Not many people know that U.S. President Calvin Coolidge did not always live in the White House. Sometimes he lived in the nearby Willard Hotel.

Once, in the middle of a night, the President awoke to see a thief searching his clothes. Coolidge calmy spoke up from the darkness, “I wish you wouldn’t take that watch.”

“Why?” asked the shocked man.

Coolidged answered, “Take it near the window and read what is engraved on the back of it.”

The man read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidged, Speaker of the House, by the Massachusetts General Court.” He was very surprised!

“Are you President Coolidge?” he asked. He had never thought he would find the president sleeping in a hotel!

“Yes, I am” Coolidge said. Then he asked, “Why are you doing this,Son?”

The young man explained that he and a friend traveled to Washington during their college vacation. They spent all of their money and had no money to pay the hotel bill and the train tickets back to school.

Coolidge added up those fees. It came to $32.  That may not sound like much now, but it was a big sum then. “I’ll give you the $32 as a loan,” the President said, “And I expect you to pay me back.”

The youth thanked him. Coolidge left him with this warning: “Son, you are a nice boy, you are better than you are acting. You are starting down the wrong road. Just remember who you are.”

It wasn’t until after the death of Mr.Coolidge that this story was allowed to come out. It was first published in the Los Angeles Times. And the most interesting of all is that the President’s notes show that the young man was indeed better than he was acting. He repaid the $32 loan in full.

.The president stopped the youth from stealing the watch because          

 A. It was his favorite watch.

 B. He wanted to give some money to the youth

 C. He wanted to help the young man from getting into trouble

D. He used it for work and daily life

It can be inferred from the passage that      

   A. the youth’s family was in financial difficulty

   B. hotel fees were rather expensive at that time

   C. the youth never connected with the president again

   D. the youth learned a lesson from his experience with the president

How did people first get to know the story of the president with the youth?

   A. From the president himself

   B. From a newspaper

   C. From the youth’s notes

   D. From the youth himself

We can learn from the passage that      

A. possessions can be given up when necessary

B. generosity should be encouraged in some cases

C. people can benefit from their unforgettable experiences

D. an act of kindness may change a person’s life

Sports Tickets

The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit－card (信用卡) fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site（非法网站）.

　 Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care.

　 On－line shoppers who enter their credit－card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number—or sell the information over the Internet. Computers hackers (黑客) have broken down security（安全）systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25,000 customers of CD Universe, an on－line music retailer (零售商) , were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit－card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157,828 to get back the information.?

　 Credit－card firms are now fighting against on－line fraud. MasterCard is working on plans for Web－only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on－line. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated (欺骗).?

　 Ask about your credit－card firm’s on－line rules: Under British law, cardholders have to pay the first US $78 of any fraudulent (欺骗性的) spending.

　 And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit－card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system.?

　 If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right－hand corner of your screen. The Web site address may also start https: // － the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, give your credit－card information over the telephone.

　　Keep your password（密码）safe: Most on－line sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.? 

What is the meaning of “fraud”??

A. Cheating. 　　　B. Sale. 　　　　C. Payment. 　　　D. Safety.? 　

How can the thieves get the information of the credit card??

A. The customers give them the information.?

B. The thieves steal the information from Web sites.?

C. The customers sell the information to them.?

D. The thieves buy the information from credit card firms.? 　　

How many pieces of advice does the passage give to you??

A. Four. 　　　　　B. Three. 　　　　C. Five. 　　　　D. Six.

You are shopping on the site: http: // www. Shopping. com, and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest to do??

A. Order the TV set at once. ?　

B. Do not buy the TV set on this site.?

C. E－mail the site your credit－card information.?

D. Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you.?

Who’s in control of your life? Who is pulling your string? For the majority of us, it’s other people—society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course. We were brainwashed. We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us. As Oscar Wilde puts it, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry(模仿), their passions a quotation.”

So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good. We long for this good feeling like a drug. Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to. Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix (一剂毒品). We worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval.

But, just as with any drug, there is a price to pay. The price of the approval drug is freedom—the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think. People have their own agenda, and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they're more interested in themselves than in you. Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand. Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time. The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process.

So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way—make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think. We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values---not values imposed（强加）from the outside by others, but innate values which come from within. If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others, we will live a more authentic, effective, purposeful and happy life.

What Oscar Wilde says implies that _____________.

A. we have thoughts similar to those of others

B. most people have a variety of thoughts

C. most people’s thoughts are controlled by others

D. other people’s thoughts are more important

What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph ?

A. We may lose ourselves to please others.

B. Changing opinions may cost us our freedom.

C. We need to pay for what we want to get.

D. The price of taking drugs is freedom.

In order to live a happy, effective and purposeful life, we should _________.

A. care about others’ opinions and change opinions all the time

B. guide ourselves by means of values from the outside

C. persuade others to accept our opinions

D. stick to our own values

It can be concluded from the passage that __________.

A. we shouldn’t care what others think     B. it’s better to do what we like

C. we shouldn't change our own opinions   D. it’s important to accept others’ opinions