It was a cold night in December. Two beggars were sitting on a busy street corner in the downtown section of the city. The cold wind made them huddle (挤) together for heat and comfort. They watched helplessly as scores of people walked by, some ignoring them on purpose and others too caught up in their own cares to even notice their existence. Every so often, a kind-hearted woman or a small child would drop a few coins in the hats which lay in front of them on the icy sidewalk. Some people, feeling particularly generous, would even pull out a bill or two from their wallets and drop them into the beggars’ hats and then continued their walking.

Today was not a bad day for begging. The men were able to collect enough for a good meal at the coffee shop down the street and a few candles to light up their shelter in the alley (胡同) behind the train station. As the crowd began to die down, they started to pack up their bundles and head for their evening shelter.

Just as they were getting ready to leave the street corner, they noticed a man walking toward them. He was obviously a wealthy man — they could tell that from the finely tailored business suit he was wearing and the gold watch chain adorned (装饰) his left pocket.

The first beggar looked at the second and whispered with excitement, “He’s coming our way!

The two tried not to look directly at the man as he stepped closer to them, but they couldn’t help staring at him as he reached into his pocket and took something out.

“Thunk” was the only sound they heard as what looked like a piece of hard candy, wrapped carefully in tissue paper hit each of their waiting hats. The rich man turned and continued on his way, not making a backward glance.

“How insulting!” said the first beggar, as soon as the rich man was out of sight. “He could have easily left us a few coins or a spare bill, but he played a joke on us with a piece of rock candy.”

He looked at the wrapped offering with disgust. “Who does he think we are — children? There’s no way we can even eat this — we have no teeth.”

The beggar picked up the object with the very tips of his fingers and threw it into the gutter (排水沟). He watched as it floated a few yards in the stream of muddy water and disappeared into the gutter at the end of the street. Then, he gathered up his things and walked away.

The second beggar looked down at the morsel in his hat, then at his departing friend. His first thought was to toss the donation in the trash can under the street light. But his second thought made him change his mind.

“I haven’t had anything like this for ages,” he thought. “I can’t chew it, but I can suck on it for a while, and the sweet juice will stay in my mouth for a long time. How nice of that man to offer me something so sweet!”

He opened the paper eagerly, then paused as his hands touched the inside. “Maybe I should save it for another time,” he thought. “It won’t spoil, and I could eat it later when I’m really hungry.”

The beggar paused for a moment, then he said aloud, “He wanted me to have it anyway. I might as well enjoy it now.”

With that, he unfolded the paper, but to his surprise, there was no hard rock candy inside. Instead, into his fingers fell a shiny white pearl worth thousands of dollars.

55. The first paragraph serves as a(n) ______.

A. explanation 　　　　B. introduction 　　C. background 　　 D. comment

56. The two beggars started to leave the street corner when ____.

A. darkness fell 　　　　　　　　 B. few people passed by

C. they felt too cold 　　　　　　　D. the wind began to blow hard.

57. The two beggars thought the man was rich from _____.

A. his appearance 　　　　　　　B. his way of walking

C. the jewellery he wore 　　　　　D. the shiny shoes

58. What did the first beggar think of the rich man?

A. He looked down upon the poor. 　B. He was very kind and warm-hearted

C. He treated them as children D. He was too mean.

59. The underlined words “the morsel in his hat” probably refer to ______.

A. the donation from the rich man

B. the coins the second beggar collected

C. the rock candy the rich man gave the second beggar

D. the food the second beggar left over

60. What can we learn from the story?

A. Every dog has its day.

B. Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.

