Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into actions. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register（收款机）with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash（现金）, had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.

      I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.

     Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Charge it to me,” was all he said.

      What had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.

41. The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits______.

A. promised to obey the store rules                    B. forgot to take any money with him

C. hoped to have the food first and pay later       D. could not afford anything more expensive

42. Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?

A. kind and lucky                                                   B. poor and lonely

C. friendly and helpful                                            D. hurt and disappointed

43. The writer acted upon the store rules because___________.

A. he wanted to keep his present job                   B. he felt no pity for the old gentleman

C. he considered the old man dishonest       

D. he expected someone else to pay for the old man

44. What does the writer learn from his experience?

A. Wealth is more important than anything else.  B. Helping others is easier said than done.

C. Experience is better gained through practice.

D. Obeying the rules means more than compassion.

“Hey, Jenna, do you think we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty – two?” I asked my friend. It was clear she was wondering where I had come up with such a question. Losing Jenna would  be like losing a very close sister. We hung out together. We gave each other advice.

“Of course, we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty – two.” Jenna announced loudly.

The next year, in fourth grade, we met Jamie. The three of us soon became close friends. We played together almost every day. I thought even time couldn’t pull us apart, but I was sadly mistaken.

The three of us started fighting a lot. Before Christmas, we had a really big fight, and Jamie and Jenna were against me, both saying I was bossy. I felt helpless and lonely. I thought Christmas would be horrible!

I was surprised when Jenna came to my house and gave me an awesome Christmas card she had made for me. I was so sure that she was still disappointed with me.

“Wow, ” I said. breaking the silence as we stood on either side of my front door. “Thanks.”

“Okay…well…I have to go,” she said softly.

“Okay. See you late then…” and I closed the door.

“Who was that at the door?” my mum asked.

The card stared off with “Merry Christmas”, but then it said, “I am so glad we’re friends. I am sorry about what I said when we were fighting. A fight won’t stop us from being friends. Besides, we said we were going to be friends even when we’re eight – two.”

I stopped reading and started laughing. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten what she said that day in her back yard. I couldn’t believe I had been so selfish in trying to get even and making my friends feel sorry for me that I had forgotten about real friendship.

【小题】How would the author and Jenna get along with each other after Christmas?

A. They would be close friends again.

B. They would not speak to each other.

C. They would lose touch with each other.

D. They would go on fighting with each other.

【小题】The underlined sentence “I was bossy” in the fourth last paragraph means “_________”.

A. I looked like a boss                             B. I acted as boss

C. I was fond of giving orders                      D. I was fond of fighting

【小题】Which of the following is the right time order according to the passage?

a. Jamie became our friend.

b. I felt lonely and unhappy.

c. Jenna, Jamie and I fought a lot.

d. Jenna brought me a Christmas card.

e. I was sorry for what I did to her.

f. Jenna and I promised to be lifelong friends.

A. f – a – b – c – e – d                  B. a – c – f – b – d – e

C. a – b – c – f – e – d                  D. f – a – c – b – d – e

【小题】The author was delighted when she read the card from Jenna because _________.

A. what Jenna wrote was funny           

B. Jenna would be her friend again

C. she was happy about the coming Christmas

D. she was happy to receive a Christmas cad

Hope in my arms
Last year, I was invited to participate in a carnival for Tuesday’s Child, an organization that helps children with AIDS.
All the children that had gathered at one particular room could   36  a square on a piece of cloth. Later the squares would be sewn(缝) together to  37  a quilt. The quilt would be  38  to a man who had devoted his life to the  39  and would soon be   40 .
The kids were given paints in bright colors and asked to paint something that would make the quilt  41 . As I looked around at all the squares, I saw pink hearts, blue clouds, orange sunrises and red flowers. The pictures were all bright and  42 . All   43  one.
One boy was painting a heart, but it was dark and lifeless. It  44  the bright colors that his fellow artists had used.I asked why. He told me that he was very   45  and so was his mom. He said that his sickness was not ever going to get better and neither was his mom’s. He looked   46  into my eyes and said, “There is no hope in my life.”
I told him I was sorry and I could understand why he had made his heart a dark color. I told him that   47  we couldn’t make him better, we can give  48 , which can really help when you are feeling sad. I told him that if he would like, I would be   49  to give him one so he could see what I meant.  50 , he crawled into my lap. I thought my own heart would burst for this sweet little boy.
He sat there for a long time. Finally he  51  down to finish his coloring.
As I was getting ready to  52  home, I felt a tug (猛拽) on my jacket. Standing there was the little boy,  53 . He said, “My heart is changing  54 . It is getting brighter. I think those hugs really do  55 .”
On my way home I felt my own heart. It too had changed to a brighter color.

Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into actions. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register（收款机）with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash (现金), had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.

I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.

Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Charge it to me,” was all he said.

What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.

1.The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits_________ .

A. hoped to have the food first and pay later 

B. promised to obey the store rules 

C. forgot to take any money with him

D. could not afford anything more expensive

2.Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?

A. kind and lucky       B. friendly and helpful  

C. poor and lonely     D. hurt and disappointed

3.The writer acted upon the store rules because_________ .

A. he felt no pity for the old gentleman

B. he considered the old man dishonest     

C. he expected someone else to pay for the old man

D. he wanted to keep his present job        

4.What does the writer learn from his experience?

A. Wealth is more important than anything else    

B. Experience is better gained through practice

C. Obeying the rules means more than compassion.

D. Helping others is easier said than done

The Worst Part

Mom is usually home on Sunday but this week she was going to a big golf game and I was all alone in the house. I was mad at Mom for divorcing Dad.

I kept looking at the telephone until I couldn’t stand it any longer. I picked up the receiver and dialed Dad’s number over in Bakersfield. I even remembered to dial 1 first because it was long distance. “You promised to phone me this week but you didn’t,” I said, feeling I had to talk to him.

“Take it easy, kid,” he said. “I just didn’t get around to it. I was going to call this evening. The week isn’t over yet.”

I thought about that.

“Something on your mind?” he asked.

“I hoped you would call, so I waited and waited.” Then I was sorry I said it.

“There was heavy snow in the morning,” he said, “I had to chain up on highway 80 and lost time.”

I know putting chains on eight big wheels in the snow is no fun. I felt a little better, as long as we were talking. “How is Bandit?” I asked.

There was a funny silence. For a minute I thought the line was dead. Then I knew something must have happened to my dog.

“Well, kid—”, he began. “My name is Leigh!” I almost yelled. “I’m not just some kid you met on the street!”

“Keep your shirt on, Leigh,” he said. “When I had to stop along with some other truck drivers to put on chains, I left Bandit out of the cab, I thought he would get back … I have sent out a call to CB radio, but I didn’t get an answer yet.” I was about to say I understood when there came the bad part, the really bad part. I heard a boy’s voice say, “Hey, Bill, Mom wants to know when we’re going out to get the pizza?”

1.We can conclude from the passage that              .

A. Leigh’s mother often went to golf games           B. Leigh was a deserted boy

C. Leigh’s dad never had a rest on Sundays           D. Leigh’s father lived in another city

2. Which is true about Bandit?

A. It was killed by a truck         B. It was let out of the cab and got lost

C. It was frozen to death.          D. It ran off Highway 80 and into the mountain.

3. The underlined sentence “Keep your shirt on”（last para） probably means “        ”.

A．Cool down   B．Stop talking      C．Be quiet      D．Keep warm

4.The worst part in Leigh’s eyes may be that            .

A. he forgot to go to get the pizza B. his parents got divorced

C. his dad got remarried    D. his dad didn’t love him