It was a rainy day and I was walking down the street feeling comfortable and happy. I wanted to do something kind for someone else without any reason and purpose, almost as if I was just trying to spread the abundance (充足) of love I was receiving.

It was then that I saw a teenage girl dressed in tattered clothes, getting soaked(濕透). She wasn’t wearing any shoes or socks. The rain wet her skin through the holes in her clothes and she was making her way through the garbage, trying to find something that would be of use to her.

I walked towards her and told her to wait for me there while I ran home to get her something. On getting home, I took off my shoes, which I really loved, wrapped them up in a plastic cover and ran to give them to the teenage girl on the street.

The girl looked surprised as if she was not used to this kind of kindness.  She thanked me in a trembling (顫抖的) voice.

A famous musician who lives down the street corner stopped his car and smiled when he saw what happened. The two watchmen who saw me do this talked and gave me friendly looks.

Although I had to wear my dad’s shoes, I was satisfied even if they were a bit large for my feet, because I knew the girl would walk comfortably wearing the shoes. That day I learned that letting go of the little things we own can be a big help to others.

56. What does the underlined word “tattered” in the second paragraph probably mean?

A. Old and torn.                                           B. Large and new.

C. Colorless and small.                               D. Thick and old.

57. In the passage, we are told that _______.

A. the author liked going down streets on rainy days.

B. the author liked walking in her father’s shoes.

C. nobody wanted to help the poor girl.

D. the author was very kind-hearted.

58. What can we learn from the passage?

A. It is important to get others’ praise.                  B. It is no use giving things to others.

C. It is a pity to lose favorite things.                     D. It is good to help others.

In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh(法老）treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.

Shades of that spirit spread over today's conversations. Once a friend arid I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light heartedly out the door ，picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, “Oh boy, bad

day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain. ,，I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile.

Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Grey hound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile，“Oh that bus left five minutes ago. ” Dreams of head-cutting!

It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning profes?sionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sym?pathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feel?ing of the receiver.

Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you⁷ re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn^’t ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.

Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, 1 would have ap?preciated his warming . Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, “Oh, that’s all right I'll catch the next one. ” Big winners, when they bear bad news，deliver bombs with the emotion the hombarded(被轟炸的）person is sure to have.

67. In Paragraph l ，the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to _______

A. make a comparison　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B introduce a topic

C. describe a scene　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. offer an argument

68. In the writer’s opinion, his neighbor was_______.

A. friendly　　　　　　　　 B. warm-hearted　　　　　　　　　　 C not considerate D. not helpful

69. From “Dreams of head-cutting！"(Paragraph 3) ,we learn that the writer_______.

A　 was mad at the sales agent

B. was reminded of the cruel pharaoh

C. wished that the sales agent would have had dreams

D. dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night.

70. What is the main idea of the text?

A　 Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.

B. Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.

C. Receiving bad news requires great courage.

D. Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh（法老）treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.

　　Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, ”O(jiān)h boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.”I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile.

　　Several months ago I was racing to catch  a him As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Grey hound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile ,”O(jiān)h that bus left five minutes ago.”Dreams of head-cutting!

　　It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.

　　Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter mainly told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.

　　Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warming .Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, ” Oh, that’s all right I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners, when they bear bad news ,deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded（被轟炸的）person is sure to have.

1.In Paragraph 1,the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to ____.

A. make a comparison                      B. describe a scene

C. introduce a topic                 D. offer an argument

2.From “Dreams of head-cutting!”（Paragraph3），we learn that the writer___.

A. was mad at the sales agent

B. was reminded of the cruel pharaoh

C. wished that the sales agent would have had dreams

D. dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night.

3.What is the main idea of the text?

A. Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

B. Receiving bad news requires great courage.

C. Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.

D. Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.