Once upon a time in a land far away, there was a wonderful old man who loved everything：animals, spiders, insects…
One day while walking through the woods, the nice old man found a cocoon(茧)of a butterfly．He took it home．A few days later, a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole．Then it seemed to stop making any progress．It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther．Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon．
The butterfly then appeared easily．
But it had a swollen body and small, fragile wings．The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would be smaller in time．Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling(慢慢爬行)around with a swollen body and fragile wings．
It never was able to fly．
What the man in his kindness and hurry did not understand was that the limited cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon．
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life．If we were allowed to go through our life without any obstacles and difficulties, it would disable us．We would not be as strong as what we could have been．And we could never fly．
(1)
The butterfly could never fly because ________．
[ ]
A．
it was too fat and strong．
B．
it loved crawling around．
C．
it got out of the cocoon easily．
D．
it didn’t get through the cocoon．
(2)
The text is most likely to be found in a book about ________．
[ ]
A．
popular science
B．
humorous stories．
C．
successful people
D．
philosophy events
(3)
What is the implied meaning of the passage?
[ ]
A．
Life without any obstacles and difficulties is perfect．
B．
Obstacles and difficulties contribute to success．
C．
Never help a butterfly to get out of the cocoon．
D．
A butterfly can never fly without going through the cocoon．
Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an expensive French restaurant in Denver．The ice cream he was serving fell onto the white dress of a rich and important woman．
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can't get the memory out of his mind, nor the woman's kind reaction．She was shocked, regained calmness and, in a kind voice, told the young Odland,“It's OK．It wasn't your fault．”When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO with a life lesson：You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter．
Odland isn't the only CEO to have made this discovery．Rather, it seems to be one of those few laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up．It's hard to get a dozen CEO's to agree about anything, but most agree with the Waiter Rule．They say how others treat the CEO says nothing．But how others treat the waiter is like a window into the soul．
Watch out for anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like,“I could but this place and fire you,”or“I know the owner and I could have you fired．”Those who say such things have shown more about their character than about their wealth and power．
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson．He wrote a best-selling book called Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management．
“A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person,”Swanson says．“I will never offer a job to the person who is sweet to the boss but turns rude to someone cleaning the tables．”
(1)
What happened after Odland dropped the ice cream onto the woman's dress?
[ ]
A．
He was fired．
B．
He was blamed．
C．
The woman comforted him．
D．
The woman left the restaurant at once．
(2)
Odland learned one of his life lessons from ________．
[ ]
A．
his experience as a waiter
B．
the advice given by the CEOs
C．
an article in Fortune
D．
an interesting best-selling book
(3)
According to the text, most CEOs have the same opinion about ________．
[ ]
A．
Fortune 500 companies
B．
the Management Rules
C．
Swanson's book
D．
the Waiter Rule
(4)
From the text we can learn that ________．
[ ]
A．
one should be nicer to important people
B．
CEOs often show their power before others
C．
one should respect others no matter who they are
D．
CEOs often have meals in expensive restaurants
阅读理解：
Several years ago, my parents, my wife, my son and I ate at one of those restaurants where the menu is written on a blackboard．After a wonderful dinner, the waiter set the check in the middle of the table．That’s when it happened：my father did not reach for the check．
Conversation continued．Finally I realized that I should pick up the check!After hundreds of restaurant meals with my parents, after a lifetime of thinking of my father as the one with dollars, it had all changed．I reached for the check, and my view of myself suddenly changed．I was an adult．I was no longer a kid．
Some people mark off(区分)their lives in years, I measure mine in small events．I didn’t become a young man at a particular age, like 16, but rather when a kid who wandered in the streets called me “mister．” These events in my life are called “milestones”(里程碑)
