A woman repeated a bit of gossip (流言) about a neighbor. Within a few days the whole neighborhood knew the story. The neighbor was deeply hurt. Later the woman learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old man to find out what she could do to repair the harm.
“Go to the market,” he said, “and buy a chicken, and have it killed, then on your way home, pick its feathers(毛) and drop them one by one along the road.” Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, “Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me.”
The woman followed the same road, but she was so discouraged when she found the wind had blown all the feathers away. After looking for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
“You see,” said the old man, “it’s easy to drop them, but it’s impossible to get them back. So it is with gossip. It doesn’t take much to spread（散布） a gossip, but once you do, you can never completely undo（彌補(bǔ)） the wrong.”
【小題1】Why did the woman feel sorry?

Do you often talk with your parents? Here is some advice on how to talk with them.
Try to start your talk with something fun. This will make talking easier. For example, ask them questions about their day. How’s work? They love this.
Make it clear what you want to tell your parents. If they have an opinion, let them finish and don’t stop their talking. Ask them to do the same for you.
Show them respect (尊重) by listening to them carefully. Look them in the eye (直視).
Be honest. Honesty builds trust (信任). Life is good when your parents trust you.
If your parents don’t understand, that’s OK. It doesn’t mean they don’t love you. Sometimes you have to explain the things to them again.
When you finish the talk, thank them for listening. Say something like “thanks”. It will let them know this is important to you, and make them want to do it more often.
【小題1】If you want to start the talk easily, you should say something        at the beginning.

Have you ever complained why life is so tiring? Does the sky sometimes seem dark to you? Are your studies sometimes not successful? Well, friends, cheer up and smile all the time. If you see the world with your warm heart, you will find the whole world smiles to you.
While in school, sometimes you are tired of your lessons, but have you ever noticed the happy smile on your teacher’s face when you did a good job?
One day it is fine. Just before you want to go out, it suddenly starts to rain. Maybe you would feel very sad and start complaining about the weather. But dear friends, why don’t you sit down and listen to the concert that the nature offers you? And with the timely rain, crops in the fields will grow better and better and farmers will have a good harvest.
Although everyone wants to succeed in what he tries to do, sometimes failure can’t be avoided. I think failure is not terrible, and the terrible thing is what we are afraid of it and give up hope. When we face failure, we must be confident in ourselves, draw a useful lesson from it and try our best to finish what we have decided to do. As a popular saying goes, “Failure is the mother of success.”
Attitude decided everything. With an optimistic(樂(lè)觀) attitude life is easy and pleasant. Let’s smile whatever we meet and the whole world will smile to us.
【小題1】People sometimes complain_______.

Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality(現(xiàn)實(shí)) of life.
In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.
The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable(不合情理的) thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it’s sent sprawling(四腳朝天).
When it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky(搖晃的) legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there’s safety.
Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.
Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They’re beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they’ve realized some small parts of what they set out(著手) to do .”
【小題1】What does the underlined part “a tall order” in Paragraph 1 mean?

Friends play an important part in our lives, and although we can’t be more familiar with the fact of friendship, we often don’t clearly understand how we make friends, especially with Americans. Here are some pieces of advice on making friends with Americans:
* Visiting places Americans enjoy: parties, churches, restaurants, parks and sports clubs.
* Be willing to take the first step. Don’t wait for them to get close to you. Americans in China may not know you speak English. They may be uncomfortable if they can’t speak your language.
* Use small talks to open the conversation. Ask them where they’re from, why they come to China, etc. Remember: Be careful not to ask personal questions about age, salary and so on.
* Show an interest in their culture, their country or their job. Americans like to talk about themselves.
* Invite them to join you for dinner or just for coffee or tea. Try to set a specific （明確的）time. Americans sometimes make general invitations like “Let’s go out for a dinner sometime.” Often this is just a way to be friendly. It’s not always a real invitation.
* Don’t expect too much at first. Maybe they’re being friendly. But maybe they want to be your good friends. It will take time to tell.
【小題1】According to the passage, Americans like to visit the following places except ______.

