—No one ________ be compared with Yao Ming in playing basketball.

—Oh, you are really his big fan.

A．can            

B．need 

C．must       

D．might

Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials (商业广告) thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. “Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.” “Drink Good Wet Root Beer.” “Fill up with Pacific Gas. “Only when you have fallen asleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, can you get separated from the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”

As for the ride itself, the beginning of it is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things are keeping changing out of the windows — various houses, crop fields, attractive bridges, … and sometimes even a small accident. Your bus driver may have a unique style of driving and it’s fun trying experience it the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless (鲁莽的) or daring, the ride can be as thrilling (惊心动魄的) as an adventurous story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.

The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know the riding will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement with that. The seat, of course, has become harder for the hours having passed. By now you may sit with your legs crossed, or with your hands in your lap, or with your hands on the arms, or even with your hands crossed behind your head. That is to say that the end comes just at no more ways to sit.

1.According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?

A．Buses on the road.                      B．Films on television.

C．Advertisements on the billboards.           D．Gas stations.

2.What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips.

B．To persuade you to take some long bus riding.

C．To explain how bus trips and television shows differ.

D．To describe the billboards along the road.

3.The writer of this passage would probably prefer ______.

A．those reckless bus drivers

B．driving with no one around

C．a television set on the bus

D．no billboards along the road

4.The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because ______.

A．the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun

B．they both have a beginning, a middle and an end, with commercials in between

C．the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses

D．both traveling by bus itself and watching TV programs on bus are not exciting.

5.The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are .

A．exciting           B．comfortable        C．tiring             D．boring

No one ______ be more generous; he has a heart of gold.

A. must     B. dare      C. need     D. could

No one _____ be more generous; he has a heart of gold.

A．could            B．must             C．dare             D．need

Without any hesitation, he said, “I’d be better off dead.” Hearing those words come out of my best friend’s mouth tore my heart apart. He has repeated that phrase more than once, and my mind continually plays it over like a voice recording.
I met him about three years ago. After knowing me for six months, he told me about his struggles with depression. Sadness was not the only emotion that came over me; I was shocked. He seemed so outgoing and happy all the time. I soon learned that he was physically and emotionally abused as a young child, causing him to have suicidal thoughts.
He refuses to talk to others about his depression because he now distrusts adults, especially those in his family. Nevertheless, he feels as if I understand him and that I know the right words to speak. Therefore, when it comes to helping him, convenience is not in my vocabulary. It does not matter where I am or what I am doing, for he always comes first.
Many students at his school laugh at him when they notice scars on his arms from cutting. As he sees it, other kids have every right to make fun of him. But no one holds such a right, so I encourage him to ignore the heartless kids who treat him badly. When he feels the weight of judging eyes or hateful voices, I always remind him that I care about him unconditionally. Just hearing me say I will always be his best friend seems to give him the security he needs to keep on going.
My best friend once told me that if he had not had me, he would not be alive. He said that my encouraging words convinced him not to take his life. Our friendship has taught me that a single kind word can influence someone’s life. With the fragility of life as it is, I believe in the necessity of encouragement.
【小题1】According to the first paragraph, what the author’s friend said made the author feel ______.