40. The writer’s first job was _______.

　 A. to stand down the fairway at a golf course

　 B. to watch over the sugar-cane plantation

　 C. to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields

　 D. to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them

39. What is the lesson we can learn from this passage?

A. Don’t accuse others of not listening while talking with them.

B. Don’t get anything wrong if you miss what the speaker is saying.

C. Listening inattentively may cost you the loss of your success.

D. Think carefully of what you’re going to say before the speaker finishes.

　(B)

My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.

It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.

I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.

When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.

The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field - except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.

38. What is the writer’s opinion?

A. If you want to be a good listener, you should be very clever and emotional.

B. Speakers won’t continue talking when their listeners explain what they’ve heard.

C. If you don’t want to get things wrong, it’s important to be a good listener,

D. It’s hard to be a good listener because listening tests you on your intelligence.

37. In the last paragraph, “…… what they are getting at ……” means________ .

A. what they imply　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. what they like

C. what they attack　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　 D. what they achieve

36. Which is the best title for this passage?

A. Don’t be too clever　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Be a good listener.

C. Don’t miss anything critical　　　　　　 D. Think of the speaker

34. A. memory 　　　　 B. wealth　　 　　C. experience　 　　　 D. practice

33. A. the student　 　　 B. the assistant　 　　 C. myself　 　　　　 D. himself

32. A. fine　 　　　　　 　　B. strange　 　　　　 C. terrible　 　　D. funny

31. A. stood up 　　　　 　　B. set out　　 　　C. showed up　 D. turned out