閱讀短文，根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的六個(gè)選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng)。（共8分，每小題2分）
　　As you grow rapidly through your teenage years, you will experience a lot of changes. The changes may seem difficult. 　1　 　Don’t panic! You will deal successfully with them! You are a young adult now!
　　With more responsibility, you will find more freedom to make your own choices. This is a time to be well informed about making choices. In this way you can make healthy balanced decisions. 　2　 　You may already know your career path or you may have no idea at all what you want to do. Both situations are fine! Work hard and the right opportunity will present itself to you.
　　Young adulthood means greater freedom and more choices. 　3　 　But try not to shut your family out of your life. You should learn to think of others even though you are old enough to look after yourself.
　　It is also perfectly natural at this time for you to spend more time with your friends than your family. Choose your friends wisely. A true friend will stand by you no matter what happens.
　　This period is a part of the life cycle. There are some people who will be with you throughout life’s journey. There will be some people with whom you part and go separate ways. Leaving school can be hard. The reality is that you may not even see all of your classmates again.
　　You are a young adult. It is your life. No one can live it for you. 　4　 　So making the right choices will be important to you. Life is for living. Enjoy your life wisely.

In the Caucasus region（高加索地區(qū)）, nearly 50 out of every 100,000 people live to celebrate their 100^th birthday, and many don’t stop at 100! By comparison, in America only 3 people in 100,000 reach 100. But these Caucasus people aren’t alone. The Pakistani Hunzas, who live high in the Himalaya Mountains, and the Vilcabambans of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador seem to share the secret of long life too.
　　These peoples remain healthy in body and spirit despite the passage of time. While many older persons in industrial societies become weak and ill in their 60s and 70s, some Caucasus people aged 110-140, work in the fields beside their great-great-grandchildren. Even the idea of aging is foreign to them. When asked, “At what age does youth end?” most of these old people had no answer. Several replied, “Well, perhaps at age 80.” The very youngest estimate was age 60.
　　What accounts for this ability to survive (live) to such old age, and to survive so well? First of all, hard physical work is a way of life for all of these long-lived peoples. They began their long days of physical labor as children and never seem to stop. For example, Mr. Rustam is 142 years of age. He remembers his life experience: the Crimean War of 1854; the Turkish War of 1878; the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. His wife is 116 years old. They have been married for 90 years. Mr. Rustam has no plan of retiring from his life as a farmer. “Why? What else would I do?” he asks. Oh, he’s slowed down a bit. Now he might quit (stop working) for the day after 6 hours in the field instead of 10.
　　All these people get healthful rewards from the environment in which they work. They all come from mountainous regions. They live and work at elevations（海拔）of 5,000 to 12, 000 feet(1,660 to 4,000meters) above sea level. The air has less oxygen and is pollution-free. This reduced oxygen environment makes the heart and blood vessel（血管）system stronger.
　　Another factor（因素）that may lead to the good health of these people is their isolation. To a great extent, they are separated from the pressure（壓力）and worries of industrial society.
　　Inherited（遺傳的） factors also play some role. Most of the longest-lived peoples had parents and grandparents who also reached very old age. Good family genes may, therefore, be one factor in living longer.
　　Finally, although these three groups don’t eat exactly the same foods, their diets are similar. All of them eat little animal meat. Their diets are full of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, cheese and milk. They never eat more food than their bodies need.
　　It is clear that isolation from urban pressure and pollution, clean mountain air, daily hard work, moderate diets, good genes, and a youthful approach to life all lead to the health and remarkable long life of all these people.
【小題1】 What is the main idea of this article?

