Our “Mommy and Me” time began two years ago. My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were out in our front yards, watching seven children of age 6 and under ride their bikes up and down. “I wish I could take one of my children out alone,” said Christie.
Then we worked out a plan: When Christie takes one of her children out, I’ll watch her other three. And when she watches two of mine, I’ll take someone out.  
The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of “Mommy and Me” time. Christie’s daughter, McKenzie, went first. When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions. McKenzie was smiling broadly. Christie looked refreshed and happy. “She’s like a different child when there’s no one else around,” Christie shared with me quickly. With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn’t have to make an effort to gain attention(注意). 
Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children during our alone times. For example, I am always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently. My stuttering（口吃的）son, Tom doesn’t stutter once during our activities since he doesn’t have to struggle for a chance to speak. And the other son, Sam, who’s always a follower when around other children shines as a leader during our times together.
The “Mommy and Me” time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest gain. Every child deserves（應(yīng)得到）to be an only child at least once in a while.
【小題1】What is the text mainly about?  

A．The basic needs of children.

B．The advantage of spending time with one child at a time.

C．The happy life of two families.

D． The experience of the only child being with mother.

【小題2】Right after McKenzie came back, the other children were _____________.  

A．happy

B．curious

C．regretful

D．friendly

【小題3】What is one of the changes the author finds in her children?  

A．Tom has less difficulty in speaking.

B．Sam holds her hand more often.

C．The boys become better followers.

D．The daughter acts like a leader.

【小題4】The author seems to believe that ___________.  

A．having brothers and sisters is fun

B．it’s tiring to look after three children

C．every child needs parents’full attention

D．parents should watch others’ children.

No matter what type of business you run, it has to deal with situations in which things go wrong from your customer’s point of view. Complaints can be a great source of information for the organizations. So it’s important to learn to deal with customer complaints efficiently.
Firstly, listen actively to what the customer has to say by keeping comfortable eye contact and giving full attention with no interrupting. You should also show your customer that you do understand him.
Secondly, when receiving a complaint you should apologize for the failure the customer has identified. It’s important for you to know that your apology must appear authentic to the customer, and not an empty exercise. And also you should show the customer you’ve accepted the responsibility and provide him with choices if you have some in hand or otherwise assure the customer you’ll do something about his complaint.
Thirdly, talk with the consumer and discover the best means to resolve his problem. There will be times when, after gathering the facts of a situation, you’ll be unable to resolve the problem immediately. In this case it’s important to let your customer know how long it’ll take to take action on his complaint.
Fourthly, a simple “Thank you” is one way to let the customer know you appreciate the time and effort he has taken to inform you about a problem with your company’s service or product you need to know about.
Lastly, give your customer something that shows your appreciation for him giving the feedback to you. And let him know you’re sorry for the mistake that was made. It isn’t necessary to give something that is costly; but a coupon(贈(zèng)券) for a free drink or movie is fine.
Your professional and well-organized method of dealing with your customer complaints is one more way that will make you stay ahead of your competitors.
【小題1】What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Importance of dealing with customer complaints.

B．Effects of customer complaints on business.

C．Tips for handling complaints from customers.

D．Several factors resulting in customer complaints.

【小題2】The author thinks that customer complaints _____________.

A．a(chǎn)re easy to deal with	B．a(chǎn)re really quite annoying
C．can actually be avoided	D．a(chǎn)re sometimes beneficial

【小題3】The underlined word “authentic” in Paragraph 3 most probably means _______.

A．touching

B．believable

C．a(chǎn)ttractive

D．clever

【小題4】According to the passage, what is the first thing you should do when facing the customer complaints?

A．Showing sincere attitude.

B．Making an honest apology.

C．Making an absolute promise.

D．Listening to the complaint attentively.

I woke up this morning. There is an empty feeling that I have had so many times before and it seems to be coming back into my mind. What is it? I can’t figure it out.
I got ready for work. On the way I decide to stop and get a cheese from the little shop just down the road. I have never been there before but I was hungry and it would be 5 hours before I got off work.
The owner of the store took my order. He asked me what I wanted and I told him I heard he made a great cheese. He seemed pleased to hear that.
As I was sitting in the small space，there was an elderly gentleman finishing his breakfast. He paid the waitress, received this change and made a small joke. As he turned to get up, which was quite a difficult feat for this gentleman, he looked over at me. I gave a small smile.
He looked again in my direction for a moment and said to me, “Has anyone ever told you, you have the most beautiful brown eyes?”
Seeing as I have blue eyes, I can’t say I have ever heard that before. I humored him and said, “No, I can’t say anyone has ever told me that before.”
He smiled, and said,“Well since they are blue you wouldn’t have heard that, but you have beautiful blue eyes.”
I laughed and said thank you very much. He began to tell me a few one liner jokes so I smiled and laughed at his jokes.
He tried to get up to leave again and looked at me and said“Your smile really brightens a room, do you know that?”I said,“Thank you very much.”
He proceeded to get up, which took him quite some time. As he got up he said,“Take care of that smile.”
I felt a sense of comfort wash over me and I reflected on my morning and that empty feeling I had. For a moment in time it seemed to be filled.
【小題1】Before the writer went to work, he felt________.

