When I was about 12, I had an "enemy", a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings (缺点). Sometimes she said I was thin. Sometimes she said I was lazy. Sometimes she said I wasn't a good student. Sometimes she said I talked too much, and so on. I tried to boar (忍受) her as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

   He listened to me quietly, and then he asked, "Are the things she said true or not? Mary, didn't you ever wonder what you're really like? Go and make a list of everything she said and make the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said."

   I did as he told me and I was very surprised to discover that about half the things were true. I brought the list back to my dad. He refused to take it. "That's just for you," he said. "You know the truth about yourself better than any other people. When something that is said about you is true, you'll find it will be helpful to you. Don't shut off your brain and your ears. You should listen to them all carefully, but hear the truth and do what you think is right."

   Many years has passed. The situation often appears in my mind. In our life, we often meet with some trouble and we often go to someone and ask for advice. For some advice, you need to treasure (珍惜) all your life!

John, a famous musician, took his priceless violin and played it in the crowded subway station. The music from the violin was streaming throughout the whole station. However, during the one-hour play, only six or seven people were truly appreciating the music. A three-year-old kid was so fascinated by the music that he forgot everything around. John only got 52 dollars for his work that day.

However, in normal days, when John is about to hold a concert, one ticket can be sold at more than 100 dollars and it is really hard to buy a ticket even at such a high price. Therefore, later, many passers-by in the station that day felt deeply regretful for not recognizing the famous musician and missing such a valuable but cheap music feast(盛宴).

I have a very busy friend called Charles. He had totally changed after knowing that his wife came down with incurable illness. He cooked by himself for the family and took a walk with his wife every day. But even so, his wife still did notconquerthe illness and passed away. After that, he often sighed. Due to his past busy life, he had missed a lot of beautiful time with his wife. But now, it is impossible to make up for it.

   But It is no use crying over spilt milk. We have missed a lot of precious things without knowing to treasure them. The reason is less than simple :we had thought that we could still own them tomorrow.

There was a famous Buddhist monk saying that in many people’s lives, they have only done two things: waiting and regretting. The result is that they were always too late to treasure what they had before they lost it. We should often expect to do something when we grow up, or when we have money or when we become old, ect. However, when we reach the condition we have expected, we could no longer realize our wish, because we have lost it by then.

My friends and I finished lunch at a hotel when it started to rain heavily. When it became lighter, I decided to get my car at my office three streets away.

My friends said that I shouldn’t go, mainly because I would give birth to a new baby and was seven months pregnant then. I told them that I’d be very careful. One of them wanted to come with me but I asked her to stay with another friend who needed help with her baby.

I walked out of the hotel and started making my way to the car. At the crossing, a black car stopped and a man came out with an umbrella. Before I knew what was happening, he walked right towards me. To my surprise he stopped in front of me and said he’d go with me together. I said there was no need for him to do so, but he still offered to help. During our walk, he kept telling me to walk slower, as the ground was wet. When we got to my car, I thanked him and he went away. I did not get his name. Even I can’t remember what he looks like. Did he stop for me? I’ll never know.

So how did I pay it as a return? I was at home when I noticed two Indian workers walking in the heavy rain. Maybe they were on their way to the working place near my home.            . They were surprised by my action. They were very thankful to me, wondering why a stranger was offering such kindness. I was so relaxed and happy that day.

When I was eleven, my mother worked all day. As a sister, I had to look after my younger sister on weekends. At that time, my little sister was about three years old and she missed Mum all the time.

   One day, she started crying for Mum after lunch. She was so young and really needed Mum. To make her stop crying, I dressed her up, helped her to put on the shoes, carried her on my back and walked out to the park. Soon she fell asleep (入睡) on my back.

   Before we got to the park, I found one of her shoes lost. I took her off my back and put her down.

   I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother didn't have enough money to buy her new shoes. I had to go back to find it, so I told my sister to wait right there.

   A man happened to hear my words and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, "Are you leaving your sister here to find the shoe? What will you do if she is not here when you return?" I didn't know how to answer that question. "It's OK if you can't find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your sister," he added. Then he sent us to Mum's workplace by taxi and left without another word.

   People always say, "Do not believe in strangers (陌生人)." But during my whole life, the kindness of the man is always in my mind. I feel regretful that I can't find him and say "Thank you". I do not even remember what he looked like, but he taught me a lesson－people are more important than things.

根据材料内容选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Years ago I worked at a factory in a small county. Every day I got up very early and often did much extra work at night.  I was so tired and exhausted. My whole life was hopeless. Then one day I read the following article from a magazine:

   “A woman went to live with her husband in camp on the Mojave Desert during the war. She simply hated the place: the heat was almost unbearable, 125 degrees in the shade, the wind blew incessantly, and there was sand--sand everywhere. Finally, in desperation(不顾一切地)she wrote her parents in Ohio that she couldnˈt stand it another minute and was coming home.

