A new enemy is threatening Japanese traditions: leisure（闲暇）. As part of its attempt to increase imports, the government is trying to get people to work less and spend more. The workers are disgusted.

The figures support the western prejudice（偏见） that the Japanese are all work and no play. Trying to force workers away from their desks and machines, the government said last April that the country should cut down from its 2,100 hours average work year to 1,899 hours and a five-day week by 1992. Beginning in February, banks and stock markets will be closed on Saturdays, staff of civil service will be forced out of their offices two Saturdays a month. The government hopes that others will follow that practice.

But some persuasion will be needed. Small companies are very angry about it and they fear competitors may not cut hours. The unions are no happier: they have even advertised in newspapers arguing their case against the foreign pressure that is forcing leisure upon them. They say that shorter hours are a disguised（隐性的） pay cut. The industrialists, who have no objection to the government’s plans, admit that shorter hours will help them cut costs. Younger Japanese who are supposed to be acting against their hard-working parents, show no sign of wanting time off, either. But unlike older workers, they do spend money in their spare time. Not content with watching television, they dance, dress up, sit in cafes, go to pop concerts and generally drive the leisure-industry boom. Now that they know how to consume, maybe the West can teach them to relax and enjoy themselves, too.

The purpose of getting the Japanese to have more spare time is that           .

    A．the government wants to show more concern for the health of the people

    B．the government needs to get more goods from abroad

    C．the Japanese have been working too hard

    D．the Japanese hope to change the western prejudice

The group of people who welcome the shorter-hour system in Japan is           .

    A．the small companies          B．the industrialists

    C．the unions                   D．the younger generation

The unions think that           .

    A．the shorter hours they work, the higher pay the can get

    B．the more they work, the less leisure they can enjoy

    C．the shorter hours they work, the less pay they can have

    D．the greater pressure the government is forcing on them, the less happy they can be

The best title for this passage can be           .

    A．Oh no! Not Saturday Again!   B．Leisure: the Greatest Threat!

    C．Enjoy While You are Young!   D．Less Work and More Play!

A young executive was traveling down a neighborhood street．He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something．As his car passed，no children appeared．Instead，a brick smashed into his door! He slammed on the brakes(make his car stop)．The angry driver then jumped out of the car, caught the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car，shouting，“What was that all about and who are you?”

The young boy was apologetic．“Please，Mister．．．Please，I’m sorry…I didn’t know what else to do．I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”

With tears dripping down his face，the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car．“It’s my brother，”he said．“He fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up．”

    Now sobbing(crying silently)，the boy asked the executive，“Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me．’’

   Moved beyond words，the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat．He hurriedly lifted the boy back into the wheelchair，then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed(a light touch) at the fresh scrapes and cuts．A quick look told him everything was going to be okay．“Thank you and may God bless you．”the grateful child told the stranger．

Shaken up for words，the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair—bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home．

   God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts．Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen，he has to throw a brick at us．Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!

The executive slowed down because______.        .

A．he saw a boy throw a brick to his car         B．he saw a boy rush out from between cars

C．he was afraid some boys suddenly rushed out  D．a brick smashed into his door

The boy threw the brick to the car in order to_________.

A. disturb the driver on purpose    B．destroy the car of the stranger

C．ask someone to drive him home D．stop someone to help him

Knowing the reason why the boy threw the brick at his car the executive must feel       .

A．sympathized and excited   B．regretful and sympathized

C．ashamed and regretful     D．angry and regretful

After the boy’s brother feIl off his wheelchair,        .

A．the boy threw bricks at several cars  B．the boy tried to stop several cars

C．the boy’s brother was hurt seriously  D．the boy’s brother wanted to stop a car

From the last paragraph we can learn that         .

A．you shouldn’t drive so fast that someone throws at you

B．it is common to throw a brick at a car running too fast

C．you can’t go through your life without a brick throwing at you

D．you should pay more attention to others and help them

B

TaIL Spin

Two dolphins race around in a big pool in the Ocean Park. The smaller dolphin Grace, shown off a few of her tricks, turning around and waving hello to the crowd. The most amazing thing about her, however, is that she’s even swimming at all. She doesn’t have a tail.

Grace lost her tail as a baby when she got caught up in a fish trap.

