Lucy is a shy girl, but can you imagine ______ with the boss in Japanese?

A. her quarrel     B. her to quarrel    C. her quarreling    D. she to quarrel

A lot of us lose life's tough battles by starting a frontal attack--when a touch of humor might well enable us to win. Consider the case of a young friend of mine, who was on his trapped way to work shortly after receiving an ultimatum(最后通牒) about the job. Although there was a good reason for Sam's being late--serious illness at home--he decided that this by-now-familiar excuse wouldn't work any longer. His supervisor was probably already pacing up and down preparing a dismissal speech.
Yes, the boss was, Sam entered the office at 9:35. The place was as quiet as a locker room(更衣室); everyone was hard at work. Sam's supervisor came up to him. Suddenly, Sam forced a grin and stretched out his hand. "How do you do!" he said. "I'm Sam Maynard. I'm applying for a job, which, I understand, became available just 35 minutes ago. Does the early bird get the worm?"
The room exploded in laughter, except that the supervisor had to clamp off a smile and walked back to his office. Sam Maynard had saved his job--with the only tool that could win, a laugh.
Humor is a most effective, yet frequently neglected, means of handling the difficult situations in our lives. It can be used for patching up differences, apologizing, saying "no", criticizing, getting the other fellow to do what you want without his losing face. For some jobs, it's the only tool that can succeed. It is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialog may start a quarrel. For example, many believe that comedians on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance than people in any other forum.
1. Why was Sam late for his job?
A. Because he was seriously ill at home.    B. Because he received an ultimatum.
C. Because he was caught in a traffic jam.   D. Because he was busy applying for a new job.
2. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Sam Maynard saved his job with humor     B. Humor is important in our lives
C. Early bird can get the worm               D. Humor can solve racial discriminations
3. The phrase "clamp off" in Paragraph 3 means__________.
A. try to hold back    B. pretend to set      C. send off         D. give out
4. Which of the following statements can we infer from the passage?
A. Many lose life's battles for they are lacking in a sense of humor.
B. It wasn't the first time that Sam came late for his work.
C. Sam was supposed to come to his office at 8:30.
D. Humor is the most effective way of solving problems.

Have you ever lost your temper? Did you yell or scream at those around you, even people you like or love? Did you want to break something or hit someone?

Everyone gets angry. We have lots of emotions. At different times, we may be happy, sad or jealous.    1.  .

It’s perfectly okay to be angry at time（偶尔）--- in fact, it’s important to get angry sometimes. Anger can even be a good thing. When we are treated unfairly, anger can help us stand up for ourselves.

__2.___ some people keep their anger buried deep inside. If you do this, you might get a headache or your stomach might start to hurt. You may just feel crummy (糟糕的) about yourself or start to cry. It’s not good to hide your anger, so you should find a way to let it out without hurting yourself or others.

When you start to feel angry, you can count to 10, draw a picture of anger, play a video game, run as fast as you can or do something active. An effective way is to talk to a friend you can trust.   3.  .

4.  Instead, admit to yourself that you are angry and try to figure out why you are angry and what you can do to keep the situation from happening again.

Never getting angry is impossible. But, you should always remember that how you act when you’re angry can make the situation better or worse.  

5. Take charge of it!

A． Once you talk about anger, those bad feelings usually start to go away.

B． Taking it out on others never solves anything.

C． Anger is just another way we feel.

D． Here is an important way to deal with anger.

E.  But anger must be released in the right way.

F.  Every coin has two sides.

G.  Don’t let anger be the boss of you.

I was brought up in the British, stiff upper lip style. Strong feelings aren’t something you display in public. So, you can imagine that I was unprepared for the outpouring of public grief(悲伤) at a Chinese funeral.

         My editorial team leader died recently after a short illness. He was 31. The news was so unexpected that it left us all shocked and upset. A female colleague burst into tears and cried piteously at her desk. Somehow we got through the day's work. The next day was the funeral.

         Our big boss stepped forward to deliver a eulogy and was soon in tears. She carried on, in Chinese of course, but at the end said in English: "There will be no more deadlines for you in heaven." Next came a long-term colleague who also dissolved in tears but carried on with her speech despite being almost overcome by emotion. Then a close friend of the dead man paid tribute(哀悼), weeping openly as he spoke. Sorrow is spreading. Me and women were now sobbing uncontrollably. Finally, the man's mother, supported between two women, addressed her son in his coffin. At one point, the mother almost collapsed and had to be held up. We were invited to step forward to each lay a white rose on the casket. Our dead colleague looked as if he was taking a nap. At the end of the service I walked away from the funeral parlor stunned at the outpouring of emotion.

