There once was a king in a faraway country. One day, he decided to  36 a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of   37.  So many artists   38   . The king looked at all the pictures.  39   there were only two he really liked, and he had to  40   between them. One picture was of a  41 lake. The lake was a perfect mirror with peaceful huge mountains all around it. Above was a  42   sky with light white clouds. All who  43   this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had  44 , too. But these were not flat at all. Above was an  45   sky, from which rain fell heavily and in which lightning played __46___. Down the side of the mountain was a waterfall with loud sound. This did not look __47___ at all.

But when the king looked  48, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush  49   in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had  50   her nest. There, with the current of angry water, the mother bird was ___51___ her hungry children in the nest, taking no attention to its __52___ surroundings — in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think   53   the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?

 “Because,” said the king. “Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no   54, trouble or hard work. Peace means although you are surrounded by noisy things you   55    keep calm in the heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”

A. take        B. offer       C. send        D. leave

A. peace      B. silence           C. beauty     D. honesty

A. managed  B. tried       C. succeeded   D. went

A. And     B. Or          C. Yet         D. But

A. like      B. choose           C. give        D. need

A. calm           B. noisy      C. beautiful    D. dirty

A. black       B. blue        C. gray        D. dark

A. saw      B. liked       C. painted       D. had

A. sky      B. mountains  C. peace      D. clouds

A. gentle    B. angry      C. calm       D. sunny

A. wildly    B. gently     C. slowly     D. happily

A. peaceful B. noisy      C. happy       D. beautiful

A. closely   B. strictly           C. quickly      D. seriously

A. planting B. growing     C. rising      D. coming

A. created  B. built       C. left         D. lain

A. beating  B. touching     C. feeding      D. speaking

A. silent     B. beautiful    C. noisy      D. faraway

A. want      B. lost         C. won        D. received

A. silence   B. noise       C. shock      D. joy

A. still      B. again      C. even       D. just

—— Do you think he will do me a favor?

—— As far as I know, he is the last one to help others. He＿＿＿＿be prepared to give you a hand, though.

A. might     B. must     C. can     D. should

阅读下列短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。

       注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

       Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community then we will have a better life．To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?

       In this fast-paced world, many values are undergoing major changes．While people traditionally prioritize caring, sharing and generosity in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned．

       Modern people act selfishly to survive the harsh competition of life．They say that it is a jungle out there．To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy．Obviously greedy and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas．In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues．We are in any way advocating any selfish conduct．It is just that people are pressured to act in a certain way due to outside influences．

       In spite of common practice, it is hard to conclude that modern society is built on greed and selfishness, both of which are not newly invented vocabulary．In ancient times people also did greedy and selfish things though such behaviors were more condemned then．But we can not ignore the fact that people in the past lived a relatively more isolated life and faced less pressure compared with their modern counterparts．

       Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer either．Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite．But I personally think that people should not be too selfish．Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a mutually beneficial relationship．

       In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure．However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and to build a mutually beneficial relationship with others．

       Are Modern People Becoming More Selfish?

What do you see from a handful of seeds? Some see green plants, some see blooming flowers, or just seeds. But one group of Shanghai students saw an opportunity to make money.

Eight students from No 2 Secondary School Attached to East China Normal University started a virtual（虚拟的）company selling different seeds and seed products. They successfully sold 28 pictures pasted with different seeds at a campus auction（拍卖）a week ago. The company, which has recruited around 20 student staff members, has earned over 2000 yuan in the past three months.

“We donated part of the money to a poor school in the countryside of Anhui Province. It's great to realize our ideal of ‘spreading love and culture with seeds’ after many tests and lots of hard work，” said Senior 2 Shi Chen, CEO of the company.

Just like any other company, Shi's didn't develop smoothly. Shi and her young colleagues（同事）used to sell fresh flowers and old books, and later found seeds might be something that their company could engage in. They bought seeds of various plants and flowers at low prices from a local farm and sold them in schools or on streets. The creative students also made accessories and pictures with different seeds.

With little business knowledge, the students had to learn new skills as the leaders of different departments, such as public relations （PR）, sales and marketing. They persuaded a joint Sino-French company near their school to give them training in business management.

“They helped us overcome our shyness. We also learned quite a lot of business theory. I found communication skills and teamwork are very important for my job” said Senior 1 Qian Yifei.

The 16-year-old was elected as PR manager thanks to her talent for speaking. She is also in charge of after sales service, dealing with complaints and providing suggestions.

As the head of the company, CEO Shi has a lot more to think about. First of all, she has to learn how to make her colleagues work efficiently（高效地） as the company only opens at weekends due to all their studies.

“It makes the company more formal，” she said.

The purpose of opening the company is to          .

       A．earn money for their education fees.

       B．spread love and culture with seeds.

       C．see whether they can open a company.

       D．collect money to open a Hope School.

According to Qian Yifei, what matters most in dealing with public relations?

     A．Communication skills and teamwork 。

     B．Creative and critical thinking.

       C．Educational back ground.

     D．Business theories.

What does the word "it" (in the last paragraph)  refer to?

     A．Selling seeds.

      B．CEO.

     C．Every colleague's knowledge.

     D．To make her colleagues work efficiently.

We can learn from the passage that____.

    A．the company is owned by 20 students.

    B．the company is over-night successful.

    C．the company sells fresh flowers and old books

D．the company gets much help from other company selling seeds.

A few months ago I was at a bus stop in town in the evening. The bus came on time and I took the window seat. The bus route was by the seashore and I was enjoying the breeze (微风) while watching the sea waves. After a few minutes the bus made its next stop. A young boy and a girl got on. They were standing on my left when the bus pulled off. I looked at them curiously and realized that all the window seats were occupied (占据). They could sit but not together. Suddenly a different wave passed through my body and my inner mind gave me the advice to get up. I got up and offered them my seat. The young lady smiled kindly and said thanks. I occupied another seat and we parted our ways. I don’t remember whether I got off the bus before them or not.

       Months passed by. Suddenly one day while I was standing at the same bus stop waiting some time for the bus to arrive I heard a voice.

       “Excuse me, Uncle.” I looked in the direction of the voice. It was a beautiful young lady.

       Puzzled, I said, “I do not recognize you.”

       She said, “Do you remember you gave us your window seat?”

       Puzzled, I said, “Maybe, but what is so great in that?”

       She said, “If you had not given your seat that day, perhaps I would have not sat with my friend. By sitting together it helped us bridge a misunderstanding that had been between us forever. Do you know we are getting married next month?”

       “Good! God bless both of you,” I replied.

       The young lady again said thank you and went on her journey. I realized the importance of giving that day.

Why were the young boy and the girl standing on the bus?

A. Because they wanted to enjoy the sea view.

B. Because they couldn’t sit together.

C. Because there were no empty seats.

D. Because they preferred to stand.

The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means that the author had a feeling that ______.

A. he wanted to do something special        

B. the sea wave made him upset

C. a wave from the sea flooded him  

D. he wanted to make a sea wave in his heart

The author’s act of kindness helped the young boy and the girl ______.

A. begin to talk to each other again after a quarrel

B. sit together and become friends very soon

C. clear up a misunderstanding between them

D. know each other and get married

From the story, we can conclude that ______.

A. small things can create great happenings in life

B. it is giving rather than receiving that matters

C. offering one’s seat to others may win respect

D. we sometimes forget what happened in the past

The best title for the passage would be “______”.

A. The empty seat on the bus 

B. The pleasant travel

C. The lovers on the bus            

D. The bus ride