The other day Roy Price went “home”to his sister’s house. It’s her home now; and it’s also the house he was born in, Pat, his sister, kissed him and said, “You haven’t changed much, Roy. Let me see, now – when did we meet last?”

    “Thirty years ago,”he answered.“I came here for a week, do you remember? And I was right thirty then.”He added, “You’ve changed very little.”But it wasn’t true. Pat looked like an old lady.

    The next morning Roy walked through the small town alone. The place looked very different. There were lots of traffic signs beside the roads. There was a new car park, a new post office, a new… . He remembered suddenly that the bus used to stop anywhere: you just put up your hand and it stopped. One surprise followed another. But Roy’s biggest surprise was the people. He didn’t recognize（认识）anybody at all. He thought perhaps everyone here seemed old. He went into the post office and bought some stamps. “Where are all the children and young people?”he asked the postmaster. The old fellow looked up and answered, “Children? They’re in school, of course.”

    At lunch Pat said, “The town looks nice, doesn’t it?”

    “It’s all different, Pat. It used to be an exciting place, but now it’s full of old people. I don’t understand…”

    “There are a few newcomers, but the ones we knew are still here. You’re not young yourself, Roy, are you?”

1. The house Roy was born in is now his ___________ home.

    A. mother’s                  B. sister’s                            C. new                  D. own

2. In the eyes of Roy, the small town looked ___________ and people seemed ___________.

    A. different, old             B. different, young        C. old, young         D. old, new

3. In the passage the writer mainly wants to tell us that ___________.

    A. people in the small town were old like Roy’s sister

    B. Roy hasn’t changed much but his sister has changed a lot

    C. Roy’s hometown has changed a lot since he left 30 years ago

    D. Roy didn’t recognize anybody because he had been away for 30 years

(One day Alice runs after a strange rabbit and comes into a deep hole. She becomes smaller when she wakes up the next day. She finds herself in a wonderland with many amazing things inside.)
The Caterpillar(毛毛虫) and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence. At last the Caterpillar took the pipe out of its mouth, and said to her in a tired, sleepy voice.
“Who are YOU?” said the Caterpillar.
This opening for a talk couldn’t make Alice at ease. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I----I hardly know, sir, just at present ----at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”
“What do you mean by that?” said the Caterpillar, “Explain yourself!”
“I can’t explain MYSELF. I’m afraid, sir.” said Alice, “because I’m not myself, you see.”
“I don’t see.” said the Caterpillar.
“I’m afraid I can’t put it more clearly.” Alice replied very politely, “for I can’t understand it myself. And being so many different sizes in a day is very puzzling.”
“It isn’t.” said the Caterpillar.
“Well, perhaps you haven’t found it so yet.” said Alice. “But when you have to turn into a chrysalis(蛹，茧)----you will some day, you know ----and then after that into a butterfly, I think you’ll feel it a little stranger, won’t you?”
“Not a bit.” said the Caterpillar.
“Well, perhaps your feelings may be different.” said Alice. “All I know is, it would make ME feel very strange.”
“You!” said the Caterpillar scornfully. “Who are YOU?” The question brought them back again to the beginning of the talk. Alice felt a little angry because the Caterpillar was making such VERY short sentences. She drew herself up and said very seriously, “I think you ought to tell me who YOU are first.”
“Why?” said the Caterpillar.
Here was another puzzling question. As Alice could not think out any good reason, and as the Caterpillar seemed to be very unpleasant, she turned away.
“Come back!” the Caterpillar called after her. “I’ve something important to tell you!”
This certainly gave Alice some hope. Alice turned and came back again

1. 1.

   Where may their talk take place?

   1. A.
      In a wonderland
   2. B.
      In the field
   3. C.
      In the tree
   4. D.
      Outside the hole
2. 2.

   Alice didn’t feel __________ during her talk with Caterpillar

   1. A.
      shy
   2. B.
      sad
   3. C.
      angry
   4. D.
      strange
3. 3.

   Why did Alice think she was not herself?

   1. A.
      Because she was too young to understand the changes
   2. B.
      Because being changed several times in a day made her feel puzzled
   3. C.
      Because she didn’t like her changes
   4. D.
      Because she didn’t feel very well
4. 4.

   Put the following statements in the correct order according to the story.
   ① Alice drew herself up.
   ② Alice used an example to explain the changes to herself.
   ③ Alice couldn’t explain herself.
   ④ Alice turned away.
   ⑤ Alice looked at Caterpillar for some time in silence

   1. A.
      ⑤②③④①
   2. B.
      ⑤②③①④
   3. C.
      ⑤③②④①
   4. D.
      ⑤③②①④
5. 5.

   Which of the following sentences can be added to the end of the story?

   1. A.
      “Don’t be silly. You are still yourself.” said the Caterpillar
   2. B.
      “Don’t be angry. You think you’re changed, do you?” said the Caterpillar
   3. C.
      “Don’t be sad. You’ll grow bigger again.” said the Caterpillar
   4. D.
      “Don’t be afraid. You can go home now.” said the Caterpillar

BEING an astronaut sounds cool, doesn't it? In space, they get to do some pretty amazing things, like floating in zero gravity(重力).
However, there are also plenty of things that astronauts can't do because of their weightless environment, and that's very sad. What's worse, they can't even let their sadness show, because it's impossible to cry in zero gravity.
Of course, astronauts can still produce tears. But crying is much more difficult in space, according to The Atlantic(大西洋月刊) in January. Without gravity, tears don't flow(流动) down out of the eyes like they do here on Earth. This means that when you cry in space, your tears have nowhere to go-they just stick(粘) to your eyes.
In May 2011, astronaut Andrew Feustel experienced this during one of his spacewalks. "Tears," he said, "don't fall off of your eyes...They just kind of stay there."
Besides making your vision(视线)unclear, this can also cause physical pain. Back on Earth, tears are supposed to bring comfort to the eyes. But that's not the case in space. The space environment dries out astronauts' eyes, and when tears suddenly wet the eyes, it can cause pain rather than comfort. "My right eye is stinging(刺痛) like crazy," Feustel told his teammate during the walk.
Since gravity doesn't work in space, astronauts need some extra help to get rid of（除去） the tears. Feustel chose to rub his eyes against his helmet to wipe(擦) the tears away. Another choice is to just wait-"When the tears get big enough they simply break free of the eyes and float around," astronaut Ron Parise told The Atlantic.
There are lots of small things-things like crying-that we are so used to on Earth. We usually take them for granted until they become a problem in a totally different environment, like space.  There, astronauts can't talk to each other directly. They also can't eat or drink in normal ways. They can't even burp (打嗝), because there is no gravity to hold the food down in their stomach. If they do burp, they just end up throwing up（呕吐）everything in their stomach, according to the UK National Space Center.
Therefore, perhaps it's only space explorers who can honestly say: "Gravity, you're the best."
【小题1】From Paragraphs 2 and 3 , we can know that_______.

In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried a person, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solution without the person knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried person. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.
This idea is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility(责任) which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.
Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.
You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.
People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.
【小题1】The helpers in the book “Magnificent Obsession” were not rewarded because ______________.