閱讀理解

　　Mr King works in a shop and drives a car for the manager．He drives carefully and can keep calm in time of danger．And he escaped from several accidents．The manager pays him more and the traffic policemen often speak highly of him．

　　Mr Baker, one of his friends, works in a factory outside the city．It is far from his house and he has to go to work by bus．As the traffic is crowded in the morning, sometimes he is late for work．His manager warns the young man will be sent away unless he gets to his office on time．He hopes to buy a car, but he hasn't enough money．He decides to buy an old one．He went to the flea market and at last he chose a beautiful but cheap car．He said he wanted to have a trial(實驗)drive, the seller agreed．He called Mr King and asked him to help him．

　　Mr King examined the car at first and then drove it away．It was five in the morning and there were few cars in the street．At first he drove slowly and it worked well．Then he drove fast．And when he reached a crossing, the light turned red．He tried to stop it, but he failed and nearly hit an old woman who was crossing the street．A policeman told him to stop, but the car went on until it hit a big tree by the road．

　　“Didn't you hear me?” the policeman asked angrily．

　　“Yes, I did, sir,” said Mr King, “since it doesn't listen to me, can it obey you?”

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　　What's the most important thing for you to have in your life? Somebody mentions hard-work, others suggest knowledge, love and luck．

　　If you arrange the 26 English letters alphabetically(按字母表的順序)and use numbers to represent each of them, for example, 1 for a, 2 for b, 3 for c…, you can change an English word into a number．So hard-work becomes 8＋1＋18＋4＋23＋15＋18＋11＝98, meaning 98 is its mark; knowledge：11＋14＋15＋23＋12＋5＋4＋7＋5＝96, while love：12＋15＋22＋5＝54, and luck：12＋21＋3＋11＝47, a small mark．None of these words can give one a full mark．What about money or prayer(祈禱)? They can't, either．

　　Then what else? Don't be worried．You can always find an answer to a problem in your life, when you change your way of looking at things or doing things, or your attitude(態(tài)度)．Yes, attitude is the word．See for yourself：attitude：1＋20＋20＋9＋20＋21＋4＋5＝100, a full mark．

　　Different attitudes lead to different courses of life．Most times people hope for a better life．It is possible that one will have a change for the better after one has changed one's attitude．

　　When you change your manner and become friendly towards others, you'll meet more smiling faces towards you．In the same way, if you take a positive(積極地)attitude towards failure(失敗), you'll find it's also rewarding though it has caused you losses．

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　　One Sunday morning, I decided to buy a computer to use for school．I went to the biggest store in town, which sold all kinds of computers．There were so many computers there that I didn't know how to choose a right one．

　　“Hi! What can I do for you?” A young man greeted me with a sweet smile．He looked like not a salesman but a student like me．I sensed a strange feeling-as if I had met him before．He began patiently showing me each model．With his help, I decided to buy one computer with enough functions at a very low price．I enjoyed this shopping experience because of his smile．A few months later, something was wrong with my computer．I went back to the store to have it fixed．When I arrived there, what I saw was still his smile．As soon as I told him my problem, he comforted me immediately and tried his best to solve the problem for me．I was quite grateful for his sweet smile and good service．

　　When I went back to school, his smile often appeared in my mind．I don't know whether we'll meet each other again, but his sweet smile will stay there in my memory and deep in my heart．Smiling is the most peaceful language in the daily life．

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　　As a father, I always do my best to help my son, Peter．I like to help him with his study．I encourage him to join team sports．I send him to the summer camp if he wants to go．I also teach him to be both a good student and a useful man．

　　He used to make me feel proud．I often thought he was the best son and I was the best father in the world．

　　However, things changed two years ago．It was Peter's 12th birthday．My wife and I bought him a computer as a present．We thought it was necessary for him to learn how to use a computer in the modern world．We knew that some children were addicted(上癮的)to computer games and that they didn't study or work at all．Someone said that computers and the Internet were bad for children, but I didn't worry about it．I trusted(信任)my son．I believed that he could control himself．Peter did very well at first．He played computer games, but for only two hours every week．Most of the time he studied or wrote articles on the computer．We felt very happy to see that．

　　When we finally learned that Peter was also addicted to computer games, it was too late．He didn't like studying at all．He no longer joined team sports．Sometimes we even couldn't find him at night．He spent several days and nights at the Internet cafe．We tried everything to help him, but nothing worked．What should we do?

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Coffee has become the most popular American drink．Today people in the United States drink more coffee than(比)people in any of the other countries．People drink coffee at breakfast, at lunch, at dinner, and between meals．They drink hot coffee or coffee with ice in it．They drink it at work and at home．They eat coffee ice-cream and coffee candy(糖果)．Coffee is black and very strong．Different people like to drink it in different ways．Some people like coffee with cream or sugar in it．Other people like coffee with both cream and sugar in it．In all ways it is served(提供服務(wù))．Coffee has become an international(國際的)drink．

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　　As the sun rose, a dewdrop(露珠)woke up．There it sat on a leaf, catching the sunlight．Proud of its simple beauty, it was very happy．Around it were other dewdrops, some on the same leaf and some on other leaves．The dewdrop was sure that it was the best, the most special dewdrop of them all．

　　Ah, it was good to be a dewdrop．

　　The wind blew and the plant began to shake, tipping(使傾斜)the leaf．The dewdrop became frightened as it started to move towards the edge(邊緣)of the leaf．Why was this happening? Things were comfortable．Things were safe．Why did they have to change? Why? Why?

