A
Once there was a man who liked to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are exposed to the sun the most are the sweetest.
So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but, in an attempt to climb down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground. Fortunately, he caught the branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.
Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived — a well-known sage (a wise person) who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious to see what he would do, as he was famous in solving many people’s problems in the area and sometimes very complicated ones.
He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone and threw it at the hanging man.
Everybody was surprised. The hanging mango lover started to shout: “What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?” The sage was silent. Then he took another stone and threw it at the man. The man was very angry: “If I could just come down, I would show you!”
That’s what everybody wanted. Then he was coming down. But how? Now everybody was tense about what would happen next! Some wanted to blame the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man on the tree was even more angry and developed a great determination to come down and take revenge (复仇).
He then used all his skill and strength and somehow reached the branches which were safe to start going down. And he made it! Everybody was amazed.
However, the rescued man found the sage gone. He stood there, realizing that the man really saved him because he induced (引诱) him to try his best and save himself.
“I should be thankful and not angry.”
【小题1】From the story we know that the sweetest mango must be the one ______.

D
At the railway stations all across Britain next week, groups of students will gather with their backpacks to wait for the trains that will carry them home for Christmas. This is a large movement of human beings as before, but with more contradictory traffic flows, so that trains filled with the young pass each other travelling in every direction.
At first, I went home every weekend with my washing, but then those visits became less regular. How did I let my parents know I was coming? They had no phone. Perhaps I wrote to them (“Expect me with dirty shirts this Friday afternoon”), but more likely I didn’t let them know, and just turned up or didn’t turn up, not understanding that my parents’ hopes of seeing me were a greater disappointment of my carelessness than a spoiled tea.
And in all this I suspect I was typical (有代表性的), at least of young men. As for our fathers and mothers, none of them talked of “empty-nest syndrome (综合症)”, even though its possible effect that the main human duty is to protect and feed the young would have suited their generation better than ours. Then, the feeling of loss went without a name. Today, it’s a condition with remedies, which will make parents feel more enjoyable in their life, The Mayo Clinic, for example, suggests you try to maintain regular contact with your children through “visits, phone calls, emails, texts or video chats”. If you feel unhappy, lean on (depend on … for support) loved ones or your mental health providers. Above all, stay positive: “Thinking about the extra time and energy that you might have to devote to your marriage or personal interests after your last child leaves home, it might help you adapt to this major life change.”
What can’t be denied, however, is that children often leave home. In modern societies, this is what they do. Christmas is the very time they can be depended on to return. For the non-religious, that may be this season’s true comfort and significance.
【小题1】The main reason for the busy traffic across Britain next week is that _______.

A recent Living Social survey showed that Americans may live up to their poor reputation while travelling abroad. But what’s more surprising is that many of those surveyed self-identified themselves as ‘ugly’ Americans and the world’s worst travelers.
Those in the U.S. ranked themselves as the worst travellers by a shocking 20 per cent, followed by 15 per cent saying the Chinese were the most substandard tourists.
Americans topped the list as being the worst-behaved travelers in a survey of 5,600 respondents, 4,000 of whom were Americans. Other respondents were in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. But even American respondents considered their compatriots(同胞) as the worst travelers from a list of 16 nationalities.
Canadians and Australians also put Americans in the No. 1 spot. Irish respondents pointed to U.K. residents and U.K. respondents gave Germans the nod. On the other hand, 37% of Americans opted for "none of the above" in answer to the worst-tourists question, displaying more tolerance and open-mindedness than the other nationalities.
Other survey questions had respondents admitting pilfering from hotels. Four in ten U.S. survey-takers said they’d stolen something – mostly towels (28%) and bathrobes (8%). Other popular pinched items included pillows, remote controls, Bibles and sheets.
Not surprising is that Americans have less time off from work than other nationalities. Americans reported getting 16 days off, compared with 28 days for the Irish, 27 days for Australians, 23 days for U.K. workers; and 21 days for Canadians.
In the travel mishaps department, the most common travel disaster reported by Americans was lost luggage on an airline (21%)； bad weather (21%)； and getting very lost (16%).
As for places Americans most want to see, Disney World and Las Vegas made the top 10, but they weren't at the top of the heap. And New York didn't make the cut.
【小题1】What percentage of American respondents is in the survey?

