I didn’t think I had a passion(激情). I would sit in front of the TV all day, thinking about nothing but the next show. It was not long ago that I first learned how important having a passion is to life.
That day I went with my mum to drive my sister to the gym. I was bored. Then, as my mum stopped at a red light, someone on the side of the road caught my eye（吸引我的世界）. It was a man dressed in rags (衣衫褴褛). He was homeless. That didn’t interest me, for I had seen many like him before.
But in some ways he was different. This man was not sitting down with a sad expression(表情). He had a radio in his hand and was dancing happily to the music. The radio seemed to be the most precious(珍贵)thing he had.
“Mum, why does that man have a radio even thought（尽管） he’s homeless?” I asked.
“He bought it,” she replied. I was still unable to understand.
“But if he’s homeless, why doesn’t he use the money to buy food or clothes? He wasted it on something he doesn’t need.”
“Well, Sarah, sometimes food and clothes aren’t the most important things. We need happiness, too.”
The man must care too much about music to buy a radio instead of food clothes. I soon realized（意识到）that happiness is the key to life. Without it, there’s nothing to look forward to.
Since then I’ve never gone a day without thinking of what’s truly important. A home, a meal, clothes—these things are only part of the picture. What’s often forgotten is that we all need a pleasure, a light in a dark day. We all need a passion.
【小题1】How would Sarah spend her days long ago?

Sixteen years ago a boy gave me an important gift. It was a smile.

    It was the early autumn of my first year at a middle school, and my old school was far away. As a result, no one knew who I was. I was very lonely, and afraid to speak to anyone.

Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. I couldn’t talk with anyone about my problems.

    Then one day, when my classmates were talking happily with their friends, I was sitting at my desk unhappily as usual. At that moment, a boy entered the classroom. I didn’t know who he was. He passed by me and then turned back. He looked at me, with a smile.

    Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy and warm. That smile changed my life. I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day, I became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.

    One day I asked him why he had smiled, but he couldn’t remember doing so!

    It doesn’t matter because all the dark days have gone. I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think it is lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at the world and it will smile back.

1.When did the writer get the gift?

A. At the age of 16.

B. After making friends with the boy. [来源:Zxxk.Com]

C. In the first year at a middle school.

D. After becoming closer to everyone in the class.

2. Why was the smile an important gift?

A. Because the writer’s old school was far away.

B. Because the writer didn’t know who the boy was.

C. Because the smile didn’t mean anything to the boy.

D. Because the writer felt lonely and had no friends and it made her feel happy and warm.

3. Why didn’t the writer talk to anyone in her new school about her problems?

A. Because she was always unhappy.

B. Because she didn’t know anyone at the time.

C. Because she was in the first year at the junior high school.

D. Because she didn’t want her parents to worry about her.

4.How did the smile change her life?

A. She started to make friends.

B. She became the best friend of the boy.

C. Her parents didn’t worry about her any more.

D. She realized that she was lonely.

5.Where does she now think her feeling of unhappiness came from?

A. From her old school.                                 B. From her parents.

C. From herself.                                                D. From her classmates at the new school.