Gerald Swindle was waiting to check out in a store when he noticed the elderly woman checking out in front of him was talking endlessly about herself to her cashier(收银员), who just stayed attentive all the time.
Gerald Swindle was a bit annoyed with how long their conversation was going. But as Gerald waited for his turn, his attitude began to change. Not only did he conclude that their conversation was very important, but found himself captivated by what the elderly woman said once he stopped to listen.
“You were patient with this lady,” Gerald later said in a video recalling what had happened. “You did nothing but followed her conversation, listening to every word she said, and never rushing her.”
He added, “You showed me what people ought to be. Sometimes it might be the only person they talk to this week. Sometimes I need that, so I appreciate it.”
“I never expected this to come about because it was just a regular day for me. I was just doing my job,” Emily, the cashier, said.
But since posted online, the video has become popular with nearly 2 million views! The comment section was quickly filled with others sharing how inspired they felt by Emily’s kindness.
Best of all, that elderly woman has since come back to the store several times, and the two of them are becoming quite close. “What I’ve learned is so amazing—you can have an effect on people just by being yourself working at the store,” Emily said.
1. How did Gerald act at the talk between Emily and the customer at first?| A．He listened with full attention. | B．He focused on his own shopping cart. |
| C．He felt lucky to be not talkative. | D．He felt a little angry at the long talk. |
| A．Stuck. | B．Angered. | C．Inspired. | D．Attracted. |
| A．What patience Emily showed to the customer. |
| B．What led a store to become popular online. |
| C．How Gerald dealt with the customer attentively. |
| D．How Emily was praised by an elderly woman. |
| A．Caring for the old can bring benefit to us. |
| B．Listening to people is a skill to master. |
| C．It’s sometimes easy to influence other people. |
| D．Being a cashier is a good way for connection. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】In America, each of the states likes to promote itself with a slogan (口号). I currently live in Utah, where the slogan is ‘“Life Elevated”. It’s a nod to outdoor entertainment in the hill country, including the ski industry. I previously lived in Colorado, a land with red dm. great mountains and golden plains. The slogan there is ‘‘Colorful Colorado”. Years ago I lived in the “Peach State” of Georgia, and I grew up in New Mexico as a little boy, whose slogan is “Land of Enchantment (魔力)”.
We never seemed to get away from dust in New Mexico, so I appreciate the story of a newcomer to the Land of Enchantment who learned about dusty wind. She was visiting an antique shop and the owner wiped down every item before showing it. The newcomer said, “Everything gets dusty here pretty quickly, doesn’t it?” “That’s not dust, honey,” the shop owner replied, “That’s ENCIIANTMENT”. That made the problem more acceptable or at least can be live with. An escalator (自动扶梯) broke, so he posted a sign to warn customers. He chose not to use the traditional “Out of Order” or “Do Not Use” warnings. Instead, his sign read, “This Escalator Is Temporarily a Stairway”. He turned a minus into humor and made it a plus.
And in fact there are sonic things, like the weather, we can’t change. All we can change is our ways that we think and feel about them. I believe one of the best techniques to do this is to find some humor in the situation. Finding something amusing or enjoyable of difficulty, a troublesome problem can be one of the most creative and effective things we can do. Sometimes the only sense you can make of a situation is a sense of humor.
1. How many places has the author lived in from the first paragraph?| A．2. | B．3. |
| C．4. | D．5. |
| A．Angry. | B．Relaxed. |
| C．Curious. | D．Nervous. |
| A．To encourage people to find the funny side in their daily life. |
| B．To show the effects of using slogans to raise the position. |
| C．To explain the skills of turning a disadvantage into humor. |
| D．To tell the strange experience of a bargain in an antique shop. |
| A．Dust on items. | B．The antique shop. |
| C．An item for sale. | D．The Land of Enchantment. |
【推荐2】As a kid, I often got nosebleeds. My parents blamed all the fruits I ate that gave me “excessive heat”— especially the mangoes, my favorite. It didn’t stop me from wolfing them down by the dozens.
