One day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of  which  would be considered a very poor family. On their  return  from their trip, the father asked his son, “ How was the trip?”
“It was  great , Dad .”
“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked.
“Oh yeah?” said the son.
“So what did you  learn  from the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that  reaches  to the middle of our garden and they have a creek (小溪) that has  no  end. We have lanterns in our garden and they have the  stars  at night. We have a  small  piece of land to live on and they have fields that go  beyond  our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve  themselves . We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have  walls  around our property（财产） to protect us but they have friends to protect them.”
With this the boy’s father was  speechless .
Then his son  added , “Dad, thank you for showing me how  poor  we are.”
Too many times we  forget  what we have and concentrate on what we don’t have. What is one person’s  priceless  object is another’s prize possession. It’s all  decided  on one’s perspective (视角). Think about what would happen if we all gave  thanks  for what we have,  instead of  worrying about what we don’t have.
Be thankful for every single thing in your life, exactly as it is now–and  especially  your friends. Be sure to take the time to express your appreciation and gratitude for the people whom you are close to.

I was painfully shy as a child. In high school I would avoid participating in class discussions. I was too afraid to talk to anyone but my closest friends~ I would think about being less shy, wanting the courage not only to ask a girl out, but to speak up in class and say what I was thinking. Yet, it never happened. Fears showed themselves in such self-conscious questions as, " What will other people think?  What if she says no?" I felt a dark presence in my mind holding me back.
This shyness continued into college. One day, the question occurred to me: Is life shy?
The thought surprised me ! Think of the leaves bursting out in the spring time, the bird singing at dawn, the sheer number of different forms of life, all expressing the wideness and scope of divine life. There's nothing shy about it. Life is everywhere and attention-grabbing (引人注意的). So, if my creator isn't shy about all the life that needs expressing, I don't need to be either.
I realized that if I wanted to overcome fear and shyness, I would have to put this law of life into practice~ Shyness, fear, and loneliness were hindering me from living my life as life: God wanted me to live it. Therefore, I decided to live how life saw me.
One example: I wrote a note to a girl, asking her out on a date. Even as I was writing it, the fears of disaffirmation and unworthiness came to me. This time however, instead of shrinking back and hiding from the fear, I put the note in the campus mail in spite of myself. I thought: whether she says yes or no, it's still right for me not to be shy. I can live with the confidence sent from the source of my life. The girl saw me in class the next day and told me that she would love to go out with me. I should not have been so surprised!
Bit by bit, I was proving that the limited view of myself no longer had control over me.  After college, I worked as a newspaper reporter, earned an advanced degree in theater, became a productive writer (a lifelong dream), met a special woman whom I married, and even got a job teaching at a university.
【小题1】The writer was shy as a child because of______.

