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 newspapers. 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 in it. He took a walking stick and said, “Everyone has three chances. If anyone can hit that nail（钉子）on the head with this stick more than once, I will give him the job.”

    The boys thought it was very 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 papers, and the next morning 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 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.

根据短文内容，回答下列问题。

    Before you visit a country, knowing about the customs of the country is important and useful. Here are 4 customs you should know before traveling to Japan.

    No. 4 is avoided at all cost.

    In Japan, the number "four" is avoided because it sounds very similar to the word for death. No. 4 is very unlucky as No, 13 in Western culture. And it is used as little as possible. You must always avoid giving anyone something in fours because it can be seen as a very ominous(不吉利的)gt.No.49 is especially unlucky, as it sounds similar to the phrase that means "pain until death". The practice of avoiding No. 4 is called" Tetraphobia (四的禁忌)" and it is common in many East Asian and Southeast Asian regions.

    People will sleep on the trains with their head on your shoulder.

    If someone in Japan falls asleep with his or her head on your shoulder, it is common practice to Just tolerate(容忍) it, because the place where most people work is far from their homes. After working long hours, many people will get very tired and often fall asleep on the train.

    You must always bring a host a gift.

    If you want to visit someone, you must always bring a gift. The gift shoud also be wrapped(包). You should also never refuse a gift if someone visits you.

    Pouring your own glass is considered rude.

    It is common in the US and many other countries in the world to serve others before you serve yourself, _____in Japan you shouldn't pour yourself a drink. If you have poured for others, another guest will hope to see that your drink is empty and pour for you.

⑴题完成句子; ⑵~⑶题简略回答问题; ⑷题找出并写下全文的主题句; ⑸题将文中画线句子译成汉语

    Meeting new people and making friends can be overwhelming, but with a little effort and willingness to step outside of your comfort zone, you can easily make friends. Here are some good ways to make friends.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}This is a great way to find other people who have common interests. If you enjoy something, try searching for a place where you can meet people who share that interest. If you play instruments or sing try joining a band or choir. 1fyou are good at sports, join a sports team.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}You can go to school, join a club, or go to church, but you still won't make friends if you don't actually talk to people. Any time you talk to someone, you have a chance at making a lasting friend You can talk to anybody：the clerk at tile video store, tile person sitting next to you on public transit, or the person in front of you in the lunch line. Don't be too picky.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}That will give you a better opportunity to talk and get to know each other a little bit better. Invite them to join you for lunch or coffee sometimes and give them your email address or phone number. This gives the person the opportunity to contact(联系) you；they may or may not give you their information in return, but that's fine.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Many people think that interesting people are easy to make friends. Far more important than this, however, is the ability to show that you're interested in others Listen carefully to what people say, remember important details about them(their names, their likes and dislikes), ask questions about their interests, and just take the time to learn more about them.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Many people lose contact with their friends because they're either too busy, or just don't value their friends enough. When you lose connection with a friend, tile friendship may fizzle out. And when you do try to contact them again, it can be hard to gain the friendship again.

Future and Today

    It is well known that everyone has his own dream as well as his own future. But do you know what future really is? I have to say that future is now. That is to say we must treasure(珍惜)every minute now. If we want to have a bright future, we should know how important time is and use it well.

    There is an old English saying: "Gain time, gain life." Then what's time？ Time is something that we can't see or touch, but we can feel it passing by. Time is always with us. When we are at table, time passes; when we play, time goes by unnoticeable. We always say "Time is money", but time is even more precious(珍贵的)than money, because when money is spent , we can earn it back. But if time is gone away, it will never return. So, some of us even say time is priceless(无价的).

    We should always remember: future is now. For us students, we should try our best to work hard in order to create a great future of our own. We should make the best use of every hour and be the master of today. We should do everything before us as well as possible. And never put off what can be done today till tomorrow.

    As we all know, "Time and tide wait for no man." If you waste today, you will regret(后悔)tomorrow. So from now on, work hard. Tomorrow will be better, and your future will be brighter. Remember:" No pains, no gains." Today's hard work is the cause of tomorrow's harvest(收获).

Title: Future and Today

It may surprise you to know that at every Olympic Games, some sports are added and others taken away. For example, did you know that tug-of-war was once an Olympic sport? It was dropped long ago though. In London 2012, women's boxing was added. In Rio 2016, golf and rugby sevens were included. Baseball and softball were dropped after Beijing 2008, but returned for Tokyo 2020. Another sport that got approved for Tokyo 2020 was climbing. One sport that isn't on the list of Olympic Games, is trampoline dodgeball (蹦床躲避球). Both climbing and trampoline dodgeball are popular with teens. That's because you don't need to invest in lots of expensive equipment. The following is more related information about them.

Dodgeball is a team game in which players throw balls at each other. The objective is to beat the opposing team's players by hitting them with a ball, catching a ball (the thrower is out), or forcing a player out of the court. In trampoline dodgeball, the game is the same but takes place on a court made out of trampolines. The court has a bouncy floor and high bouncy walls. It's surrounded by nets to catch the balls. The action is fast and fun, and you'll always have a soft landing if you fall!

When might trampoline dodgeball be an Olympic sport? Nobody knows! New sports must fulfil many strict rules before they're accepted. For example, trampoline dodgeball will need to have one set of rules that everyone follows. This includes playing in the same-sized court using the same type of ball.