A great many people are disappointed because of unrealistic expectations.

Walking up to a department store’s cloth counter, a(n)  1   young woman said, “I want to buy this material for a new dress. How much does it cost?”

“Only one   2   per yard,” replied the smirking (自鸣得意的) male clerk.

Not to be taken back by the funny words, the woman said,” That’s fine! I’ll take ten yards.”

With   3  written all over his face, the clerk   4   measured out and wrapped the cloth, then held it out teasingly,  5  forward to receive his “  6  ”.

The woman got the package quickly from the clerk and pointed to a little old man standing beside her. “Grandpa will pay the bill instead of me,” she   7  .

He was no doubt disappointed. But in the course of living, many people are  8         when others do not   9  their expectations. In order to be happy, some expectations must be dropped. These three particular   10   and unhealthy expectations are some of the main causes:

1. Expect too much  11  .When others say, “Thank you,” or in any way to show their gratitude, be happy. It is a gift!

2. Expect others to make you happy. They simply cannot do that. Make yourself happy and       12  your joy with others.

3. Expect not to be  13   . At times, people will simply not come through for you in the way you need.  14   them and move on.

Get rid of these three unrealistic expectations and you can begin to expect more   15        right away!

1.                A．tricky          B．attractive       C．ugly D．generous

2.                A．kiss            B．pay            C．dollar    D．cent

3.                A．happiness       B．enjoyment      C．expectation   D．courage

4.                A．hurriedly       B．slowly          C．patiently  D．curiously

5.                A．setting         B．sitting          C．leaning   D．taking

6.                A．reward         B．payment        C．bonus    D．money

7.                A．smiled         B．begged         C．waved    D．thought

8.                A．encouraged     B．disappointed     C．annoyed  D．surprised

9.                A．live up to       B．go against       C．go without D．hope for

10.               A．reasonable      B．proper         C．unimportant    D．unrealistic

11.               A．profit          B．kiss            C．appreciation    D．disappointment

12.               A．spare          B．share          C．make D．control

13.               A．put down       B．let down        C．taken down D．thrown down

14.               A．Forgive         B．Punish         C．Blame D．Praise

15.               A．happiness       B．encouragement  C．excitement D．pride

A long time ago, there was a seed and because he was only a seed, nobody noticed him．Thus, feeling inferior （低等的）, the seed gave no importance to his existence （存在）．

       Then one day, a wind picked him up and threw him on an open field under the sun．Later, he was given rain．

       Years later he saw a traveler sitting by his side．“Thank God for this．I really need some rest,” he heard the traveler say．

       “What are you talking about?” the seed quickly asked．He thought the man was making fun of him．No one ever spoke to him like that．

       “Who just spoke?” the shocked man asked．

       “It is me．A seed．”

       `“A seed?” The man looked at the big tree．“Are you joking? You are not a seed．You are a big tree!”

       “Really?”

       “Yes! Why else do you think people come here?”

       “What do they come here for?”

       “To feel your shade （树荫）! Don’t tell me you didn’t know you had grown over time．”

       A moment passed before the traveler’s words brought him pride．

       The seed thought and smiled for the first time in his life．The years of torture （折磨） by the sun and the rain finally helped him grow up．

       “Oh! That means I’m not a little seed anymore! I was actually born to make people feel comfortable．Wow! That’s great!”

The seed didn’t realize the importance of his existence because ______．

       A．nobody looked after him B．he was thrown into the open air

       C．he was such a small seed  D．he didn’t believe in himself

The traveler sat by the seed’s side to ______．

       A．escape from the rain

       B．thank God for offering him a tree

       C．have a rest and enjoy the shade

       D．talk with the big tree

The author’s purpose of writing the passage is to ______．

       A．tell us that we should help each other

       B．praise the seed for his strength

       C．teach us not to laugh at others

       D．tell us never to lose hope

Where does the passage most probably come from?

       A．A history book．            B．A science book．

       C．A storybook．             D．A novel．

A long time ago, there was a seed and because he was only a seed, nobody noticed him．Thus, feeling inferior （低等的）, the seed gave no importance to his existence （存在）．
Then one day, a wind picked him up and threw him on an open field under the sun．Later, he was given rain．
Years later he saw a traveler sitting by his side．“Thank God for this．I really need some rest,” he heard the traveler say．
“What are you talking about?” the seed quickly asked．He thought the man was making fun of him．No one ever spoke to him like that．
“Who just spoke?” the shocked man asked．
“It is me．A seed．”
`“A seed?” The man looked at the big tree．“Are you joking? You are not a seed．You are a big tree!”
“Really?”
“Yes! Why else do you think people come here?”
“What do they come here for?”
“To feel your shade （树荫）! Don’t tell me you didn’t know you had grown over time．”
A moment passed before the traveler’s words brought him pride．
The seed thought and smiled for the first time in his life．The years of torture （折磨） by the sun and the rain finally helped him grow up．
“Oh! That means I’m not a little seed anymore! I was actually born to make people feel comfortable．Wow! That’s great!”
【小题1】The seed didn’t realize the importance of his existence because ______．

A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter, since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that costs $5, 000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality as she wanted a pair of earrings made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, "I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl."
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse." “I don’t like to part with it." she said sadly, I got it from my mother, and, my mother got it from her’s. But I really need the money.
The jeweler was quickly to pay her before she changed her mind .Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news .The man, however, was nowhere to be found. The jeweler immediately realized the whole thing.
【小题1】Actually, the man wanted to buy another pearl for _____.

A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’ s birthday. The price didn’t matter, since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that costs $5, 000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.

A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality as she wanted a pair of earrings made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, "I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl."

The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.

Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse." I don’t like to part with it." she said sadly, I got it from my mother, and ,my mother got it from hers. But I really need the money.

The jeweler was quickly to pay her before she changed her mind .Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news .The man, however, was nowhere to be found.

1.The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for _____.

A．his wife           B．his mother-in-law    C．his own mother     D．no one

2.Many people answer the advertisement because they wanted______.

A．to see the perfect pearl                  B．to buy some beautiful pearl too

C．to get in touch with the rich man            D．to sell their own pearl at a high price

3.The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.

A．he died suddenly

B．he happened to be out

C．he got $20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money

D．he wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time