第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)

阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

A

One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the hall of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, they came to the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night.

“Could you possibly give us a room here?” the husband asked.

The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town.“All of our rooms are taken,” the clerk said.“But I can’t send a nice couple like you out into the rain at one o’clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night.”

When the couple declined, the young man pressed on.“Don’t worry about me; I’ll make out just fine.” the clerk told them. So the couple agreed.

As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk,“You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.” The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh. As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn’t easy.

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round—trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit.

The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a pale reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky.“That,” said the older man,“is the hotel I have just built for you to manage.”“You must be joking,” the young man said.“I can assure you I am not,” said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth.

The older man’s name was William Waldorf Astor, and that magnificent structure was the original Waldorf—Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who became its first manager was George C.Boldt. This young clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become the manager of one of the world’s most glamorous hotels.

51.The purpose of the author writing this story is to_______.

A.give people a good laugh                         B.cover some facts

C.promote the business of Waldorf—Astoria Hotel       D.deliver a lesson

52.Which of the statements about the story is NOT true?

A.The story took place at about one a.m..

B.The old couple was too poor to afford a luxurious room.

C.The clerk was willing to help those in need.

D.The clerk received an unexpected invitation from the old man.

53.The underlined word “conventions” in Para.3 can be replaced by_______?

A.rooms       B.suites            C.meetings         D.hotels

54.Which of the following proverbs suits the story the best?

A.Every little thing helps.                                           B.Make hay while the sun shines.

C.Man proposes； God disposes(处理,决定).                   D.One good turn deserves another.

Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.

      Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.

     Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.

     Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?

     In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased.  Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.

     There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.

According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our

A. self-respect B. financial rewards C. advertising ability D. friendly relationship

The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to___.

A. lying     B. stealing     C. cheating     D. advertising

The phrase "bringing the error to the clerk's attention" (in para. 5) means___.

A. telling the truth to the clerk B. offering advice to the clerk

C. asking the clerk to be more attentive D. reminding the clerk of the charged item

How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake?

A. We'll be very excited.         B. We'll feel unfortunate.

C. We'll have a sense of honor.    D. We'll feel sorry for the clerk.

Which of the following can be the best title of this passage.*

A. How to Live Truthfully        B. Importance of Peacefulness

C. Ways of Gaining Self-respect   D. Happiness through Honorable Actions

Robert was a life insurance(人寿保险) salesman. Try 36 he might, he was still unable to get a couple to sign up for a policy(保单). “I certainly don’t want to frighten you into a 37,” he announced, standing up to 38. “Please sleep on it tonight, and 39 you wake up in the morning, let me know what you think.”

People can be motivated by many different 40. Fear is the common one. 41 many people find that other kinds of motivation are usually 42 effective in getting more out of those with whom we live and work.

A twelve-year-old girl took her younger brother, who 43 from a mental disability, Christmas shopping. As they went into a department store, the 44 accidentally hit a display, knocking shoes in every 45. at that 46 a(n) angry clerk grabbed the boy by the arm and 47, “Pick them up.”

“No,” the boy screamed in defiance(反抗).

“Pick them up,” the clerk 48.

“No,” the boy shouted back.

His older sister began picking up the 49. Then the boy started to 50. Before long, the boy, his sister and the clerk were 51 together to put the shoes back in 52.

When they finished, the girl taught the clerk a(n) 53 lesson with these words: “You have to encourage my brother to do it in action.”

If you live or work with other people, you may benefit from the older sister’s advice. If you want people to respond to you, try encouraging them in action. People prefer 54. When you fill people with what they want, you’re 55 to get what you want out of them.

1.A. however  B. as C. since           D. in spite of 

2.A. trouble B. sale                   C. bargain           D. decision

3.A. defend          B. fight           C. leave             D. argue

4.A. should          B. will            C. shall             D. may 

5.A. feelings        B. plans           C. means             D. results

6.A. Thus            B. But             C. Plus              D. Since

7.A. less            B. more            C. half              D. just

8.A. arose   B. contributed            C. benefited         D. suffered

9.A. boy             B. girl            C. clerk             D. salesman

10.A. section        B. direction       C. shelf             D. course

11.A. occasion B. stage                C. situation         D. point 

12.A. demanded B. conflicted           C. reminded          D. arranged

13.A. expected  B. commented           C. shouted           D. acquired

14.A. shoes          B. books           C. toys              D. bottles

15.A. cry            B. help            C. complain          D. worry

16.A. walking B. organizing            C. working           D. assisting 

17.A. process B. silence               C. detail            D. order

18.A. thoughtful B. instant            C. cautious          D. complex 

19.A. gift           B. stick           C. honey             D. tears 

20.A. positive  B. likely              C. confident         D. probable 

Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self-respect ? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized (分类) as “honor” help you create this life of good feelings．

Here’s an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.

Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item．If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement．Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune．On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thanks us for our honesty．We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.

Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness ?

In the first case where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen．Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief．In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect．We would also demonstrate that we cannot be trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends．We damage our own reputations by telling others.

In contrast bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen．Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable．Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased．Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.

There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions．Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions．Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence．And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy．While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it’s started, it’s easy to continue．Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.

According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our________.

     A．self-respect                  B．financial rewards

     C．advertising ability            D．friendly relationship

How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake ?

       A．We’ll be very excited       B．We’ll feel unfortunate

       C．We’ll have a sense of honor  D．We’ll feel sorry for the clerk

Which of the following can be the best title of this passage ?

       A．How to Live Truthfully    

       B．Importance of Peacefulness

       C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect

       D．Happiness through Honorable Actions

There was a king who gave his daughter a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. So the king asked to search for it and put a reward for＄50,000 for anyone who found it.
One day, a clerk was walking home along a river when he saw something shinning in the river and when he looked, he saw the diamond necklace. He decided to try and catch it to get the ＄50,000 reward.
He put his hand in the river and tried to catch the necklace, but somehow missed it and didn’t catch it. He took his hand out and looked again and the necklace was still there. He tried again.
But strangely, he still missed the necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling sad. Just then, an old man walking by saw him, and asked him what was the matter. The clerk didn’t want to share the secret with him, thinking he might take the necklace for himself, so he refused to tell him anything.
The old man could see this man was troubled. He again asked the clerk to tell him the problem and promised that he would not tell anyone about it. The clerk told him about the necklace and how he tried and tried to catch it, but kept failing.
The old man then told him that perhaps he should try looking upward, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the river. The clerk looked up and true enough, the necklace was hanging on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to take a reflection of the real necklace all this time.
【小题1】The clerk tried to get the diamond necklace to ________________.