Roger Conner is a modern­-day Horatio Alger hero. Roger started out as an unpaid worker in a small flower shop. He has become the owner of a florist company whose sales are well over $100 000 a year.

One day when Roger was only twelve, he stopped at a local flower shop. He asked the owner if he could work for him, without pay, in order to learn the business. Roger started working every day after school and on weekends. After two years on the job, he finally asked for a small salary. The owners told him he “wasn't good enough to be paid.” So he quit, and found a paying job at another local flower shop. He worked hard there, but after six months they laid him off because business was slow.

Not discouraged, Roger decided to do it alone and started his own flower store in a basement in his town. He started his business with only sixty­-five dollars. He bought old refrigerators at garage sales and knocked the shelves out. This turned them into coolers for his fresh­-cut flowers. His business grew rapidly as he built up a reputation for top quality and fine service.

In 1977, Roger bought out the flower store where he had worked without pay for over two years. The people who said he “wasn’t good enough to be paid” were astonished to find that they were being taken over by a teenager. He had plans to renovate (振兴) the whole store.

One of the reasons the owners sold out to Roger was that the store wasn't doing well. But after Roger took over ownership and redid the store, business started booming. In fact, business was so good that after one year, he celebrated by buying out the other store where he had worked. Roger then combined both stores and moved to a location in the center of his town.

The new store has 2 000 square feet and seven employees. And he did it all before he reached the age of twenty.

1.The author is wants to show us that people who want to succeed in business should ________.

A．work without pay

B．own a flower shop

C．work hard and never give up

D．work as teenagers

2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．He worked for two years without pay.

B．He needed luck to be successful.

C．He opened his first flower business in a basement.

D．He became successful before the age of twenty.

3.The passage may be a ________.

A．newspaper report                       B．humorous story

C．television play                          D．scientific story

4.The underlined part in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.

A．employed him

B．didn’t let him work there

C．paid him money

D．were proud of him

5.From the passage, a “Horatio Alger hero” may be the kind of person who________.

A．works hard in the flower business

B．was born into a rich family

C．starts out poor and becomes rich

D．becomes famous as a result of good luck

(NEW YORK) A French tourist highly praised for rescuing a two-year-old girl in Manhattan said he didn’t think twice before diving into the freezing East River.

   Tuesday’s Daily News said 29-year-old Julien Duret from France was the man who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday.

   He lifted the little girl out of the water after she fell off the bank at the South Street Seaport museum. He handed the girl to her father, David Anderson, who had dived in after him.

   “I didn’t think at all,” Duret told the Daily News. “It happened very fast. I reacted very fast.”

   Duret, an engineer on vacation, was walking with his girlfriend along the pier(码头) when he saw something falling into the water. He thought it was a doll, but realized it was a child when he approached the river. Immediately, he took off his coat and jumped into the water.

   When he reached the girl, she appeared lifeless, he said. Fortunately, when she was out of the water, she opened her eyes.

   Anderson said his daughter slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera. An ambulance came later for her, said Duret, who was handed dry clothes from onlookers. Duret caught a taxi with his girlfriend shortly after.

   The rescue happened on the day before he left for France. Duret said he didn’t realize his story of heroism had greatly moved New York until he was leaving the city the next morning.

   “I don’t really think I’m a hero,” said Duret. “Anyone would do the same thing.”

1.Why was Duret in New York?

   A. To meet his girlfriend.          B. To spend his holiday.

   C. To work as an engineer.           D. To visit the Andersons.

2.What did Duret do shortly after the ambulance came?

   A. He was interviewed by a newspaper.

   B. He went to the hospital in the ambulance.

   C. He disappeared from the spot quickly.

   D. He asked his girlfriend for his dry clothes.

3. Who dived after Duret into the river to save the little girl?

   A. David Anderson     B. A passer-by   C. His girlfriend    D. A taxi driver

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   A. Duret thought twice before he jumped into the cold water.

   B. Duret dived into the water before the girl’s father.

   C. The rescue happened on the day Duret left for France.

   D. Duret didn’t think he was brave enough to be a hero.

5.What is probably the headline of this news report?

   A. A Careless Father            B. A Poor Girl

   C. Warm-hearted Onlookers        D. Brave Frenchman Found

An old farmer lived on a farm with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early to read his Bhagavat Geeta. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.
One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavat Geeta just like you but I don't understand it, What good does reading the Bhagavat Geeta do?"
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out (漏出) before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the same took place. He told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water with a basket.
The old man said, " You're just not trying hard enough,"  So the boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket into a clean one inside and outside.
"You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Krishna in our lives."
【小题1】We can learn from Paragraph 1 that the grandson_________.

______ at the airport, he telephoned his wife and bold her what he would do when he got home.

       A. Once arrived                                 B. As soon as he reached      

       C. When he got                                  D. Upon arriving

This is a story from 28 years ago. My dad was a used car salesman. Every Thursday night, he would head off to Shreveport, LA for an auction. Most of the time, I drove a car over there for him so he could sell it at the auction.

One day, I was riding with my dad when he noticed a hitch-hiker with a backpack. Without hesitation, he pulled the car over and offered him a ride. Dad asked him his name, and proceeded to talk to him about all sorts of things. Dad asked him where he was going. The hitch-hiker told him he was heading for the west. I can’t recall why but he told Dad a lot of things that had occurred to him and that persuaded him to make that decision. He talked about the tragic events that occurred to him several years before. He was low in spirits, but I could see that the hitch-hiker’s attitude was changing as someone was really listening to him.

We drove 45 minutes before the hitch-hiker got off. We pulled over and Dad told him to keep his head up and things would start looking up for him soon. He reached into his pocket and handed the hitch-hiker a twenty-dollar bill. The guy smiled. He nearly lit up right there on the cold, dark highway.

We drove on and my dad did not say a single thing. I was still completely amazed by what I had just witnessed. I was always told by everyone never to pick up a hitch-hiker and yet my dad did it every single time he saw one. While reflecting upon that story I came to understand that just one single kind act could change someone’s life, and I am sure that my father’s deed made that poor man’s day.

The underlined words “that decision” in Para. 2 refer to ___________.

A. catching the car                 B. heading for the west

C. talking about his experiences       D. driving 45 minutes

What made the hitch-hiker become less upset?

A. The writer’s father offering him a free ride

B. The writer’s father really listening to him

C. The writer’s father agreeing to driving him to his destination

D. The writer’s father talking to him about all sorts of things

When his father helped the hitch-hiker, the writer ___________.

A. was deeply moved               B. strongly disagreed

C. admired his father               D. couldn’t understand

Which of the following words cannot be used to describe the father?

A. willing to help     B. easy-going    C. far-sighted   D. full of sympathy

The author wrote the text mainly to _________.

A. show his respect for his father

B. tell a story about his kind father

C. prove his father is the best teacher

D. advise people to learn from their fathers