Yesterday I went to our local grocery store. I often go to their deli counter, and I understand that it can get a little confused for the workers. So normally none of them ever take the time to smile or seem overly friendly. But yesterday it was completely different. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a very welcoming smile by the young man behind the counter. He never sighed heavily or slumped back and forth like he didn’t want to be there. He was all by himself and quite a long line. But not once did he act concerned about it. He just did his job efficiently and acted very kind the entire time.
I was so impressed that I approached the manager. I explained to her that I often visit the deli counter and I have never been greeted with such kindness. She agreed with me that he was a wonderful person and she thanked me for sharing my feelings with her.
As I was walking away，I could hear her approaching the young man with，“I just got a wonderful compliment(praise) about you.” I couldn't hear everything she was saying，but I knew that she did thank him. I couldn't help but smile!
Later I had to pass by the deli counter to get onions. There was no one there，except the diligent young man. He didn't say anything，he just smiled at me. I realized that I hadn't done a huge deed that day，but that small deed made a small difference to someone．I love seeing people smile. I just received my smile cards and I wish I had one with me that day. Maybe I will drop one off at the deli a different day! It's amazing how good I felt after that.
So，friends，the next time you are in a grocery store，retail store，restaurant，or anywhere that someone is working hard，letting them know in some way can mean so much. I hope you get a smile out of it like I did!

1. 1.

   The passage is mainly about______.

   1. A.
      friendship between the writer and a young man
   2. B.
      the power of a simple compliment
   3. C.
      a grocery store
   4. D.
      a diligent assistant
2. 2.

   The writer found it was different yesterday because ______.

   1. A.
      the young man was very busy
   2. B.
      the young man was concerned about so many customers
   3. C.
      the writer was warmly greeted by a young man
   4. D.
      the young man acted very kind all the time
3. 3.

   The writer approached the manager to______.

   1. A.
      thank him
   2. B.
      say hello to him
   3. C.
      complain about the service
   4. D.
      praise the young man
4. 4.

   The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 implies that the writer will ______.

   1. A.
      smile to others at the deli one day
   2. B.
      give one card to the young man one day
   3. C.
      drop in at the deli one day
   4. D.
      go to the deli for a job one day
5. 5.

   What can we learn from the last paragraph?

   1. A.
      Praising others' hard work means nothing
   2. B.
      Helping others is always rewarding
   3. C.
      We should never hesitate to praise hard-working persons
   4. D.
      Not all good deeds deserve praise

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 7 — At 26, many people haven’t even decided on a career. Luke Ravenstahl, cashing in on his family’s political tradition, is already the mayor of Pittsburgh, the youngest mayor of any major city in the country. Although mayors elsewhere have been younger, Jeff Dunkel was 18 in 2001 when he was elected mayor of Mount Carbon, small towns in New York, and elsewhere have also elected teenagers as mayors. But, Tallahassee, is the only other city with a population over 100,000 that has had a mayor as young as Mr. Ravenstahl. A supporter of Mr. Ravenstahl said concerns about Mr. Ravenstahl’s age would dissipate once the city saw his work ethic.

 But now comes the hard part. As he strives to be taken seriously and take charge of a city only recently back from the brink of bankruptcy, the baby-faced mayor said that even the smallest decisions felt weighty, even what to wear in the Steelers game matters.

And another pressing issue is to strengthen the city’s economy. Pittsburgh has lost all its mills, nearly half its population and much of its downtown commercial district in the last several decades. “But Pittsburgh has 50,000 college students, and our challenge is to figure out how to retain them and to increase downtown development.” He said.

But one of the biggest uncertainties is how long he will remain in office. According to the city charter, Mayor Ravenstahl’s term will not expire until November 2009. Some city lawyers, however, have argued that he must face the electorate next year. And residents in Pittsburgh are still withholding judgment on him. Deli, Jimmy Cvetic, a sandwich shop owner, said “I call him Cool Hand Luke. He’ll be all right, but he’s going to need a cool hand to get through this.”

Mayor Ravenstahl said he was still coming to terms with the challenge he faced.

41. About Luke Ravenstahl, which of the following statements is correct?

He is the youngest mayor in the U.S.A.

His family background has contributed to his successful political career.

His young age has won support from media and young voters.

He will be mayor of Pittsburgh at least until 2009.

42. The underlined word “dissipate” in the first paragraph probably means________.

A. disappear                 B. appear                      C. spread               D. reduce

43. What can you infer from the article about Pittsburgh?

A. It is a small town in New York famous for steel mills.

B. It has always enjoyed prosperous economic success.

C. Many young college students there are the new hope of the district.

D. It is a major city in the U.S.A with a population slightly smaller than 100,000.

44. Where can you find this article?

A. A magazine      

B. A brochure about politicians

C. A newspaper

D. An advertisement about some mayor candidates

45. What kind of Challenges will not Luke Ravenstahl cope with?

A. Distrust from his citizens                      B. pressure from other outstanding young majors

C. economical standstill of his city              D. decreasing population in his city

第三部分 阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）       

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 7 — At 26, many people haven’t even decided on a career. Luke Ravenstahl, cashing in on his family’s political tradition, is already the mayor of Pittsburgh, the youngest mayor of any major city in the country. Although mayors elsewhere have been younger, Jeff Dunkel was 18 in 2001 when he was elected mayor of Mount Carbon, small towns in New York, and elsewhere have also elected teenagers as mayors. But, Tallahassee, is the only other city with a population over 100,000 that has had a mayor as young as Mr. Ravenstahl. A supporter of Mr. Ravenstahl said concerns about Mr. Ravenstahl’s age would dissipate once the city saw his work ethic.

