What is your favourite cartoon? It may be difficult for you to decide．But for pianist Lang Lang, Tom and Jerry is the best one．
When Lang was two years old, he saw Tom playing the piano．This was his first time to enjoy western music and this experience encouraged him to learn to play the piano well．
His talent at the keyboard has taken him from Shenyang to the world．
Lang became a good piano student at three．Ever since, the boy has been doing better and better．In 1997, the 15-year-old boy studied at a famous American music college．
Lang's performances are energetic．He is well-known for making facial expressions and moving around while playing the piano．
The road to success has never been easy．Lang's father stopped his job to look after him, while his mother stayed in Shenyang to make money．But Lang considers himself lucky and believes he should give something back．He has helped the children in poor areas a lot．

America is growing older. Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today,10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect American society (社会) in many ways —education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the growing of America has made us a very different society —one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages.
A person’s age no longer tells you anything about his/her social position (职位、地位), marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.
Many people say, ‘I am much younger than my mother—or my father—was at my age.’ No one says ‘ Act your age’ any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.
【小题1】It can be learnt from the text that the aging of the population in America ______.

My father woke up early one summer morning when I was fourteen and announced, “Get up, you’re going with me to cut the grass in the garden.”
The idea that my father thought I was old enough to help him in his business made me feel proud and excited. From sunup to sundown, my father, my younger brother and I worked in the large garden. By the end of the day I was too tired to say a word but I felt happy. This was my first time to help my father in his business. I got $6 for my work that day.
One day my father found some leaves I had missed and pulled me aside. “Take away these leaves!” he said. “And don’t make me have to tell you to do it again.” The message was clear. Today I value the importance of doing job well the first time. I will never fail to impress (留下印象) the person I’m working for.
After two years, my father told me and my brother that he felt we were old enough to cut the grass by ourselves. Every Saturday during my last two years of high school, we set off early in the morning with the same wish we had gained while working under our father.
Looking after the garden was neither exciting nor high paying, but that didn’t matter. It taught me that any job was a good job and whatever I was paid was more than I had before.
A newspaper reporter once asked me how someone could possibly live with hard work and low pay. “If you’re only thinking about hard work and money, you probably don’t want to do better than you are doing,” I answered. In every job, from cutting the grass to washing dishes, I’ve learned much. I’ve learned something that helps me in my next job.
If you work hard enough, you can learn from any job you do.
7. The writer ______ from working in the garden.
A. learned to work hard to get money
B. found he could be well paid
C. felt he could impress others by working hard
D. learned any job was good though he might be paid less
8. When the writer finished high school, maybe he was ______ years old.
A. fourteen             B. eighteen             C. twenty           D. twenty-two
9. The writer’s father was ______.
A. very strict but helpful
B. lazy and easy to get angry
C. careful and enjoyed working in the garden
D. funny and hard-working
10. Which is the most important to the writer according to the passage?
A. Finishing work as quickly as possible.
B. Asking no money for your work.
C. Keeping learning from any job you have.
D. Keeping on looking for different jobs.

What is your wish for the New Year? The following is some children’s ideas.