I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart.
Although my thoughts were only on speed, the checkout line I was standing in wasn't moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier.
There stood a man in his seventies, wearing glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, he's an old guy!
For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before scanning the items. Sure, his words were the usual, “How's it going?” But he did something different—he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation.
I thought it was odd. I have grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of robotic conversational habit. After a while, you don't give any thought to the question and just mumble something back. I could say, “I just found out I have six months to live,” and someone would reply, “Have a great day!”
But that wasn't the end.
He gave them the change, walked around the counter, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. He looked at the customers in the eyes. “I sure want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.”
The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some sheepish grins. All had been touched by his simple gesture---and in a place they never expected. They would gather their things and walk out, smiling.
Of course, he did the same to me and I got to know his name, Marty.
Who was that guy? It was as if Sam Walton had come back from the dead and invaded this old guy’s body.
I had never walked away from that shop feeling like that.The checkout line the writer was standing in moved slower than expected because_______ .
| A．the cashier couldn’t work as fast as others |
| B．there were some big purchases |
| C．the cashier did more than scanning the items |
| D．the writer was not patient enough |
According to the writer, when common people ask you “How’s it going?”
| A．they don’t really care what you may answer |
| B．they are just practicing their conversation ability |
| C．they are inquiring about your private information |
| D．they don’t expect to hear any negative answers |
What was most customers’ reaction to Marty’s behaviors?
| A．They thought it priceless. | B．They were in some way moved. |
| C．They thought it awful and odd. | D．They felt somewhat offended. |
What can we infer about Sam Walton?
| A．He might be Marty’s father or grandfather. |
| B．He might be friendly and devoted to Wal-Mart. |
| C．He might have died while working in the market. |
| D．He might have come back from the dead once before. |
What does the writer intend to express through the text?
| A．Our everyday life is always full of surprises. |
| B．Most customers enjoy being treated this way. |
| C．Being different is a good way of doing business. |
| D．A little positive action can make a big difference. |
It is well known that Einstein was the father of the famous Theory of Relativity. But do you know it owes a great deal to Marits, Einstein’s former wife?
In 1896, 17-year-old Einstein went to Zurich to study physics. There he met a girl from Hungary. They studied in the same class. The same interest brought the two together and the young man fell in love with Marits. In 1903, when Einstein was 24 years old, he married Marits, who was 4 years older than he.
After their marriage, Einstein devoted himself to the research of the great theory. To give her husband more help, Marits gave up her own work, and became a good wife and assistant. She tried her best to encourage him whenever possible and she was sure that her husband would succeed. They often discussed the theory while walking outside or sitting together in the room. They even discussed it in their letters when one of them was away from home.
In 1914, the Einstein moved to Berlin and settled there. At that time, Einstein’s theory proved to be correct and he had become famous all over the world. Marits was very proud of him and his success. But it was not long before the First World War broke out. Marits as well as her two sons, who were all on holidays in Switzerland, couldn’t come back to Berlin. The war not only stopped Einstein’s work but broke up the warm, happy family. In 1919, Einstein and Marits had to get divorced.
Einstein himself, however, later said that Marits was really an outstanding woman.From the first paragraph, we can infer that the passage is mostly about __________.
| A．Einstein’s former wife |
| B．Marits’s love for Einstein |
| C．Einstein’s famous theory |
| D．the life of Einstein and his former wife |
Einstein fell in love with Marits mainly because they ________.
| A．were in the same school |
| B．wanted to do research together |
| C．had the same interest |
| D．came from different countries |
By the year of 1914, Einstein had _________________.
| A．become famous all over the world |
| B．been proud of his success |
| C．suffered from the 1st World War |
| D．lost touch with Marits |
Einstein and Marits got divorced because ________________.
| A．they no longer loved each other |
| B．the 1st World War broke out |
| C．Marits went away with the children |
| D．Einstein had become famous |
It is easy for many people to catch a cold in the springtime or fall. It makes us wonder if scientists can send a man to the moon, why can’t they find a cure for the common cold? The answer is easy. There are actually hundreds of kinds of cold viruses out there. You never know which one you will get, so there isn’t a cure for each one.
When a virus attacks your body, your body works hard to get rid of it. Blood rushes to your nose and cause a block in it. You feel terrible because you can’t breathe well, but your body is actually eating the virus. Your temperature goes up and you get a fever, but the heat of your body is killing the virus. You also have a runny nose to stop the virus from getting into your cells. You may feel very uncomfortable, but actually your wonderful body is doing everything it can to kill the cold.
Different people do different things to deal with colds. In the United States and some other countries, for example, people might eat chicken soup to make themselves feel better. Some people take hot baths and drink warm liquids. Other people take medicine to stop various symptoms (症状) of colds.
