Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into actions. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register(收款机)with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash (现金), had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.

I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.

Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Charge it to me,” was all he said.

What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.

1.The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits_________ .

A. hoped to have the food first and pay later 

B. promised to obey the store rules 

C. forgot to take any money with him

D. could not afford anything more expensive

2.Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?

A. kind and lucky       B. friendly and helpful  

C. poor and lonely     D. hurt and disappointed

3.The writer acted upon the store rules because_________ .

A. he felt no pity for the old gentleman

B. he considered the old man dishonest     

C. he expected someone else to pay for the old man

D. he wanted to keep his present job        

4.What does the writer learn from his experience?

A. Wealth is more important than anything else    

B. Experience is better gained through practice

C. Obeying the rules means more than compassion.

D. Helping others is easier said than done

 

A vast dust storm that blew in from the deserts of Australia’s red centre has blanketed the country’s largest city and eastern coast in a red fog,causing widespread traffic chaos and severe flight delays.

      Residents from Sydney in New South Wales to Canberra inland and towns in southern Queensland awoke to a red sky and greatly reduced visibility after the country’s worst dust storm in 70 years blew in overnight. The Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House were covered in the red fog and hundreds of people were reported to have breathing problems. Children,the elderly and those suffering from asthma (哮喘) or heart or lung diseases were advised to stay indoors ,as even healthy adults reported "itchy throats" and a metallic aftertaste in their mouths after walking through the thick fog.

 Commuters used face masks,originally intended to protect them from the spread of swine flu, to hurry across the blocked streets on their way to work. Some schools were closed and sports activities were called off as the conditions pushed air pollution levels to 1500 times their normal levels – the highest on record.

 Passengers at the busy Sydney Airport faced delays of up to six hours for international flights and three hours for domestic trips,and even some international flights were cancelled as visibility was reduced to just a few feet.

 Locals,phoning radio stations to express their shock at the red dawn.” It’s like a nuclear winter morning," tourist Peter Wilson told Daily Telegraph, "It is so terrible." adding that when he awoke the sky was "bright red" and "all the cars were covered in dirt".

The dust hanging over Sydney had largely cleared by midafternoon, although national carrier Qantas said severe delays would last all day because of direction-changed and late-running flights.

The sand storm,which measured more than 310 miles wide and 620 miles long, was caused by dust clouds blowing east from Australia’s dry places,which has been attacked by the worst drought on record. It covered dozens of towns and cities in two states as strong winds swept away tons of topsoil threw it high into the sky and carried it hundreds of miles.

1.What was the face mask originally intended for? (No more than 10 words) (2 marks)[

2.When did most residents of Sydney discover the vast storm ? (No more than 3 words) (3 marks)

3.What do you think the underlined word Qantas is? (No more than 3 words)(2 marks)

4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph ? (No more than 10 words) (3 marks)

 

In Britain, in a population of 60 million, there are 13 million grandparents, many of whom live alone a long way from their grandchildren.The loneliness of these older people has become an issue that schools are trying to teach children about .

On a popular teacher’s website, there is a classroom activity to help make children aware of the implications of the different generations of the same family living far from each other. It’s a story about Mrs. Eiderdown, an elderly lady whose grandchildren have moved to Australia with their parents. She lives alone and rarely sees her family .

First of all, the children speculate about Mrs. Eiderdown’s life.  What does she have for breakfast ? what does she do all day ?how does she feel about her life ?

One day, Mrs. Eiderdown decides that she wants a pet to keep her company and puts an advertisement in a local shop window. Then she waits at home to see if anyone will answer her advertisement .

A tall thin man rings her doorbell. he is holding a cardboard box. Mrs. Eiderdown chats with the man for ten minutes before she realizes that she hasn’t looked in-side the box to see what the pet is. She can hear a his-sing sound. The children guess what is in the box(a snake). Mrs. Eiderdown thanks the man but says she doesn’t think the snake is a good idea .

The next time the doorbell rings, there’s a lady on the doorstep, also carrying a cardboard box.In the bottom of the box, Mrs. Eiderdown sees something black and hairy with eight legs. Again ,the children say what they  think it is (a spider). Mrs. Eiderdown thanks the lady for her kindness but says that a spider is not the sort of pet she has in mind.

At last, the little girl next door brings her a dog .Mrs. Eiderdown’s life improves a lot because of the dog. more importantly, of course, the little girl, whose own granny lives a long way away, starts to visit Mrs.Eiderdown more often. This interactive classroom idea has led to a greater awareness among children about the possible loneliness of older people who live quite near them .

1.what’s the main idea of the passage?

A. children get to know about the trouble of the elderly

B. neighbors help select pets for Mrs. Eiderdown

C. society helps the lonely people in the UK

D. school send pets to the lonely elderly

2.what does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean ?

A. they talk about how she feels about being old

B. they try to experience her loneliness

C. they try to imagine how she lives

D. they write about her life story

3.what can we infer from the passage ?

A. the little girl often visits her own granny

B. the people who offer pets are lady’s neighbors

C. the farther the elderly live ,the lonelier they feel

D. the little girl begins to care more about Mrs. Eiderdown

 

 

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