We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.

    “You could win prizes,'' our teacher told us as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing, “The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster.”

    We studied the board critically. Some of us looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard, rocking the sheets to the right or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten-dollar grand prize, each and every one of us. I'm going to spend mine on candies, one hopeful would announce, while another practiced looking serious, wise and rich.

    Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins, while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of us used big designs, and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one corner of our poster and let the space draw the viewer's attention to it. Some of us would wander past the good students' desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the sort they seemed especially fond of, making all of us believe we had a fair chance, and then always — always — rewarding the same old winners.

    I believe I drew a sailboat, but I can't say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen, and then I turned it in.

    Minutes passed.

    No one came along to give me the grand prize, and then someone distracted me, and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.

    I was still sitting at my desk, thinking, What poster? when the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C  和 D ）中，选出最佳选项。

    Most people have heard of Shakespeare and probably know something of the plays that he wrote. However，not everybody knows much about the life of this remarkable man，except perhaps that he was born in the market town of Stratford upon Avon and  that he married a woman called Anne Hathaway. We know nothing of his school life. We do not know，for example，how long it lasted，but we presume that he attended the local grammar school，where the principal subject taught was Latin.

    Nothing certain is known for what he did between the time he left school and his departure for London. According to a local legend，he was beaten and even put in prison for stealing rabbits and deer from the estate of a neighboring landowner，Sir Thomas Lucy. It is said that because of this he was forced to run away from his native place. A different legend says that he was apprenticed to a Stratford butcher，but did not like the life and for this reason decided to leave Stratford.

    Whatever caused him to leave the town of his birth，the world can be grateful that he did so. What is certain is that he set his foot on the road to fame when he arrived in London. It is said that at first he had no money or friends there，but that he earned a little by taking care of the horses of the gentlemen who attended the plays at the theatre. In_time ， as he became a familiar figure to the actors in the theatre，they stopped and spoke to him. They found his conversation so brilliant that finally he was invited to join their company.

    There exist cruel wars, fighting and sadness in the world today, so it's not only necessary, but also essential to have a good sense of humor just to help us go through difficult times in out lives. Putting a smile on someone's face when you know they are feeling depressed, as the saying goes, makes me feel good and warms my heart.

    How would you feel if you could not joke around with wife, husband, child, co-worker, neighbor, close friend, or even just someone that you are standing in line with at your corner store? I am always saying things that make others smile or laugh, even if I don't know the person I'm joking around with. My Grandma always found humor in everything she did, even if it was the hardest job anyone could imagine. This not only relieves stress in any situation, but also is a common manner to speak to others that are around you.

    I know of a few people that don't have a funny bone in their bodies, as they say. Everyone around them could be rolling on the floor after hearing a great joke and they would sit there without the slightest smile on their faces. They don't get the joke that makes others laugh. I am, busting a gut while they just sit there, looking at me as if I were from outer space. How can people not get a really funny joke?

    Laughing is essential to keep your stress levels under control. Without humor, we would find ourselves with a lot of psychological problems, or on a lot of medications to keep us from going crazy. There is too much sadness and bring a little light into our lives.

    Therefore, I believe our best medicine is to get together and tell some jokes and have some fun laughing together.

    Everyone looks forward to progress, whether in one's personal life or in the general society. Progress indicates a person's ability to change the way he is living at the moment. Progress must lead a better way of doing things. All these, however, remain true only in so far as people want to accept technology and move forward by finding new and more efficient ways of doing things.

    However, at the back of the minds of many people, especially those who missed the “good old days”, efficiency comes with a price. When communication becomes efficient, people are able to contact one another no matter where they are and at whatever time they wish to. The click of a button allows people miles apart to talk or to see each other without even leaving their homes. With the communication gadgets, such as mobile phones and ipads, people often do not take the effect to visit one another personally. A personal visit carries with it the additional feature of having to be in the person's presence for as long as the visit lasts. We cannot unnecessarily excuse ourselves or turn the other person off.