There is one interesting thing to note —some scientists say taking medicines when you have a cold is actually bad for you. The virus stays in you longer because your body doesn’t have a way to fight it and kill it. Bodies can do an amazing job on their own. There is a joke, however, on taking medicine when you have a cold. It goes like this:
It takes about one week to get over a cold if you don’t take medicine, but it takes only seven days to get over a cold if you take medicine.
| Title |
How Much You Know About the Common Cold |
| Introduction |
◆People catch a cold 61.in spring or fall. ◆A 62. of cold viruses exist everywhere. ◆It is hard to find a cure for each cold. |
| The symptoms of the common cold |
◆The body’s blood as well as its temperature 63., causing a fever. ◆You will find that you have some difficulty 64.. ◆You have a runny nose, which makes you feel miserable. |
| Some 65.of dealing with the common cold |
◆Drinking chicken soup to help you 66.. ◆Taking hot baths and drinking warm 67. ________. ◆Taking some medicine. |
| 68.by some scientists |
◆Taking medicine when having a cold will do 69.to the body. ◆Taking medicine or not will take you one week to 70.the common cold. |
With five breakout （破纪录的） games, Jeremy Lin has become the NBA's newest star．
In the New York Knicks' 92-85 won over the Los Angles Lakers last Saturday, Lin had a career-high 38 points．A day later, he led the Knicks to their fifth victory, 100-98 to Minnesota Timberwolves．In his previous games, Lin, 23, had 23 points against the Washington, 25 points against New Jersey and 28 against Utah in his first start．
Lin is smart．Before graduating from high school in California, he had sent his application to all the Ivy League Schools （常青藤联盟）．He only got into Harvard and Brown, and he chose Harvard．In 2010, Lin graduated with a degree in economics．
Lin is the first Chinese-American player in the NBA．He was born in the US and his family is Asian．Although not born in China, Lin has attracted nearly all Yao Ming's old fans, who see him as a powerful role model．
He started off on the Golden State Warriors．Lin first signed with the Warriors in July, 2010, but seldom played in games before the start of the fourth quarter．His first time on the court for the Warriors earned him seven points, three rebounds （篮板球） and two assists in just 11 minutes．
He is really perfect for the Knicks．The New York Knicks has been in need of a reliable point guard and to Mike D'Antoni, the Knicks coach who's going through a difficult season, Lin is a most unexpected figure．"Lin just does everything easy and the rest of the guys around him are playing the way we want to," D'Antoni said．"I think it's for real, and it can only get better．"In which team did Lin start his career in NBA?
| A．the New York Knicks． |
| B．The Golden State Warriors． |
| C．Minnesota Timberwolves． |
| D．The Los Angles Lakers． |
From the passage, we learn that ___．
| A．the New York Knicks has never been defeated |
| B．Lin is an American-Chinese basketball player |
| C．most of Yao Ming's fans take Lin as a great role model |
| D．after graduation from Harvard, Lin signed with the Knicks |
From the passage, it can be inferred that ____．
| A．Lin is the team leader of the Knicks |
| B．the Knicks' success only depends on Lin |
| C．the Knicks'coach puts strong hopes on Lin |
| D．the Knicks is sure to win the season this year |
The author's purpose of writing the report is ____．
| A．to show his support for the Knicks |
| B．to express his love for Jeremy Lin |
| C．to report the progress of the Knicks |
| D．to introduce a newest rising NBA star |
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy．After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy．
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy．However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason．Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory．
Do you know what a "territory" is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its own ．Only he and his family are welcome there ．No other families of the same species are welcome．Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome．If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout．Probably this would be enough to frighten him away．
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him．A bird does the same thing．But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting （筑巢） season．So he's screaming （高声尖叫） all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not．This screaming is what we call a bird's song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away．
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs．You can see that birds have a language of their own．Most of it has something to do with attracting mates and setting up territories．Some scientists believe that most of the time birds' singing is actually
| A．an expression of happiness |
| B．a way of warning |
| C．an expression of anger |
| D．a language of their own |
What is a bird's "territory"?
| A．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice． |
| B．A place where other bird families are not accepted． |
| C．An area for which birds fight against each other． |
| D．An area which a bird considers to be its own |
Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
| A．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away． |
| B．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears． |
| C．Because they want to find outsiders around． |
| D．Because they want to invite more bird friends． |
How does the writer explain birds' singing?
| A．By comparing birds with human beings． | B．By reporting experimental results． |
| C．By describing birds'daily life． | D．By telling a bird's story． |
How many coins do you have in your pocket right now? Three? Two? Or one? With a phone card, you can make up to 200 calls without any charges at all．
★What do you do with it?
Go to a telephone box marked "Phone-card"．Put in your card to start, make your phone call and when you have finished, the screen will tell you how much is left on your card．It costs no extra for the cards, and the calls cost 10 p（便士） per unit, the same as any other pay-phone call．You can buy it in units of 10, 20, 40, 50, or 100．
★Appear in a shop nearby．
Near each card-phone place, you will find a shop where you can buy one．They are at bus, train or metro stations．At universities, hospitals, clubs, restaurants and shopping centers, you can also buy it．
★No more broken pay-phones．
It is possible that many pay-phones don't work because they have been damaged． There are no coins in a card-phone to excite the thieves' interest in it．So you are not probably to find a broken one．
Get a phone-card yourself and try it out．Or get a bigger wallet．The passage is most probably ____．
| A．a warning | B．a notice |
| C．an advertisement | D．an announcement |
The underlined word "one" means ____．
| A．a shop | B．a coin | C．a pay-phone | D．a phone-card |
It is suggested in the passage that you buy a phone-card because ____．
| A．you have got a bigger wallet than others |
| B．it's convenient to make calls with a phone card |
| C．the phone box might have been damaged |
| D．there are many different kinds of phone-cards |