I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart.
Although my thoughts were only on speed, the checkout line I was standing in wasn’t moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier. There stood a man in his seventies, wearing glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, he’s an old guy!
For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before scanning the items. Sure, his words were the usual, “How’s it going?” But he did something different—he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation.
I thought it was odd (古怪的). I have grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of robotic conversational habit. After a while, you don’t give any thought to the question and just say something back. I could say, “I just found out I have six months to live,” and someone would reply, “Have a great day!”
But that wasn’t the end. He gave them the change, walked around the counter, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. He looked the customers in the eyes. “I sure want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.”
The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some sheepish grins (咧嘴一笑). All had been touched by his simple gesture—and in a place they never expected. They would gather their things and walk out, smiling.
Of course, he did the same to me and I got to know his name, Marty.
56. 【小题1】The checkout line the writer was standing in moved slower than expected because ________.

                              A
George had stolen some money, but the police had caught him and he had been put in prison. Now his trial was about to begin, and he felt sure that he would be found guilty and sent to prison for a long time.
Then he discovered that an old friend of his was one of the members of the jury at his trial. Of course, he did not tell anybody, but he managed to see his friend secretly one day. He said to him, "Jim, I know that the jury will find me guilty of having stolen the money. I cannot hope to be found not guilty of taking it —— that would be too much to expect. But I should be grateful to you for the rest of my life if you could persuade the other members of the jury to add a strong recommendation for mercy to their statement that they consider me guilty."
“Well, George,”answered Jim. “I shall certainly try to do what I can for you as an old friend, but of course I cannot promise anything. The other eleven people on the jury look terribly strong-minded to me.”
George said that he would quite understand if Jim was not able to do anything for him, and thanked him warmly for agreeing to help.
The trial went on, and at last the time came for the jury to decide whether George was guilty or not. It took them five hours, but in the end they found George guilty, with a strong recommendation for mercy.
Of course, George was very pleased, but he did not have a chance to see Jim for some time after the trial. At last, however, Jim visited him in prison, and George thanked him warmly and asked him how he had managed to persuade the other members of the jury to recommend mercy.
"Well, George," Jim answered, "as I thought, those eleven men were very difficult to persuade, but I managed it in the end by tiring them out. Do you know, those fools had all wanted to find you not guilty!"
【小题1】56. We are told that George expected Jim to help _____.

六. 完形填空（20分）
Chen Guanming has been carrying his home with him for the past seven years. He has done everything a man would to make it cozy.
The 53-year-old farmer has spent the hottest summers and severest winters cooking, eating and   1    in his mobile home: a shaky tricycle. Chen began his journey on the three-wheel rickshaw from his    2   Jiangsu province in 2001 after hearing the news that Beijing had won the bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games. Of course, he did not forget to take his ID card, important    3   and some clothes before setting off on his mission (使命). Mission? What mission? “To promote awareness on health and the environment, just like what the Games has been doing,” he says. It may    4   funny, but make no mistake that Chen is dead    5   about it. “I'm a poor farmer I can't do much. But I have a healthy body. I want to use it to show the    ___6   of the Chinese people and the spirit of the Olympics.” He would have _ 7   all of China except Taiwan when he reaches Beijing tonight. He speaks lively about his experiences in all the places on the mainland, ___8  _   about an incident in Chongqing in August 2003. “I was riding up a slope and my brakes failed my rickshaw and began sliding down and overturned,” he says. He had his legs broken but did not go to a hospital. Instead, he used herbs to stop the bleeding. And he   9   quietly for some days for his legs to rejoin. Looking at the man, you wouldn't want to believe he has crossed so many mountains and    10   in his tricycle. But you look at the piles of evidence and become a silent admirer of this determined soul.
1. A. working        B. playing           C. sleeping          D. living
2. A. native          B. familiar          C. famous           D. noble
3. A. equipment      B. supplies          C. furniture          D. documents
4. A. seem           B. sound           C. look             D. listen
5. A. serious         B. careful           C. practical          D. optimistic
6. A. power          B. energy           C. strength         D. authority
7. A. covered         B. drove           C. run             D. walked
8. A. extremely       B. especially        C. actually         D. exactly
9. A. slept           B. sat              C. rested           D. lay
10. A. lakes          B. rivers            C. valleys         D. road

                              A

George had stolen some money, but the police had caught him and he had been put in prison. Now his trial was about to begin, and he felt sure that he would be found guilty and sent to prison for a long time.

