When I was a kid in Minnesota, watermelon was expensive. One of my father's friends, Bernie, was a rich businessman, who owned a large store in St. Paul.

    Every summer, when the first watermelon arrived, Bernie would call. Dad and I would go to Bernie's place. We'd sit on the edge of the dock (码头), feet dangling (摇晃), and got ready for a big meal.

    Bernie would take his knife, cut our first watermelon, hand us both a big piece and sit down next to us. Then we'd bury our faces in watermelon, eating only the heart—the reddest, juiciest, firmest, sweetest, most seed-free part—and throw away the rest.

    Bernie was my father's ideal of a rich man. I always thought it was because he was such a successful businessman. Years later, I realized that it was not Bernie's wealth itself but his way of dealing with it that my father liked. Bernie knew how to stop working, get together with friends and eatonly the heart of the watermelon.

    What I learned from Bernie is that being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to eat only the heart of the watermelon. If you don't take the time to dangle(悬荡) your feet over the dock and enjoy life's small pleasure, your work is probably hurting your life.

    For many years, I forgot that lesson I'd learned as a kid on the loading dock. I was too busy making all the money I could.

    Well, I've relearned it. I hope I have time left to enjoy the success of others and to take pleasure in the day. That's the heart of the watermelon. I have learned again to throw the rest away.

   Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything—tutors (家庭教师), cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic (天主教的) school.

   After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread (铺开) out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back to his room, without a word. In no time he was backhitting the booksas hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.

   Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity (好奇心). She went to his room and asked, “Son, what was it? Was it the nuns (修女)?”

   Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No.”

“Well then,” she asked again. “What was it?”

Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed (钉) to the plus sign (加号), I knew they weren’t joking.”

C

     It was Sunday and Bruce stayed at home. After breakfast he went out into the garden and played with Ted, his dog. Bruce climbed up and down the trees. Sometimes a bird would come down to stay on the doghouse. Then Bruce threw a stone (扔石头) or something at it. He never made it, but he liked doing it.

     Bruce played in the garden for half an hour. Suddenly something was in pieces and the little boy began to cry.

    “What’s the matter, Bruce?” his mother looked through (穿过) the kitchen window.

      Bruce ran into the kitchen. “Mum,” he cried, “Ted’s plate (盘子) was in pieces. I didn’t know it was so fragile.”

       His mother put her arms round him and said, “Don’t feel too bad, Bruce. We have other plates for Ted. But how did you do that?”

    “I threw this at a bird but missed, and it flew to the plate.”

      In Bruce’s hand was his father’s watch.

There was once a professor of medicine, who was very strict with the students. Whenever he took the chair on the exam committee (委员会), the students would be in fear, for he was seldom pleased with the answers they gave. A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark from him. At the end of the term, the students of medicine would take their exam again. Now a student entered the room and got seated before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy to get through the exam at all.

   The professor began to ask. The student was required to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK.

   Then the professor asked about the cure (治疗) for illness, and the student also answered just as right.

   “Good,” said the professor, “and how much will you give the patient?”

   “A full spoon,” answered the student.

   “Now you may go out and wait for what you can get,” said the professor. At the same time the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student noticed that there was something wrong with his last answer. “A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Anxiously, he opened the door of the room and cried, “Mr. Professor, I’ve made a mistake! A spoon is too much for the patient. He can take only five drops.”

   “I’m sorry, sir,” said the professor coldly, “but it’s too late. Your patient has died.”

Around the world, cars are becoming more and more common. But the problem is that cars is one of the main causes of climate change. One possible way of dealing with it is to make green cars take off.

One kind of green cars that have received lots of attention is the hybrid car. This kind of car uses two kinds of power: gas and electricity. It still burns pollution-causing gas, but it uses less of the gas because it runs on electricity sometimes. Hybrid cars have become one of the most popular green cars, but they aren’t perfect and are more expensive than the usual ones.

