The lady with the white fence taught me to leave the gate to life open………

When my husband died of a brain disease, I became very angry. Life was not   1  . I hated being alone. One day, as I was  2  down a busy street in town, I suddenly noticed a new fence, www.ks5u.com which was being set up  3  a house. I pulled off to the side to really admire the fence. The carpenter had done such a good job that my eyes almost   4   up with tears. I could not  5  myself away. I stopped the engine, went over and touched the fence. It still  6  of fresh paint. I could hear a lady was trying to start the lawn mower（除草机） in the back garden.

“Hello!” I shouted and   7   at her. “Well, hello!” She stood up and wiped her hands in the apron. “I ——I came to see the fence. It is so beautiful!” I said.

“The fence is not there for my  8  ”, the lady explained to me in a(n)9    voice. “I live alone. But so many people drive by every day, and I thought they  10  be glad to see something really nice. People see my fence and wave.  11   stop like you and come up to veranda(走廊) to have a chat.”

“  12  weren’t you sad when they expanded the road and everything changed so much?” I asked.

Her reply  13  my life. “Change is a part of life and takes part in  14 us who we are. When something we do not like happens to us, we have two choices: to become a  15  person or to become a better person.”

I carefully left the gate  16  and drove on with a new feeling inside me. I could not  17  what it was, but I could feel the  18  stone wall around my angry heart breaking off. And  19  a pretty white fence was built. I decided that I would keep the gate open for everything and everyone that came my   20  .

1．A．fair                      B．unhappy            C．successful            D．unknown

2．A．walking                B．driving               C．wandering            D．running

3．A．near                      B．beside                C．around                 D．in

4．A．welled                  B．dried                  C．took                     D．kept

6．A．felt                       B．tasted                 C．sounded               D．smelled

7．A．looked                  B．stared                 C．waved                  D．glared

8．A．sake                     B．street                 C．job                       D．income

9．A．angry                    B．frightened           C．doubted                D．pleasant

10．A．ought to             B．should                C．might                  D．have to

11．A．Everyone             B．Nobody              C．A few                  D．Few

12．A．So                      B．But                    C．Thus                    D．Though

13．A．gave                   B．changed             C．charged                D．cost

14．A．making                B．leaving               C．finding                 D．catching

15．A．better                  B．bitter                  C．best                     D．worst

16．A．open                   B．closed                C．broken                 D．locked

17．A．discuss               B．speak                 C．talk                      D．tell

18．A．thin                     B．weak                  C．broken                 D．thick

19．A．unfortunately       B．besides               C．disappointedly       D．instead

20．A．position              B．way                    C．route                    D．method

Health insurance can be very expensive. Some working people do not make enough money to pay for it. In the US there is a program called Healthy Families. This program offers people health insurance at a low cost.
Families are charged about ￥7.00 a month for every child, and ￥10.00 for every adult. It costs much less than any other kind of health insurance. Having health insurance is very important. With this insurance, people can see a doctor when they are sick or hurt.
The program is not expensive at all, but many people are still not enrolling in it. People say that it still costs too much money. They need all of their money to pay for things like food and rent.
It would be great if everyone could have health insurance. People are working hard to come up with ways to make this happen. One idea is to make the Healthy Families Program free for some people.
It is important for people to see a doctor when they need to. The Healthy Families Program makes it possible for more people to do this. Many ideas are being considered. Hopefully some of them will allow even more families to get health insurance.
The Healthy Families Program is made to help those who don’t have welfare (社会保障金) and cannot earn enough to pay for private health insurance. It is an important program, but officials say that too many people are signing up for it and then dropping out because of the Healthy Families Program’s cost.
【小题1】 The aim of the Healthy Families Program is to __________.

Health insurance can be very expensive. Some working people do not make enough money to pay for it. In the US there is a program called Healthy Families. This program offers people health insurance at a low cost.

Families are charged about $7.00 a month for every child, and $10.00 for every adult. It costs much less than any other kind of health insurance. Having health insurance is very important. With this insurance, people can see a doctor when they are sick or hurt.

The program is not expensive at all, but many people are still not enrolling in it. People say that it still costs too much money. They need all of their money to pay for things like food and rent.

    It would be great if everyone could have health insurance. People are working hard to come up with ways to make this happen. One idea is to make the Healthy Families Program free for some people.

    It is important for people to see a doctor when they need to. The Healthy Families Program makes it possible for more people to do this. Many ideas are being considered. Hopefully some of them will allow even more families to get health insurance.

    The Healthy Families Program is made to help those who don’t have welfare (社会保障金) and cannot earn enough to pay for private health insurance. It is an important program, but officials say that too many people are signing up for it and then dropping out because of the Healthy Families Program’s cost.

