Today, as I was relaxing at the beach, I couldn't help but eavesdrop（窃听，偷听） on a conversation four high school kids were having on the beach blanket next to me. Their conversation was about making a positive difference in the world. And it went something like this…
"It's impossible to make a difference unless you're a huge company or someone with lots of money and power," one of them said.
"Yeah man," another replied. "My mom keeps telling me to move mountains – to speak up and stand up for what I believe. But what I say and do doesn't even get noticed. I just keep answering to ‘the man’ and then I get slapped back（山谷回声） in place by him when I step out of line."
"Repression…" another snickered.
I smiled because I knew exactly how they felt. When I was their age, I was certain I was being repressed and couldn't possibly make a difference in this world. And I actually almost got fired from school once because I openly expressed how repressed(压抑) I felt in the middle of the principals’ office.
I Have A Dream.
Suddenly, one of the kids noticed me eavesdropping and smiling. He sat up, looked at me and said, "What? Do you disagree?" Then as he waited for a response, the other three kids turned around too.
Rather than arguing with them, I took an old receipt out of my wallet , tore it into four pieces, and wrote a different word on each piece. Then I crumbled the pieces into little paper balls and handed a different piece to each one of them.
"Look at the word on the paper I just gave you and don't show it to anyone else." The kids looked at the single word I had handed each of them and appeared confused. "You have two choices," I told them. "If your word inspired you to make a difference in this world, then hold onto it. If not, give it back to me so I can recycle the paper." They all returned their words.
I walked over quickly , sat down on the sand next to their beach blanket and laid out the four words that the students had returned to me so that the words combined to form the simple sentence, "I have a dream."
"Dude, that's Martin Luther King Jr.," one of the kids said.
"How did you know that?" I asked.
"Everyone knows Martin Luther King Jr." the kid snarled. "He has his own national holiday, and we all had to memorize his speech in school a few years ago."
"Why do you think your teachers had you memorize his speech?" I asked.
"I don't really care!" the kid replied. His three friends shook their heads in agreement. "What does this have to do with us and our situation?"
"Your teachers asked you to memorize those words, just like thousands of teachers around the world have asked students to memorize those words, because they have inspired millions of repressed people to dream of a better world and take action to make their dreams come true. Do you see where I'm going with this?"
"Man, I know exactly what you're trying to do and it's not going to work, alright?" the fourth kid said, who hadn't spoken a word until now. "We're not going to get all inspired and emotional about something some dude said thirty years ago. Our world is different now. And it's more screwed up than any us can even begin to imagine, and there's little you or I can do about it. We're too small, we're nobody."
Together
I smiled again because I once believed and used to say similar things. Then after holding the smile for a few seconds I said, "On their own, ‘I' or ‘have’ or ‘a’ or ‘dream’ are just words. Not very compelling or inspiring. But when you put them together in a certain order, they create a phrase that has been powerful enough to move millions of people to take action – action that changed laws, perceptions, and lives. You don't need to be inspired or emotional to agree with this, do you?"
The four kids shrugged and struggled to appear totally indifferent, but I could tell they were listening intently. "And what's true for words is also true for people," I continued. "One person without help from anyone else can't do much to make a big difference in this crazy world - or to overcome all of the various forms of repression that exist today. But when people get together and unite to form something more powerful and meaningful then themselves, the possibilities are endless.
Together is how mountains are moved. Together is how small people make a big difference.Why were the kids repressed?
| A．Because they were scolded by their teachers |
| B．Because they lacked confidence of making a difference in the world |
| C．Because they didn’t have lots of money or power. |
| D．Because one of them almost got expelled from school. |
What did the writer do when one of the kids noticed him eavesdropping?
| A．He argued with them. |
| B．He played a game with them. |
| C．He scooted over sat down on the sand next to their beach blanket . |
| D．He took an old receipt ,ripped it into four pieces, and wrote a different word on each piece. |
Which of the following is not true?
| A．“I Have A Dream” was delivered by Martin Luther King. |
| B．A national holiday was named after Martin Luther King to honor him. |
| C．Teachers asked kids to memorize Martin Luther King’s famous speech. |
| D．Martin Luther King made a difference because he is a man with power. |
Give a proper Chinese translation to explain the underlined sentence.
| A．车到山前必有路 | B．从我做起 |
| C．团结就是力量 | D．三人行,必有我师 |
Which of the following sentences is true according to the story.
| A．The kids and the writer are complaining about their life. |
| B．All of the four kids don’t believe they can change the world. |
| C．The word on the paper inspires the four kids. |
| D．The writer’s purpose is to tell them to a faith in the life. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the story?
| A．How adults persuade kids |
| B．How small people make a big difference |
| C．How young adults build up their confidence |
| D．How create a better world to live in |
I was born in Tuckahoe，Talbot Country，Maryland. I have no accurate(准确的)knowledge of my age，never having seen any record containing it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs，and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant(不知情的)．I do not remember having ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday. They seldom come nearer to it than plantingtime，harvesting，springtime，or falltime. A lack of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages，but I could not tell. Why the same right ought to be taken away from me！I was not allowed to ask my master about it. He considered all such questions on the part of a slave improper and impolite. The nearest estimate(估计)I can live makes me now between twentyseven and twentyeight years of age. I come to this，from hearing my master say，some time during 1835，I was about seventeen years old. My mother was named Harriet Bailey. She was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey，both colored，and quite dark.
