Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception(接待). I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.

The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth—so I decided that my approach must be wrong.

  I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?”“Twenty pounds,”I said. “OK,”he said. “I'll give you twenty pounds.”“It's got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it's nothing.”

Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.”“I'll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean?” “You've just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I've changed my mind. I am sorry. I'll give you twenty?seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy,”he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You're right,”I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said,‘Would you mend this chair for me?’”“I wouldn't have agreed to do it,”he said. “We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I'll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused(感到有趣) by the whole thing.

1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer_________.

A. was rather impolite

B. was warmly received

C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair

D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair 

2.The underlined word “approach” in the second paragraph means _________.

A. plan for dealing with things

B. decision to sell things

C. idea of repairing things

D. way of doing things 

3.The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper _________.

A. changed his mind

B. accepted the offer

C. saw the writer's purpose

D. decided to help the writer 

4. How much did the writer pay?

A. £5.            B. £7.              C. £20.              D. £27.

5. From the text, we can learn that the writer was _________.

A. honest          B. careful           C. smart              D. funny 

“Where is Papa going with that ax (斧子)?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
“Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable. “Some pigs were born last night.”
“I don’t see why he needs an ax,” continued Fern, who was only eight.
“Well,” said her mother, “one of the pigs is a runt (发育不良的小动物). It’s very small and weak. So your father has decided to do away with it.”
“Do away with it?” shouted Fern. “You mean kill it?”
“Don’t shout, Fern!” she said. “Your father is right. The pig would probably die anyway.”
Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors. The grass was wet and the earth smelled springtime. Fern’s shoes were wetting by the time she caught up with her father.
“Please don’t kill it! It’s unfair,” she said.
Mr. Arable stopped.
“Fern,” he said gently, “you will have to learn to control yourself.”
“This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself.” Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and tried to pull it out of her father’s hand.
“Fern,” said Mr. Arable, “I know more about raising a group of pigs than you do. A weak pig makes trouble.”
“But it’s unfair,” cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small. If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?”
Mr. Arable smiled. “Certainly not,” he said, looking down at his daughter with love. “But this is different. It’s a pig.”
“There is no difference,” replied Fern.
【小题1】What puzzled Fern at the beginning?

A.Why her father refused to eat breakfast.B.If the hoghouse was big enough for many pigs.
C.How pigs were born at night. D.What his father would do with an ax.
【小题2】Why couldn’t Fern control herself?
A.Because she was afraid of killing a pig.B.Because the pig was treated unfairly.
C.Because she loved pet pigs very much.D.Because her father was rude to her.
【小题3】According to the passage, Fern’s father thought that ______.
A.it was natural for pigs to be born smallB.he couldn’t afford to have so many pigs
C.a weak pig needed more attentionD.he was troubled by raising a weak pig
【小题4】It can be inferred from the passage that Fern was _________.
A.kind-heartedB.braveC.shyD.patient

I told my friend Graham that I often cycle the two miles from my house to the town center but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route. He replied, ‘You mean fortunately.’ He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.

My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to grumble as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally as I wend my way up the incline I console myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smug smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.

Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a University degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”

One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity. From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents, afflictions and difficulties. Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own. Whilst we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it.

Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs amputated following a flying accident. He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aces in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans. He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said, “Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that. That’s nonsense. Make up your mind, you’ll never use crutches or a stick, then have a go at everything. Go to school, join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.”

The biographies of great people are littered with examples of how they took these kinds of steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become defeatist or depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won.

1.The writer has a smug smile of satisfaction as he reaches the top of the hill because        .

A.he was actually killing two birds with a stone

B.compared with those silly people, he was smarter

C.he lost weight by cycing to the town center every day

D.he was informed of a short route from his house to the town

2.The writer quoted Helen Keller and her saying as an example to demonstrate        .

A.one cannot achieve anything with an easy life

B.only disabled persons can experience hardship deeply

C.one’s success is determined by nothing but his / her attitude

D.it’s rare for a deaf and blind person to gain a University degree.

3.From this passage we know that Douglas Bader was a person of         .

A.individual and creative character

B.stubborn yet charming personality

C.great bravery and strong will

D.excellent speaker with great influence

4.In writing style, the last paragraph serves as      .

A.an explanation

B.a demonstration

C.an introduction

D.a summarization

 

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