A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess(女家庭教师)Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

  “Forty.”

  “No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

  “Two months and five days.”

  “Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

  “Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct?”

  Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.

  “Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect (疏忽), Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

  “You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

  “But I made a note of it.”

  “Well... if you say so.”

  “Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

  Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

  “Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

  “Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”

  I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

  “Merci (法语: 谢谢),”she whispered.

  I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

  “For the money. ”

  “But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’?”

  “In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

  “They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless (懦弱)?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws(爪)—to be such a fool?”

  Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

  I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.

  A. a protest           B. gratitude

  C. obedience           D. an explanation

What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

  A. nervousness in front of her boss

  B. acceptance of injustice

  C. shyness when talking about money

  D. reluctance to express herself

The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

  A. to be more aggressive

  B. to be more careful in her work

  C. to protect her right

  D. to live independently

At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.

  A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

  B. his worry about Julia’s future

  C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people

  D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited



How can Omar’s class help?
Omar’s class at school learned about taking care of our planet. Children in his class worked hard at collecting newspapers, cans, and bottles. Their teacher took what they collected to a company where the things would be recycled(回收)and used again. Omar hoped that doing his would make progress toward cleaning up our Earth. Omar wished that they could do more. Then Omar’s teacher gave the class this form.

YOU can make a difference!
Help Clean Up Our Texas Beaches
Who?
 
Children from all the schools in our city
When?
 
Saturday, November 16 Buses will leave from the parking lot at City Park at 8:00 A.M. They will return at 3:00 P.M.
Where?
 
Padre Island on the Texas coast
What should you bring?
 
Lunch and something to drink; Work gloves (We will have gloves to give to children who do not have a pair.)
What should teachers bring?
 
Empty bags and small shovels(铲子)
When to sign up?
 
By Wednesday, November 13
Where to sign up?
 
Have a parent sign at the back of this form to show that your family will permit you to go. Return this form to your teacher.
Teachers and students will use small shovels and gloves to gather trash on the beach. Papers, cans, and bottles will each be put in different bags. Be sure to sort(分类)trash and put it in the proper bag. At the end of the day, each child will receive a T-shirt that says “I made a difference.” Children will also be treated to a pizza party at the Pizza Palace on the way back to City Park. Each school will receive a small oak tree to plant on the school’s grounds.
Keeping our beaches clean is important. Please sign up.
Parents who want to go should call 555-9753 and talk to Mr. Smith.
1. After the cleanup, the children will ________.
A. report to Mr. Smith                    B. go to the Pizza Palace
C. join the Clean Earth Club                D. buy an oak tree
2 “I made a difference” in the passage probably means “ ________”.
A. I was different from others
B. I became more interested than before
C. I did something for a friend
D. I made something better than it was
3. If you help in the cleanup, at the end of the day you will receive a  ________.
A. pair of gloves      B. breakfast         C. small shovel        D. T-shirt
4. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Schools organized a general cleaning.       B. Children can help clean up our Earth.
C. More bottles are thrown away than cans.     D. Recycling costs a lot of money.

阅读下面短文, 从短文后所给各题的四个选项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。

   Perhaps the only test score that I remember is the 41. I was in high school. The test was the final for the class. It was a rather   36    test. I didn’t know how   37   I had done but I knew there were things on   38    that I didn’t know.

   I remember   39   waiting for the result. When Mr. Bales   40   my paper on my desk, I was    41    . There in big   42    numbers, circled to draw attention, was my grade — 41! I   43    my paper so that others couldn’t see it. A 41 was not   44     that you wanted your classmates to see. Finally, Mr. Bales stood behind the desk and   45   the class. “The grades were not very good;    46   of you passed,” he announced. “ The highest grade in the class was a 41, so all of you failed.”

   A 41. That was me. Suddenly my dismal (阴沉的) face didn’t look quite so bad. I had the highest grade. I felt a lot   47   . As soon as I got home, my mother asked me, “How did you do on your test?” “I made a 41,” I said. My mother’s   48    changed suddenly. “You failed.” “But I had the highest grade in the class!” I replied. “ I don’t    49    what everyone else had. You failed. It doesn’t matter if everyone else failed too; what matters is what you do,” my mother    50    answered.

   For years, I thought that was a harsh (严厉的) judgment. My mother was always that   51    . It didn’t matter what the other kids did; it only mattered what I did and    52      I did it excellently.

   We often don’t understand the wisdom of good parents until we ourselves stand   53    the parenting shoes. My mother’s philosophy(人生态度)has    54    me throughout life. The path of the crowd is wide but the path to pass the tests of life is   55    and there are very few people on it.

