The following words were written on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop(主教) in the Crypts of Westminster Abbey(西敏寺):
When I was young and free and my__1.__(imagine) had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world.__ 2.__ I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I __3.__ (short) my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But _4.__， too, seemed immovable.
As I grew _5.__ my twilight years (晚年), in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family，those __6.__(close) to me, _7._alas, they would have _8.__ of it.And now as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I __9._ (change) my family.
From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able __10._(better) my country and, who knows, I may have even changed the world.
Does going to college really pay off？Certainly!
I remember taking __1.__ English class in college on the short story. Our first assignment was to read __2.__ short stories and then discuss which one was better. After __3.__(read)both，I wasn’t sure. Over the __4.__ several months, my professor taught me __5._ one story was so much better than the other.__ 6.__ was rich in metaphor(隐喻)and character development, _7.__ the other was humorous 8._ too shallow. I couldn’t see this at first. Yet,
in a few months, my brain got reeducated and __9.__ could see the difference between good and bad writing and could appreciate literature at a whole new level.
Going to college helps build a strong mind, which leads __10.__ greater success in one’s life.
One night，at 1130 p．m.，an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm.Her car had broken 1.______and she desperately needed a ride.Soaking (湿透) wet，she 2.______(decide) to flag down the next car.A young white man stopped 3._____(help) her—generally unheard of in those conflictfilled 1960s.The man took her to 4._____(safe)，helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.She seemed to be in a big hurry，but wrote down his address，thanked 5._______.
Seven days went by and 6._____knock came on the man’s door. 7._____his surprise，a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.A special note was attached.It read，“Thank you so much 8.________assisting me on the highway the other night.The rain drenched (湿透) not only my clothes9._______ my spirits.Then you came along.Because of you，I was able to make it to my 10._______(die) husband’s bedside just before he passed away.God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.”
Levi Strauss was born in 1829 in Germany.He was the fifth of six children.In 1845，his father died.All six children decided 1.________(go) to the United States.Strauss went to the southeastern part of the US.For eight years，he walked along the country roads 2.________(sell) dry goods from door to door—just like his father in Germany.
In 1853，Strauss decided to move to San Francisco，3.______thousands of people were looking for gold. 4._______his way to California，Strauss sold almost all of his dry goods.He had only one thing5.________(leave)some canvas (帆布)．
In California，Strauss tried to sell the canvas to the gold miners.He said they could make tents from the canvas.But they weren’t 6._______(interest) in canvas for tents.Strauss didn’t know 7._______to do with the canvas.Before long Strauss found the miners needed new pants.There were holes in their pants 8.______the cloth wasn’t strong.He decided to make the canvas 9._______pants.They called them “Levi’s”．Later, Strauss stopped using canvas and used a different cloth.It was a heavy cotton cloth—the same kind people wear today.
Levi Strauss died in 1902.He never married and left money to his nephews.He left the world much more—the jeans 10.________so many people wear.
Jack Benny was one of the most famous names in show business.He was born in Chicago，Illinois，on February 14th,1894.His parents，Meyer and Emma Kubelsky，were religious Jews.They had moved to the United States from Eastern Europe.Benny was a quiet boy.For much of the time，his parents were busy working in his father’s store.As a child，Benny learned to play the violin.After finishing his school，he joined the Navy.He continued using his violin to perform for sailors.In one show he was chosen more for his funny jokes than for his skill with the violin.That experience made him believe that his future job was a comedian.
Benny developed a show personality that had all the qualities people dislike.He was known for being so stingy—he refused to spend any money unless forced to do so.On his shows Benny often spoke of his appearance，especially his baby blue eyes.As he grew older，he always claimed to be 39 years old.Benny rarely made jokes that hurt other people.Instead，he would let the other actors on the show tell jokes about him.
In real life，he was very giving and he was a person people liked having as their employer.Benny entered the new media of television in 1950.Five years later，he dropped his radio programme to spend more time developing his television show.At first his appearances on television were rare.By 1960 the Benny Show was a weekly television programme.It continued until 1965.Benny appeared in about twenty films during his life.A few became popular.But most were not.In 1963 Benny returned to Broadway for the first time since 1931.
Benny received many awards during his lifetime.Perhaps the one honour that pleased him most was that his hometown of Waukeegan named a school for him.This was a special honour for a man who had never finished high school.
Benny continued to perform.He died of cancer in 1974.At his funeral his friend Bob Hope said，“Jack Benny was stingy to the end.He gave us only eighty years.”
1.Benny was determined to be a comedian after he ______.
A．left high school
B．joined the Navy
C．performed in a show for the sailors
D．left the Navy for Broadway
2.The underlined word “stingy” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “________”．
A．clever B．mean
C．outgoing D．hardworking
3. According to the text，on Benny’s shows，he ________.
A．developed a good personality
B．played the violin skillfully
C．often referred to his appearance
D．said funny things that hurt others
4. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Benny?
A．He did a good job in show business.
B．His first appearance on TV was very successful.
C．Most of his films became wellknown to Americans.
D．He treated all his awards as nothing.
The way people hold to the belief that a funfilled，painfree life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness.If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness，then pain must be equal to unhappiness.But in fact，the opposite is true.More often than not，things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result，many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness.They fear the pain inevitably (不可避免地) brought by such things as marriage，raising children，professional achievement，religious commitment and selfimprovement.
Ask a bachelor (单身汉) why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying.If he is honest，he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment.Certainly，commitment is quite painful.The single life is filled with fun，adventure，and excitement.Marriage has such moments，but they are not its most distinguishing (显著的) features.
Couples with infant (婴儿) children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a threeday vacation.I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations.It liberates time：now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness.It liberates money：buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless.And it liberates us from envy：we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
1.According to the author，a bachelor doesn’t want to marry mainly because________.
A．he is unwilling to take family responsibilities
B．he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single
C．he finds more fun in dating than in marriage
D．he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement
2.Raising children，in the author’s opinion，is________.
A．a moral duty
B．a thankless job
C．a rewarding task
D．a source of inevitable pain
3.To understand what true happiness is one must________.
A．have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime
B．make every effort to liberate oneself from pain
C．put up with pain under all circumstances
D．be able to distinguish happiness from fun
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.
B．One must know how to attain happiness.
C．It is important to make commitments.
D．It is pain that leads to happiness.
