A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck．One of the pots had a crack(裂缝)in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full．
This went on daily．The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishment．Of course, the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection．After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream．
“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologise to you．”
“Why?”asked the bearer．“What are you ashamed of?”
“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back．And you do no get full value for y our efforts”the pot explained．
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path．”
As they went up the hill, the cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it a little．
The bearer said,“Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?”That is because I have known about you, and I took advantage of it．I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walked back from the stream, you have watered them．For two years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table．“Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house．”
(1)
Why did the cracked pot feel ashamed?
[ ]
A．
Because it didn't hold water．
B．
Because the water bearer didn't like it．
C．
It couldn't water the flowers well．
D．
Because it could only accomplish half of its load．
(2)
How would the cracked pot feel at the end of the story?
[ ]
A．
Delighted with itself．
B．
Disappointed with itself．
C．
Prouder than the other pot．
D．
Still ashamed of itself．
(3)
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
There were flowers on both sides of the path．
B．
The cracked pot was more useful than the perfect one．
C．
We sometimes don't have to mind too much the way we are．
D．
The water bearer preferred the perfect pot to the cracked one．
(4)
Which of the following proverbs can best go with this passage?
If you can’t catch the bad guy, t’s game over－this is the rule of life for computer game players in cyber-world(网络世界)．
But similar thoughts might be worrying US President George W．ush as he prepares for election year with the world’s most wanted man still out of his reach．
The hunt for Osama Bin Laden, eader of the AL-Qaida group, as been going on since the attack on New York’s World Trade Center on September 11,2001．Progress has been slow and, ith Democrat Senator John Kerry winning the race last Tuesday to challenge Bush in November’s presidential elections, he president needs results．f Osama Bin Laden can be caught before the presidential election, ush will gain an obvious advantage．
The American public’s support for the war in Iraq has been falling, specially as the Bush government cannot find the banned weapons(武器)that it said were in the country．ut the way the president’s popularity rose following the capture(捕获)of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in December shows how useful it would be if Bin Laden could be caught．
The latest polls suggest the election will be close, ith 48 per cent of Americans saying they will vote for Bush and 46 per cent backing Kerry．
In order to capture the Saudi Arabia-born AL Qaida leader, housands of US soldiers were moved from Iraq to Afghanistan earlier this week．urther efforts have been made to strengthen Afghanistan’s border(边境)area with Pakistan, ith soldiers inspecting nearby villages more frequently than before．
However, akistan has denied(否认)reports that US soldiers will be allowed to search for Bin Laden on its land．ush’s battles, oth at home and abroad, ill not be won easily．
(1)
Why does the writer mention the rule of life for computer game players in cyber-world?
[ ]
A．
Because catching Osama Bin Laden is another game．
B．
Because real life can be similar to life in cyber-world．
C．
Because this is also one of the rules in the American presidential election．
D．
Because a game like this has become a real life situation for Bush．
(2)
We can learn from the passage that Osama Bin Laden ________
[ ]
A．
was born in Afghanistan and lives in Saudi Arabia
B．
is sure to be captured since Saddam Hussein has been caught
C．
must be found so that 48％ of the Americans will back Bush
D．
is probably hidden in the border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan
(3)
The underlined word “inspecting”(Paragraph 6)can be replaced by ________
[ ]
A．
seeking
B．
searching
C．
bombing
D．
visiting
(4)
It can be inferred from the passage that ________
[ ]
A．
the Bush government has great difficulty in seizing Bin Laden
B．
Kerry is more likely than Bush to win the coming presidential election
C．
more and more people are supporting the war in Iraq
D．
Pakistan will allow US soldiers to search for Bin Laden on its land
阅读理解
Three in ten Americans commit" financial infidelity(出轨)W by lying to their partners about money, sometimes suffering consequences such as separation or divorce(离婚), according to a new survey．
The Harris Interactive online poll of 2019 adults released on Thursday showed 31 percent of American couples who have combined finances were not truthful about issues such as hiding cash or a bank account or about debt or earnings．
"Financial infidelity may be the new normal," said Forbes．com, which performed the survey with the National Endowment(基金会)for Financial Education．
One-third of respondents(响应者)also say they have been cheated, and both sexes lie to their partners about money in equal numbers．"These unwise behaviors cause great damage, to the relationship, which is really not worthwhile．We must consider how important a family is to all of us．We must be honest to our partners in everything including money," said Ted Beck, chief executive of the National Endowment for Financial Education．
Sixteen percent of couples affected by financial infidelity said the cheat led to a divorce and 11 percent said it caused a separation．Sixty-seven percent said it led to an argument and for 42 percent it lessened(减少的)trust in the relationship．What a great damage it is to the family members!
