One  of  the  qualities  that  most  people  admire  in  others  is  the  willingness  to  admit  one's  mistakes.

It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like “I was wrong about that，”and it is even

harder to say，“I was wrong, and you were right about that.”

I  had  an  experience  recently  with  someone  admitting  to  me  that  he  had  made  a  mistake  fifteen years  ago.  He  told  me  he  had  been  the  manager  of  a  certain  grocery  store  in  the  neighborhood where  I  grew  up，and  he  asked  me  if  I  remembered  the  egg  cartons  (箱子).Then  he related（提到） an incident and I began to remember clearly the incident he was describing.

I  was  about  eight  years  old  at  the  time，and  I  had  gone  into  the  store  with  my  mother  to  do  the weekly  grocery  shopping.  On  that  day，I  must  have  found  my  way  to  the  dairy  (乳品的)  food department where the incident took place.

There  must  have  been  a  special  sale  on  eggs  that  day  because  there  was  an  impressive  display  of eggs  in  dozen  and  half-dozen  cartons.  The  cartons  were  stacked(堆放)  three  or  four  feet  high.  I must  have  stopped  in  front  of  a  display  to  admire  the  stacks.  Just  then  a  woman  came  by  pushing her  grocery  cart  and  knocked  off  the  stacks  of  cartons.  For  some  reason，I  decided  it  was  up  to

me to put the display back together，so I went to work.

The  manager  heard  the  noise  and  came  rushing  over  to  see  what  had  happened.  When  he appeared，I  was  on  my  knees  examining  some  of  the  cartons  to  see  if  any  of  the  eggs  were broken，but to him it looked as though I was the criminal（罪犯）.He severely scolded（责骂）

me  and  wanted  me  to  pay  for  any  broken  eggs.  I  protested(抗议)my  innocence  and  tried  to explain，but  it  did  no  good.  Even  though  I  quickly  forgot  all  about  the  incident，obviously  the manager did not.

61.The author was___________when he wrote this article.

A. about 8　　　　 B. about 23  C. about 18  D. about 15

62.Who should have been blamed for knocking off the stacks of cartons？

A. The woman  B. The manager.

C. The author.  D. The author's mother.

63.When the manager scolded him，the author____________. 　　.

A. was frightened and cried  B. felt the manager was right

C. did not say anything  D. tried to explain

64.It can be inferred that the author____________. 　　.

A. regrets arguing with the manager for what he didn't do

B. has forgiven the manager for what he did to him fifteen years ago

C. would like to tell people never to be fooled by an egg sale

D. expects the woman to say sorry to him for the mistake she made

I walked alongside my father, clutching his right hand．All my clothes were new: the black shoes, the green school uniform, and the red cap．They did not make me happy, however, as tins was the day I was to be thrown into school for the first time．I tried in vain lo convince him that I did nothing wrong all the way, but it didn't help．

When we．arrived at the sate we could see the courtyard, vast and full of boys and girls．I hesitated and clung to his hand, but he gently pushed me from him．"Be a man, "he said．"today you truly begin your life．You will find me waiting for you when it's time to leave．"

I took a few steps．Then the faces of the boys and girls came into view．I did not know a single one of them, and none of them knew me．I felt I was a stranger who had lost his way．But then some boys began to glance at me in curiosity, and one of them came over and asked, " Who brought you? "

    "My father," I whispered．

    ''My father's dead, " he said simply．

I did not know what to say．The gate was now closed．Some of the children burst into tears．The bell rang．A lady came along, followed by a group of men．The men began soiling us into ranks．We were formed into an intricate pattern in the great courtyard surrounded by high buildings．

Well, it seemed that my misgivings had had no basis．From the first moments I made many friends and fell in love with many girls．I had never imagined school would have this rich variety of experiences．

We played all sorts, of games．In the music room we sang our first songs．We also had our first introduction to language．We saw a globe of Earth, which revolved and showed the various continents and countries．We started lean-line numbers, and we were told the story of the Creator of the universe．We ate delicious food, took a little nap, and woke up to go on with friendship and love, playing and learning．

Our path, however, was not totally sweet and unclouded．We had to be observant and patient．It was not all a matter of playing and fooling around． Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting．And while the lady would sometimes smile, she would often yell and scold．Even more frequently

she would resort to physical punishment．

The bell rang, announcing the passing of the day and the end of work．The children rushed toward the gate, which was opened again．I said goodbye to friends and sweethearts and passed through the gate．I looked around but found no trace of my father, who had promised to be there．I stepped aside to wait.

