Youngpeopleandolderpeopledonot-优题课

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 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 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 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 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.
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

In the writer’s opinion，his neighbor was________.

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

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 bad dreams

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

What is the main idea of the text?

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

B．Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.

C．Receiving bad news requires great courage.

D．Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

Maybe it is true that we do not know what we have got until we lose it，but it is also true that we do not know what we have been missing until it arrives.
It takes an hour to like someone，and a day to love someone，but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance(保证)that they will love you back. Do not expect love in return；but if it does not，be content it has grown in yours. Do not rely on one's appearance；it can trick you. Do not rely on wealth；even that fades away. Rely on someone who makes you smile，because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them. Dream what you want to dream；go where you want to go；be what you want to be，because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You cannot go on well in life until you let your past failures and heartaches go off. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet，enough trials(考验)to make you strong，enough sorrow to keep you human，enough hope to make you happy. The happiest people do not necessarily have the best of everything；they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Happiness waits for those who cry，those who appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you，it probably hurts the other person，too.
When you were born，you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die，you are the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
In this passage，the writer wants to tell us ______.

A．what to do in our life

B．where to go with other persons

C．how to treat our life

D．how to get on well with other persons

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

A．If you give someone your love，you are sure to receive love in return.

B．We often don't know what we have lost until it happens someday.

C．It is wise not to rely on anybody because you are likely to be cheated.

D．If it takes you a short time to love someone，you will forget the person.

One should ______ the painful past according to the writer.

A．value

B．remember

C．consider

D．forget

In the last paragraph the writer is actually telling us that a person in the world should be one who ______.

A．can accept the suggestions made by others

B．can live happily and forget the past

C．does good for other people and is respected and loved by them

D．has made a lot of money for himself before he dies

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. 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 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.
That day Mark Twain went to the town _____.

A．to see one of his friends

B．because he was told there were a lot of mosquitoes there

C．because he wanted to do something there for his writing

D．to see one of his relatives

The waiters felt sorry because _____.

A．they did something wrong to Mark Twain

B．their hotel was too small

C．the room was not very clean

D．there were quite a few mosquitoes in Mark Twain’s room

All the people present laughed heartily because _____.

A．the mosquitoes were very clever and they didn’t come into the wrong room

B．the mosquitoes knew Mark Twain’s room number

C．Mark Twain made a joke

D．Mark Twain gave the waiters some nice presents

From the story we know _____.

A．no mosquitoes troubled Mark Twain in the night

B．the owner of the hotel told the waiters to look after Mark Twain well at night

C．Mark Twain didn’t have a good rest that night

D．there were not mosquitoes in the hotel any longer

You choose to be a winner!
The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account(交易账户)where you receive a key-card so you can get to your money 24/7—that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
It’s a club with impressive features for teenagers:
●No account keeping fees!
You’re no millionaire so we don’t expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!
●Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow. The Winners Club has a good rate of interest （利息）which gets even better if you make at least two deposits(储蓄)without taking them out in a month.
●Convenient
Teenagers are busy—we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet. . . You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!
●Mega magazine included
Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money. There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.
The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form(申请表). You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian (so we can organize that cool key-card)but it is easy. We can’t wait to hear from you. It’s the best way to choose to be a winner!
The Winners Club is a bank account intended for _______ .

A．parents

B．teenagers

C．winners

D．adults

If you want to be a member of the Winners Club, you must _______.

A．be an Internet user	B．be permitted by your parent
C．have a big sum of money	D．be in your twenties

What is the purpose of this text?

A．To set up a club.

B．To provide part-time jobs.

C．To organize key-cards.

D．To introduce a new banking service.

Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in London. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand. To his regret, he lost it at the station.
On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman’s umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.
“Wait a minute, sir,” shouted the old woman. “That’s my umbrella!”
Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry,“Oh, I’m very sorry, Madam! I didn’t mean it!”
Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. “It seems that I had a better choice than the other four women.” She thought.
We can learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was ______.

A．a conductor	B．a thief
C． a worker	D．an umbrella maker

The underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refers to ______.

A．his ticket

B．his drawing

C．his bag

D．his umbrella

Why did Mr. Brown take the woman’s umbrella?

A．Because the woman misplaced it beside Mr. Brown.

B．Because it was much like his own umbrella.

C．Because he thought the woman would not notice it.

D．Because he was lost in thought.

How did Mr. Brown get the four umbrellas?

A．He picked them on the train.

B．He bought them in London.

C．He brought them from his small town.

D．He stole them from four women.