Albert was an ordinary worker in an oil company in America. His workmates gave a nickname(绰号) “Four dollars a bucket (桶)” to him, for he was always used to leaving an advertisement of his company “Four dollars a bucket of oil” below his name whenever and wherever he wrote down his name.

As time went by, people forgot his real name. Later, when Rockefeller, the board chairman of the oil company, heard of it, he was very surprised, so he invited Albert to come to his office.

“Some people give you a nickname for ‘Four dollars a bucket’. Why aren’t you angry?” asked Rockefeller with some puzzlement in his eyes.

“Oh! Mr. Rockefeller! I like this nickname very much, because ‘Four dollars a bucket’ is our company’s advertisement. As long as someone calls me ‘Four dollars a bucket’ once, I think it’s a free advertisement for our company. I have no reason to get angry. Don’t you think so, Mr. Rockefeller?”

“Oh! What a fantastic man!” Rockefeller said excitedly when hearing Albert’s words. “Young man, work harder! You must succeed in the future! I believe in you!”

Five years later, Albert became the second board chairman after Rockefeller.

Later Albert said in one of his reports, “I don’t think we should feel frustrated when we have no way to do the world-shaking things. We should treat everything actively because maybe our future success will begin from a small thing!”

21. What was Albert in the oil company at the beginning?

A. A customer                             B. A worker.

C. A manager.                             D. An assistant.

22. Why wasn’t Albert angry at his nickname?

A. He could become famous.

B. He liked to have a nickname.

C. It could make his workmates happy.

D. It could advertise for his company for free.

23. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. It’s very important to do small things well.

B. Rockefeller asked young people to work harder.

C. You can’t get angry when someone calls your nickname.

D. You should make more advertisements for your company.

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

A. A Clever Way to Make Advertisements.           

B. Albert and Rockefeller.

C. Four Dollars a Bucket.                    

D. The Second Board Chairman.

   In the United States and several other countries, 2.5 million children play baseball in an organization called Little League. They play on teams in their hometowns. Their parents and other adults in the community coach or instruct them and serve as umpires to make sure that everyone follows the rules. Local businesses give money for the ball fields and the uniforms. Local teams compete against each other and the winners get to play teams that are more distant. Eventually, the top teams go to the Little League World Series.

One hundred years after Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839, Little League got started in Pennsylvania. Three men started the game for neighborhood boys with a smaller playing field and fewer innings than adult baseball. Little League became popular after World War Ⅱ when the game spread across the United States. By 1955 it was played throughout North America and within five years it had spread to Europe. Children's baseball really caught on in Japan and Taiwan of China and teams from those areas won the World Series seven out of eight years. After this, the organization tried banning foreign teams from the World Series, but the ban came to an end after one year.

At first, Little League was only for boys aged nine to twelve. However, in 1974, the parents of girl baseball players brought a law suit. The courts ruled that Little League had to include both boys and girls. Later Little League added on softball and other games for teenagers up to age eighteen. Occasionally, a Little Leaguer becomes a professional player. For example, Gary Carter went from Little League to play nineteen seasons in the Major Leagues, ten of them as an All－Star player. By and large, youngsters play baseball for fun, but their parents are proud of them.

28．The mothers and fathers of Little League players ________．

A．play in the World Series                                          

B．travel with coaches

C．give the teams money                                

D．help run the games

29．In what year did baseball come into being?

A．1739       B．1939       C．1955       D．1839

30．Why do most players take part in Little League?

A．To play in the Major League.

B．To have fun.

C．They expect a profit from All－Star games.

D．They want to learn how to serve as umpires.

31．What is TRUE about players today?

A．Little League is only for neighborhood boys.

B．Girl players have to buy their suits.

C．Girls and boys can participate up to age eighteen.

D．Children can only play until age twelve.

    Have you ever received a gift that was so dearly, not your taste that you wondered if perhaps it had been handed to you by mistake? Worse, have you ever given a present and watched your friend look as though she had opened the wrong box? Maybe she responded with a polite "Why, thank you," but you knew you had missed the mark. Why do presents sometimes go wrong? And what do your choices (good and bad) reflect about your personal qualities?