C. He who laughs last laughs best.

D. He that can have patience can have what he will.

Below is a page adapted from an English dictionary.
Important words to learn:E Essential I improver A Advanced
Pump
noun [C] DEVICE 1 A a piece of equipment which is
used to cause liquid, air or gas to move from one place
gas pump SHOE2[USUALLY PLURAL]US (UK COURT SHOE)
8 type of plain shoe with a raised HEEL and no way of
fastening it to the foot which is worn by women
3 [USUALLY PLURAL]  type of flat shoe, like a BALIET dancer’s shoe when is worn by women 4 [USUALLY PLURAL]UK a flat·shoe made of heavy cloth, which is worn by children for doing sports.
verb LIQUID/GAS1 [T USUALLY·ADV/PREP] to force
liquid or gas to move somewhere:our latest machine can
pump a hundred gallors a minute , o The new wine is
pumped into stirage tanks.o The heart pumos blood
through the arteries/round the body. INFORMATION2[T]
INFORMAL to keep asking someone for information,
especially in a way that is not direce:She was pumping me
for details of the new projece.
Idioms pump sb’s hand to SHAKE someone’s hand
(="hold" their hand and move it up and down, espacially
In order to greet them)·pump lron INFORMAL to lift
Heavy weights for exercise: These days both men and
Women pump iron far fitnets.
Pharsal verbs pump sth into sth to spend    
Money trying to make something operate succesfully:
They had been pumpinh money into the business for some
Years without seeing any results.
Pump sth out(M)REMOVE1 to remove water or other
liquid from something using a pump:We took turns
pumping out the boat.PRODUCE2 INFORMAL DISAPPROVING
to produce words or loud music in a way that is repeated,
forceful and continuous: The government keeps pumping
out the same old propaganda.O The car radio was
pumping out music with a heacy beat.
Pump out sth someone’s stomach is pumped out, a
Poisonous substance is removed from it by being-sucked
Through a tube. She had to go to hospital    
Stomach pumped out.
Pump sth up [M] INFORMAL to make someone feel more
contident or excited: He was offering them advince and
trying to pump them up.O[R]The players were pumping
themselves up by singing the national anthem, before the
game.
Pump sth up[M]1 to fill something with air using a
pump: Have you pumped up the balloons yet?O I must
pump the tyres up on my bike.2 INFORMAL to increase
something by a large amount:The US was able to pump
up exports.O Let’s pump up the tolume a bit!
Pump-action /pamp ek/ n/adjective describes a device which operates by forcing song     especially air ,in or out of a closed space or container, a pump-action shotgun , a pump   action   
Pump priming noun specialized the activity of helping a business ,programm ,economy    etc   to  develop by  giving it money.  The government is carding small,pump-priming grants to single moter who are starting their own businesses.
Pun
noun a humorous use of a word or phrase which has several meanings or which sound like another word:she made a couple of dreadful puns.  This is a well-known joke based on a pun “What’s  black and white and red   all  over   A newspaper
Verb  to make a pun
Punch
Noun      (c)a forceful hit with a fist (="closed" hand) she gave him a punch lik on us in the nose effect
2 U the power to be interesting and have a strong effect on people ,I felt the performance speech presntation lacked punch DRnk  3  a cold or hot drink made by mixing fruit juices pieces of frut and often wine or other alcoholic drinks tool  4  a piece of equoce  which cuts boles in a maena by pushing a piece of met through it a ticket punch have you seen the hole puneh anywhere?
Verb(t) hit 1  to hit someone or something with your FIST (="closed" hand);He punched him in the stomach.2 MALY US to hit with your fingers the bugins on a telephone or the kdys on a keys on a keyboard USE TOCL make a hole in something with a special piece of equipment:I was just punching holes in some sheets of paper  .This belt’s too big .I’ll have to punch an extra hole in it.
Idioms punch sb’s lights out informal to hit someone repeatedly very hard punch the clock us to put a card into a special machine to record the times you amive at and leave work:After 17 years of punching the clock,he just disappeared one morning and was mever heard from again.
【小题1】
What does the word“pump”mean in “He ran in every five minutes to pump me about the case”?

Below is a page adapted from an English dictionary.