Then he discovered that an old friend of his was one of the members of the jury at his trial. Of course, he did not tell anybody, but he managed to see his friend secretly one day. He said to him, "Jim, I know that the jury will find me guilty of having stolen the money. I cannot hope to be found not guilty of taking it —— that would be too much to expect. But I should be grateful to you for the rest of my life if you could persuade the other members of the jury to add a strong recommendation for mercy to their statement that they consider me guilty."

“Well, George,”answered Jim. “I shall certainly try to do what I can for you as an old friend, but of course I cannot promise anything. The other eleven people on the jury look terribly strong-minded to me.”

George said that he would quite understand if Jim was not able to do anything for him, and thanked him warmly for agreeing to help.

The trial went on, and at last the time came for the jury to decide whether George was guilty or not. It took them five hours, but in the end they found George guilty, with a strong recommendation for mercy.

Of course, George was very pleased, but he did not have a chance to see Jim for some time after the trial. At last, however, Jim visited him in prison, and George thanked him warmly and asked him how he had managed to persuade the other members of the jury to recommend mercy.

"Well, George," Jim answered, "as I thought, those eleven men were very difficult to persuade, but I managed it in the end by tiring them out. Do you know, those fools had all wanted to find you not guilty!"

1.56. We are told that George expected Jim to help _____.

2.57. Which of the following is true about Jim?

3.58. The passage suggests that _____.

4.59. The title for this passage is ______.

六. 完形填空（20分）

Chen Guanming has been carrying his home with him for the past seven years. He has done everything a man would to make it cozy.

The 53-year-old farmer has spent the hottest summers and severest winters cooking, eating and   1    in his mobile home: a shaky tricycle. Chen began his journey on the three-wheel rickshaw from his    2   Jiangsu province in 2001 after hearing the news that Beijing had won the bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games. Of course, he did not forget to take his ID card, important    3   and some clothes before setting off on his mission (使命). Mission? What mission? “To promote awareness on health and the environment, just like what the Games has been doing,” he says. It may    4   funny, but make no mistake that Chen is dead    5   about it. “I'm a poor farmer I can't do much. But I have a healthy body. I want to use it to show the    ___6   of the Chinese people and the spirit of the Olympics.” He would have _ 7   all of China except Taiwan when he reaches Beijing tonight. He speaks lively about his experiences in all the places on the mainland, ___8  _   about an incident in Chongqing in August 2003. “I was riding up a slope and my brakes failed my rickshaw and began sliding down and overturned,” he says. He had his legs broken but did not go to a hospital. Instead, he used herbs to stop the bleeding. And he   9   quietly for some days for his legs to rejoin. Looking at the man, you wouldn't want to believe he has crossed so many mountains and    10   in his tricycle. But you look at the piles of evidence and become a silent admirer of this determined soul.

1. A. working        B. playing           C. sleeping          D. living

2. A. native          B. familiar          C. famous           D. noble

3. A. equipment      B. supplies          C. furniture          D. documents

4. A. seem           B. sound           C. look             D. listen

5. A. serious         B. careful           C. practical          D. optimistic

6. A. power          B. energy           C. strength         D. authority

7. A. covered         B. drove           C. run             D. walked

8. A. extremely       B. especially        C. actually         D. exactly

9. A. slept           B. sat              C. rested           D. lay

10. A. lakes          B. rivers            C. valleys         D. road