It was a cold night in December. Two beggars were sitting on a busy street corner in the downtown section of the city. The cold wind made them huddle (挤) together for heat and comfort. They watched helplessly as scores of people walked by, some ignoring them on purpose and others too caught up in their own cares to even notice their existence. Every so often, a kind-hearted woman or a small child would drop a few coins in the hats which lay in front of them on the icy sidewalk. Some people, feeling particularly generous, would even pull out a bill or two from their wallets and drop them into the beggars’ hats and then continued their walking.

Today was not a bad day for begging. The men were able to collect enough for a good meal at the coffee shop down the street and a few candles to light up their shelter in the alley (胡同) behind the train station. As the crowd began to die down, they started to pack up their bundles and head for their evening shelter.

Just as they were getting ready to leave the street corner, they noticed a man walking toward them. He was obviously a wealthy man — they could tell that from the finely tailored business suit he was wearing and the gold watch chain adorned (装饰) his left pocket.

The first beggar looked at the second and whispered with excitement, “He’s coming our way!

The two tried not to look directly at the man as he stepped closer to them, but they couldn’t help staring at him as he reached into his pocket and took something out.

“Thunk” was the only sound they heard as what looked like a piece of hard candy, wrapped carefully in tissue paper hit each of their waiting hats. The rich man turned and continued on his way, not making a backward glance.

“How insulting!” said the first beggar, as soon as the rich man was out of sight. “He could have easily left us a few coins or a spare bill, but he played a joke on us with a piece of rock candy.”

He looked at the wrapped offering with disgust. “Who does he think we are — children? There’s no way we can even eat this — we have no teeth.”

The beggar picked up the object with the very tips of his fingers and threw it into the gutter (排水沟). He watched as it floated a few yards in the stream of muddy water and disappeared into the gutter at the end of the street. Then, he gathered up his things and walked away.

The second beggar looked down at the morsel in his hat, then at his departing friend. His first thought was to toss the donation in the trash can under the street light. But his second thought made him change his mind.

“I haven’t had anything like this for ages,” he thought. “I can’t chew it, but I can suck on it for a while, and the sweet juice will stay in my mouth for a long time. How nice of that man to offer me something so sweet!”

He opened the paper eagerly, then paused as his hands touched the inside. “Maybe I should save it for another time,” he thought. “It won’t spoil, and I could eat it later when I’m really hungry.”

The beggar paused for a moment, then he said aloud, “He wanted me to have it anyway. I might as well enjoy it now.”

With that, he unfolded the paper, but to his surprise, there was no hard rock candy inside. Instead, into his fingers fell a shiny white pearl worth thousands of dollars.

55. The first paragraph serves as a(n) ______.

A. explanation 　　　　B. introduction 　　C. background 　　 D. comment

56. The two beggars started to leave the street corner when ____.

A. darkness fell 　　　　　　　　 B. few people passed by

C. they felt too cold 　　　　　　　D. the wind began to blow hard.

57. The two beggars thought the man was rich from _____.

A. his appearance 　　　　　　　B. his way of walking

C. the jewellery he wore 　　　　　D. the shiny shoes

58. What did the first beggar think of the rich man?

A. He looked down upon the poor. 　B. He was very kind and warm-hearted

C. He treated them as children D. He was too mean.

59. The underlined words “the morsel in his hat” probably refer to ______.

A. the donation from the rich man

B. the coins the second beggar collected

C. the rock candy the rich man gave the second beggar

D. the food the second beggar left over

60. What can we learn from the story?

A. Every dog has its day.

B. Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.

C. He who laughs last laughs best.

D. He that can have patience can have what he will.

In Taiwan, “motorpool “ is commonly known as a place for the maintenance(维修) of official business and government cars. In ­___36___ it is a place for vehicle maintenance.
More than ten years ago, I came to America on business and I __37__advantage of the chance to visit my friend. My friend drove a car to ___38__ me at the airport, and took me to his home__39    the airport. My friend drove his car into the innermost lane, ___40__ had a sign ‘carpool only’ I wondered what “carpool” meant. I wondered ___41____he was going to a motorpool. So I thought myself ____42__ in asking:” Is there anything wrong with the car?” “Nothing.____43___?” said he. “Well then, why are you going to a carpool?” I responded. My friend couldn’t help ___44__ and told me that “ carpool” ___45___to the lane that only the cars with two or more passengers can ____46___. I felt rather embarrassed __47__ that.
After dinner, my friend’s neighbor 　４８　 to ask whether he could carpool the next day. “ ４９ ”, my friend said, “ I will accompany my friend to go shopping tomorrow.” I was puzzled again, 　５０ why he could not “ carpool” with him since we had “ carpooled”　５１.  My friend explained to me again that the “ carpool” with him that ____５2____ used meant they in turn drove the car to work so as to save 　５3　　. The first” carpool” is a noun; ____５4___ the second “carpool” is a verb. It is really difficult for 　　５５　in America to understand it in a short time.