1. The aim of the Healthy Families Program is to __________.

A. help people earn more and pay for the program

B. help more families get health insurance

C. make it free for people to see a doctor

D. help families pay for private health insurance

2.If a couple has two children, how much would health insurance cost every month in the family?

A. $24.              B. $28.              C. $34.              D. $40.

3.Why is it very important for people to have health insurance?

A. They can afford to see a doctor when they need to.

B. They can get special medical care.

C. They can see a doctor free of charge.

D. They can go to see a doctor as soon as possible.

4.In the passage we can learn all of the following EXCEPT that __________.

A. health insurance is very important for ordinary people

B. the program is still too expensive for many people

C. people should make more money to pay for private health insurance

D. many people don’t make enough money to pay for health insurance

5.The passage is mainly about __________.

A. health insurance at a low cost        B. the benefits of health insurance

C. the cost of health insurance          D. the Healthy Families Program

When you are at odds with someone close to you，the One-Minute Drill can show you how to express your feelings effectively-and how to listen more skillfully．All it requires is two individuals who are committed to improving their relationship．

    Set aside at least ten minutes，and then sit facing each other．Decide who will be the Talker and who will be the Lastener．It makes no difference，because later you will change roles．

    How to perform the One-Minute Drill

    For approximately 30 seconds，the Talker can say anything he or she wants．Your job will be to express your thoughts and feelings．You can discuss problems you’ve had a hard time talking about．Remember to limit yourself to about 30 seconds．When the Talker finishes，the Listener will summarize what the Talker just said，as well as how the Talker was feeling inside，as accurately as possible．

   The Talker now gives the Listener a grade between 0 and 100 percent to indicate how accurate the summary was．If the rating is 95 percent or more，you can change roles；the new Talker can continue with the same topic or move on to something entirely new．

However，if the grade is below 95 percent，the Talker should point out what the Listener missed or got wrong，and repeat the process until the overall rating is 95 percent or more．Then you can change roles and repeat the exercise for as long as you both like．

    How it works

Thirty seconds of emotionally charged information is sufficiently challenging for anyone．Express your feelings in strong，clear，direct language，but as your partner will be listening attentively，you won’t need to shout，exaggerate or put your partner down．

The Listener should sit and listen respectfully without interrupting．Look into your partner’s eyes，but avoid using negative body language． If you like，take a few notes．

    So the Talker might say：“When I come home from work， I feel tired and I need some quiet time．But you tell me I’m supposed to spend time with the kids．This makes me feel frustrated．I work hard and I’m exhausted at the end of the day．I feel like I deserve a little time to relax，not listen to more demands．”

    In response，the Listener might summarize like this：“You just told me that you feel exhausted when you come home at night because you’ve been working hard all day．When l tell you l want you to spend time with the kids，you feel frustrated and ticked off because you’re tired and you need time to relax．You see me as very demanding，and you’re probably feeling like I don’t appreciate you．”

    The first time you attempt the One-Minute Drill，you may get a low score．Don’t worry，because you’ll get up to speed quickly．Once you’ve tried this exercise a few times，you’ll find that you can nearly always get ratings of 95 percent or better on the first or second try．

Who is the One-Minute Drill intended for？

    A．Those who are preparing for the interview in order to make a good first impression．

    B．Those who have difficulty communicating with their colleagues or family members．

    C．Those who have troubled relationships with their friends or family members and try to improve them．

    D．Those who are to act some roles in a certain play for the first time in their life．

Which of the following is NOT true？

    A．The Talker should talk about his/her thoughts and feelings in a brief way．

    B．The Listener should listen carefully，respectfully and later summarize accurately．

    C．After the Talker finishes talking，the Listener is to give him/her a grade．

    D．In the One-Minute Drill，the Talker and the Listener change roles in the process．

From the example given in“How it works”，we can guess that the talk might be between      ．

   A．father and son       B．mother and daughter

   C．sister and brother       D．husband and wife

What does the underlined part“ticked off”probably mean in this reading？

    A．very angry           B．burst into tears    

    C．marked with a symbol     D．fast asleep

Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.

      Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.

     Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.

     Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?

     In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased.  Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.

     There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.

According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our

A. self-respect B. financial rewards C. advertising ability D. friendly relationship

The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to___.

A. lying     B. stealing     C. cheating     D. advertising

The phrase "bringing the error to the clerk's attention" (in para. 5) means___.

A. telling the truth to the clerk B. offering advice to the clerk

C. asking the clerk to be more attentive D. reminding the clerk of the charged item

How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake?

A. We'll be very excited.         B. We'll feel unfortunate.

C. We'll have a sense of honor.    D. We'll feel sorry for the clerk.

Which of the following can be the best title of this passage.*

A. How to Live Truthfully        B. Importance of Peacefulness

C. Ways of Gaining Self-respect   D. Happiness through Honorable Actions