One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness to admit one's mistakes. It is
extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like "I was wrong about that," and it is even harder to say,
"I was wrong, and you were right about that."
     I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago.
He told me he had been the manager of a certain grocery store in the neighbourhood where I grew up, and
he asked me if I remembered the egg boxes. Then he related an incident and I began to remember vaguely
the incident he was describing.
     I was about eight years old at the time, and I had gone into the store with my mother to do the weekly
grocery shopping. On that particular day, I must have found my way to the dairy food department where
the incident took place.
     There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there was an impressive display of eggs
in dozen and half-dozen boxes. The boxes were stacked three or four feet high. I must have stopped in front
of a display to admire the stacks. Just then a woman came by pushing her grocery cart and knocked off the
stacks of boxes. For some reason, I decided it was up to me to put the display back together, so I went to
work.
     The manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened. When he appeared, I was
on my knees inspecting some of the boxes to see if any of the eggs were broken, but to him it looked as if I
was the culprit (做婚事的人). He severely scolded me and wanted me to pay for any broken eggs. I tried to
explain it wasn't me who had broken them, but it did no good. Even though I quickly forgot all about the
incident, obviously the manager did not.

1. How old was the author when he wrote this article?

A. About 8.
B. About 18.
C. About 23.
D. About 15.

2. Who was to blame for knocking off the stacks of boxes?

A. The author.
B. The manager.
C. A woman.
D. The author's mother.

3. Which of the following statements is not true?

A. The woman who knocked off the stacks of boxes was seriously criticized by the manager.
B. The author was severely criticized by the manager.
C. A woman carelessly knocked off the stacks of boxes.
D. It was the author who put the display back together.

4. The tone of the article expresses the author's _____.

A. regret for the mistake he made in the store
B. admiration for the manager's willingness to admit mistakes
C. anger against the woman who knocked off the stacks of boxes
D. anger to the manager for his wrong accusation

     One night, as Diaz stepped off the train and onto a nearly empty platform, a teenage boy approached
and pulled out a knife.
     "He wanted my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go '" Diaz says.
     As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're
going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."
     The robber looked at him puzzled, saying, "Why are you doing this?"
     Diaz replied, "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then you must really need the
money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me….."
     Diaz says he and the teen went into a diner and sat in a booth.
     "The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says.
     The kid said, "You know everybody here. Do you own this place?"
     "No, I just eat here a lot," Dias said. "But you're even nice to the dishwasher," he said.
     Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"
     "Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.
     When the bill arrived, Diaz said, "You're going to have to pay for this bill because you have my
money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."
     The teen returned it immediately. "I gave him $20…I figure maybe it'll help him." Diaz says he asked
for something in return--- the teen's knife--- "and he gave it to me."
     Afterwards, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, "You're the type of kid that if
someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch."
     "I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple
as it gets in this complicated world."

1. What did Diaz do to the teen?

A. He gave the teen a new wallet
B. He treated the teen to dinner
C. He gave his coat to the teen
D. He taught the teen a lesson

2. From the passage we can infer that the boy _______.

A. expressed his gratitude for Diaz's kindness
B. gave up the idea of robbing in the end
C. wasn't taught how to be nice to everybody
D. gave the knife to Diaz in return for his forgiveness

3. For what Diaz did, his mother showed an attitude of _______.

A. complaint          
B. concern          
C. criticism            
D. praise

4. By telling the story of Diaz, the author intends to tell us ______.

A. to keep calm in danger
B. not to go out alone at night
C. to treat others kindly
D. not to harm others on purpose

     One night, as Diaz stepped off the train and onto a nearly empty platform, a teenage boy approached
and pulled out a knife.
    "He wanted my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go '" Diaz says.
     As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're
going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."
     The robber looked at him puzzled, saying, "Why are you doing this?"
     Diaz replied, "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then you must really need the
money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me….."
     Diaz says he and the teen went into a diner and sat in a booth.
     "The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says.
     The kid said, "You know everybody here. Do you own this place?"
     "No, I just eat here a lot," Dias said. "But you're even nice to the dishwasher," he said.
     Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"
     "Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.
     When the bill arrived, Diaz said, "You're going to have to pay for this bill because you have my
money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."
     The teen returned it immediately. "I gave him $20…I figure maybe it'll help him." Diaz says he asked
for something in return- the teen's knife-"and he gave it to me."
     Afterwards, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, "You're the type of kid that if
someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch."
     "I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple
as it gets in this complicated world."

