A young executive was traveling down a neighborhood street．He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something．As his car passed，no children appeared．Instead，a brick smashed into his door! He slammed on the brakes(make his car stop)．The angry driver then jumped out of the car, caught the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car，shouting，“What was that all about and who are you?”

The young boy was apologetic．“Please，Mister．．．Please，I’m sorry…I didn’t know what else to do．I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”

With tears dripping down his face，the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car．“It’s my brother，”he said．“He fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up．”

    Now sobbing(crying silently)，the boy asked the executive，“Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me．’’

   Moved beyond words，the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat．He hurriedly lifted the boy back into the wheelchair，then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed(a light touch) at the fresh scrapes and cuts．A quick look told him everything was going to be okay．“Thank you and may God bless you．”the grateful child told the stranger．

Shaken up for words，the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair—bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home．

   God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts．Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen，he has to throw a brick at us．Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!

The executive slowed down because______.        .

A．he saw a boy throw a brick to his car         B．he saw a boy rush out from between cars

C．he was afraid some boys suddenly rushed out  D．a brick smashed into his door

The boy threw the brick to the car in order to_________.

A. disturb the driver on purpose    B．destroy the car of the stranger

C．ask someone to drive him home D．stop someone to help him

Knowing the reason why the boy threw the brick at his car the executive must feel       .

A．sympathized and excited   B．regretful and sympathized

C．ashamed and regretful     D．angry and regretful

After the boy’s brother feIl off his wheelchair,        .

A．the boy threw bricks at several cars  B．the boy tried to stop several cars

C．the boy’s brother was hurt seriously  D．the boy’s brother wanted to stop a car

From the last paragraph we can learn that         .

A．you shouldn’t drive so fast that someone throws at you

B．it is common to throw a brick at a car running too fast

C．you can’t go through your life without a brick throwing at you

D．you should pay more attention to others and help them

B
Whether rich or poor, we all have problems: that unfaithful mate, that annoying colleague, that persistent(持久的) disease, and the investment that is turning into a huge loss.
How can we remain calm, positive and even elegant in the face of all these difficulties of
life?
The following suggestions may help.
It comes with the pay. I have a friend who used to complain about her dead-end job and
unreasonable boss. Sounds familiar? One day I told her, "Look at it this way. You are getting
paid for the annoyance as well as the work. It comes with the pay. "
This has become my favorite saying for work-related frustrations. "Take every day as a bo-
nus. " When we learn to treasure every moment of what we have, we begin to see life in a whole
new attitude.
It's all in the mind. Sure, the psychologists tell us it is important that we work at resol-
ving problems. But they also say if you try to resolve a problem that would not go away, it would
only compound(使更复杂) the frustration.
If you tell yourself there isn' t a problem, there won' t be one. It is all in the mind.
Stop thinking about your own problem-help others instead. A lady who is struggling a
life-threatening disease showed she coped with her illness by making herself useful, by offering
help to others in a similar situation.
She has spoken to at least five other women with breast cancer. She says that the sharing
has helped her to find fresh meaning in her own life.
Never give up on your dream. Why do we give in or give up when we meet difficulities?
ls it because we have no confidenee in our cause and no commitment (承担义务)for what we
pursue?
One strong-hearted lady was the late head of the tragic Kennedy family, Rose Kennedy.
She said this on nationwide television one week after losing yet another son to assassin's( 暗杀者) bullet--Boddy Kennedy:"And we go on our way with no regrets not looking backwards to
the past, but we shall carry on with courage. "
Not the end of the world. Do you know something else? I' ve learned that care as you
might, love as,you might, some people don't care back.
And it is not the end of the world. After all, it's not the event that makes a person, is it?
It's what we do about what happens to us.
It was said that Albert Einstein' s last request on his death bed was to be given his equa-
tions(方程式) and his unfinished statement. Einstein first picked up his equations and lament-
ed(悲叹) to his son, "if only I had more mathematics!" What a great persistent spirit!
45. All of the followings are wrong EXCEPT_____.
A. some people have many problems while some have none
B. Albert Einstein pursued his dream till the last minute of his life
C. Rose Kennedy must be a timid (缺乏自信的) woman
D. we shouldn' t love those who don' t care about us
46. The passage is intended to inform the readers_____ .
A. how to face problems                       B. how to resolve problems
C. how to hold on to your dreams              D. how to help others
47. By saying "Take every day as a bonus", the author is trying to tell us __.
A. we should get a bonus every day     B. we should treasure every day in our life
C. we should make advances every day  D. we should enjoy ourselves every day
48. The last paragraph of the passage is out of place; it should be put under the subtitle of_____.
A. It comes with the pay                      B. It' s all in the mind
C. Never give up on your dream               D. Not the end of the world

