A woman repeated a bit of gossip(流言)about a neighbour．Within a few days the whole neighbourhood knew the story．The neighbour was deeply hurt．Later the woman responsible(负责)for spreading the gossip learned that it was completely untrue．She was very sorry and went to a wise old man to find out what she could do to repair the harm．
“Go to the marketplace, ” he said．“and buy a chicken, and have it killed, then on your way home, pluck(拔)its feathers and drop them one by one along the road．” Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told．
The next day the wise man said, “ Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me．”
The woman followed the same road, but she was so discouraged when she found the wind had blown all the feathers away．After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand．
“ You see, ” said the old man, “it's easy to drop them, but it's impossible to get them back．So it is with gossip．It doesn't take much to spread a gossip, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong．”
(1)
The woman was very ________ the harm she had done to her neighbour．
[ ]
A．
happy about
B．
angry about
C．
sorry for
D．
excited about
(2)
Which of the following statements is TURE?
[ ]
A．
The gossip didn't hurt anyone at all．
B．
The wise man was not kind enough．
C．
The woman found all the feathers at last．
D．
The woman was given a lesson．
(3)
What the wise man said has nearly the same meaning as the Chinese phrase “ ________ ”
Most American students have said goodbye to fancy(高级的)fruits these days．In school canteens across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges have taken their places．
“People are afraid to spend now,” said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store．“They don't know what the future will bring．”
During the financial crisis(金融危机), several of the country's biggest banks have been forced to sell or close．This has made lots of Americans afraid to buy expensive goods．
Samira Marino, a restaurant owner in Miami, has found everyone is ordering water instead of juice and more people are sharing meals．In more than two dozen interviews with The Associated Press across the country last month, Americans talked about their concerns, from worries about small businesses to doubts about simply making ends meet．
The crisis began last year．Experts think it was because US banks lend money too easily．Last year a lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, have found themselves unable to pay it back．This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money．Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders(国界), the whole world was in trouble．
This month the US government agreed on a ＄700 billion plan to try to save the financial market．But no one is sure whether it will help or not．President George W．Bush has warned it will take some time．
Last week top finance officials from 20 countries promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble．
(1)
Why are people in the US afraid to spend?
[ ]
A．
Because they think it's unnecessary．
B．
Because they don't have the habit of spending money．
C．
Because they worry about their future．
D．
Because they don't have enough money．
(2)
The fifth paragraph mainly ________．
[ ]
A．
tells what it is like in a crisis
B．
explains why there is a crisis
C．
warns people of the danger of the crisis
D．
asks people not to borrow money from banks
(3)
People feel ________ about the US plan to save the market．
“Beijing，Toronto and Paris are the most 1 ndline cities bidding (申办) for the Olympic Games of 2008，”said Richard W．Pound, the IOC's first vice president． “The host (主办) city of the Olympic Games of 2008 will be 2 ndline at the IOC's meeting in Moscow in 2001． Beijing is ready on its way because it 3 ndline became the host of the Olympic Games of 2000，and Toronto and Paris also have 4 ndline power，”said Pound at an IOC meeting．
About ten cities are 5 ndline in bidding for the Olympic Games of 2008，of which，there are three most important cities．They are Beijing，Toronto， Paris．Some of 6 ndline cities are Osaka，Havana，Istanbul and Cairo．
For the first time，the host city will be decided 7 ndline IOC members visiting the places．The bidding scandals (丑闻) of the Salt Lake City have made the
IOC find new 8 ndline of bidding．That is 9 ndline the IOC members will not be allowed to 10 ndline the bidding cities．
字词句段篇系列答案