Once there was a man who lied to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are exposed to the sun the most are the sweetest.

So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but, in an attempt to climb down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground. Fortunately, he caught the branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.

Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived - a well-known sage who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious to see what he would do, as he was famous in solving many people’s problems in the area and sometimes very complicated ones.

He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone and threw it at the hanging man.

Everybody was surprised. The hanging mango lover started to shout: What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?”  The sage was silent. Then he took another stone and threw it at the man. The man was very angry: “If I could just come down, I would show you!”

That’s what everybody wanted - that he came down. But how? Now everybody was tense, as to what would happen next! Some wanted to chastise the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man on the tree was enraged and developed a great determination to come down and take revenge.（复仇）

He then used all his skill and strength and somehow reached the branches which were safe to start going down. And he made it! Everybody was amazed.

However, the rescued man found the sage gone. He stood there, realizing that the man really sed him because he induced（引诱）him to try his best and save himself.

“I should be thankful and not angry.”

1.From the story we know that the sweetest mango must be the one        .

A．on the very top of the a tree

B．hidden in the middle of a tree

C．on the tree for the longest time

D．exposed to sunlight less often

2.What happened after he had picked a few sweet reddish mangoes?

A．He slipped and fell to the ground suddenly.

B．He was climbing down quickly but carefully.

C．He remained hanging helplessly on the tree.

D．He shouted loudly for help but no one helped.

3.How did the man feel when the sage hit him with a stone?

A．He was nervous.                        B．He kept silent.

C．He felt surprised.                       D．He was angry.

4.What do you think motivated the man to climb down?

A．Courage.          B．Revenge.          C．Carefulness.       D．Assistance.

5.What does the story imply?

A．Anger saves one’s life.                  B．Wisdom does count.

C．Skill and strength count.                  D．Anger is the biggest enemy.

Every American family has its own traditions on Thanksgiving Day, and mine is no different. Once the national holiday arrives, my mom rises early to make the meal. She puts a turkey in the oven, chops carrots and bakes pies. I’m sorry to say that the men in the family – my dad, my younger brother and myself – rarely pitch in to help. Our job is to wash the mountain of dirty dishes after the meal is over.

Around 2 pm every Thanksgiving Day, family members seat themselves around the kitchen table. Plates of turkey, vegetables, salad, rolls and pies cover it. At this point, we can hardly keep ourselves from drooling (流口水) all over our fancy clothes, but it’s not yet time to eat.

First, we must bow our heads, close our eyes and say a prayer of thanks aloud to God for giving us everything we have. Under normal circumstances (情况), I would have no problem making a list of things I am thankful for. I grew up in a loving family. My parents, who aren’t wealthy, took out loans to help me pay for university.

But, the funny thing is, every time I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and try to say a prayer of thanks, my mind usually goes blank. I think it has something to do with my growling (咕咕叫) stomach and all of that food sitting right there under my nose.

Eventually, though, we all finish our short prayers and dig in. To be sure, the day includes other highlights – visiting with family and watching football. But usually around 6 pm we are all ourselves stuffed like turkeys and thankful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in.

1.The purpose of the text is to ________.

A．tell what the family do for Thanksgiving Day

B．tell how the family spends Thanksgiving Day

C．introduce foods served on Thanksgiving Day

D．introduce the American Thanksgiving Day

2.On Thanksgiving Day the author’s family do the following except ________.

A．watching a movie                       B．making visits

C．having a big meal                        D．watching football

3.Why does the author’s mind usually “go blank” when saying a prayer of thanks?

A．He is too thankful to say a word.            B．His mind is on the food before him.

C．He feels too excited to speak.              D．He is shy to speak in public.

4.The underlined phrase “dig in” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．chat with others    B．make a hole        C．mix things up       D．start eating

5.What can we conclude from the text?

A．On Thanksgiving Day, men do nothing but eat.

B．The author is a middle school student.

C．The author’s family is not rich, but it’s a loving one.

D．Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday of December.

Derrius Quarles, 19, had an unhappy childhood. But the Chicago teen didn’t give up. He tried his best and won $1 million in college scholarships (奖学金)! Now Derrius is a successful college student with a bright future.

When Derrius was 4, his father was killed. His mother couldn’t take care of him because of taking drugs. Derrius and his 9-year-old brother sometimes had to steal food to eat. Derrius felt different from other kids. In seventh grade, Derrius went to live in a foster home (寄养家庭). His foster parents weren’t nice to him. They told him that he’d never be anything in life.

Derrius didn’t do his best in school. The summer after ninth grade, that changed. Derrius had signed up for a biology class. He didn’t go to class the first day. On the second day, he showed up late. His teacher took him outside. She told him he was smart, but that he was wasting his potential (潜力). The talk inspired him and he planned to prove that he could be anything if he worked hard enough.

