Yesterday I went to our local grocery store. I often go to their deli counter, and I understand that it can get a little confused for the workers. So normally none of them ever take the time to smile or seem overly friendly. But yesterday it was completely different. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a very welcoming smile by the young man behind the counter. He never sighed heavily or slumped back and forth like he didn’t want to be there. He was all by himself and quite a long line. But not once did he act concerned about it. He just did his job efficiently and acted very kind the entire time.
I was so impressed that I approached the manager. I explained to her that I often visit the deli counter and I have never been greeted with such kindness. She agreed with me that he was a wonderful person and she thanked me for sharing my feelings with her.
As I was walking away，I could hear her approaching the young man with，“I just got a wonderful compliment(praise) about you.” I couldn't hear everything she was saying，but I knew that she did thank him. I couldn't help but smile!
Later I had to pass by the deli counter to get onions. There was no one there，except the diligent young man. He didn't say anything，he just smiled at me. I realized that I hadn't done a huge deed that day，but that small deed made a small difference to someone．I love seeing people smile. I just received my smile cards and I wish I had one with me that day. Maybe I will drop one off at the deli a different day! It's amazing how good I felt after that.
So，friends，the next time you are in a grocery store，retail store，restaurant，or anywhere that someone is working hard，letting them know in some way can mean so much. I hope you get a smile out of it like I did! The passage is mainly about .
| A．friendship between the writer and a young man |
| B．the power of a simple compliment |
| C．a grocery store |
| D．a diligent assistant |
The writer found it was different yesterday because .
| A．the young man was very busy |
| B．the young man was concerned about so many customers |
| C．the writer was warmly greeted by a young man |
| D．the young man acted very kind all the time |
The writer approached the manager to .
| A．thank him |
| B．say hello to him |
| C．complain about the service |
| D．praise the young man |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 implies that the writer will .
| A．smile to others at the deli one day |
| B．give one card to the young man one day |
| C．drop in at the deli one day |
| D．go to the deli for a job one day |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Praising others' hard work means nothing. |
| B．Helping others is always rewarding. |
| C．We should never hesitate to praise hard-working persons. |
| D．Not all good deeds deserve praise. |
If you are a wealthy resident of India, madly in love and planning your big fat wedding—or being pressured into arranged marriage—Thailand wants you to exchange vows（誓言） in Bangkok, Phuket or elsewhere in this "wedding Paradise（乐园）".
This wedding business starts from overseas with the Indians. Thai embassies in India give quick services for the visas. Not only the couples, you can bring anyone, say, your own cook. So, feel free to invite hundreds of your friends and relatives.
Why would Indians want to spend so much on weddings in Thailand? Because they have similarities in religion. When Indian weddings want to have some religious prayer for the couples, Thailand can do that. But the more obvious appeal are Thailand's fancy hotels, tropical islands, and delicious Thai food, allowing newlyweds to include a honeymoon in Thailand after they say "I do" while their guests also celebrate on a holiday here. But on the other hand, love does have a price.
Kasu Rajagopal arranged for his daughter to have a wedding in Phuket. They arranged entertainment to begin three days before the wedding, because guests' arrival time varied. Yachts were chartered to take guests to small islands, while a DJ, flown in from Bangalore, India, was booked to help them dance in the evening. Kasu also arranged priests for the Hindu wedding, and cooks to prepare Indian food. The approximate costs are around half a million U. S. dollars, including the airfares, hotel accommodation, food, transportation, the yachts on hire and the wedding ceremony expenses, for 225 to 250 guests.
Thailand wants to make itself a wedding paradise for all couples, not just from India, but from around the world. Last year, there were around 500 to 600 couples from China, and the numbers are slowly coming up. Westerners also arrive to get married, but in much smaller numbers. What is the main reason why the Indians would go to Thailand for weddings?
| A．They will be pressured into arranged married in India. |
| B．India shares the same religion as Thailand. |
| C．Thailand offers them more than just a wedding ceremony. |
| D．Guests are not satisfied with Indian weddings. |
We can learn from the passage that____.
| A．guests do not need visas to get into Thailand |
| B．changing vows is a necessary step for an Indian wedding |
| C．islands are people's first honeymoon destination choice |
| D．some Indians prefer the food prepared by their own cooks |
Kasu Rajagopal's example in the fourth paragraph shows____.
