Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers said, “Barbara, be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience．” How right they were!
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson．It is the paste that helps you hang on there when the going gets tough．It is the inner voice that whispers．“I can do it!” when others shout, “No, you can't!” It took years and years for the early work of Barbara Mc Clintock, a geneticist(遗传学家)who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted．Yet she didn't let up on her experiments．Work was such a deep pleasure for her that she never thought of stopping．
We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder and it is this childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic people such youthful air, whatever then age．At 90, cellist(大提琴家)Pablo Casals would start his day by playing Bach．As the music flowed through his fingers, his bent shoulders would straighten and joy would reappear in his eyes．As author and poet Samuel once wrote, “Years make the skin old, but to give up enthusiasm makes the soul old．”
Enthusiastic people also love what they do, regardless of money, title or power．Patricia Mcllrath, retired director of the Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City, was once asked where she got her enthusiasm．She replied, “My father, a lawyer, long ago told me, I never made a penny until I stopped working for money．”
If we cannot do what we love as a fulltime career, we can do it as a hobby．Elizabeth Layton of Wellsville, Kan, was 68 before she began to draw．This activity ended her sadness that had troubled her for at least 30 years, and the quality of her work led one critic to say, “I am persuaded to call Layton a genius．”
We can't afford to waste tears on “might-have-beens”．We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go after “what-can-be”．We need to live each moment whole-heartedly, with all our senses－finding pleasure in the sweet of a backyard garden, the simple picture of a six-year-old, and the beauty of a rainbow．
(1)
The passage mainly shows us ________．
[ ]
A．
enthusiasm is the basic element of everything
B．
enthusiasm helps us to succeed to a greater degree
C．
enthusiasm makes us experience more life
D．
we can do nothing without enthusiasm
(2)
From the example of the Nobel Prize winner Barbara Mc Clitock, we may find ________．
[ ]
A．
enthusiasm can encourage us in difficult times
B．
enthusiastic people always get a deep pleasure from work
C．
you can't make any achievement if you have no enthusiasm
D．
enthusiastic people are sure to gain great fame in the end
(3)
The underlined sentence in Paragraph Three suggests ________．
[ ]
A．
time and tide wait for no man
B．
we grow old as time goes on
C．
people feel young with enthusiasm
D．
our soul becomes old with enthusiasm
(4)
The main idea of the last paragraph is ________．
[ ]
A．
we should try heart and soul to win what we want
B．
enthusiasm can give us pleasure, though we have to sweat
One of the largest countries in Texas is named for Captain Erastus“Deaf”Smith－a deaf man．Captain Smith was the leader of General Sam Houston's scouts during the Texas Revolution, the war in which Texas won its freedom from Mexico．The county named in his honor is called Deaf Smith County．
A scout in the days of the Texas Revolution was much like what a spy is today．Captain“Deaf”Smith would find out where enemy troops were camped and how many men the enemy had, and he would report to Sam Houston．Even when other people could not see or hear any sign of people or animals, Captain Smith would know where they were．Sometimes he would guide Texas troops through enemy territory without the enemy even knowing they were there．
Erastus Smith was born in New York on April 19,1787; but went to live：in Mississippi when he was 11 years old．He went to Texas for a short time in 1817, and four years later returned to Texas to stay; He wandered over Texas as a surveyor(测量员)before he volunteered for army service after the start of the Texas Revolution．
Smith married a Mexican woman, and they had four children－three girls and one boy．He spent a lot of time learning the customs, manners, and language of the Mexican settlers．When the Texas Revolution began in 1835, Smith at first refused to take part in it out of respect for his family's heritage(传统)．However, after Mexican troops tried to stop him from going to San Antonio to visit his family, he volunteered for service with the Texans．He was made a captain．
(1)
At first, Smith refused to take part in the Texas Revolution because ________．
[ ]
A．
he was a peace-loving person and hated fighting
B．
Mexican soldiers stopped him from going to San Antonio
C．
the Texans were not very good to him and his family
D．
his wife was Mexican and he didn't want to fight against her people
(2)
How old was Smith when he settled in Texas?
[ ]
A．
Thirty－four．
B．
Eleven．
C．
Thirty．
D．
Twenty-seven．
(3)
Which of the following is the correct order of the events?
a．A county in Texas was named after Smith．
b．Smith got married to a Mexican woman．
c．Smith volunteered for service with the Texans．
d．Mexican troops tried to stop him from seeing his family．
e．Smith went to live in Mississippi．
f．The Texas Revolution started．
[ ]
A．
a－b－c－d－e－f
B．
e－b－d－c－a－f
C．
b－e－f－d－c－a
D．
e－b－f－d－c－a
(4)
Which of the following was a great help in Smith's work as a scout?
[ ]
A．
His family's heritage．
B．
His experience as a surveyor．
C．
His deafness．
D．
His good eyesight．
(5)
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
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 _________．
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