Alan, a boy from India went to study in the UK two years ago. He found a part-time job in a restaurant. Many British students also worked there. Their job was washing the dishes. It was an easy job, but the boss said, "You must wash every dish seven times." At first, Alan was careful. The boss was happy with him. After one month, he found that the boss didn't check very often. He thought there was no difference between five times and seven times. So he just washed five times. He worked very fast. The boss was even happier. One day, a British student asked him why he could wash so fast. Alan told him the secret. The British student was surprised but didn't say anything. A few days later he told the boss about it. The boss fired (解雇) Alan.

    Alan went to other restaurants, but all of them said, "Go away! You are not honest. We don't need you." Alan was sad because he could do nothing.

    He was 11 years old and went fishing every chance he got at his family's small house on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake.

    On the day before the bass(鲈鱼)season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching sunfish and bass with worms. Before long, when his pole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the bank and he very successfully lifted the tired fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.

    The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, the fish jumped up and down in the moonlight. The father looked at his watch. It was 10 P.M.—two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. "You will have to put it back, my son," he said. "I have never seen such a big fish before." cried the boy. "There will be other fish," said his father. "The boy looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were anywhere around in the moonlight. He looked again at his father. Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish, the boy could tell by his father's voice that the decision was not be changed. He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the black water.

    That was 34 years ago. And he has never again caught such a beautiful fish as the one he landed that night long ago. But he does see the fish again and again—every time he comes up against a question of ethics(伦理). For, as his father taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult.

    We would if we were taught to put the fish back when we were young. For we would have learned the truth. The decision to do right lives fresh in our memory. It is a story we will proudly tell our friends and grandchildren.

Hello, friends! My name is Susan. I'm twelve years old and I live in Alton. I would like to talk about my future ideas. When I grow up, I want to be a vet(兽医). Because I like animals. I have two cats, one dog and some fish at home. They are very cute. My favorite TV show is about nature. I often go to the zoo with my parents. There's a museum of nature near my home. I go there every weekend. 

When I leave school, I think I'll go to university and I'll learn how to look after animals. Later I think I'll work at a zoo. I don't want to get married(结婚) too soon, so I think I'll wait until I'm thirty. I don't want to be rich or famous, but I want to be happy. I hope my husband will be a friendly and handsome man. I hope I'll have two lovely girls, too. 

I think that the world will be hardly the same. Most of us will probably drive electric(电动的) cars and there will be very smart robots in our life. I think I'll live in a big city. 

I think life will be easier and people will live longer. We'll care more about nature and animals. 

What about you? What are your plans and predictions for the future?

A long time ago, there was a seed (种子). Because he was only a seed, 1 noticed him. The seed thought he was not important in the world.

One day, a wind 2 the seed and threw him on an open field. Later, he enjoyed the water on rainy days and the 3 on sunny days, which helped him grow. Years later, another day he saw a traveller sitting by his side.

"Wow! How lucky I am! I can have a rest 4 a tree on such a hot day." the traveller said.

"What are you talking about?" the seed quickly asked. He thought the man was playing jokes on him, because no one ever spoke to 5 like that.

"Who just spoke?" the shocked man asked.

"It's me. A seed."

The man said, "Are you joking? You're not a seed! You are a big 6 !

"Really?"

"Yes! People often sit here to 7 your shade (树荫)! Don't tell me you didn't know that."

The traveller's words made him happy. The seed thought and 8 for the first time in his life. The years of torture (折磨) by the sun and the rain helped him 9 grow up. "Oh! That means I'm not a little seed any more! In fact, I can make people feel 10 . Wow! That's great to be helpful."

Hello! I'm Li Ming. I'm happy to share my experience as an exchange student.

Last year, the school {#blank#}1{#/blank#} places for exchange students to study in the UK. I told my parents that I wanted to apply(申请) for the exchange and they said, "It {#blank#}2{#/blank#} you." After thinking twice, I decided to go to England.

In England, I lived with a homestay as a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . The members of this family were {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . I felt very nervous at first because I wasn't {#blank#}5{#/blank#} to speak English correctly. They noticed this and told me some jokes to make me relax. Two days later, I went to school. There were many foreign students like {#blank#}6{#/blank#} in the class. We talked with each other. I slowly formed {#blank#}7{#/blank#} with several students. We often sat near each other in class.

Everything looked fine, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} eating was a problem for me when I was in the UK. The British like eating steak(牛排), cheese and chips because of their food {#blank#}9{#/blank#} . As for me, I {#blank#}10{#/blank#} eating Chinese food, so I often cook Chinese food for myself.

In a word, as an exchange student, I met some problems in life, but I was still very happy.

1. A. offered           B. bought       C. chose                D. found

2. A. looks after        B. depends on       C. points at            D. worries about

3. A. teacher           B. driver       C. coach              D. guest

4. A. serious           B. friendly       C. awful              D. brave

5. A. excited           B. ill       C. certain             D. common

6. A. me     B. you      C. him        D. her

7. A. advantages        B. companies       C. friendships          D. languages

8. A. and    B. or        C. so          D. but

9. A. colour            B. culture       C. price               D. shape

10. A. forget           B. remember       C. prefer          D. finish

任务⒉再次阅读以上短文，回答问题。

①What did the members of the homestay do to make Li Ming relax?

They {#blank#}11{#/blank#} .

②(中考新设问·图文结合) Which paragraph best matches the picture on the right?

It's Paragraph {#blank#}12{#/blank#} .