About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.

He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and-WHUMP!-it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH. . . !!!! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, “What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!” Building up a head of steam, he went on. “That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is gone cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?”

“Please, mister, please. . . I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!” begged the youngster. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop!” Tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother, mister,” he said. “He rolled off the curb （路沿）and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. ” Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair?” He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me. ”

Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to the black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE ― a long and slow walk. Josh never fixed the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent （凹痕）to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you.

56. The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because ________.

A. the businessman drove at a high speed

B. he envied the brand-new car very much

C. he wanted to get help from the driver

D. he wanted to ask for some money

57. Which of the following is the right order of the story?

a. The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car.

b. The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.

c. The younger brother begged Josh for help.

d. Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair.

e. Josh shouted at the younger brother.

A. a, c, b, e, d　　                                    B. a, c, d, b, e

C. b, a, c, e, d　　                                   D. b, a, e, c, d

58. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Josh would accept the money from the kids.

B. Josh was a kind-hearted man.

C. The two kids were Josh’s neighbors.

D. Josh’s new car broke down easily.

59. According to the passage, the last sentence means ________.

A. trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life

B. driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous

C. protecting oneself from being hurt

D. trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble

One day, a young man was cleaning out his late grandfather’s belongings when he  36  a bright red envelope. Written on the  37  were the words, “To my grandson. ”   38  it was his grandfather’s handwriting, the boy opened the envelope. A letter inside read;

Dear Ronny,

Years ago you  39  to me for help. You said, “Grandpa, how is it that you’ve   40  so much in your life? You’re still full of  41  ,but I’m already  42  of struggling. How can I get that same enthusiasm that you’ve got?”

I didn’t know what to say to you then. But knowing my days are numbered, I figure that I   43  you an answer. So here is what I believe.

I think it has something to   44  with how a person looks at things. I call it “keeping your eyes wide open”.

First, realize that is filled with surprises, but many are good ones. If you don’ keep  45  for them, you’ll miss half the excitement. Expect to be excited  46  ,and you will be.

When you meet with  47  ,welcome them. They’ll leave you wiser, stronger, and more capable than you were the day before. When you make a mistake, be  48  for the things it taught you. Learn to use that lesson to help you reach your goals.

It’s also important to   49  exactly what you want . Then keep your mind focused on it , and be prepared to receive it.

As you grow with the years, you’ll be given bigger shoes to fill. So be ready for endings as well as challenging  50  .

Sometimes we have to be brave enough to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Life isn’t just reaching peaks. Part of it is moving from one  51  to the next. If you  52  too long in between, you might be tempted（誘惑）to   53  . Leave the past in the past. Climb the next mountain and enjoy the view.

Most important of all, never give up on yourself. The person that ends up a winner is the one who resolves（決心，決定）to   54  . Give life everything you’ve got, and life will give its best  55  to you.

Love always,

Grandpa

His brother gave him a long-distance call,         him to work as a volunteer recovering victims from the collapsed buildings.

A. inviting                        B. invited                  C. to invite                D. having invited

 “Can I have more coffee?” she said,       the cup.

A. holding out                   B. giving out              C. sending out           D. handing out

Though it’s a challenging job, he did it         it took me.

A. one-third a time                                            B. one-third time

C. the one-third time                                         D. one-third the time

The following         chosen as the candidates（候選人）of the competition.

A. is                       B. are                       C. has                       D. have

―I feel cold and ache all over. I think I        be sick.

―That’s too bad.

A. am going to                  B. am about to           C. will                      D. am to

You       think you are clever, but that doesn’t give you the right to order me about.

A. may                            B. can                       C. must                    D. should

       has recently been done to provide more buses for the people , a shortage of public vehicles remains a serious problem.

A. That                            B. What                    C. In spite of what              D. Though what

After a year’s training, they were made entirely used       under water.

A. to stay                         B. to staying              C. staying                 D. stay