The English are famous for their manners. The phrase, “Manners maketh the man” was coined by Englishman William of Wykeham back in 1324, but they’re just as important today. Books are written on the subject, advice columns in magazines tell people how to behave, and “finishing schools” still exist to ensure that young girls become young “ladies”.
The best example of English manners is in their mastery of the art of forming a queue. It is a popular joke in England (the land of sporting failures) to say, “if only queuing was an Olympic sport, we’d win hands down” No one knows exactly how and when it started, but queuing plays an important role in the English social make-up. School children are taught to queue for roll-call, assembly and lunch, and English people across the land form orderly queues at shops, banks, cinemas and bus-stops every day. The English obviously aren’t the only people who queue, but they seem to do it better than anyone else. As one visitor said, “I have travelled across Europe, the Middle and Far East and nowhere have I seen the single-file queues which are formed in England.”
The English are also famously polite when it comes to language. Whereas many other notions are more direct in their communication, the English prefer a more indirect form of asking for things. For example, an American who wants to talk to a colleague might say, “Got a minute?”; however an English person will often use a more indirect means might of requesting the chat, “Sorry to bother you, but would you possibly have a minute or so to have a quick chat if you don’t mind, please?”
The English also love to apologize for things. When squeezing past someone, people say “sorry”. And they will apologize if you bump into them, “whoops! Sorry! My fault.” In fact, no one seems to say “sorry” as much as the English: “sorry I’m late. /Sorry I forgot to call you last night./I’m sorry you didn’t get the e-mail.” And so on. They also like to use “please” and “thank you” a lot. In a shop, they will say, “I’d like a packet of crisp, please. Thanks.” British students thank their lectures, and bosses often thank their employees for doing their jobs.
【小题1】 Why does “finishing schools” still exist to help young girls become “ladies”?

A.Because the English mind their manners very much.
B.Because the English parents want to marry their daughters to the royal family.
C.Because the English girls are so rude that they need to be taught to be polite.
D.Because the English government ensures their existence.
【小题2】The underlined sentence in paragraph2 implies ________________.
A.The English love the Olympics very much.
B.The English spend nothing winning an Olympic medal.
C.The English are best at queuing.
D.The English prefer to queue with their hands down.
【小题3】 According to the passage, if Americans say “Waiter! Could I have another fork, please?” how will the English express such a meaning?
A.Excuse me! Give me another fork, please!
B.Excuse me! I have to be a bother, but would you mind awfully changing this fork, please?
C.Hi! Would you mind giving me another fork?
D.Waiter! Come here and change the fork!
【小题4】According to the passage, why do the employers often thank their employees for doing their jobs?
A.The employees can bring them a lot of benefits.
B.The employees finish their jobs perfectly.
C.The English employers’ good manners lead them to do so.
D.The employers do it as a result of the company’s regulation.