But now comes the hard part. As he strives to be taken seriously and take charge of a city only recently back from the brink of bankruptcy, the baby-faced mayor said that even the smallest decisions felt weighty, even what to wear in the Steelers game matters.

And another pressing issue is to strengthen the city’s economy. Pittsburgh has lost all its mills, nearly half its population and much of its downtown commercial district in the last several decades. “But Pittsburgh has 50,000 college students, and our challenge is to figure out how to retain them and to increase downtown development.” He said.

But one of the biggest uncertainties is how long he will remain in office. According to the city charter, Mayor Ravenstahl’s term will not expire until November 2009. Some city lawyers, however, have argued that he must face the electorate next year. And residents in Pittsburgh are still withholding judgment on him. Deli, Jimmy Cvetic, a sandwich shop owner, said “I call him Cool Hand Luke. He’ll be all right, but he’s going to need a cool hand to get through this.”

Mayor Ravenstahl said he was still coming to terms with the challenge he faced.

41. About Luke Ravenstahl, which of the following statements is correct?

A. He is the youngest mayor in the U.S.A.

B. His family background has contributed to his successful political career.

C. His young age has won support from media and young voters.

D. He will be mayor of Pittsburgh at least until 2009.

42. The underlined word “dissipate” in the first paragraph probably means________.

A. disappear                 B. appear                      C. spread               D. reduce

43. What can you infer from the article about Pittsburgh?

A. It is a small town in New York famous for steel mills.

B. It has always enjoyed prosperous economic success.

C. Many young college students there are the new hope of the district.

D. It is a major city in the U.S.A with a population slightly smaller than 100,000.

44. Where can you find this article?

A. A magazine                                  

B. A brochure about politicians

C. A newspaper                          

D. An advertisement about some mayor candidates

45. What kind of Challenges will not Luke Ravenstahl cope with?

A. Distrust from his citizens                     

B. pressure from other outstanding young majors

C. economical standstill of his city             

D. decreasing population in his city

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 7 ― At 26, many people haven’t even decided on a career. Luke Ravenstahl, cashing in on his family’s political tradition, is already the mayor of Pittsburgh, the youngest mayor of any major city in the country. Although mayors elsewhere have been younger, Jeff Dunkel was 18 in 2001 when he was elected mayor of Mount Carbon, small towns in New York, and elsewhere have also elected teenagers as mayors. But, Tallahassee, is the only other city with a population over 100,000 that has had a mayor as young as Mr. Ravenstahl. A supporter of Mr. Ravenstahl said concerns about Mr. Ravenstahl’s age would dissipate once the city saw his work ethic.

But now comes the hard part. As he strives to be taken seriously and take charge of a city only recently back from the brink of bankruptcy, the baby-faced mayor said that even the smallest decisions felt weighty, even what to wear in the Steelers game matters.

And another pressing issue is to strengthen the city’s economy. Pittsburgh has lost all its mills, nearly half its population and much of its downtown commercial district in the last several decades. “But Pittsburgh has 50,000 college students, and our challenge is to figure out how to retain them and to increase downtown development.” He said.

But one of the biggest uncertainties is how long he will remain in office. According to the city charter, Mayor Ravenstahl’s term will not expire until November 2009. Some city lawyers, however, have argued that he must face the electorate next year. And residents in Pittsburgh are still withholding judgment on him. Deli, Jimmy Cvetic, a sandwich shop owner, said “I call him Cool Hand Luke. He’ll be all right, but he’s going to need a cool hand to get through this.”

Mayor Ravenstahl said he was still coming to terms with the challenge he faced.

51. About Luke Ravenstahl, which of the following statements is correct?

A．He is the youngest mayor in the U.S.A.

B．His family background has contributed to his successful political career.

C．His young age has won support from media and young voters.

D．He will be mayor of Pittsburgh at least until 2009.

52. The underlined word “dissipate” in the first paragraph probably means________.

A. disappear                  B. appear                      C. spread               D. reduce

53. What can you infer from the article about Pittsburgh?

A. It is a small town in New York famous for steel mills.

B. It has always enjoyed prosperous economic success.

C. Many young college students there are the new hope of the district.

D. It is a major city in the U.S.A with a population slightly smaller than 100,000.

54. Where can you find this article?

A. A magazine                       B. A brochure about politicians

C. A newspaper                     D. An advertisement about some mayor candidates

55. What kind of Challenges will not Luke Ravenstahl cope with?

A. Distrust from his citizens                       B. pressure from other outstanding young majors

C. economical standstill of his city              D. decreasing population in his city