Long long ago, the animals found that men had a beautiful thing. It was a bright, burning thing. People cooked their food and kept themselves warm with it. The animals thought life would be better if they could also have this thing. So they had a meeting to talk about how to get that burning thing. The meeting lasted for a few days and in the end the animals decided to send one of them to the people to ask for a little piece of it. At first Mouse was chosen to do it, but many animals didn’t agree, because he stole things and people hated him. Then some animals thought that Panda could do it. But neither the other animals nor he himself agreed. “I’m too heavy. I can’t walk fast.” Panda said. At last many animals thought Rooster was a good one to be sent because he was good at talking and he looked beautiful. All the animals thought men would like him.

    Rooster agreed to go. All the animals were glad and they had a farewell party to send him off. “I’ll try my best to bring the burning thing back to the mountains. I’m sure I can do it,” he said. He flew far and walked a long way until he came to a town of men. He went into the town and saw the burning thing. He learned that it was called “fire”. People in the town taught him how to use fire. But Rooster wasn’t good at learning and he was afraid of fire. He did not ask for a piece of it to take back to the animals, because he found that there was so much food lying around people’s houses, and he enjoyed the food and forgot what he had come for.

     Men liked Rooster because he sang beautifully and he woke them up in the early morning. They let him in and out of their houses. They threw him food. So Rooster stayed with men. He felt very happy in the town and he never went back to the animals in the mountains. Years later he even forgot how fly.

1. Animals in the mountains found that the burning thing was             .

  A. good for cooking and it could keep people warm

  B. very warm and it could be found in the mountains

  C. very beautiful and it was kept in the sky

  D. frightening and could be used to protect themselves

2. Animals thought the one they sent to the people must be            .

  A. good at singing                        B. good at walking

  C.1iked by them                          D. friendly and beautiful

3. After Rooster came to the town, he            .

  A. got to know the burning thing was called “fire”

  B. asked men for a piece of fire

  C. began to learn how to use fire and could use it

  D. was driven out of the town by the people

4. Rooster stayed with men because            .

  A. he thought he could do something for men

  B. 1ife in the town was much better than that in the mountains

  C. he could not fly any more

  D. men refused to give him fire

5. Which is the best title for this story?

 A. How fire was discovered             B. Animals in mountains

  C. Fire and animals                    D. How Rooster came to stay with men

During my childhood in the 1960s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings. They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters, my brother and I were left alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on Sundays and during the few holidays. The only long period （一段）of time during which the whole family could be together once a year was the Spring Festival. We missed our parents badly, but didn’t say so because we had been told that hard work was everyone’s duty and that we could not have our own small family without a big family.　　  Later I was a hard working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone at university to have more time to study. I was always encouraged by my parents, for whom the holiday was less important than “work” and “study”. Holidays were a waste of time and I felt as if I had done something wrong if I took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday.

I spent the most difficult period of my life abroad. But when I joined this company, my boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to work like that. When I called him at home after office hours for business purposes （目的）, he politely told me that he preferred talking about work with me in the office.

When the holiday season came near, he asked me to plan my leave beforehand （提前）. He talked with me about his holiday and also asked about mine. For him, leave was a right.　　  Giving up a holiday for the company is encouraged in China, but is foolish here. I began to think about holidays.

Today my parents are retired （退休）and stay home with a lot of time for their children. But we are all grown- up and live far away. We miss each other, but we cannot afford to see each other very much and they often feel sorry for the fact that they were too busy to be able to take care of us when we were young.

Nowadays, Chinese take long weekends and have paid holidays. But do they use their holidays to enjoy family life? I hope so because my experience in China and Europe has helped me understand that work is not my whole life and that a family is also very important. I do not want to feel sorry in the future as my parents do and I certainly spend as much time with my son as possible. There is nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t have one instead of the other. It is important to keep a balance （平衡）between work and play.   

1. What do the underlined words “paid leave” mean?

A. You have to pay when you take a holiday.　　 

B. Someone will pay for your holiday.　　 

C. You are still paid when you have your holiday.　　

D. You can’t leave until you pay for the holiday.   

2. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Working is the only part of the life.      

B. Traveling is the best way to spend your holiday.　　 

C. Enjoying holidays is as important as working　　 

D. Sharing happiness with your family is more important   

3. The writer talks about her own experience because she hopes that the Chinese will _______.　　  A. plan their holiday beforehand　　  B. get used to long holidays and enjoy themselves　　  C. give up a holiday for their work　　   D. bring business home after work hours