Before the law sits a gatekeeper. Tothis gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into thelaw. But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at the moment. Theman thinks about it and then asks if he will be allowed to come in sometimelater on. "It is possible," says the gatekeeper, "but notnow." The gate to the law stands open, as always, and the gatekeeper walksto the side, so the man bends over in order to see through the gate into theinside. When the gatekeeper notices that, he laughs and says: "If it tempts you so much, try going insidein spite of my prohibition. But take note. I am powerful. And I am only themost lowly gatekeeper. But from room to room stand gatekeepers, each morepowerful than the other. I cannot endure even one  glimpse of the third."

The man from the country has notexpected such difficulties: the law should always be accessible for everyone,he thinks, but as he now looks more closely at the gatekeeper in his fur coat,at his large pointed nose and his long, thin, black Tartar's beard, he decidesthat it would be better to wait until he gets permission to go inside. Thegatekeeper gives him a stool and allows him to sit down at the side in front ofthe gate. There he sits for days and years. He makes many attempts to be letin, and he wears the gatekeeper out with his requests. The gatekeeper ofteninterrogates him briefly, questioning him about his homeland and many otherthings, but they are indifferent questions, the kind great men put, and at theend he always tells him once more that he cannot let him inside yet. The man,who has equipped himself with many things for his journey, spends everything,no matter how valuable, to win over the gatekeeper. The latter takes it allbut, as he does so, says, "I am taking this only so that you do not thinkyou have failed to do anything." ②

During the many years the man observesthe gatekeeper almost continuously. He forgets the other gatekeepers, and thisfirst one seems to him the only barrier for entry into the law. He curses theunlucky circumstance, in the first years thoughtlessly and out loud; later, ashe grows old, he only mumbles to himself. He becomes childish and, since in thelong years studying the gatekeeper he has also come to know the fléas ( PZ) inhis fur collar, he even asks the fleas to help him persuade the gatekeeper.Finally his eyesight grows weak, and he does not know whether things are reallydarker around him or whether his eyes are merely deceiving him. But herecognizes now in the darkness a ray of light which breaks out of the gatewayto the law. Now he no longer has much time to live.

Before his death he gathers in his headall his experiences of the entire time up into one question which he has notyet put to the gatekeeper. He waves to him, since he can no longer lift up hisstiffening body. The gatekeeper has to bend way down to him, for the greatdifference has changed things considerably to the disadvantage of the man. ③ "You are insatiable (不知足的)."^t"Everyone strives after the law," says the man, "so how isit that in these many years no one except me has requested entry?" Thegatekeeper sees that the man is already dying and, in order to reach hisdiminishing sense of hearing, he shouts at him, "Here no one else can gainentry, since this entrance was assigned only to you. I'm going now to close it."④

    Traffic problems are an everyday concern in many cities，including Washington，DC．A growing number of Washingtonians are turning to bicycles to get to and from work．In fact，the number of commuters who use bicycles has doubled in the city since 2007．

    Ralph Buehler teaches urban planning at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University，popularly known as Virginia Tech．He has written a book about urban biking，calledCity Cyclin . g．He says there is a reason why urban bike tiding is now becoming more popular．

    “Over the last 60 to 70 years，cities in America have adapted to the automobile．”

    “Most cities took advantage of the money coming for the interstate highway system，from the federal government，  starting in 1956．There was a 90 percent federal match(补贴)so the cities only had to put up 10％．It was very tempting．”

    In the years after World War Two，many Americans moved to suburban communities，just outside major cities．They decided to travel great distances to and from work in exchange for a home in the suburbs．Their cars became a symbol of freedom．

    But today，many people believe they can save money by living in the city．

    Greg Billing is with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association．“When a person makes a change from using a car to using a bike，he／she is saving anywhere between 8 or $9，000 a year．”

    Ralph Buehler says governments save money when people use bicycles．“Building bicycling facilities is much cheaper than building and maintaining road facilities or public transport．”

    Washington，DC has also taken steps to protect bike riders．It approved a safe passing law and created areas on the road between cars and bikes．

    The United States Census Bureau says 4％of the city's workers ride to work by bike．The only city on the East Coast with more bike commuters is New York．

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    Sydney Trains is one of the most economical, reliable and convenient ways to travel throughout Sydney and its surrounds.

    Our network, the NSW Trains Intercity, covers suburban Sydney and extends to the Hunter, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands and South Coast regions.

    The network is made up of several color-coded lines. Trains from different lines can share the same platform, so check display screen and listen to announcements.

    Ticket prices are generally based on the distance traveled. You can visit transportnsw. Info for details.

    Getting to the City.

    In Sydney, if you're near a train station, you're on your way to the city. Every rail line leads directly or indirectly to the City Circle. It's the loop around the central business district of Sydney. Most City stations are underground so look out for the sign on street level.

