Once a man named Grand found a box of old papers in a room at the top of his house. He burned most of them, because he didn’t like old things very much, But one of these papers was an old letter. At the bottom(底部) of the letter was the name of a well-known writer. “When this letter was written,” said Grant, “no one knew about the writer. But now everyone knows him. Some people like to buy letters like this. I may be able to get much money for the letter if I sell it to the right man.”
But there were a lot of dirty marks all over the letter.
“It doesn’t look nice,” he thought. “No one wants to buy a letter if it’s dirty. I’ll have to clean it.”
So he took a piece of cloth and some water and cleaned the letter. He worked hard and gave a lot of care. At last the letter looked better. And he was very pleased with his work.
“Now it looks nice,” he said to himself. “I’ll be able to sell it for a lot of money.”
He took the letter to a shop in London where old papers of this kind were bought and sold.
“I want to sell this letter,” Grant said to the man in the shop. “It was written by a well-known writer. You know about these things. How much will you give me for it?”
The man looked at him for a long time.
“I will give you two pounds for it,” he said at last.
“Only two pounds!” said Grant. “But people pay ten pounds for a letter like this. And just look! I’ve even cleaned it to make it look nice.”
“I can see that,” said the man. “That’s the trouble. People who buy old papers like them to be dirty.”
【小题1】Which of the following is not right?

A.Grant found a box of old letters.B.Grant didn’t like old things very much.
C.Grant didn’t burn the old letter.D.The letter was written by a famous writer.
【小题2】Grant didn’t burn the letter because______.
A.it was written by his fatherB.he thought he could get much money by selling it
C.he wanted to keep it foreverD.he wanted to give it to the government
【小题3】In order to sell it, Grant decided to _____ first.
A.make advertisement(广告)in the newspapersB.show it to others around him
C.clean it to make it look niceD.take it to an archeologist(考古学家)
【小题4】Grant didn’t sell the letter at a good price because_______.
A.it was not an old letterB.few people knew about the writer
C.it had been cleanedD.the man didn’t like it

Mini Book Excerpts(节选)
Biography
When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land, the middle-aged writer was shocked and quickly bought the neighboring area to protect it… The townspeople never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor.
J. D. Salinger:A Life by Kenneth Slawenski(Random House,$27)Mystery(疑案小说)
“You’re a smart boy. Benny’s death was no accident, and you’re the only who saw it happen. Do you think the murderer should get away with it?”The boy was starting stubbornly at his lap again.
A thought suddenly occurred to Annika,“Did you …You recognized the man in the car, didn’t you?”
The boy hesitated, twisting his fingers,“Maybe,”he said quietly.
Red Wolf by Liza Marklund(Atria Books, $25. 99)
Short Stories
She wants to say to him what she has learned, none of it in class. Some women are born stupid, and some women are too smart for their own good. Some women are born to give, and some women only know how to take. Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers, some who they don’t want to be. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won’t. Some mothers love so their daughters won’t.
You Are Free by Danzy Senna (Riverhead Books,$15)
Humor
Do your kids like to have fun? Come to Fun Times! Do you like to watch your kids having fun? Bring them to Fun Times! Fun Times! “amusement cycling”is the most fun you can have, legally, in the United States right now. Why spend thousands of dollars flying to Disney World when you can spend less than half to that within a day’s drive lf most cities?
Happy And Other Bad Thoughts by Larry Doyle(Ecco,$14. 99)
【小题1】If the readers want to know about the title of Salinger, they should buy the book published by
                  .

A.EccoB.Atria Books
C.Riverhead BooksD.Random House
【小题2】The book Happy And Other Bad Thoughts is intended for                .
A.young childrenB.Disney World workers
C.middle school teachersD.parents with young children
【小题3】Which book describes women with characters of their own?
A. Happy And Other Bad Thoughts
B. J. D. Salinger: A Life
C. You Are Free
D. Red Wolf
【小题4】After finishing the book Red Wolf, the readers would learn that               .
A.the boy helped arrest the murderer
B.Benny died of an accident
C.the murderer got away with the crime
D.Annika carried out the crime

When I wandered along a path through woods in the countryside, a small water pool came into my sight ahead. I changed my direction and took the part of the path that wasn’t covered by water or mud to go around it. When I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked by something several times! It was from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt. The attacker stopped attacking me when I backed up a foot. I couldn’t help laughing when I looked down and found I was being attacked by a butterfly!  
Curiously, I took a step forward to see clearly. My attacker dashed towards me again. He rushed towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but failed. For a second time, I took a stop backwards when the attacker paused. I didn’t know what to do. After all, it’s just uncommon that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That’s when I discovered why the attacker was kept charging me. He had a mate and she was dying.
Sitting tenderly close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could do nothing but admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had attacked me for his mate’s sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was much larger than he. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life. I shouldn’t have been careless enough to step on her. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mates’ safety seemed admirable. I was moved and rewarded him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool, leaving them undisturbed. He had truly earned those moments to be with his dear mate.
Since then, I’ve always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.
【小题1】Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path?

