A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C．Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended．In a natural reflex （反应）, I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her．I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar．But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money．I just need help finding the post office.”

     In an instant, I realized what I had done．I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be．I hated what I saw in myself．This incident re-awakened my belief in humility(谦恭), even though I’d lost it for a moment．

     The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant．I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S．at the age of 15．I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother．Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.

     In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice (偏见)．I remember a time, at age 17 ----- I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me．I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it’s like, and I should have known better．

     But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going．That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my blindness．She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open．By the way, I helped that lady to the post office．And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson．

We can learn from the first two paragraphs that __________ ．

       A．the author regretted his act of prejudice

       B．the blind woman needed the money badly

       C．the author was as poor as the blind woman

       D．the author was a native American

According to Paragraph 4, hearing the father’s words, the author was probably _____ ．

       A．rather hurt     B．very excited      C．deeply moved      D．greatly inspired

According to the passage, the author probably agrees that one should ________ ．

       A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled

       B．try to experience different kinds of life

       C．treat others equally with love and respect

       D．think about one’s past as often as possible

Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

       A．Learn from your past

       B．How my dream comes true

       C．A belief that will never change

       D．A priceless lesson in the street

Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life to the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music”.

When someone says, “Well, I guess I’ll have to face the music.” It does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, any why you didn’t do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At some time or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you.” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!

The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Cooper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did- facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” came to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.”

Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about hw well they looked. Was their equipment clean, whinny enough to pass inspection? Still the men had to go out, and face the music of the band, as well as the inspection. What else could they do?

Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As, for example, when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.

According to the passage, how many ways does the phrase “to face the music” come from?

  A. One.           B. Two.         C. Three.           D. Four.

What’s the meaning of “to face the music?”

  A. To face something far less pleasant.         B. To face the stage.

  C. To face the back of one’s horse.            D. To face one’s leader.

The underlined word “hostile” in Paragraph 3 means “       ”.

  A. unfriendly         B. dislike          C. unimportant          D. unnecessary

A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized(强调)the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience

    One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be surprised . Gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, he said, “You don’t say!” “You don’t say!” I was puzzled. I thought , perhaps this is not an proper topic. “Well, I’d better change the topic. “ So I said to him, “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was wonderful.”  He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide.  “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it.”   Soon I was stopped again by his words: “You don’t say!” I couldn’t help asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it ?”  “Well, I didn’t ask you to do so,” he answered, greatly surprised. I said, “Didn’t you say ‘you don’t say’?” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, ‘You don’t say.’actually means ‘really’! It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I know how foolish I had been. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions. Remember: what the English teachers said is always right to us students.

At first, on hearing “You don’t say”, I thought the foreigner meant____.

       A. He was not interested in the topic    B. He was only interested in the Great Wall

       C. I had talked too much                   D. I had to stop talking

The underlined word in the first paragraph probably means____.

       A. interesting       B. important         C. terrible     D. unlucky

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

       A. The Englishman left China without seeing the Great Wall.

       B. The Englishman wanted to see the Great Wall after I talked about it.

       C. The Englishman wanted me to act as his guide.

       D. The Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth (值得) visiting.

After the Englishman explained the idiom, _____.

       A. I thought the Englishman had made me a fool.

       B. The Englishman became a real fool.

       C. I felt very foolish

       D. I became more careful in everything.

Did you ever wonder why leaves change colors in autumn, or how it happens? Here’s a quick explanation.
First of all, you’ve probably noticed that not all trees lose their leaves. There are two major types of trees: deciduous trees and evergreens. Evergreens keep their leaves and stay green all year long. The deciduous trees are the ones that lose their leaves each year.
In autumn, the days begin to get shorter. The sun is also lower in the sky at noon, which causes temperatures to be cooler. The combination of less sunshine and lower temperatures is what causes the deciduous trees to drop their leaves. In winter, deciduous trees “go to sleep”, sort of like a bear goes into hibernation.
Leaves are the food factories for a plant. Unlike animals，plants make their own food by taking energy directly from the sun. Plants do this by using a chemical in their leaves called chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll is green. During the spring and summer the leaves of a deciduous tree look green because there is a lot of chlorophyll there. In autumn, however, the sunshine becomes more  scarce and the leaves on the trees stop making new chlorophyll. As the old chlorophyll starts to break down, the green color of the leaf begins to go away.
You’ve probably also noticed that the leaves of different kinds of trees change different colors. The leaves of some trees turn yellow or orange, while the leaves of other trees turn bright red or purple. The different colors are caused by the different chemical reactions that are happening in the leaves.
For example, the leaves of some trees turn yellow when the chlorophyll breaks down. When the green chlorophyll goes away, a yellow pigment in the leaf becomes visible. The yellow pigment, called cartenoid, was already there during the summer, but is was not easily seen because there was too much green chlorophyll.
In other trees where the leaves turn red or purple a different chemical reaction takes place. In those leaves the chlorophyll also breaks down, but another chemical reaction takes place at the same time. Chemicals in the leaves, called starches, begin to change into chemicals called anthocyanins, which give the leaves their red and purple colors.
So next time you see the beautiful colors of autumn you will also know the science behind that beauty.
46.   What is the correct term for trees that lose their leaves in the autumn?
A. Evergreens       B. Deciduous        C. Cartenoids  D. Anthocyanins
47.   Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a cause of trees dropping their leaves?
A. A change in temperature   B. The amount of daylight available
C. Extra chlorophyll         D. Chemical changes in the leaves
48.   If there are 50 evergreens and 10 deciduous trees in a forest, in autumn what color are most of the leaves in the forest likely to be?
A. Green B. Red and purple
C. Yellow        D. not enough information to determine the answer
49.   Which of the following is only present in leaves during the autumn?
A. Chlorophyll       B. Starch C. Cartenoids        D. Anthocyanins
50.   Where would such an article mostly likely be published?
A. In a book                   B. In a primary school science text book
C. In a magazine for young people       D. All are equally likely

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play the character of Ronald McDonald for the McDonald's Corporation.
One day each month，we visited hospitals bringing a little happiness to the children there. But there were two rules placed on me during a visit. First, I could not go anywhere in the hospital  without permission. And second, I could not physically touch anyone within the hospital. They did not want me to carry germs(细菌)from one patient to another. Breaking either of these rules, I was told, I could lose my job. One day, as I was heading down a hallway and on my way home, I heard a little voice coming through a half­opened door，“Ronald，Ronald.”
I stepped in and saw a boy，about five years old, lying in his dad's arms, Mom with a nurse on the other side. I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. I asked his name. He told me it was Billy and that I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say good­bye, he asked me “Ronald, would you hold me？”
At such a simple request, my heart was screaming, “Yes！”But my mind was screaming louder. “No！You are going to lose your job！”
“Hold me” was such a simple request, and yet I searched for any reasonable excuses that allowed me to leave, but none. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared. Then, I picked up this little boy. He was so weak and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes. With tears in my eyes, I left them. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy's mom that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy's life.
Billy's mom told me shortly after I left the room. Billy looked at her and said, “Momma, I don't care any more if I see Santa this year because I was held by Ronald McDonald.”
For the record, McDonald's Corporation did find it out, but, given the situation，permitted me to go on with my job. I continued as Ronald for another year before leaving the corporation to share the story of Billy and how important it is to take risks.
【小题1】The underlined word “grave” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.