The most common lie, at 58 percent, was hiding cash．Fifty-four percent of respondents admitted hiding a minor purchase, 30 percent hid a bill, 16 percent did not disclose a major purchase and 15 percent hid a bank account．
Eleven percent lied about debt and an equal number were untruthful about earnings, the survey showed．It is suggested that all the couples should learn a lesson from this matter．
(1)
What does Ted Beck think of Americans' committing financial infidelity?
[ ]
A．
Rewarding．
B．
Unlawful．
C．
Unwise．
D．
Unfair．
(2)
What does the fifth paragraph mainly tell us?
[ ]
A．
The harm of financial infidelity．
B．
The meaning of financial infidelity．
C．
The explanation for financial infidelity．
D．
The percentage of Americans' committing financial infidelity．
(3)
What does the underlined word"lessened" mean in the fifth paragraph?
[ ]
A．
Raised．
B．
Dropped．
C．
Harmed．
D．
Reduced．
(4)
Most Americans lie to their partners about _________．
[ ]
A．
hiding cash
B．
bank account
C．
debt
D．
earnings
(5)
What is the best title of the passage?
[ ]
A．
Americans like to lie most
B．
Three in ten Americans commit financial infidelity
C．
Americans have the largest percentage of divorce
D．
Americans like to hide their partners' cash
阅读理解
Recently, another study has been carried out about who is the greatest American president．Sixty-five presidential historians took part in it and they judged the past forty-two American leaders based on ten qualities of leadership, which include public persuasion, crisis(危机)leadership, the management of economy, moral leadership and international relations．The historians also looked at administrative(行政的)ability, relations with Congress, goal setting and pursuit(追求)of equal justice for all．Finally, the experts considered performance based on the historical period in which the president lived．
The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as America’s greatest president．He had also been named best president in a similar study in 2000．Abraham Lincoln was the only president in American history to lead the nation during the Civil War in the 1860s．He united the nation at last．And he took the first steps that detroyed the institution of slavery in America．
Edna Medford is a professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D．C．She was an adviser on this study and the ealier one．She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values that the nation most honors like truthfulness, moderation(温和)and respect for human rights．
The historians named America’s first president, George Washington, as second on the list of greatest presidents．Franklind．Roosevelt, theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman are next in that order．John F．Kennedy, the coutry’s first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list．Like Abraham Lincoln, John F．Kennedy was murdered while in office．
Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the tenth best president．Bill Clinton was rated fifteenth．And the historians rated former president George W．Bush as number thirty-six．His fathter, George H．W．Bush, did much better．He was rated as number eighteen．
(1)
Abrahm Lincoln was chosen as America’s greatest president mainly because _________．
[ ]
A．
he led the people to end slavery and united the nation
B．
he caused the Civil War and fought against slavery
C．
he was the only president to join in a civil war
D．
he owned the ten qualities of leadership
(2)
According to the recent study, a good president wouldn’t _________．
[ ]
A．
persuade the public to follow some rules
B．
take measures to deal with an economic crisis
C．
start a war between countries
D．
run after equal justice for the people
(3)
Which of the following presidents did worst when he was in power according to the recent study?
[ ]
A．
John F．Kennedy．
B．
George Washington
C．
Bill Clinton
D．
George W．Bush
(4)
According to the passage, the greatest American president from Mo．1 to No．6 should be _________．
[ ]
A．
Abraham Lincoln→George Washington→Franklind．Roosevelt→Theodore Roosevelt→Harry Truman→John F．Kennedy
B．
Abraham Lincoln→George Washington→Theodore Roosevelt→Franklind．Roosevelt→John F．Kennedy→Harry Truman
C．
George Washington→Abraham Lincoln→John F．Kennedy→Theodore Roosevelt→Harry Truman→Franklins．Roosevelt
D．
Abraham Lincoln→John F．Kennedy→GeorgeWashington→TheodoreRoosevelt→Harry Truman→Franklind．Roosevelt
阅读理解
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(1)
What is stressed in the ad?
[ ]
A．
The coin is of high quality and worth collecting．
B．
The coin can be circulated as a currency．
C．
Limited supplies guarantee a stable price of the coin．
D．
Demand for the coin is bound to break records．
(2)
If you buy six 2012 U．S．Mint Silver Eagles by post, you should pay at least ________．
[ ]
A．
＄230.7
B．
＄233.7
C．
＄240.7
D．
＄243.7
(3)
The ad strongly encourages people to purchase the silver coins by ________．
