In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh(法老) treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.

Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, “Oh boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.” I wanted to strike him on the race with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile.

Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter,  the sales agent said with a broad smile, “Oh that bus left rive minutes ago.” Dreams of head-cutting!

It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad mews from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation dose it in a caring way A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.

 Unfortumately, many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready ye? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter merrily told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.

   Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warning. Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, “Oh, that ‘s all right. I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners, when they bear bad news, deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded (被轰炸的) person is sure to have .

53. In Paragraph 1, the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to        .

   A. make a comparison    B. introduce a topic   C. describe a scene    D. offer an argument

54. In the writer’s opinion, his neighbor was _____________.

    A. friendly    B. warm-hearted    C. not considerate     D. not helpful

55. From “Dreams of head-cutting!”(Paragraph 3), we learn that the writer        .

   A. was mad at the sales agent.

   B. was reminded of the cruel pharaoh

   C. wished that the sales agent would have had dreams.

   D. dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night.

56. What is the main idea of the text?

  A. Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.

  B. Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.

  C. Receiving bad news requires great courage.

  D. Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh（法老）treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.

　　Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, ”Oh boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.”I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile.

　　Several months ago I was racing to catch  a him As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Grey hound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile ,”Oh that bus left five minutes ago.”Dreams of head-cutting!

　　It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.

　　Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter mainly told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.

　　Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warming .Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, ” Oh, that’s all right I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners, when they bear bad news ,deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded（被轰炸的）person is sure to have.

1.In Paragraph 1,the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to ____.

A. make a comparison                      B. describe a scene

C. introduce a topic                 D. offer an argument

2.From “Dreams of head-cutting!”（Paragraph3），we learn that the writer___.

A. was mad at the sales agent

B. was reminded of the cruel pharaoh

C. wished that the sales agent would have had dreams

D. dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night.

3.What is the main idea of the text?

A. Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

B. Receiving bad news requires great courage.

C. Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.

D. Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.

A man named Smith was sitting on his roof during a flood, and the water was up to his feet. Before long a fellow in a canoe passed and shouted, "Can I give you a lift to higher ground?"

"No, thanks," said Smith. "I have faith （信任）in God and he will save me."

Soon the water rose to Smith’s waist.（腰，腰部） At this point a motor boat pulled up and someone called out, "Can I give you a lift to higher ground?"

"No, thanks, I have faith in God and he will save me."

Later a helicopter flew by, and Smith was now standing on the roof with water up to his neck. "Grab the rope, "shouted the pilot. "I’ll pull you up."

"No, thanks," said Smith. "I have faith in God and he will save me. "But after hours of struggling with water, poor exhausted Smith drowned and went to his reward. As he arrived at the Pearly Gates, Smith met God and complained about this. "Tell me, God, "he said, "I had such faith in you to save me and you let me drown. What happened?"

To which God replied, "What do you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter."

1.When the pilot asked Smith to grab the rope, ______.                

A．Smith pulled the pilot up　　　　　        B．Smith did so

C．Smith didn’t do so　　　　　　　　       D．Smith didn’t hear him

2.At last, poor exhausted Smith drowned and ______.

A．went to his reward　　　　　　　　       B．passed away

C．went to heaven　　　　　　　　　        D．all of the above

3.What do we know about Smith? __      ____.

A．He was a lazy man                       B．He was a lucky man who believed in God

C．He was a poor man                      D．He was a silly man who believed in God

4.What do you think of this passage? This passage is very ______.

A．moving　　　　    B．humorous　　　    C．depressing　　　   D．surprising

5.The best title of this passage is" ______" .

A．What Do You Want from Me?　　　         B．How Do You Believe in God?

C．How God Loved Smith!　　　　　　        D．Smith Obeyed God’s Order

Saturday 28 April, 2001: Dennis Tito was setting off on his holiday. Mr. Tito’s journey was  certainly unusual! So was the transport he chose, and the price of his trip.

       The 60-year-old multi-millionaire from New York was sitting on board a Russian spaceship.  He was on a journey to the International Space Station. It might have been a routine trip for the  two astronauts who were traveling with him, but for him it was certainly no ordinary journey.  Dennis Tito was the first tourist ever in space, and he had paid the sum of $20 million to go there.  As the spacecraft left the earth’s atmosphere, Tito drank a glass of fruit juice to celebrate and  looked down at the earth’s blue-green surface. Two minutes later, he was sick. Luckily it was  only a minor problem. He soon recovered, and from then on enjoyed a smooth journey. When he  arrived at the space station, there was a big smile on his face. “A great trip!” he commented． “I  love space.”

       For a long time space travel was something for heroes. But all this is going to change.  Companies like ProSpace are investing large amounts of money in space travel. They want space  and space travel to belong to the public, not just governments. There are other plans, like voyages  through space from one side of the world to the other. Maybe we will be able to depart from New  York at nine o’clock in the morning, and arrive an hour later-- in Tokyo! Such a schedule would  allow the business traveler to return to New York on the same day, and still have eight hours for a  meeting!

Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

       A．Business Travelers B．Space Tourists C．A Space Exploration D．A Frightening Adventure

According to the passage, Dennis Tito    .

       A．enjoyed his trip very much    B．was too sick to eat anything in space

       C．suffered a lot during the trip   D．didn’t think the trip was worthwhile

Which of the following statements is tree according to the passage?

       A．Tito was the first American tourist in space.

       B．Tito contributed all of his wealth to his space trip.

       C．Tito visited the Russian Space Station during his trip.

       D．Space travel has become a routine for Tito since then.

It can be expected from the passage that    .

       A．space travel will belong to the public instead of governments

       B．airplanes will some day reach the speed of space vehicles

       C．can will be able to circle the earth within less than an hour

       D．travel between two places on earth will be made through space

Mark Twain was a great writer. He was from the USA. He was born in 1835. He was also a famous speaker. He was famous for his sense of humour（幽默感）. Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.
　　   One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes in the town and told him that he’d better not go there. Mark Twain waved (摇动) his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don’t think they will come to visit me.”
　　After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few（许多） mosquitoes flew about him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. “I’m very sorry, Mr. Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town.” One of them said to him.
　　Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, “The mosquitoes are very clever. They know my room number. They didn’t come into the wrong room.” What he said made all the people present laugh heartily.
　　But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night.
【小题1】.That day Mark Twain went to the town _____.