A man made a nice talking machine. It could weigh people. The man wanted to try the machine before he could make a lot of these kinds of machines.
He put the machine into the waiting room of a station . There were always lots of people in  and out there.
The first one began to use the machine. It was an Indian woman. When she stand on the machine, the machine thought for a few minutes to decide which language it should speak.  “Good morning, madam,” it said in Indian. “Your weight is 72 kilos. That’s three kilos more. If you eat more fruit and vegetables, you will be soon all right. Wish you a nice day.”
The second one who used the machine was a nice Chinese girl. She stood on the machine and waited to hear her weight. “Good morning , Miss ,”the machine said in Chinese. “Your weight is 45 kilos. It’s all right for your age and height. Go on to eat what you eat every day. Wish you a nice day.”
The third one to use the machine was a very fat American woman. She thought for a long time before standing on the machine. But as soon as she stood on the machine, the machine spoke quickly in English , “Good morning . Will one of you get off?”

1. 1.

   The nice talking machine could_____

   1. A.
      tell people what they should eat
   2. B.
      weigh and talk to people
   3. C.
      tell people how old they are
   4. D.
      tell a story
2. 2.

   First the man put his machine       .

   1. A.
      in the doctor’s waiting room
   2. B.
      in a museum
   3. C.
      in a station
   4. D.
      in a train
3. 3.

   What did the machine tell the Indian woman?

   1. A.
      She was a little lighter.
   2. B.
      She was just all right.
   3. C.
      She needed to eat more and exercise more.
   4. D.
      She was a little bit heavy.
4. 4.

   Which of the following is RIGHT?

   1. A.
      The machine tested only two people.
   2. B.
      The Chinese girl was too thin.
   3. C.
      The Indian woman was in fact heavier than the American woman..
   4. D.
      Of the three the Chinese girl was the lightest.
5. 5.

   The machine said quickly “Will one of you get off?” because            

   1. A.
      two people were on it
   2. B.
      the third woman was too fat
   3. C.
      something was wrong with it
   4. D.
      the machine didn’t know where the third woman was from

　　Twenty-five of the states have Indian names, but other names ___(4)___ from different languages. Georgia and Pennsylvania have names from the Latin language（拉丁文）. Florida and Golorado ___(5)___ Spanish people. States, like New Hampshire and New Jersey were named after places in England.

The story below is a true story that happened in September.
During the month of September, a dear friend of mine lost her husband suddenly in an accident. The tragedy was a great shock to everyone.
This accident was sudden and certainly unexpected. It made me realize the fact that you just don’t know when a loved one is no longer going to be with you. We sometimes take our loved ones for granted(当然)，and we expect that they will be with us all the time. However, as we all know, life does not work that way and sometimes we get a wake-up call that shocks us and makes us stand back and realize how short life is.
To cheer her up, I tried to imagine if I were in her shoes how I would feel. It was impossible to imagine what she was going through. What words could I say to help her?Sometimes words just can’t express our feelings. Sometimes our actions are much more meaningful than words. So I gave her a hug(拥抱)…
Life is too short, and we should treasure(珍惜) every day staying with our loved ones.
【小题1】The writer’s friend lost her husband _______.     

A wise man was visiting a village with his students. He found a group of family members shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his students and asked: “Why do people shout in anger at each other?”
His students thought for a while, and one of them said: “Because when we lose our calm, we shout.”
“But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can just as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner,” said the wise man.
Students gave some other answers but none were any good.
“When two people are angry at each other, their hearts become distanced,” the wise man explained. “To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the louder they will have to shout to hear each other and cover that great distance.”
The wise man then gave an example: “What happens when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly because their hearts are very close. When they love each other even more, what happens? They don’t need to talk. They only look at each other and that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.”
He looked at his students and said: “So when you argue, do not let your hearts get distant. Do not say words that distance you from others. Otherwise, there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.”
【小题1】What did they find when a wise man and his students were visiting a village?

He was struggling(费劲) to tie his shoes. I was struggling with whether I should help him.
I did, and he was grateful.
“Thank you,” he said.
“I’m glad I could help. I just thought it would be easier for me to reach,” I said.
He was a disabled man, and forced to look down most of the time. His arms and legs were twisted(扭曲的) terribly, and he couldn’t do what the rest of us would consider easy tasks. He always managed to look up to see how you reacted(反应) to his words, however. He had a big smile, making me feel comfortable.
I was still on my knees by his wheelchair.
“ Nice shoes,” he said.
“Thanks. No one ever complimented (赞美) me on them before,” I said.
“No one has the same view of the world as I do,” he replied.
“Tell me about the world as you see it,” I said smiling.
“Most people can see if someone is comfortable with them or not in their eyes. I see it in their feet.” he said. “If people keep moving their feet, I just let them go, because I know they’re impatient with me. I don’t want to make people uncomfortable.
“What about me? I asked.
“I could see your compassion. And then you came down to my level. I was the one who was nervous.” he said. “I don’t normally have someone look me in the eye.”
“They don’t know what they’re missing,” I told him.
“My old face is nothing to brag(自夸) about.” he said.
“But that smile is so big.”
Yes, and it’s not only a big smile but an attitude.
【小题1】The disabled man knew people were impatient mostly by their _________.