Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy---they’re given after all. Choice can be hard.

I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me, I had just turned 30 years old , and I’d been married for a year, I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t , and I wasn’t sure what to expect, MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor, I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.

I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.

After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice, For all of us, in the end, we are our choice.

1.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?

A. His dream of being an inventor.

B. The support of his wife.

C. The greatly increasing usage of the Internet.

D. Millions of exciting titles.

2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him.

B. He would be very excited if he tried it out.

C. He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try.

D. The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him.

3.We can know from the passage that ______.

A. the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author

B. the author wanted someone else to try the idea

C. the author might not regret if he failed the idea

D. the author might go back to his boss if he failed

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Cleverness and Kindness B. The Starting of Amazon

C. Following My Passion D. We Are What We Choose

Sometimes, kindness is a simple answer in a difficult and challenging world.

When my granddaughter, Skylar, was young, one day we went out and had a contest called “Who can make the most people smile. “ And we continue it today. When shopping, we were walking in the supermarket and noticed someone walking down the aisle with her head down. Skylar walked up to her and gave her a big smile. I watched her walk down the aisle, turned around and smiled at Skylar again or perhaps smiled at someone else.

Kindness is a chain that pulls us all together. Every single act of kindness has a ripple effect(连锁反应). In 2002, my dad had a series of strokes and other illness. My dad had been doing nice things for all sorts of people for years, from the street crossing guard, to the waitress in a restaurant, to a friend’s mother. That same day, I made cookies for the janitor(门卫) at the post office. When I gave him the cookies he actually looked a little embarrassed. “Why, Linda?” he asked. “Because I appreciate you!” I answered. “When I get here at 6 am and it is still dark out and it is a little scary, I know you are inside and I feel safe. And when I first moved here and my post office box was always empty, you always cheered me on. And you always keep this place clean.”

That evening his wife called me and said that he was overwhelmed(受宠若惊的). “No one even knows his name, let alone bakes him cookies!” she said. (278 words)

1.What was the author’s attitude to the contest in the supermarket?

A. positive B. negative

C. neutral D. curious

2.From the text, what can we know about the janitor?

A. He led a very poor life at that time.

B. He always went to work after six o’clock.

C. He was fond of baking cookies.

D. He was kind and grateful.

3.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Kindness can always be passed on.

B. An experience in a supermarket.

C. The importance of having a kind dad.

D. Smile makes your life meaningful.

完形填空,阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

I was 14 years old. I was angry and rebellious, with regard for anything my parents had to say, if it had nothing to do with me. Like so many , I struggled to escape from anything that didn’t my picture of the world. A “ brilliant without need of guidance” kid, I rejected any obvious of love. In fact, I got angry at the of the word “love”.

One , after an extremely difficult day, I into m room, shut the door loudly and fell down onto my bed heavily. As I lay down in the privacy of my , my hands placed under my pillow. There was an envelope. I pulled it out and on the envelope it said, “To when you’re alone.”

I was alone, no one would know whether I read it or not. So I opened it. It said,“Mike,I know life is right now, I know you are frustrated and I know we don’t do everything right. I also know that I love you and nothing you do or say will ever change that. I am here for you if you ever need to talk. If you don’t, that’s also . Just know that no matter where you go or whatever you do in your life, I will always love you and be that you are my son. I’m here for you and I love you-that will never .love you Mom.”

Every night as I went to bed, I would put my hands under my , and I remember the I felt every time I got a letter. During my teen years, the letters were the calm assurance that I still could be loved my anger and rudeness. Just before I fell I became grateful that my mom knew what I, an angry teenager, needed.

1.A. little B. all C. full D. high

2.A. seldom B. sometimes C. currently D. particularly

3.A. families B. adults C. people D. teenagers

4.A. hang up B. lift up C. agree with D. deal with

5.A. attempt B. offer C. request D. advice

6.A. risk B. proposal C. mention D. point

7.A. night B. day C. morning D. afternoon

8.A. slipped B. stormed C. sank D. slid

9.A. bed B. floor C. closet D. chair

10.A. answer B. seal C. read D. tear

11.A. If B. When C. Though D. Since

12.A. serious B. awful C. amazing D. exciting

13.A. entirely B. gently C. heavily D. personally

14.A. impossible B. terrible C. right D. okay

15.A. nervous B. sorry C. proud D. sure

16.A. last B. change C. happened D. start

17.A. pillow B. book C. desk D. door

18.A. relaxation B. sadness C. relief D. thrill

19.A. in spite of B. instead of C. ahead of D. in need of

20.A. ill B. down C. silent D. asleep

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