It was a market day (集市日) . A man stood behind his table and was selling nuts. He had many bags of nuts. Suddenly the man remembered something. “Today I must go to town. But who will sell these nuts for me?”

　　“Peter, ” he turned to a boy and said, “will you help me sell these nuts?”“Yes, I' m glad to, ” answered the boy. “But for the first hour I want to get one nut. ”

　　“Only one? This isn't much!”

　　“And for the second hour the double of it, that is two nuts. ”

　　“Just two? This isn't much, either. And for the third hour?”

　　“Again the double, four nuts. And for every further hour you have to pay me twice the nuts for the preceding (在前的) hour. ”

　　“This isn't much! ” said the man. “I will be back in five hours. Or maybe I' ll have to stay in town a bit longer. Now sit here with my nuts! ”

　　The man went away. Five hours passed and still the man wasn't back. Soon it was getting dark. The boy didn't leave. He sat at the market for exactly 24 hours.

　　The next morning the man came back. He said to Peter, “Give me your pocket! I' ll give you the nuts! ”“Into my pocket?” the boy laughed and then said, “The pocket is too small. You must give me a cartload (一车所载的量) of nuts . All these bags belong to (属于) me now. ” “What?”shouted the man. “You must be mad (疯的) . ”　　But the boy was right. Do you know why?

1．The man had to go to town because ________

[　　]

A．it was a market day

B．he suddenly thought of something

C．a boy was standing behind his table

D．a boy would sell the nuts for him

2．The boy helped the man sell the nuts ________.

[　　]

A．only to practise his maths

B．because he was glad to

C．because he was mad

D．because he wanted to get some nuts from the man

3．The man didn' t return until ________.

[　　]

4．The man was very surprised to know ________.

[　　]

A．the boy laughed at him

B．the boy's pocket was too small

C．the boy went mad suddenly

D．he didn't have enough nuts to pay the boy

During my childhood in the 1960s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings. They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters, my brother and I were left alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on Sundays and during the few holidays. The only long period （一段）of time during which the whole family could be together once a year was the Spring Festival. We missed our parents badly, but didn’t say so because we had been told that hard work was everyone’s duty and that we could not have our own small family without a big family.　　  Later I was a hard working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone at university to have more time to study. I was always encouraged by my parents, for whom the holiday was less important than “work” and “study”. Holidays were a waste of time and I felt as if I had done something wrong if I took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday.

I spent the most difficult period of my life abroad. But when I joined this company, my boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to work like that. When I called him at home after office hours for business purposes （目的）, he politely told me that he preferred talking about work with me in the office.

When the holiday season came near, he asked me to plan my leave beforehand （提前）. He talked with me about his holiday and also asked about mine. For him, leave was a right.　　  Giving up a holiday for the company is encouraged in China, but is foolish here. I began to think about holidays.

Today my parents are retired （退休）and stay home with a lot of time for their children. But we are all grown- up and live far away. We miss each other, but we cannot afford to see each other very much and they often feel sorry for the fact that they were too busy to be able to take care of us when we were young.

Nowadays, Chinese take long weekends and have paid holidays. But do they use their holidays to enjoy family life? I hope so because my experience in China and Europe has helped me understand that work is not my whole life and that a family is also very important. I do not want to feel sorry in the future as my parents do and I certainly spend as much time with my son as possible. There is nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t have one instead of the other. It is important to keep a balance （平衡）between work and play.   

1. What do the underlined words “paid leave” mean?

A. You have to pay when you take a holiday.　　 

B. Someone will pay for your holiday.　　 

C. You are still paid when you have your holiday.　　

D. You can’t leave until you pay for the holiday.   

2. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Working is the only part of the life.      

B. Traveling is the best way to spend your holiday.　　 

C. Enjoying holidays is as important as working　　 

D. Sharing happiness with your family is more important   

3. The writer talks about her own experience because she hopes that the Chinese will _______.　　  A. plan their holiday beforehand　　  B. get used to long holidays and enjoy themselves　　  C. give up a holiday for their work　　   D. bring business home after work hours

One day, a teacher was giving a speech to his students. He held up a glass of water and asked the class, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"
The students' answers ranged from 20 g to 500 g. "It does not matter on the weight itself. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance (救护车). It is exactly the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. "
If we carry our burdens (负担) all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier. "
"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again. "
We have to put down the burden sometimes, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.
So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.
【小题1】   The teacher brought a glass of water to the class because         .

One day, a teacher was giving a speech to his students. He held up a glass of water and asked the class, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"

The students' answers ranged from 20 g to 500 g. "It does not matter on the weight itself. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance (救护车). It is exactly the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. "

If we carry our burdens (负担) all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier. "

"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again.”

We have to put down the burden sometimes, so that we can be refreshed (使恢复) and are able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.

1.The teacher brought a glass of water to the class because_________.

A. he was very thirsty??????????

B. his arms were strong????

C. it was a good example???????

D. he wants to share the water with students??

2."A glass of water" in this passage referred to (指)_________.

A. knowledge????? B. the burden?????? C. the time????????? D. the money???????

3.According to the teacher, you may feel_________ if you put down the burden sometimes.

A. more stressed???? B. much heavier???? C. more relaxed????? D. much happier

4.This was a lesson about_____

A. how to relax oneself in life???????? ???

B. how to solve a physics problem???

C. how to keep fit by drinking water???????

D. how to study well

5.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. You could become heavier and heavier if you held a glass of water in your hand.

B. All the students in the class knew what the weight of the glass of water exactly was.

C. The teacher had a good way of making his lesson clear and easy to be understood.

D. All the students can understand the teacher’s lesson.