and continued to beg. Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant

for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy

doing.

We should remain true to our course, which may mean committing ourselves to things that

people around us would normally disapprove. Let nothing distract us from being happy; let

nothing else determine our fate, but ourselves. What makes us happy is what matters in the end,

not what we acquire.

1、According to the passage, the old man __________.

A、lived in Central London B、came from a poor family

C、began begging as a child

A、I do not pass a course at school

B、I am determined to do something now

C、I fail to stick to what I have been doing

D、I come across difficulties in my studies

3、When they waited for the old man, the police expected he would be _________.

A、pleased to see the clean house B、glad to know that he was rich

C、angry with what they had done D、grateful for what they did for him

4、The old man is admired mainly because _________.

A、he stuck to what he did

C、he was confident in himself B、he had a splendid dream D、he had great plans for the future D、begged in London every day 2、The sentence “I drift off course” might be replaced by _________.

5、The old headmaster told the story to remind his students of the importance of _________.

A、honesty B、commitment C、kindness D、patience

Passage Five

It is often said that politeness costs nothing. In fact, it seems that a little more politeness

could save business ￡5 billion every year. Frequently hearing the phrase “thank you” or “well

done” means the same to staff as a modest pay rise.

Praise and encouragement also makes employees more likely to work hard and stay in their

jobs.

In this way the business companies can save the cost of finding new employees. A third of

1,000 workers surveyed by a consulting firm said they did not get thanked at all when they did

well — and a further third said they were not thanked enough. In both cases, staff said they felt

undervalued, meaning they were less likely to exert themselves and were more likely to look for

employment elsewhere.

The result of the survey shows that there would be around ￡5.2 billion loss in productivity

if the employees felt less appreciated. According to the firm, praising staff has the same positive

effect as a 1 per cent pay rise — and works out much cheaper for bosses. Three out of four

employees said that regular acknowledgement by their bosses was important to them, but only a

quarter said they were actually given as much praise as they felt they needed.

The survey found that those in blue-collar and manual jobs were less likely to be given any

recognition for doing well. But it seems that they most need such praise.

In regional terms, Scottish staff felt most undervalued. Four out of ten workers said they were

never thanked and eight out of ten said they would like more praise. However, workers in the

North-East are less impressed by being praised by the boss, as only 69% said they felt the need to