完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四处选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
A cat which became famous in Britain for riding on the buses around the southern English city of Plymouth has died after being killed by a car.
Casper, a 12 -year-old black and white cat,   26   leave his house, trotted （慢跑） across the street to the bus stop, queued with bus passengers and'waited for his 27 ．He then hopped（跳跃） on the number3 bus to find his  28   seat to curl up on before hopping off at his 29 ．The cat was so clever that he knew  30   stop to get off and drivers made sure that he wouldn' t get off at some random（随意的）   31 ．Also, the cat seemed to know where to get back  32 , and then he trotted off home．Many local people also knew Casper, who loved everyone and also enjoyed the 33 ourneys, It seemed that 12 -year-old Casper had discovered a very efficient way to 34   the English city of  Plymouth in his golden years．
However, one day ,   35 a motorist hit him and did not stop．Casper was then, in fact, crossing the street to lcatch his usual No．3 bus   36   he was struck by the car．Our friend, Caspar ___37 his injuries．On hearing the news of his death, many people were 38  . A company spokesman said in a statement that Casper _39_ many people' s lives and clearly had a very  40 life traveling around Plymouth．He also suspected that Casper was telling all the other cats in the heaven a bout the many  41_he had experienced． 
Casper' s owner, 55 -year - old Susan Finden, said he had always been a free spirit and was named   42   the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost, because of his habit of 43 off．Finden ．posted a sign at Casper' s bus stop to let people know, that they' d no longer be enjoying the company of the cat of whom they'd grown so  44 ．
Casper was a special cat and he had a wonderful life．A  45  of the cat will continue to be used on one of the company' s buses. He will be missed for ever.
26．A．used to              B．liked to              C．hated to          D．had to
27．A．time                B．turn                C．place      D．order
28．A．best               B．favpritest             C． most          D．favorite
29．A．destination          B．determination       C．decision              D．description
30．A．where              B．at which             C．what          D．in which
31．A．station            B．stop   C．spot   D．scene
32．A．up                  B．down                C．off      D．on     
33．A．bus                 B．car    C．rail           D．air
34．A．get across           B．get through         C．get down           D．get around
35．A．sadly               B．luckily          C．happily        D．strangely
36．A．while               B．as                 C．when            D．then
37．A．died off               B．died from            C．died down         D．died away
38．A．shocked              B．interested           C．surprised         D．excited
39．A．changed             B．touched            C．turned        D．challenged
40．A．discouraging         B．discouraged         C．excited         D．exciting
41．A．adventures          B．accidents           C．friends        D．incidents
42．A．by                  B．from                C．through             D．after
43．A．wondering            B．wandering          C．cutting             D．going
44．A．familiar             B．similar              C．fond           D．popular
45．A．picture              B．signal               C．movie        D．card

One day a famous speaker gave a speech to a crowd of people. He held up a   36   bill. He asked, “Who would like this $20 bill ? ” Hands were   37  . Then he said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first let me do this.” He began to crumple（弄皱）the   38 . He then asked the audience, “   39  still wants it ?” Still the hands went  40  in the air.
“ What   41  I do this? ” He asked, and he  42  it on the ground, and started to step on it. He   43  it up. Now the bill was  44  and crumpled. “ Now who still wants it?” Still the hands went up.
“My friends,” He continued, “You have all  45   a good lesson . No matter   46  I did to the money, you still wanted it because the bill did not lose its  47  . It was still worth $20. Many times in our   48 , we are dropped, crumpled, and stepped on, because we sometimes  49  wrong decisions, or we may   50  with something we do not   51 .When that happens, we feel depressed and think we are   52 . But in fact no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. The worth of our life comes not   53  what we do or whom we know, but in who we are! Don’t forget ‘the worth of a thing does not depend on its outside   54  , but on its inner value.’ This is the   55  of life.

Being less than perfectly well-dressed in a business setting can result in a feeling of discomfort. And the sad truth is that “clothing mismatches” on the job can ruin the day of the person who is wearing the inappropriate attire(着装)—and the people with whom he or she works.
Offices vary when it comes to dress codes. Some businesses have very strict standards for office attire, while others maintain a more relaxed attitude. However, it is always important to remember that no matter what your company’s attitude is, you are working in a business environment and you should dress properly. Certain items may be more appropriate for evening wear than for a business meeting, just as shorts and a T-shirt are better suited for the beach than for an office environment. Your attire should reflect both your environment and your position. A senior president has a different image to maintain than that of a secretary. Like it or not, you will be judged by your appearance.
This is never more apparent than on “dress-down days”, when what you wear can say more about you than any business suit ever could. In fact, people will pay more attention to what you wear on dress-down days than on “business professional ” days. Thus, when dressing in “business casual” clothes, try to put some good taste into your choices, recognize that the “real” definition of business casual is to dress just one notch(等级) down from what you would normally wear on business-professional attire days.
Remember, there are borders between your career and our social life. You should dress one way for play and another way when you mean business. Always ask yourself where you are going and how other people will be dressed when you get there. Is the final destination the opera, the beach, or the office? Dress properly and you will discover the truth in the principle that clothes make the man—and the woman. When you’re in doubt, it’s safe to be on the side of dressing slightly more traditionally than the situation demands.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?