As I’ve grown older, my fixation on exotic (奇异的) fruit has intensified — the weirder, the better. The disadvantage of being an armchair pomologist (果树栽培学家) in Canada is that most of our fresh fruit is imported. The silver lining is that almost everything in my local stores qualifies as exotic and interesting. Trying a new fruit expands my understanding of the world and enriches my experience within it. “What lasted is what the soul ate,” Jack Gilbert once wrote, “The way a child knows the world by putting part by part into his mouth.” I think of these lines when I prepare to eat a new fruit. Each tasting is a chance to be reunited with my inner child, to be wide-eyed and wordless as I get to know it.
Those tasked with naming these fruits appear to be equally under a spell, producing names as simplistic as they are charming. Cotton candy grapes. Ice cream bean. Dragonfruit.
Most fruits I try only a couple of times, but there’s one I keep returning to: the soursop. At ideal ripeness, the soursop tastes like the ideal tropical fruit. Wait just a day, though, and it smells more like feet than fruit. This rapid rot comforts me, incredibly. Watching a beloved fruit transform from unripe one to sticky flesh feels like witnessing an act of living. The plant sacrifices fruit in hopes of spreading its seed; life was always the point. An approaching expiration date is only encouragement to enjoy these accessible joys as they come. We, too, will soon find our bodies softened and bruised. Will we have let our sweetest days go to waste?
1. Why does the author like exotic fruit?| A．She is a famous pomologist. | B．It helps broaden her horizons. |
| C．It reminds her of her hometown. | D．She only likes strange-looking fruit. |
| A．Funny. | B．Useful. | C．Appealing. | D．Powerful. |
| A．Never judge a book by its cover. |
| B．Time and tide wait for no man. |
| C．An apple a day keeps the doctor away. |
| D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| A．Benefits of eating fresh fruit. |
| B．Memories of the carefree childhood. |
| C．Explorations of the natural world. |
| D．Experiences of trying exotic fruit. |
【推荐3】Growing up, Deka Ismail says she let labels define what she could be. “I was a black girl, from a refugee (难民) family,” Deka said. “It was as if I was only allowed to explore in this predetermined box.”
After a high school chemistry class inspired her to think about a career in science and gave her confidence in the field, Deka learned to live outside labels and began making big plans for her future. Now she is about to begin her freshman year at the University of California, planning to become a professor.
Born and raised in San Diego's City Heights neighbourhood, Deka is the daughter of a Somali refugee couple. While some might say Deka's success happened in spite of her background, she would say differently, that her experiences shaped her and inspired her to be the driven, young scientist that she is today.
When Deka was eight years old, her mother got a job by studying hard back in school in order to support the whole family. That made Deka realize that education could make a difference to one's life. She spent a lot of time in the library reading books, and didn't do many of the things her peers did, like partying or having romantic relationships.
“I always felt like I had to be the perfect girl for my family,” Deka said. “You have to not even do your best but two times better than everyone else. I felt like the whole world was waiting for me to mess up.”
Deka's efforts paid off. The summer before her senior year of high school, she was accepted to the American Chemical Society Project SEED Programme. “She brought both enthusiasm and focus,” Botham, a researcher at this research institute, recalled. “She arrived every day ready to work, ready to learn and ready to tackle new challenges regardless of whether or not she had done anything similar.”
When asked what advice she would give to others like her, Deka warned them not to underestimate themselves. “Don't tell yourself that scholarship is too big or this programme is too competitive or I'll never get into this school, ” she said. “I was not sure whether I could make it until I started seeing the acceptance letters rolling in.”
