C

Liang Xianghua, a 22-year-old girl from Guangxi University, has been well-known in China for her sand painting since her first work was used by CCTV.     "Sand paintings really attracted me while I was watching a video performance, I was surprised by how this artwork melted people's heart in minutes" said Liang. "I fell in love with the way the sand pictures, music and the light combined（融合）with each other to make a flow of emotion（情感）. You can express things freely."

In order to master the skills, Liang practised for several hours every day. She said that she couldn't even do the first step well of throwing sand onto the glass. But she didn't give up.     After finding success with her first show, she was invited to do many performances. This made her quite tired. She decided to give a stop and focus on her study. But an invitation from Malaysia changed her mind just as she was about to wash the sand from her hands. This spring, she was invited by a Malaysia middle school to give a performance. Liang didn't want to do a live show, but agreed to do a video for the school, showing its development over the years.     She received praise for her work and the performance was described as an eye-opener for the students. This made her wonder if her art would be more meaningful if she made it for the poor students.     As a volunteer this time, she plans to take part in a summer programme offering help to pupils in a mountain area, and give the most wonderful show in her life.

    A famous teacher was speaking to the students at our school. He began his lesson by holding up a ¥100 bill. Then he said to the three hundred students, “Who would like this ¥100 bill?” The students began to put up their hands at once.

    Then he said, “I am going to give this ¥100 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He then made the bill into a ball. Then he said, “Who wants it now?” The hands went back into the air.

    “Well,” he said, “What if I do this?” and he dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. He picked up the dirty, crumpled bill and said, “Who still wants it?” Hands went back into the air.

    “My friends,” he said, “you have learned a valua­ble lesson today. No matter (无论) what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not go down in value (价值). It was still worth ¥ l00!”

    Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crum­pled, and stepped on by the chances we take and the things that happen to us. We feel as if we are worth nothing. But remember, no matter what has happened to you, you will never lose your value: you are always valuable to those people who love you. Your value doesn't come from what you do or whom you know, but WHO YOU ARE.

    You are special and valuable. Don't ever forget it!

◆根据以上短文内容，然后从每题所给的四个选项中选择最佳选项。

    Karl was standing before the queen (女王). "You saved my horse," the queen said. "Now I want to give you a gift." The queen showed him two " boxes. In one box, there were lots of beautiful jewels (宝石), and in the other, there were two chickens.

    "Only one box can be yours," the queen said. "Make a wise choice (明智的选择)."

    "That's easy," Karl said. "I'll take the chickens." Some of the people around them laughed. They thought he made a foolish choice.

    "And why did you choose the chickens?" the queen asked. "Well, I don't know much about jewels," Karl answered. "But I do know about chickens. The chickens will give eggs to my family for a long time."

    The queen smiled. "The jewels you see are only colored glass (玻璃). The chickens are much more valuable ( 宝贵的)," she said. "You made a wise choice." Karl thanked the queen and got the box of chickens.

    "You are a smart man," the queen said. "I need a smart man to help take care of my horses. Would you like the job?" Karl smiled and said, "Yes. Thank you!"

    The job paid well. Now Karl's family could have a good life   all because of his choice.

A

    When I was a little kid, a father was like the light in the fridge. Every house had one, but no one really knew what either of them did when the door was shut.

    My dad left the house every morning and always seemed glad to see every one again at night. He opened the jar of pickles when no one else at home could. He was the only one in the house who wasn't afraid to go into the basement by himself. 

    Whenever it rained, he got into the car and brought it around to the door. When anyone was sick, he went out to get the prescription(处方) filled. He set mousetraps. He cut back the roses so the thorns(刺) wouldn't hurt you when you came to the front door. He oiled my roller skates, and they went faster. When I got my bike, he ran alongside me for at least a thousand miles until I got the hang of it. He signed all my report and cards. He took a lot of pictures, but was never in them. He tightened up Mother's sagging(松垂的) clothesline every week or so.

I was afraid of everyone else's father, but not my own. 

    Whenever I played house(玩过家家), the mother doll had a lot to do. I never knew what to do with the daddy doll, so I had him say, "I'm going off to work now," and threw him under the bed.

    When I was nine years old, my father didn't get up one morning and go to work, he went to the hospital and died the next day. 

    There were a lot of people in the house who brought all kinds of good food and cakes. We had never had so much company before. 

    He never did anything; I didn't know his leaving would hurt so much.