The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.

I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled，little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said，“Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I' m eighty－seven years old. Can I give you a hug？”I laughed and enthusiastically responded，“Of course you may.”and she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such a young，innocent age？”I asked. She jokingly replied，“I'm here to meet a rich husband，get married，have a couple of children，and then retire and travel.”“No，seriously？”I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

 “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one. ”she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milk- shake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always attracted listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

 Over the course of the year，Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium(讲台). As she began to deliver her prepared speech，she dropped her 3x5 cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and simply said，“I'm sorry I'm so nervous. I gave up beer for Lent(一种威士忌的牌子)  and this whisky is killing me. I'll never get my speech back in order to let me just tell you what I know.”

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began：“We do not stop playing because we are old；we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young，being happy，and achieving success.” “You have to laugh and find humor every day.” You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams，you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it.” “There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing，you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty－seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn eighty－eight. Anybody can grow older. It’s non-optional but that doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.” “Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did，but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.” She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Rose.” She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in honor of the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be. When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they’ll really enjoy it! These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

1.The writer provides the details about Rose in Paragraph 2 to show that_______.

A. she was an innocent and enthusiastic person

B. she was an optimistic and humorous person

C. she was an aggressive person with a strong sense of honor

D. she was an intelligent person with highly motivated personality

2.Why does the writer compare Rose to “time machine” in Paragraph 3?

A. To describe the friendship between Rose and her young schoolmates.

B. To stress her old age and rich wisdom and experience.

C. To show that she enjoyed dressing up in spite of her old age.

D. To emphasize that she took on the challenge at such an old age.

3.Which of the following best explains the sentence ”We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing”(Paragraph 6)?

A. “If we lose our dreams, we will regret for what we did when young.”

B. “If we don’t laugh every day, we will easily get old.”

C. “Once we stop seeking and working for our dreams, we will really become old.”

D. “Once we stop exercising, we will get weaker physically and mentally.”

4.It can be inferred from Paragraph 6 that________.

A. those who don’t have dreams are as good as dead

B. growing old is uncontrollable but growing up is optional

C. the elderly usually feel regretful for what they did

D. our talent and ability decline with age

5.The method the writer uses to describe the character of Rose is________.

A. making comments               B. making comparisons

C. providing arguments             D. giving examples

6.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Meeting challenges            B. Secrets to success

C. Dream in heart                D. My best friend

— Excuse me, sir, could you tell me how to go to the City Hall?

— Sorry, I’m a new comer. You have to ask, I’m afraid, ______ is a native.

A. someone                B. whoever          C. who                  D. whomever

When you do some minor image editing (修正) on your computer screen, you may make some mistakes, so from time to time you’d click undo (撤消).

There are things in life we cannot undo as easily and completely as we would with our computer files. A wrong turn, a hurtful word said to a loved one, a bad move — these we all commit as we walk our life’s journeys, no matter how careful we are in our steps. Once committed, we can no longer undo many of these mistakes, especially because unlike with our computer documents, each thing we do and say has vast impact as they involve not just us — the file that we are working on — but also others, the unopened files and computer programs in our system.

So I guess our life’s mistakes are not like our pencil scrawls (潦草书写) that can be effectively corrected with an eraser, or errors on our computer works that can be undone with an undo button. But there are effective and reliable tools we can use—APOLOGY and FORGIVENESS. Simply click the APOLOGY button when you have committed a mistake that has hurt a loved one and the words “I’m Sorry” will flash on the other person’s screen. But, you have to be truly sorry and you must be prepared not to commit the same mistake again for your APOLOGY to work. Sincerity is definitely a necessary part.

When someone clicks the APOLOGY button and the words “I’m sorry” flash on your screen, all you have to do is click back the FORGIVENESS (原谅) button. It means that you have wholeheartedly accepted the other person’s APOLOGY. But not only that. You also have to click it when someone has sent you back the message “It’s okay. Forget about it.”. It means that you are also forgiving yourself for your mistake; that you won’t keep feeling so bad having committed it.

And lastly, don’t forget to keep clicking the SAVE button. Going through the whole process of editing—of doing and undoing, of apologizing and forgiving — is useless if you fail to save the LESSON for future use. Let the saved file be a reminder of the healing process you once went through to make yourself better; for you not to forget the lesson; and for others to access and learn from.

1.Which of the following is TRUE?

A. However careful we are, we still make mistakes in life.

B. Things we do and say can affect computer programs in our system.

C. We can undo life’s mistakes if we are careful enough.

D. An eraser is an effective tool for our computer works.

2. The APOLOGY button should be clicked when ________.

A. one wants to make the computer work perfectly

B. one’s mistakes won’t influence others any more

C. one is actually saying “I’m sorry”

D. one won’t make the same mistake again

3.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

   A. The UNDO button.                      B. The APOLOGY button.

   C. The SAVE button.                          D. The FORGIVENESS button.

4.We need to click the SAVE button in life because ________.

A. we want to go through the whole process of editing

B. we need to learn a lesson from the past mistakes

C. we want to make the healing process faster

D. we need to use the computer properly

Miss Lovely began to work in our office last year. She thought she was__1__and hardly talked with us. Her house was a little far from our company and she had to go to work __2__ every day.

Of course, she had to spend a lot of __3__on this. She decided to have her own car, and began to __4__how to drive two months ago. Now she was able to drive, but had to__5__a licence before she could buy a car. It took her a week to__6__the traffic regulations. She was sure she would__7__the examinations.

It was finally time for her to take the examinations yesterday. Miss Lovely didn't come to work. We__8__she would drive her new car to our company this morning. But to our__9__she came here by taxi and didn't tell anybody about it. None of us asked her the__10__but her face clearly showed she had__11__in the exams.

This afternoon one of our workmates told us __12__had happened to the girl when she was__13__. Yesterday the chief examiner had asked her some questions, but she could answer only a __14__. For example, "Would you run over a man or a dog if you see them both in the middle of the__15__?"

"Of course I'd run over the dog, sir", Miss Lovely answered without __16__.

"I'm sorry to tell you, Miss Lovely," the examiner shook his__17__and said, "you have to take the examination again!"

"I don't think my answers were__18__, sir," the girl said in a hurry. "I__19__ run over a man, you know!"

"I agree with your__20__, Miss Lovely," the chief examiner said with a smile. "but why not brake (刹车)?"

1. A. old         B. foolish        C. clever         D. kind

2. A. by taxi      B. by train       C. on foot        D. by plane

3. A. time        B. money        C. energy        D. room

4. A. teach       B. plan          C. operate        D. learn

5. A. find        B. apply for      C. look for       D. make

6. A. learn       B. forget         C. teach         D. break

7. A. take        B. prepare       C. explain        D. pass

8. A. suggested   B. described      C. thought       D. replied

9. A. surprise     B. joy           C. anger        D. pleasure

10. A. name      B. reason        C. rule          D. notice

11. A. believed    B. heard         C. found        D. failed

12. A. why       B. how          C. what         D. when

13. A. ill         B. alone         C. in           D. out

14. A. few        B. several       C. all           D. lot

15. A. room      B. playground    C. hospital       D. road

16. A. asking     B. thinking       C. discussing    D. advising

17. A. foot       B. nose          C. ears         D. head

18. A. wrong     B. correct        C. right         D. true

19. A. can       B. need          C. can't         D. needn't

20. A. car       B. opinion        C. fact         D. purpose