1.The writer hesitated and clung to his father's hand when they got to the school gate because ____．

    A．he loved his father and didn't want to leave his father

    B．he had thought attending school meant being punished

    C．he was afraid of the punishment given by teachers

    D．he did not want to leave his mother and his rather alone at home

2.What happened to him first during his first day at school?

    A．He was moved to tears by a sad story told by a girl．

    B．He together without other students was grouped．

    C．He learnt music and other courses and had a good time．

    D．He got punished by die woman teacher because of his impatience．

3.Which of the following subjects did he not probably have?

    A．Cooking．      B．Math．         C．Music．        D．Geography．

4.From the last but one paragraph we can learn that ______.

    A．they got on well with one another all the time

    B．they had a good time at school without being scolded

    C．their teacher was more kind to them than strict with them             

    D．more often than not they experienced physical punishment

5.The writer stepped aside after he got out of the school gate because           .

    A．he was polite to let other students go before him 

    B．he left something behind in his classroom         

    C．he wanted to say goodbye to his teacher

    D．his father has promised to wait for him

 

It’s easy to see how to help others, but what about those whose needs aren’t so obvious? This story may have happened a while back, but it was a lesson which has stayed with me and helped me ever since.

It was Thanksgiving and I was volunteering with my parents at a shelter for the poor. We stood behind the counter dishing out hot food to whoever came in. Most of our dinners looked like they had been having hard times, their clothes old, worn and dry. In short, they looked poor!

Then, a man came in, who looked anything but poor. He was well dressed, wearing an expensive suit. I wondered what he was doing there and my jaw dropped in amazement when he joined the line for food. The closer he came to my service station, the more I muttered. What was this man doing? I wanted to know. Surely he wasn’t going to take food.

Then my mother quietly took me to one side. She said, “ You have assumed that the needs of the people who come here must be purely physical: hunger, inadequate shelter and needs are emotional? What if he needs comfort, friends, or just to be among other human beings?” Her words hit me like a ton of bricks! About a week later the shelter received a large donation from an anonymous source. I can’t help but wonder if it came from that man. I felt like I should apologize to the man, but I didn’t.

Now, whenever I meet others, I remember my mother’s words and try to send kindness and blessings to them, regardless of how they look. Needs aren’t always visible. But kindness always makes a difference.

1.The task of the author at the shelter was to_______.

A. decide whether dinners looked poor

B. learn life experience there

C. serve hot food to the poor

D. help parents order dishes

2. When the man waited in line, how did the author feel?

A. Surprised      B. Pitiful      C. Excited      D. Angry

3.The author felt he should apologize to the man, because he_______.

A. was asked to do so by his mother

B. gave the man food much less than others

C. realized something was wrong with the man

D. knew later that the man might go there to donate

4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. We should show others kindness whatever their needs are

B. Some needs can’t be known clearly at times

C. Needs can always be met by kindness

D. We should find out others’ needs

 

 

       “Dad! He took a book without paying!” I yelled．

       My father looked surprised．Before the boy could say anything, his mother grabbed his arm and shook it．“Is it true? You stole? Tell me!”

       Everyone was quiet．The boy began to cry, and he nodded his head．He pulled out the comic book （漫画书） from under his shirt．

       “Oh, Mr．Kim．I am sorry! My Ted made a big mistake!” Mrs．Diaz told my father．She tried to take the comic book, but Ted wouldn’t let go．

       “It’s OK．He can keep it,” my father said with a smile．

       “Oh no,” Mrs．Diaz said．“Let me pay right now ．．．” She dug in her purse．“How much?”

