When I was a boy, I belonged to the Boy Scouts(童子军)，so I used to go camping every summer, and once something happened which I have never been able to explain.

We were camping in a place above a river. After arriving, we all rushed down to the river and had a swim. Standing by the river, we noticed that it was surrounded by cliffs (悬崖).If someone wanted to reach the river at this point, he had to walk past our camp.

Several days later, the scoutmaster had to be away for a day. That afternoon, we had supper early. We were sitting round the fire, eating and talking, when a man walked past and went down towards the river. We all felt that this man looked very strange, but, because each of us was afraid of looking very stupid, no one said anything.

We ate rather slowly, taking as long as possible. After finishing, we collected our plates together so that we could take them to the river where we always washed them.  But no one moved towards the river, we stood looking at each other ashamed. Then all shouting at once, we began talking about the man who had walked past us. We agreed how strange he looked and we wondered what he could be doing by the river. We knew that he could only return by passing through our camp.

An hour passed. Then one of the boys suggested we should creep(悄悄移动)down by the river so that we could see what the man was doing. Moving very slowly and keeping in the shadow, we crept down towards the bank. One boy climbed a tree so that he could see everything clearly. He called to us that there was no one there, so we ran down to the bank, looking everywhere carefully. We could not understand where the man had gone.

When it got dark, we went back to our camp feeling bewildered. We told the scoutmaster what had happened in the evening. Smiling, he doubted that we had seen the man, but finally suggested we go and look again. We did, but there was no one there.

Many years have passed, but I still remember it as if it were yesterday. What did we see? I do not know.

1.The writer in the text mainly tells us _________.

A．the story of his childhood                 B．a strange camping experience

C．about a stranger by the river               D．about a good place for camping

2.Why did the boys eat their supper slowly?

A．They wanted to delay going to the river bank.

B．They were waiting for their scoutmaster.

C．They had a supper earlier than usual.

D．They were talking while eating.

3.The underlined word “bewildered” in the text probably means _________.

A．ashamed                              B．nervous

C．unable to understand                    D．eager to know something

4.When he heard what had happened, the scoutmaster __________.

A．realized who the man was

B．started to worry about the man

C．went back to look for the can

D．felt it hard to believe the boys

5.The writer still remembers the event because________.

A．the boys acted foolishly

B．the camping place is beautiful

C．there has been no explanation for the event

D．he particularly enjoyed his camping that summer.

For most people, graduation is an exciting day – the culmination (顶点) of years of hard work. My graduation day... was not.

I remember that weekend two years ago, Family and friends had traveled far to watch our class walk across the stage. But like everyone else in my graduating class, I had watched the economy go from bad to worse during my senior year. We graduates had degrees, but very limited prospects (前景). I hadn’t secured a job, and I knew that the next day, when my lease (租约) ended, I would no longer have a place to call home.

The weeks ahead weren’t easy. I gathered up everything I couldn’t carry and put it into storage. Then, because I had no opportunities in my small university town, I packed up my car and drove to California to find work. But what I thought would take a week dragged into two, then four, and 100 job applications later, I found myself still jobless. The due date to begin paying back my student loans was creeping even closer.

Have you ever felt utter dread? That feeling became a constant in my life. The most frustrating part was no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t seem to make any progress.

So what did I do to maintain my sanity? I wrote. Something about putting my words on a page made everything clearer. Something about writing gave me hope.

I channeled my frustration into a children’s book. Beyond the river was the story of an unlikely hero, a little fish who refused to give up.

And then one day, with no writing degree or contacts in the writing world – just hard work and perseverance – I was offered a publishing contract for my first book. After that, things were in place, I was offered a second book deal. Then, a few months later, I got an interview with the Walt Disney Company and was hired shortly after.

The moral of this story is… don’t give up, even if things look bleak now.  Two years ago I was drinking cold soup right out the can. Things change. All we need is the courage to push beyond the river.

1.When it was time to graduate, the author felt _____.

A．Bored            B．Relieved          C．depressed         D．hopeful

2.After the author’s graduation, _____.