Hans was an honest fellow with a funny round good-humored face. Living alone, every day he worked in his garden. In all the countryside there was no garden so lovely as his. All sorts of flowers grew there, blooming in their proper order as the months went by, one flower taking another flower’s place, so that there were always beautiful things to see, and pleasant odors to smell.
Hans had many friends, the most devoted being the Miller. So devoted was the rich Miller to Hans that he’d never go by his garden without plucking a large bunch of flowers or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with fruits. The Miller used to talk about noble ideas, and Hans nodded and smiled, feeling proud of having such a friend.
The neighbors thought it strange that the rich Miller never gave Hans anything in return, though he had hundreds of sacks of flour, many cows and sheep, but Hans never troubled his head about these, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to listen to all the wonderful things about the unselfishness of true friendship.
In spring, summer, and autumn Hans was very happy, but when winter came, and he had no fruit or flowers to sell, he suffered from cold and hunger. Though extremely lonely, the Miller never came to see him then.
“There’s no good in going to see Hans while the snow lasts.” The Miller said to his wife, “When people are in trouble they shouldn’t be bothered. So I’ll wait till the spring comes when he’s happy to give me flowers.”
“You’re certainly very thoughtful,” answered his wife, “It’s quite a treat to hear you talk about friendship.”
“Couldn’t we ask Hans up here?” said their son. “I’ll give him half my meal, and show him my white rabbits.”
“How silly you are!” cried the Miller. “I really don’t know what’s the use of sending you to school. If Hans came up here, and saw our warm fire, our good supper, and our red wine, he might get envious, and envy is a most terrible thing, and would spoil anybody’s nature. I am his best friend, and I’ll always watch over him, and see that he’s not led into any temptation. Besides, if Hans came here, he might ask me for some flour. Flour is one thing, and friendship is another, and they shouldn’t be confused. The words are spelt differently, and mean quite different things. Everybody can see that.” He looked seriously at his son, who felt so ashamed that he hung his head down, and grew quite scared, and began to cry into his tea.
Spring coming, the Miller went down to see Hans. Again he talked about friendship. “Hans, friendship never forgets. I’m afraid you don’t understand the poetry of life. See, how lovely your roses are!”
Hans said he wanted to sell them in the market to buy back his things which were sold during the hard time of the winter.
“I’ll give you many good things. I think being generous is the base of friendship.” said the Miller. “And now, as I’ll give you many good things, I’m sure you’d like to give me some flowers in return. Here’s the basket, and fill it quite full.”
Poor Hans was afraid to say anything. He ran and plucked all his pretty roses, and filled the Miller’s basket, imagining the many good things promised by the Miller.
The next day he heard the Miller calling: “Hans, would you mind carrying this sack of flour for me to market?”
“I’m sorry, but I am really very busy today.”
“Well,” said the Miller, “considering that I’m going to give you my things, it’s rather unfriendly of you to refuse. Upon my word, you mustn’t mind my speaking quite plainly to you.”
Poor Hans was driven by his friendship theory to work hard for his best friend, leaving his garden dry and wasted.  
One evening Hans was sitting by fire when the Miller came.
“Hans,” cried the Miller, “My little boy has fallen off a ladder and hurt himself, and I’m going for the Doctor. But he lives so far away, and it’s such a bad windy night. It has just occurred to me that you can go instead of me. You know I’m going to give you my good things, so you should do something for me in return.”
“Certainly,” cried Hans. He struggled into the stormy night, and got the doctor to ride a horse to the Miller’s house in time to save the boy. However, Hans got lost in the darkness, and wandered off into a deep pool, drowned.
At Hans’ funeral, the Miller said, “I was his best friend. I should walk at the head of the procession.” Every now and then he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.
【小题1】From the passage, we can learn that Hans ______.

A.was extremely wise and nobleB.admired the Miller very much
C.was highly valued by the MillerD.had a strong desire for fortune
【小题2】Hans worked a lot for the Miller because he ______.
A.was treated as a best friend by the Miller
B.owed the Miller many valuable things
C.was convinced of the Miller’s noble talk
D.intended to show off his unselfishness
【小题3】What’s the main cause of Hans’ tragedy?
A.True friendship between them.B.Blind devotion to a friend.
C.A sudden change of weather.D.A lack of formal education.
【小题4】The author described the Miller’s behavior in order to ______.
A.warn the readers about the danger of a false friend
B.show the friendship between Hans and the Miller
C.entertain the readers with an incredible joking tale
D.persuade people to be as intelligent as the Miller

While watching a swimming competition one night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.
The event started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. In fact, it is difficult enough, not having anyone to race against.
I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was obvious that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.
I listened to the crowd beginning to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes (划水) and you could tell he was exhausted.
But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.
This young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in swimming history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to the competition.
In a competition, we usually watch the brilliant athletes competing for medals, but it is nice to watch an underdog.
【小题1】From the passage we learn that the young man _____.

A.made his turn to start back pitifully
B.was skillful at freestyle swimming
C.swam faster than the average swimmer
D.seemed unlikely to win a gold medal
【小题2】The crowd changed their attitude because _____.
A.they felt sorry for the young man
B.they wanted to show their interest
C.they were moved by the young man
D.they meant to please the young man
【小题3】According to the passage, “it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means ____.
A.it’s amusing to watch a skillful swimmer swimming
B.it’s amazing to watch a good loser challenging himself
C.it’s good for athletes to act proudly
D.it’s difficult for some athletes to remove medals
【小题4】What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Go for it!B.Try again!C.Compete for gold!D.Break a record!


