Autumn means different things to different people. It all depends on your personality, said British naturalist Richard Mabey. "Personality shapes your view of the season," he said. "You may see it as a fading away, a packing up（结束）, or as a time of packing in another sense – the excited gathering of resources before a long journey."
If this is true, perhaps it tells us a little about, for instance, Thomas Hood, the 19th Century English poet. About November, he wrote:
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees
November!
On the other hand, another English poet John Keats, already sensing he was seriously ill, was inspired by a late September day to pen one of the most famous poems in the English language, To Autumn. He wrote to a friend afterwards that there was something comforting and healing about it.
According to Richard Mabey, Keats has the biological evidence on his side. Autumn is not a time of slowing down, but a time of new beginnings and great movements of creatures. For example, just at the moment that Keats's "gathering swallows" （in To Autumn） are departing for Africa, millions of creatures are fleeing from the frozen north like Iceland, Greenland and Russia to winter along the east and south coasts of Britain. According to scientists, before falling, the leaves transfer their chlorophyll（叶绿素） and carbohydrates into the woody parts of the tree for safe-keeping over winter. What remains are the natural antioxidants（防老剂） in the leaves: the yellow and orange carotenoids（类胡萝卜素）, and another protective chemical specially produced for autumn, the bright-red anthocyanin（花青素）. High color is not a signal of deterioration（退化） and decline, but of detox（排毒的） ability and good health.
A century after Keats, the American poet Loren Eiseley wrote in his journal: "Suppose we saw ourselves burning like maples in a golden autumn. [And that we could] disintegrate（瓦解） like autumn leaves…dropping their substance like chlorophyll. Would not our attitude towards death be different?"
【小题1】From Thomas Hood’s poem, we may infer that _______.

British Summer Time runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. In the depths of winter the nights in the UK are anything from 15-19 hours long. Longer nights mean frost and fog are more likely to form.
Twice a year the clocks change, forward in the spring and then back again in the autumn. But why? It happens twice a year. We all change our clocks and watches by one hour. In the spring, we add an hour, and go onto what is called British Summer Time, while in the autumn, we do the reverse, and return to Greenwich Mean Time.
Why bother?
It’s all to do with saving the hours of daylight, and was started by a guy called William Willett, a London builder, who lived in Petts Wood in Kent. Basically, he figured that you could improve the population’s health and happiness by putting forward the clocks by twenty minutes every Sunday in April and do the opposite in September.
Economics
His idea was not taken up, even though a “Daylight Saving Bill” was introduced some five years before the outbreak of World War One. But once the war started, it was considered wise to economics, to promote greater efficiency in using daylight hours, and in the use of artificial lighting. And so in 1916, “Daylight Saving Time” was introduced. Even though most countries abandoned this after that war, some eventually decided that it was a good idea, and most of these nations began to keep it throughout the year.
Experiment
Since 1972, Britain has decided to go with Greenwich Mean Time in winter, and British Summer Time in Summer.
But back in 1968, Britain tried a four-year experiment by advancing time one hour ahead of GMT throughout the year.
But those living further north, particularly in Scotland, found it most unsatisfactory, with dark mornings for much of the year, and the experiment was dropped.
But the arguments go on …and on.
【小题1】Why some countries decide to change the clocks after World War One?

British Summer Time runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. In the depths of winter the nights in the UK are anything from 15-19 hours long. Longer nights mean frost and fog are more likely to form.

Twice a year the clocks change, forward in the spring and then back again in the autumn. But why? It happens twice a year. We all change our clocks and watches by one hour. In the spring, we add an hour, and go onto what is called British Summer Time, while in the autumn, we do the reverse, and return to Greenwich Mean Time.

Why bother?

It’s all to do with saving the hours of daylight, and was started by a guy called William Willett, a London builder, who lived in Petts Wood in Kent. Basically, he figured that you could improve the population’s health and happiness by putting forward the clocks by twenty minutes every Sunday in April and do the opposite in September.

Economics

His idea was not taken up, even though a “Daylight Saving Bill” was introduced some five years before the outbreak of World War One. But once the war started, it was considered wise to economics, to promote greater efficiency in using daylight hours, and in the use of artificial lighting. And so in 1916, “Daylight Saving Time” was introduced. Even though most countries abandoned this after that war, some eventually decided that it was a good idea, and most of these nations began to keep it throughout the year.

Experiment

Since 1972, Britain has decided to go with Greenwich Mean Time in winter, and British Summer Time in Summer.

But back in 1968, Britain tried a four-year experiment by advancing time one hour ahead of GMT throughout the year.

But those living further north, particularly in Scotland, found it most unsatisfactory, with dark mornings for much of the year, and the experiment was dropped.

But the arguments go on …and on.

