A recent report has shown that people in the United States have experienced a revolution．This revolution is about the people’s attitude toward the work week and the weekend．Throughout the years, people have traditionally regarded Sunday as the beginning of the week．Now, this is changing.

     Although some calendars today still mark the beginning of the week Sunday, more and more people in the United States are coming to take Monday as the first day of the week．They feel that Saturday and Sunday together make the weekend, because they make up of the two-day period during which people don’t have to work.

    In fact, the word “weekend’ did not even exist in the English language until about the middle of the nineteenth century．In England, at that time, Saturday afternoons had just been added to Sundays and holidays as a time set aside for workers to have time off from their jobs．From then on, people had one and a half days, Saturday afternoon and Sunday, free from work each week: this reform became common in the United States in the 1920s.

However, there came the great depression in 1930s, and there was not so much work to do throughout the country．The work week was therefore shortened, and the weekend expanded from one and a half days to two full days, Saturday and Sunday.

Some people thought that this trend （趋势） of having fewer work days would continue, They  felt that the increasing use of automation （自动化） in many parts of life would finally lead to further shortening of the work week, which, they said, might one day decrease to four days, or ever fewer．However, so far this has never happened, and the work week seems to have become fixed at 40 hours made up of five 8-hour days．Yet some people are even talking about adding Monday to the weekend．Do you think this will ever happen?

1．What does the author mainly discuss in the passage?

A．Attitudes toward employment.                      B．Attitudes toward pleasure activities.

C．Offering job chances.                                  D．The development of the weekend.

2．According to the passage, what is changing in the way people think about the week?

A．Which days people should work.                  B．How the week is divided into days.

C．Which day begins the week.                        D．How many weeks there are in a month.

3．What does the author imply about the work week in England in the early 1800s?

A．It was six days long.                                       B．It didn’t include Saturday afternoon.

C．It always included at least one holiday.          D．It didn’t allow the workers time off.

4．According to the passage what effect did some people think the increasing use of automation would have?

A．It would make the work day longer.

B．It would allow people to work on the weekend.

C．It would make pleasure activities expensive.

D．It would create much more free time.

Have you ever had a day when everything seemed to go wrong, and nothing seemed to go right? Not too long ago I was having one of those days. I was discouraged, weary, and plain sad. My focus was on me. After all, no one else was experiencing the same trials I was.
I expressed my upset state to my mother, hoping for some pity. Instead, she said, “I heard Jamie was having a difficult day too. Why don’t you make her some cookies and take them to her this afternoon?”
I didn’t really want to, but decided that I didn’t want to go back to my other problems just yet. I made the cookies and arranged them on a little plate. Then I made a card with a sunflower on it and wrote a small note of empathy.
That afternoon I dropped by my friend’s house. I went to the door and rang the bell. Soon, Jamie came to the door and looked at me in surprise for the unexpected visit. Before she could say anything I rushed, “ I heard you were having a hard day and decided to bring you something. I hope your day goes better.” The look that came over Jamie’s face was one that I could never put into words. It was as if a darkened sky was suddenly lit with the golden rays of the sun; it was as if in that small act, her day was brightened.
I got back into the car and for some amazing reason; I felt a lot better myself. That day I experienced the truth that James Barri attempted to describe, “ Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”
【小题1】Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

It was a hot summer day． My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat with my friend Katie and the dog when the phone call came, the call that made that bright, beautiful day a cold, dark, gloomy one．
I had just put on my suit, shorts, and tank top, and packed my bag with sunscreen and everything else I would need for the day． I ran into my parents’ room to find Dad． When I saw him on the phone, he was crying． I’d never seen my dad cry before． My heart sank． What possibly could have happened?
"Max, I’m so sorry," I heard him say． That’s when it hit me． I knew that Suzie had died． Max has been my dad’s best friend for years． Suzie, his daughter, had a rare disease that mainly affected her body． Her brain was OK． She knew what was going on; she knew that she had problems and was different from other kids． Once she told her dad that she wished she could die and be born in a different body． Yet although she couldn’t live a normal life ，she was still happy．
When Suzie and I were little, we spent quite a bit of time together． As we grew up, we grew apart． She lived in New York, and I lived in the Midwest． When Suzie was ten she had to live in a hospital in Virginia． About eight months before she died, Max gave us her number at the hospital and we talked at least twice a week until the end． Suzie was always so excited to talk to us and wanted to know every detail about my life． She wanted to know everything I did and every thing I ate． In a way, she lived through me．
After we found out about her death, we made our plans to go to New York for the funeral． When she was alive, I sent her a Beanie Baby and she sent one back to me． I had bought her another one but never had the chance to send it to her, so I took it to put in her casket（棺材）．
Her funeral was very different from any funeral I’d ever been to． After they lowered her casket, each one of us put a shovelful of dirt over her． I remember crying so hard, I felt weak． My cheeks burned from the tears． My whole body was shaking as I picked up the shovel, but I’m glad I did it．
When Suzie and I first started calling one another, I thought it would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong． I learned so much from her． She gave me more than I could ever give to her． I will never forget her or the talks we had． I now know that I must never take anything for granted especially my health and the gift of life．
【小题1】What does the underlined part “In a way, she lived through me．” mean?

