He’s an old cobbler  (修鞋匠)  with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street;
he'll fix them for you right away.
But I’d had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman (手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can’t do it well. ”
“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” — without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron (围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said,“Come back in a week. ”
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work. ”
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.
68. Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?
A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools.
B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais.
C. He was proud of his skills.
D. He was a native Parisian.
69. The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend. ” (paragraph 7) implies that _______.
A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him
B. it was difficult to communicate with this man
C. the man was very strange
D. the man was too old
70. According to the author, many people work just to _______.
A. realize their abilities                          B. gain happiness
C. make money                                         D. gain respect
71. This story wants to tell us that_______.
A. craftsmen make a lot of money           B. whatever you do, do it well
C. craftsmen need self-respect                     D. people are born equal

We thought of selling this old furniture, but we decided to____it. It might be valuable.

A. hold on to      B. keep up with      C. turn to           D. look after

     He's an old cobbler  (修鞋匠)  with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street ; he'll fix them for you right away.”

     But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman  (手艺人).  “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”

      “The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” -- without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) you might as well just throw away the pair.

      My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron ( 围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”

      I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.

      “See what I can do?” he said with pride.  “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.. ”

      When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.

      These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old, way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption  (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.

1.Which of the following is true about the old cobbler.'?

     A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools.

     B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais.

     C. He was proud of his skills.

     D. He was a native Parisian.

2.The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” ( paragraph 7 ) implies that       

     A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him

     B. it was difficult to communicate with this man

     C. the man was very strange

     D. the man was too old

3.According to the author, many people work just to           .

     A. realize their abilities     B. gain happiness    C. make money   D. gain respect

4.This story wants to tell us that            .

     A. craftsmen make a lot of money          B. whatever you do, do it well

     C. craftsmen need self-respect              D. people are born equal

Last Christmas was a very difficult time for me. My family and all of my close friends were back home in Florida, and I was all alone in a rather cold California. I was working too many hours and became very sick.
I was working a double shift at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter, it was about 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve, and I was feeling really miserable inside. There were a few of us working and very few customers waiting to be helped. When it was time for me to call the next person to the counter, I looked out to see the sweetest-looking old man standing with a cane. He walked very slowly over to the counter and in the faintest voice told me that he had to go to New Orleans. I tried to explain to him that there were no more flights that night and that he would have to go in the morning. He looked so confused and very worried. I tried to find out more information by asking if he had a reservation or if he remembered when he was supposed to travel, but he seemed to become more confused with each question. He just kept saying, “She said I have to go to New Orleans.”
After much time, I was able to at least find out that this old man had been dropped off at the curb on Christmas Eve by his sister-in-law and told to go to New Orleans, where he had family. She had given him some cash and told him just to go inside and buy a ticket. When I asked if he could come back tomorrow, he said that she was gone and that he had no place to stay. He then said he would wait at the airport until tomorrow. Naturally, I felt a little ashamed. Here I was feeling very sorry for myself about being alone on Christmas, when this angel named Clarence MacDonald was sent to me to remind me of what being alone really meant. It broke my heart.
Immediately, I told him we would get it all straightened out, and our Customer Service agent helped to book him a seat for the earliest flight the next morning. We gave him the senior citizen’s fare, which gave him some extra money for travelling. About this time he started to look very tired, and when I stepped around the counter to ask him if he was all right, I saw that his leg was wrapped in a bandage. He had been standing on it that whole time, holding a plastic bag full of clothes.
I called for a wheelchair. When the wheelchair came, we all stepped around to help him in, and I noticed a small amount of blood on his bandage. I asked how he hurt his leg, and he said that he had just had bypass surgery and an artery was taken from his leg. Can you imagine? This man had had heart surgery, and then shortly afterward, was dropped off at the curb to buy a ticket with no reservation to fly to New Orleans, alone!
I never really had a situation like this, and I wasn’t sure what I could do. I went back to ask my supervisors if we could find a place for him to stay. They both said yes, and they obtained a hotel voucher for Mr. MacDonald for one night and a meal ticket for dinner and breakfast. When I came back out, we got his plastic bag of clothes and cane together and gave the porter a tip to take him downstairs to wait for the airport shuttle. I bent down to explain the hotel, food and itinerary (行程) again to Mr. MacDonald, and then patted him on the arm and told him everything would be just fine.
As he left he said, “Thank you,” bent his head and started to cry. I cried too. When I went back to thank my supervisor, she just smiled and said, “I love stories like that. He is your Christmas Man.”
【小题1】Last Christmas the writer had a miserable time because ______.

We bought a second-hand house, and that afternoon I was in the workshop of the gqrage,I noticed a part of a carpet sticking out of the ceiling of an attic（阁楼）that was strange, I found a ladder and headed up.
I climbed into the attic, As my eyes adjusted to the dark , I saw a metal container, I opened the lid and was shocked by  what I saw: several rolls of money tied up in orange string , I’ve found , like ＄800, Awesome!
But there was more than one box of money , I found another seven boxes full to the top, plus two big black bags full of cash, I won’t lie , My first thought was that this was a bleesing from God –the means to fix up this old house; or just to uxe to make life easier for our rwo young sons , who sere seven and four ,But I knew that the right thing was to return the money to the previous owners . So I called them and asked them to come.
They were shocked, of course, not only about the money but that I was returning it , They had recently got the house from their dad and said it must have been their dad who, had hidden the money, What made him do it? I thought about the hundreds of times he had bone to his shop, cut off a length of orange string ,and bound up a roll of money , I like to think he did it for his chileren .
There were balls of that ouange stuing still hanging on the wall of the workshop when we moved in ,I used them to tie up Christmas presents last year, for my kids , I hope it reminded them of the gift greater than money that my wife and I gave them by returning the money ,We did the right thing ,and our children will never forget that.
【小题1】The story took place after