How to Become Cleverer?  Once a boy came to ask a fisherman how to become cleverer, because his mother always called him “foolish boy”.

“That’s easy,” answered the fisherman. “I know one way to make you become cleverer.”

“Really?”

“Of course.  It is said a fish head is good for brain. If you eat one, you’ll become cleverer indeed. Pay only three pounds for one fish head.” The boy paid him three pounds and the fisherman cut off a fish head and handed it to him.

A raw fish head is not good—not even for a hungry boy to eat but the boy ate it up in two gulps.

“Do you feel anything?” asked the fisherman.

“Not in my head,” said the boy.

The boy lay on the ground and thought. “One whole fish costs only two pounds. I had paid him three pounds for the fish head. Why couldn’t I have the whole fish for soup, a head for brain and one pound left over?” He jumped up and shouted at the fisherman. “You thief! You are fooling me!” The fisherman laughed, saying, “The fish head works now, you see.

21. The boy ate up the raw fish head only in two gulps, because he __________.

A. enjoy it                     B. wanted to taste it

C. took it as a good medicine      D. was a foolish boy

22. The boy came to the fisherman in order to __________.

A. buy a fish head                B. ask the fisherman a question

C. buy a whole fish               D. A and C

23. __________ helped the boy become cleverer.

A. A good meal          B. The raw fish head

C. Nothing             D. What had happened

                      A HALF - EMPTY BASKET

Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to(属于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed(服从) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting.

"I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for," he said.

"But why have you brought a half-empty basket?" the rich man asked.

"I met your children outside, and they stole(偷) some of the apples.

24. Why did the farmer bring apples to the rich man? Because 

A. he was poor         B. he liked the rich man

C. his farm belonged to the rich man   D. the rich man’s children liked apples
25. What did the monkeys do when the farmer was on the doorsteps?

A. They jumped and jumped.      B. They played.

C. They ran away.        D. They ate some of the apples.

26. The monkeys left the basket because 

A. they had thrown apples on the ground

 B. the farmer had politely asked them to get off

C. they were afraid of the hat

D. the farmer was angry wit h them

27. How did the rich man feel when he saw the basket?   He felt _______.

A. pleased      B. unhappy      C. excited       D. moved

We often hear people talking about a generation gap (代沟). The name is new, but the idea is old. Young people and their parents don’t understand each other. The world has always kept changing. During the second century after Christ a wise man said, “Bury me on my face because in a little while everything will be turned upside down.”

There has always been a gap between generations, but more people talk about it now. Old Mr. Ellis thinks he understands what has happened.

“When I was a boy, I thought the world was a beautiful place. My life was very pleasant. But when I was older, I learned about people who were treated badly, people who didn’t have enough to eat. I wanted to help them, and I married a girl who wanted to help them, too. We went to meetings and talked a lot, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. ”

“Our children grew up in a world at war. They didn’t know when the fighting would stop. They wanted their children to have nice clothes and toys. They didn’t want to think about the future. They thought nothing could be done about it.”

“Now I have grandchildren, and they have their own ideas. They are trying to make the world better. They are trying to help other people. They’re making people listen to them. I am proud of their generation.”

28. The wise man mentioned in the text told people to bury him on his face so that when everything is turned upside down he will _____.

A. lie on his stomach       B. lie on his back

C. stand quietly           D. sit in peace
29. Which generation did NOT want to do anything to make the world a better one?

A. Mr. Ellis’ generation      B. His children’s generation

C. His grandchildren’s generation     D. None of the above.

30. What is the writer’s attitude towards the generation gap?

A. Unacceptable.      B. Awful.     C. Funny.     D. Common.

One day a poor man was cutting a big piece of wood near a river. Suddenly his old axe fell into the water. He felt very sad because he lost his only axe. Then all at once a beautiful fairy came out and asked the man what was the matter.

“I have lost my axe, ”he said. It fell into the water when I was cutting the wood.

The fairy showed him a gold axe and asked, “Is this yours?”. 

“No,” said the man.

The fairy then showed him a silver axe and asked again, “Is this yours?” “No,” again answered the man.

Then she showed him the old axe.

“Yes, that is mine,”called out the happy man.

“I know that well enough,” said the fairy.“I only wanted to see if you would tell me the truth, and now I'll give you the gold axe and the silver axe besides your own one.”

31. One day when the man was cutting something, ________.

A. he fell into the water     B. his axe dropped into the river

C. his axe fell into a lake    D. he saw a beautiful fairy

32. The man was sad because _________.

A. he was poor and had no other axes      B. he could not go on working

C. he liked his axe very much            D. his axe was a gold axe

33. The fairy gave him a gold axe and a silver axe but he didn't take them, because he _____.

A. did not like them      B. did not know they were made of gold and silver

C. was very rich         D. knew these axes were not his

34. At the end of the story the man had ________.

A. only one axe   B. two axes     C. three axes     D. many axes

35. The fairy helped the man because he was ________ man.

A. an old     a young      C. a poor      D. an honest.

The Internet has opened up a whole new online world for us to meet, chat and go where we’ve never been before.

    But just as in face to face communication, there are some rules of behavior that should be followed when on line.  36  Imagine how you’d feel if you were in the other person’s shoes.

    For anything you’re about to send: ask yourself, “Would I say this to the person’s face?” If the answer is no, rewrite and reread.   37  

If someone in the chat room is rude to you, your instinct (本能) is to fire back in the same manner. But try not to do so.  38  If it was caused by a disagreement with another member, try to fix the situation by politely discussing it. Remember to respect the beliefs and opinions of others in the chat room.

     39  Offer advice when asked by newcomers, as they may not be sure what to do or how to communicate. When someone makes a mistake, whether it’s a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer, be kind about it. If it’s a small mistake, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before saying anything. Having good manners yourself doesn’t give you license to correct everyone else.  40  At the same time, if you find you are wrong, be sure to correct yourself and apologize to those that you have offended.

     It is not polite to ask others personal questions such as their age, sex and marital status. Unless you know the person very well, and you are both comfortable with sharing personal information, don’t ask such questions.

A. It’s natural that there some people who speak rudely or make mistakes online.

B. Repeat the process till you feel sure that you’d feel comfortable saying the words to the person’s face.

C. Everyone was new to the network once.

D. The basic rule is simple: treat others in the same way you would want to be treated.

   E. When you send short messages to a person online, you must say something                   

      beautiful to hear.

F. You should either ignore the person, or use your chat software to block their messages.

G. If you do decide to tell someone about a mistake, point it out politely.