1. From the passage, we can learn that__ .| A．Deka was adopted by a refugee family |
| B．Deka spent a lot of time going to parties |
| C．Deka's experiences drove her to work hard |
| D．Deka became a professor after graduation |
| A．after her chemistry class | B．from her mother's experience |
| C．by reading books in the library | D．through working at the institute |
| A．patient | B．generous |
| C．adaptable | D．confident |
| A．Hard work leads to success. | B．Practice makes perfect. |
| C．Well begun is half done. | D．Life is not all roses. |
【推荐1】George Daniels lives in London. He is a watchmaker. His work continues the tradition of the English watchmakers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Today this tradition is almost dead. Daniels is the only man in the world who designs his own watches makes all the pars himself and then puts them together.
A Daniels watch is the product of his hands alone. One of his watches which is now in an American museum took 3500 hours to complete. He usually makes one watch a year. Each one is inscribed (刻) with “Daniels London” and costs about $10,000. Of course these are not ordinary watches—they are very beautiful and will last three centuries.
George Daniels has always been attracted by clocks and watches. When he was five he used to take his father’s clock apart and put it back together again. At school he used to repair his teachers watches.
He is now internationally famous and many people would like him to make watches for them. But most of them will be disappointed. He chooses his customers very carefully indeed. It must be someone who understands the subject,” he says “not someone who will leave the watch in the drawer and only show it to dinner quests.”
1. Who is George Daniels?| A．One of the few who repaired watches in the old days. |
| B．The only man who collects old watches in the world. |
| C．One of the few remaining watch designers in the world. |
| D．The only man who designs and makes watches by himself. |
| A．10,000 hours. | B．300 years. |
| C．200 years. | D．3,500 hours. |
| A．He played with his father’s clock. |
| B．He taught people how to repair watches. |
| C．He made a watch for an American museum. |
| D．He made beautiful and long-lasting watches. |
| A．can afford his watches | B．may want to show them to others |
| C．appreciate his watches | D．enjoy his watch-making process |
| A．Only a few people like them. |
| B．They are kept in a museum. |
| C．Only a few people can get them. |
| D．They have a history of over 200 years. |
【推荐2】It was the day after Christmas 33 years ago. My wife gave birth to our first child. We were full of gratitude to have Joseph John Mazzella II, also called JJ, sleeping peacefully in the cradle (摇篮)next to our bed.
We had been on the road showing off our little baby to all of the grandparents and great-grandparents. It had been a busy Christmas and hard on my wife who was still recovering from her operation, Now we were back in our tiny flat trying to get a few extra hours of sleep before starting the day.
Just then I heard JJ stirring in his cradle. I leaned over and picked him up before he started to cry and then carefully stole out into the living room so that my wife could keep sleeping. I picked up a bottle and sat in our rocking chair with JJ in my arms. I rocked quietly and fed him in the living room while he looked up at me with his loving eyes. I spoke softly to him but also felt a little nervous and scared as I watched him. How was I going to take care of him I was a new father and had no idea what the future had in store for us. I rocked and rocked. But luckily, I had so many elders to help me.
After a few minutes I saw the sun slowly rising in the sky outside my window. The bright light was shining down from the heavens making the freshly fallen snow shine with beauty that touched my soul. As I watched it, my fear escaped and I felt such a sense of peace, harmony, love and joy. The Christmas spirit had entered my heart and I smiled. I knew then that whatever the future would hold, it would be smooth as long as I kept love in my heart. New life is precious and I believed my child would be grateful, too and bring us new sunshine in the future.
1. How did the couple feel about the birth of JJ?| A．Calm. | B．Grateful. |
| C．Helpless. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．To look for a bottle. | B．To appreciate the sun. |
| C．To make him sleep again. | D．To avoid disturbing his wife. |
| A．Positive. | B．Uncertain. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．The family's difficulty. | B．The mother's pain and fear. |
| C．The baby's life experiences. | D．The father's love and responsibility. |
【推荐3】I’ve worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer since I graduated from high school. But making the transition between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be uncivilized, getting to a factory by 6 o’clock each morning is torture. My friends never seem to understand why I’m so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.