Electric cars are one of the oldest kinds of green cars. They just use electricity, and the batteries(电池) need to be recharged(充电) when they are parked at home. Electric cars have been around since 1970s, but they have never become popular. The biggest problem is that there are almost no public places to recharge the batteries when the drivers are on the road. However that may change. The US and China have said that they will provide much money to help their people to use electric cars.

The Apollo Solar Car Team has been developing solar-powered(太阳能) cars since 1998. They have created a 250-kilogram car with three seats. It can travel with a speed of up to 70 kilometers per hour. With a few hours of sunlight, the car’s batteries will be fully charged and can power the car for three hours.

Another choice of the future is air-powered cars. It sounds a little impossible, but scientists will have good ways to make it come true. The perfect cars hasn’t been developed yet. However, researchers never stop trying their best.

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

 The day was warm and the sun shone down like a new beginning in my life. I was waving goodbye to my son, the last one of my children to leave home and go to a new place — university. I felt so light-hearted after spending many years looking after my four children — cooking, washing, ironing, teaching them hew to look after themselves and manage many other things — that I actually thought "At last, I was free".

   But, as I watched my last one leave, although it was joyful, I realized I had not been really prepared for this day. I was too busybringing upthese adults of the future to realize that they would all leave the nest and live by themselves.

   At first I didn't know what I wanted to do. I tried a part-time job, the result of which was that I ran out in tears. I started another business, but that didn't work, either. I grew my own vegetables and fruit, which lasted 3 years. But one day my doctor advised it was not fit for me to do this because of the pain of my feet.

   I began wondering whether I had a future of my own. I cried for the life I was used to, and hadn't known or wanted anything different.

   Then one day I saw an advertisement for foster(代养的) parents. I discussed it with my husband who was always behind everything I tried and then I rang up the number. A week later, a girl named Tracy became a member of my family.

   I now laugh and sing with my 14-year-old foster daughter, even when my kitchen is dirty and in a mess and my bathroom is totally out of order. I now know, 8 years later, the meaning of my doing all these things with the spare hours, days, and weeks when my last child flew the nest. The sun shines once again in my home.

  At the first day of my senior high school, I met a nice teacher. She looked at me and said, "I am happy to have an international student in my class." I was very excited.

      One day I was three minutes late for school. She told me to write my name and the word "late" on a piece of paper. In that way she could know I was late for the first time. At the beginning, I was angry. But later I understood why she did that. She did it because she wanted to teach me an important lesson(教训): time is valuable(宝贵的).

      I learnt another important lesson during my first exam. After finishing my exam paper, I did not review the answers because it was the end of the exam time. One week later, she returned my exam paper. I found that one of my answers was wrong. Although A, B and C were the only choices(选择) on the paper, I chose D, but not C. I tried to explain my mistake, "I chose D although I knew C was the right answer." However, she told me, "I do believe you, but I am not going to forgive your mistake. This will remind(提醒) you to be more careful before you hand in your papers." I knew she was right.

                                                            Linda.

 Many kids do housework such as doing the dishes, making the bed, and folding the clothes. In exchange, they get some money or other computer time.

 Paying kids for housework is one of the most popular topics, especially at a time when everyone is more careful about money. Some parents think since adults are paid to do their jobs, we should pay kids for everyday housework.

 But some people don’t think kids should get rewards(报酬) for doing housework. Susie Walton, an expert, believe that by rewarding kids, parents are sending a message that work isn’t worth doing unless you get something in return. “Running any kind of housework is a team effort” Walton said, “A home is a living place for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities in the house, and families decide how they want their home to look like, and how they are going to keep it looking like.” 

  Other people believe that getting a reward encourages kids to do housework, and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to get money. There are also apps(程序) to give kids points and digital gifts that can be redeemed(兑现) either online or in the real world. “Our goal is to give kids lawful power so they can get rewards,” says Chris Bergman. “And kids need rewards to help encourage them.” 

“_________”.