Adults usually do not remember most of the things that are taught by their teachers at school. But this story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I think of this story.

       It was a normal Monday morning, and my teacher was teaching us on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:

       An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the sub-way. He would get onto the train right to Central Lon-don, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.

       His house was dirty, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled terrible. The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they called for the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

       The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire (百万富翁). They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.

       But the old man said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, sat at the street corner and continued to beg.

       Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant (有意义的) for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing.

The underlined part in the first paragraph may mean ______.

A. I get tired of learning my subjects    B. I fail to listen to lessons attentively

C. I go in the wrong direction of life    D. I wouldn’t like to go to school

The neighbor called the police because ______.

A. the old man kept begging money from them every day

B. there was something dangerous in the old man’s house

C. the old man wouldn’t buy tickets for the train

D. they couldn’t bear the smell from the old man’s house

When the old man knew he was a millionaire, he ______.

A. remained calm        B. became excited   C. felt worried         D. became nervous

What lesson do we learn from the story?

A. Make great plans for your life.     B. Keep on doing what you like.

C. Do something that is good to society.  D. Depend on yourself rather than others.

Long long ago, human beings used to walk barefoot. A king happened to travel 16 into the countryside. He was greatly troubled by the 17  roads where gravel(砾石) and broken stones pricked(使刺痛) and numbed(使麻木) his  18 . When he returned to his palace he issued an order that all the roads be  19 with cattle hide(牛皮). He thought it was beneficial not only to 20 but also to his people and hoped 21 would no longer be a painful thing
But 22 all the cattle in the kingdom were killed there   23  not be enough hide to get the work done. Evidently it was a stupid  24 . As it was an imperial order people could do nothing but shake their heads and 25 . At this juncture a clever servant in the palace  26  to make a suggestion. "Your Majesty, why don't take an easier way? You don't have to mobilize（调动）so many people, to have so many oxen killed, nor so much money  27 . What you have to do is simply to cover each of your feet with a piece of hide." Surprised and 28 , the king immediately changed his mind and adopted the 29 .
This is said to be the origin of using  30 to make shoes. Though it sounds  31 and strange, it inspires us to think. It is much easier to change oneself than to change the world.  32 it will be much better for one to change oneself before one   33  an attempt to change the outer world. Why don't try to put yourself on the   34 of the person you deal with? You will find it easier to solve a problem  35 you change your way of thinking.

A thief who dropped a winning lottery ticket at the scene of his crime has been given a lesson in honesty. His victim, who picked up the ticket,  then claimed the ￡25000 prize, managed to trace him, and handed over the cash. The robbery happened when maths professor Vinicio Sabhatucci, 58, was changing a tyre on an Italian motorway. Another motorist, who stopped "to help", stole a suitcase from his car and drove off. The professor found the dropped ticket and put it in his pocket before driving home to Ascoli in eastern Italy.

     Next day, he saw the lottery results on TV and, taking out the ticket, realized it was a  winner. He claimed the 60 million lire prize. Then he began a battle with his conscience. Finally, he decided he could not keep the money despite having been robbed. He advertised in newspapers and on radio, saying, "I'm trying to find the man who robbed me. I have 60 million lire for him--a lottery win. Please meet me. Anonymity guaranteed."

      Professor Sabbatucci received hundreds of calls from people hoping to trick him into handing them the cash. But there was one voice he recognized--and he arranged to meet the man in a park. The robber, a 35-year-old unemployed father of two, gave back the suitcase and burst into tears. He could not behave what was happening. "Why didn't you keep the money?" he asked. The professor replied, "I couldn't, because it's not mine." Then he walked off, spurning the thief's offer of a reward.

The sentence "Then he began a battle with his conscience." in Paragraph 2 implies all of the following EXCEPT that

   A. he knew what he should do as soon as he saw the lottery results

   B. he hesitated about keeping the money for some time

   C. he thought for a moment of avenging himself on the robber

   D. he came to realize that honesty is more important than money

Hundreds of people phoned professor Sabhatucci because they         .

   A. wanted to make fun of him   B. hoped to get the money

   C. knew who the robber was    D. lost the lottery ticket

The underlined word "spurning” in the last sentence can be replaced by         .

    A. accepting      B. claiming      C. rejecting      D. canceling

If the story appears in a newspaper, the best title might be          .

   A. A Thief's lucky Day        B. A popular Maths Professor

   C. A Magic lottery           D. A Reward of Honesty

It was her giggling (咯咯笑) that drew my attention. Note taking really wasn’t all that funny.
Walking over to the offender (肇事者), I asked for the   36 . Frozen, she refused to give it to me. I waited, all attention in the classroom on the quiet   37  between a teacher and a student. When she finally   38  it over she whispered, “Okay, but I didn’t draw it.” It was a hand-drawn   39  of me, teeth blackened and the words “I’m stupid” coming out of my mouth.
I managed to fold it up calmly. My mind,   40  , was working angrily as I struggled not to   41 . I figured I knew the two most likely students who drew the picture. It would do them some   42  to teach them a lesson, and maybe it was high time that I did it.
Thankfully, I was able to keep myself   43 .
When there were about six minutes remaining, I showed the class the picture. They were all silent as I told them how   44  this was for me. I told them there must be a reason   45    and now was their chance to write down anything they needed to tell me. Then I let them write silently while I was seated in the back of the classroom, with tears in my eyes.
As I   46  the notes later, many of them said something like, “I’ve got nothing   47  you.” or “I’m sorry you were hurt.” Some kids said, “We’re afraid of you.” But two notes, from the girls who I   48  drew the picture, had a list of issues. I was too   49 , too strict…
Reading those notes, I realized that over the course of this year, instead of   50  my students, I had begun commanding them to   51 . Where I thought I was driving them to success I was   52  driving them away. I had some apology to make. But the next day in the classroom, one boy and one girl each handed me a card. The one   53  by all the boys expressed sincere regret for the ugly joke. The one from the girls asked for   54 .
This was a lesson for both the kids and me. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the   55 .

When studying in a middle school，I read a quote that went something like：“If you live each day as if it were your last，someday you’ll most certainly be right. ”It made a deep   36  on me, and since then, for the past 33 years，I have  37  in the mirror every morning and asked myself：“If today were the last day of my life，  3 8  I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a  39 ，I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be  40  soon is the most important tool I’ve ever known to help me make the big  41  in life because almost everything falls away in the face of death，  42  only what is truly important.
About a year ago I was  43  with cancer. My doctor even advised me to go home and get my affairs   44  order，which is a doctor’s way of telling people to prepare to die. I  45  with that diagnosis all day.   46 ，at last an advanced test showed that it was a very rare cancer that is  47  with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.
48  wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all  49  . No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be，because death is very likely the single best invention of  50  . It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to  51  for the new. Right now the new is you. But someday not too  52  from now，you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic，but it is quite true.
Your time is  53 ，so don’t waste it living someone else’s 1ife. Don’t be  54  by dogma(教条) —which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner  55  . And most importantly，have the courage to follow your heart.