C
“Everything happens for the best.” Whenever I faced disappointment, my mother would say this to me.
After I graduated form college in 1932, I decided to find a job in radio as a sports announcer(广播员). I went to Chicago and knocked at the door of every station. But unluckily, I was refused every time.
At one station, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn’t hire(雇佣) a person without any experience and suggested that I try my luck at smaller stations. Following her advice, I went back to Dixon, where I had grown up. There were no such jobs in Dixon, and my father said a newly-opened store wanted a local athlete to work for it. I wanted this job, but I was refused again.
“Everything happens for the best,” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, I felt so frustrated. “How can I become a sports announcer if I can’t get a job in a radio station?” I asked aloud.
While I was waiting for the elevator, I heard someone calling. It was MacArthur. “What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he asked me to have a try. He was pleased with my performance, and he offered me a chance to work there.
On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words: “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if without the failure before.”
【小题1】Why couldn’t the writer find a job at big radio stations?

C

“Everything happens for the best.” Whenever I faced disappointment, my mother would say this to me.

After I graduated form college in 1932, I decided to find a job in radio as a sports announcer(广播员). I went to Chicago and knocked at the door of every station. But unluckily, I was refused every time.

At one station, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn’t hire(雇佣) a person without any experience and suggested that I try my luck at smaller stations. Following her advice, I went back to Dixon, where I had grown up. There were no such jobs in Dixon, and my father said a newly-opened store wanted a local athlete to work for it. I wanted this job, but I was refused again.

“Everything happens for the best,” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.

As I left his office, I felt so frustrated. “How can I become a sports announcer if I can’t get a job in a radio station?” I asked aloud.

While I was waiting for the elevator, I heard someone calling. It was MacArthur. “What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he asked me to have a try. He was pleased with my performance, and he offered me a chance to work there.

On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words: “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if without the failure before.”

1.Why couldn’t the writer find a job at big radio stations?

2.Which of the following is the correct order of events?

a. The writer got a job as a sports announcer at a radio station.

b. The writer was refused when he wanted jobs in Chicago.

c. The writer graduated from college.

d. The writer went back to his hometown to look for a job.

3. Which of the following is TRUE?

4. According to the last paragraph, what did the writer’s mom want to tell him?

When Susan told me that she was terribly ill and probably would die. I cried. I didn’t understand why this happened to my best friend. Then Susan   35  me a red ribbon(丝带) without saying anything.

A month later, Susan was at a hospital about two hours away from where we lived. I asked my dad to take me to see her. I wanted to give my best friend a   36 . So I took out the ribbon and cut it into two pieces with scissors(剪刀). I put one in my pocket and the other in an envelope(信封), along with a letter explaining it to her. I told her to keep her   37  beside her bed, and I would keep mine near me, too. Then I went to the hospital one Friday afternoon, wondering (想知道) if the ribbon would   38  anything to her. I walked into the room and ran over to give her a big hug. Then I gave her a teddy bear and the envelope. We talked for a while and then she started looking   39 , so I asked her to get some rest and left the hospital. All the way home I   40 the ribbon close to me.

For the next four months, the ribbon was with me  41 I went: school, home, shopping, and at friends’ houses. Where I went, it went. It was something to remind(提醒)me that I had a friend who would   42  home very soon. Susan said that she wore her ribbon   43  her arm all the time and she always had it close to her when she was being tested and treated.

Finally, Susan came home! I was so happy. That night, I looked at the ribbon which was still with me. I had a feeling it would never   44 , that I would remember what had happened during the time she had been ill.

If you go into the forest with friends, stay with them. If you don’t, you may get lost. Sit down and stay where you are. Don’t try to find your friends, but let them find you instead（相反）. You can help them find you by（通过）staying in one place. There is another way to help your friends or other people to find you. You can shout or whistle（吹口哨）three times. Stop for a while. Then shout or whistle three times again. Any signal（信号）given three times is a help.
Keep up shouting or whistling. Always three times together. When people hear you, they will know that you are not just making a noise for fun. They will let you know that they have heard your signal. They will give you two shouts or two whistles. When a signal is given twice, it is an answer to a call for help.
If you don’t think that you will get help before night comes, try to make a little house with branches（树枝）. Make yourself a bed with leaves and grass.
When you need some water, you have to leave your little branch house to look for it. Don’t just walk away. Pick off small branches and drop（扔下）them as you walk in order to（为了，以便于）go back again easily. When you are lost, the most important thing to do is stay in one place.
【小题1】 If you get lost in the forest, you should               .

A recent survey of 2000 parents in Britain showed that they are often afraid of science questions asked by their curious children only because they have no idea what the answer is. Here is a list of some simple questions that you can ask your parents to see if they know the answers.
Q: Why is the sky blue?
A: You probably know white sunlight is made up of seven colors. While it moves in a straight line when going through space, it starts to divide as it hits “raised area” in the atmosphere. The ones with longest wavelengths pass through easily. The blue , however , can be taken in by the gas molecules (分子) because it has a shorter wavelength , which in turn scatters (使分散) it in different directions. That’s why when you look up at the sky, it appears to be blue.
Q:Why does the moon sometimes appear during the daytime?
A: The simple answer to that is because just like any other object it is being lit by the sun. As long as it is around 45 degrees or even 90 degrees off the sun, it will receive light and be able to be seen. The only time it is not able to be seen during its 28-day orbit (轨道) around the earth is when it is right between the earth and the sun. That’s because its back , which is not lit by the sun, is facing us.
Q: Where do birds/ honeybees go in winter?
A: While the bird part is quite easy, since a lot of them get together and travel, the honeybee part is likely to puzzle your parents. It turns out that these busy insects stop being that active when the temperature drops below 50°F. Instead ,they get together in the lower central area of the hive （蜂巢）and form a ball around their queen. This helps keep both warm enough to survive the cold winter months.
【小题1】The sky looks blue mainly because the color blue in the sunlight_______.