How much do you know about school life in Singapore?

In Singapore, many middle school students spend a lot of time on their studies. People always think that good schooling is the ticket to success (成功). So, many of these students try their best to get good results in their exams. They have a lot of homework every day and exams are usually a big problem to them. Sometimes, a few even have to go to evening classes after school.

Schools have many activities outside school hours. The students can join in sports and games, music and dance, swimming and rock-climbing. They also join in community service（社区服务)

In their free time, most students like to listen to pop music. Hollywood movies, Hong Kong and Singapore movies are very popular, too. Some of them also spend their free time searching the Internet, e-mailing their friends, playing computer and video games.

They sometimes go to cafes, fast-food restaurants, shopping centers and big bookstores.

So life for middle school students in Singapore is not easy but rich and colorful.

53. _______go to evening classes after school in Singapore.

     A. All of the students                   B. Few of the students

     C. A few of the students                 D. Most of the students

54. Which of the following is not mentioned(提到) that the students can do outside school hours?

    A. Doing sports and playing games.        B. Listening to music and dancing.

    C. Going swimming and rock-climbing.     D. Visiting the museums.

55. The passage tells us that many students in Singapore would like to _______.

    A. go swimming                       B. write letters to their friends

    C. talk to their friends                   D. get good results in the exams

56. The meaning of the last sentence in the passage is that _______.

    A. the middle school students' life in Singapore is easy

    B. the middle school students' life in Singapore is amazing

    C. the middle school students' life in Singapore is boring

    D. the middle school students' life in Singapore is hard, but it's interesting

One Sunday afternoon, I went shopping at Wal-Mart . But I never thought I would have a life ­changing experience at WalMart.
Although my thoughts were only on speed, the checkout line I was standing in wasn’t moving as quickly as I wanted, and I looked towards the cashier.
There stood a man in his seventies, wearing glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, he’s an old guy!
For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before scanning the items. Sure, his words were the usual, “How’s it going？” But he did something different—he listened to people carefully and then he would reply to what they had said
I thought it was strange. I has grown used to people asking me how I was doing simply out of conversational habit. I could say, “I just found out I have six months to live，” and someone would reply, “Have a great day！”
But that wasn't the end.
He gave them the change, walked around the counter (柜台), and hugged them with his right hand in an act of friendship. He looked at the customers in the eyes. “I want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.”
The smiling looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. All had been touched by his simple gesture—and in a place they never expected. They would gather their things and walk out, smiling.
Of course, he did the same to me and I got to know his name—Marty.
Who was that guy? It was as if Sam Walton (沃尔玛的创始人)had come back from the dead and invaded this old guy’s body.
I had never walked away from that shop feeling like that.

【小题1】The underlined word “customer” mean________ in Chinese.

　　Some boys __3__ him that an elephant had damaged it. The man did not believe them, but they took him to a circus which was near there. The owner of the elephant said,“I am very __4__. My elephant has a big, round, red __5__. He thought that your car was his chair, and he __6__ on it!”

　　When the man got back to his own country, the customs officers wouldn't believe his story. They said,”You sold your __8__ car while you were abroad and bought this old one!”