It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just  1  any November day. His   2  , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it   3  . One morning, I walked slowly   4   and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs,  5  those good people would not see me. I was   6  . My first thought was, how would I ever  7  them? I didn’t have the  8  to brush my hair,   9  clear someone’s walk.

Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I   10  asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and  11  . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I   12  myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?

Learning to receive the love and   13  from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a   14  for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”

Over and over, I heard   15  words from the people who supported me during those  16  days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your  17  may be the hardest work you will ever do.”

I am not the person I   18  was, but in many ways I have changed for the   19  . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form  20  one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.

1.A．on            B．in          C．like                     D．for

2.A．body                 B．soul               C．shoe                   D．footprint

3.A．sweep up              B．drop off            C．fall down             D．pile up

4.A．upstairs        B．downstairs   C．indoors                 D．outdoors

5.A．so            B．yet                 C．and                           D．for

6.A．delighted     B．disappointed         C．annoyed               D．ashamed

7.A．pay          B．award        C．reward                   D．treat

8.A．courage       B．strength            C．spirit                       D．power

9.A．stand alone      B．leave alone C．sit alone                D．let alone

10.A．frequently          B．gradually          C．hardly           D．uncertainly

11.A．intelligence    B．independence    C．excellence           D．qualification

12.A．achieve     B．praise      C．respect                  D．promote

13.A．supply        B．support             C．contribution          D．similar

14.A．burden      B．job                C．business                  D．sorrow

15.A．sensitive             B．same               C．considerate         D．similar

16.A．blue               B．rainy              C．bright             D．snowy

17.A．despair      B．difficulty           C．pain                        D．regret

18.A．still                 B．once              C．even                        D．never

19.A．worse        B．less               C．more                        D．better

20.A．facing         B．noticing            C．managing               D．expressing

Have you ever had a day when everything seemed to go wrong, and nothing seemed to go right? Not too long ago I was having one of those days. I was discouraged, weary, and plain sad. My focus was on me. After all, no one else was experiencing the same trials I was.

I expressed my upset state to my mother, hoping for some pity. Instead, she said, “I heard Jamie was having a difficult day too. Why don’t you make her some cookies and take them to her this afternoon?”

I didn’t really want to, but decided that I didn’t want to go back to my other problems just yet. I made the cookies and arranged them on a little plate. Then I made a card with a sunflower on it and wrote a small note of empathy.

That afternoon I dropped by my friend’s house. I went to the door and rang the bell. Soon, Jamie came to the door and looked at me in surprise for the unexpected visit. Before she could say anything I rushed, “ I heard you were having a hard day and decided to bring you something. I hope your day goes better.” The look that came over Jamie’s face was one that I could never put into words. It was as if a darkened sky was suddenly lit with the golden rays of the sun; it was as if in that small act, her day was brightened.

I got back into the car and for some amazing reason; I felt a lot better myself. That day I experienced the truth that James Barri attempted to describe, “ Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

1.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Sunshine on a Rainy Day                  B．Discouraged by Nothing

C．Giving Help to a Friend                   D．Experience a Cheerless Day

2.The author made cookies and arranged them on a plate _________.

A．so as to show off his skills                 B．to stop thinking about his own worries

C．not to let his mother feel down             D．not to show his sadness to others

3.How did Jamie feel when seeing the author’s coming?

A．She lit up very soon.                     B．She was surprised and scared.

C．She couldn’t express herself.             D．She poured out all her worries.

4.What do you think of the author’s mother?

A．Sympathetic.       B．Willing.           C．Instructional.       D．Selfish.

5.The passage is mainly about _________.

A．dealing with others when they are angry      B．adjusting well the mental condition

C．taking mother’s advice every hour         D．enjoying oneself at any time