Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into actions. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register（收款机）with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash (现金), had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.

I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.

Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Charge it to me,” was all he said.

What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.

1.The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits_________ .

A. hoped to have the food first and pay later 

B. promised to obey the store rules 

C. forgot to take any money with him

D. could not afford anything more expensive

2.Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?

A. kind and lucky       B. friendly and helpful  

C. poor and lonely     D. hurt and disappointed

3.The writer acted upon the store rules because_________ .

A. he felt no pity for the old gentleman

B. he considered the old man dishonest     

C. he expected someone else to pay for the old man

D. he wanted to keep his present job        

4.What does the writer learn from his experience?

A. Wealth is more important than anything else    

B. Experience is better gained through practice

C. Obeying the rules means more than compassion.

D. Helping others is easier said than done

B
Welcome to Language upon Thames. This brochure has been designed to give you an
overview of our Language School and the courses we offer. If you have some additional questions
please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.
At Language upon Thames, we feel it is important to be flexible, in order that students can
decide what period of study suits them best.
Small Group General English Courses
These courses are aimed at students who wish to improve their speaking, listening, reading and
writing skills and are offered at the following levels:
BEGINNERS
ELEMENTARY（初级）
PRE-INTERMEDIATE
INTERMEDIATE
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE
Studying one of the above courses will enable you to use English more confidently and competently （适合地）on a daily basis.
Try our free online test to see which level you are at —CLICK HERE
Exam courses
These courses are aimed at students who wish to gain academic qualifications in English and are offered at the following levels:
University of Cambridge exams:
ADVANCED1—FCE（First certificate）
ADVANCED2—CAE（Advanced）
ADVANCED3—CPE（Proficiency）
Studying one of the above courses will enable you to continue your education or enter university in this country. （Students wishing to gain admission to a British university are normally required to have the Cambridge Proficiency Certificate.）
Speaking, Listening & Pronunciation
This course builds on communicative confidence and competence and is aimed at students who
wish to develop the important skills of speaking and listening.
Emphasis is also placed on pronunciation, with activities designed to meet the needs of
students of different nationalities, who need to focus on different areas.
CLICK HERE to register for a General English course.
Other Languages
At Language upon Thames we offer a wide range of cafes, restaurants, shops and bars. Most importantly, we have foreign language classes of French, Japanese, German, Spanish and Italian during the day, evening or on a one-to-one basis.
45．What does this passage mainly talk about?
A．An overview of the language school.
B．Ways to develop students’ language skills.
C．A brief introduction to some English courses.
D．Solutions to build students’ communicative confidence.
46．If you attend Exam Courses, you will __________.
A．use English more confidently and competently
B．gain academic qualifications in English
C．have better pronunciation and deal with everyday English well
D．be able to get admitted into a university for further education in this country
47．Judging from the description, we can tell that this passage must be taken from__________.
A．a newspaper     B．a magazine       C．the Internet      D．a guidebook
48．According to the passage，we may conclude that the English courses offered by Language upon
Thames__________．
A．are flexible but with few language activities designed for students of different nationalities
B．are flexible and will meet the needs of students at different levels and with different
backgrounds
C．place much emphasis on language skills but pay less attention to the needs of learners
D．are all aimed to improve students’ communicative competence by giving classes on a one—
to-one basis

Of course, the main difference on the Chinese dinner table is chopsticks instead of knife and fork, but that’s only superficial. Besides, in decent restaurants, you can always ask for a pair of knife and fork, if you find the chopsticks not helpful enough. The real difference is that in the West, you have your own plate of food, while in China the dishes are placed on the table and everyone shares. If you are being treated to a formal dinner and particularly if the host thinks you’re in the country for the first time, he will do the best to give you a taste of many different types of dishes.

The meal usually begins with a set of at least four cold dishes, to be followed by the main courses of hot meat and vegetable dishes. Soup then will be served (unless in Guangdong style restaurants) to be followed by staple food ranging from rice, noodles to dumplings. If you wish to have your rice to go with other dishes, you should say so in good time, for most of the Chinese choose to have the staple food at last or have none of them at all.

Perhaps one of the things that surprise a western visitor most is that some of the Chinese hosts like to put food into the plates of their guests. In formal dinners, there are always “public” chopsticks and spoons for this purpose, but some hosts may use their own chopsticks. This is a sign of genuine friendship and politeness. It is always polite to eat the food. If you do not eat it, just leave the food in the plate.

