When I was young, my father used to grow carnations — a kind of flower that was red, pink or white. He took care of them with much love and devotion. Every day he came home from work, he would enjoy watching them. And he used to tell us, “No one should touch my flowers.”
One day, my younger sister Clemence, who loved dad very much, wanted to help him. So she cut the carnation from their stems（枝干）one by one and arranged them on the ground. She believed that dad would be very pleased to see them that way.
When mom and I realized what my sister had done, we became completely speechless. However, my sister had no idea why no one showed her any appreciation. When dad arrived, he went as usual straight to watch the flowers. Seeing his flowers lying on the ground like dead animals, he was shocked at first. He looked towards the street to see if it was any of the neighbors’ children who could have done it. Then he looked at mom in silence. Finally mom, who always taught us to tell the truth no matter what, said, “No bad neighbors did this great job, only your lovely daughter Clemence.”
Dad’s face changed into a smile and then he said, “Do I have better flower than my lovely daughter?” My younger sister smiled and hugged（拥抱）dad strongly.
【小题1】How did Clemence feel when she had the carnations cut?

________see the children before they went to bed, he came home early

A．So as to           B．In order to         C．So that            D．In order that

Johnny was a cashier (收银员) in a large store. Every night when he came home from work, he would find a saying for the day and print it out on fifty pages of paper. Johnny would cut out each saying and sign his name at the bottom of each one. Then he would put them in a paper bag and put the bag beside him at work. Each time he finished bagging someone’s purchases, he would put one of his saying pieces in the customer’s bag as well. It touched me to think that this young man —with a job that most people thought not important —had made it important by creating precious memories for all of his customers. A month later the store manager called me and said, "Barbara, you won’t believe what happened today. When I went up to where the cashiers were, I found Johnny’s line was three times longer than anyone else’s! So I got more cashiers out there and opened more lanes (通道), but no one would move. They all said they wanted Johnny’s saying for the day." The store manager continued, "I got a lump in my throat when a woman came up to me and said, 'I used to shop at your store only once a week, but now I come in every time I go by for Johnny’s sayings.’" A few months later, the store manager called me again. "Johnny has changed our store completely," he said. "All of our cashiers now have their own personal signatures (签名). Everyone’s having a lot of fun creating good memories. Our customers are talking about us in a good way and are coming back with their friends."
1. How did Johnny deal with his saying pieces?
A. He put them in customers’ pockets.
B. He had others hand them to customers.
C. He put them in customers’ shopping bags.
D. He handed them to customers before they left.
2. With those sayings Johnny ___________.
A. drew the other cashiers’ attention to himself
B. got paid more than before
C. made good memories for his customers
D. encouraged himself to work harder
3. What did the store manager see a month later?
A. All of his cashiers had their own personal signatures.
B. Many customers chose Johnny’s lane to pay for their goods.
C. The store went out of order because there were too many customers.
D. Customers asked for Johnny’s sayings instead of buying goods.
4. The underlined part in the passage showed the store manager _________.
A. didn’t know why this happened
B. felt a little uncomfortable
C. felt extremely sad
D. was moved by what Johnny had done

In Colombia , there are some unwritten rules that people are used to , These rules are not officially established , but people do respect them . For example , on a bus , a person keeps a distance from another person , and people don’t like to touch each other . Many people come to work late because they prefer to wait for another bus if the first one is too crowded . They don’t want to have to stand too close to another person , or maybe they are afraid of starting a conversation .

A friend of mine in Colombia once said his mom got angry because he came home late , so he asked her , “ Mom , what do you think of most people arriving at their jobs so late ? ” That gave her the answer to her question since everyone knows no one wants to get on a bus that is too crowded . His mother realized at that moment that customs have a big influence on a person’s life .

Sometimes , people don’t like to make any kind of conversation or make eye contact with others . For example , when they are in line at a bank , they prefer to look up or down rather than look at other people .

Moreover , people usually look down when they are in an elevator . Not only on a bus , in line at a bank , and in an elevator do people usually avoid talking to other people , but also in the streets when they are walking , they prefer to look down and to avoid contact with others .

1.Why do many people get to work late in Colombia ?

   A. They always think the next bus will be better .

   B. They don’t want to get on crowded buses .

   C. It’s an official rule in Colombia .

   D. They get into conversations and miss their buses .

2.From the text we learn that __________ .

A. customs influence people’s lives    

B. a mother always understands her son

C. people respect each other in Colombia    

D. people like to talk in elevators in Colombia

3.When people in Colombia are in line at banks , they __________ .

   A. make eye contact          B. look at other people

   C. make conversation         D. look up or down

4.What would be the best title for the text ?

   A. What People Do in Different Situations   B. Avoid Getting on a Crowded Bus

   C. Special Customs in Colombia             D. Obeying Unwritten Rules

Chuck was thirteen when he came home from the hospital. He came home not because he was getting better but because he wanted to be with people he knew and loved when he died. I came by the house to visit him and his family several times a week during his treatment. On most of my visits, Chuck was very weak. But the last time I saw him alive, he was awake. “I have got something for you.” He pulled out a piece of crumpled (弄皱的) paper from under his pillow. “I want you to give this to my mom and dad after I die. You’ll know when it’s right, I guess, won’t you?”
“What is it?” I asked. “It’s a list of all the fun we had, and all the happy time when we laughed.” I almost gasped in great surprise.
“Like what?” I asked quietly, trying to regain my calmness.
“Like the time when Mom, Dad, Chrissie, Linda and me were dressed up as fruits and Dad was driving us to a costume party. Dad was a bunch of grapes and I was an apple, and the others were different things like bananas and pears.”
And a policewoman pulled Dad over for speeding. When the policewoman came up to the car, she looked and started laughing so hard that she could hardly stand up. And we all started laughing and she said, “Where are you all heading — a salad bar?” Dad said he was sorry to be speeding, but his kids were getting so ripe（成熟的） that they were starting to draw flies. And she laughed till she had to take off her dark glasses and wiped tears from her eyes.”
Chuck laughed and so did I. The list was full of laughing and fun. What a wonderful gift, I thought.
【小题1】Why did Chuck go home from the hospital?