long.
It’s not surprising, then, that children’s birthday parties have turned into big business in America. Kids—or more likely their parents—often try to outdo one another in putting on the most extravagant birthday party. In the past, you might have hired a man with a horse to come by and give everyone horse rides. Today, you can hire an entire petting zoo’s or a truck filled with animals from abroad.
Barb Hill, a mother of two girls, doesn’t hold extravagant (奢侈的) parties, but she says she does feel pressure to come up with new ideas each year. Her daughter Fiona celebrated her most recent birthday, her eighth, at a sporting-goods store. The kids enjoyed the climbing wall, as well as the pizza and cupcakes. “They always want to do something that nobody else has done yet,” Barb says. You also have to decide how many guests to invite, and if you’re celebrating at a place other than home, that means figuring out how to transport everyone.
William Doherty, a professor at the University of Minnesota, recently started a project called Birthdays without Pressure. Its website (www. birthdayswithoutpressure.org) gives parents the resources to make kids’ birthday parties less stressful and more fun for all. “Our goal was to start a local and national conversation about what’s happened to birthday parties,” Doherty told me. “We’ve succeeded beyond our expectations—tens of thousands of parents are viewing our website, contacting us and taking our online quizzes.”
In the end, most parents would agree that the best parties are usually the ones where the kids have time to hang out and play with each other. After all, isn’t what being a kid is all about?
1. The purpose of this passage is to tell us_________.
A.all the children look forward to celebrating their birthday
B.the children’s birthday parties have turned into big business in America
C.parents would like to make children’s birthday parties less stressful and more fun for all
D.parents don’t know how to hold children’s birthday parties
2. Which of the following sentences is TRUE ______.
A.The girl didn’t enjoy the party held by her mother.
B.The project called Birthdays without Pressure is popular with parents.
C.Children look forward to their birthday parties because they like extravagant parties.
D.Parents feel like hiring an entire petting zoo for their children.
3. The aim of the project called Birthdays without Pressure is to______.
A.attract parents to view the website
B.provide resources for making kids’ birthday parties
C.release parents’ stress of organizing children’s birthday parties
D.hold conversation about what’s happened to birthday parties
4. The best title for this passage may probably be ______.
A project called Birthdays without Pressure
B.Children enjoy their birthday parties
C.  How to hold children’s birthday parties
D.  How children feel about their birthday parties

Most of us would say that the older we get, the less we look forward to celebrating another birthday. For children, though, a birthday is that one occasion each year when they are the center of attention all day long.

         It’s not surprising, then, that children’s birthday parties have turned into big business in America. Kids—or more likely their parents—often try to outdo one another in putting on the most extravagant birthday party. In the past, you might have hired a man with a horse to come by and give everyone horse rides. Today, you can hire an entire petting zoo’s or a truck filled with animals from abroad.

         Barb Hill, a mother of two girls, doesn’t hold extravagant (奢侈的) parties, but she says she does feel pressure to come up with new ideas each year. Her daughter Fiona celebrated her most recent birthday, her eighth, at a sporting-goods store. The kids enjoyed the climbing wall, as well as the pizza and cupcakes. “They always want to do something that nobody else has done yet,” Barb says. You also have to decide how many guests to invite, and if you’re celebrating at a place other than home, that means figuring out how to transport everyone.

         William Doherty, a professor at the University of Minnesota, recently started a project called Birthdays without Pressure. Its website (www. birthdayswithoutpressure.org) gives parents the resources to make kids’ birthday parties less stressful and more fun for all. “Our goal was to start a local and national conversation about what’s happened to birthday parties,” Doherty told me. “We’ve succeeded beyond our expectations—tens of thousands of parents are viewing our website, contacting us and taking our online quizzes.”

         In the end, most parents would agree that the best parties are usually the ones where the kids have time to hang out and play with each other. After all, isn’t what being a kid is all about?

1. The purpose of this passage is to tell us_________.

A.all the children look forward to celebrating their birthday

B.the children’s birthday parties have turned into big business in America

C.parents would like to make children’s birthday parties less stressful and more fun for all

D.parents don’t know how to hold children’s birthday parties

2. Which of the following sentences is TRUE ______.

A.The girl didn’t enjoy the party held by her mother.

B.The project called Birthdays without Pressure is popular with parents.

C.Children look forward to their birthday parties because they like extravagant parties.

D.Parents feel like hiring an entire petting zoo for their children.

3. The aim of the project called Birthdays without Pressure is to______.

A.attract parents to view the website

B.provide resources for making kids’ birthday parties

C.release parents’ stress of organizing children’s birthday parties

D.hold conversation about what’s happened to birthday parties

4. The best title for this passage may probably be ______.

A project called Birthdays without Pressure

B.Children enjoy their birthday parties

C.  How to hold children’s birthday parties

D.  How children feel about their birthday parties

Most of us would say that the older we get, the less we look forward to celebrating another birthday. For children, though, a birthday is that one occasion each year when they are the center of attention all day long.

       It’s not surprising, then, that children’s birthday parties have turned into big business in America. Kids—or more likely their parents—often try to outdo one another in putting on the most extravagant birthday party. In the past, you might have hired a man with a horse to come by and give everyone horse rides. Today, you can hire an entire petting zoo’s or a truck filled with animals from abroad.

       Barb Hill, a mother of two girls, doesn’t hold extravagant (奢侈的) parties, but she says she does feel pressure to come up with new ideas each year. Her daughter Fiona celebrated her most recent birthday, her eighth, at a sporting-goods store. The kids enjoyed the climbing wall, as well as the pizza and cupcakes. “They always want to do something that nobody else has done yet,” Barb says. You also have to decide how many guests to invite, and if you’re celebrating at a place other than home, that means figuring out how to transport everyone.

       William Doherty, a professor at the University of Minnesota, recently started a project called Birthdays without Pressure. Its website (www. birthdayswithoutpressure.org) gives parents the resources to make kids’ birthday parties less stressful and more fun for all. “Our goal was to start a local and national conversation about what’s happened to birthday parties,” Doherty told me. “We’ve succeeded beyond our expectations—tens of thousands of parents are viewing our website, contacting us and taking our online quizzes.”

       In the end, most parents would agree that the best parties are usually the ones where the kids have time to hang out and play with each other. After all, isn’t what being a kid is all about?

1. The purpose of this passage is to tell us_________.

A.all the children look forward to celebrating their birthday

B.the children’s birthday parties have turned into big business in America

C.parents would like to make children’s birthday parties less stressful and more fun for all

D.parents don’t know how to hold children’s birthday parties

2. Which of the following sentences is TRUE ______.

A.The girl didn’t enjoy the party held by her mother.

B.The project called Birthdays without Pressure is popular with parents.

C.Children look forward to their birthday parties because they like extravagant parties.

D.Parents feel like hiring an entire petting zoo for their children.

3. The aim of the project called Birthdays without Pressure is to______.

A.attract parents to view the website

B.provide resources for making kids’ birthday parties

C.release parents’ stress of organizing children’s birthday parties

D.hold conversation about what’s happened to birthday parties

4. The best title for this passage may probably be ______.

A project called Birthdays without Pressure

B.Children enjoy their birthday parties

C.  How to hold children’s birthday parties

D.  How children feel about their birthday parties