A．sleepy

B．energetic

C．sick

D．unhappy

【小題2】From the text, we can infer the old man __________.

A．was optimistic about life	B．liked to play a joke on others
C．was unwilling to leave	D．had difficulty in hearing

【小題3】By saying“since they are blue”, the old man meant“_____________”.

A．because they feel cold	B．because they are sad
C．because they have blue eyes	D．because they are hungry

【小題4】What lesson can we learn from the story?

A．We should find comfort from stranger.

B．We should pay attention to our own business.

C．We should laugh off our worries in life

D．We should show respect to the old people.

Roger Alvarez, 22, was one of the 52 percent of students who didn’t make it through his senior year at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles.
He dropped out several years ago, but by the time he was in ninth grade, Alvarez says he already knew he wasn’t going to graduate.
“There’s a certain amount of knowledge you have to have when you enter in a specific grade, and I didn’t have it.” Alvarez says,“Every class I used to go in, I was like, ‘Do I know this? I don’t know this.’”
It was a shameful attitude, he tells his former English teacher, Antero Garcia, 29.
“You were determined to help me, but what was I willing to give? I could have actually tried.”
For his part, Garcia wants to know how he could have reached out to Alvarez better, but Alvarez says Garcia had always been helpful.
“I mean, you could cheer me up, and then I see other students doing way better,” Alvarez says,“So then, I get nervous. I get stuck, and then my motivation goes to the floor.” He felt the situation was hopeless.
“You talked to me like if I could do it, but inside me, I knew I couldn’t.” he tells Garcia,“I just didn’t want you to think that I’m…stupid.”
Now, school is a life tool that Alvarez says he’s missing—but his teacher isn’t to blame.
“Always, I just wanted you to know…you were a good teacher, and I always respected you.” he tells Garcia,“Some teachers, I felt like they only wanted to teach a certain group of people. But you looked at me and you paid attention.”
“Maybe it didn’t get me to graduate, but there’re a lot of teachers, they don’t take the time to take a look. And it was never your fault.”
Alvarez now works the night shift at a loading dock(碼頭). He still hopes to get his degree one day.
【小題1】When Alvarez entered a grade, he was sure that ___________.

A．he wasn’t going to pass the class

B．he would do better than other students

C．he might learn an amount of knowledge

D．he would try his best to learn at class

【小題2】By saying “my motivation goes to the floor”,  Alvarez meant __________.

A．he hid his goal from others	B．he lost heart gradually
C．he built up his motivation	D．he fell to the ground completely

【小題3】In the opinion of Alvarez, most teachers _______.

A．paid no attention to teaching	B．had no time to read books
C．didn’t care about what he did	D．showed no respect to students

【小題4】The passage mainly tells us that _________.

A．a(chǎn) dropout complains about being treated badly

B．a(chǎn) dropout plans to get his degree again

C．a(chǎn) dropout shows respect for not graduating

D．a(chǎn) dropout has thanks to his teacher not blame

For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages. Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet planes fly people from one end of the earth to the other, allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago.
Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest (征服) of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured (忍受). The boat offers leisure and time enough to appreciate the ever-changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow windows of the airplane. The soft lighting, in-flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly.
Then there is the time spent being ‘processed’ at a modern airport. People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passengers move to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being ‘processed’ at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high-speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines.
Man, however, is now a world traveler and cannot turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday-maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and the limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. Speed controls people’s lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing—or so we are told. Perhaps those first horsemen, riding free across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today. They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master.
【小題1】 What does the writer try to express in Paragraph 1?

A．Travel by plane has speeded up the growth of villages.

B．Man has been fond of traveling rather than staying in one place.

C．The speed of modern travel has made distances relatively short.

D．The freedom of movement has helped people realize their dreams.

【小題2】How does the writer support the underlined statement in Paragraph 2?

A．By giving examples.

B．By giving instructions.

C．By analyzing cause and effect.

D．By following the order of time.

【小題3】According to Paragraph 3, passengers are turning back to modern high-speed trains because ______.

A．they pay less for the tickets

B．they feel safer during the travel

C．they can enjoy higher speed of travel

D．they don’t have to waste time being ‘processed’

【小題4】 What does the last sentence of the passage mean?

A．They could travel with their master.

B．They needed the clock to tell the time.

C．They preferred traveling on horseback.

D．They could enjoy free and relaxing travel.