A poor farmer had a friend who was famous for the wonderful apples he grew. One day, his friend ___36__ him a young apple tree and told him to take it home and __37__ it.

Seeing the gift, the farmer was very__38____, and he thought he would also have a lot of wonderful apples, but when he got home, he had a(n) ___39__. He didn’t know___40___ to plant it. He thought over and over and __41___ every place he could think of. __42____ he decided to plant the tree in his woods. There were many high trees with thick leaves in the woods. With those trees around no one else could___43___ the young apple tree. He even felt proud of himself for finding so___44___ a place for the apple tree. Every day he went to take care of the tree, __45___ it. To his surprise and ___46___, the apple tree didn’t grow as he had __47___. It died without sunlight and good soil.

Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a __48__ place. “ What’s the difference?” the farmer said angrily, “ If I had planted the tree near the___49____, passers-by would have stolen the fruit. If I had planted the tree in one of my fields, my neighbors would have come at night and ___50___ some of the apples! If I had planted it near my house, my own children would have taken the ___51_. No matter where I plant the tree, I can’t  have__52__ to enjoy the apples. So there is no difference where I planted it.”

“ Yes,” said the friend, “but __53____ someone could have enjoyed the fruit. Now you not only have robbed everyone of the fruit, but also have __54___ a good apple tree! You don’t know the true meaning of ‘share’!”

We should learn to __55___ in our life.  The more you want to own something all by yourself, the less you get at last.

1.                A．lent           B．gave           C．sold D．bought

2.                A．study          B．keep           C．plant D．develop

3.                A．tired           B．sad            C．angry D．happy

4.                A．surprise        B．worry          C．accident  D．question

5.                A．where         B．how           C．when D．whether

6.                A．practiced       B．tried           C．visited    D．considered

7.                A．Finally          B．Generally       C．Suddenly D．Recently

8.                A．like            B．see            C．move D．hurt

9.                A．beautiful        B．secret          C．unusual   D．faraway

10.               A．watering        B．watching        C．correcting D．appreciating

11.               A．pleasure        B．excitement      C．disappointment D．satisfaction

12.               A．known         B．said           C．expected  D．heard

13.               A．poor           B．great          C．suitable   D．comfortable

14.               A．park           B．river           C．hill   D．road

15.               A．borrowed       B．stolen          C．chosen    D．collected

16.               A．leaves         B．flowers         C．fruit  D．tree

17.               A．rights          B．time           C．chances   D．interest

18.               A．as a matter of fact B．in fact          C．first of all  D．at least

19.               A．destroyed      B．thrown         C．pulled D．won

20.               A．wait           B．share          C．gain  D．enjoy

A poor farmer had a friend who was famous for the wonderful apples he grew. One day, his friend ___36__ him a young apple tree and told him to take it home and __37____it.

Seeing the gift, the farmer was very__38____, and he thought he would also have a lot of wonderful apples, but when he got home, he had a(n) ___39__. He didn’t know___40___ to plant it. He thought over and over and __41___ every place he could think of. __42____ he decided to plant the tree in his woods. There were many high trees with thick leaves in the woods. With those trees around no one else could___43___ the young apple tree. He even felt proud of himself for finding so___44___ a place for the apple tree. Every day he went to take care of the tree, __45___ it. To his surprise and ___46___, the apple tree didn’t grow as he had __47___. It died without sunlight and good soil.

Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a __48__ place. “ What’s the difference?” the farmer said angrily, “ If I had planted the tree near the___49____, passers-by would have stolen the fruit. If I had planted the tree in one of my fields, my neighbours would have come at night and ___50___ some of the apples! If I had planted it near my house, my own children would have taken the ___51_. No matter where I plant the tree, I can’t have__52____ to enjoy the apples. So there is no difference where I planted it.”

“ Yes,” said the friend, “but __53____ someone could have enjoyed the fruit. Now you not only have robbed everyone of the fruit, but also have __54___ a good apple tree! You don’t know the true meaning of ‘share’!”

We should learn to __55___ in our life, The more you want to own something all by yourself, the less you get at last.

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