One day a poor man was cutting a big piece of wood (木头) near a river. Suddenly his old axe (斧子) fell into the water. He felt very sad because he lost his only axe. Then all at once a beautiful fairy (仙女) came out and asked the man what was the matter.

    "I have lost my axe." he said, "It fell into the water when I was cutting the wood."

    The fairy showed him a gold axe and asked, "Is that yours?"

    "No." said the man.

    The fairy then showed him a silver (银) axe and asked again, "Is this yours?"

    "No." again answered the man.

    Then she showed  him the old axe.

    "Yes, that is mine." called out the happy man.

    "I know it well enough." said the fairy, "I only wanted to see if you would tell me the truth, and now I'll give you the gold axe and the silver axe besides (包括)  your own one."

先通读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后在每小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

    An old carpenter(工匠)was ready to retire(退休).His boss was 1 to see the good worker leave. He asked the carpenter if he could build just one more 2 . The carpenter said yes, but his mind was not on his work any more. He used poor materials and 3worked on the house. When the carpenter finished his work, the boss  4 the front-door key to him and said, "This is your house. It's a 5 for you."

    What a surprise! If he had known he was 6 his own house, he would have done it differently. Now he had to live in the house he poorly built.

    So it is with us. Sometimes we build our 7 carelessly. At important points we do not try our best. Then with a shame we look at the things we did. We find that we are living in the house we have poorly built 8we don't have a chance(机会)to make it all over again.

    Think of  9as the carpenter. Think about your life. Build it carefully and wisely. It is the only life you will ever build because life is a do-it-yourself project.

    Your life today is the 10 of  your attitudes(态度)and choices(选择)you made in the past. Your life tomorrow will be that of your attitude and choices you make today.

A

    An Englishman was showing a foreign visitor around London.“What's that strange building?” asked the visitor.“That's the Tower (塔) of London.”“I see. How long did it take to build it?”“About 500 years.”“In my country we can build it in a few months.”said the visitor. After they came to St. Paul's Cathedral (大教堂), the visitor asked the same question. “Nearly forty years,”said the Englishman. “In my country we finish it in forty days at most,” said the visitor. This went on all day. They visited most of the best known buildings in the city. Every time they saw a new one, the visitor asked what it was and how long it took to build it. Then he said they could do the same thing much faster in his country. At last the Englishman got angry with the visitor though he tried not to show it. Several days later they came to the House of Parliament (议会) and the visitor asked his usual question, “What's that?” The Englishman answered, “I have no idea. It wasn't there last night.”

根据短文内容，选择正确答案。

    Dear Adam,

    I'm on vacation in Central America and having a great time. I'm in Guatemala. It's a small country but there is so much to see and do! There are volcanoes (火山), mountains, rainforests, beaches and Mayan temples (玛雅寺庙) in the country.

    The Mayan people have a long and interesting history. They built many temples. Last Friday I visited a Mayan temple at a place called Tikal. The temple has a history of about 1,300 years. It is a wonderful place to visit.

    I am staying at Lake Atitlan now. Some people say it is the most beautiful lake in the world. It is a very big lake and there are mountains and volcanoes around it. You can walk around the lake and even climb to the top of a volcano.

    The volcanoes at Lake Atitlan are not active volcanoes (活火山), but tomorrow I am going to see an active volcano called Pacaya. Active volcanoes can be dangerous because they still erupt (爆发) sometimes. I want to climb Pacaya. It erupted in 2010. I hope it won't erupt when I' m there!

      I'll send (发送,) you another e-mail soon.

                                                      All the best,

                                                       Kate

    One morning, I was driving my father-in-law to the airport when a plane flew silently over the road like a big bird, about to touch down at the airport.

    "It's magic," my father-in-law said. I looked at him, without knowing what was happening.

    He was a doctor who gave speeches at colleges and had visited more than 100 countries. He understood better than I why a plane can fly in the sky. It, really, wasn't magic. But now, I realize he was at least right in some way.

    Though flying might not be magic, it's certainly magical. What it brings to our real lives is something found in our dreams.

    But too often, we, especially I forget. I read a sentence a few months ago. It said, "You know you're growing-up when you no longer want a window seat."

    Too often in recent years, I've asked for a seat near the exit row, forgetting the wonders of traveling fast. But sometimes, when the Wi-Fi's not working or my computer has no power, I remember to look.

    I think of one time when I was leaving on a family vacation. Moments after take-off, I started working. But a passenger behind me wouldn't stop talking. "The clouds!" he kept saying, "Look at the clouds!"

I turned around, and saw two men, one who appeared to be in his seventies and the other much younger. The chat continued for 20 minutes until, not patiently, I raised my eyes from my computer screen and looked out of the window.

    The clouds!

    He was right. We were floating through big soft balls of cotton, each in different shapes. They seemed easy enough to touch. The afternoon sun provided all kinds of colors, all against a blue sky. I put away my computer and appreciated(欣赏)them for the rest of the flight.

    I don't remember the work I felt like I had to complete that afternoon. I've never forgotten those clouds.