    With efficiency also comes mass production. Such is the nature of factories and the success of industrialization today. Factories have improved efficiency. Unskillful tasks are left to machines and products are better made and produced with greater accuracy than any human hand could ever have done. However, with the improvements in efficiency also comes the loss of the personal touch when making these products. For example, many handcrafts are now produced in a factory. Although this means that supply is better able to increase demand, now that the supply is quick and efficient, the demand might fall because mass production lowers the quality of the handicraft and it is difficult to find unique designs on each item.

    Nevertheless, we must not commit the mistake of analyzing progress only from one point of view. In fact, progress has allowed tradition to keep up. It is only with progress and the invention of new technology that many old products can be brought back to their old state. New technology is required for old products to stay old.

    It is people's attitude towards progress that causes the type of influence that technology has on society. Technology is flexible. There is no fixed way of making use of it. Everything depends on people's attitude. The worst effects of progress will fall on those who are unable to think again about their attitudes and views of society. When we accept progress and adapt it to suit our needs, a new “past” is created.

    I decided to ski to the North Pole. It was after I saw an advertisement in a newspaper looking for people to join a team to ski 350 miles to the North Pole. Back in 1996, there had never been a woman from the UK who had accomplished this challenge. I wondered what it would be like to survive in temperatures cold enough to freeze your flesh in seconds, so I sent off for the application form.

    The application form full of pictures of male explores arrived. The words "Are you man enough for the ultimate（极限的）challenge?" made me angry and even more determined to get on the team.

    Over 500 individuals applied for a place in the team, and the selection process included physical and psychological tests designed to pick the best group. In one test, there was a huge rope ladder we had to climb, and I froze at the top because I have a fear of heights. I thought my hopes were fading as most other applicants sailed past, leaving me behind. But two others helped me over, and later I found out that the organizers were not looking for amazing individuals, but great team players, and this moment had shown them who would take care of others in the team.

    I had revealed（显示）my weakness, and in a place like the Arctic, you have to be yourself, as there is nowhere to hide. These personalities of asking for help and showing weakness are necessary for women to master.

    I realized that by being myself, I could succeed. I was selected for the team. I realized that I could achieve more than I ever imagined — more importantly, by sharing my story with others, I could inspire them to take a step into the new world and reveal more of their abilities.

    Florence, Italy

    Who should go: art lovers, Renaissance historians and leather handbag shoppers with high credit limits.

    When to go: spring or fall. Travelers usually avoid summer in Florence.

    Paris, France

    Who should go: starving artists, Henry Miller fans, traditional food lovers.

    When to go: spring is the best time. That's what they all say, anyway. Autumn isn't bad, either, but I'd rather be rooting around the south of France in search of truffles (松露) in autumn. Summer in Paris isn't bad, really.

    Amsterdam, Holland

    Who should go: lovers of Dutch Master (artists I mean, like Rembrandt, not cigars), bicyclists—it's a bike city in a flat land.

    When to go: it can rain at any time in Amsterdam, but that's not a reason for not visiting this fascinating city. Off season tourists will be rewarded with good enough weather to stick around. Summer is good for sun lovers.

    Madrid, Spain

    Who should go: night owls—Madrid never sleeps, art lovers—the Prado is second only to the Louvre in presenting serious art, party-goers.

    When to go: spring, when days are warm and the nights are pleasantly cool. Demand for outside eating and drinking starts becoming stronger in March or April. Street life peaks in June and then slows in July and August as the temperature peaks. Autumn is also good, although you'll risk some rains.

    Venice, Italy

    Who should go: romantic dreamers who like walking through automobile-free streets, your mother (she'll want you to take her there, trust me), almost anyone who wants to see something really different and romantic.

    When to go: February is the time when the famous Venice Carnival is held and the weather is usually cold and foggy—perfect weather for Venice. Summer? A large number of tourists in shorts and whiny children ruin the atmosphere. You'll greatly enjoy yourself there in spring and early fall.