I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch (牧场). He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for the youth. The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man, the son of a horse trainer who would go from ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.”

“That night he wrote a paper describing his goal of owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch. He put his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note reading, ‘See me after class.’ The boy went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F?’ The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’”

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream.’”

Monty then turned to the group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.’”

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

   A. Monty’s high school life was interrupted because his father asked him to help him train horses.

   B. Monty received an F because his teacher thought it was impossible for him to realize his dream.

   C. Monty decided not to rewrite his paper because his father supported him.

   D. Monty’s teacher was serious, responsible, strict and warm-hearted.

2.The underlined word “gumption” in the last paragraph means ______.

   A. hope           B. idea             C. determination         D. belief

3.What can you learn from the passage?

   A. Trying and getting real experience is a way of feeling better about yourself and gaining more       confidence in your abilities.

   B. The easiest way for you to grow as a person is to surround yourself with people smarter than you.

   C. Don’t be afraid of those who might have a better idea or who might even be smarter than you.

   D. Don't let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.

We may have hosted some difficult house guests once or on even more occasions. Are you still worrying about how to deal with them? Here below are some tips on how to deal with those difficult house guests.
You’ve been waiting an hour to eat breakfast but your guests are still sleeping.
“Unless you adjusted a time for breakfast the evening before, let your guests sleep-in and enjoy your breakfast without them. If possible, keep their breakfast warm. Or better yet, when entertaining it’s always a good idea to have cold breakfast (as well as lunch, dinner and snack) food on-hand.”
——Pamela Eyring，president and director of The Protocol School of Washington
Your guest’s teenage son is a Facebook addict and hogs your computer all day long.
“If you have a guest whose fingers are fixated to your keyboard, kindly let him know that you are expecting work email and give him enough time to finish using it.”
——Ummu Bradley Thomas, founder of the Freddie Bell Jones Modeling and Finishing School, Inc.
Your couch surfing, unemployed nephew has been here a month and is showing no sign of leaving.
“There is nothing wrong with saying ‘John, you have been here a month and have not put in any applications. What can I do to help you get your resume together? I would like to make a plan that will assist you in getting back on your feet and allow me to eventually have my extra room back for guests that will soon be arriving.’”
——Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas
Your guests expect you to accompany them to every single tourist attraction in your city. It’s tiring and expensive.
“If your guests didn’t offer to treat you, politely decline and offer to meet them afterwards for dinner or drinks. That way they know you enjoy their company.”
——Pamela Eyring, president and director of The Protocol School of Washington
You gave your friend a closet shelf for her stuff but her clothes are thrown all over the place.
“You should simply say ‘I am happy to have you use my closet but your clothes seem to have a mind of their own. Would you mind keeping your clothes on the top shelf? It would make it easier for me to find my things when I am in a rush and looking for them. Thank you.’”
——Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas
【小题1】According to Ummu Bradley Thomas, which of the following is the best way to deal with the guests?

We may have hosted some difficult house guests once or on even more occasions. Are you still worrying about how to deal with them? Here below are some tips on how to deal with those difficult house guests.

You’ve been waiting an hour to eat breakfast but your guests are still sleeping.

“Unless you adjusted a time for breakfast the evening before, let your guests sleep-in and enjoy your breakfast without them. If possible, keep their breakfast warm. Or better yet, when entertaining it’s always a good idea to have cold breakfast (as well as lunch, dinner and snack) food on-hand.”

——Pamela Eyring，president and director of The Protocol School of Washington

Your guest’s teenage son is a Facebook addict and hogs your computer all day long.

“If you have a guest whose fingers are fixated to your keyboard, kindly let him know that you are expecting work email and give him enough time to finish using it.”

——Ummu Bradley Thomas, founder of the Freddie Bell Jones Modeling and Finishing School, Inc.

Your couch surfing, unemployed nephew has been here a month and is showing no sign of leaving.

“There is nothing wrong with saying ‘John, you have been here a month and have not put in any applications. What can I do to help you get your resume together? I would like to make a plan that will assist you in getting back on your feet and allow me to eventually have my extra room back for guests that will soon be arriving.’”

——Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas

Your guests expect you to accompany them to every single tourist attraction in your city. It’s tiring and expensive.

“If your guests didn’t offer to treat you, politely decline and offer to meet them afterwards for dinner or drinks. That way they know you enjoy their company.”

——Pamela Eyring, president and director of The Protocol School of Washington

You gave your friend a closet shelf for her stuff but her clothes are thrown all over the place.

“You should simply say ‘I am happy to have you use my closet but your clothes seem to have a mind of their own. Would you mind keeping your clothes on the top shelf? It would make it easier for me to find my things when I am in a rush and looking for them. Thank you.’”

——Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas

1.According to Ummu Bradley Thomas, which of the following is the best way to deal with the guests?

A．Kindly explaining to him you need to use the computer.