　　The dewdrop reached the edge of the leaf．It was sure that this was the end．The day had only just begun and the end had come so quickly．It seemed so unfair．It seemed so meaningless．It tried hard to do whatever it could to stay on the leaf, but it was no use．

　　Finally, it fell．Below there was a mirror．A reflection of the dewdrop seemed to be coming up to meet it．Closer and closer they came together until finally．．, the small dewdrop became a part of the great pond(池塘)．Now the dewdrop was no more, but it was not destroyed．

　　It had become one with the whole．

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　　Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing(令人迷惑的)．A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences．They decided that miscommunications(溝通誤解)were always possible, even over something as simple as “yes” and “no”．

　　On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific(太平洋), Lisa thought people weren't paying any attention to her．The day was hot．She went into a store and asked, “Do you have cold drinks?” The woman there didn't say anything．Lisa repeated the question．Still the woman said nothing．She later learned that the woman had answered her：She had raised her eyebrows(眉毛)，which in Micronesia means “yes”．

　　Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe．She went to a restaurant that was famous for its cabbage．She asked the waiter, “Do you have cabbage today?” He nodded his head．Jan waited, but the cabbage never came．In that country, a nod means “no”．

　　Tom had a similar problem when arrived in India．After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood．They answered with many different nods and shakes of the head．He thought some people had not understood, so he explained again．When he asked again, they did the same thing．He soon found out that his students did understand．In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways depending on(依據(jù))where they come from．You have to know where a person is from to understand whether they mean “yes” or “no”．

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　　Once a baby cries, the parents will go to see what happened as soon as possible．According to a new study, a baby's cry can make adults react(反應(yīng))very quickly, even if they are not related．

　　Oxford University researchers used the classic game whack-a-mole for the study．Whack-a-mole(打鼴鼠游戲)requires people to hit one of nine buttons(按鈕)．The players must react as quickly as they can to whichever of the buttons lights up at random(隨機)．It is a game that requires speed and accuracy(準(zhǔn)確度)．

　　The study included 40 men and women volunteers aged 19 to 59．Some of them had sons or daughters but none had a baby at the time．They played whack-a-mole after listening to different sounds, including babies crying, the crying of adults in trouble and birdsong played at a similar pitch to the babies' cries．

　　The volunteers' scores were higher after listening to the sound of crying babies．Men and women had similar scores overall．The results showed that a crying baby gets special attention．

　　"Few sounds make people react quite like the cry of a baby," said Morten Kringelbach of Oxford's psychiatry(精神病學(xué))department, who led the study．"For example, it's almost impossible to ignore(忽視，不理)crying babies on planes．This is true even though there are so many other noises around．"

　　He added that a baby's cry can increase adults' heart rate and blood pressure．This is understandable, because in the course of human evolution(進化), taking care of babies has always been an important job for adults．When a baby is hungry or feeling bored or unwell, it will cry．As a result, human brains and bodies develop a special reaction to a baby's cry．

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　　One day, Jack's parents told him that his grandpa would retire(退休)after working for forty years．Jack said in surprise, “I'm only seven, so it means Grandpa has been…er…A really long time!”

　　His parents said, “Yes．That's why we are going to have a surprising party for him．”

　　Jack loved his grandpa and wanted to do something special for him．He remembered the business card his grandpa had given him two years before．He knew that his grandpa would no longer have the position(職位)on that card, so he decided to build a new one for his grandpa．

　　When the big day came, Jack was ready．But he didn't want to put his gift together with others'．He carried it around with him the whole evening．

　　When all the other people left, he took his grandpa's hand and brought him over to a chair and gave him the gift．

　　His grandpa smiled, “Well, it must be a beautiful gift．May I open it now?” “Sure!” Jack said excitedly．

　　As Grandpa opened the gift, tears came into his eyes．Jack gave him the greatest gift he had ever got! They were business cards with new position：FULL－TIME GRANDPA! Jack said, “Now your full-time job is my grandpa!”

　　Well, how much do I get paid?” his grandpa asked, smiling．“As many hugs as you want!” With these words, Jack gave Grandpa a hug．“Well, I guess that means I'm the richest man in the world!” said Grandpa．

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　　As the sun rose, a dewdrop(露珠)woke up．There it sat on a leaf, catching the sunlight．Proud of its simple beauty, it was very happy．Around it were other dewdrops, some on the same leaf and some on other leaves．The dewdrop was sure that it was the best, the most special dewdrop of them all．

　　Ah, it was good to be a dewdrop．

　　The wind blew and the plant began to shake, tipping(使傾斜)the leaf．The dewdrop became frightened as it started to move towards the edge(邊緣)of the leaf．Why was this happening? Things were comfortable．Things were safe．Why did they have to change? Why? Why?

　　The dewdrop reached the edge of the leaf．It was sure that this was the end．The day had only just begun and the end had come so quickly．It seemed so unfair．It seemed so meaningless．It tried hard to do whatever it could to stay on the leaf, but it was no use．

　　Finally, it fell．Below there was a mirror．A reflection of the dewdrop seemed to be coming up to meet it．Closer and closer they came together until finally．．, the small dewdrop became a part of the great pond(池塘)．Now the dewdrop was no more, but it was not destroyed．

　　It had become one with the whole．

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