    Automatic ticket gates

    Large stations have automatic gates for entry to, and exit from, the station. If you have an Opal card or a ticket which has a magnetic stripe you must use the automatic gates. You may use the wide gate for wheelchair, pram or luggage access. Station staff will assist you.

    Night Ride buses

    Most trains do not operate between midnight and 4:00 a.m. For your convenience a special Night Ride bus service is available between these hours on most Sydney suburban lines.

    Track work

    In order for the tracks to the maintained, we sometimes have to replace train with buses, particularly at weekends, Please check the track work section for the latest service alterations on your line.

Kindle E-reader, 8th generation

    Free Touchscreen Display

    Price: $79. 99

    ● Thin and light for one-handed reading

    New Kindle is 11% thinner and 16% lighter than the previous generation Kindle, making it easy and comfortable to hold in one hand.

    ● Read like real Paper

    Kindle creates text similar to what you see in a physical book. The blacks and whites on the screen are uniform, improving text and image quality.

    ●Long-life battery

    Kindle doesn't need power to show a page of text, allowing you to read for weeks on a single charge.

    ● Thousands of books, no distraction (分心)

    Kindle is designed to be an e-reader. It satisfies your love of reading without interruptions like e-mails and phone calls.

    ●Look it up without leaving your page

    Smart Lookup combines entries from The New Oxford American Dictionary with information from Wikipedia, so you can know meanings, characters and more without losing your place.

    ●Adjust your text size

    Choose from eight text sizes to prevent tired eyes, so you can keep reading longer.

    Customer reviews:

    ※ Damon, May 21, 2019

    The price is great with an extra $ 20 off and this new Kindle is smaller in my hands than my old one. I was sad to lose my old Kindle, but this one is terrific.

    ※ Jason, January 26, 2019

    I miss the original Kindlers size—this one is too small. Also, the screen is overly sensitive and things pop up (弹出) and the battery doesn't last as long as the original Kindle. But my biggest disappointment is that this Kindle doesn't allow you to transfer everything from the original Kindle、so I lost all of the information from my old one. Overall, disappointing.

    ※ Susan, November 17, 2018

    I had the original Kindle, and the battery lasted for weeks. This battery only seems to last a few days, however. The other problem I have with this version of the Kindle is the touch screen. It is annoying when you are reading and start turning the wrong way. Sometimes, it's hard to get the page to turn the way you'd like it to.

    Many doors close for those who have ever been in prison for a crime. It can be difficult for former prisoners to reenter society. A number of training programs are aimed at reopening doors for these men and women.

    "Together We Bake" teaches cooking and marketing skills to women who have spent time in prison so they can start new lives. It is a 10-week program which teaches women how to bake and sell cookies. Two friends, Tricia Sabatini and Stephanie Wright, created the program.

    "I have a background in social work and she is an amazing baker," Ms. Wright explains. "We discovered that for this population of women, returning from prison into the community, there aren't a lot of resources for them. So we thought we could combine our passions (激情) and develop this job as a training program. "Stephanie Wright says they started the program earlier this year." We had two classes so far that have graduated. This is our third class. We have eight women currently in this class. We've 16 women graduated in the first two classes."

    Terry Garred is one of the graduates. She says the program helped her turn her life around. Next she hopes to complete her high school studies. She is also working for "Together We Bake" to help other women follow the path she took.

    The program includes classes in which the women talk about their experiences and learn communication and job skills. Thirty-six-year-old Jamie White had spent three years in jail, which made her a little puzzled about her future life back into society. But she found those meeting were very helpful. She learned how to open up, and was just trying to better herself. She gained new skills. She sells baked goods at local markets every weekend now.

Dear Mr.ing,

    I'm Bob Watson, one of the customers in your grocery store. I'm writing to express my idea about your goods.

    Your Supermart is outstanding in many ways. First I enjoy the selection of produce and fresh bakery items. Second your low prices and excellent customer service keep me coming back to Supermart. I have found, however, that I must make a separate shopping trip to one of your competitors because there are many items your store does not carry. This becomes inconvenient for me, as my time is valuable, and I don't like to make two trips. I have been a long time Supermart shopper and hope to continue for many years. If I could find all the items I need in one place, I would be a more satisfied customer.

    Specifically, I have never been able to purchase nacho cheese soup at your store. I can find other flavors (味道) of soup, but your store does not carry nacho cheese soup, a common ingredient (原料) in many of my recipes. In addition, I can only find large wonton wrappers, while many other stores carry both large and small and offer a more varied selection for their customers. Another example is Regent Brand Chili Seasoning. Though it is not a leading brand, it is still common on the shelves of other grocery stores in this area and is superior in flavor to its competitors.

    I sincerely hope to continue a relationship with your store, and I hope that you will consider the possibility of expanding your goods to be more competitive.

Yours truly,

Bob Watson