　  People in China tend to over-order food, for they will find it embarrassing if all the food is consumed. When you have had enough, just say so. Or you will always overeat!

1.What’s the main difference on dinner table between China and West is ___________.

A．On Chinese dinner table, chopsticks replace knife and fork.

B．The host will do the best to give you a taste of many different types of dishes.

C．You’re treated to a formal dinner for the first time.

D．You have your own plate of food in West while in China everyone shares the dishes.

2.If you have a dinner in a Chinese home, in which order will the food be served in China?

a. a set of four cold dishes.

b. staple food such as rice, noodle or dumplings.

c. the main courses of hot meat and vegetable dishes.

d. serving soup.

A．acbd             B．cabd             C．acdb             D．cadb

3.According to the passage, we can infer that ___________.

A．Chinese all think it impolite for guests to ask for a pair of knife and fork.

B．Chinese think it impolite for guests to leave food in the plate.

C．People in China tend to over-order food, for they will find it embarrassing if all the food is consumed.

D．Chinese think it polite to put food into the plated of the guests with their own chopsticks.

4.The sentence, in passage 2, “you should say so in good time” means ______________.

A．you should say so happily

B．you’d better say so

C．you should say so early

D．you should say so kindly.

5.The “public chopsticks and spoons” are used to ______.

A．show the politeness to the guests.

B．put food into the plates of their guests

C．share the food together

D．show the genuine friendship and politeness

If you plan on visiting to Fiji, you are probably looking for some fun things to do. Below are four unusual places.

The Poseidon Resort

   The Poseidon resort is an underwater resort that gives visitors a beautiful view of sea life. This resort covers 255 acres. It’s covered and surrounded by a lagoon (咸水湖) that covers 5,000 acres and is about 90 feet under water, giving you a beautiful view of sea life right before your eyes. This resort even has a hotel for those who would prefer to have the unusual experience of sleeping and waking up to the beautiful scenery all around them.

The Sabeto Mud Pool

   If you’re looking for something unusual to do, you can’t pass up the mud pool at Sabeto. It is located in a mountain range with a huge group of Geothermal (地热的) pools full of nice, warm mud. Getting down and into the mud in the pool is believed to have benefits for healthy skin. This is unusual, but adults and especially kids will love it.

Fire Walking

   Fire walking in Fiji is believed to have originated on the island of Beau. Fire walking is when you walk on white-hot stones barefoot. To do this, you have to be mentally prepared for it. Trust me; there is a lot of preparation and strict rules that travelers follow in order to do this safely.

The Fiji Museum

   The Fiji museum is unusual due to all the amazing artifacts you’ll see dating back 3,000-4,000 years. This museum has a certain attraction that makes it funny—a shoe. It’s been said that a man named Thomas Baker was eaten by the locals several centuries ago and the only thing left was his shoe. This unusual museum is a great idea if you bring the whole family to Fiji.

1.Visitors who have the unusual experience of sleeping at the Poseidon resort can _________.

A. enjoy the excellent service in the hotel   

B. open windows to see sea life swimming

C. see sea life around them in the room     

D. only watch videos about sea life

2.Why do adults like to get down into the mud pool?

A. To float on the warm mud              B. To make them strong

C. To play with the warm mud             D. To keep their skin healthy

3.Which of the following things needs more courage and stricter rules?

A. Trying fire walking                   B. Visiting the Poseidon resort

C. Getting into the Sabeto Mud Pool        D. Visiting the Fiji museum

4.The underlined word “artifacts” in Paragraph 5 means__________.

A. historic things made by man            B. things invented not long ago

C. things that look very strange            D. useful things in people’s daily life

感恩，是我们生活中永恒的话题。学会感恩，学会热爱生活，我们将会感受到更多快乐。假如你校拟举行一次有关“感恩”的演讲比赛。请你根据以下要点写一篇英语讲演稿。
要点：
1．感恩对象（父母、老师、朋友…）；
2．为何感恩；
3．如何感恩。
注意：
1．只能选择一个感恩对象；
2．可对所给要点作适当发挥；
3．讲演稿中不得提及考生所在的学校或本人姓名；
4．词数100左右，开头和结尾已写好，不计入总词数。
Good afternoon, everyone! It’s a great honor to have the opportunity to be with you today. The topic of my speech is “Thank you,                   .”
                                                                              
                                                                              
Thank you for listening.