There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckers. One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled (溢出). The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, "See how capable I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!"
And all that the old bucket could say was, "I know I'm not very useful, but I can only do my best. I'm happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least."
One day, the gardener heard that kind or conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, "You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path."
Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare (光秃秃的)earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.
What does the underlined word "dilapidated" probably mean?
What was the old bucket ashamed of?
The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to
Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?
Operation Green Sweep
For Teens Currently in 6th-12th Grades
Operation Green Sweep is a volunteer program for teens who want to earn community service
hours by helping to clean up our city parks and community centers. Teens will clean up various
local parks, remove light rubbish and learn a thing or two about our parks and surrounding
environment.
Fridays, April 17 to May 29, 2009
3:30 to 5:00
Meet at the Teen Center, 2203 Central Avenue, Room 170
Cost: $45 --- covers the uniform shirt, training guidebook and transportation
Note: If you miss more than two days, you may be dropped from the program without earning
your hours. Please bring a snack, wear work clothes (no skirts or open-toed shoes) and sunscreen.
Teens are expected to arrive at the meeting place on time, learn communication skills and learn to plan ahead. All volunteers must meet at the Veteran’s Memorial Building to receive their tasks. Do not be late because transportation is provided to take teens to their selected sites.
Save your receipts(收据). There will be a $15 charge per receipt to reprint receipts.
In the event if a class is cancelled(取消) by us, full refunds(退款) will be given. There will be a $15 administration(管理) fee for cancellations put forward by participants.
1. Operation Green Sweep is intended for those who __________.
A. are willing to serve the community
B. are interested in playing in the parks
C. hope to learn how to plant various flowers
D. expect to work in parks after graduation
2. What do we know about the program Operation Green Sweep?
A. Teens should pay $45 for transportation.
B. It lasts from 3:30 to 5:00 pm every day.
C. Teens will go to their working places themselves.
D. Teens can learn communication skills there.
3. To join in the program, teens are asked to ___________.
A. bring their own uniform shirt
B. pay $45 for it
C. promise to serve the community all life
D. wear skirts and open-toed shoes
4. If you give up the activity, how much money is left for you?
A. $45 B. $5 C. $30 D. $15
I worked as a waitress for a few months. I was not a great waitress and I worked in a restaurant that served mostly older people who, however, have not learned that ten percent of their expense is no longer a tip that waitresses can live on – let alone a college student working hard for 20 hours a week!
One night, when I was still working two hours after shift(轮班) was supposed to finish, all that I wanted was for my last table to clear out so I could clean and go home. My last customer caught me on her way out and asked if I had change for a twenty. I dug through my pocket and turned out my night’s earnings—a small amount of $14.
She smiled at me and said, “That is enough.”
My eyes were full of tears as I made the uneven(不等价的) exchange. “Thank you, ”I said in a low voice.
I heard her little boy ask why she did that and she explained that I’d had a hard night and she just wanted to help me out. I even heard her words, “Reach out your hands when somebody needs help.” I noticed the little boy nodded his head. Not only did her kindness touch my hurried and tiring life, but she also taught her son an important lesson that night.
I do not know her name, but I will always remember her.
1. According to the passage, at that time the author was ___________.
A. a full-time worker B. still a college student
C. a school-leaver D. a secretary in a big company
2. Why did the woman want an uneven exchange?
A. She was to thank the author for her service.
B. She was in great need of change to buy a gift for her son
C. She was only to teacher her son a lesson.
D. She only wanted to give a hand to the author.
3. What was the woman’s son’s attitude to what she did at last?
A. Unbelievable. B. Acceptable.
C. Disappointed. D. Amazed.
4. What did the woman probably teach her son?
A. To live a hard life.
B. To give a waitress a more than 10% tip.
C. To show kindness to those who need help.
D. To make an uneven change.
Computers Help Fire Fighters
In Kansas City, Missouri, a computer helps fire fighters. The computer contains information about every one of the 35000 street addresses in the city. When fire fighters answer a call, the computer will give them important about the burning building, its position and almost all the ways of helping fire fighters with the problems facing them. For example, it can give medical information about invalids living in a burning building. With this information, the fire fighters can take special care to find these sick persons and carry them away quickly and safely.
The Kansas City computer system also keeps a medical record of each of the city’s 9000 fire fighters. The kind of information is especially useful when a hospital can treat the injured. With this information, doctors at the hospital can treat the injured fire fighters more quickly and easily.
