Once there was a piano player in a bar (酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.

“I don’t sing,” said the man.

But the lady told the waiter, “I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!”

The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!”

So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!

He had talent(天赋) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.

1.The lady asked the player to sing a song because ________.

A．she had paid him for this

B．she knew him very well

C．she was tired of listening to the piano.

D．she enjoyed his singing

2.Nat King Cole succeeded because ________.

A．the lady helped him a lot

B．he caught the chance(机会)

C．he continued to play in the bar

D．he played the piano well

3.The words “sit on” in the passage probably mean “________”.

A．fail to realize                           B．forget to use

C．try to develop                          D．manage to show

4.From the story we know if you have some talent, you should __________.

A．hide it and wait

B．ask others for help

C．pay no attention to it

D．work hard to improve yourself

5.Which could be the best title(标题) for the passage?

A．Sing in the Bar

B．Achieve Success in Life

C．Never Lose Heart

D．Find Your Hidden（隐藏的） Talent

—What does the lady look like?

—_____

A. She’s tall and thin.            B. She’s really a nice lady.

C. She’s fine and well.           D. She likes wearing skirts.

A woman saw three old men sitting outside the door. She said, “I don’t think I know you, but you must be very hungry. Please come in and have something ___66_____.”

“We don’t go into a house ___67_____ ”they replied.

“Why is that?” she asked.

One of the old men answered, “His name is Wealth(财富), this is Success, and I am Love.” Then he said, “Now go in and ___68_____ with your family which one of us you want in your house.”

The woman went in and told her family what had happened, she said, “Let’s invite Wealth. We have been so ____69____.” Her husband disagreed, “My dear, why don’t we invite Success? Don’t you want me to be a successful man? Then her daughter asked, “Would it be ___70_____ to invite Love? Our life will then be filled with love!”

In the end the family decided to take the ___71_____ advice. The woman went out and asked, “____72____ one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.” Love got up and started walking to the house. The other two also got up and ____73____ him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success, “ I ___74_____ invite Love. Why are you coming along? The two old men answered, “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two would have to stay out, but since you have invited Love. ____75____ he goes, we go with him. Where there is Love, there is Wealth and Success.”

1.A. to say       B. to eat      C. to use         D. to drink

2. A. together     B. alone       C. crowdedly    D. lonely

3. A. play        B. exercise     C. agree        D. discuss

4. A. poor        B. rich        C. lucky        D. happy

5.A. worse       B. better       C. less         D. more

6.A. father’s      B. mother’s    C. daughter’s    D. parents’

7.A. which       B. who        C. what         D. whom

8. A. left         B. followed    C. stopped       D. pulled

9.A. only        B. hardly       C. never       D. almost

10. A. whenever    B. whatever    C. however     D. wherever

A very old lady won a million dollars in a lottery(彩票). Her son and her husband heard the news on the radio.
“How are we going to tell your mother?” the man asked. “The news might kill her!”
“That’s true,” the son said. “Perhaps we’d better speak to her doctor about it. He’ll know how to bring her the news gently.”
They told the old lady’s doctor about this.
“I’m glad you told me, ” he said “A shock(震惊), even a happy one, could give her a heart attack, leave it to me. I’ll find a way of bringing the news to her.”
The doctor thought about the problem for several days, then decided what he would say.
He called on the old lady and sat by her. He took her hand in his.
“Let’s play a game, my dear,” he said. “‘Let’s pretend(假装)’ game.”
“Oh, yes, ” the old lady said. “I love ‘Let’s pretend’ game.”
“Good, I’ll ask you a question first, ” the doctor said, “Then you can ask me one.”
He pretended to think for a few minutes. Then he said, “Tell me, what would you do if you won a million dollars in the lottery?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one,” the old lady said, “I’d give most of it to you, doctor, because you have been so good to me all these years, doctor!” But the doctor was now lying on the floor. He had died of shock.
【小题1】Who won a million dollars in a lottery?