                          Important words to learn:E Essential I improver A Advanced

Pump

  noun [C] DEVICE 1 A a piece of equipment which is

used to cause liquid, air or gas to move from one place

gas pump SHOE2[USUALLY PLURAL]US (UK COURT SHOE)

8 type of plain shoe with a raised HEEL and no way of

fastening it to the foot which is worn by women

3 [USUALLY PLURAL]  type of flat shoe, like a BALIET dancer’s shoe when is worn by women 4 [USUALLY PLURAL]UK a flat·shoe made of heavy cloth, which is worn by children for doing sports.

verb LIQUID/GAS1 [T USUALLY·ADV/PREP] to force

liquid or gas to move somewhere:our latest machine can

pump a hundred gallors a minute , o The new wine is

pumped into stirage tanks.o The heart pumos blood

through the arteries/round the body. INFORMATION2[T]

INFORMAL to keep asking someone for information,

especially in a way that is not direce:She was pumping me

for details of the new projece.

Idioms pump sb’s hand to SHAKE someone’s hand

(=hold their hand and move it up and down, espacially

In order to greet them)·pump lron INFORMAL to lift

Heavy weights for exercise: These days both men and

Women pump iron far fitnets.

 Pharsal verbs pump sth into sth to spend    

Money trying to make something operate succesfully:

They had been pumpinh money into the business for some

Years without seeing any results.

Pump sth out(M)REMOVE1 to remove water or other

liquid from something using a pump:We took turns

pumping out the boat.PRODUCE2 INFORMAL DISAPPROVING

to produce words or loud music in a way that is repeated,

forceful and continuous: The government keeps pumping

out the same old propaganda.O The car radio was

pumping out music with a heacy beat.

Pump out sth someone’s stomach is pumped out, a

Poisonous substance is removed from it by being-sucked

Through a tube. She had to go to hospital    

Stomach pumped out.

Pump sth up [M] INFORMAL to make someone feel more

contident or excited: He was offering them advince and

trying to pump them up.O[R]The players were pumping

themselves up by singing the national anthem, before the

game.

Pump sth up[M]1 to fill something with air using a

pump: Have you pumped up the balloons yet?O I must

pump the tyres up on my bike.2 INFORMAL to increase

something by a large amount:The US was able to pump

up exports.O Let’s pump up the tolume a bit!

Pump-action /pamp ek/ n/adjective describes a device which operates by forcing song     especially air ,in or out of a closed space or container, a pump-action shotgun , a pump   action   

Pump priming noun specialized the activity of helping a business ,programm ,economy    etc   to  develop by  giving it money.  The government is carding small,pump-priming grants to single moter who are starting their own businesses.

Pun

noun a humorous use of a word or phrase which has several meanings or which sound like another word:she made a couple of dreadful puns.  This is a well-known joke based on a pun “What’s  black and white and red   all  over   A newspaper

Verb  to make a pun

Punch

Noun      (c)a forceful hit with a fist (=closed hand) she gave him a punch lik on us in the nose effect

2 U the power to be interesting and have a strong effect on people ,I felt the performance speech presntation lacked punch DRnk  3  a cold or hot drink made by mixing fruit juices pieces of frut and often wine or other alcoholic drinks tool  4  a piece of equoce  which cuts boles in a maena by pushing a piece of met through it a ticket punch have you seen the hole puneh anywhere?

    Verb(t) hit 1  to hit someone or something with your FIST (=closed hand);He punched him in the stomach.2 MALY US to hit with your fingers the bugins on a telephone or the kdys on a keys on a keyboard USE TOCL make a hole in something with a special piece of equipment:I was just punching holes in some sheets of paper  .This belt’s too big .I’ll have to punch an extra hole in it.

Idioms punch sb’s lights out informal to hit someone repeatedly very hard punch the clock us to put a card into a special machine to record the times you amive at and leave work:After 17 years of punching the clock,he just disappeared one morning and was mever heard from again.

1.

What does the word“pump”mean in “He ran in every five minutes to pump me about the case”?

A.Talk with   B.ask for information.    C.Listen to    D.Provide with evidence

2.

When Sally says“The TV propram kept pumping out commercials”,she may be______.

A.excited   B.interested   C.annoyed   D.annoyed

3.

What will the government most probably provide if it is engaged in a pump-priming program?

A. sums of money          B.Raw materials

C.informative and significant    D.intereing and powerful

4.

When Sylvia says“His speech was OK but it had no real punch”,she thinks it was not_____.

A.fluent and impressive       B.logical and moving

C.informative and significant   D.interestitng and powerful