When the dolphin arrived at the Ocean Park in December 2005, she was fighting for her life. “Is she going to make it?” Her trainer, Abbey Stone, feared the worst. Grace did make it --- but her tail didn’t. She ended up losing her flukes and the lower part of her peduncle.

Over the past six years, she has learned to swim without her tail. Dolphins swim by moving their flukes and peduncle up and down. Grace taught herself to move another way---like a fish! She pushed herself forward through the water by moving her peduncles from side to side.

The movement put harmful pressure on Grace’s backbone. So a company offered to create a man-made tail for her. The tail had to be strong enough to stay on Grace as she swam but soft enough that it wouldn’t hurt her.

The first time Grace wore the artificial tail. She soon shook it off and let it sink in the bottom of the pool. Now, she is still learning to use the tail. Some days she wears it for an hour at a time, others not at all. “The tail isn’t

necessary for her to feel comfortable,” says Stone, “but it helps to keep that range of motion(动作) and build muscles(肌肉).”

Now, the dolphin is about to get an even happier ending. This month, Grace will star in Dolphin Tale, a film that focus on her rescue and recovery. Her progress has inspired more than just a new movie. Many people travel from near and far to meet her. Seeing Grace swim with her man-made tail gives people so much courage.

60. When Grace first arrived at the Ocean Park, her trainer worried about her ______.

A. physical build                                        B. potential ability

C. chance of survival                                 D. adaptation to the surroundings.

61. A man-made tail is created for Grace to ______.

A. let her recover faster                              B. make her comfortable

C. adjust her way of swimming                   D. help her perform better tricks

62. The story of Grace inspires people to ______.

A. stick to their dreams                              B. treat animals friendly

C. treasure what they have                         D. face difficulties bravely

 A friend of mine was sitting in the living room one day when his cat dragged in a little “gift” in its mouth—a dead animal of some sort. Taking a closer look, he was surprised to  36 it as the bunny(小兔子) that  37 Mary, the young daughter of the family next door. My friend felt  38 , believing his cat had killed Mary’s bunny.
My quick-thinking friend came up with a plan.  39  from the cat’s mouth the dead animal, which by now was a     40 mess, he put it in the kitchen sink. With a little warm water and some shampoo, he tried to  41 the dead bunny as best he could. Then he took a hair dryer and blowdried the bunny  42 it looked pretty good.
Finally, under the cover of darkness, he crept into the next-door garden and placed it  43 in the cage. He managed to make the bunny look very  44 there in his little box.
The next morning, my friend looked out of the window and noticed a crowd of people  45 around the rabbit hutch(笼). Everyone seemed to be talking and pointing. My friend  46 to go over and act like any normal  47 neighbor and find out what was going on.
When he got there, Mary’s mother said to my friend, “You won’t believe this! It’s a(n)   48 thing! Mary’s bunny  49 a few days ago, and we buried that little bunny right over there…”
Have you ever tried to cover up one wrongdoing with another? Covering up only makes matters  50 .
When we get caught doing something  51 , for example, we may  52 to cover it up with a lie. But just like Mary’s bunny, the result is  53 what we expected. We  54 looking foolish. We would have been better off admitting we were wrong and accepting the  55 . What do you think of it?

A poor boy Howard Kelly was trying to make some money for school by selling goods. He found that he had only one coin left. He was so  16  that he decided to beg for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his courage when a lovely young  17 opened the door. Instead of asking for a meal, he asked for a drink of  18 . She smiled understandingly and brought him a  19  glass of milk. He drank it slowly and then asked, “How much is it?”
“You need pay nothing.” she replied. “Mother has  20 me never to accept pay for a  21 .” As Howard  22  that house, he not only felt stronger 23  , but it also made him believe in God and the human beings more. He was about to give up before this.
24 later, the young woman became very ill. She was sent to the big city,  25  Dr Howard Kelly, now famous, was called in for the treatment. When he heard the name of the  26  she came from, a  27  light filled his eyes. Immediately, he rose and went down through the hospital hall into her room. He  28  her at once. From that day on, he gave   29  attention to her case and  30   to do his best to save her life.
After a long time, she recovered. The bill was sent to her room. She was  31  to open it because she knew it would 32  the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked at the bill and saw these words on one side of it,
"Paid in full with  33 ."
                    Dr Howard Kelly
Tears of  34  ran out of her eyes as she cried, "Thank you,  35 . Your love has got around through human hearts and hands. "