He only finished fourth in this year's Super Boy talent show. But it didn't stop him capturing (俘获) the hearts of thousands of fans. He can hit high notes with ease. And he is very modest. Zhang Jie,25,shed(流) sweat and tears all the way through the competition, but he never gave up.

“No matter how life treats him, he always fights back bravely ,”said Wu Chunyan, a Senior 2 student in Hubei.“He has never lost his dream of being a singer.”The road to fame is always rocky, and Zhang is no exception. As a college student he was majoring in tourism. He was considering becoming a tourist guide after graduation until he entered a singing competition.

His life changed after he competed in My Show. He won first place and signed with a record company.“I was very excited and regarded it as a way to take me closer to my dream,” he said. But the company gave him little money to make music and slowly began to ignore him. Zhang even borrowed money to buy costumes.“Life has its ups and downs. But the tough (艰难的) reality only makes me stronger,” he said.

He forgot he was once a champion of a talent show and joined Super Boy. His decision got support from his family who worked hard to make ends meet. His mother sold rice noodles on a street in his hometown, but she said she would “support him forever.”

“I have the dream to buy a large house for my parents, where my mom can get a large window sill (窗台) to grow flowers,” said Zhang.

1.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

   A. An easy way to success            B. A rocky path to success

   C. A clever boy                     D. A successful boy   [来源:ZXXK]

2.From the passage, we can know that _________.

   A. he once won the first place in Super Boy talent show.

   B. he finished fourth in My Show.

   C. he is an exception on his way to fame.

   D. after signing with a record company, he didn’t get much money.

3.When he met with difficulty in a record company, he decided to _______.

   A. join Super Boy                  B. tell the others he was a champion  

   C. give up on his way to success       D. quarrel with the boss

4.Before he joined in a singing competition, his dream was to become________.

   A. a great scientist                  B. a good college student 

   C. a famous singer                  D. a tourist guide

GUATEMALA CITY （Reuters） – A fish that lives in mangrove swamps(红树沼泽) across the Americas can live out of water for months at a time, similar to how animals adapted(适应) to land millions of years ago, a new study shows.

The Magrove Rivulus, a type of small killifish, lives in small pools of water in a certain type of empty nut or even old beer cans in the mangrove swamps of Belize, the United States and Brazil. When their living place dries up, they live on the land in logs(圆木), said Scott Taylor, a researcher at the Brevard Endangered Lands Program in Florida.

The fish, whose scientific name is Rivulus marmoratus, can grow as large as three inches. They group together in logs and breathe air through their skin until they can find water again.

The new scientific discovery came after a trip to Belize.

 “We kicked over a log and the fish just came crowding out,” Taylor told Reuters in neighboring Guatgemala by telephone. He said he will make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year.

In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating.

Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at time, while lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in an inactive state. But no other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and remain active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at Canada’s University of Guelph.

Further studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time.

 “These animals live in conditions similar to those that existed millions of years ago, when animals began making the transition(过渡) from water onto land,” Wright said.

1. The Mangrove Rivulus is a type of fish that _______.

A. likes eating nuts

B. prefers living in dry places

C. is the longest living fish on earth

D. can stay alive for two months out of water

2. Who will write up a report on Mangrove Rivulus?

A. Patricia Wright.

B. Scott Taylor.

C. Scientists from Belize.

D. Researchers in Guatemala.

3. According to the text, lungfish can ________.

A. breathe through its skin

B. move freely on dry land

C. remain alive out of water

D. be as active on land as in water

4. What can we say about the discovery of Mangrove Rivulus?

A. It was made quite by accident.

B. It was helped by Patricia Wright.

C. It was based on a lab test of sea life.

D. It was supported by an American magazine.

A boy, about 10 years old, got to my clinic with his sick cat for cure. Thc cat was a tiny beautiful thing, about the boy's own  36  . I could see she was  37   very strong and lovely with the fur of a 38   and Tigress was her name. She  39  me with a friendly nub against my hand.
I  40   her and found a tumor(肿瘤). She had no 41  of recovery. I looked at the fresh-faced boy and back at Tigress. I began to 42  pity on the boy. At such a young age, he had to face to part with his beloved one.
I told him as 43 as I could what I had found, and what it meant. The boy's face twisted (扭曲) and turned away. I sat down and 44  Tigress to give the boy some time to recover. I felt Tigress's old beautiful fur 45  we discussed the possible choice with him: I could give her an operation, which would be very  46   and would not make her live longer than a month, or an  injection and put her to sleep.
After some time, the boy accepted the reality.  "I've seen her 47 recently, so I'd like her to die peacefully." I could see  how  48   it was costing him in making such a 49  .
I asked if he wanted to take her home overnight to say goodbye. He said he just wanted to be 50  with her for a few minutes. I went to get the 51 which I would use to put her to sleep. I could not control the  52  streaming down my face.
She fell asleep, her head  53   in his hand, lovely and quiet, but her owner now had all the 54 . "This is the finest  55   you could give. You bear the pain so that the loved one might rest." The boy nodded and he understood.

He said he had telegraphed me to return home,but I didn't receive _________.

A.one                           B.it                              C.anything             D.anyone

John and Bobby joined a wholesale company together just after graduation from college the same year. Both worked very hard. After several years, however, the boss promoted Bobby to the position of manager but John remained an ordinary employee. John could not take it any more, tendered his resignation to the boss and complained the boss did not know how to delegate and did not value hard-working staff, but only promoted those who flattered him.

The boss knew that John worked very hard for the years. He thought a moment and said, “Thank you for your criticism, but I have a request. I hope you will do one more thing for our company before you leave. Perhaps you will change your decision and take back your resignation.”

John agreed. The boss asked him to go and find out anyone selling watermelon in the market. John went and returned soon. He said he had found out a man selling watermelon. The boss asked how much per kg. John shook his head and went back to the market to ask and returned to inform the boss $1.2 per kg.

Boss told John to wait a second, and he called Bobby to come to his office. He asked Bobby to go and find anyone selling watermelon in the market. Bobby went, returned and said, “Boss, only one person selling watermelon. $1.2 per kg, $10 for 10kg, he has inventory (清单) of 340 melons. On the table 58 melons, bought from the South two days ago, they are fresh and red, good quality.”

John was very impressed and realized the difference between himself and Bobby. He decided not to resign but to learn from Bobby.

Chances exist in the daily details. For the same matter, a more successful person sees more and farther so that he can find out an opportunity and catch it to realize his aim. If a person sees one year ahead, while another sees only tomorrow. Then the difference between a year and a day is 365 times!

Why did John decide to hand in his resignation to the boss?

Because he couldn’t stand being an ordinary employee.

Because Bobby would take John’s former position.

Because the boss was not flattered by his hard work.

Because Bobby instead of him was promoted.

What did the boss ask John to do?

A. To go to market and find out whether there is someone selling watermelons.

B. To make a complete marketing research on the various prices of watermelons.

C. To search for much information about the effective ways to sell watermelons.

D. To make a comparison on the prices of different types of watermelons.

What sort of following information about watermelons was NOT brought by Bobby?

A. The price.                       B. The quality.

C. The quantity.                    D. The weight.

From the difference of John and Bobby, we may infer that a more successful person is more _____.

alert, sensitive and passionate

observant, thoughtful and exploratory

considerate, modest and satisfied

confident, noble and tolerant