I’m seventeen. I worked as a box boy at a supermarket in Los Angeles. People came to the counter (柜台) and I put things in their bags for them and carried things to their cars. It was hard work.
While working, I wore a plate with my name on it. I once met someone I knew years ago. I remembered his name and said, “Mr. Castle, how are you?” We talked about this and that. As he left, he said, “It was nice talking to you, Brett.” I felt great, he remembered me. Then I looked down at my name plate. Oh, no. He didn’t remember me at all, he just read the name plate. I wish I had put “Irving” down on my name plate. If he’d have said, “Oh yes, Irving, how could I forget you?” I’d have been ready for him. There’s nothing personal here.
The manager and everyone else who were a step above the box boys often shouted orders. One of these was: you couldn’t accept tips(小费). Okay, I’m outside and I put the bags in the car. For a lot of people, the natural reaction(反应)is to take a quarter and give it to me. I’d say, “I’m sorry, I can’t.” They’d get angry. When you give someone a tip, you’re sort of being polite. You take a quarter and you put it in their hand and you expect them to say, “Oh, thanks a lot.” When you say, “I’m sorry, I can’t.” they feel a little put down. They say, “No one will know.” And they put it in your pocket. You say, “I really can’t.” It gets to a point where you almost have to hurt a person physically to prevent him from tipping you. It was not in agreement with the store’s belief in being friendly. Accepting tips was a friendly thing and made the customer feel good. I just couldn’t understand the strangeness of some people’s ideas. One lady actually put a tip in my pocket, got in the car, and drove away. I was puzzled and didn’t know what to do. Should I d have had to throw the quarter at her or eaten it or something?
I decided that one year had been enough. Some people needed the job to stay alive and fed. I guess I had the means and could afford to hate it and give it up.
【小题1】. From the second paragraph, we can infer (推断) that ________.

Basketball is still a young game. It’s over a hundred years old. In the winter of 1891, a certain college was having some trouble with its boy students. The weather was bad and the students had to stay indoors. As they couldn’t play outdoors, they were unhappy, and some even got into fights from time to time.
　　Some of the teachers, at the college asked Dr. Naismith to invent a game so that the students might have something to play with. It was not easy to invent such a game because it had to be played indoors , and the court (球场) was not very large.
　　Dr. Naismith thought for a few days and invented a kind of ball game. It was a fast, wonderful game with much moving and passing of the ball. It was played between two teams. To make a score , the ball had to be thrown into the basket ten feet(英尺) above the floor on the wall . At each end of the court there was such a basket. At first, Dr. Naismith wanted to throw the ball into a box. As he could not find boxes of the right size, he had to use fruit baskets instead. That is how the game got its name.
1. How long is it since basketball was invented?
　　A. 1000 years                    　　　　　　　　　　B. More than 100 years
　　C. 1100 years                      　　　　　　　　　　D. Less than 100 years
2. The students felt unhappy because _______.
　　A. they had much homework to do
　　B. they often got into fights
　　C. they couldn’t play outdoors 
　　D. they had little time to study
3. Who asked Dr. Naismith to invent a game?
　　A. Some students                   　　　　　　　　B. Some teachers
　　C. Some students’ parents          　　　 D. Some of his friends
4. When a student ______ , he makes a score.
　　A. receives the ball.              　　　　　　
　　B. throws the ball to another student
　　C. runs quickly with the ball in his hand  
　　D. throws the ball into the basket
5. Which sentence is right?
　　A. Dr. Naismith had to use fruit to throw the ball.
　　B. It was easy to invent the game.
　　C. The students could go outdoors when the weather was bad.
　　D. The ball had to be thrown into the basket five feet above the floor.

Grandfather Can Hear Me

John likes chocolates(巧克力) very much, but his mother doesn’t give him. They’re  bad for his teeth, she thinks. John has a very nice grandfather. The old man loves John very much and sometimes he buys John some chocolates. Then his mother let him eat them. Because she wants to make the old man happy.

One Sunday evening before  his seventh birthday, he shouts, “Please, God(上帝), let them give me a big box of chocolates for my birthday.” His mother says,“God can’t hear you. Don’t shout (叫喊)! ”

“I know,” says the clever boy with a smile. “But my grandfather is in the next room. And hecan.”

1.John’s mother doesn’t give him chocolates because_______.

A. John doesn’t like them.     B. They are bad for his teeth.

C. His mother has no money.   D. His mother doesn’t love him.

2.Who sometimes buys some chocolates for John?

A.  God     B. His mother    C. His grandfather   D. His grandmother

3.When the old man buys chocolates for John, his mother usually _______.

A. lets him eat them.                 B. doesn’t let him eat them

C. makes the old man unhappy                 D. feels happy

4.John is _____.

A. seventh years old.   B. seven-years-old .  C. seven years old .   D. 17 years old.

5.John shouts loudly（大声地）for chocolates because ______.

A. He wants God to buy chocolates for him.

B.He wants his grandfather to buy chocolates for him.

C.He wants God to hear him.

D.He wants his mother to buy chocolates for him.