Some time ago, an old businessman had a large store in Boston. He wanted a boy to work for him, and he put an advertisement in the newspaper. The next morning, many boys came to the old man's office, asking for the job.

 There was a post(柱子)by his desk, and there was a nail(钉子）in it. He took a walking stick and said, "Everyone has three chances. If anyone can hit the nail on the head with this stick more than once, I will give him the job."The boys thought it was easy. They all tried, but nobody could make it. So the old man said, "I'm sorry I can't take any of you."And they left.

  He kept the advertisement in the paper, and the next morning many more boys came, and among them he saw a thin boy who had been there the day before. The boy hit the nail successfully for three times. The old man felt surprised and asked how he did that. "Yes," said the boy, "I failed yesterday, but I thought that if I kept on trying a while, I could do it. So I went home and practiced hitting a nail with a stick till I could do it, and I got up very early this morning, and tried again."

 The old man said, "You are the boy for me." And he gave him the job. Whatever the boy had to do, he tried to do his best. It was not very long before he became the best clerk in the store.

Answer the questions according to the passage.

(C)

配对阅读。左栏是5个人的活动计划。右栏是7个人的时间安排情况。请为左边的每个人选择最适合参加其活动计划的人。

From the Other Side

    Lara and Tara are twins.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, but they are very different in everything else. For example, hot food is Lara's favorite, and Tara has a sweet choice.

    However, this isn't the problem with the twin girls. They always argued that the opposite one was wrong.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}, while Tara insisted that mornings were fresh and it was difficult to stay up till midnight.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. To put an end to their fights, their parents decided to create a small drama. They wanted the girls to understand that they were both correct from their own point of view. Their parents covered the girls' eyes with black ribbons, and brought them to the dining room. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Lara was asked to stand on one side of the board and Tara on the other. They couldn't see the other side of it. When the ribbons were taken away, they were surprised to see a huge board between them.

    Now, their father asked Lara, "What's the color of the board?" She replied, "It's black!" {#blank#}5{#/blank#}She replied, "It's white!" The two girls began to argue again. While Lara was confident it was black, Tara was sure it was white. Then, they were asked to exchange(交换)their places. They couldn't believe their eyes. Tara, who insisted it was a white board, saw a black one. Similarly, Lara, who argued the board was black, was shocked to see a white one. They understood that each of them was right in her own view. Most of us are like Lara and Tara. We are right most times, but insist that others are wrong!

A. They look like each other

B. For years, their arguments continued

C. Their mother asked Tara the same question

D. In the room, a big board was placed in the middle

E. Lara thought it was terrible to get up early in the morning

    Once, a student complained to his teacher about his unhappy life. The teacher decided to teach him a lesson.

    One day, he asked the student to get some salt and a glass of water.

The student returned with a glass of clean water and a handful of salt. The teacher asked the young man to put the salt into the glass and drink it.

    "How does it taste?" the teacher asked.

    "It tastes bitter (味苦的)," the student replied.

    The teacher didn't say anything else, but asked the young man to get the same amount (数量) of salt and follow the teacher to a nearby lake.

    "Put the salt into the lake," the teacher said. The young man did what the teacher said.

    "Now, taste the water from the lake," the teacher said.

    As the water dropped down the young man's chin, the teacher asked, "How does it taste?"

    "Fresh and a bit sweet," the student said.

    "Do you taste the salt?" the teacher asked.

    "No," the young man shook his head.

    The teacher sat beside the young man and said, "The pain of life is like salt — no more, no less. However, the amount of bitterness you taste depends on the container (容器) you put the pain in." The amount of pain in life stays exactly the same. So when you are in pain, the only thing to do is to open up the mind. Stop being a glass, become a lake.

    Nick and his friends were talking about things that can bring them luck.

    "I have a lucky red pen," said Andy. "Every time I take a test, I carry my lucky red pen."

    "I have a lucky coin," said Peter. "Every time I take a test, I carry my lucky coin."

    Nick thought for a moment, and said, "My blue socks."

    "Blue socks?" the boys were surprised and asked together.

    Nick said that every time he wore his blue socks to school before a test, he got a good mark.

    The next day Nick had a Chinese test. He was sad because he couldn't find his blue socks.

    "Mom!" shouted Nick. "Where my blue socks? I have a Chinese test today, and I need to wear them."

    "Don't be silly," Nick's mom said. "They need to be washed." "When I wear them, I get a good grade," Nick said.

    "Did you prepare for your test?" asked Mom.

    "Yes."

    Mom encouraged him,"①那就不用担心了。尽你的最大努力吧。"

    A few days later, Nick's teacher told him that he got 95 in his test. ②Nick was so excited that he couldn't wait to tell Mom that he did well in his test.

    Mom said, "It wasn't the blue socks that made you success. In fact, it was made by yourself."

    ①它是世界上最流行的歌曲。It has been sung hundreds of millions of times each year. It has been heard in outer space, at baseball stadiums, in movies and in domiciles(住处) from the White House to the remotest (最遥远的) backwoods shack (棚屋) in Mississippi. It has been wired to millions of music boxes, greeting cards, watches, toys, games and other products. And it is the only song in the English language to make people of all ages smile and sing along. ②The song, of course, is "Happy Birthday to You."

    This amazing song began its life in 1893. Written by two sisters from Kentucky, Mildred and Patty Hill, it was originally (起初) named "Good Morning to All", and intended as a classroom greeting from teachers to students.

    Good morning to you.

    Good morning to you.

    Good morning, dear children.

    Good morning to all.

    To this day, no one knows for sure who wrote the new words to Hill's melody (旋律)，or exactly when it happened. "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in a songbook in 1924. The words were presented as the second stanza (节) to "Good Morning to You".