The Cheater

      Donald was not very good at math. He could not understand the teacher's explanations. “Never mind,”Donald told himself. “I'll cheat in the math exam, then I won't be in trouble.”

      The day of the exam came, and Donald sat next to Brian Smith, who always was at the top of the class in math. Donald carefully copied Brian's answers on to his own exam paper.

      The teacher collected the papers and graded (打分) them. Then she said, “Well, I've decided to give a prize to the student who got the highest grade. It's difficult for me to decide who to give the prize to, because two students, Donald and Brian, got the same grade.

“Let them share it,” one of the other students said. “I've thought about that,” the teacher said, “but I've decided to give the prize to Brian.” Donald stood up and said, “That's not fair. I got the same grade as Brian.”

“That's true,” the teacher said. “However, Brian's answer to Question 18 was ‘I don't know'. Yours was ‘Neither do I'.”

Choose the best answer to each question according to the passage.

SCENE I

One dollar a week

The doorway of the house where Chandler has a room. He is dressed in his best clothes, ready for his evening out. He is going out as his friend, Jeff White, comes in.

WHITE         What are you doing this evening, Towers?

CHANDLER      (Smiling) Tonight I'm going to live like a man with a million dollars!

WHITE         What are you talking about? You haven't got a million dollars!

CHANDLER      How much money are you and I paid each week, Jeff?

WHITE         Eighteen dollars. Why?

CHANDLER      And how much of that eighteen dollars do you spend each week?

WHITE         All of it, of course.

CHANDLER    Well, I don't. Each week I save one dollar out of my eighteen. Then, every ten weeks, I can buy myself an evening to remember.

WHITE         What do you do?

CHANDLER   I put on my finest clothes, go to one of the best restaurants in New York, eat the most expensive food on the menu, drink the best wine, and then take a taxi home!

WHITE          (Surprising) Why?

CHANDLER     Why? Because it makes me feel wonderful to sit with some of the richest people in America, and to make them think that I'm rich, too.

WHITE          You're crazy!

CHANDLER     (Laughing) Perhaps I am!

Mrs Black comes in.

MRS BLACK      Ah, Mr Chandler. I wanted to see you.

CHANDLER      Good evening, Mrs Black. What a lovely evening!

MRS BLACK   Lovely evening perhaps, but you haven't paid me for your room this month. When am I going to get the money?

CHANDLER     Soon, Mrs. Black. Very soon.

Mrs Black looks at Chandler's clothes.

MRS BLACK      You can spend money on expensive clothes, but you can't pay for your room. Is that right?

CHANDLER    (Hurrying away) Good night, Mrs Black!

One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Cindy, my company wants to promote (升职) me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you've done well and allowing you to skip (跳) a grade, but you'll have to leave your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?” She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was lost in thought. The question kept me wondering for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the difficult decisions adults had to make.

     For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd eagerly wait for the phone to ring and then tell her everything happened during the day. A phone call, however, could never take her place and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large empty apartment,   ▲  It was then I started to understand the difficult choices she had to make. She needed to think about both family and work. Faced with difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn't know whether you make the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with a positive attitude.

     Back home, I reminded myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she managed to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be independent. I learn how to take care of myself and set high but achievable goals.

My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the experience has really taught me. I've learned a lot because of this separation. There are lots of difficult decisions that we have to face in our life. We need to have a positive attitude no matter what happens.

    Long long ago, there was a beautiful little girl. She was alone because she had no family and no home. She only had her clothes and some bread. But she was very kind.

    A man asked her if she had something to eat. She gave him her bread. A child cried and told her that his head was very cold. So she gave him her hat. Then, she met a child with no coat. She gave him her coat.

    One day, in the cold dark forest, she met another child who asked for her dress. The little girl thought that it was dark and nobody could see her, so she gave her dress away. At last, she had almost nothing: no family, no where to live, nothing to eat and little to wear.

    Suddenly, stars fell from the sky. These stars became pieces of money and a beautiful dress.

    The little girl was rich for the rest of her life and she still helped the people in need with her money.