44．What does the writer learn from his experience?
(A)Wealth is more important than anything else.
(B)Helping others is easier said than done.
(C)Experience is better gained through practice.
(D)Obeying the rules means more than compassion.

40．(A)as if (B)just as (C)just after (D)even though

41. Compassion is a desire within us to help others．With effort, we can translate compassion into action．An experience last weekend showed me this is true．I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly．These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness．But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson．This untidy man walked up to my register(收款机) with a box of biscuits．He said he was out of cash(现金), had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards．He asked if we could let him have the food on trust．He promised to repay me the next day． I couldn’t help staring at him．I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way．I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world．I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so．I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job. Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up．If anything, he looked more pitiable．“Charge it to me,” was all he said. What I had been feeling was pity．Pity is soft and safe and easy．Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action．I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either．Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself．I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion. The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits ______. (A)promised to obey the store rules (B)forgot to take any money with him (C)hoped to have the food first and pay later (D)could not afford anything more expensive

42．Which of the following best describes the old gentleman? (A)kind and lucky (B)poor and lonely (C)friendly and helpful (D)hurt and disappointed

43．The writer acted upon the store rules because ______. (A)he wanted to keep his present job (B)he felt no pity for the old gentleman (C)he considered the old man dishonest (D)he expected someone else to pay for the old man

45.Special Bridges Help Animals Cross the Road ——Reported by Sheila Carrick Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. Most people know this joke．But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road. “Millions of animals die each year on U.S．roads,” the Federal Highway Administration reports．In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S．today．The main reason? Roadkill. “Ecopassages” may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars．They are paths both over and under roads．“These ecopassages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents,” said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society. But do animals actually use the ecopassages? The answer is yes．Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an ecopassage that went under a highway．This showed that the lions used the passage. Builders of ecopassages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them．Animals seem to be catching on．Animals as different as salamanders and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses. The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around．You might see an animals overpass! The writer uses the example of “ocelots” to show that ______. (A)wild animals have become more dangerous (B)the driving conditions have improved greatly (C)the measure for protecting wildlife fails to work (D)an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents

46．From the news story, we know an ecopassage is ______. (A)an underground path for cars (B)a fence built for the safety of the area (C)a bridge for animals to get over a river (D)a pass for animals to cross the road

47．When the writer says that animals seem “to be catching on”, he means ______. (A)animals begin to realize the dangers on the road (B)animals begin to learn to use ecopassages (C)animals are crossing the road in groups (D)animals are increasing in number

48．The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because ______. (A)wild animals may attack cars (B)wild animals may jam the road (C)they may see wild animals in the park (D)they may see wild animals on ecopassages

49. In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget．But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant．The work was hard; the pay was poor; and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible. First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength．For then hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck．Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice．I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night. I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor．I was paid the lowest wage of that time—two dollars an hour．Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible．I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than $ 100 a week. But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions．During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch．Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures．The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone．And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor. I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked．By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again. Why did the writer have to take many jobs at that time? (A)To pay for his schooling. (B)To save for his future. (C)To support his family (D)To gain some experience

50．The following facts describe the terrible working conditions of the plant EXCEPT ______. (A)loading boxes in the freezing cold (B)having limited time for breaks (C)working and studying at the same time (D)getting no pay for lunch time