| A．it may cost you a fortune to have such a wedding |
| B．you can bring whatever you want to Thailand |
| C．what Thailand offers hardly satisfies customers' needs |
| D．there are quite a few activities after the wedding |
It can be predicted that____.
| A．cost of weddings in Thailand will be reduced |
| B．more people will get married in Thailand |
| C．fewer westerners will have Thai weddings |
| D．Chinese will be Thailand's No. l customers |
I used to think of myself as a person learned in books, but my bookshelves told a different story. Apart from a few Indian novels and an Australian book, my literature collection only consisted of British and American titles. Worse still, I couldn’t ever found anything in translation. My reading was limited to stories by English-speaking authors.
So, at the start of 2012, I set myself the challenge of trying to read a book from every country in a year to find out what I was missing.
With no idea where to get those books, I was unlikely to find publications from nearly 200 nations on the shelves of my local bookshop, so I decided to ask the readers all over the world for help. I created a blog called A Year of Reading the World and put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.
The response was amazing. People all over the world were getting in touch with me, offering ideas and book lists. Some posted me books from their home countries. In addition, several writers, like Turkmenistan’s Ak Welsapar and Panama’s Juan David Morgan, sent me unpublished translations of their novels, giving me a rare opportunity to read works unavailable in Britain. Even with such an extraordinary team of bibliophiles(爱书者) behind me, however, sourcing books was no easy task. With translations making up only around 4.5 per cent of literary works published in the UK, getting English versions of stories was tricky.
One by one, the books from the countries on the list filled my heart with laughter, love, anger, hope and fear. Lands that had once seemed exotic and remote became close and familiar to me. At its best, I learned, reading makes the world real.The author realized she was not a learned person when she found ________.
| A．she could do nothing but read books |
| B．she had never been to Indian and Australian |
| C．she didn’t have any translated books. |
| D．she could only read simple English stories |
What was the challenge the author set for herself?
| A．Reading books from nearly 200 countries in a year. |
| B．Creating a blog to offer help to other readers. |
| C．Looking for publications to publish her own books. |
| D．Giving some suggestions on learning English. |
Which of the following is NOT the help from people around the world?
| A．Offering book names. | B．posting local books |
| C．Giving financial supports | D．Sending unpublished translations |
It was not easy to find the books mainly because ________.
| A．the readers were unwilling to offer help |
| B．there were too few translations in the UK |
| C．the author had no time and no chance to do it |
| D．the writers didn’t want to publish their books |
What is the hottest topic at your school recently? In Taiyuan No.55 Middle School, it’s money.
The school held an activity called “making money” last weekend. About 200 Junior 1 and Junior 2 students were divided into 30 teams. They went out to make money by selling things.
What did they choose to sell? Some sold newspapers; some chose bottled water; some sold environmentally friendly shopping bags and bamboo baskets.
Hu Qing’s team decided to sell some useful books in front of the Children Activity Center. They thought parents would like to buy the books for their children. But unfortunately, they met urban management officers (城管). The officers asked them to leave. “We played hide-and-seek (捉迷藏) with the officers for the whole morning” said Hu. “Finally we had to give up.”
Wang Bing and her team sold ice cream in a square. They didn’t meet any officers. But few people were interested in what they were selling. The team then put up a board saying “For Country Kids”. It worked. More people came to their stall (小摊). A foreigner even gave them 100 yuan. “He didn’t want any change. He said he wanted to help the children,” said Wang. “We were touched.” Later that day they gave the 100 yuan and more to the “Project Hope” office.