Youth volunteers from Beijing University visited Songtang Hospital, a care clinic for the aged and dying patients, on April 21, the second Global Youth Service Day.
Thirty student volunteers from the university’s School of International Studies sat at the beds of the patients in their specially-decorated “care huts”. They talked with them and gave messages to patients kept in their beds.
“I felt sorry that I could not offer more to these people except talking with them and trying to cheer them up”, said Deng Yetao, a third-year student, “But it occurred to me that they need more care and love than babies. They are afraid of the coming death. Their loneliness is worse than physical pains.”
“Even though they are suffering a lot, the majority of the elderly people want to talk to us. Each of them has a lot of life experiences and philosophies to share. Instead of doing them a favor, I felt I was gaining a valuable lesson,” said Mao Xiaohua, another third-year student.
Mao talked with two elderly patients for a whole afternoon. The fact that most of the patients in the 80-room clinic are aged people with diseases which will lead to death soon made the volunteers’ hearts heavy.
Ninety-one percent of the patients will spend the last days of their lives in the clinic, according to a survey by the hospital.
Daily visits and services by social workers and youth volunteers are a very important part of their programme. A total of 330,000 Beijing students from 119 universities and colleges have visited the hospital. Many continue to offer services in their spare time. Some of them volunteer to hold the hands of dying patients during the last minutes of their lives.
Yin Hang, a student from Beijing Medical College, said he felt “the glory of life” as he saw the fading smile on the face of the old man who slipped into a deep unconsciousness while he was holding his hands.
61. Youth volunteers from Beijing University went to Songtang Hospital to ______.
A. pay a visit to the wounded        B. talk with the aged
C. offer services to the aged          D. learn something from the aged
62. What the aged most suffered from is ______.
A. loneliness          B. death                       C. physical pain            D. disease
63. According to what Mao Xiaohua said, we know that_____.
A. the elderly taught him a good lesson when he talked to them
B. he learned something important from the elderly instead of only helping them
C. he only wanted to get something rather than do them a favor
D. he was glad to have given them a favor
64. When volunteers know most of the aged people in the clinic are dying patients, they feel _____.
A. sad                   B. disappointed             C. hopeless                   D. worthless
65. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The youth are fond of doing popular things.
B. The Second Youth Service Day is started by the Chinese government.
C. 91% of the aged in China are facing death.
D. The volunteers are taking an active part in the activity

The Worst Part
Mom is usually home on Sunday but this week she was going to a big golf game and I was all alone in the house. I was mad at Mom for divorcing Dad.
I kept looking at the telephone until I couldn’t stand it any longer. I picked up the receiver and dialed Dad’s number over in Bakersfield. I even remembered to dial 1 first because it was long distance. “You promised to phone me this week but you didn’t,” I said, feeling I had to talk to him.
“Take it easy, kid,” he said. “I just didn’t get around to it. I was going to call this evening. The week isn’t over yet.”
I thought about that.
“Something on your mind?” he asked.
“I hoped you would call, so I waited and waited.” Then I was sorry I said it.
“There was heavy snow in the morning,” he said, “I had to chain up on highway 80 and lost time.”
I know putting chains on eight big wheels in the snow is no fun. I felt a little better, as long as we were talking. “How is Bandit?” I asked.
There was a funny silence. For a minute I thought the line was dead. Then I knew something must have happened to my dog.
“Well, kid—”, he began. “My name is Leigh!” I almost yelled. “I’m not just some kid you met on the street!”
Keep your shirt on, Leigh,” he said. “When I had to stop along with some other truck drivers to put on chains, I left Bandit out of the cab, I thought he would get back … I have sent out a call to CB radio, but I didn’t get an answer yet.” I was about to say I understood when there came the bad part, the really bad part. I heard a boy’s voice say, “Hey, Bill, Mom wants to know when we’re going out to get the pizza?”
【小题1】We can conclude from the passage that              .

A.Leigh’s mother often went to golf gamesB.Leigh was a deserted boy
C.Leigh’s dad never had a rest on SundaysD.Leigh’s father lived in another city
【小题2】Which is true about Bandit?
A.It was killed by a truckB.It was let out of the cab and got lost
C.It was frozen to death.D.It ran off Highway 80 and into the mountain.
【小题3】The underlined sentence “Keep your shirt on”(last para) probably means “       ”.
A.Cool downB.Stop talkingC.Be quietD.Keep warm
【小题4】The worst part in Leigh’s eyes may be that           .
A.he forgot to go to get the pizzaB.his parents got divorced
C.his dad got remarriedD.his dad didn’t love him

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