Today I was at the mall waiting for friends, when a lady wearing a knit hat and a sweater came up to me and, shivering, said, “I’m homeless. Would you mind buying me some food?”
In that split second, everything I’d learned since kindergarten flashed through my mind. Don’t talk to strangers … Be a good citizen … People will take ­advantage of you … Treat others as you wish to be treated … The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return … I guess love won the debate. “Sure,” I said. “What would you like?”
She thought and then said, “I’d like to get Chinese food.” We headed upstairs. On the way she told me about when she was a teenager. She remembers taking pictures for the yearbook with her best friend. She was in the band and played basketball. She got good grades and was a good student.
She ordered soup, an egg roll, white rice, and pepper chicken. I would normally think that was a lot, but she had probably barely eaten in the last few days. I got my usual – lo mein and General Tso’s chicken.
As we ate, we got to know each other. She asked if I played any instruments. I replied that I played the violin, cello, and guitar. She told me she played the flute, piano, guitar, and violin. In the middle of our meal, I realized something. And she thought of it at exactly the same time.
“So, what’s your name?” she asked.
“I’m Claire,” I said, startled at our exact same thought. “What’s yours?”
“Joyce,” she said with a smile.
We continued talking, and she asked my favorite subjects in school and if I wanted to go to college. “Hopefully,” I replied. “I’m interested in nursing.”
“I went to college for nursing,” she said.
I was taken aback. How could we have so much in common? Was she pretending so I’d feel sympathy for her? But her eyes were genuine as she said this.
Meanwhile I was eating my lo mein, picking around the cabbage and the other vegetables. Joyce said, “If you don’t like it you can take it back.” I told her that I liked it, but was not fond of the vegetables. She broke into a big grin. “You don’t like vegetables, huh? Neither did I. But now I do.” I immediately felt guilty. How could I be picking at my food across from someone who barely gets to eat at all?
I tried my best to finish, but she seemed to sense my guilt and said, “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want it.” How could she know what I was feeling? I told her the dish was my favorite, but I just eat slowly.
She replied, “I used to like lo mein, but pepper chicken was my dad’s favorite, so I get that now.” Noticing that she used the word “was,” I assumed her dad had passed away. I found it sweet that she gave up her favorite in order to honor her dad.
She asked why I was at the mall.
“I’m waiting for friends. We’re going to see ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’” I replied, stumbling over the words a bit.
“‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’” she echoed in awe. “What’s that about?” I realized that she didn’t see commercials for movies.
I explained the basic plot and she chuckled. “A man who is born 80 years old and ages backwards! That sounds interesting.”
She got up to get a to-go box. “Would you like one?” she asked, but I refused. I realized that this food would probably last her for a few days, and I was glad she had ordered a lot.
“Would you like these?” I asked, gesturing at the food I had left untouched. “Oh, no, thank you,” she said. “This is enough.” I got up to throw my tray away, feeling guilty about wasting so much.
“I need to meet my friends now,” I explained. “It was so nice to meet you, Joyce.”
“You too, Claire,” she replied with a smile. “Thank you.”
I headed to the theater, and she went back downstairs. It sounds like a perfect coincidence, but I can’t help but think that some force compelled us to meet. I kept puzzling, Why is Joyce homeless? It seems so unfair. She shouldn’t need people to buy her dinner. She was a nurse. She got good grades. She took pictures for her yearbook. She was the person I hope to be in the future. What went wrong? How could such a good life be rewarded with horrible luck?
I feel lucky to have run into Joyce. She changed my outlook. She is still a wonderful person, despite what the world has done to her. I wish her the best, and can only hope that the force that brought us together will help her find what she deserves in life.
【小题1】From the second paragraph we know that the writer _________.

The night was dark, though sometimes the moving clouds allowed a star or two to be seen in the sky.The poor men held on to any bit of ____ they could find. They called to the Marie for ? ? ? but she was far ? ? ? the reach of the human voice. At one o’clock in the morning suddenly some ? ? ? were seen in the distance: another ship! The shouts of the ? ? ? were heard on board, and willing hands pulled them out of the water. The ? ? ? of the ship that had arrived at the scene ? ? ? to save their lives was Ellen. What had ? ? ? her to the exact spot ? ? ? the darkness and the pathless sea? Her captain had known ? ? ? of the wreck and had, indeed,? ? ? to sail away from it. But let him speak for himself.

“ ? I was forced by the wind to change my course, a small bird flew across the ship once or twice and then flew at my face. I ? of this until exactly the same thing happened a second time, ? caused me to think it rather ? . While I was this ? , the same bird, for the third time, made its appearance and flew ? in the same way as before. I was then ? to change my course back to the original one. I had not gone far ? I heard a strange voice; and when I tried to ? where they came from, I found I was in the middle of people who had been shipwrecked. I immediately did my best to save them.”

