Jack threw the papers on my desk. "Next time you want to change anything, ask me first," he said. I had changed a long sentence and corrected its grammar -- something I thought I was paid to do. Several days later, he made me angry again. I went to his office, prepared to lose my job if need be, but not before I let the man know how I felt. "What?" he said nervously. Suddenly I knew what I had to do. "Jack, the way you've been treating me is wrong. And it's wrong for me to allow it to continue," I said. "I want to make you a promise. I will be a friend." The next day I brought some cakes to Jack's office. Every time I saw Jack in the hall, I smiled at him. After all, that's what friends do. One year after our talk, I was told that I had breast cancer . When I was in hospital, my friends tried to find the right words to say, but no one could. The last day of my hospital stay, the door opened and Jack walked over to my bed. "Tulips ," he placed some bulbs beside me and said, "If you plant them when you get home, you'll be there to see them when they come up." Tears filled my eyes. In a moment when I prayed for just the right words, a man with few words said the right thing. After all, that's what friends do. Now, I have seen those tulips push through the soil every spring for over ten years. What promise did the author make to Jack? A) She would work harder from then on. B) She would treat him the same way. C) She would bring him some cakes. D) She would treat him like a friend.
D
(Question)
What should I do with the diary I've kept for 50 years? I've been keeping a journal since I was 16 and I'm now 65. I have more than 80 notebooks in a big box. I don't want my children embarrassed by _ when I die. But I can't bring myself, yet, to burn the case. My journals are still part of me. Might my grandchildren, with a bit more distance, be interested? Or is there some way I could turn them into something creative? I'm thinking about art instead of a book. * _ 5 March 2012, 11:22 p.m. Please don't burn them! What a wonderful source of memories for you--or if you feel you'd rather not keep them, possibly what a wonderful resource for others! Why not contact something like the Mass Observation Project at the University of Sussex? Then they will remain as a record of everyday life throughout your lifetime, and if your grandchildren are interested they'll know where to find them. * _ 6 March 2012, 8:30 a.m. Please don't burn them! If possible, transcribe them, or have them transcribed, into a computer medium before your words are lost because the paper has decayed. I recently had an opportunity to read a similar diary of the WWII record of an ordinary soldier. It was attractive in the way it differed from the official record. I suppose to some degree it all depends on what you have recorded, but many social historians and similar people would find such a complete personal record of a life led during the second half of the 20thcentury to be very valuable. Please don't stop writing now just because you are 65! What does the journal owner probably hope to happen to his journals? A) His children will put them together with him after his death. B) His grandchildren will continue to write following his habit. C) They can be published by famous publishing houses. D) They can be filmed or changed into a TV play.
(Answer)
D
Ques: This is the letter that Mr. White wrote before his death about his three books for children: Dear Reader: I receive many letters from children and can't answer them all -- there wouldn't be time enough in a day. That is why I am sending you this printed reply to your letter. I'll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked. Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlotte's Web? Well, many years ago I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse. That's how the story of Stuart Little got started. As for Charlotte's Web, I like animals and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours. One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save a pig's life. I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving. Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation on a farm. Three years after I started writing it, it was published. (I am not a fast worker, as you can see.) Sometimes I'm asked how old I was when I started to write, and what made me want to write. I started early -- as soon as I could spell. In fact, I can't remember any time in my life when I wasn't busy writing. I don't know what caused me to do it, or why I enjoyed it, but I think children often find pleasure and satisfaction is trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures. I was no good at drawing, so I used words instead. As I grew older, I found that writing can be a way of earning a living. Some of my readers want me to visit their school. Some want me to send a picture, or an autograph, or a book. And some ask questions about my family and my animals and my pets. Much as I'd like to, I can't go visiting. I can't send books, either -- you can find them in a bookstore or a library.... What caused the author start to write? A) His parents' encuoragement B) His talent in writing C) Not mentioned in the passage D) A writer in the early time
Ans: C
Four strange scholarships that actually exist The scholarship for the tall If you find yourself having to lower your head to enter doorways then you might get this unusual scholarship. If you are a boy 6'2" or taller, or a girl 5'10" or taller, then you can be in the running for the Tall Clubs International Scholarship. All you have to do is write a simple message titled "What being tall means to me," and you could get $1,000. The scholarship for the fat This unusual scholarship is made available to New England high school seniors who are single, overweight, and have maintain at least a 2.5 GPA. Every year two people are awarded the $500 prize. It's kind of like saying being fat and unpopular is not that bad after all. The scholarship for the short If you aren't tall enough for the tall scholarship, maybe you are short enough for the short one. The Billy Party Foundation offers this unusual scholarship to students who are short. One needs to be shorter then 4'10" and have a medical certificate as proof of . The scholarship for golf caddies Did you know that you could get a free ride to college for being a golf caddie? Okay, it's a little harder than that, but each year the Evans Scholars Foundation covers tuition and housing for hundreds of student caddies from all over the country. Most Evans scholars go to one of the fourteen universities where the Evans Scholar Foundation owns and operates a scholarship house. Students caddies who win the scholarship for golf caddies can _ . A) get $1,000 for housing and tuition B) get $500 for housing and tuition C) only go to fourteen universities D) be free from housing and schooling costs
D