         In the UK, families grieve privately and then try to hold it together and not break down at a funeral. Here in China it would seem that grieving is a public affair. It strikes me that it is more cathartic to cry your eyes out than try to keep it bottled up for fear of embarrassment, which is what many of us do in the West.

         Afterwards, a Chinese colleague told me that the lamenting at the funeral had been restrained(克制) by Chinese standards. In some rural areas, she said, people used to be paid to mourn noisily. This struck me like something out of novel by Charles Dickens. But we have all seen on TV scenes of grief-stricken people in Gaza and the West Bank, in Afghanistan, Iraq and the relatives of victims of terrorist bombings around the world. Chinese grief is no different. I realized that it's the reserved British way of mourning that is out of step with the rest of the world.

         It was our newspaper's production day. We were bussed back to the office to resume work. No more deadlines for our former colleague, but we had to pull together to put the newspaper to print. The boss invited the team to go out for dinner after work. We relaxed, smiled, joked. There was no mention of the funeral or our poor colleague. Enough sorrow had been shed already. We needed a break.

1.The underlined words “stiff upper lip style” mean “       ”.

A．cold-blooded      B．warm-hearted

C．self-controlled    D．light-hearted

2.At the funeral,         .

A．five individuals made speeches

B．the boss’s speech was best thought of

C．everyone was crying out loudly

D．the writer was astonished by the scene

3.According to the writer, people in the West      .

A．are not willing to be sad for the dead

B．prefer to control their sadness in public

C．cry their eyes out at the public funeral

D．have better way to express sadness

4.It is implied that        .

A．the English might cry noisily for the dead in Dickens’ time

B．Chinese express their sadness quite unlike other peoples

C．victims of terrorist bombings should be greatly honored

D．English funeral culture is more civilized than the others

5.This passage talks mainly about          .

A．an editor’s death                   B．bad funeral customs

C．western ways of grief  D．cultural differences

The Japanese have a genius for dreaming up small, useful and fun machines. You must have used or at least heard of Sony’s walkman, Nintendo or Sega’s video games, and Bandai’s Tamagotchi. And how about karaoke, invented by Daisuke Inoue?
Daisuke, who? Not many people have heard of him, and he never made much money from his invention. But anyone who has ever experienced the thrill of singing karaoke in front of a crowd has Mr.Inoue to thank…
Daisuke Inoue is an easygoing man with a quick smile. He was born in the suburbs of Osaka in 1940. At Osaka Technical High School he took up the drums, because he says, “All you have to do is hit them.” Before long he was making money as a drummer in a Hawaiian band that played in the old dance-halls left behind by American soldiers.
By 1970, he and six partners were playing in the clubs of nearby Kobe, accompanying middle-aged businessmen who wanted to sing traditional Japanese country and even army songs. His friends, Inous says, could all read music and so they could pick up the latest tunes (曲调). He, on the other hand, had to rely on memory and play by following the lips of the singer as they moved. “Out of 108 club musicians in Kobe,” he says. “I was the worst! And the clients (顾客) in my club were the worst singers!”
One client, president of a small steel company, was especially fond of Inoue’s slow, follow-along style. It made the president’s bad, out-of–time singing sound much better. One evening he wanted Inoue to play for him on a trip to a hot spring resort (胜地). The boss wanted to sing Frank Nagai’s Leaving Haneda Airport on a 7:50 Flight for his friends. But Inoue was unable to leave his job.
To help out his most loyal client, he decided to provide him with a tape. Inoue wouldn’t be there, but the singer would still have his accompaniment. Karaoke was born. 
1. Daisuke Inoue took up the drums at high school because _______.
A. they were his favorite musical instruments
B. he knew they would help him make money
C. he thought they were easy to learn
D. it was easy for a drummer to find a job
2. What does the underlined word “they” stand for?
A. His partner      B. His friends    C. The latest tunes    D. The singer’s lips
3. From this passage we know Daisuke Inoue was ______.
A. an outstanding musician            B. not quite good at music
C. a good singer and dancer           D. good at inventing things
4. Why did the president like Inoue’s playing so much?
A. Because Inoue followed his singing.
B. Because Inoue played very well.
C. Because he had got used to Inoue’s fast, exciting style.
D. Because Inoue was an easy-going man with a quick smile.