My family moved from Taiwan to a small town in central Georgia, where my dad got a visa for his family and a job. I had just learned English, and from what little I could gather from my classmates, Santa Claus would come down one’s chimney and put toys in one’s stocking on Christmas Eve! What a great country, I thought. After I looked up “stocking” in my Chinese-English dictionary, I knew what I had to do.
On that fateful night, after everyone went to bed, I took my longest, cleanest knee sock and attached it to a nail already on the mantel(壁炉). Obviously, the previous owners of this house were no strangers to this Santa character.
I woke up before everyone else on Christmas Day and ran to the fireplace. To make a sob story short, I was hit with the reality of an empty sock and the biggest lie ever told. I burst into tears, quickly took down the sock, and stuffed it in the back of a drawer. Santa was dead.
Every December since then, the topic of Christmas memories would unavoidably come up, and I would amuse my friends with my poor-little-me story. I had to make it as funny as possible, or else I would cry.
How could I know that Santa was just late? Nine years ago, on Christmas Eve, an older man with a white beard and a red cap knocked on my front door. He said, “I’ve been looking for you for twenty-five years.” He handed me a bulging red stocking, winked, and left. On top of the stocking was a card. It read: “For Becky—I may have missed you in the second grade, but you’ve always lived in my heart. Santa.”
Through tear-blurred eyes, I recognized the handwriting of Jill, a friend I had met just two months before. I later discovered that the older man was her father. Jill had seen the hurt little girl underneath the thirty-something woman and decided to do something about it.
So now I believe that Santa is real. I don’t mean the twinkle-eyed character of children’s mythology or the creation of American holiday marketers. Those Santas annoy and sadden me. I believe in the Santa Claus that live inside good and thoughtful people. This Santa does not return to the North Pole after a crazy delivery but lives each day purposefully, really listens to friends, and then plans deliberate acts of kindness.What does the underlined part “what I had to do” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Waiting for Santa Claus. |
| B．Putting a stocking on the mantel. |
| C．Asking for gifts from her parents. |
| D．Looking up “stocking” in the dictionary |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s parents ________.
| A．didn’t love their child at all |
| B．didn’t know the previous owners of the house |
| C．didn’t know much about Christmas tradition |
| D．didn’t have enough money to buy the author Christmas presents |
When the author told her friends about the story, she felt ________ in her heart.
| A．proud | B．amusing | C．hate | D．regret |
The author of the passage is probably ________.
| A．a teenager | B．a primary school student |
| C．a middle-aged woman | D．a native American |
Metro Pocket Guide
Metrorail(地铁)
Each passenger needs a farecard to enter and go out. Up to two children under ago five may travel free with a paying customer.
Farecard machine are in every station, Bring small bills because there are no change machines in the station and farecard machine only provide up to $ 5 in change.
Get one of unlimited Metrorail rides with a One Day Pass. Buy it from a farecard machine in Metro stations. Use it after 9:30 a.m. until closing on weekdays, and all day on weekends and holidays.
Hours of Service
Open: 5 a.m Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m. Sat.—Sun.
Close midnight Sun.—Thur. 3 a.m. Fri.—Sat. nights
Last train time vary. To avoid missing the last train, please check the last train time posted in stations.
Metrobus
When paying with exact change, the fare is $ 1.35. When paying with a smatTripâ CARD, the fare is $1.25
Fares for the Senior /disabled customers
Senior citizens 65 and older and disabled customers may ride for half the regular fare. On Metrorail and Metrobus, use a senior/disabled farecard or SmarTripâ card. For more information about buying senior/disabled farecards, SmarTripR cards and passes, please visit MetroOpenDoors.com or call 202-637-7000 and 202-637-8000.
Senior citizens and disabled customers can get free guide on how to use proper Metrobus and Metrorail services by calling 202-962-1100
Travel tips(提示)
. Avoid riding during weekday rush periods –before 9:30 a.m. and between 4 and 6 p.m.
. If you lose something on a bus or train or in a station, please call Lost & Found at 202-962-1195.What should you know about farecard machine?
| A．They start selling tickets at 9:30 a.m. |
| B．They are connected to change machines. |
| C．They offer special service to the elderly. |
| D．They make change for no more than $5. |
At what time does Metrorail stop service on Saturday?
| A．At midnight | B．at 3 a.m. |
| C．at 5 a.m. | D．at 7 p.m. |
What is good about a SmarTripâ card?
| A．It is convenient for old people |
| B．It saves money for its users |
| C．it can be bought at any time |
| D．it is sold on the Internet. |
Which number should you call if you lose something on the Metro?
| A．202-962-1195 | B．202-962-1100 |
| C．202-673-7000 | D．202-673-8000 |
Compassion （同情） is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into actions. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register（收款机）with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash（现金）, had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.
I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.
Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Charge it to me,” was all he said.
What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits ______.
| A．promised to obey the store rules |
| B．forgot to take any money with him |
| C．hoped to have the food first and pay later |
| D．could not afford anything more expensive |
Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?
| A．kind and lucky |
| B．poor and lonely |
| C．friendly and helpful |
| D．hurt and disappointed |
The writer acted upon the store rules because ______.
| A．he wanted to keep his present job |
| B．he felt no pity for the old gentleman |
| C．he considered the old man dishonest |
| D．he expected someone else to pay for the old man |
What does the writer learn from his experience?
| A．Wealth is more important than anything else. |
| B．Helping others is easier said than done. |
| C．Experience is better gained through practice. |
| D．Obeying the rules means more than compassion. |
Newspapers in Great Britain vary greatly in their ways of carrying the news. There are serious papers for those who want to know about important happenings everywhere, both at home and abroad. There are popular newspapers for those who prefer entertainment to information.
