Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth, so I decided that my approach must be wrong, and I should try another way.
I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper,” “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it’s nothing.”
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “ You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, “Would you mend this chair for me?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver(五英镑钞票)?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.
【小题1】We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer _________.

After six months of living in New Zealand, I realized one thing. Despite my  1   for greater contact with local students,  2   I initiated(开始) the contact, it wouldn’t happen. Local students are not interested in contacts with the international students, because they regard us as shy,  3    and sometimes snobby （势利的） people. Of course we know that’s not true. I want to change their opinions.

After  4     the problem, I put on my “confidence mask” each morning and walked around with a smile on my face. I chatted with people whenever I had the chance. I showed that I was not afraid to  5     them, and that I was worthy of being a friend.

A side-effect of my  6     confidence was that my emotions occasionally broke down Only in the  7     of my room, where no one could see, would I reveal my real emotions. All the rejections, funny looks, and  8     behind my back calling me a weirdo（古怪的人） melted  into tears. Once that was done, I would put on my confidence mask once again and start a new day.

It finally worked  My name became known throughout the school as I appeared to be 9     and active. Slowly, I discovered that I no longer needed to put on my confidence mask. I had real    friends. Instead of dragging myself to school and  10    to be happy, I was truly happy. I could not believe it when I was elected to the student government as Deputy Head boy----the first international student to receive the title.

From my  11     in New Zealand, I believe one thing will always be true: If you try your best to reach your goals, you’ll achieve your  12     dreams.

1.A. desire                B. invitation  C. devotion        D. effort

2.A. if                  B. otherwise    C. unless          D. once

3.A. energetic       B. considerate    C. free           D. dull

4.A. getting              B. realizing    C. solving  D. making

5.A. get up with           B. put up with         C. open up to    D. look forward to

6.A. accepted       B. proved          C. elected     D. forced

7.A. public              B. privacy     C. possession      D. protection

8.A. laughing         B. talking   C. acting        D. walking

9.A. minded          B. talented C. humorous     D. enthusiastic

10.A. looking         B. helping  C. pretending    D. treating

11.A. experience         B. trouble        C. travel         D. struggle

12.A. great               B. impossible         C. hopeful          D. reasonable

The girl looking for the job turned out to be excellent but she ended up giving her employer a headache when it also turned out that she used an unreal diploma(文凭).
In December, a Civil Administration Bureau in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, an­nounced that it needed five new staff members. Some 120 people applied and took the exam. Ap­plicants were required to show proof of a college degree at least.
Mei Jing beat everyone in the test and the interview. When a follow-up check was done, however, her education certificate(证书) was discovered to be an unreal one.
This was a bit of an embarrassment for the employers. A dilemma, one might say. If she were hired because of her excellent performance, she still wouldn't have the qualifications on pa­per. But, if she were dropped because she didn't meet the education requirements, they would lose a good worker. Tough problem!
While Mei's future hangs in the balance, the public having learned of the case got involved. Some people said the Bureau should employ her, since results are the only important thing. “After all, ability is more important than a diploma, ”said one office worker.
Others, however, have attacked Mei's dishonesty. They said that morality was, after all, more important than talent, especially in the case of a government position. Mei wasn't honest, so she shouldn't be hired.
But, Shen Ronghua, the head of the Shanghai Public Administration and Human Resources Institute, tries to be a bit more philosophical.
“There is still a sort of  'diploma means this'  prejudice among people,” Shen explains, “Many employers regard a diploma as the only sign of ability and talent.”
So, with this in mind, people may pay little attention to whether someone has real ability or not. They turn to chasing a diploma instead. The unreal diploma is the natural product of this thought.
The conclusion? "China needs a new human resource system. The new system will not define a person only by his or her diploma, " Shen says.
【小题1】What's the meaning of the underlined word “dilemma” in Paragraph Four?

单词拼写（每小题1分，共10分）
【小题1】They began the r＿＿＿ work at once, as soon as the earthquake happened..
【小题2】Without _________(电), modern life would be very different.
【小题3】Dead and ___________(受伤的)people lay everywhere after the terrible accident.
【小题4】That night the high fence gave us some____(隐蔽) from the sandstorm, or we wouldn’t have been back here.
【小题5】I was terribly excited because that was the first ________(鼓励) I had ever received.
【小题6】In prison Mandela never gave up his political ____________(原则).
【小题7】This movies are for a________, not for children.
【小题8】This is the s________ where the famous director always made the films.
【小题9】In the story, the writer wanted to tell people the c__________ of the war.
【小题10】People all over the world love to live a p__________ life.

Dear Guys,

I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory: You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.

One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly agreed.

Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night: I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request. However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.

It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.

Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, Oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.

The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.

This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.

Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel. Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.

“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.

“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.

And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”

I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.

Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.

It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.

I surprised myself --- and I’m sure you as well --- by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery. Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link: “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”

Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period was just enough blow for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”

And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.

Sincerely, Jen Cordery

1. The writer agreed to throw the ball because _______.

A. she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries

B. she wanted to refresh her childhood memories

C. she could not refuse the polite request from the young man

D. she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight

2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “game”?

A. anxious                                      B. brave                                C. afraid                                D. curious

3.Why did the writer mention her middle school memory?

A. To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back.

B. To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills.

C. To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were.

D. To express her dislike towards softball.

4.What the boys said before the writer’s third attempt actually made the writer ________.

A. inspired                                     B. encouraged                     C. embarrassed                   D. depressed

5.What’s the writer’s purpose in writing this open letter?

A. To express her regret over what she did the day before.

B. To announce that she would never play ball games again.

C. To explain her own inability to throw the ball over the fence.

D. To criticize the young men for their cruelty to her dignity.