Adults at a summer program helped Derrius find out about scholarships he could earn to pay for college. In his senior year, Derrius filled out lots of applications. He told his friends, “You’re not going to see me for a long time.” Derrius’s hard work paid off. He won more than $1 million in scholarships! He has a lot to be proud of. But he’s most proud of helping others. Derrius gives speeches to teens, telling them how to find scholarships. In high school, Derrius got help buying a computer. He wanted to help others who needed them. Last year, he gave two laptops to high schoolstudents. There’s a lot of work in his future. Derrius doesn’t mind — hard work has got him where he is today. He knows it can take him anywhere.

1. From Paragraphs 2 and 3, we can learn that Derrius _____.

2.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to _____.

3.What kind of person do you think Derrius is?

4.What does the author want to tell us?

We may have hosted some difficult house guests once or on even more occasions. Are you still worrying about how to deal with them? Here below are some tips on how to deal with those difficult house guests.

You’ve been waiting an hour to eat breakfast but your guests are still sleeping.

“Unless you adjusted a time for breakfast the evening before, let your guests sleep-in and enjoy your breakfast without them. If possible, keep their breakfast warm. Or better yet, when entertaining it’s always a good idea to have cold breakfast (as well as lunch, dinner and snack) food on-hand.”

——Pamela Eyring，president and director of The Protocol School of Washington

Your guest’s teenage son is a Facebook addict and hogs your computer all day long.

“If you have a guest whose fingers are fixated to your keyboard, kindly let him know that you are expecting work email and give him enough time to finish using it.”

——Ummu Bradley Thomas, founder of the Freddie Bell Jones Modeling and Finishing School, Inc.

Your couch surfing, unemployed nephew has been here a month and is showing no sign of leaving.

“There is nothing wrong with saying ‘John, you have been here a month and have not put in any applications. What can I do to help you get your resume together? I would like to make a plan that will assist you in getting back on your feet and allow me to eventually have my extra room back for guests that will soon be arriving.’”

——Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas

Your guests expect you to accompany them to every single tourist attraction in your city. It’s tiring and expensive.

“If your guests didn’t offer to treat you, politely decline and offer to meet them afterwards for dinner or drinks. That way they know you enjoy their company.”

——Pamela Eyring, president and director of The Protocol School of Washington

You gave your friend a closet shelf for her stuff but her clothes are thrown all over the place.

“You should simply say ‘I am happy to have you use my closet but your clothes seem to have a mind of their own. Would you mind keeping your clothes on the top shelf? It would make it easier for me to find my things when I am in a rush and looking for them. Thank you.’”

——Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas

1.According to Ummu Bradley Thomas, which of the following is the best way to deal with the guests?

A．Kindly explaining to him you need to use the computer.

B．Politely asking him to stop using the computer at once.

C．Introducing other toys to him to play with.

D．Simply letting him keep using the computer as he likes.

2.The passage gives the following tips EXCEPT that _______.

A．declining the guests’ requests if you hate to accompany them everywhere

B．reminding them to keep their clothes on the top shelf

C．trying to offer at least one dish based on his or her preferences

D．keeping their breakfast warm or having cold breakfast food on-hand

3.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A．How to Entertain Your Guests

B．How to Keep Good Personal Relations

C．How to Find the Best Solution

D．How to Deal with Difficult House Guests

4.In which section of a magazine can we most probably see this passage?

A．Science           B．Society           C．Economy          D．Education

We were on our way home from Houston one Saturday morning. We decided to stop at a local gas station to get coffee and something to snack on since it was a good hour and a half before we got home.

When we were done, we got back into our car and before I started it, we noticed a man standing outside in front of the building. He was a homeless man with worn clothes and it looked like he had gone in and gotten himself some coffee or something warm to drink since it was cold this time of the year. He must have not had enough money to get something to eat.

Then a dog walked up to the front of the building. I could tell she was a “she”, because you could tell that she had baby dogs. She was terribly in need of something to eat and I felt so bad for her. I knew if she didn’t eat soon, she and her baby dogs would not make it.

I and my wife sat there and looked at her. We noticed that people walked by and didn’t even pet her, like most people do when they walk by an animal in front of a store. We still did not do anything. But the homeless man, who I thought did not buy himself anything to eat, went back into the store. And what he did brought tears to me and my wife. He had gone into the store and with what money he may have had, bought a can of dog food and fed that dog.

This story plays a great part in our lives. You see, that was Mother’s Day weekend. And a lot of people forget that some animals are parents too.

It took a homeless man, to show me what I should have done. He make me a better man that day.

The homeless man only had something to drink because _______.

A. he didn’t have enough money for food           B. he was thirsty only

C. the store only provided drinks                       D. he felt cold that day

Seeing what the poor man did for the dog, the author and his wife ________.

A. were puzzled                                              B. were greatly moved

C. regretted they hadn’t done anything                      D. were indifferent

If the homeless man hadn’t given the dog food to eat, she and her babies would ________.

A. not survive                                                B. have to attack people

C. not have to die                                           D. lose their homes

Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A. A kind Homeless Man                                 B. A Lucky Mother Dog

C. Mother Day’s Weekend                               D. Animals Are Parents Too