 Quickly came the reply by airmail from her father--just two lines:

  ‘Two men looked out  from prison bars. One saw the mud, the other saw stars.’

  The daughter did some real thinking, not only with the intellect (思维)but also with her heart. She decided to stick to her post. She made friends with the natives,  learned to love the country, and eventually wrote a book about it. The desert hadnˈt changed, but her attitude had. Because she listened with her heart to the words her  father sent, a whole new world opened up to her.”

   A change of attitude could change everything.

   After reading the article, I was deep in thought（陷入沉思）…

My father woke me up early one summer morning when I was fourteen and said: "Get up, you're going with me to cut the grass in the garden."

   The idea that my father thought f was old enough to help him in his business made me feel proud and excited. From sunup to sundown, my father, my younger brother and I worked in the large garden. By the end of the day I was too tired to say a word but I felt good. This was my first time to help my father in his business. I got $6 for my work that day.

   One day my father found some leaves I had missed and pulled me aside. "Take away these leaves!" he said, "and don't make me have to tell you to do it again." The message was clear. Today I value the importance of doing a job well the first time. It will never fail to impress(给……留下印象) the person you are working for.

   After two years, my father told me and my brother that he felt we were old enough to cut the grass by ourselves. Every Saturday during my last two years of high school, we set off early in the morning with the same strong wish we had gained while working under our father.

   Looking after the garden Was neither exciting nor high paying, but that didn't matter. It taught me that any job was a good job and that whatever I was paid was more than I had before.

   A newspaper reporter once asked me how someone could possibly live with hard work and low pay. "If you're only thinking about hard work and money, you probably don't want to do any better than you are doing." I answered. In every job, from cutting the grass to washing dishes, I've learned much. I've learned something that helps me in my next job. If you work hard enough, you can learn from any job you do.

根据材料内容选择正确答案。

A first－grade student whose best friend is fighting against cancer thought that hours of playing and telling jokes was not enough—he wanted to show his buddy just how he understood the hard time he was going through.

Seven－year－old Vincent Butterfield decided the only way was to cut off his hair in support of his best friend Zac who lost his hair through chemotherapy (化疗)．

Zac Gossage is receiving treatment (治疗) but still goes to Union Central Elementary School in Missouri every day, because thatˈs where he gets to play on the swing with Vincent. Vincent found out that Zac might lose his hair because of the chemotherapy treatment. So one day, he showed up in the first grade class wearing a cap. He said to his teacher Mrs. Koester, “I have a surprise for Zac.” And he pulled off his cap and other kids saw that he already had all his hair cut off.

“I did it just to make Zac feel heˈs not the only one without any hair，”said Vincent.Vincent has also been raising money for his best friend after learning how expensive his chemotherapy treatments are. He asked his mother to make more than 20 scarves and gloves. He and his mother sold them at the price of 10 dollars each, raising over $200 for Zac. The encouragement from Vincent seems to be working. Though Zac is receiving treatments, he has hardly missed any days of school. He knows that Vincent is out on the playground, waiting for him at the break.

When asked what friendship was, Vincent looked at his friend Zac, thought for a moment and responded, “Itˈs a beautiful thing.”

Clearly, wisdom doesnˈt always come with age.

  Mr. Brown is a driver. He has two cute dogs. The black dog is big and the white dog is small. He likes them a lot. Mr. Brown has a good friend, Mr. Jones. He is a driver, too. They work in the same hospital. One Sunday morning, they would like to go fishing on a farm. Mr. Jones comes to Mr. Brown's home. He finds there are two holes（洞）in the door（门），a big hole and a small one. He says to Mr. Brown, "My friend, why are there two holes in your door?" "I want the two dogs to come in and go out. " Mr. Brown says. " But why are there two holes?"asks Mr. Jones. " How can the big dog gothroughthe small hole?" Mr. Brown says.

I know my brother better than anyone else in the world. Since the moment of his birth, I’ve been part of his life. I had spent seven happy years in the world with the attention of those around me. But when Rohan was born, life changed. All of a sudden, I had to share my toys and there were no more bedtime stories or my own choice of food.

Finally, I hated this small boy. The poor baby had no idea what had made me so unhappy. Maybe he found me strange, the only person in this house who did not like him. Whatever the reason was, he loved following me around. However, I seldom talked to him and always asked him to leave me alone.

Then all that changed. I hardly remember everything of that day six years ago, but I do remember that I was feeling very angry. Then I found myself in my brother’s room. I couldn’t help reaching my hand through the bars(栏杆) of his bed. At once, he reached his small hand and softly touched mine. And that was all I needed. Through all the unhappiness of the day,that one momentchanged everything. How could I hate someone who made me feel so important? For the first time, I saw my brother through the eyes of a sister. Suddenly I realized love from my family was always with me.

To this day, I can’t imagine life without my brother. It is unbelievable(难以置信的) how much I have learned about life from a seven-year-old boy. Above all, Rohan has taught me that one should not care only for himself.