1.Why some countries decide to change the clocks after World War One?

A．To improve the people’s health and happiness.

B．To do a certain experiment

C．To save energy to develop economies.

D．All of the above.

2.What can you infer from the passage?

A．The idea of changing the clocks suffered disagreement.

B．The people in Scotland don’t change the clocks.

C．The idea was first thought of by an educator.

D．It’s unnecessary to change the clocks.

3.What is the real meaning of the last sentence of the passage?

A．Nobody in the UK likes the idea.

B．All things need arguments.

C．The British are fond of arguments.

D．Different views of the idea still exist.

I drove a school bus as a part-time job. Thirty-nine children all had stories to tell me about their summers. Charlie though __16__me. From the first day on Charlie was __17__. If a fight broke out I didn’t have to turn my __18__to know who had started it. If a girl was crying chances were that Charlie had __19__ her hair. No matter how I spoke to him gently or __20__ he wouldn’t say a word. He’d just __21__ me with those big gray eyes of his. One day I found a small tin heart (小锡心)on the bus was gone. “Does anyone know __22__happened to the little heart here” I asked. Some children cried “Charlie __23__it Search him” When I asked him to come forward his gaze( 注视) __24__ my eyes. I stuck my hand into one of his pockets. Then I felt it—the __25__ outline(轮廓)of the small tin heart. Charlie stared at me for a long time. There were no __26__ in those big gray eyes no plea( 恳求) for mercy. He seemed to be waiting for what he’d come to __27__ from the world. I was about to pull the tin heart out of Charlie’s pocket __28__I stopped myself. Let him keep it, I said “It must have fallen off before I got here.” Without a word Charlie __29__ to his seat. When he got off at his stop, he didn’t so much as glance at me. Several days later just that__30__ Charlie moved away… A dozen years after retirement we met in the street. To my __31__, he hugged me. After he let go, he pulled something from his pocket and held it up for me to see. An old key chain… bent out of __32__, the lettering faded (消褪). You __33__probably guess what it was—the little tin heart. “You were the only one who kept trying.” He explained. We __34__ again and went our separate ways. I am so __35__ I’d done a good job.

There was a temple, in front of  which stood an ancient banyan ( 菩提树 ). One ____

morning, a monk got up to____the courtyard and noticed the fallen leaves were everywhere. He couldn’t help worrying and stared at the tree to____. Suddenly he dropped the broom and rushed to his master’s room. He knocked at the door to request for____.

When the master caught sight of his worried____，he thought something must have taken place. He asked with ____,“Why are you in a panic？”

The young monk was full of____and questioned，“Master, you persuade us to struggle to____our moral character and grasp the truth. However, even though I learn them well, it is hard to avoid____. Till then, aren't we just like the leaves in autumn or the deadwood in winter? And we will be buried by a handful of soil？”

Having heard it, the master pointed at the ancient banyan and____to him,“There is no____to worry about it. With winds blowing hard and the snow falling down heavily，the leaves in autumn and the deadwood in winter will climb back to the trees____and become the flowers in spring and grow up into the leaves in summer.”

“Why don't I see it？”

“The____is that there isn't any view in your heart, so you can't see the bloom.”

Facing the dancing leaves and____they will be in bloom, you need to be optimistic.  There are always some miseries which may____you when you are unprepared, but we don't need to worry for the____of this day.

Treat life with the attitude of optimism, because it can not only____the pain and misfortune, but also bring a kind of____mood to you. As long as the____is in the heart, the paths full of the sweet smell of flowers are____.

1.A．spring　　　　        B．summer　　　   C．autumn 　　      D．winter

2.A．take up    B．make up      C．bring up      D．clean up

3.A．sign B．sigh     C．admire         D．cheer

4.A．interview B．invitation     C．arrangementD．description

5.A．expression       B．impression  C．attitude       D．behavior

6.A．excitement       B．anger  C．concern      D．courage

7.A．doubt       B．pride  C．respect        D．enthusiasm

8.A．change     B．develop       C．show   D．discover

9.A．danger     B．death  C．growth         D．accident

10.A．announced    B．suggested   C．explained    D．declared

11.A．wonder B．choice         C．use      D．need

12.A．quickly   B．silently         C．badly  D．worriedly

13.A．result     B．answer        C．reason         D．course

14.A．imagining        B．realizing      C．demanding D．designing

15.A．relieve   B．occupy        C．strike  D．abandon

16.A．beginning       B．arrival C．harm   D．dream

17.A．agree     B．dissolve       C．compare     D．choose

18.A．disappointed B．puzzled        C．satisfied       D．left

19.A．environment B．view    C．point   D．sight

20.A．somewhere   B．everywhere         C．somehow    D．anyhow