I was painfully shy as a child. In high school I would avoid participating in class discussions. I was too afraid to talk to anyone but my closest friends~ I would think about being less shy, wanting the courage not only to ask a girl out, but to speak up in class and say what I was thinking. Yet, it never happened. Fears showed themselves in such self-conscious questions as, " What will other people think?  What if she says no?" I felt a dark presence in my mind holding me back.
This shyness continued into college. One day, the question occurred to me: Is life shy?
The thought surprised me ! Think of the leaves bursting out in the spring time, the bird singing at dawn, the sheer number of different forms of life, all expressing the wideness and scope of divine life. There's nothing shy about it. Life is everywhere and attention-grabbing (引人注意的). So, if my creator isn't shy about all the life that needs expressing, I don't need to be either.
I realized that if I wanted to overcome fear and shyness, I would have to put this law of life into practice~ Shyness, fear, and loneliness were hindering me from living my life as life: God wanted me to live it. Therefore, I decided to live how life saw me.
One example: I wrote a note to a girl, asking her out on a date. Even as I was writing it, the fears of disaffirmation and unworthiness came to me. This time however, instead of shrinking back and hiding from the fear, I put the note in the campus mail in spite of myself. I thought: whether she says yes or no, it's still right for me not to be shy. I can live with the confidence sent from the source of my life. The girl saw me in class the next day and told me that she would love to go out with me. I should not have been so surprised!
Bit by bit, I was proving that the limited view of myself no longer had control over me.  After college, I worked as a newspaper reporter, earned an advanced degree in theater, became a productive writer (a lifelong dream), met a special woman whom I married, and even got a job teaching at a university.
【小题1】The writer was shy as a child because of______.

For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思)for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature!
The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制) our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress.
Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre.
If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.
【小题1】 The author felt depressed because she __________.

Life became hard when I was 14. My mother and I moved to New York to 36 my father, who’d moved there to find  37  work when I was three years old. He had a job at a restaurant and only visited us  38  every couple of years.
Before I moved, I knew that people in the US spoke English. But honestly, I didn’t stop to analyze the  39  when I was  40  to leave. Just like I assumed I could easily become a doctor or a lawyer. I assumed that I had the skills to learn English in a few weeks. 
When I  41  in the US and started 8^th grade at Ditmas Middle School in Brooklyn, everyone was speaking a(n)  42  language I couldn’t understand. I  43  that life had subtitles, like in foreign movies. School was such a serious place here. Sometimes I felt like I was in a geek（呆子） class. The teachers were always  44  my moves so I couldn’t even throw a paper ball at a classmate’s head. And the worst thing was having to read  45
46  after almost seven months of complaining about everything, I realized that complaining didn’t change things.  47  just made my life worse. If I was going to  48  in this new concrete jungle, I had to  49  . I began to learn English by reading newspapers on my own  50 school. After about four months, I started enjoying reading the crime and sports stories. After six months of studying, my teachers  51  my improvement and moved me into a more  52  English class. I could go to the store and ask for things that I wanted to buy without  53  frustration. For the first time I felt like I was living on earth again  54  .I didn’t hear foreign talk. I  55  understand people.

One day while shopping in a small town in southern California, it was my misfortune to be approached by a clerk．He seemed most unfriendly and not at all concerned about my intended purchase．I bought nothing, and marched angrily out of the store．
On the outside was a dark-skinned young man in his early twenties．His expressive brown eyes met and held mine, and in the next instant a beautiful, bright smile covered his face．I gave in immediately．The power of that broad smile dissolved all bitterness within me, and I felt the muscles in my own face happily responding．
"Beautiful day, isn't it?" I remarked, passing．Then I turned back．"I really owe you a debt of thanks," I said softly．
His smile deepened, but he made no attempt to answer．A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby．The woman stepped forward and volunteered, "Sir, but he doesn't speak English．Do you want me to tell him something?" In that moment I felt transformed．The young man's smile had made a big person of me．My friendliness and good will toward all mankind stand ten feet tall．
“Yes,” my reply was enthusiastic and sincere, “tell him I said, ‘Thank you!’”
“Thank you?” The woman seemed slightly puzzled．
I gave her arm a friendly pat as I turned to leave．"Just tell him that," I insisted．"He'll understand．I am sure!"
Oh, what a smile can do! Although I have never seen that young man again, I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning．From that day on, I became smile-conscious, and I practice the art diligently anywhere and everywhere, with everybody．
【小题1】 Why did the author leave the store angrily?

Compassion(同情)is a desire within us to help others．With efforts，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 easy to lose patience over their slowness．But last Sunday，one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson．This untidy marl walked up to my register(收款机)with a box of biscuits．He said he was out of cash，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，and the 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，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．
64．The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits           ．
A．promised to obey the store rules
B．forgot to take any money with him
C．hoped to have the food first and pay later
D．couldn’t afford anything more expensive
65．How did the aged gentleman possibly feel when he was refused by the writer?
A．Warm and lucky．       B．shameful and lonely
C．Thankful and excited   D．Hurt and disappointed．
66．The writer followed the store rules because       ．
A．he wanted to keep his present job
B．he felt no pity for the old gentleman
C．he considered the old gentleman dishonest
D．he expected someone else to pay for the old gentleman
67．What does the writer 1earn from his experience?
A．Wealth is most important．
B．Helping others is easier said than done．
C．Experience is better gained through practice．
D．Compassion shows in actions