You can mail a letter or package under 16 oz. (unit of weight, 454g) in a mailbox, a blue box found on many street corners in U.S. cities and towns. Each mail box should have pick-up times clearly posted on top.
!Packages over 16 oz. placed in a mailbox will not be sent. Bring the package to the post office or retail (零售的) mailing shop instead. The clerk will process if for you.
The Post Office
In the larger cities, when you go to the post office you must take a number and wait in line. Post offices tend to be extremely crowded around Christmas. Try to go as early in the morning as possible. Post office branches open at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. while main branches close at 6 p.m.
Buying Stamps
! The cost of a first-class postage stamp to mail a letter is currently 39 cents, although rates tend to change often.
Stamps are sold individually or in booklets (小冊(cè)子) of 10 (US$3.90) or 20(US$7.80) or in rolls of 100(US$9.00). You can buy stamps at the following locations:
·online, if you have a computer.
Link to the U.S. Postal Service website (http://www. usps.com) and click on “stamps online”.
·at your local post office
·at some ATMs (automated teller machine)
·at some supermarkets
·by mail
·retail mailing stores(you may have to pay extra for stamps and to mail packages through the U.S. Postal Service)
Postal Rates and Fees
The U.S. Postal Service’s online postage calculator(計(jì)算器) tells you the cost to mail a letter or package anywhere in the world. But you should know the weight of the package and the post code of the package’s origin and destination. If you don’t know the weight of the letter or package to be mailed, you can go to your local post office and the postal clerk will weigh it for you.
【小題1】When do the post office main branches close?

A．At 9 p.m.

B．At 6 p.m.

C．At 5 p.m.

D．At 5:30 p.m.

【小題2】If you have only 39 cents, you can NOT buy a stamp at_____.

A．a(chǎn) local post office	B．a(chǎn) supermarket
C．a(chǎn)n ATM	D．a(chǎn) retail mailing store

【小題3】The cost to mail a letter can be calculated when you know _____.
①its weight   ②its origin   ③its destination
④its origin’s post code     ⑤its destination’s post code

A．①③④

B．①④⑤

C．①②③

D．①②⑤

People have been listening to music to get in the mood for hundreds of years. Recently, there is scientific research to back up what we have always known about music. The studies have shown that when people are excited or happy they are more helpful. The opposite happens when people feel aggressive(好斗的) or under stress. The use of music can influence how helpful people can be.
Dr Adrian North made a study with 256 university students. Half the group took exercise in the gymnasium listening to music which can bring happiness and the other half exercised to aggressive music. When leaving the gym, the students were asked to hand out flyers (傳單) in support of the local disabled athlete’s foundation.
The results showed that nearly half of the group that listened to happy music were willing to hand out flyers. But in the group that heard the aggressive music, less than 20% were willing. This study suggests that our choice of music can influence our willingness to cooperate(合作).
While a study also shows that productivity (生產(chǎn)效率) can increase with the right choice of background music in the workplace. As music stimulates (刺激) workers’ minds, job satisfaction is often positively influenced. Other studies have shown that workers who are in a good mood report more job satisfaction than those in a bad mood.
These studies show that music can have a powerful influence on a person’s ability to cooperate. Moods have a direct influence on cooperation and job satisfaction, etc. These factors also have a direct relationship to the success of a business.
【小題1】The underlined words “back up” in the paragraph can be replaced by _____.

A．support

B．leave

C．refuse

D．compare

【小題2】In the studies mentioned in the passage, music is used to _____.

A．express people’s ideas	B．change people’s moods
C．improve people’s health	D．show people’s love of arts

【小題3】According to the passage, people who are in a good mood _____.

A．can understand the music	B．have a good taste in music
C．might do well in their work	D．a(chǎn)re influenced by others

【小題4】The passage is mainly about _______.

A．effort and success	B．music and science
C．work and life	D．music and mood

Children have their own rules in playing games. They seldom need a judge and rarely trouble to keep scores. They don’t care much about who wins or loses, and it doesn’t seem to worry them if the game is not finished. Yet, they like games that depend a lot on luck, so that their personal abilities cannot be directly compared. They also enjoy games that move in stages, in which each stage, the choosing of leaders, the picking-up of sides, or the determining of which side shall start, is almost a game in itself.
Grown-ups can hardly find children’s games exciting, and they often feel puzzled at why their kids play such simple games again and again. However, it is found that a child plays games for very important reasons. He can be a good player without having to think whether he is a popular person, and he can find himself being a useful partner to someone of whom he is ordinarily afraid. He becomes a leader when it comes to his turn. He can be confident, too, in particular games, that it is his place to give orders, to pretend to be dead, to throw a ball actually at someone, or to kiss someone he caught.
It appears to us that when children play a game they imagine a situation under their control. Everyone knows the rules, and more important, everyone plays according to the rules. Those rules may be childish, but they make sure that every child has a chance to win.
【小題1】What is true about children when they play games?

A．They can stop playing any time they like.

B．They can test their personal abilities.

C．They want to pick a better team.

D．They don’t need rules.

【小題2】To become a leader in a game the child has to ______.

A．play well	B．be popular among his playmates
C．be confident in himself	D．wait for his turn

【小題3】What do we know about grown-ups?

A．They are not interested in games.

B．They find children’s games too easy.

C．They don’t need a reason to play games.

D．They don’t understand children’s games.

【小題4】The writer believes that _______.

A．children should make better rules for their games

B．children should invite grow-ups to play with them

C．children’s games can do them a lot of good

D．children play games without reasons