       “Three seventy-five．”

       Mrs．Diaz’s eyes widened, and she dug deeper．I saw her mouth make a small line．“Three seventy-five?” she asked．

       “It’s OK．You can pay later,” my father said．

       “No,” Mrs．Diaz said．She kept looking in her purse．“I have money here．”

       I felt bad for yelling, for I realized that Ted had tried to steal the comic book because he didn’t have the money．Maybe the boy could have a job, I thought．

       I had an idea．

       “What if he worked with me?” I asked．They turned to me．

       I said, “He can work with me to pay for the comic book．”

       “Good,” my father said smiling at me．Mrs．Diaz nodded．She turned to her son, “You hear? You will work and buy the comic book!”

       “Yes, Mama,” Ted said, hanging his head．

       As they left, Ted looked back, and though he still seemed sad, he stuck out （伸出） his tongue at me．

       Ted has been working here for two weeks．He has paid for the comic book, but my father says he is such a good worker that he can work with me as long as he wants．We are friends now．

1.Where did the story most probably take place?

       A．In a classroom．                                 B．In a supermarket．

      C．At a bookstore．                               D．At a library．

2.By saying “but Ted wouldn’t let go” in Paragraph 4, the author means Ted ______．

       A．took the book by mistake                 B．wanted to keep the book

       C．didn’t want to go home                       D．didn’t think he was wrong

3.From the underlined sentences in the eighth paragraph, we may infer that Mrs．Diaz ______．

       A．didn’t think her son stole the book       

       B．had been out of work for a long time

       C．forgot to take money with her that day

       D．couldn’t afford to pay for the book

4.In the last paragraph, what does the author mainly tell?

       A．His idea was successful．               B．Ted didn’t like the job．

       C．He liked Ted very much．                D．Ted was a naughty boy．

 

“Dad! He took a book without paying!” I yelled ．

       My father looked surprised．Before the boy could say anything, his mother grabbed his arm and shook it．“Is it true? You stole? Tell me!”

       Everyone was quiet．The boy began to cry, and he nodded his head．He pulled out the comic book （漫画书） from under his shirt．

       “Oh, Mr. Kim．I am sorry! My Ted made a big mistake!” Mrs. Diaz told my father．She tried to take the comic book, but Ted wouldn’t let go．

       “It’s OK．He can keep it,” my father said with a smile．

       “Oh no,” Mrs. Diaz said．“Let me pay right now ．．．” She dug in her purse．“How much?”

       “Three seventy-five．”

       Mrs. Diaz’s eyes widened, and she dug deeper．I saw her mouth make a small line．“Three seventy-five?” she asked． 

       “It’s OK．You can pay later,” my father said．

       “No,” Mrs. Diaz said．She kept looking in her purse．“I have money here．”

       I felt bad for yelling, for I realized that Ted had tried to steal the comic book because he didn’t have the money．Maybe the boy could have a job, I thought．

       I had an idea．

       “What if he worked with me?” I asked．They turned to me．

       I said, “He can work with me to pay for the comic book．”

       “Good,” my father said smiling at me．Mrs. Diaz nodded．She turned to her son, “You hear? You will work and buy the comic book!”  

       “Yes, Mama,” Ted said, hanging his head．

       As they left, Ted looked back, and though he still seemed sad, he stuck out （伸出） his tongue at me．

       Ted has been working here for two weeks．He has paid for the comic book, but my father says he is such a good worker that he can work with me as long as he wants．We are friends now．

1．Where did the story most probably take place? 

       A．In a classroom．                                 B．In a supermarket．

       C．At a bookstore．                                 D．At a library．

2．By saying “but Ted wouldn’t let go” in Paragraph 4, the author means Ted ______．

       A．took the book by mistake                 B．wanted to keep the book

       C．didn’t want to go home                  D．didn’t think he was wrong

3．From the underlined sentences in the eighth paragraph, we may infer that Mrs. Diaz ______．

       A．didn’t think her son stole the book

       B．had been out of work for a long time

       C．forgot to take money with her that day

       D．couldn’t afford to pay for the book

4．In the last paragraph, what does the author mainly tell?

       A．His idea was successful．               B．Ted didn’t like the job．

       C．He liked Ted very much．              D．Ted was a naughty boy．