1. Missouri is most likely the name of ___________.
A. a well—known river B. the head of the fire fighters
C. a state in the USA D. a new kind of computer
2. The computer can give ______________.
A. useful and useless information about the city
B. useful information about everyone living in the city
C. useful information about every street address in the city
D. information about every town around the city
3. In this passage the word “invalid” means a person __________.
A. who is badly injured B. who is helped by firemen
C. who wants to be a firemen D. who has become weak through illness or injury
4. If injured, the firemen will ___________.
A. be treated at once with the computer’s help B. hardly get any treatment
C. ask doctors and nurses for help D. be taken to hospital by the computer
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
On the evening of June 21, 1992, a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes entered the beautiful hall of the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi’an with his bicycle. The hotel workers received him and telephoned the manager, for they had never seen a bicycle in the hotel ball before though they lived in “the kingdom of bicycles”.
Robert Friedlander, an American, arrived in Xi’an on his bicycle trip across Asia which started last December in New Delhi, India.
When he was 11, he read the book Marco Polo and made up his mind to visit the Silk Road. Now, after 44 years, he was on the Silk Road in Xi’an and his early dream were coming true. Robert Friedlander’s next destinations(目的地) were Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi, etc. He will complete his trip in Pakistan.
1. The best headline (标题) for this newspaper article would be ___________.
A. The Kingdom of Bicycles B. A Beautiful Hotel in Xi’an
C. Marco Polo and the Silk Road D. An American Achieving His Aims
2. The hotel workers told the manager about Friedlander coming to the hotel because ___________.
A. he asked to see the manager
B. he entered the hall with a bike
C. the manager had to know about all foreign guests
D. the manager knew about his trip and was expecting him
3. Friedlander is visiting the three countries in the following order, _________.
A. China, India, and Pakistan B. India, China, and Pakistan
C. Pakistan, China, and India D. China, Pakistan and India
4. What made Friedlander want to come to China?
A. The stories about Marco Polo. B. The famous sights in Xi’an.
C. His interest in Chinese silk. D. His childhood dreams about bicycles.
American and British researchers have proved that judgments based on how someone looks are important. They found that appearance tells a lot about your personality.
The researchers included Laura Naumann of Sonoma State University in California, and Simine Vazire of Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. They were joined by Sam Gosling of the University of Texas at Austin and Peter J. Rentfrow of Britain's Cambridge University. The results of their study were published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in December, 2009.
The subjects（接受实验者）were asked to judge the personality of people the
y had never met. The judges examined pictures of one hundred twenty-three people. The people in the photographs had been told how to stand. They looked into the cameras without showing their feelings. The same people also were photographed the way they themselves wanted to stand. Those who wanted to smile could smile.
Then the judges attempted to decide what the people were like. The researchers compared the judges’ opinions with the way the people who were photographed thought of themselves. Three people who knew those in the photographs well also provided information about their personality and behavior.
The judges looked for ten qualities in the people in the pictures. The qualities included extroversion (having a confident character and enjoying the company of other people) and self-esteem (being satisfied with oneself).
The judges also l
ooked for signs of loneliness, conscientiousness（正义）, emotional control and religious and political beliefs.
The researchers said the judges could identify some personalities even when people were pictured in controlled positions. They could recognize personalities like extroversion and self-esteem. But it was hard for the judges to decide about most other personalities under the controlled conditions.
When the people smiled and stood naturally, however, judging their personalities was easy. Then the judges’ choices were correct for nine of the ten personalities.
Researcher Laura Nauman said that we live in the world where first impressions are important.
1. According to the passage, who were the judges?
A. The researchers of the study. B. The subjects in the study.
C. Parents and other adults. D. People in the photographs.
2. Which of the following qualities could the judges identify even when people were pictured in controlled positions?
A. Extroversion B. Religious beliefs C. Loneliness D. Emotional control
3. We can infer
from the passage that ____________
A. the study was carried out by four researchers from America.
B. in the study126 people were photographed for judges to decide their personalities.
C. the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin is an official publication（出版物）.
D. it was 
hard to recognize personalities when the people were pictured with natural looks.
4. What will the author most probably talk about next?
A. The quality of the judges. B. The personalities of Laura Nauman.
C. Signs of emotional control. D. The reason why one’s appearance is important.