My father was a white man. The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father；but of the correctness of this opinion，I know nothing and I have no means to know. My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant—before I knew her as my mother. It is a common custom，in the part of Maryland from which I ran away，to part children from their mothers at a very early age. Frequently，before the child has reached its twelfth month，its mother is taken from it，and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off，and the child is placed under the care of an older woman，too old for field labor.It can be learned from the text that________.
| A．the slaves forgot the exact time when they were born |
| B．the writer didn't know whether his master was his father |
| C．the writer was about twentyseven years old in 1835 |
| D．the writer's mother left him as soon as he was born |
The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refers to________.
| A．their birthday | B．my age |
| C．a record | D．Maryland |
The author was most probably raised________.
| A．by his grandparents |
| B．by an old woman slave |
| C．with his master's support |
| D．together with other children |
How does the writer feel about not knowing his age?
| A．Curious. | B．Unhappy. |
| C．Astonished. | D．Ashamed. |
About the year 1900，a small，darkhaired hot boy named Charlie Chaplin was often seen waiting outside the back entrance of London Theatre.He looked thin and hungry.He was hoping to get work in show business.He could sing and dance；above all，he knew how to make people laugh.But he couldn't get work and so he wandered about the city streets.Sometimes he was sent away to a home for children who had no parents.
But twenty years later this name Chaplin became the greatest，bestknown，and bestloved comedian in the world.Any visitor to the cinema must have seen some of Chaplin's filmstrips (胶片)．People everywhere have sat and laughed at them until the tears ran down their faces.Even people who don't understand English can enjoy Chaplin's films though most of them are silent.It isn't what he says that makes people laugh.His comedy doesn't depend upon words and languages.It depends upon little actions which mean the same thing to people all over the world.Acting out，without words，common human situations play an important part in the dances and plays of many countries.It's a kind of world language.
Chaplin lived most of his life in America and died in Switzerland on Christmas Day,1977，at the age of eightyeight.The world was astonished at the news of the death and burst into sadness.Why was young Chaplin waiting outside the back entrance of the theatre?
| A．Because he had no money to buy a ticket. |
| B．Because he wanted to get a returned ticket. |
| C．Because he wanted to play a part in a play in order to make a living. |
| D．Because he wanted to see the famous actors or actresses after the performance. |
It was ________that made people enjoy his films.
| A．wonderful dialogues | B．the beautiful music |
| C．his funny appearance | D．his own manner of acting |
The reason why Chaplin is regarded as king of comedy is that ________.
| A．his films are most silent |
| B．he knew how to make people laugh |
| C．he could not only act but also write comedies |
| D．he acted out the common human situation best in his comedy |
What's the best title of this passage?
| A．Charlie Chaplin，A Famous Humorous Actor |
| B．Charlie Chaplin，A Worker |
| C．Charlie Chaplin，A Small Boy |
| D．Charlie Chaplin，A Director |
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| A．to help parents with their daily life |
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| A．In the newspaper. | B．On a website. |
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A reader subscribed(订阅)Parents® 3 months ago，but now he finds the magazinedissatisfying. What can he do?
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In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied (依赖) on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Competition helps to set up self-respect. |
| B．Opinions about competition are different among people. |
| C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development. |
| D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition. |
Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
| A．It pushes society forward. |
| B．It builds up a sense of duty. |
| C．It improves personal abilities. |
| D．It encourages individual efforts. |
The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means ______.
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who value competition most highly |
| C．those who are against competition most strongly |
| D．those who rely on others most for success |
What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?
| A．One's worth lies in his performance compared with others. |
| B．One's success in competition needs great efforts. |
| C．One's achievement is determined by his particular skills. |
| D．One's success is based on how hard he has tried. |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back. |
| B．Competition should be encouraged. |
| C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter. |
| D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition. |
That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theatre. With opening night only a week ago, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers (抢劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment (公寓房间), I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck (垃圾车) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eye. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 A.M. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were welling to help each other.How did the writer feel when she was walking home after work?
| A．Cold and sick. |
| B．Fortunate and helpful. |
| C．Satisfied and cheerful. |
| D．Disappointed and helpless. |
From the first paragraph, we learn that the writer was busy ______.
| A．solving her problem at the bank |
| B．taking part in various city activities |
| C．learning acting in a n evening school |
| D．preparing for the first night show |
On her way home the writer ______.
| A．lost her wallet unknowingly |
| B．was stopped by a garbage truck driver |
| C．was robbed of her wallet by an armed man |
| D．found some homeless people following her |
In the fifth paragraph, why did the writer say she was dreaming?
| A．Someone offered to take her back home. |
| B．A red-haired man came to see her. |
| C．She heard someone call her name. |
| D．Her wallet was found in a garbage truck. |
From the text, we can infer that the writer ______.
| A．would stop working at night |
| B．would stay on in San Francisco |
| C．would make friends with cleaners |
| D．would give up her job at the bank |