There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many 36  , but because he was a good piano player, some people 37  came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老主顾) told him he didn’t want to hear him play but to sing a song.

The man said, “I have never 38  that before in public. I think I’m 39  at playing the piano.”

But the customer 40 . He told the waiter, “I’m 41  listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing.”

The waiter 42  across the room, “Hey, buddy! If you want to get 43  , sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!”

  44  in order to bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And 45  had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before  46   that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the 47  himself!

He had talent he was 48  on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but because he had to sing, he 49  to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

You, too, have skills and 50  . You may not feel as if your “talent” is particularly 51  , but it may be better than you think! And with persistence (坚持), most skills can be 52  . Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you 53 ! The 54  is not “What ability do I have that is useful?” It is 55 “How will I use whatever ability I have?”.

Just think a minute…

1.                A．waiters         B．customers       C．singers   D．players

2.                A．never          B．still            C．ever     D．only

3.                A．practiced       B．shown          C．dreamed  D．done

4.                A．better          B．richer          C．easier    D．sooner

5.                A．agreed         B．confused        C．insisted   D．charged

6.                A．familiar with     B．fond of         C．used to   D．tired of

7.                A．served         B．explained       C．shouted  D．complained

8.                A．changed        B．broadcast       C．paid D．drunk

9.                A．So             B．And            C．Because  D．But

10.               A．nobody        B．anybody        C．somebody D．everybody

11.               A．until           B．after           C．since D．when

12.               A．waiter          B．singer          C．patron    D．owner

13.               A．sitting          B．waiting         C．depending     D．playing

14.               A．went up        B．went on        C．went off   D．went away

15.               A．advantages      B．character       C．principle  D．abilities

16.               A．unique         B．surprising       C．famous    D．great

17.               A．recognized      B．wasted         C．improved D．impressed

18.               A．imagine        B．possess         C．expect    D．develop

19.               A．decision        B．answer         C．question   D．solution

20.               A．even           B．rather          C．pretty D．fairly

I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happen to be that unfairly treated member of society --- a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I am convinced the things are being run solely to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a deceptive (欺骗的) new motto for so-called “service” organizations --- Staff Before Service.
　　 How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post Office or the supermarket because there were not enough staff on duty to man all the service grilles or checkout counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to hire cashiers and counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that uncovering all their cash registers at any one time would increase operating costs. And the Post Office says we cannot expect all their service grilles to be occupied “at times when demand is low”.
　　  It is the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is cut short. As for us guests, we just have to put up with it. There is also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been thrown out of their jobs in the interests of “efficiency” and replaced by coin-eating machines which offer everything from lager to laxatives (从贮藏啤酒到通便剂). Not to mention the tea-making kit in your room: a kettle with a mixed collection of tea bags, plastic milk boxes and lump sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I do not, especially when I am paying for “service”.
　　Can it be stopped, this worsening of service, this growing attitude that the customer is always a bore? I angrily hope so because it is happening, sadly, in all walks of life.
　　Our only hope is to hammer home our anger whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, bring back into practice that other, older slogan --- Take Our Deal Elsewhere.
【小题1】The writer feels that nowadays customers __________.

A．not having enough male staff on duty

B．difficulties in hiring more efficient staff

C．lack of cooperation between staff members

D．not providing enough staff on purpose to reduce budget

A．be patient when queuing before checkout counters

B．put up with the rude manners of the staff

C．try to control his temper when ill-treated

D．go to other places where good service is available

The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.

Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true.

Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.

Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.

Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air. Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.

The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time.

1._______, our world is becoming much smaller.

A．Because of the rise in pollution

B．Thanks to science development

C．Because the earth is being polluted day and night

D．Because the earth is blown away by the wind every year

2.Hundreds of years ago, life was __________ it is today.

A．much easier than    B．as easy as          C．much harder than   D．as hard as

3.Pollution comes in many ways. We can even hear it. Here “it” means _______.

A．rubbish（垃圾）   B．noise pollution      C．air pollution        D．water pollution

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Many countries are making rules to fight pollution.

