It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2011. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After working for ten hours, he returned to find his bike gone. The bike, a black Kona l8 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks lo support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries(食品杂货)．saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.1 was so sad that someone would steal our bike that l wrote to the newspaper and told them our story.

    Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It's really fantastic that a complete stranger would offer help to someone they have never met before. People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a great effect in our lives. And we believe that no matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.

46. Why was the bike so important to the couple? Because _______.

  A. they used it for work and daily life    B. it was their only possession（财产）

  C. it was a nice Kona l 8 speed         D. the man's job was bike racing

47. We can infer from the passage that_______.

    A. the couple worked 60 hours a week    B. people were busy before Christmas

    C. the stranger stole Trevor's bike        D. life was hard for the young family

48. What do the couple learn from their experience?

    A. Strangers are usually of little help.    B. One-should take care of their bike.

    C. An act of kindness can mean a lot.    D. News reports make people famous.

    It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2011. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After working for ten hours, he returned to find his bike gone. The bike, a black Kona l8 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks lo support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries(食品杂货)．saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.1 was so sad that someone would steal our bike that l wrote to the newspaper and told them our story.

    Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It's really fantastic that a complete stranger would offer help to someone they have never met before. People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a great effect in our lives. And we believe that no matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.

46. Why was the bike so important to the couple? Because _______.

  A. they used it for work and daily life    B. it was their only possession（财产）

  C. it was a nice Kona l 8 speed         D. the man's job was bike racing

47. We can infer from the passage that_______.

    A. the couple worked 60 hours a week    B. people were busy before Christmas

    C. the stranger stole Trevor's bike        D. life was hard for the young family

48. What do the couple learn from their experience?

    A. Strangers are usually of little help.    B. One-should take care of their bike.

    C. An act of kindness can mean a lot.    D. News reports make people famous.

One day a man found a cocoon(茧) of a butterfly in the forest. He sat there for several hours and watched the butterfly. Suddenly a small opening appeared, and the butterfly made its great effort to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the butterfly could come out easily. But to his surprise, the butterfly got a heavy body and very small wings when it came out of the cocoon.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that the body would grow smaller at any moment and the wings would become larger and be able to fly. But neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling (爬) around with a heavy body and small wings. It was never able to fly.

The man was in his kindness, but he did not understand the nature rules. Before the butterfly came out of the cocoon, fluid(流体) from its body must be forced into its wings, and then it would be ready for flying. It must have a hard struggle (拼搏) to get through the small opening to get its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any difficulties, it would make us fail. We would not be as strong as we could have been; we could never fly.

(  )46. What was the butterfly doing at the beginning of the story ?

A. It was trying to make a cocoon for itself.

B. It was struggling to get out of its cocoon.

C. It was flying among the trees in the forest. 

D. It was crawling around quietly on the ground.

(  )47. The man cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon

A. to take the butterfly home        B. to help the butterfly come out easily

C. to kill the butterfly              D. to stop the butterfly growing bigger 

(  )48 What do you think of the man?

A. Patient but cruel.            B. Careful and wise.

C. Kind but unwise.            D. Brave and funny.

(  )49. What does the last paragraph（段落） tell us?

A. Struggles are sometimes necessary in our life.

B. Nothing is difficult if we put our heart into it.

C. Every good deed will come back with good result.

D. The greatest happiness in the world is to help others．

(  )50. What is the best title for the story?

A. The Love for the Cocoon.          B. The Joy of Helping Each Other.

C. The Lesson of the Cocoon.         D. The Expectation for the Butterfly.

Have successful people ever felt sad? Do they have any “secrets” to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech. Here is an excerpt(摘录) from his speech.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense that you can be rich and successful without any hard work—that your ticket to success is through rapping (饶舌音乐) or basketball or being a TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. Not all the homework will seem completely important to your life right this minute. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was turned down 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots (投篮) during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures beat you—you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.
No one’s born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit(承认) when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged (泄气), and you feel like other people have given up on you—don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
【小题1】Why does Barack Obama mention (提到) JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the fourth paragraph?