There have been other milestones．The cops(policemen)of my youth always seemed big, even huge, and of course they were older than I was．Then one day they were suddenly realized that all the football players in the game I was watching were younger than I was．They were just big kids．With that milestone gone was the dream that someday, maybe I, too, could be a football player．Without ever having reached the hill, I was over it．
I never thought that I would fall asleep in front of the TV set as my father did．Now it’s what I do best．I never thought that I would go to the beach and not swim, yet I spent all of August at the shore and never once went into the ocean．I never thought that I would appreciate opera, but now the combination of voice and orchestra attract me．I never thought that I would prefer to stay home in the evenings, but now I find myself passing up parties．I used to think that people who watched birds were strange, but this summer I fond myself watching them, and maybe I’ll get a book on the subject．I feel a strong desire for a religious belief that I never thought I’d want, feel close to my ancestors(祖先)long gone, and echo my father in arguments with my son．I still lose…
One day I bought a house．One day－what a day!–I became a father, and not too long after that I picked up the check for my own father．I thought then it was a milestone for me．One day, when I was a little older, I realized it was one for him, too, another milestone．
(1)
The tone established in the passage is one of ________．
[ ]
A．
sad regret
B．
amusement
C．
happiness
D．
deep feeling
(2)
The author mentions the event in the restaurant because ________．
[ ]
A．
that was one of his milestone
B．
he paid the bill but he didn’t want to
C．
he became a father with dollars
D．
that was the last restaurant meal with his parents
(3)
“Then they were suddenly neither．” Suggests that ________．
[ ]
A．
suddenly they became older than I was
B．
suddenly I knew that they was neither bigger nor older than I was
C．
suddenly I realized that I made mistake
D．
suddenly I found myself no longer a kid
(4)
Which of the following best expresses the author’s thinking?
[ ]
A．
One day is worth two tomorrow
B．
To save time is to length life
C．
When an opportunity is lost, it never comes back to you
D．
Time and tide wait for no man
阅读理解。
I’m seventeen．I had worked as a box boy at a supermarket in Los Angeles．People came to the counter and you put things in their bags for them and carried things to their cars．It was hard work．
While working, you wear a plate with your name on it．I once met someone I knew years ago．I remembered his name and said, “Mr．Castle, how are you?” We talked about this and that．As he left, he said, “It was nice talking to you, Brett．” I felt great, he remembered me．Then I looked down at my name plate．Oh no．He didn’t remember me at all, he just read the name plate．I wish I had put “Irving” down on my name plate．If he’d have said, “Oh yes, Irving, how could I forget you?” I’d have been ready for him．There’s nothing personal here．
The manager and everyone else who were a step above the box boys often shouted orders．One of these was：You couldn’t accept tips．Okay, I’m outside and I put the bags in the car．For a lot of people, the natural reaction is to take a quarter and give it to me．I’d say, “I’m sorry, I can’t．” They’d get angry．When you give someone a tip, you’re sort of being polite．You take a quarter and you put it in their hands and you expect them to say, “Oh, thanks a lot．” When you say, “I’m sorry, I can’t,” they feel a little put down．They say, “No one will know．” And they put it in your pocket．You say, “I really can’t．” It gets to a point where you almost have to hurt a person physically to prevent him from tipping you．It was not in agreement with the store’s belief in being friendly．Accepting tips was a friendly thing and made the customer feel good．I just couldn’t understand the strangeness of some people’s ideas．One lady actually put it in my pocket, got in the car, and drove away．I would have had to throw the quarter at her or eaten it or something．
I had decided that one year was enough．Some people needed the job to stay alive and fed．I guess I had the means and could afford to hate it and give it up．
(1)
What can be the best title for this text?
[ ]
A．
How Hard Life is for Box Boys
B．
Getting along with Customers
C．
Why I Gave up My Job
D．
The Art of Taking Tips
(2)
From the second paragraph, we can infer that _________．
[ ]
A．
the writer didn’t like the impersonal part of his job
B．
with a name plate, people can easily start talking
C．
Mr．Castle mistook Irving for Brett
D．
Irving was the writer’s real name
(3)
The box boy refused to accept tips because _________．
[ ]
A．
customers only gave small tips
B．
some customers had strange ideas about tipping
C．
the store forbade the box boys to take tips
D．
he didn’t want to fight with the customers
(4)
The underlined phrase “put down” in the third paragraph probably means _________．