1.A. easy                     B. difficult                   C. exciting                   D. disappointed

2.A. much                   B. good                                 C. well                          D. long

3.A. this                       B. them                                 C. it                               D. one

4.A. happily                B. anxiously                          C. excitedly                 D. calmly

5.A. fell                        B. handed                   C. dropped                 D. lay

6.A. excited                B. worried                            C. delighted                D. shocked

7.A. red                       B. black                                 C. blue                         D. green

8.A. collected             B. gathered                          C. hid                           D. kept

9.A. everything          B. something                        C. anything                  D. nothing

10.A. talked                         B. declared                          C. spoke                      D. addressed

11.A. some                           B. each                                  C. none                        D. most

12.A. worse                         B. better                               C. best                         D. good

13.A. judgment          B. appearance            C. eyes                         D. expression

14.A. understand      B. care                                  C. mind                        D. want

15.A. rudely               B. politely                    C. firmly                       D. impatiently

16.A. method             B. manner                            C. behavior                 D. way

17.A. this                     B. that                                   C. which                      D. what

18.A. on                      B. at                              C. in                    D. of

19.A. taken                          B. told                                   C. understood   D. supported

20.A. wide                            B. deep                                 C. narrow           D. straight

 

Have you ever had a day when everything seemed to go wrong, and nothing seemed to go right? Not too long ago I was having one of those days. I was discouraged, weary, and plain sad. My focus was on me. After all, no one else was experiencing the same trials I was.

I expressed my upset state to my mother, hoping for some pity. Instead, she said, “I heard Jamie was having a difficult day too. Why don’t you make her some cookies and take them to her this afternoon?”

I didn’t really want to, but decided that I didn’t want to go back to my other problems just yet. I made the cookies and arranged them on a little plate. Then I made a card with a sunflower on it and wrote a small note of empathy.

That afternoon I dropped by my friend’s house. I went to the door and rang the bell. Soon, Jamie came to the door and looked at me in surprise for the unexpected visit. Before she could say anything I rushed, “ I heard you were having a hard day and decided to bring you something. I hope your day goes better.” The look that came over Jamie’s face was one that I could never put into words. It was as if a darkened sky was suddenly lit with the golden rays of the sun; it was as if in that small act, her day was brightened.

I got back into the car and for some amazing reason; I felt a lot better myself. That day I experienced the truth that James Barri attempted to describe, “ Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

1.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A.Sunshine on a Rainy Day                  B.Discouraged by Nothing

C.Giving Help to a Friend                   D.Experience a Cheerless Day

2.The author made cookies and arranged them on a plate _________.

A.so as to show off his skills                 B.to stop thinking about his own worries

C.not to let his mother feel down             D.not to show his sadness to others

3.How did Jamie feel when seeing the author’s coming?

A.She lit up very soon.                     B.She was surprised and scared.

C.She couldn’t express herself.             D.She poured out all her worries.

4.What do you think of the author’s mother?

A.Sympathetic.       B.Willing.           C.Instructional.       D.Selfish.

5.The passage is mainly about _________.

A.dealing with others when they are angry      B.adjusting well the mental condition

C.taking mother’s advice every hour         D.enjoying oneself at any time

 

A thief returned a mobile phone and thousands of yuan he had stolen from a woman after receiving 21 text messages from her, a local newspaper reported.

Pan Aiying, a Chinese teacher at Wutou Middle School in Qihe County, in East China’s Shandong Province, didn’t think her text messages would help to get her belongings(财物) back.

A young man riding a motorcycle robbed her of her bag, in which there was her mobile phone, bank cards and 4,900 yuan, as she was riding her bicycle home on Saturday evening.

Pan said at first she considered calling the police, but then decided to try to persuade(说服)the young man to return her bag. Pan called her lost phone with her friend’s, but couldn’t get through. So she began sending messages.

“Hey, I’m Pan Aiying, a teacher from Wutou Middle School. You must be going through a difficult time. If so, I will not blame you.” Wrote Pan in her first text message, which got no answer. “Keep the 4,900 yuan if you really need it, but please return the other things to me. You are still young. To make mistakes is human. Correcting your mistake is more important than anything.” Pan wrote in another message.

She gave up hope after sending 21 text messages without any answer and planned to call the police the next morning. However, as she left her home on Sunday morning, Pan found her stolen bag lying in the courtyard. Nothing was lost.

“Pan: I am sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me. You are so kind even though I stole from you. I’ll correct my ways and be an honest person,” said a letter left with the bag.

1. Where was Pan Aiying robbed?

A. In the school.   B. At home.   C. In the courtyard.   D. on her way home

2. Why didn’t Pan Aiying call the police at first?

A. Because she thought the police wouldn’t help her.

B. Because it was too late at that time.

C. Because she wanted to communicate with the thief first.

D. Because her friend asked her not to.

3. How long was Pan Aiying’s bag missing?

A. About two days.                      B. About 12 hours.  

C. About one day and a half.               D. About 24 hours.

4. From the news we can learn that ____________.

A. the young man would not steal any more

B. Pan Aiying didn’t give up hope after sending 21 text messages

C. the young man would pay a visit to Pan Aiying personally

D. Pan Aiying teaches English in a middle school in Shandong Province

 

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