B
See in your mind’s eye where you really want to be in ten years’ time．Choose your own values, activities, and relationships rather than copying tubers．
While working with troubled teens, I used to haste them do a Ten Years game in the Future exercise．I asked them to write a letter to a friend as if it was ten years in the future．Most of these boys and girls didn’t think about the next week, much less ten years to come．This lack of “foresight”was a major reason why their lives were pretty messed up．But the real story is what happened to me．I did the exercise right along with them on many occasions, writing my dreams in detail．In my letter to a friend, I had moved to the country, built my own home, authored a book, and started my own business．
Over the next ten years, something magic happened．All my dreams became true, almost as if orchestrated (精心安排) by an unseen hand．I realized that something very powerful was happening, more powerful than expected．I did write books and start my business．We did move to the country and I did build my own home．
This letter to a friend will become a magnetic factor in your life．Your vision will guide you in your yearly goals, your monthly goals, and your daily activities．
You must write your letter as if it has already happened．For example:
“Leslie, I just wanted to make contact again and tell you about my life．I started my own gardening business in 2012 and it’s really taken off．”
“Dear Harold, I met the love of my life in 2016 and we moved to Hawaii where Frank works in a bookstore and I give surfing lessons everyday．We love it．”
Remember, describe all the details as if they have already happened．This will help you make it more real for you．
Sit down and write (or type) your Ten Years in the Future letter today．
60．It seems that the author’s dream and vision became a reality because the author    ．
A．had put something magic in the letter
B．could foresee what would happen
C．was experienced in writing the Ten Years letter
D．took what was written in the letter as a guide in life
61．According to the author，“Leslie”in your letter should be the person that    ．
A．does the same exercise as you
B．will become your friend in ten years
C．you know now and may still know in the future
D．you can imagine when you write your letter
62．The author advises you to write the Ten Years in the Future letter    ．
A．as soon as possible
B．in ten years’ time
C．when you have time
D．as often as possible
63．Which of the following covers the topics in this text?
a．The author’s own experience with the Ten Years in the Future exercise．
b．How the author got the idea of the Ten Years in the Future exercise．
c．How to write the Ten Years in the Future letter．
d．The author’s experience of working with troubled teens．
e．The difficulty in dealing with troubled teens．
f．How to improve your letter writing skill．
A．a, d, f                     B．a, c, d              C．b, c, d             D．a, c, e

A little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden. There, she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill. This house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers. Although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.
When she got to an age when she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother if she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she should keep close to the house and not wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.
As she dismounted her bike and leaned it against the gate post, she focused on the path that led to the house and then on the house itself. She was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that was derelict.
So sad she didn't go any further and turned, and heart broken as she remounted her bike. As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her. There across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden as the sun shone on her little home.
She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the 'golden house'. Everything she dreamed was right there in front ofher nose!
【小题1】Why did the girl long for the house on the hill?

D
We are all interested in equality, but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality, others, still in the name of equality, want only to destroy it.
Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils. The standards may be changed—no examination is perfect—but to have no tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in examinations or in any controls in school or on teachers. This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency, the values and the purpose of each teacher.
Without examinations, employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them－a form of favoritism will replace equality. At the moment, the bright child from an ill－respected school can show certificates to prove he or she is suitable for a job, while the lack of certificate indicates the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well－ respected school. This defense of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were taken away, and tile bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school's reputation, unable to compete for employment with the child from the favored school.
The opponents(反对者) of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, different, academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection. The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer.
53．The underlined word "favoritism" in paragraph 3 is used to describe the phenomenon that_____.
A．bright children also need certificates to get satisfying jobs
B．children from well－respected schools tend to have good jobs
C．poor children with certificates are favored in job markets
D．children attending ordinary schools achieve great success
54．What would happen if examinations were taken away according to the author?
A．There would be more opportunities and excellence.
B．Schools for bright children would lose their reputation.
C．Children from poor families would be able to change their schools.
D．Children's job opportunity would be affected by their school reputation.
55．The opponents of the examination system will agree that ________.
A．jobs should not be assigned by systematic selection
B．computers should be selected to take over many jobs
C．special classes are necessary to keep the school standards
D．schools with academic subjects should be done away with
56．The passage mainly focuses on________.
A．schools and certificates                                B．examination and equality
C．opportunity and employment                       D．standards and reputation