Choosing the right gift is an art, I believe. It calls for empathy -- the ability to put yourself into someone else's head and heart. We're all able to do this; in fact, we're born with a kind of natural empathy. After the earliest period of childhood, however, it needs to be reinforced (加强)--by our parents, teachers, friends. When it isn't, we're not able to understand other people's feelings as sharply. This can show in the gifts we select, and so can many other emotional (情感的) qualities.

   Think back to the presents you’ve given over the past year, the time and effort you put into your selection, how much you spent, your thoughts while you were shopping, and your feelings when the receiver opened the package. Keep in mind that what you choose displays your inner world. (Of course, you may express yourself differently with different friends, relatives, and other people you know.

   We live in a society where exchanging presents is an important part of communication. Ignoring the tradition won't make it go away. If you really dislike such a tradition, tell your friends ahead of time.

32. The underlined expression "you had missed the mark" means "you had failed to _____.

   A. make her feel better                      

B. keep your friendship

   C. get the expected effect                 

D. receive a present in return

33. Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph?

   A. Natural empathy needs to be reinforced.

   B. Emotional changes influence one's choice of gifts.

   C. Selecting the right gift is an ability people are born with.

   D. Choosing gifts requires one to understand the receivers.

34. In the third paragraph, the author tells us that________.

   A. the choice of gifts reflects one's emotional qualities

   B. one learns from what he did in the past

C. attention should be paid to the receivers' responses

D. one should spend more time choosing gifts

 35. The best possible title for this passage is “_______”.

   A. Ways of Choosing Gifts                       B. An Important Tradition

   C. Exchanging Presents                           D. Message in a Gift

Rules on how to be a fit kid

Being fit is a way of saying a person; a person eats well, gets a lot of physical exercise, and has a healthy weight. __36__. If you're a kid who wants to be fit, here are three rules to live by.

1．Eat a variety of foods.

You may have a favorite food, but the best choice is to eat a variety.  __37__. Taste new foods and old ones you haven't tried for a while. Some foods, such as green vegetables, are more pleasing the older you get. Shoot for at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day—two fruits and three vegetables.

2．__38__

What does it feel like to be full? When you're eating, notice how your body feels and when your stomach feels comfortably full. Sometimes, people eat too much because they don't notice when they need to stop eating. __39__. And over a period of time, overeating can lead to unhealthy weight gain.

3．Limit screen time

What's screen time? It's the amount of time you spend watching TV or DVD5, playing video games, and using the computer. The more time you spend on these sitting­down activities, the less time available for active stuff, like basketball, bike riding and swimming.__40__

These rules aren't magic. However, follow them most of the time and you can become a fit kid sooner or later.

A．Drink water and milk.

B．Try to spend no more than 2 hours a day on screen time.

C．Eating too much can make you feel uncomfortable.

D．If you eat different foods, you're more likely to get the nutrients your body needs.

E．Listen to your body.

F．Ask your parents to help you do your favorite activities regularly.

G．There're a lot of discussions these days about fit kids.

Ms. Mary was over eighty, but she still drove her old car like half her age. She loved driving very fast, and boasted of the fact   61    she had never, in her thirty-five years of driving, been punished   62     a driving mistake.

Then one day, she nearly lost her record. A police car followed her, and the policemen in it saw her pass a red light without    63  (stop).

When Ms. Mary came before the judge, he looked at her __64__(severe) and said that she was too old to drive a car, and that the reason    65    she had not stopped at red light was most probably that her eyes had become weak with old age, ___66___ she had simply not seen it.

When the judge had finished what he was saying, Ms. Mary opened the big handbag she was carrying and took out her sewing. Without saying a word, she   67   (choose) a needle with a very small eye, and threaded it at the first time.

When she had successfully done this, she took the thread out of the needle again and handed ___68__ the needle and thread to the judge, saying, “Now it is your turn. I suppose you can drive    69    car well, and you have no doubts about your eyesight.”

The judge took the needle and tried to thread it. After half a dozen times, he had still not ___70___(success). The case against Ms. Mary was dismissed, and her record remained unbroken.