A girl complained to her father about her hard life.She didn't know what she had to do and wanted to give up.She felt tired of fighting and fighting.One problem had been finished but another came over.
Her father，a cook，took her into the kitchen.He poured water into three pans and boiled(煮沸) them.After boiling，in the first pan was put some carrots，the second was put some eggs and the last was put with coffee.
The girl waited impatiently (不耐烦的)，confused by what her father did.About 20 minutes later，her father took out the carrots and put them in a bowl.He took the eggs and put them in a bowl.After that the coffee was poured into a cup.“My sweet heart，what do you see？” he asked.
“Carrots，eggs and coffee，” she replied.
Her father told her to close her eyes and asked her to touch the carrots.She did so and felt that the carrots were soft.After that he asked her to take the eggs and break them.After peeling (剥开) them，she got the eggs，cooked and hard.The last，the father let her smell the coffee. She asked，“What did you do this for，Father？” He explained that each had the same unlucky experience—the boiling water，but each had a different result. The strong and hard carrots had become soft and weak.The fragile eggs became hard after being cooked. The coffee was very special，they could change water.“Who are you？” asked her father.“When bad luck knocks at your door，what is your decision? Are you carrots，eggs or coffee？”

1. 1.

   The girl complained about her hard life because she didn't ________.

   1. A.
      want to give up
   2. B.
      finish one problem
   3. C.
      know what to do
   4. D.
      get tired of fighting
2. 2.

   The girl's father took her to the kitchen to ________.

   1. A.
      ask her how to boil eggs
   2. B.
      show her how to make coffee
   3. C.
      teach her how to be a cook
   4. D.
      tell her how to face difficulties
3. 3.

   After about twenty minutes，the carrots became ________.

   1. A.
      soft
   2. B.
      hard
   3. C.
      salty
   4. D.
      sweet
4. 4.

   The underlined word “fragile” in the passage means “________”.

   1. A.
      美味的
   2. B.
      易碎的
   3. C.
      特别的
   4. D.
      可怜的
5. 5.

   What can we learn from the passage?

   1. A.
      The girl's father liked to eat some kinds of food.
   2. B.
      Bad luck always knocks at strong people's doors.
   3. C.
      Boiled carrots，eggs and coffee had the same result.
   4. D.
      People should make right decisions when in trouble.

Are you still doing the V for victory sign? It’s out. The latest popular hand gesture（手势）is to curl both of your hands and put them together to make a heart—shape. Known as “hand heart”, many young stars in the US including Justin Bieber , Blake Lively and Taylor Swift have done the move in recent photos.
“The heart — hand gesture means something between ‘I love you’ and ‘thank you’, ”said the country singer Taylor Swift,21.”It’s a sweet, simple message which you can send without saying a word.”
Taylor Swift often puts her hands above her head in the heart shape at her concerts. And she is believed to be the first to make the gesture popular.
Last month during a charity show, Justin Bieber and his superstar friends did it to help out three kids whose parents were killed in a car accident. The gesture became a real hit after that.
“It used to take longer for nonverbal（不用语言的）culture to move. But now ,with smart phones and the Internet, it’s much faster,” said Patti Wood, an American language expert.
In the Republic of Korea, the hand heart has been popular for a long time, in a different way. People there like making a “bigger heart” by putting their hands above their heads and making a heart shape with their arms. It means: “I love you.”
【小题1】When we want to express ideas, we often move our hands to mean something besides language. Do you know the meaning of this gesture(手势)?

Be Thankful
Be thankful when you don’t already have everything you want.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something,
for it gives you the chance to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for each new challenge(挑战) ,
because it will build your strength(意志) and character(品格).
Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you important lessons
Be thankful when you’re tired,
because it means you’ve made a difference.
It’s easy to be thankful for the good things
A life of rich fulfillment(满足) comes to those
who are also thankful for the setbacks(挫折).
Gratitude(感激) can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.
【小题1】According to the poem, ________ make us grow.