1.A. land????????????? B. grass????????????? C. hope????????????? D. wood

2.A. food????????????? B. help????????????? C. rest????????????? D. stop

3.A. off????????????? B. out????????????? C. beyond????????????? ????????????? D. from

4.A. people????????????? B. lights????????????? C. ships????????????? D. houses

5.A. sailors????????????? B. captains????????????? C. rescuers????????????? ????????????? D. swimmers

6.A. name????????????? B. owner????????????? C. captain????????????? ????????????? D. finder

7.A. ahead of time????????????? B. at times????????????? C. on time????????????? D. in time

8.A. brought????????????? B. carried????????????? C. kept????????????? D. caused

9.A. in ????????????? B. on ????????????? C. through????????????? ????????????? D. around

10.A. everything B. nothing????????????? C. something????????????? D. Anything

11.A. attempted B. managed????????????? C. allowed????????????? ????????????? D. demanded

12.A. Just as????????????? B. In case????????????? C. Only because????????????? D. Even though

13.A. paid no attention? B. took good care??? C. took no notice????????????? D. kept close watch

14.A. which????????????? B. what????????????? C. that????????????? D. this

15.A. Interesting? B. funny????????????? C. friendly????????????? D. unusual

16.A. searching????????????? B. expecting????????????? C. considering????????????? D. studying

17.A. back????????????? B. about????????????? C. up????????????? D. down

18.A. forced????????????? B. decided????????????? C. persuaded????????????? D. forbidden

19.A. when????????????? B. until????????????? C. then????????????? D. while

20.A. listen to ????????????? B. search for????????????? C. make sure????????????? ????????????? D. look out

D
When I walked into the house after school, I found my dad at home.
"What are you doing home already?" I asked casually.
"Andrew, I was laid off today," he answered quietly.
I was sure he was joking. "No, you weren't. Why are you really home?"
Then I noticed his expression and realized he was telling the truth. My father has always been a hard worker and prided himself on his career. My father's unemployment created many changes in our lives. He was home all day, which meant my bed had to be made, my room cleaned up, and my homework done right after school. I would come home every day to find him at the computer searching for jobs. I began to notice how down he seemed, and how losing his job had affected his self-esteem (自尊心), though he tried to be optimistic. He asked my brother and me to spend less money. I gave up my allowance（零用钱）, which even though it wasn't much, felt like the right thing to do. I also found a part-time job.
After several difficult months of searching, my dad decided to go in a totally different direction. He explained that he never wanted to be laid off again, so he was going to start his own business. Day by day, I watched him build it, and I admired how much time and energy he devoted to it.
One evening I asked if he needed help. "Only if it doesn't interfere（打扰，妨碍） with school," he said, which sounded like a yes.
I showed up at his office the next afternoon, and most afternoons after that for two months. I always knew he was a hard worker, but watching him in action really influenced me. Although this was one of the worst experiences for our family, it taught me a lot about dealing with adversity. Now I know that through creative problem-solving, I can always find Plans, ask for help, and take risks. 
54．When the father was laid off, he ________.
A．was angry with his boss             B．didn't care about it at all
C．couldn't accept the fact easily         D．was as happy as usual
55．We can know from the passage that ________.
A．it was not easy for the father to find a new job
B．the father asked his sons to give up their allowance
C．the father found a good job when he changed his direction
D．Andrew and his brother helped his father set up his business
56．The underlined word "adversity" in the last paragraph probably means        .
A．poor feelings     B．bad situations     C．low spirits     D．old ideas
57．What has Andrew learned from his father?
A．The spirit of creative problem-solving.    B．The skills of surfing the Internet.
C．The experience of saving money.         D．The rich business skills.

It was graduation day at the university where I work and a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor. On that cold day years ago, as we watched the students walking into the hall, one of my colleagues（同事）turned to me and said, “Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest time of your life.” At my request, he answered, “Because the students you have got to know have to leave.”
As years went by, my previous confusion about my colleague’s words no longer existed. When I came across naughty students, I had to rethink why I chose to be a teacher. It obviously isn’t the money. Once a former computer science student of mine called me, asking me if I wanted to have a change. He was working at Nintendo Corporation. His salary was higher than my present one, though I have more education and have worked for over 10 years. With my programming skills, he said he could get me hired, I thanked him, but refused his kind offer.
A few days before this graduation, while working on final grades, I found a note a student had slipped in with her homework. She thanked me for being her teacher and said the things she had learned in my class – not about math, but about life – would be things she would remember long after the math skills had faded away. As I finished reading, I remembered why I had become a teacher.
Now, on this sunny graduation day, as I again observed the sea of blue hats and gowns, I did so with a deeper sense of satisfaction – I will always be grateful that I am a teacher.
【小题1】Hearing his colleague’s description of graduation for the first time, the author ______.

Mother: You don’t look happy, Cathy.       【小题1】        
Cathy: I didn’t do well in the chemistry test.
Mother: Really? I could hardly believe you were not doing well in chemistry.             【小题2】       What happened this time?
Cathy:    【小题3】      I found all the questions easy and I finished the test in no time.
Mother: Yes. It is one of your weaknesses.
Cathy: Yes.      【小题4】      I made some very stupid mistakes that I shouldn’t have made.
Mother:       【小题5】       
Cathy: Yes, I have certainly learned a lesson.