For as long as I can remember, Grandma’s plentiful tomato garden has been a sign of summer’s end. Each September, just as the decreased heat of the sun suggests cooler days, Grandma requests (ask for something) my help in her tomato garden. I’m sure that she cannot pick tomatoes without my youthful eyes and quick mind. She says we need to examine each tomato and agree on its readiness for picking. While Grandma’s request for my help in the tomato garden is always the same, her desire for my help seems to increase each year.
　　Grandma has eyes for finding even the tomatoes hidden by undergrowth and other tomatoes. I, however, just turn circles looking for the ones I think Grandma will like. I spot what looks like a ripe（成熟的）tomato, head in its direction, and then get sidetracked by another that appears to be equally ripe. I usually end up watching Grandma and trying to stay out of her way, which seems the only way my eyes and mind are useful.
　　There we are, lost in the tomato vines（藤）. Grandma’s eyes are always knowing, and they are no different in the vegetable garden. From afar she spots (notice) what looks like a ripe tomato. As she walks toward the garden, she evaluates the tomato for a second time, but from a different angle. I already know it will end up in the basket with the pile of others Grandma has carefully chosen. However, Grandma acts as if she needs a final look to be sure. She calls me to her side, kneels beside the vine while enjoying the warmth of the fading sunlight on her face, and grasps the tomato in her hand. She turns each round, red ball toward the sunlight before disconnecting it from the vine with a half-hearted smile.
　　She then looks at me. I nod my head and smile. Grandma assumes I smile in agreement with her tomato selection. I know I smile, instead, at her.
【小題1】 Why does Grandma ask the author to go to the tomato garden with her?

Hotels can make a person’s stay away from home as restful as possible. Hotels provide warm beds to allow guests a peaceful night’s rest. Besides, some hotels offer guests special services such as newspapers to read in the morning, fresh coffee, and even breakfast. Hotel workers want their guests to feel warm and welcome when they stay in their hotel.
One hotel near the Arctic Circle, however, is different. This hotel gives its guests a cold welcome. The Ice Hotel, in Sweden, is all made of ice. The Ice Hotel might sound strange, but in some ways it is a special hotel. It has a front lobby where guests check into the hotel, plenty of rooms to sleep in, and even room service, which guests can use to have food delivered to their rooms. The Ice Hotel is different, though, because most of the items are made from ice.
It takes more than 30 tons of ice and snow to build the Ice Hotel. It melts(融化) in the summer and is rebuilt each winter. Different builders and artists create the Ice Hotel, so each winter this famous hotel has a new shape and design.
The effort of building the Ice Hotel is worth it, however. Walking into the Ice Hotel is like walking into a diamond. The walls reflect even the smallest bits of light. Ice pillars（柱子）support the roof. The floor below shines like glass. Almost every inch of this hotel sparkles inside. Visiting the Ice Hotel is truly an unusual experience.
Temperatures inside the Ice Hotel are usually below freezing. Guests wear warm jackets, hats, gloves, and thick boots. Even the owners of the Ice Hotel know that staying in a building with walls of ice four feet thick can be a bit cold. They have a solution though. The Ice Hotel has a sauna for its guests. A sauna is a room filled with steam, where guests can warm themselves. In a way, then, one could say that the Ice Hotel does give their guests a warm welcome after all.
【小題1】Why must the Ice Hotel be rebuilt each year ?

Do your parents ever say, “act like a lady” or “be a gentleman” to you? But in the eyes of today’s teenagers, what should a lady or a gentleman be like? Let’s take a look.
What is a gentleman? The girls have their ideas:
Huang Xiaoyu of Guizhou: A gentleman doesn’t always get angry. He wants others to be well and happy. He is always ready to help. There is a boy in my class and I think he is a gentleman. If I don’t do well in the English exam, he will say, “You will do better next time.” That makes me feel happy.
Chen Tingting of Shenzhen: A gentleman always says, “Ladies first” When students clean up the classroom, he does the heavy work. He lets girls go into rooms first. There are no gentlemen in my class. When there is something to eat, the boys in my class always get them before girls !
What is a lady？ Boys tell us what they think a lady is:
Wu Yifan of Dalian: A lady is quiet and kind, but she’s not shy(害羞) and she can talk about her ideas in front of others. To me, Dong Jie, a film star, is a lady. She is pretty and she kind. She does a lot for others.
Wang Lichao of Tianjin: A lady is not just beautiful but clever. She never says bad words. She is quiet and kind to others. I don’t think there is a lady in my class. Most of the girls are “wild beauties”, I think.
【小題1】 A gentleman doesn’t ________.