It is a beautiful day here and I am sitting under the big tree at the e     of the1.     

garden. I have just returned from a long bike ride to an old castle.       seems 2.  

amazing that at my age I am still      (健康) enough to cycle 20 kilometers in 3.  

An afternoon. It’s my b       in two weeks’ time and I’ll be 82 years old! I think4. 

my long and active life must be        to(由于) the healthy life I live.         5.

This brings me to the real       (原因) for my letter, my dear grandson.   6. 

Your mother tells me that you started s       some time ago and now you find  7.

it difficult to give it     . Believe me, I know how easy it is to begin smoking  8. 

and how tough to s      . You see, during adolecence                      9.

I a    smoked and became addicted to cigarettes.                           10.

A TAXI driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Inspiring speakers charge thousands of dollars to give his kind of training to corporate directors and staff.  It cost me only a ＄12 taxi ride.

I had flown into Dallas just for the purpose of calling on a client. Time was important and my plan included a quick turn – around trip from and back to the airport. A clean taxi pulled up.

The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As be got in the driver’s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.

Well! I looked around for a “Candid Camera!” Wouldn’t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, “Obviously you take great pride in you work. You must have a story to tell.”

“You bet,” he replied, “I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my right position in life, somewhere I could feel proud of being the best I could be.

I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day’s work and done it well. I evaluated my personal property and, I became a taxi driver!

One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I jus have to meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXEED the customer’s expectations! I like the sound of being ‘great’ better than just being ‘average’. ”

Did I tip him big time? You bet!

 The taxi driver taught me a great life lesson: Go an extra mile when providing any service to others. And there is no good or bad job you can make any job good.

What lesson did the author learn from the taxi driver?

    A．How to make the best use of time.

    B．How to do better in the service business.

    C．How to turn an interest into your career.

    D．How to become a motivational speaker.

Why did the author look around for a “Candid Camera”?

    A．Because he was afraid he would be photographed in the cab.

    B．Because he was worried what the driver could be up to.

    C．Because he was amazed by the way the driver was treating him.

    D．Because he wasn’t interested in the tapes offered by the driver

It can be inferred from the story that          .

    A．the taxi driver couldn’t accept just being average

    B．the author was anxious to get back to meet a client

    C．when the author waited for a taxi at the airport, he was not in a rush

    D．the taxi driver loved to play his favorite music during rides

According to the story, the taxi driver        .

    A．was dissatisfied wit his present job

    B．was once often rewarded for being a model worker

    C．enjoyed offering his customers more than they expected

    D．was forced to become a taxi driver to support his family

It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.

   The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.

   I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.

   People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.

Why was the bike so important to the couple?

   A. The man’s job was bike racing.           B. It was their only possession.

   C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed.             D. They used it for work and daily life.

We can infer from the text that ____________.

   A. the couple worked 60 hours a week.       B. people were busy before Christmas

   C. the stranger brought over the bike         D. life was hard for the young family.

How did people get to know the couple’s problem?

   A. From radio broadcasts.                 B. From a newspaper.

   C. From TV news.                       D. From a stranger.

What do the couple learn from their experience?

   A. Strangers are usually of little help.        B. One should take care of their bike.

   C. News reports make people famous.       D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.

It was a winter morning，just a couple of weeks before Christmas of 2005. While most people were warming up their cars，Trevor，my husband，had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival，he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.

The bike，a black Kona 18 Speed，was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work，putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get foods, saving us from having to walk along long distances from where we live.

I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that，several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike，then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.

People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another，but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it made us believe more in the beauty of humanity (人性) as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we，too，can share with others. No matter how big or how small，an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can last forever.

Why was the bike so important to the couple？

  A. They used it for work and daily life.

B. It was their only possessions（财产）.

  C. It was a nice Kona 18 Speed.

D. The man’s job was bike racing.

We can infer from the passage that __________.

  A. the couple worked 60 hours a week

  B. people were busy before Christmas

  C. the stranger brought over the bike

  D. life was hard for the young family

How did people get to know the couple’s problem？

  A. From a stranger

  B. From a newspaper

  C. From TV news

  D. From radio broadcasts

What do the couple learn from their experience？

  A. Strangers are usually little helpful.

  B. One should take care of their bike.

  C. News reports make people famous.

  D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.

From this story，we can see humanity is __________.

A. selfish        B. useful       C. kind       D. cold-hearted

It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005．While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work．On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does．After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone．

         The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport．Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family．And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live．

         I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story．Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help．One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up．Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job．It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before．

         People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so．This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole．And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others．No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares．And the results can be everlasting．

16．Why was the bike so important to the couple?

         A．The man’s job was bike racing．       B．It was their only possession．

         C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed．           D．They used it for work and daily life．

17．We can infer from the text that ____________．

         A．the couple worked 60 hours a week．      B．people were busy before Christmas

         C．the stranger brought over the bike            D．life was hard for the young family．

18．How did people get to know the couple’s problem?

         A．From radio broadcasts．                    B．From a newspaper．

         C．From TV news．                         D．From a stranger．

19．What do the couple learn from their experience?

         A．Strangers are usually of little help．         B．One should take care of their bike．

         C．News reports make people famous．      D．An act of kindness can mean a lot．