The London newspaper that is best known outside Great Britain is probably the Times. It began in 1785, and has a high reputation for believable news and serious opinions on the news. It calls itself an independent paper, which means that it does not give its support to a particular political party. Its leading articles give the opinions of the editors, not those of the owners of the paper.
Letters to the editor are printed in the newspaper. These parts of the Times are always interesting. Most of the letters are serious subjects. But from time to time there will be long letters on the subject which is not at all serious, perhaps on a new fashion of dress, or the bad manners of the young people, compared with manners of thirty years ago.If you want to get pleasure, please buy yourself.
| A．a serious newspaper |
| B．foreign newspaper |
| C．any independent paper |
| D．a popular newspaper |
The Times has been famous to outside Great Britain foryears.
| A．19 | B．85 | C．221 | D．229 |
The Times is an independent paper because.
| A．it supports no political parties |
| B．it is not controlled by the British Government |
| C．it gives special support to all the political parties. |
| D．the editor’s opinions are not examined by the owners of the paper |
The writer tells usin this passage.
| A．all kinds of newspapers in Britain |
| B．all kinds of news in English papers |
| C．how Times is liked by people |
| D．why Times is well-known |
Once upon a time when my father was in his teens, his father took him to the mosque (清真寺) to pray. My grandfather, it seems, had a habit of keeping his loose change in his shirt pocket. As they prayed side by side, during one of the prostrations (俯伏), the coins fell down onto the carpet.
My grandfather did not notice it. However, a man seated nearby as well as my father noticed the incident. The man reacted fast and picked up the coins and went off into another corner of the mosque.
My father took everything in and as soon as my grandfather finished praying, he told him what had happened. My grandfather having heard just about what happened stopped my dad from telling him who took the money.
Then he went on to tell my dad the following. “If the man has chosen to steal in the mosque, then it must be because his life is too bad. We must not be quick to judge such people,” he said.
Since they owned a grocery shop, my father was told by his father to make sure that every month he should make up a parcel of all the daily necessities required in a household and send it to that person without telling him who sent it.
Wouldn’t this world be a better place to live in if we had such wisdom spreading within our society!What’s the author’s grandfather’s habit?
| A．Giving coins to the poor in the mosque. |
| B．Changing his clothes before praying. |
| C．Keeping coins in his shirt pocket. |
| D．Taking the author along to the mosque. |
What seems to be the author’s suggestion to us?
| A．To tell people the truth some time later. |
| B．To help those in need in a proper way. |
| C．Don’t always judge (评判) people by their looks. |
| D．It’s wise to keep a secret for others some-times. |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．the author was stopped by his father from telling the truth |
| B．nobody but the man saw the coins in the mosque |
| C．the man was thankful to the author’s father for helping him |
| D．the man who hid the coins was probably living a hard life |
Make Up Your Mind to Succeed
Kind-hearted parents have unknowingly left their children defenseless against failure. The generation born between 1980 and 2001 grew up playing sports where scores and performance were played down because “everyone’s winner.” And their report cards sounded more positive than ever before. As a result, Stanford University professor Carol Dweck, PhD, calls them “the overpraised generation.”
Dweck has been studying how people deal with failure for 40 years. Her research has led her to find out two clearly different mind-sets that have a great effect on how we react to it. Here’s how they work:
A fixed mind-set is grounded in the belief that talent (才能) is genetic – you’re a born artist, point guard, or numbers person. The fixed mind-set believes it’s sure to succeed without much effort and regards failure as personal shame. When things get difficult, it’s quick to blame, lie, and even stay away from future difficulties.
On the other hand, a growth mind-set believes that no talent is entirely heaven-sent and that effort and learning make everything possible. Because the ego (自尊) isn’t on the line as much, the growth mind-set sees failure as a chance rather than shame. When faced with a difficulty, it’s quick to rethink, change and try again. In fact, it enjoys this experience.
We are all born with growth mind-sets. (Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to live in the world.) But parents, teachers, and instructors often push us into fixed mind-sets by encouraging certain actions and misdirecting praise. Dweck’s book, Mind-set: The New Psychology of Success, and online instructional program explain this in depth. But she says there are many little things you can start doing today to make sure that your children, grandchildren and even you are never defeated by failure.What does the author think about the present generation?
| A．They are given too much praise. |
| B．They are often misunderstood. |
| C．They are eager to win in sports. |
| D．They don’t do well at school. |
A fixed mind-set person is probably one who ___ .
| A．can succeed with the help of teachers |
| B．cares a lot about personal safety |
| C．cannot share his ideas with others |
| D．doesn’t want to work hard |
What does the growth mind-set believe?
| A．Getting over difficulties is enjoyable. |
| B．Talent comes with one’s birth. |
| C．Scores should be highly valued. |
| D．Admitting failure is shameful. |
What should parents do for their children based on Dweck’s study?
| A．Help them grow with praise. |
| B．Prevent them from making mistakes. |
| C．Guide them in doing little things. |
| D．Encourage them to learn from failures. |