A．he went on a short trip with his family to California

B．things turned even worse than he had expected

C．he focused on writing instead of applying for jobs

D．he found his salary was hardly enough to pay back his student loans

3.When did the author’s career life begin to run smoothly according to the article?

A．After he got his first publishing contract.

B．After he began to write his book Beyond the river.

C．After he finished his book Beyond the river.

D．After he got hired by the Walt Disney Company.

4.What is the main message the story intends to convey?

A．Opportunity lies everywhere.

B．Perseverance is essential to success.

C．It’s important to adapt yourself to society.

D．We should devote ourselves to whatever we do.

For most people, graduation is an exciting day – the culmination (顶点) of years of hard work. My graduation day... was not.
I remember that weekend two years ago, Family and friends had traveled far to watch our class walk across the stage. But like everyone else in my graduating class, I had watched the economy go from bad to worse during my senior year. We graduates had degrees, but very limited prospects (前景). I hadn’t secured a job, and I knew that the next day, when my lease (租约) ended, I would no longer have a place to call home.
The weeks ahead weren’t easy. I gathered up everything I couldn’t carry and put it into storage. Then, because I had no opportunities in my small university town, I packed up my car and drove to California to find work. But what I thought would take a week dragged into two, then four, and 100 job applications later, I found myself still jobless. The due date to begin paying back my student loans was creeping even closer.
Have you ever felt utter dread? That feeling became a constant in my life. The most frustrating part was no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t seem to make any progress.
So what did I do to maintain my sanity? I wrote. Something about putting my words on a page made everything clearer. Something about writing gave me hope.
I channeled my frustration into a children’s book. Beyond the river was the story of an unlikely hero, a little fish who refused to give up.
And then one day, with no writing degree or contacts in the writing world – just hard work and perseverance – I was offered a publishing contract for my first book. After that, things were in place, I was offered a second book deal. Then, a few months later, I got an interview with the Walt Disney Company and was hired shortly after.
The moral of this story is… don’t give up, even if things look bleak now.  Two years ago I was drinking cold soup right out the can. Things change. All we need is the courage to push beyond the river.
【小题1】When it was time to graduate, the author felt _____.

    A new enemy is threatening Japanese traditions: leisure（闲暇）. As part of its attempt to increase imports, the government is trying to get people to work less and spend more. The workers are disgusted.

The figures support the western prejudice（偏见） that the Japanese are all work and no play. Trying to force workers away from their desks and machines, the government said last April that the country should cut down from its 2,100 hours average work year to 1,899 hours and a five-day week by 1992. Beginning in February, banks and stock markets will be closed on Saturdays, staff of civil service will be forced out of their offices two Saturdays a month. The government hopes that others will follow that practice.

But some persuasion will be needed. Small companies are very angry about it and they fear competitors may not cut hours. The unions are no happier: they have even advertised in newspapers arguing their case against the foreign pressure that is forcing leisure upon them. They say that shorter hours are a disguised（隐性的） pay cut. The industrialists, who have no objection to the government’s plans, admit that shorter hours will help them cut costs. Younger Japanese who are supposed to be acting against their hard-working parents, show no sign of wanting time off, either. But unlike older workers, they do spend money in their spare time. Not content with watching television, they dance, dress up, sit in cafes, go to pop concerts and generally drive the leisure-industry boom. Now that they know how to consume, maybe the West can teach them to relax and enjoy themselves, too.

1．The purpose of getting the Japanese to have more spare time is that ______________.

         A．the government wants to show more concern for the health of the people

         B．the government needs to get more goods from abroad

         C．the Japanese have been working too hard

         D．the Japanese hope to change the western prejudice

2．The group of people who welcome the shorter-hour system in Japan is______________.

         A．the small companies B．the industrialists

         C．the unions          D．the younger generation

3．The unions think that______________.

         A．the shorter hours they work, the higher pay the can get

         B．the more they work, the less leisure they can enjoy

         C．the shorter hours they work, the less pay they can have

         D．the greater pressure the government is forcing on them, the less happy they can be

4．The best title for this passage can be ______________

         A．Oh no! Not Saturday Again!      B．Leisure: the Greatest Threat!

         C．Enjoy While You are Young!       D．Less Work and More Play!