1. What did Diaz do to the teen?

A. He gave the teen a new wallet
B. He treated the teen to dinner
C. He gave his coat to the teen
D. He taught the teen a lesson

2. From the passage we can infer that the boy _______.

A. expressed his gratitude for Diaz's kindness
B. gave up the idea of robbing in the end
C. wasn't taught how to be nice to everybody
D. gave the knife to Diaz in return for his forgiveness

3. For what Diaz did, his mother showed an attitude of _______.

A. complaint          
B. concern          
C. criticism            
D. praise

4. By telling the story of Diaz, the author intends to tell us ______.

A. to keep calm in danger
B. not to go out alone at night
C. to treat others kindly
D. not to harm others on purpose

     One of the founding fathers of the internet has predicted the end of traditional television. Vint Serf, who
helped to build the internet while working as a researcher in America, said that television was approaching
its "iPod moment."
     In the same way that people now download their favorite music onto their iPods, he said that viewers
would soon be downloading most of their favorite programmers onto their computers. "85 percent of all
video we watch is pre-recorded, so you can set your system to download it at any time," said Mr. Cerf,
who is now the vice-president of Goggle.
     "You're still going to need live television for certain things--like news, sporting events and emergencies-
but increasingly it will be almost like iPod, where you download content to look at later."
     Although television-on-demand has not yet become a main activity in the UK, the BBC, 1TV and Channel
4 have all invested a lot of money in technology which Mr. Cerf think will enable viewers to watch their
favorite shows on their computers.
     However, some critics (批评家) have warned that the Internet will collapse (崩溃) if millions of people
try to download programmers at the same time.
     Over the next four years, scientists think the number of videos watched over the Internet will double,
with people moving from short chips to hour-long programmes.
     Broadband companies claim that the service will cause "traffic jams", which will cost millions of pounds
to solve. Mr. Cerf dismissed these warnings, saying that critics had predicted 20 years ago that the net would
collapse when people all around the world started to use it at the same time, "We're far from exhausting (用
尽) the capacity," he said. "I want every one of the six billion people in the planet to be able to connect to
the Internet."

1. Vint Cerf is all the following EXCEPT that _____.

A. a researcher in the United States
B. the vice-president of Goggle
C. one of the founders of the Internet
D. a manager of a broadband company

2. Which of the following is NOT something Vint Cerf has predicted?

A. Traditional television will soon have its iPod moment.
B. The number of videos watched over the Internet will double.
C. Viewers will be able to download TV programmers onto their iPods.
D. Viewers will be able to watch their favorite TV shows on the Internet.

3. According to the passage, people can always do all the following EXCEPT _____.

A. watch short clips over the Internet
B. download live TV over the Internet
C. download per-recorded videos over the Internet
D. listen to their favorite music on their computers

4. Some critics are now predicting _____.

A. the Internet will collapse if millions of people use it at the same time
B. people all over the world will be able to connect to the Internet
C. the Internet will crash if too many people download TV programmes at the same time
D. the videos people watch over the Internet

5. This passage mainly tells us _____.

A. a Goggle expert is predicting the end of traditional television
B. the Internet will never be used to download people's favourite shows
C. the Internet will become more popular
D. something about Vint Cerf

   One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give
their    owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and
even abroad,  and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit
cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations,
whether or not the    local branch bank is open. For many of us the "cashless society" is not on the
horizon----it's already here.
   While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. 
 Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of
records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep
track of their   list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving.
Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers
record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and
staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customer for promotional
campaigns. Computers are relied on    by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future and which
to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production
process itself.
    Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric
utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of
computers.

1．According to the passage, the credit card enables its owner to             .           

A. withdraw as much money from the bank as he wishes
B. obtain more convenient services than other people do
C. enjoy greater trust from the storekeeper
D. cash money where he wishes to

2．From the last sentence of the first paragraph we learn that             .

A. in the future all the Americans will use credit cards
B. credit cards are mainly used in the United States today
C. nowadays many Americans do not pay in cash
D. it is now more convenient to use credit cards than before

3．The phrase "ring up sales" most probably means             .

A. make an order of goods        
B. record sales on a cash register
C. call the sales manager        
D. keep track of the goods in stock