I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

And it did. On arriving at the beach cottage, I kissed Evelyn meeting me at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed”, she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love.?

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…that checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”

It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”

1.From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ______.

A．with his family      B．with Evelyn        C．alone             D．with his children

2.During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because ______.

A．he was determined to be a good husband

B．he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm

C．she looked lovely in her new clothes

D．the doctor said his wife was seriously ill

3.The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What does “one thing” refer to?

A．He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.

B．She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.

C．He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.

D．He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.

 

Read the following passage and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph.  There is one extra heading which you do not need.

A. Promise behaviors B. Attitude beats experience C. Job-winning qualities D. Employer and employee relation E. Stable career choices F. Importance of teamwork skills

 
Despite the economy, experts advise students to major in what interests them.
【小题1】
Aware of the worst job market in more than 25 years, many students enrolling in colleges and universities this fall are considering majors that they believe will land them stable career. 
Students with degrees in nursing, health care, accounting, computer, general science and engineering report the most success in finding jobs. Those with degrees in finance, journalism, graphic design, and international relations have had tougher times, liberal arts graduates also struggle.
【小题2】
Still career experts say students should major in whatever area most interests them, even if it’s a less specialized liberal arts field, such as Chinese and or sociology. In a national survey, communication, followed closely by a strong work ethic and team work skills, was rated at the most important qualities sought by employers. “Liberal arts teaches us how to learn. When we go out into the world of work, we are going to have to continue to learn,” said Dan Naegeli, director of the university of North Texas career center.
【小题3】
Texas Health Resources uses a wide range of workers at its 14 hospitals and other sites. The 18,000 employees company hires about 2000 people a year. It looks for candidates with “promise (有前途的) behaviors,” human resource director Justin Clem said.
“The resume is great… Education is wonderful,” Clem said. “But when we interview, we really want to look at situations they were put into the past, what actions they took, and what were the results. Do these results really support treating other people with courtesy dignity and respect? And communicating clearly and earning people’s trust? And thinking before they act?”
【小题4】
The company also looks for people who have record of providing service, said Janaelle Nowne, vice president of human resource. If a student mowed lawns or worked at a fast-food restaurant, she said, “ the things that we would want to hear is how you attended to providing service to people that you were working with and how you were attending to the quality of the products that you have. ”
“Experience is always helpful, but it is not always the guarantee that person is going to get the job,” she added. “We look at the behaviors and the attitude they bring in and their willingness to be a part of the team.”
【小题5】
Lockheed Martin has all sorts of jobs in all sorts of fields. One of the skills recruiters consider is the ability to work in teams.
“Most of what we do is problem solving, and you get people with different kinds of skills together to solve the problem,” said Norman Robbins, senior manager community relations. “If you are real bright but you can’t get along with anybody, you’re not going to be as successful as you will be if you can work in teams.”

Dear Dad,

I was very upset when I received your letter. I knew you  36  not like my results, but I didn’t realize you and Mum were so  37  with me. This has made me  38  very carefully about myself, and now I  39  how silly I have been.

My poor  40  have come from my own  41 . Of course, I want to do my best. I want you and Mum to be proud  42  me, but somehow when I get to school I just can’t keep my   43  on the subject and I stop  44  the teacher. So many other things seem so much more  45 , but I know that I must not  46  the chance you and Mum have given me. If I don’t work very hard  47  the next few months, I am going to get  48  results. So I am going to study hard this summer. And I will show Mum anything  49  I can’t understand so that she can give me help.

I  50  you will allow me to play some basketball. I think I need some exercise,   51 _ I will control the time I   52  on it properly.

If you want me to stop meeting Cindy, I will — but there is  53  serious. We are just good friends, and she often helps me  54  my schoolwork.

Dad, I am really sorry I have made you angry. I’m going to try my best to  55  my study. I promise that I will make you proud of me soon.

    Yours,

    Jimmy

1.A. will                      B. would        C. need                  D. should

2.A. angry                    B. upset         C. strict                   D. happy

3.A. talk                     B. speak          C. think                  D. hear

4.A. receive                   B. believe         C. insist                  D. realize

5.A. results                   B. memories     C. parents                 D. friends

6.A. stubbornness           B. carelessness     C. laziness                D. illness

7.A. of                   B. with           C. in                     D. for

8.A. head                      B. mind           C. eyes                 D. heart

9.A. listening to                B. to listen to      C. hearing              D. to hear

10.A. boring                  B. dull            C. beautiful            D. interesting

11.A. find                    B. share           C. waste                D. afford

12.A. during                  B. at             C. through             D. until

13.A. better                   B. best          C. poorer              D. poorest

14.A. which                   B. that          C. whom               D. what

15.A. wish                    B. advise        C. hope                D. decide

16.A. and                     B. but            C. so                 D. because

17.A. spend                  B. take           C. cost                D. pay

18.A. everything              B. something     C. anything             D. nothing

19.A. in                     B. on            C. with               D. by

20.A. develop                 B. improve              C. interest              D. finish

 

单词拼写（共10小题，每小题1分，共10分）

1.Don’t give me meat any more. I am on a _________（节食）.

2.We have firm _______ (信念) that we’ll hold a promise if we work hard.

3.The show is far from being a failure; It was a great __________(成功).

4.The cave was completely dark, so he _____（点燃）a candle and went inside.

5.After _______ (毕业), I just acted as an assistant manager in the company.

6.Smoking is _________(禁止) in public places in our country.

7.It’s dangerous for a child to hold a ___________（锋利的）knife.

8.His ___________（残疾）prevents him from holding a job.

9.The old lady is famous for being warm-hearted and _______（慷慨）. And she always gives things, more or less, to the beggars to her door.

10.The ocean and seas __________ (环绕)the islands are deep blue.

 

A few weeks ago, I was on vacation with my family in Malaysia. We visited lots of places. One of the hotels we stayed __1._ was near a China Town.

Everything was cheap there __2.__ we did a lot of shopping. I was looking for a watch for myself and __3._ for my girlfriend. There were many shops that were selling _4._ same watch —— but for different prices.

I finally found the best price, so I bought the watches while my sister and mom were buying other things from the shop. __5.__ it was time to pay, I realized I was 10 dollars short, so I suggested __6.__ (return) one of the watches. The _7.__ ( own) of the shop asked why and I explained I didn’t have enough money with me. She smiled and said, “You can take it, but promise me you’ll pay tomorrow!”

So I asked her what time she __8._ (be) there the next day and said, “Okay, I promise.”

Unfortunately we changed our hotel and the new one was much ___9.__ (far) away from China Town, but I still walked all the way to her shop and gave her the money. She smiled and said, “You’re a good person.”

It’s so beautiful when people ___10.__ you don’t know trust you.