I try not to be biased（偏見）but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His social worker assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee. He was short, a little fat, with the smooth facial features and thick-togued speech of Down’s Syndrome（唐氏綜合癥）. I thought most of my customers would be uncomfortable around Stevie, so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.
I shouldn’t have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my regular trucker customers had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished.
Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home.
That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a heart surgery. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often had heart problems at an early age and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.
A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, my head waitress, did a little dance when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at her and asked, “Okay, Frannie, what was that all about?”
"We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay."
"I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?"
Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed: "Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK," she said. "But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is."
Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables.
After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand.
"What's up?" I asked.
“I cleared off that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting after they left, and I found this. This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup."
She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie".
That was three months ago. Today is New Year’s day , the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he had been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, I arranged to have his mother bring him to work, met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back. I took him and his mother by their arms. “To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me.”
I led them toward a large corner booth. I could feel and hear truck customers and the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups and dinner plates, all sitting slightly on dozens of folded paper napkins.
"First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said.
Stevie looked at me, and then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed on it.
I turned to his mother. “There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. Happy Thanksgiving!”
While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table.
1.Why did the author have doubts about hiring Stevie?
A．Stevie was not that reliable. B．Stevie was mentally disabled
C．Stevie was too short and fat. D．Stevie was bad-tempered
2.What made the author not fully satisfied with Stevie’s work?
A．That he made customers uncomfortable. B．That he couldn’t pay attention to his duties.
C．That he often spilled cups of coffee. D．That he usually cleaned the table too early.
3.By saying the underlined words in Paragaraph3, the author meant that the money she paid Stevie .
A．could help Stevie out of the trouble B．could send Stevie to a group home
C．couldn’t thoroughly solve Stevie’s problem D．could make a great difference to Stevie’s life
4.Why did the author ask Stevie to clean up the mess on the table?
A．Stevie could pick up the money that was given to him.
B．The table was so dirty that it needed cleaning.
C．It was Stevie’s duty to clean the table.
D．She wanted to congratulate Stevie on his coming back.
5.What made Stevie popular among the staff and customers in the restaurant?
A．His special appearance. B．His hard work and optimism.
C．His funny speeches and actions. D．His kind-hearted behaviour.
奪冠金卷全能練考系列答案科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
完形填空。從短文后所給各題的四個選項中選出一個能填入空格的最佳答案，每小題1.5分，共30分。
My name's Jim Shelley and I'm an addict(有癮的人）.With these words I began to_36__the problem, the problem of my telephone addiction. I used to call people_37___, from the moment I woke up to the time I went to sleep,I__38__to be phoned, I wanted to phone, Just one more call. It started socially --a few calls each day. It seemed__39___, just a quick chat.
Gradually though, the __40___got worse. Soon it was__41___use,until,finally,addiction. And it began to affect my__42___.During the work day, I would disappear for a quick 43 . If I couldn't make a call, I spent the whole time waiting for the phone to ring. Getting more and more__44___,in the end, I would ring someone, then someone else,__45___myself just one more call. I was phoning people and__46___messages to make sure__47___calls would see me through the day.
I used to arrive at friends homes and before the door was closed, go straight for the phone with the___48___"Is it OK if I just use the phone...?"At work, I became__49___when my fellow workers tried to__50___me from using the phone. And one day I hit my boss(with the phone). Finally the police caught me___51___a phone box that had take my last one pound coin, and I was__52___to see a psychiatrist(心理醫生）. I haven't__53__a phone in the house for three weeks now, and it's several days__54___I used a phone box. I try not to watch TV because there are__55___people on it making phone calls. My name is Jim Shelley and I am an addict.
36.A.face B.find C.accept D.notice
A.now and then B.all the time C.at home D.at work
A.tried B.asked C.waited D.invited
A.polite B.important C.fine D.special
A.condition B.situation C.result D.effect
A.frequent B.regular C.unusual D.particular
A.friends B.study C.family D.work
A. a call B. a secret C. an accident D. a reply
A.hopeful B.delighted C.frightened D.anxious
A.forcing B.telling C.giving D.limiting
A.sending B.taking C.passing D.recording
A.long B.immediate C.enough D.surprising
A.saying B.demands C.with D.words
A.careful B.mad C.determined D.helpless
A.save B.reduce C.protect D.stop
A.destroying B.using C.stealing D.emptying
A.offered B.guided C.ordered D.reminded
A.missed B.had C.accepted D.fixed
A.as B.when C.if D.since
A.always B.just C.more D.different
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科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學年江西省高三第四次（12月）月考英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解
Nowadays more and more people are trapped in too busy work to relax themselves. We have no time to tell a bed-time story to our children, or enjoy a nice dinner with our family, or take a break to think about how we live the precious life, or even meet friends. All we notice is that the distinctions that used to guide and steady us ------ between Sunday and Monday, public and private, here and there ------ are gone. We have more ways to communicate, but less and less to say. Partly because we’re so busy communicating.
Maybe that’s why more and more people I know, even if they have no religious commitment, seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or tai chi. Some friends of mine try to go on long walks every Sunday, or to “forget” their cell phones at home. A series of tests in recent years has shown that after spending time in quiet rural settings, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.” More than that, empathy, as well as deep thought, depends on neural processes that are “inherently slow. ” The very ones our high-speed lives have little time for.
In my own case, I turn to eccentric and often extreme measures to try to keep my sanity and ensure that I have time to do nothing at all. I’ve not yet used a cell phone and I’ve never Tweeted or entered Face book. I try not to go online till my day’s writing is finished, and I moved from Manhattan to rural Japan.