A.To get close to a butterfly.
B.To avoid getting his shoes dirty.
C.To escape a sudden attack.
D.To look over the bad situation.
【小题2】What made the man feel funny?
A.Making the attacker pause.
B.Being stepped on by his mate.
C.Being attacked by a butterfly.
D.Discovering the energetic butterfly.
【小题3】From this experience the man learned _____.
A.people should protect butterflies
B.how he should deal with attacks
C.people should show sympathy to the weak
D.what he should do when faced with trouble
【小题4】Which of the following word can best describe the butterfly?
A.BraveB.Amusing.C.Careless.D.Strong.

Harry is eighteen now. He studies in a middle school. His parents like him very much and hope he can become a famous man. So they often tell him to study hard and they do all for him. They call him at six in the morning, after breakfast his father takes him to school in a car and in the afternoon, as soon as the young man comes back, the supper is ready. Of course, he never washes his clothes or goes to buy something in the shops.
   Once, Harry’s father was sent to London on business. He would stay there for half a year. Leaving, he told his wife to take good care of their son. The woman had to get up earlier and did all what her husband did before. And two months later she was so tired that she was ill in bed. Now the young man got into trouble. He couldn’t do any housework. He had to do as his mother told him. Even he didn’t know where to get on the bus!
   Yesterday Harry’s mother found his shoes were worn out and told him to buy a new pair in the shop. But he didn’t know how to choose. The woman had a sigh(叹息) and gave him a shoe pattern(鞋样) and told him to buy a pair of shoes himself. It’s Saturday today and Harry doesn’t go to school. With a policeman’s help, he found a shop. The shopkeeper was friendly to him. The man brought a lot of shoes and asked him to choose. When he was trying on a pair, suddenly he remembered something and took them off. The man was surprised and asked, “What’s the matter, young man?”
 “I’m sorry, I’ve left the shoe pattern at home!”
【小题1】 _______ always does some housework in the morning.

A.Harry’s fatherB.Harry’s motherC.HarryD.Nobody
【小题2】Harry’s parents do all instead of him because _______.
A.he’s too young
B.he has poor health
C.he’s busy with his studies
D.they hope he spends all time on studies
【小题3】The woman had to look after her son by herself because _______.
A.her husband wasn’t at home
B.she was stronger than her husband
C.she knew the young man well
D.she was freer than her husband
【小题4】 The woman told her son to buy a pair of shoes because _______.
A.she didn’t know what kind he needed
B.she was busy with the housework
C.something was wrong with her
D.she wanted her son to do something himself
【小题5】 In fact, _______.
A.Harry wanted his mother to buy shoes for him
B.Harry didn’t believe in himself
C.Harry wouldn’t listen to his mother
D.Harry was strong enough to buy shoes for himself


It’s easy to see how to help others, but what about those whose needs aren’t so obvious? This story may have happened a while back, but it was a lesson which has stayed with me and helped me ever since.
It was Thanksgiving and I was volunteering with my parents at a shelter for the poor. We stood behind the counter dishing out hot food to whoever came in. most of our dinners looked like they had been having hard times, their clothes old, worn and dry. In short, they looked poor!
Then, a man came in, who looked anything but poor. He was well dressed, wearing an expensive suit. I wondered what he was doing there and my jaw dropped in amazement when he joined the line for food. The closer he came to my service station, the more I muttered. What was this man doing? I wanted to know. Surely he wasn’t gong to take food.
Then my mother quietly took me to one side. She said, “You have assumed that the needs of the people who come here must be purely physical: hunger, inadequate shelter and needs are emotional? What if he needs comfort, friends, or just to be among other human beings?” her words hit me like a ton of bricks! I felt like I should apologize to the man, but I didn’t.
About a week later the shelter received a large donation from an anonymous source. I can’t help but wonder if it came from that man.
Now, whether I meet others, I remember my mother’s words and try to send kindness and blessings to them, regardless of how they look.
Needs aren’t always visible. But kindness always makes a difference.
【小题1】The task of the author at the shelter was to_______.

A.decide whether dinners looked poorB.learn life experience there
C.serve hot food to the poorD.help parents order dishes
【小题2】When the man waited in line, how did the author feel?
A.SurprisedB.PitifulC.ExcitedD.Angry
【小题3】The author felt he should apologize to the man, because he_______.
A.was asked to do so by his mother
B.gave the man food much less than others
C.realized something was wrong with the man
D.knew later that the man went there to donate
【小题4】What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.We should show others kindness whatever their needs are
B.Some needs can’t be known clearly at times
C.Needs can always be met by kindness
D.We should find out others’ needs

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