Read the following passage and answer the questions within ten words.Isn’t it amazing how one person, sharing one idea, at the right time andplace can change the course of your life’s history? This is certainly whathappened in my life. When I was 14, I was hitchhiking from Houston,Texas, through El Paso on my way to California. I was following mydream, journeying with the sun. I was a high school dropout with learningdisabilities and was set on surfing the biggest waves in the world, first inCalifornia and then in Hawaii, where I would later live. Upon reaching downtown El Paso, I met an old man, a bum, on thestreet corner. He saw me walking, stopped me and questioned me as Ipassed by. He asked me if I was running away from home, I supposebecause I looked so young. I told him, “Not exactly, sir, since my fatherhad given me a ride to the freeway in Houston and given me his blessingswhile saying, ‘It is important to follow your dream and what is in yourheart, Son.’” The bum then asked me if he could buy me a cup of coffee. I toldhim, “No, sir, but a soda would be great.” We walked to a corner maltshop and sat down on a couple of swiveling stools while we enjoyed ourdrinks. After conversing for a few minutes, the friendly bum told me tofollow him. He told me that he had something grand to show me andshare with me. We walked a couple of blocks until we came upon thedowntown El Paso Public Library. We walked up its front steps and stopped at a small informationstand. Here the bum spoke to a smiling old lady, and asked her if shewould be kind enough to watch my things for a moment while he and Ientered the library. I left my belongings with this grandmotherly figureand entered into this magnificent hall of learning. The bum first led me to a table and asked me to sit down and waitfor a moment while he looked for something special among the shelves. Afew moments later, he returned with a couple of old books under his armsand set them on the table. He then sat down beside me and spoke. Hestarted with a few statements that were very special and that changed mylife. He said, “There are two things that I want to teach you, young man,and they are these: “Number one is to never judge a book by its cover, for a cover canfool you.”He followed with, “I’ll bet you think I’m a bum, don’t you,young man?” I said, “Well, uh, yes, I guess so, sir.” “Well, young man, I’ve got a little surprise for you. I am one of thewealthiest men in the world. I have probably everything any man couldever want. I originally come from the Northeast and have all the thingsthat money can buy. But a year ago, my wife passed away, bless her soul,and since then I have been deeply reflecting upon life. I realized therewere certain things I had not yet experienced in life,one of which waswhat it would be like to live like a bum on the streets. I made acommitment to myself to do exactly that for one year. For the past year Ihave been going from city to city doing just that. So, you see, don’t everjudge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you. “Number two is to learn how to read, my boy. For there is only onething that people can’t take away from you, and that is your wisdom.” Atthat moment, he reached forward, grabbed my right hand in his and putthem upon the books he’d pulled from the shelves. They were thewritings of Plato and Aristotle—immortal classics from ancient times. The bum then led me back past the smiling old woman near theentrance, down the steps and back on the streets near where we first met.His parting request was for me to never forget what he taught me. I haven’t. 1. What is the denotation of the title?2. Why did I drop out from high school and begin the journey?3. What does “information stand” mean?4. Why did the bum say “never judge a book by its cover”?
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- Cloze:officialdignityturn his backvacantcompanionbotherhelplesslyscenecut me shorttreateddescribedeven ifHaving found a local____1___, I asked him if I couldn’t havesome poor little corner somewhere in a sleeping-car; but he ____2___with a sharp “No, you can’t. Every corner is full. Now don’t __3___me any more,” and with these words he ___4___on me and walked off.I hadnot expected to be __5____ like this, and my __6____was in a state not to be described. I said to my__7____, “They talk to me like this because theydon’t know who I am.” But my companion said, “Don’t talk such foolishness.___8___ they did know who you were, do you suppose it would help youto get a seat in a train which had no ___9__ seats in it?” And he also turned his back on me. That was too much. I found the same local official and said very politely that my name was Mark Twain and could I have — but he cut me short again, “I’ve told you notto bother me any more.” And again he turned hisback on me. I looked around__10___ and saw thatmy companion had been watching the whole___11__.The shame which I felt cannot be____12___. I said, “Hemay not have heard my name,” but my companion didn’t agree with me, saying, “He must have heard your name well enough. He does not care, that’s all.”
- Daddy and I met 20 years ago. Back then, I thought I needed someone who met all of the items on my "checklist" and your dad met none of those items. We were friends, but I was too silly to give in to the idea of being more. One very hot and wet day, after having told your dad the night before that I needed a couch for my apartment, he showed up at my door. A neighbor of his was throwing away their couch and he not only asked for it for me, but also carried it (a full couch), by himself, and drove it to me and carried it, by himself, up two flights of stairs to my apartment. When he got to my door, he was proud, but also nervous as if he had gone too far and a bit embarrassed as he was sweaty, and worried I'd hate it (because, frankly, that couch was being thrown away for a reason). Luckily for me, it was the first time that I actually was smart enough to look into his eyes and see something that I had failed to realize. And it was of the utmost importance to me, and that was a deep kindness. I fell in love with him in that moment on a passage of an apartment building in Virginia and have never looked back. We aren't a perfect couple, because, my kid, there isn't such a thing. But we work hard to stay in love. Your dad shows me every single day that there is nothing more important to him than the two of you and me. Like the way he can't wait to teach you something new when you ask a question. Or the way he supports my career, my interests, my activities and me with all that he has. I hope that you will find love and friendship as amazing and wonderful as what Daddy and I have. It makes all the difference in the world.
- See, you can’t keep being nice to me and I can’t keep ____（1）____ like this is something that it’s not. We’ve been together for over seven years. You know me. You know who I am. You either wanna marry me or you don’t. … for every woman that has been told by some man that he doesn’t ____（2）____ marriage and then six months later, he’s married to some twenty-four-year-old that he met ____（3）____ It’s coming from the place that I have been ____（4）____ for about five years. About five years because I haven’t wanted to seem demanding, and I haven’t wanted to seem clingy or psycho ____（5）____ . So I have never asked you.
- Zhuangzi’s family were poor, so he went to borrow some rice from the Marquis of Jian He. The Marquis of Jian He said, “Of course. I am about to receive the tax from the people and will give you three hundred pieces of gold – is that enough?” Zhuangzi flushed with anger and said, “On my way here yesterday I heard a voice calling me. I looked around and saw a large fish in the carriage rut. I said, ‘Fish! What are you doing there?’ He said, ‘I am Minister of the Waves in the Eastern Ocean. Sir, do you have a measure of water you could give me?’ Well, I told him, ‘I am going south to visit the Kings of Wu and Yue and after that I would redirect the course of the Western River so it will flow up to you. Would that do?’ The large fish flushed with anger and said, ‘I am out of my very element, I have nowhere to go. Give me just a little water and I can survive. But giving me such an answer as that means you will only ever find me again on a dried fish stall!’” （199 words）（ Adapted from The Book of Chuang Tzu, p.237）阅读五（1）What is the writing style of this fable? A: Humorous and ironic. B: Anxious and unsatisfied. C: Indifferent and introductory. D: Serious and factual.
- John invited me out tomorrow, but I have to ___1______for my ___2___. I told him when I'll be ___3____ and we found a time good for both of us. He said he 'll come and____4___ me ____5____