A lot of us lose life’s tough battles by starting a frontal(正面的) attack—when a touch of humor might well enable us to win. Consider the case of a young friend of mine, who hit a traffic jam on his way to work shortly after receiving an ultimatum(最后通牒) about being late on the job. Although there was a good reason for Sam’s a being late—serious illness at home—he decided that this by-now-familiar excuse wouldn’t work any longer. His supervisor was probably already pacing up and down preparing a dismissal speech.

Yes, the boss was, Sam entered the office at 9:35. The place was as quiet as a locker room(更衣室); everyone was hard at work. Sam’s supervisor came up to him. Suddenly, Sam forced a grin and stretched out his hand. “How do you do!” he said. “I’m Sam Maynard. I’m applying for a job. Which, I understand, became available just 35 minutes ago. Does the early bird get the worm?”

The room exploded in laughter. The supervisor clamped off a smile and walked back to his office. Sam Maynard had saved his job—with the only tool that could win, a laugh.

Humor is a most effective, yet frequently neglected(忽略), means of handling the difficult situations in our lives. It can be used for patching up differences, apologizing, saying “no”, criticizing, getting the other fellow to do what you want without his losing face. For some jobs, it’s the only tool that can succeed. It is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialog may start a quarrel. For example, many believe that comedians(喜剧演员) on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance(忍受力) than people in any other forum.

Why was Sam late for his job?

A. Because he was ill.

B. Because he got up late.

C. Because he was caught in a traffic jam.

D. He was busy applying for a new job.

The main idea of this passage is ________.

A. Sam Maynard saved his job with humor

B. humor is important in our lives

C. early bird gets the worm

D. humor can solve racial discriminations

The phrase “clamped off” in Paragraph 3 means ________.

A. tried to hold back    B. tried to set    C. charged   D. gave out

Which of the following statements can we infer from the passage?

A. Many lose life’s battles for they are lacking in a sense of humor.

B. It wasn’t the first time that Sam came late for his work.

C. Sam was supposed to come to his office at 8:30.

D. Humor is the most effective way of solving problems.

On a warm Monday, Jenny Neilson bought a sandwich and parked her car under some trees. Rolling down the windows to  41  in fresh air, she settled back to enjoy her lunch. Suddenly she  42  a big bald（秃顶的）man running through the parking lot. Before she came to  43  what would happen, the man was there, shouting through her window, “Get out!”

    Neilson  44.

Pulling open her door, the man seized her  45  the neck and hair, and threw her out of the car onto the ground. She screamed,  46  her purse and the keys.

Two reporters of the local newspaper, Robert Bruce and Jeff Jackson, just outside their office building on a  47, heard the screams and began running .

When they  48  Neilson’s car, the attacker had jumped into the driver’s seat and was  49  searching for the keys. Bruce opened the door, and he and Jackson dragged the man out. The attacker  50  back. But even in his cornered panic, he was no  51  for the two athletic men.

Reggie Miller, a worker of the local newspaper, heard the screams, too. He rushed back to the office to  52  the police, and then ran back with some plastic ropes —— used to tie up newspapers.

With his arms  53  tight behind him, the prisoner looked up and said  54 , “I hope you guys feel good about yourselves—— you just caught one of the most wanted men.” They  55  him and waited for the police.

Later, Bruce and Jackson were shocked to learn the man was the  56  carjacker （劫车者）and suspected murderer, whose  57—— but with a full head of hair—— had been recently printed in their own newspaper.

Neilson considers herself lucky  58  she suffered injuries. She believes the story might have had a  59  ending if those good people had not come to her aid. “Unfortunately,” she said, “many people would  60  have done what they did, and that’ the real truth.”

41. A. bring            B. let              C. gather       D. send

42. A. recognized       B. watched          C. noticed      D. met

43. A. realize          B. understand       C. imagine      D. conclude

44. A. escaped          B. struggled        C. refused      D. obeyed

45. A. by               B. around       C. with             D. on

46. A. burying          B. forgetting   C. offering         D. grabbing

47. A. trip             B. visit        C. break            D. holiday

48. A. started          B. stopped      C. entered          D. reached

49. A. carefully        B. madly        C. disappointedly   D. patiently

50. A. fought           B. turned       C. jumped           D. shouted

51. A. match            B. target       C. equal            D. companion

52. A. remind           B. phone        C. invite           D. beg

53. A. rolled           B. folded       C. bent             D. tied

54. A. angrily          B. kindly       C. coldly           D. warmly

55. A. caught           B. thanked      C. comforted        D. ignored

56. A. ordinary         B. professional C. honest           D. outstanding

57. A. picture          B. background   C. character        D. story

58. A. and              B. but          C. though           D. when

59. A. ridiculous       B. similar      C. strange          D. different

60. A. sometimes        B. never        C. often            D. forever

A little old couple walked slowly into McDonald ’ s on one cold winter evening. It seemed that

they didn' t come to the right place with the young families and young couples eating that night.

The little old man walked right up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation and then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray. There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip at the drink and then set the cup down between them.