There are few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People of my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.
The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear overnight. Issues like downsizing and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour.
After working 12-hour shifts in a factory, the other options have become only too clear. When I’m back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale now ring true.
These lessons I’m learning, however precious, are always tinged (带有) with a sense of guilt. Many people pass their lives in the places I briefly work, spending 30 years where I spend only two months at a time. “This job pays well, but it’s hell on the body,” said one co-worker. “Study hard and keep reading,” she added.
My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.
1. How did the author look back on his summer days while at college?| A．They brought him nothing but torture. |
| B．They were no holiday for him at all. |
| C．They were a relief from his hard work at school. |
| D．They offered him a chance to know more people. |
| A．Misery. | B．Fortune. | C．Anxiety. | D．Availability. |
| A．They expect too much from the real world. |
| B．They have little interest in blue-collar life. |
| C．They think too highly of themselves. |
| D．They are confident about their future. |
| A．They do not get decent pay. |
| B．They do not have job security. |
| C．They have to work 12-hour shifts. |
| D．They have to move from place to place. |
| A．He realizes there is a great divide between his life and that of blue-collar workers. |
| B．He looks down upon the mechanical work at the assembly line. |
| C．He has not done much to help his co-workers at the factory. |
| D．He has stayed at school just for the purpose of escaping from the real world. |
| A．He learned to be more practical. |
| B．He acquired a sense of urgency. |
| C．He came to respect blue-collar workers. |
| D．He came to appreciate his college education. |
【推荐1】Terasa Hill did not intend to do something unplanned. It began when Terasa was observing a horse auction (拍卖). A chestnut: racehorse was for sale? “She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, though it had an injured leg,” said Terasa.
When the bidding started, Terasa surprised herself by stepping in. Finally, Terasa became the new owner of Sierra, and Sierra, limping (跛) and hurt with pain from a broken knee, became a labour of love for Terasa. After three long months of nursing her under the guidance of a local animal doctor, the leg recovered.
It wasn’t only Sierra’s leg that needed to recover; Sierra needed to relearn how to trust people. Terasa thought the best way to win Sierra’s trust and fondness was to feed her treats. Terasa kept providing Sierra with many treats, but none passed the sniff (嗅) test. Desperate, Terasa experimented by making her own mixture of molasses and grains, which she baked in her own kitchen. The cookies were a hit with Sierra and other horses, sending Terasa’s life in a new direction.
Her treats, called “Barnies”, were sold to a local store and like hotcakes, within months local businessmen began demanding for more. Terasa’s kitchen was no longer big enough for the increased demand, moving her operation to an Oshawa company.
Then a serious health problem threatened to ruin her plans. Terasa called upon the same resolution that had helped her save Sierra to help her overcome her own illness. Family and friends came to her rescue and kept Barnies Ltd. going. Almost a year later, healthy and more resolute than ever, Terasa found a national distributor and Bainies began selling in 144 stores across Canada.
And what about Sierra, the inspiration for all this success and change? The horse has fully recovered and has become a wonderful riding horse.
1. Why did Terasa create her own cookies?| A．To show superb cooking skills. | B．To provide a special diet for Sierra. |
| C．To find a way to bond with the horse. | D．To lay the foundation for her business. |
| A．Inflexible. | B．Pessimistic. | C．Confident. | D．Determined. |
| A．It raises a valuable question. |
| B．It provides surprising information. |
| C．It returns to the topic of the opening paragraph. |
| D．It continues the focus of the paragraph before it. |
| A．A remarkable encounter. | B．A famous food company. |
| C．A rescue of a weak horse. | D．A career from previous devotion. |
【推荐2】I have received many Christmas gifts over the years. The best gift I ever received was presented to me by a stranger. I never even knew his name and I only had contact with him for less than 60 seconds. His Christmas present to me changed the way I think about people and about Christmas.