B．Politely asking him to stop using the computer at once.

C．Introducing other toys to him to play with.

D．Simply letting him keep using the computer as he likes.

2.The passage gives the following tips EXCEPT that _______.

A．declining the guests’ requests if you hate to accompany them everywhere

B．reminding them to keep their clothes on the top shelf

C．trying to offer at least one dish based on his or her preferences

D．keeping their breakfast warm or having cold breakfast food on-hand

3.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A．How to Entertain Your Guests

B．How to Keep Good Personal Relations

C．How to Find the Best Solution

D．How to Deal with Difficult House Guests

4.In which section of a magazine can we most probably see this passage?

A．Science           B．Society           C．Economy          D．Education

Writing being largely a self-taught occupation, texts on how to get about it -though great in number- seldom are of much use. .www.7caiedu.cn

You try, and fail. Then try again. Until at last, if you have some gift for it, the failures become less frequent, or at any rate less apparantly.

It is this ability to cover up one’s defects that is finally regarded as accomplishment or achievement.

Along the way there are the discouragements of unkind criticism, outright rejection, troublesome insecurity and irregular inability to meet debts.

It is uncommon, therefore, to come across a book containing advice of much practical value for anyone toying（漫不经心地考虑） with the dangerous idea of staring on a writing life.

A friend recently lent me such a book, however - one I wish I’d had the luck to read years ago, and which I would recommend to any young person devoted to making a career of words. It is the autobiography （自传） of the English novelist Anthony Trollope, first published in 1883, the year after his death.

Needing some means to support himself, Trollope at age 19 worked as a junior clerk in the British postal service. He was at his desk at 5:30 each morning to write for three hours. And he remained in the mail service 33 years, long after reputation and prosperity had come to him.

Now, what of his advice in his works?

1. For safety’s sake, arm yourself with some other skills, some other line of work to fall back on（求助）。 That way, failure at writing, though the disappointment may appear, will not mean ruin.

2. Do not depend too much on inspiration. Writing is a craft, which Trollope compared to the craft of shoemaking. The shoemaker who has just turned out one pair of his work sets to work immediately on the next pair.

3. Have a story to tell, but, more important than that, people with characters who will speak and move as living creatures in the reader’s mind. Without memorable characters, story alone is nothing.

4. Meet your deadlines. Life is endlessly “painful and troublesome” for writers who can’t finish their work on time.

5. Do not be carried away by praise. And, above all, do not be injured by criticism.

6. Understand the risks of writing for a living. “The career, when successful, is pleasant enough certainly; but when unsuccessful, it is of all careers the most painful.”

1.This passage mainly discusses__________.

2. From the context we can figure out that the underlined word “defect” in Paragraph 3 means__.

3.According to the author, writing _______.

4.From the passage we may infer that the author is most probably        

Writing being largely a self-taught occupation, texts on how to get about it -though great in number- seldom are of much use. .www.7caiedu.cn

You try, and fail. Then try again. Until at last, if you have some gift for it, the failures become less frequent, or at any rate less apparantly.

It is this ability to cover up one’s defects that is finally regarded as accomplishment or achievement.

Along the way there are the discouragements of unkind criticism, outright rejection, troublesome insecurity and irregular inability to meet debts.

It is uncommon, therefore, to come across a book containing advice of much practical value for anyone toying（漫不经心地考虑） with the dangerous idea of staring on a writing life.

A friend recently lent me such a book, however - one I wish I’d had the luck to read years ago, and which I would recommend to any young person devoted to making a career of words. It is the autobiography （自传） of the English novelist Anthony Trollope, first published in 1883, the year after his death.

Needing some means to support himself, Trollope at age 19 worked as a junior clerk in the British postal service. He was at his desk at 5:30 each morning to write for three hours. And he remained in the mail service 33 years, long after reputation and prosperity had come to him.

Now, what of his advice in his works?

1. For safety’s sake, arm yourself with some other skills, some other line of work to fall back on（求助）。 That way, failure at writing, though the disappointment may appear, will not mean ruin.

2. Do not depend too much on inspiration. Writing is a craft, which Trollope compared to the craft of shoemaking. The shoemaker who has just turned out one pair of his work sets to work immediately on the next pair.

3. Have a story to tell, but, more important than that, people with characters who will speak and move as living creatures in the reader’s mind. Without memorable characters, story alone is nothing.

4. Meet your deadlines. Life is endlessly “painful and troublesome” for writers who can’t finish their work on time.

5. Do not be carried away by praise. And, above all, do not be injured by criticism.

6. Understand the risks of writing for a living. “The career, when successful, is pleasant enough certainly; but when unsuccessful, it is of all careers the most painful.”

1.This passage mainly discusses__________.

2. From the context we can figure out that the underlined word “defect” in Paragraph 3 means__.

3.According to the author, writing _______.

4.From the passage we may infer that the author is most probably