As the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the crowd began to get restless. You could tell what they were thinking, “That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them. ”

As the man began to eat his French fries, one young man stood and came over to the old couple ’ s table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. The old man replied that they were just fine. They were used to sharing everything.

As the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin，the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food.

After being politely refused again，he finally asked a question of the little old lady，" Ma ’ am, why aren' t you eating? You said that you share everything. What is it that you are waiting for?"

She answered, "The teeth.,’

   According to the 1st paragraph, the old couple  .

A.  enjoyed the scene outside the McDonald' s

B.  didn, t look suitable for the surroundings

C.  loved being with young families and couples

D.  liked the food in McDonald' s

   The little old man cut the plain hamburger in half because  .

A.  he couldn' t finish eating it with one bite

B.  he was very careful with his food

C.  he ordered more than he could consume

D.  he wanted to share it with his wife

   The young man who offered to buy the old couple food was    .

A. impolite B. stubborn C. sympathetic  D. doubtful

   From the old lady' s answer, we know that   .

A. she was not interested in the food   B. the couple suffered a terrible toothache

C. the couple did share everything  D. she gave an irrelevant answer

A letter to Edward，a columnist

Dear Mr. Expert,

    I grew up in an unhappy and abusive(虐待) home. I always promised myself that I’d get out as soon as possible. Now, at age 20, I have a good job and a nice house, and I’m really proud of the independence I've achieved.

    Here’s the problem: several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine—so much so that they make mine theirs.

      It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me. But now they seem to take it for granted that they can show up any time they like. They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever.

    I enjoy having my friends here sometimes—it makes the place feel comfortable and warm—but this is my home, not a party house. I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can’t I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy(隐私)?

                                                                                                                    Joan

Edward’s reply to Joan

Dear Joan,

　　If your family didn’t pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now.

　　And if you’ve gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere(气氛), you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict（冲突）you grew up with—or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy. You need to understand that in true friendship it’s okay to put your own needs first from time to time.

      Be clear about the message you want to send. For example, “I really love your company（陪伴） but I also need some privacy. So please call before you come over. ”

                                                                                                                    Edward

59. We can learn from the first letter that Joan ___________.

  A. takes pride in her friends                       

B. lives away from her parents

  C. knows Mr. Expert quite well              

D. hates her parents very much

60. We can infer from the first letter that __________.

　 A. Joan thinks her friends more important than her privacy

   B. Joan doesn’t like the parties at all

   C. Joan’s friends visit her more often than expected

   D. Joan dislikes the boyfriends her friends bring over

61. In Mr. Expert’s opinion, the reason why Joan can’t tell her friends her feelings is that _________.

　 A. she is afraid of hurting her friends 

B. she does not understand true friendship

   C. her family experience stops her from doing so

D. she does not put her needs first

62. The second letter suggests that Mr. Expert __________.

　 A. is concerned about Joan’s problem

B. warns Joan not to quarrel with her friends

   C. encourages Joan to be brave enough

   D. advises Joan on how to refuse people

B

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and Maggie and I were returning from our walk through the woods. We were only a couple of blocks from home when I spotted a cellphone and credit card sitting on the road. We took them home. We find amazing things on the street. She looks upon it as a movable dinner. Chicken wings here and there.

I found another cellphone a few years back, too, and called a number in its phone book. I explained the situation to the guy who answered. He said it was his sister’s and that he'd swing by to pick it up, which he did.

And that was that. No verbal (口头的) thank-you, no written thank-you, no “here’s a box of chocolates” thank-you.

I didn’t have time to call anyone on my latest found cellphone. I was pouring myself coffee when it started to vibrate (颤动) and dance across the kitchen counter.

“Who’s this?” someone asked when I picked up.

“Who’s this?” I countered. “Sarah?”

She was taken aback until she realized her name was on the credit card I also had recovered. “Could you send it to me?” she asked.

She lives in Arlington, which is 2 miles from my house.

“Hmm, no,” I replied, adding that I thought she could come get them, and that if I wasn’t home, they would be in my mailbox.

A day later, when I was out for a run, someone retrieved them. But I got nothing. In this age of e-mail and cellphones, there’s really no excuse.

Years ago, I found something more precious than a $100 bill on the street: a driver’s license. I saw that its owner lived a couple of blocks from me, so I called him up. He asked whether I could slip the license through his front door.

“I guess I could,” I replied.

And that was that.

61. What would be the best title for the text?

   A. Several Experiences of My Own

   B. “Thank You” Is Becoming More Priceless

   C. It’s Polite to Thank the Finders

   D. Only Losers Lack “Thank” for Finders

62. According to the text, it can be inferred that Maggie should be ______.

   A. the author’s wife             B. the author’s pet

   C. the author’s best friend        D. the author’s son

63. The author didn’t call anyone on his latest found cellphone because ______.

   A. it wasn’t worth to do          B. he wanted to keep it as his own

   C. he was busy then             D. he didn’t know its owner

64. The underlined word “retrieved” in the tenth paragraph means “______”.

   A. got back       B. returned       C. lost      D. threw away

65. How does the author feel when he told his last experience about the driver’s license?

   A. Disappointed.      B. Helpless.     C. Encouraged.      D. Hopeful.