My father woke me up early one summer morning when I was fourteen and announced: “Get up, you're going with me to cut the grass in the garden. ”

　　The idea that my father thought I was old enough to help him in his business made me feel proud and excited. From sunup to sundown, my father, my younger brother and I worked in the large garden. By the end of the day I was too tired to say a word but I felt good. This was my first time to help my father in his business. I got $ 6 for my work that day.

　　One day my father found some leaves I had missed and pulled me aside. “Take away these leaves! ”he said, “and don't make me have to tell you to do it again.” The message was clear. Today I value(珍视)the importance of doing a job well the first time. It will never fail to impress(给……留下印象） the person you are working for.

　　After two years, my father told me and my brother that he felt we were old enough to cut the grass by ourselves. Every Saturday during my last two years of high school, we set off early in the morning with the same strong wish we had gained while working under our father.

　　Looking after the garden was neither exciting nor high paying, but that didn't matter. It taught me that any job was a good job and that whatever I was paid was more than I had before.

　　A newspaper reporter once asked me how someone could possibly live with hard work and low pay. “If you're only thinking about hard work and money, you probably don't want to do any better than you are doing.” I answered. In every job, from cutting the grass to washing dishes, I've learned much. I've learned something that helps me in my next job.

　　If you work hard enough, you can learn from any job you do.

46. The writer felt proud and excited when he was asked to cut the grass because he thought______.

　　 A. he could cut the grass himself

　　 B. he could make much money

　　 C. he could enjoy sunup and sundown

　　 D. he could help his family

47. The underlined word "message" in the passage probably refers to_____.

　　 A. not leaving leaves behind

　　 B. giving no excuse for your mistakes

　　 C. doing a good job at the very beginning

　　 D. missing things which can be found out

48. When the writer finished high school, maybe he was _____ years old.

　　 A. fourteen     B. eighteen        C. twenty　　      D. twenty-two

49. Which of the following does the writer probably think is the most important?

　　 A. Keeping learning from any job you had.

　　 B. Asking no money for work.

　　 C. Finishing work as quickly as possible.

　　 D. Keeping looking for different jobs.

50. The writer probably thinks his father is_____.

　　 A. lazy　　      B. helpful　　    C. careless        D.interesting

完形填空（共12分，每小题1分）
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
When I was in the third grade, I was picked to be the princess in the school play.
For weeks my mother had helped me   1  my lines. But once on stage, every word   2   from my head. Then my teacher told me she had written a narrator's (旁白) part for the play, and asked me to change   3  . Though I didn't tell my mother what had happened that day, she  4 my unhappiness  and asked if I wanted to take a walk in the yard.
It was a lovely spring day. We could see dandelions(蒲公英)popping（炸开）through the grass in bunches, I watched my   5  carelessly bend down by one of the bunches. “I think I am going to dig up all these weeds(杂草),” she said. “From now on, we’ll have   6 roses in this garden.”
“But I like dandelions,”I said.“All flowers are   7  —even dandelions!”
My mother looked at me seriously. “Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn’t it?”she asked thoughtfully. I nodded. “And that is   8  of people, too,”she added.
When I   9  that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry and told her the truth.
　“  10   you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said, reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her.
Over the next few weeks, with her continuous   11  , I learned to take pride in the role. The big day finally came. A few minutes before the play, my teacher came over to me. “Your mother asked me to give  12  to you,” she said, handing me a dandelion. After the play, I took the flower home, laughing that I was perhaps the only person who would keep such a weed.