Half a year before graduation from college, my son David began to seek a job. Due to the financial crisis, the competition was ever-fierce. My son targeted a company that was located in a coastal city. It was intended to employ only one person among more than twenty candidates, I said to David, "You should not harbor too much hope for fear that you would feel terribly disappointed when you fail." He said to me, "I am not afraid of disappointment. As long as I try, there will always be hope!" Three young men could enter the final round, which would later decide one person to be employed. Everything seemed to go quite well and David entered the final round in a week. Unexpectedly, the interview was unbelievably simple, during which the interviewer only chatted with them for a while. The interview strategies my son prepared were not useful at all. The interviewer said the company would inform them of the result in 3 days. On the morning of the third day, David received the text from the company that he was not employed. David felt disappointed. In nightfall that day, David suddenly told me excitedly on phone that he had been employed. Greatly surprised, I asked him, "What's the whole matter?" David told me that he received another text saying that he was employed. David felt very confused about it. Later he found out the first text sent to him was also part of the test in the interview. Three men received the same text this morning and only David's reply was satisfying to the company. I asked my son, "How did all of you reply?" My son said, "One did not reply. The other said "goodbye" and I said "thank you"." Only then did I know that my son's "hope" came in that way. That is, when you feel disappointed, do not forget to say "Thank you" to the one who disappoints you. Actually, it is a piece of cake to say "Thank you". Saying "Thank you" shows respect for others' work and demonstrates your grand generosity. Therefore, while under the same condition, you will get the upper hand in terms of opportunities compared... When David got the job offer, he felt _ at first. A) excited B) puzzled C) nervous D) pleased
B
Retold by Laura E.Richards All day long the little boy had worked hard, in the field and barn and shed, for his parents were poor farmers, and could not pay a workman.But at sunset there came an hour that was all his own, for his father had given it to him.Then the boy would go up to the top of a hill and look across at another hill that rose some miles away.On that far hill stood a house with windows of clear gold and diamonds.They shone so brightly that it made the boy squint at them, but after a while the people in the house put up shutters, as it seemed, and then it looked like any common farmhouse.The boy supposed they did this because it was suppertime; and then he would go into the house and have his supper of bread and milk, and go to bed. One day the boy's father called him and said: "You have been a good boy, and have earned a holiday.Take this day for your own, and try to learn some good things." The boy thanked his father and kissed his mother.Then he put a piece of bread in his pocket, and started off to find the house with the golden windows. It was a pleasant walk.His bare feet made marks in the white dust, and when he looked back, the footprints seemed to be following him, and keeping him company.His shadow, too, kept beside him, and would dance or run with him as he pleased; so it was very cheerful.By and by he felt hungry, and he sat down by a brown stream that ran through the alder hedge by the roadside, ate his bread, and drank the clear water.Then he scattered the small pieces of bread for the birds as his mother had taught him to do, and went on his way. After a long time he came to a high green hill, and when he had climbed the hill, there was the house on the top.But it seemed that the shutters were up, for he could not see the golden windows.He came up to the house, and then he could well have wept, for the windows were of clear glass, like any others, and there was no gold anywhere about them. A woman came to the door, looked kindly at the boy, and asked him what he wanted. "I saw... The author's main purpose in including the character of the girl in this story is _ . A) to offer the boy someone to talk with B) to present the boy with a different view of his own house C) to contrast the boy with someone who was satisfied with her life D) to provide the boy with a reason to visit the neighboring hilltop
B
A pair of giant pandas from southwest China's Sichuan Province arrived at their new home in Belgium's Pairi Daiza zoo, some 60km southwest of downtown Brussels, at around 15:00 local time (1400GMT) on February 23, 2014. About 2,500 people, many of them excited children waving national flags of China and Belgium as well as panda-decorated flags or wearing costume of Panda greeted the pandas along the road to the zoo. Visitors today can only observe the pandas through a closed-circuit television system in the reception. Officials said they wanted the pandas fully adapted to their new home before making public _ in April. The pandas, Xing Hui, the male and Hao Hao, the female, are both 4 years old and are on lease from a breeding center in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The lease term is 15 years, according to officials with the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas, the world's largest research base for the species. "It's a good thing for Belgium." Nicole Duflot, a grandmother coming to the zoo with her husband and her grandson told Xinhua, "We can't see the Panda today but it's a great thing for us to come here." The Pandas will be living in a panda hall of 5,300 square meters within the zoo. "I hope Xing Hui and Hao Hao will enhance friendship between Belgium and China." Liao Liqiang, the Chinese ambassador to Belgium, said during an interview with Xinhua. From the passage, we can predict that _ . A) Belgium's Pairi Daiza Zoo will make much money soon B) Xing Hui and Hao Hao will be very well treated in their new home C) Belgium's Pairi Daiza Zoo will serve the Chinese visitors with free admission D) pandas will be best-sellers in Belgium
B