Each day I took the same route to work and passed by a security guard (保安）.  1  greeted everyone walking by and made small talk with many of the passers-by and wishing them well. His simple “hello” made people feel   2 . His cheerful smile became a part of my day. When he was absent, many people noticed it, and I felt a little bit empty.
The first few times, I didn’t say hello back to him when he greeted me. I was   3  in my own world. On Monday the security guard asked me:“How was your weekend?” I told him about my visit to California, to see my mother, who had colon cancer. I  4 how I visited her each month. “The time with my mother is so precious(珍贵的),   5  I know that each time may be the last.”
He listened like a close friend I’d known for years. He felt my   6 and my love. He shared how he had lost his father to cancer two years before. He said, “I understand what you are going through. My father passed away while I was serving in Germany. Because of some reasons I was unable to fly back in time. I was unable to say goodbye to him. I wish I could have been with him, given him a hug, and told him I loved him. You are really lucky to have the gift of   7 .”
As I walked away, I realized I did not even know his name. The following day, on my way to work, I said: “After we spent all that time   8 yesterday, I still don’t know your name.” He answered, “Gary.” I responded back, “I’m Deborah.”
After that, we talked and shared stories about our weekends, dreams and families.
Later, Gary got   9  a new job and moved away. It’s been several years since I last spoke to him, yet the memory feels like yesterday. Gary reached out to me,   10  me and made my morning the best part of the day. I experienced the beauty of friendship and love.
In the business of life, we often forget to wish a stranger hello although how easy it is, and how great and lasting a   11  it can make. When you say hello to a stranger you become like a pebble(鹅卵石) thrown into a pond. With each ripple (波纹）you create, you spread love that continues to   12 . Make a point of saying hello to a stranger today. You will give the gift that keeps on giving.

A little girl walked to and from school every day. Though it was not fine and clouds appeared in the sky that morning, the little girl made her daily trip to school as usual. When school was over, winds became stronger and it began to rain.

The mother of the little girl felt worried that her daughter would be afraid when she walked home from school and that lightning might frighten her child. Following the bright light of lightning, the mother quickly got into her car and drove to her child’s school.

As the mother drove along the road, she saw her little girl walking alone in the rain. To her great surprise, she found that when a lightning came, her daughter stopped, looked up and smiled. Another lightning came and then another followed. With each lightning, the little girl stopped, looked up and smiled.

Inside the car, the mother asked her daughter, “What were you doing? Why did you look up and smile when the lightning came?” The little girl answered with a smile, “Mum, you know, God was looking at me. Each time I felt a little afraid walking in the rain, God would take a picture of me. I knew he was playing a game with me.”

1.How did the little girl go to school every day?

A．By car.                                B．On foot.

C．By bus.                               D．By bike.

2.What was the weather like that day?

A．It was rainy.                            B．It was fine.

C．It was just windy.                        D．It was only cloudy.

3.At first, the mother felt worried because          .

A．she couldn’t help her daughter

B．her daughter hadn’t taken her umbrella

C．she had something more important to do

D．her daughter might be afraid of the lightning

4.According to the article, we can know that the little girl was          .

A．proud            B．shy              C．brave            D．nervous

5.This passage is possibly from          .

A．a menu           B．a magazine         C．a dictionary        D．a report

Making sense of how the US shows humor

Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak.

One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.

   The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

   He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.

   Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.

As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.

   It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs. 

1.The man in the square was _______________.

A. teaching people how to give a speech

B. calling on people to protect the environment

C. giving a singing show in public

D. criticizing the US government           

2. What does the underlined word “hypocrite” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. 会唱歌的人      B. 真诚的人       C. 虚伪的人       D. 爱护环境的人

3.From Paragraph 6, we learn that_________________.

A. many US people like to laugh at others  

B. many US people are friendly and humorous

C. the US people get angry at others easily  

D. the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak          

4.Which is Not suitable for the passage?

A. The writer went to America and protect the environment.

B. Americans show humour in a different way from China.

C. It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place.

D. Tailor Swift is an American famous singer.               

5.What does the article mainly talk about?

A. Differences between the Chinese and the US people.      

B. In what way the US people speak in public.

C. How to get used to life in the US.  

D. A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US.

Think back to a time in your life when you tried something new.

When I was a teenager I volunteered to pass out water at a local race. I was so excited to see all the different runners who passed by and quickly took a cup of water. Some ran past，some walked past and a few wheeled past.

I saw so many types of people doing it. I thought maybe I could do it too! The next year I decided to run for the race，but I had little running practice. I just wanted to finish.

On the day of the race，it was terribly hot. After running for about 5 miles，I was thinking，“I must be crazy. Why did I do this? What was I thinking？” And at one moment，I said to myself，“I am never doing this again！”

That first 10 km race was quite an experience. I jogged (慢跑)，I walked，I jogged and walked. At times，I didn’t know if I could finish.

Near the end，a 70­year­old man ran past me，very fast，and I felt a little embarrassed (尴尬的) that I was more than 50 years younger than he and I couldn’t even keep up with him. But then I realized something. He was running his race and I was running mine. How often in life do we compare(比较) ourselves to others when we really shouldn’t? I decided that I would not give up on running races，and that one day I would be one of those 70­year­olds who were still running.

As I crossed the finishing line，I was proud of myself. I didn’t regret (后悔) having such an experience.

1.What did the writer do at a local race as a volunteer?

A. He helped old runners.            

B. He cheered up the runners.

C. He passed out water to the runners.  

D. He took back the cups from the runners.

2.Why did the writer join the race?

A. He just wanted to experience.        B. He was crazy about running.

C. He had practiced running very hard.   D. He wanted very much to win a prize.

3.How did the writer’s feeling change after running about 5 miles?

①He regretted.

②He encouraged himself.

③He felt a little embarrassed.

A. ①—②—③       B. ②—①—③       C. ①—③—②     D. ②—③—①

4. What is the best title (标题) of the passage?

A. To be No.1.                         B. Let’s compare.

C. A volunteering job.                 D. Running your own race.