I hate Black Friday sales. It’s often a gathering of people who are there for many different reasons. Some are looking for a deal on that one item for their loved one, or perhaps themselves. Their purposes completely have nothing to do with the festive time of year, and can just be summed up with one word, “Cheap!”
It was several years ago when my wife asked me to meet her at the local department store on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child’s bike that she wanted to purchase for our son. We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle(口哨). I told my wife that if we got a bike, fine, but if we did not, I was OK with that too.
As the number of bikes began to gradually decrease, I saw my “polite” opportunity to reach my hands around the corner of one of the boxes. I lifted it and suddenly felt some mild resistance(阻力). I looked up to see one of the largest gentlemen I had ever seen in my life. Frightening was not the word to describe his appearance. He was wearing lots of straps of metal spiked leather(带有柳钉的皮带) around both arms and even his neck. Still, tattoos(纹身) were an obvious love of his.
I started to return the box but he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands. He then directed it into my shopping cart. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Merry Christmas.” All the way home I was thinking that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received. The kindness of a stranger that broke all prejudice(偏见) I may have had of certain types of people. The softness of a human heart can be seen in a simple act. I will never forget it.
1. What may be the best title of the passage?| A．The Best Christmas Gift. |
| B．A Child’s Bike. |
| C．Black Friday Sales. |
| D．A Handsome Stranger. |
| A．Because they can make money. |
| B．Because they hope to find a bargain. |
| C．Because it’s a way to celebrate Christmas. |
| D．Because it’s a place to get things free of charge. |
| A．devote |
| B．solve |
| C．buy |
| D．save |
| A．All roads lead to Rome. |
| B．It’s never too old to study. |
| C．You cannot clap with one hand. |
| D．Men cannot be judged by their appearances |
【推荐3】Amanda Kitts is one of “tomorrow’s people”, people who have artificial (人工的) body parts. She has a bionic(电子操控的) arm.
Now, Kitts runs a day -care center. Children run up to her happily as she comes into the classroom. She bends over to talk with a small girl. As she bends Kitts puts her hands on her knees. For most people, this would be easy. However, just a few years ago, this was impossible for Kitts.
In 2006, Kitts was in a car accident. A truck crushed(挤坏) her left arm and the doctor had to cut it off. “I was angry, sad, depressed. I just couldn’t accept it,” she says. But then she heard about a new technique that could use the remaining nerves(神经) in her shoulder to control an artificial arm.
In a difficult operation, a doctor moved Kitts’s nerves to her upper- arm muscles. For months, the nerves grew. Millimeter by millimeter, they moved deeper into their new homes. “At three months I started feeling little tingles and twitches(刺痛和抽搐),” she said. A month later, she got her first bionic arm. A research engineer worked with Kitts to make the computer programs match her real movements more and more closely.
Today, Kitts’s arm is great, but it’s not yet perfect. She wants feeling in her hands. For example, she needs to feel whether something is rough or smooth. She also needs feeling to do one of her favorite things-drink coffee “The problem with a paper coffee cup is that my hand will close until it gets a solid grip,” she says. One time at a coffee shop, her hand kept closing until it crushed the cup. But Kitts says positively,” One day I’ll be able to feel things with it, and clap my hands… to the songs my kids are singing.”
1. What is the difference between Kitts and normal people?| A．She can sing. | B．She can bend |
| C．She can put her hands on her knees. | D．She has a bionic arm. |
| A．clap her hands | B．hold things | C．feel rough or smooth things | D．drink coffee |
| A．positive | B．angry | C．perfect | D．disappointed |
①Kitts heard about a new technique
②Kitts crushed a paper coffee cup
③Kitts had two human arms
④A truck hit Kitts’s car
⑤Kitts got her first bionic arm
⑥Doctors moved some of the nerves in Kitts’s arm
| A．④①⑥⑤②③ | B．③④⑤①②⑥ | C．④①⑥⑤③② | D．③④①⑥⑤② |
