A wise man used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning.
One day, when he was walking along the shore（海岸）, he saw a young man moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
He called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The young man stopped, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”
“The sun is up and the tide（潮汐）is going out. And if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked another starfish, and threw it into the sea, and said, “It made a difference for that one.”
There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted（赋予）with the ability to make a difference.
We must each find our starfish. And if we throw starfish wisely and well, the world will be better.

1. 1.

   What was the wise man used to doing every morning?

   1. A.
      Taking a walk on the shore.
   2. B.
      Watching the young man dance.
   3. C.
      Meeting up with the young man.
   4. D.
      Helping the young man pick up starfish.
2. 2.

   Why did the young man throw the starfish into the ocean?

   1. A.
      To have fun.
   2. B.
      To study starfish.
   3. C.
      To feed some fish.
   4. D.
      To save starfish.
3. 3.

   What can we learn from the story?

   1. A.
      Each of us should learn to protect starfish.
   2. B.
      People living on the shore always try to save starfish.
   3. C.
      Each of us has the ability to make an important effect on something.
   4. D.
      People can come up with some good ideas when walking on the shore.

Once, a circle lost a piece of its own. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But it was incomplete, so it could only roll very slowly. It enjoyed the flowers and the sunshine along the way. It talked with worms. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on looking for the missing piece.

         Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. The circle put the missing piece into itself. It could be whole with nothing missing. It was so happy and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to see flowers or talk to worms. It realized how different the world was when it rolled so quickly. It felt so sad that it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled away slowly.

         Sometimes we are perfect when we lose something. A man who has everything is a poor man in some ways. He will never have hopes, dreams or something better. He will never know someone loves him or someone is giving him something he has always wanted or never had.

         We couldn’t be perfect, but we must be brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, kind enough to share happiness with others and clever enough to know there is enough love around us and then we can always live a wonderful time in our lives.

1.

The circle rolled very slowly because it        .

A. spent much time talking to worms                        B. wanted to enjoy the sunshine

C. was looking for its missing piece                           D. lost a piece of its own

2.

Why did the circle stop when it rolled quickly? Because it        .

A. wanted to enjoy the world                                      B. found a different world

C. wanted to look for another missing piece            D. thought the world changed so quickly

3.

The story mainly tells us that        .

A. nobody loves us if we give nothing

B. a man who has everything is the happiest

C. losing something may not be a bad thing sometimes

D. we are not whole when we lose something

Once, a circle lost a piece of its own. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But it was incomplete, so it could only roll very slowly. It enjoyed the flowers and the sunshine along the way. It talked with worms. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on looking for the missing piece.

         Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. The circle put the missing piece into itself. It could be whole with nothing missing. It was so happy and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to see flowers or talk to worms. It realized how different the world was when it rolled so quickly. It felt so sad that it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled away slowly.

         Sometimes we are perfect when we lose something. A man who has everything is a poor man in some ways. He will never have hopes, dreams or something better. He will never know someone loves him or someone is giving him something he has always wanted or never had.

         We couldn’t be perfect, but we must be brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, kind enough to share happiness with others and clever enough to know there is enough love around us and then we can always live a wonderful time in our lives.

1.

The circle rolled very slowly because it        .

A. spent much time talking to worms                        B. wanted to enjoy the sunshine

C. was looking for its missing piece                           D. lost a piece of its own

2.

Why did the circle stop when it rolled quickly? Because it        .

A. wanted to enjoy the world                                      B. found a different world

C. wanted to look for another missing piece            D. thought the world changed so quickly

3.

The story mainly tells us that        .

A. nobody loves us if we give nothing

B. a man who has everything is the happiest

C. losing something may not be a bad thing sometimes

D. we are not whole when we lose something