Edison had quick mind about inventions, but not always about other things.

　　One day he received a notice. It said he must pay some money to the government by the next day. If he was late, he would have to pay still more money. Edison went to the city office; many people were waiting there in line to pay. While he waited, his mind was busy with ideas about a new invention. When he arrived at the little window, the man in it said to Edison, “Young man, what's your name?”

　　Edison looked at the man, surprised.

　　“I—I—I don't know,” he said.

　　“Then I can't help you,” the man said, and told him to leave.

　　Other people paid the man. Edison stood there, and tried to remember his name. The day ended, and he knew he would have to pay more money.

　　In the street, he met a friend. He had to ask the friend what his name was.

(1) Edison was always ________.

[　　]

A．clear in mind in doing everything

B．thinking about his inventions not any other things

C．worried about his money

D．quick to do things

(2) One day he was asked ________.

[　　]

A．to pay some money to the government

B．to wait in line

C．to send a notice to the party

D．to go to the office

(3) The next day after he received the notice, ________.

[　　]

A．he didn't go to the city office.

B．he went to the city but didn't bring any money with him.

C．he went to the office very late.

D．he went to the city office and waited in line to pay the money.

(4) When he was waiting in front of the city office ________.

[　　]

A．he tried to remember his name

B．he got ready to pay the money

C．he still thought hard about a new invention

D．he asked the man for help

(5) As Edison couldn't tell his name, the man behind the window ________.

[　　]

A．gave him his help

B．told him to leave there

C．let his friend pay for him

D．asked him to come again the next day

 

It was Mother’s Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn’t go back home. When he walked by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. “I’ll send Mum some roses (玫瑰).”

While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. “How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?” he asked. The shop assistant told him that roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations(康乃馨). She told him they were a lot cheaper than roses.

“No, I have to have red roses,” he said, “My mum was badly ill last year and I didn’t get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, it has to be roses, as the rose is her favorite.”

After hearing this, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. Moved by both of them, the shop assistant said, “Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you two.” Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air. He thanked John, and ran out of the shop. It was well worth twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the shop assistant to send them to his mother.

As he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (墓地). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses, “Mum, oh, Mum, why didn’t I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her.”

Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked back to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.

1.The shop assistant tried to ask the young man to buy carnations instead of roses because _____.

A. there were not enough roses in the shop

B. carnations were much nicer than roses

C. roses were more expensive than carnations

D. carnations were special flowers for Mother’s Day

2.John spent _______ in the flower shop that day.

A. $5                  B. $25                     C. $ 45                 D. $ 55

3.The young man cried at the cemetery because he _______.

A. had spent all his money on the roses

B. wasn’t able to tell his mother he loved her himself

C. felt sorry to ask John to pay for his flowers

D. hadn’t got enough money for his sick mother

4.At last John decided to take the roses home himself because he wanted to _______.

A. tell his mother he loved her

B. ask his mother for more money

C. tell his mother the young man’s story

D. ask his mother if she liked roses

5.The writer wrote this passage to tell us “_______”.

A. Buy roses for your mother when she is ill

B. Let your mother know how much you love her

C. Work hard to get more money for your mother

D. Send your mother flowers on Mother’s Day

 

Have successful people ever felt sad? Do they have any “secrets” to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech. Here is an excerpt(摘录) from his speech.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense that you can be rich and successful without any hard work—that your ticket to success is through rapping (饶舌音乐) or basketball or being a TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. Not all the homework will seem completely important to your life right this minute. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was turned down 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots (投篮) during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures beat you—you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.
No one’s born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit(承认) when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged (泄气), and you feel like other people have given up on you—don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
【小题1】Why does Barack Obama mention (提到) JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the fourth paragraph?

A．To compare these two famous persons.

B．To explain that writing and sports are difficult skills.

C．To show that the two persons were treated unfairly.

D．To prove that failure is the mother of success.

【小题2】Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．No one can be successful without working hard.

B．Failure can be good if you treat it in a right way.

C．Those who believe in themselves shouldn’t ask others for help.

D．One should try his best to make his dream come true.

【小题3】Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?

A．One should change his mind when others give honest advice to him.

B．One should believe in himself no matter what difficulty he is faced with.

C．One doesn’t have to work hard when he has failed several times.

D．One doesn’t have to take others’ advice when they get away from him.