I don’t often lose things and I’m always careful with money, so I was quite surprised when I reached for my wallet and it wasn’t there. At first, I thought it was possible that I could have left it at home. Then I remembered taking it out to pay the taxi, so I knew I had it with me just before I walked into the restaurant. I wondered if it was possible that it could have dropped out of my pocket while I was eating dinner. I turned and walked back to the table where I had been sitting. Unluckily, there were several people sitting at the table at that time, so I had the waiter go over to the table to see if my wallet was on the floor. While the waiter was looking for it, the head of the restaurant came up to me and asked me if anything was wrong. I told him what had happened. He asked me to report the missing wallet to the police. I told him I didn’t want to do so; I was in a hurry because I had to reach my waiting room before two o’clock, where some people were waiting to see me. I also told him that my biggest worry at the moment was how I was going to pay for the meal. He told me not to worry about that. He asked me to write down my name and address, and he said he would send me a bill (账单).

1. When the writer couldn’t find his wallet, his first thought was that________

A. it had been given to the taxi-driver                   B. he had dropped it in the taxi

C. it might be left at home                         D. he had lost his wallet again

2. The writer thought he must have the wallet with him because___________.

A. he had paid the taxi-driver                          B. he had paid the bill of the meal

C. the waiter had seen it on the table                    D. the waiter was looking for it on the floor

3. Why do you think the writer turned and walked back to the table?

A. He would phone the police about the missing of his wallet.

B. Several people were sitting at the table at that time.

C. He wondered if he had dropped his wallet while eating.

D. The head of the restaurant wanted to know what was wrong.

4. The writer of the story is probably a _________.

A. cook                                                             B. doctor   

C. school teacher                                                    D. newspaper reporter

5. Which of the following words can best describe the head of the restaurant?

   A. Modest.                 B. Careful.                 C. Kind.                D. Clever.

     One day before my final exam, my dad gave me a gift. It completely  1  my life.

     On that day I had a  2  with my friends and it was a difficult time with my studies, too. I was  3  .Then I noticed the gift. I opened it and saw a DVD inside. Its name was "THE SECRET”.  4_, I was in no mood to watch it. I sat down to study, but the 5 in my life—  the fight, the sleepless nights and my poor health... Everything came to my mind. I wanted an  6  but I wondered if there was any. Just then, I saw the DVD again. Maybe it would be helpful. I turned on my DVD player. I had no words to  7  the feelings. I experienced while watching it. The moving stories of human beings made me so moved that I  8    not forget any of them.

     Thanks to my father’s gift "THE SECRET". I discovered myself. Everybody has difficulties in their lives. The important thing is that you should be   9  enough to face them. Now I have started being getting on well with my studies and my friends. And I’m in good health, too. I often hear people say, “What a perfect  10  you have!”

1  A.filled     B. restarted    C. changed     D. exchanged

2  A.trip      B. party       C. talk         D. fight

3  A.nervous   B. unhappy    C. afraid       D. lonely

4  A.However  B. Otherwise   C. Therefore    D. Anyway

5  A.chances   B. problems    C. secrets      D. mistakes

6  A.advice    B. aim        C. answer       D. reply

7  A. say      B. describe     C. represent     D. send

8  A.dared     B. might       C. should       D. would

9  A.brave     B. patient      C. clever       D. energetic

10 A. parent    B. life         C. friend       D. health

My name is Ben Mansury. I’m fifteen years old and study in a middle school. In school, I never join in any group discussion or stage (舞台) program. So, I never knew what stage nervousness was.
Our community (社区) has a weekly “Students Ideas” program. About two years ago, I received a(n)   1   from the chairman of our community. He invited me to the “Students Ideas” talk the next morning to speak to the group.
The time between his call to the next morning was like several weeks for me. The whole night, I could not sleep. Many   2   were coming. One of them was to call the chairman, with regret, and tell him that I could not come. But finally, I thought, if I missed this   3  , the community would never invite me again to any of their programs. So, I decided to go.
I reached the hall in time. When my turn came and I started, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to   4   the words on the paper properly. I had no idea where I was standing and what I was talking. That was the day when I   5   my biggest weakness: public speaking.
After I finished, I met with the chairman and   6   what happened to me. He said that this happens to everyone. It is very   7  . He suggested that I should come again the next week.
I   8   a talk carefully. This time when I gave the talk, I was somewhat comfortable but not confident (自信的). Afterwards, I met with the chairman again and told him about the improvement I   9   I had made. He was kind enough to invite me again.
For around one month, I practiced a lot for my talk. This time I was feeling comfortable and both the chairman and my neighbors thought I did a good job.    
I learned that everything is   10   if we take the first step, as the saying goes: A journey of thousand miles begins with first step.