A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office，a street urchin (頑童)was walking around the shining car. “Is this your car，Paul？”he asked．

Paul answered，“Yes，my brother gave it to me for Christmas．”The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you nothing？Boy，I wish…”He hesitated(猶豫)．

Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.

“I wish，”the boy went on，“that I could be a brother like that．”Paul looked at the boy in surprise， then he said again， "Would you like to take a ride in my car？”

“Oh yes，I’d love that．”

After a short ride，the boy turned and with his eyes shining，said，“Paul，would you mind driving in front of my house？”

Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are？ the boy asked．

He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back， but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled (殘疾的)brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.

“There she is，Buddy，just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day I’m going to give you one just like it…then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”

Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.

1.The street urchin was very surprised when ________．

A．Paul received an expensive car

B．Paul told him about the car

C．he saw the shining car

D．he was walking around the car

2.From the story we can see the urchin ________．

A．wished to give his brother a car

B．wanted Paul’s brother to give him a car

C．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s

D．wished Paul could be a brother like that

3.The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ________．

A．to show his neighbors the big car

B．to show he had a rich friend

C．to let his brother ride in the car

D．to tell his brother about his wish

4.We can infer（推斷）from the story that ________．

A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin

B．the urchin had a deep love for his brother

C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother

D．the urchin’s wish came true in the end

5.The best name of the name story is _________．

A．A Christmas Present

B．A Street Urchin

C．A Brother Like That

D．An Unforgettable Holiday Ride

 

I had made up my mind a long time ago that I would not give a homeless person money, because I could never be sure what that money would be used for. Instead, I decided, I would buy them a sandwich, a cold drink on a hot day, a cup of coffee, whatever I could manage.

         I was out recently and saw a homeless man outside of a Starbucks. I decided I would buy this man lunch. I bought a sandwich and soda.

         Just as I was leaving the store, two policemen were approaching the man. Obviously the shop owners had complained of his wandering and the police were there to draw him away from the storefronts. Just as they were about to wake him, I asked one of the officers if it was all right if I just gave the man something before he went. I was not sure why I asked the permission but the policeman said sure and I just left the bag in the man’s cart, got in my car and drove off.

         As I was driving off I remember thinking “I hope people saw that”. Then I had to seriously ask myself why I hoped people had seen me give the man a sandwich from Starbucks. Was it because I wanted people to think, “She’s such a nice person!”? Why did I hope others had seen me do it? I continued to wonder this all evening.

         The next morning, it came to me that I wanted people to have witnessed that small act of kindness not so that I would receive credit and praise but so that they might be inspired to do the same and in so doing that others still would witness their acts of kindness. Thus the whole spirit of pity and giving would be lasting.

1.The underlined word “Starbucks” in the second paragraph is the name of a _________.

A. shop                        B. bookstore                        C. bank                        D. man

2.When the author saw the homeless man, he was __________.

A. begging outside                                                   B. buying goods

C. staying awake                                                       D. falling asleep

3. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A. To show the author is great.

B. To encourage people to help others.

C. To introduce an experience that changed the author.

D. To call on people not to give money to a homeless man.

4.The author can be best described as __________.

A. bad-tempered                                         B. hard-working

C. kind-hearted                                            D. self-confident

 

How many people have I met who have told me about the book they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time? Far too many.

This is Life, all right, but we do treat it like a rehearsal (排演）and, unhappily, we do miss so many of its best moments.

We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families always making ourselves believe that this style of life is merely a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do. Then, at 60 or 65, we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for Real Life to come along were in fact real life.

     In  America they have a saying much laughed at by the English：“Have a nice day” they speak slowly and seriously in their shops, hotels and sandwich bars. I think it is a wonderful phrase, reminding us, in effect, to enjoy the moment: to value this very day.

     How often do we say to ourselves, "I'll take up horse-riding (or golf, or sailing） as soon as I get a higher position," only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position.

       When I first became a reporter I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper. At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal (反常的） mental state. How could anyone turn his back on  Fleet Street in central London for a small local area？I wanted to know.

     Now I am a little older and possibly wiser, I see the sense in it. In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure. He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his life sitting on Southern Region trains.

1.The first paragraph of the passage tells us that  _______ .

A. we always try to find some time to write a book

B. we always make plans but seldom fulfil them

C. we always enjoy many of life's best moments

D. we always do what we really want to do

2.The underlined phrase "turn his back on" (paragraph 6） most probably means      .

A. leave for      B. return to       C. give up     D. rely on

3. The man ( paragraph 6） left his first job partly because he was ______.

A. in an abnormal mental state     B. under too much pressure

C. not well paid                 not respected

4.What is probably the best title for the passage?

