Long ago, near the village of Hedley, there lived a strange and playful trickster(骗子), known as the Hedley Kow.  Sometimes it looked like an ordinary object.  Sometimes it looked like a donkey or a goat.

One evening, as an old woman went along the path, she saw an old iron pot lying in the ditch. “Fancy that,” she said.  “Nobody seems to want this old pot. I will take it home and plant pretty flowers in it.”

When she tried to lift it, she saw that it was full of gold pieces. “Well, now, if that doesn’t beat all,” she said. “I’m rich! I can buy a fine house and fancy clothes.”

The pot was heavy, so she tied her shawl around it and began to drag it home.  After a while, she stopped to rest. When she looked in the pot, she was amazed to see that it was full of silver pieces!

“Oh, my god!” she said.  “Aren’t I the lucky one ! If it were gold, thieves would have been after me.  My friends might have been jealous.  But I can hide these silver pieces, take out a few at a time, and live like a queen.”

On she went, pulling the pot after her. She was nearing home now. At her gate, she looked into the pot. What a surprise! The silver had changed into a lump(块) of iron. “Iron,” she said.  “Well, now! No one will be jealous or want to steal this from me.  I can use this iron to prop my door open and let in fresh air and sunlight. Lucky  me!”

As soon as she said that, the pot began to grow and later it became a goat. Then it jumped up and ran off down the road laughing.

“Fancy that!” said the old woman.  “I believe I have seen the Hedley Kow! Not many folks can say that, and that’s a fact. I’ll just sit up by my fire tonight thinking about how lucky I was to see it for myself. I truly must be the luckiest person in the world!”

Which of the following sayings can best describe this story?

A. All good things come to an end.                    B. The early bird catches the worm.

C. Content is better than riches.                       D. All bad luck goes away.

What does “the Hedley Kow” stand for in the eyes of the old woman?

A. Glory         B. Honor           C. Misfortune     D. Luck

From this passage we can know the old woman is _________.

A. optimistic     B. pessimistic        C. strange       D. mindless

Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. The woman   B. The Hedley Kow    C. The pot       D. The Effort

I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

56. Why did the boy start his job young?           

   A. He wanted to be famous in the future.               B. The job was quite easy for him.

   C. His mother had high hopes for him.                  D. The competition for the job was fierce.

57. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

   A. excited                       B. interested                               C. ashamed             D. disappointed

58. What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

   A. She forced him to continue.                            B. She punished him.

   C. She gave him some money.                              D. She changed her plan.

59. What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

   A. The war between the boy’s parents.                  

   B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.

   C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

   D. The fight between the boy and his father.

60. What is the text mainly about?

   A. The early life of a journalist.                            B. The early success of a journalist.

   C. The happy childhood of the writer.             D. The important role of the writer in his family.

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