Meng Zhaoxiang and his team were luckier. They sold all their cakes in four hours, spending 39.5 yuan and getting back 80 yuan. They made 40.5 yuan. “It was not easy to make the money,” said Meng. “Some people just looked. Others just tasted but didn’t buy. Now I know how hard it is for our parents to make the money we need to lead happy lives.”. In Taiyuan No.55 Middle School, what the students talk more about is _______.
| A．the officers | B．money |
| C．the activity called “making money” | D．the money they made last weekend |
______ took part in the activity.
| A．About 200 of Junior 1 and Junior 2 students | B．Some teachers |
| C．About 200 students of the three grades | D．About200 Junior 1 students |
Hu Qing’s team finally gave up because ______.
| A．the parents didn’t like to buy the books |
| B．the Children Activity Center was too crowded |
| C．the officers didn’t allow them to sell anything there |
| D．the team played the game of the hide-and-seek the whole morning |
Why did more people come to Wang Bing’s stall at last?
| A．The team put up a magic board. |
| B．A foreigner came up and helped them. |
| C．The people were willing to help country kids. |
| D．The people were interested in their ice cream. |
According to the passage the students learn ______.
| A．it’s impossible for them to make money |
| B．it’s not easy for their parents to make money |
| C．it’s very important for them to make a living |
| D．it’s necessary for school to hold more activities in the future |
A good teacher is many things to many people. In my own experience, the people I respect the most and think about the most are the teachers who demanded (要求) the most discipline (纪律) from their students.
I miss one teacher in particular that I had in high school. I think she was a good teacher because she was a very strict person. I remember very vividly (清晰地) a sign over her classroom door. It was a simple sign that said, “Laboratory—in this room the first five letters of the word was emphasized (强调), not the last seven.” In other words, I guess, labor(工作) for her was more important than oratory, which means making speeches.
She prepared her work very carefully and demanded of us to do the same. We got lots of homework from her. Once she had broken her arm, and everybody in the class thought that maybe the homework load would be reduced, but it continued just the same. She checked our work by stamping her name at the bottom of the papers to show that she had read them.
I think sometimes teachers who demand the most are liked the least. But as time goes by, this discipline really seems to benefit (有益于) the students.Which of the following is considered a good teacher by the writer?
| A．A patient teacher. | B．An honest teacher. |
| C．A strict teacher. | D．A hard-working teacher. |
The teacher put up the sign over her classroom door.
| A．to remind the students that this room was a laboratory |
| B．to advise the students to follow the disciplines |
| C．to warn the students not to be careless |
| D．to tell the students to work hard in the classroom |
When the teacher’s arm was broken, she.
| A．gave her students the usual amount of homework |
| B．gave her students less homework |
| C．asked her students to check the homework themselves |
| D．gave her students more homework |
What’s the writer’s opinion of discipline?
| A．It makes the students dislike their teachers. |
| B．It does good to the students in the long run. |
| C．It’s too much for young children. |
| D．It does more harm than good to the students. |
There once was a little boy who wanted to meet the king. He set off, walking towards the king’s castle. After many years of walking, the king’s castle came into his view. However, as the boy drew closer to the outside of the castle, the guards noticed him.
“Get out of here!” ordered the guards.
Well, the little boy didn’t have to be told twice. He turned…and ran. All he wanted to do was to tell the king wonderful things, and see all the beautiful things in the king’s house. But he couldn’t even get near the castle! The boy finally stopped running, sat down and cried.
A young man happened to be coming down the path at the very moment. He saw the little boy and stopped. “What’s wrong, young man?” he asked.
“Sir, I walked and walked just to see the king. But these guards made me scared. I wanted to tell the king how lovely everything is and just tell the king that I just wanted to see him.!”
The man looked at the little boy thoughtfully. “Look, why don’t you try again. I’ll come with you this time.”
The little boy got up and took the man’s hand. The king’s guards spotted them.
“Look, mister, we don’t have to do this…I don’t want you to get hurt. We can just turn around now.”
The man held the little boy’s hand and went on. The boy really thought the man might be crazy until he looked back up at the guards. They were all smiling now. The little boy was amazed.
“Who are you?” asked the little boy in astonishment.
“Why, I’m the king’s son. You can enter the castle and be with the king.” Said the man.
The little boy broke into a huge smile.Why did the boy want to see the king?
| A．To get some help from the king. |
| B．To invite the king to visit his beautiful village. |
| C．To share wonderful things with the king. |
| D．To ask the king to play with him. |
What does the underlined sentence in the paragraph mean?
| A．The little boy didn’t understand the guards words at first. |
| B．The guards repeated the words to the boy. |
| C．The little boy understood the guards’ words immediately. |
| D．The little boy had been to the castle twice. |
According to the passage, the man is .
| A．kind | B．ambitious | C．stupid | D．mean |