A. Provide Homes For Our Family    B. Take Up Horse-riding

C. Value This Very Day            D. Stay Alive

 

The Homeless World Cup is an international football event, where teams made up entirely of people who are homeless compete. The event has been held annually since 2003.

It was at the end of 2001 that Mel Young, a famous expert in the media industry, came up with the idea of the Homeless World Cup. 18 months later the first event took place in Austria. It was such a success that people decided to do more.

There are some interesting and special rules of the event. For example, players (male or female at least 16 years old) must have been homeless at some time after the previous year’s World Cup or make their main living income by selling newspapers in the street or be asylum (政治避難) seekers . Anyone can take part, regardless of his or her abilities.

There are at most 4 players per team to compete in the field. Games are 14 minutes long.

In 2007, 48 nations, 500 players took a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent their countries for true spirit and glory in Copenhagen, Denmark. The winner in 2007 was Scotland. The 2008 Homeless World Cup took place in Melbourne, Australia. And in 2009 it was held in Milan. The latest Homeless World Cup was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in September 2010. Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup takes place August followed by the México City 2012 Homeless World Cup.

The success of the competition has been in two aspects — to attract the world’s attention to the problems of homelessness and also to help participants live a better life.

According to a survey by the Homeless World Cup Organization after 2006 Homeless World Cup, 92% of the players had a new motivation for life, 93 players successfully got rid of their dependency on drugs and alcohol, 44% improved their housing situation and 72% continued to play football.

1.The aim of the Homeless World Cup is to __________.

A. promote the cause of football

B. help the homeless live a better life

C. draw attention to those living in poverty

D. call on homeless people to unite and compete for honor

2.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. Most players moved out of poverty.

B. Homeless players became professional footballers.

C. 93% of the players were independent of drugs and alcohol.

D. The Homeless World Cup helped homeless people change their lives.

3.What would be the best title for this passage?

A. To End Homelessness.

B. Football For Everyone.

C. Hope For The Homeless.

D. Beating Homelessness Through Football.

 

It was reported last week that developers could take photos from Apple mobile and Google Android devices without the phone owners knowing that the images were being taken. In Apple’s case, developers can also obtain the location information for each photo.

Senator(參議員) Charles Schumer said in a telephone interview that his office had spoken with officials at both Apple and Google on Monday.

 “We asked them if they could find a way on their own to prevent Apple from having access to private information,” Mr. Schumer said. “They were friendly and open to the idea that this ought to be changed.”

On Sunday, Mr. Schumer said that he planned to send a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to investigate Apple and Google after the privacy concerns came to light. Claudia Bourne Farrell, an F.T.C. spokeswoman, said the agency had received the letter but she could not comment further.

“It worries people to think that one’s personal photos, address book, and who knows what else can be obtained and even posted online without permission,” Mr. Schumer wrote in his letter to the F.T.C. “If the technology exists to open the door to this kind of privacy invasion, then surely technology exists to close it, and that’s exactly what must happen.”

Mr. Schumer said if Apple and Google could not come to an agreement to fix the problem, then he would be forced to take the issue further.

He said other companies had been willing to work with his office to fix issues. “I’m optimistic that we can get this changed without any regulation,” he said. “If it’s not changed, then we’ll turn to the F.T.C., and if that doesn’t work then we’ll consider legislative approach.”

The F.T.C. has warned companies to try to be more vigilant(警醒的) in their efforts to protect consumers when it comes to privacy.

1.The senators spoke with officials at both Apple and Google___________.

A. to urge them not to invade consumers’ privacy.

B. to discuss whether it is illegal to have access to private information.

C. to stop them from developing the technology of taking photos.

D. to keep them from obtaining the location information for each photo.

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A. Privacy invasion from Apple has existed for a long time.

B. Mr. Schumer takes the privacy concerns caused by Apple and Google seriously.

C. Privacy invasion from Google has existed for a long time.

D. Apple and Google have decided to make a change.

3.Mr. Schumer’s letter to the F.T.C. mainly shows that the technology to open the door to privacy invasion___________.

A. causes privacy invasion to happen frequently.

B. can be used if permitted.

C. causes people to worry about the safety of their personal information .

D. causes personal information to be posted online without permission.

4.If the privacy concerns can’t be solved with the help of the F.T.C., ___________.

A. The senators will force the companies not to invade privacy.

B. The companies will be closed.

C. The companies will be fined.

D. The senators will turn to legislation.

5.Where can we read about the passage?

A. In a newspaper.                    B. In a magazine

C. In a science report.                 D. In a textbook.