1 . Recently whenever I turned on my computer or my mobile phone, news about the great effect of Hurricane Harvey（哈维飓风）on thousands of people caught my eye. I saw many unfortunate events. However, there was also lots of bright news that showed the goodness of mankind. As a reporter, I reported many human-interest stories when doing my job, That’s why the story about the guys in the bakery（面包店）caught my eye.
When the workers at a Mexican bakery chain in Houston were trapped inside the building for two days, they didn't sit there feeling sorry for themselves. They used their time wisely after flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. While waiting for the eventual rescue that came on Monday morning, the four workers decided to make as many loaves of bread as possible for people around the neighborhood. They talked to their manager about their plan over the phone and the manager agreed.
The flood water rose in the street outside. They took advantage of their emergency power supply to bake bread. They used more than 4,200 pounds of flour（面粉）to create hundreds of loaves and sheets of sweet bread. Although the water kept rising, they continued baking to help more people. By the time the manager managed to get to them, they had made so much bread that they took the loaves to lots of emergency centers across the city for people affected by the floods.
The store manager, Brian Alvarado, told The Independent, “They've done more than they should have done. And what they had done has lit a light for people. I feel lucky to have them work in the bakery.”
Whenever a disaster occurs, nobody should feelforlorn. Instead, we should stay hopeful and take positive action to save ourselves and help others. Our acts of kindness will make a big difference to the people in the world as well as the world itself.
1. Why did the story in the bakery draw the author’s attention?| A．It was helpful in choosing a good job. |
| B．It made him/her interested in baking. |
| C．It could bring him/her much money. |
| D．It showed the goodness of mankind. |
| A．They tried to get people out of water. |
| B．They set up emergency centers to help. |
| C．They offered to make bread for people. |
| D．They let homeless people live in the bakery. |
| A．He found them lucky. | B．He was proud of them. |
| C．They were experienced. | D．They were shy but brave. |
| A．Hopeless. | B．Confident. | C．Serious. | D．Angry. |
2 . Every morning Grandpa got up early and sat at the table to read his books. His grandson tried to do the same.
One day, grandson said, “Grandpa, I tried to read those books just like you did, but I forgot what I had read as soon as I closed the books. What good does the reading do?”
Turning around, the old man pointed to a dirty basket beside the table and replied, “Take this basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.”
The boy did as he was told, but all the water was all gone before he got back to the house. Grandpa laughed and said, “You have to run a little faster next time.”
Again, the boy did as he was told. But the basket was still empty before he reached the house. Out of breath, he told grandpa that it was impossible to carry water in a basket. He decided to get a bucket instead.
But Grandpa said, “I don’t want a bucket of water. I just want a basket of water. Maybe, you’re not trying hard enough.”
Again, the boy did as he was told. But when he ran back, the basket was still empty. He said breathlessly, “Grandpa, it’s useless!”
“Do you think so?” Grandpa asked, “Look at the basket again.”
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket was different. It had been changed from a dirty basket to a clean one.
The lesson: We might not remember everything, but when we keep reading, we’ll be changed, inside and outside.
1. The grandson was confused about .| A．what kind of book he should read | B．whether it was useful to read books |
| C．why he forgot what he read so soon | D．how he could read like his grandpa did |
| A．To train him to run faster. | B．To show what good reading can do. |
| C．To clean the dirty basket. | D．To punish him for not reading carefully. |
| A．Funny. | B．Stupid. | C．Curious. | D．Wise. |
| A．Reading can change a person slowly. | B．It is foolish to carry water with a basket. |
| C．The old are always smarter than the young. | D．It is important to remember what we read. |