B．The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world population does.

C．The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth.

D．If people could go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike, it would be helpful in fighting against the problem of SO2.

五、Cloze test(完形填空)20分

In the last century there were not 　1　 big towns in the U.S.　2　 there are today.Most towns in the country were small.And in these small towns,the general store was 　3　 people 　4   the things they couldn't made or grow at home.

  5   the store sold   6   a good deal about life in the United States at that time.People bought tools that they needed on their farms.They bought salt,sugar,coffee and   7   that their farms didn't produce.They bought articles of   8   that they could not make themselves,and cloth or other materials that the  9   would make into dresses for themselves,shirts for the men and clothes for their children.

Life in the   10   century America was   11  .One proves that most people were satisfied with what they had   12   still they looked forward   13   courage to whatever the future would   14   them.It would be interesting to know   15   they would feel about life in the world today.  16   to them that life is too complex,or would they be glad to see that life is   17   in the past?

Nobody will   18   know the   19   people at that time would enjoy life today or not.Perhaps man is always the same of his kind.They did take things for granted,and also they did try to make life more comfortable.We have to admit that it is the same   20   people at present.

1.A.many            B.so many           C.so much           D.a lot of

2.A.where           B.like              C.what              D.as

3.A.where           B.for               C.in which          D.that

4.A.made                B.bought            C.sold          D.paid for

5.A.That                B.No matter         C.Which         D.What

6.A.says                B.talks             C.refers        D.tells

7.A.other things        B.another food C.other foods        D.foods and drinks

8.A.clothes         B.clothing          C.dresses               D.suits

9.A.farmers         B.men               C.women             D.children

10.A.eighteenth     B.nineteenth            C.twentieth         D.next

11.A.easy           B.simple                C.interesting       D.tiresome

12.A.and which      B.and yet               C.and that          D.but what

13.A.in             B.to                    C.of                D.with

14.A.bring          B.take              C.happen to         D.serve

15.A.what           B.whether           C.that              D.how

16.A.Did it appear  B.Would it seem     C.What did it seem  D.What appeared

17.A.still what it used to be           B.better than what it was

C.much more easier than                 D.no more than it was

18.A.never              B.always        C.once              D.ever

19.A.truth that         B.fact whether C.idea how           D.information of

20.A.as                 B.for               C.with                  D.like

III. Reading Comprehension （35分）

Section A

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many ___46___, but because he was a good piano player, some people ___47___ came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老顾客) told him he didn’t want to hear him play but to sing a song.

The man said, “I have never done that before in public. I think I’m ___48___ at playing the piano.” But the customer ___49___. He told the waiter, “I’m ___50___ listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing.”

The waiter ___51___ across the room, “Hey, buddy! If you want to get ___52___, sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!”

So in order no bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And ___53___ had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before ___54___ that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the ___55___ himself.

He had talent he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but ___56___ he had to sing, he went on to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

You, too, have skills and ___57___. You may not feel as if your “talent” is particularly ___58___, but it may be better than you think! And with persistence, most skills can be ___59___. Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you possess. The ___60___ is not “What ability do I have that is useful?” It is rather “How will I use whatever ability I have?”

46.   A. waiters         B. players         C. singers         D. customers

47.   A. never            B. still       C. ever     D. only

48.   A. better  B. nicer    C. easier  D. sooner

49.   A. agreed          B. worried        C. insisted       D. charged

50.   A. familiar with         B. fond of C. used to        D. tired of

51.   A. complained B. shouted        C. explained     D. served

52.   A. changed       B. fired              C. paid      D. praised

53.   A. nobody         B. anybody       C. somebody    D. everybody

54.   A. since    B. after    C. until     D. when

55.   A. waiter B. singer  C. patron D. owner

56.   A. unless  B. although      C. because       D. if

57     A. advantages B. characters   C. abilities        D. principles

58.   A. different       B. surprising    C. famous         D. great

59.   A. improved     B. wasted         C. recognized          D. impressed

60     A. decision        B. difficulty       C. question       D. solution