None of this is a matter of principle or asceticism (苦行主義): it’s just pure selfishness. Nothing makes me feel better-----calmer, clearer and happier----than being in one place, absorbed in a book, a conversation, a piece of music. It’s actually something deeper than mere happiness: it’s joy, which the monk David Steindl-Rast describes as “that kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” That is the highest of the highest we have been longing for----The Joy of Quiet.
1.The writer sometimes doesn’t do anything because ________.
A．he is out of work . B．whatever he does make no sense
C．he is worried about his writing. D．he can enjoy himself in his leisure time.
2.When the writer uses the word “forget” , his real meaning is _______.
A．Somebody really forgets his cell phone at home.
B．Somebody thinks cell phone is not a suitable means of communication.
C．Somebody hates modern techniques such as the cell phone.
D．Somebody leaves his cell phone at home on purpose.
3.Which of the following is right?
A．It is better to go back to the ancient times since we are so busy now.
B．The writer is unwilling to help others since he is selfish.
C．Slowing down to find time and space to think and enjoy oneself is urgent.
D．We have more to say because we have more ways to communicate.
4.What does the underlined word mean?
A．difference B．sameness C．simplicity D．complication
5.What is the main idea of the article?
A．The importance of spending time in quiet.
B．We can do some sports such as yoga to relax.
C．Principle or asceticism is important in one’s life.
D．The more we communicate, the more we will be closer.
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科目：高中英語 來源：2012屆海南省高二上學期期末考試英語卷（重點班） 題型：完型填空
完形填空。從短文后所給各題的四個選項中選出一個能填入空格的最佳答案，每小題1.5分，共30分。
My name's Jim Shelley and I'm an addict(有癮的人）.With these words I began to_36__the problem, the problem of my telephone addiction. I used to call people_37___, from the moment I woke up to the time I went to sleep,I__38__to be phoned, I wanted to phone, Just one more call. It started socially --a few calls each day. It seemed__39___, just a quick chat.
Gradually though, the __40___got worse. Soon it was__41___use,until,finally,addiction. And it began to affect my__42___.During the work day, I would disappear for a quick 43 . If I couldn't make a call, I spent the whole time waiting for the phone to ring. Getting more and more__44___,in the end, I would ring someone, then someone else,__45___myself just one more call. I was phoning people and__46___messages to make sure__47___calls would see me through the day.
I used to arrive at friends homes and before the door was closed, go straight for the phone with the___48___"Is it OK if I just use the phone...?"At work, I became__49___when my fellow workers tried to__50___me from using the phone. And one day I hit my boss(with the phone). Finally the police caught me___51___a phone box that had take my last one pound coin, and I was__52___to see a psychiatrist(心理醫生）. I haven't__53__a phone in the house for three weeks now, and it's several days__54___I used a phone box. I try not to watch TV because there are__55___people on it making phone calls. My name is Jim Shelley and I am an addict.
36.A.face B.find C.accept D.notice
1.A.now and then B.all the time C.at home D.at work
2.A.tried B.asked C.waited D.invited
3.A.polite B.important C.fine D.special
4.A.condition B.situation C.result D.effect
5.A.frequent B.regular C.unusual D.particular
6.A.friends B.study C.family D.work
7. A. a call B. a secret C. an accident D. a reply
8.A.hopeful B.delighted C.frightened D.anxious
9.A.forcing B.telling C.giving D.limiting
10.A.sending B.taking C.passing D.recording
11.A.long B.immediate C.enough D.surprising
12.A.saying B.demands C.with D.words
13.A.careful B.mad C.determined D.helpless
14.A.save B.reduce C.protect D.stop
15.A.destroying B.using C.stealing D.emptying
16.A.offered B.guided C.ordered D.reminded
17.A.missed B.had C.accepted D.fixed
18.A.as B.when C.if D.since
19.A.always B.just C.more D.different
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科目：高中英語 來源：2010屆福建省三明市三校高三上學期期末聯考 題型：閱讀理解
第三部分 閱讀理解
閱讀下面短文，從題后所給的A、B、C、D四個答案中選出最佳選項。
All her life, my mother wanted busy children. It was very important that her house should remain at all times clean and tidy.
You could turn your back for a moment in my mother's house, leave a half-written letter on the dining room table, a magazine open on the chair, and turn around to find that my mother had "put it back where it belonged." as she explained.
My wife, on one of her first visits to my mother's house, placed a packet of biscuits on an end table and went to the kitchen to fetch a drink. When she returned, she found the packet had been removed. Confused, she set down her drink and went back to the kitchen for more biscuits, only to return to find that her drink had disappeared. Up to then she had guessed that everyone in my family held onto their drinks, so as not to make water rings on the end tables. Now she knows better.
These disappearances had a confusing effect on our family. We were all inclined to (有...的傾向) forgetfulness, and it was common for one of us, upon returning from the bathroom, to find the every sign of his work in progress had disappeared suddenly. "Do you remember what I was doing?" was a question frequently asked, but rarely answered.
Now my sister has developed a second-hand love of clean windows, and my brother does the cleaning in his house, perhaps to avoid having to be the one to lift his feet. I try not to think about it too much, but I have at this later time started to dust the furniture once a week.
56. Which of the following is TRUE about my mother?
A. She enjoyed removing other's drinks.
B. She became more and more forgetful.
C. She preferred to do everything by herself.
D. She wanted to keep her house in good order.
57. My wife could not find her biscuits and drink in my mother's house because _______.
A. she had already finished them B. my mother had taken them away
C. she forgot where she had left them D. someone in my family was holding them
58. The underlined part to the fifth paragraph suggests that my sister _______.
A. is happy to clean windows B. loves to clean used windows
C. is fond of clean used windows D. likes clean windows as my mother did
59. This passage mainly tells us that _______.
A. my mother often made us confused
B. my family members had a poor memory
C. my mother helped us to form a good habit
D. my wife was surprised when she visited my mother
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