A TAXI driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Inspiring speakers charge thousands of dollars to give his kind of training to corporate directors and staff.  It cost me only a ＄12 taxi ride.

I had flown into Dallas just for the purpose of calling on a client. Time was important and my plan included a quick turn – around trip from and back to the airport. A clean taxi pulled up.

The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As be got in the driver’s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.

Well! I looked around for a “Candid Camera!” Wouldn’t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, “Obviously you take great pride in you work. You must have a story to tell.”

“You bet,” he replied, “I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my right position in life, somewhere I could feel proud of being the best I could be.

I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day’s work and done it well. I evaluated my personal property and, I became a taxi driver!

One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I jus have to meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXEED the customer’s expectations! I like the sound of being ‘great’ better than just being ‘a(chǎn)verage’. ”

Did I tip him big time? You bet!

 The taxi driver taught me a great life lesson: Go an extra mile when providing any service to others. And there is no good or bad job you can make any job good.

What lesson did the author learn from the taxi driver?

    A．How to make the best use of time.

    B．How to do better in the service business.

    C．How to turn an interest into your career.

    D．How to become a motivational speaker.

Why did the author look around for a “Candid Camera”?

    A．Because he was afraid he would be photographed in the cab.

    B．Because he was worried what the driver could be up to.

    C．Because he was amazed by the way the driver was treating him.

    D．Because he wasn’t interested in the tapes offered by the driver

It can be inferred from the story that          .

    A．the taxi driver couldn’t accept just being average

    B．the author was anxious to get back to meet a client

    C．when the author waited for a taxi at the airport, he was not in a rush

    D．the taxi driver loved to play his favorite music during rides

According to the story, the taxi driver        .

    A．was dissatisfied wit his present job

    B．was once often rewarded for being a model worker

    C．enjoyed offering his customers more than they expected

    D．was forced to become a taxi driver to support his family

A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.

“It’s extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components(元件), ”said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components. “The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.

They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencies on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it’s connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation, sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.

While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers’ fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.

Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day-to-day basis.”

72. The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that ________.

A. they had no model in their mind

B. they did not have sufficient time

C. they had no ready-made components

D. they could no assemble the components

73. It can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4 that the robotic fly_________.

A. consists of a flight device and a control system

B. can just fly in limited areas at the present time

C. can collect information from many sources

D. has been put into wide application

74. Which of the following can be learned from the passage?

A. The robotic flyer is designed to learn about insects.

B. Animals are not allowed in biological experiments.

C. There used to be few ways to study how insects fly.

D. Wood’s design can replace animals in some experiments.

75. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A. Father of Robotic Fly

B. Inspiration from Engineering Science

C. Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life Insect

D. Harvard Breaks Through in Insect Study

D
　There was a story many years ago of a school teacher--- Mrs. Thompson. She told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same. But that was a lie. There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. He didn’t play well with the other children and he always needed a bath. She did not like him.
Then Mrs. Thompson got to know that Teddy was actually a very good boy before the death of his mother. Mrs. Thompson was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when, like all her other students, Teddy brought her a Christmas present too. It was his mother’s perfume.
Teddy said, “Mrs. Thompson, today you smell just like my Mom used to.” After the children left ，she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she stopped teaching reading, writing and math. Instead, she began to teach children.
Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. The boy’s mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he improved. By the end of the sixth grade, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class.
Six years went by before she got a note from Teddy. He wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. He went to college. Mrs. Thompson got two more letters from him with the last one signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M. D.
The story doesn’t end there. On his wedding day, Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson’s ear, “Thank you, Mrs. Thompson, for believing in me. You made me feel important and showed me that I could make a difference.”
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back, “Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”
68. What did Mrs. Thompson do on the first day of school?
A. She made Teddy feel ashamed.
B. She asked the children to play with Teddy.
C. She changed Teddy’s seat to the front row.
D. She told the class something untrue about herself.
69. What did Mrs. Thompson find out about Teddy?
A. He often told lies.  
B. He was good at math. 
C. He needed motherly care.  
D. He enjoyed playing with others.
70. In what way did Mrs. Thompson change?
A. She taught fewer school subjects.
B. She became stricter with her students.
C. She no longer liked her job as a teacher.
D. She cared more about educating students.
71. Why did Teddy thank Mrs. Thompson at his wedding?
A. She had kept in touch with him.
B. She had given him encouragement.
C. She had sent him Christmas presents.
D. She had taught him how to judge people.

A TAXI driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Inspiring speakers charge thousands of dollars to give his kind of training to corporate directors and staff.  It cost me only a ＄12 taxi ride.
I had flown into Dallas just for the purpose of calling on a client. Time was important and my plan included a quick turn – around trip from and back to the airport. A clean taxi pulled up.
The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As be got in the driver’s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.
Well! I looked around for a “Candid Camera!” Wouldn’t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, “Obviously you take great pride in you work. You must have a story to tell.”
“You bet,” he replied, “I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my right position in life, somewhere I could feel proud of being the best I could be.
I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day’s work and done it well. I evaluated my personal property and, I became a taxi driver!
One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I jus have to meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXEED the customer’s expectations! I like the sound of being ‘great’ better than just being ‘a(chǎn)verage’. ”
Did I tip him big time? You bet!
The taxi driver taught me a great life lesson: Go an extra mile when providing any service to others. And there is no good or bad job you can make any job good.
【小題1】What lesson did the author learn from the taxi driver?

A．was dissatisfied wit his present job

B．was once often rewarded for being a model worker

C．enjoyed offering his customers more than they expected

D．was forced to become a taxi driver to support his family

A motivational strategy that parents can employ with their kids, is to frame tasks and responsibilities in the context of what the end benefit is for them．I call this strategy WIIFM （"What's in it for me?" ）．

When a teen can combine an understanding of WIIFM with a sense of passion about achieving a goal, barriers will start to fall away．At our teen summer camps, we arrange an event near the end of the 10-day session that helps campers identify an important life goal and mentally break through their biggest barrier to achieving the goal． We pass around 12-by-12-inch pine boards．We tell campers that this activity is not about breaking a piece of wood．It's about how you can get what you want in your life．It's about breaking

barriers to grab on to your goals．

They have the power to break through any barrier．It has nothing to do with body size or physical condition．The skinniest, smallest teens will break through the board almost as easily as the big ones．

We talk to the campers about the reasons they might have had for not reaching their goals in the past．Maybe they got lazy and decided it wasn't worth the effort．Maybe they failed and let their fear of failure hold them back．But this exercise is about putting the past where it belongs．Today is about making new choices．

By this point in the program, we ask them to think of the goal they've set or themselves and write their goals on the boards．Then they write the possible obstacles which may hold them back on the opposite sides．An inch of pine now stands between them and their dreams．

The facilitators and their teammates gather around．The support is strong．One by one, they break through the barriers and grab their goals! All around us teens are laughing, crying, hugging, and holding up the broken pieces of their boards．The confidence shown on their faces is beautiful．

While arranging such an activity in one's home is almost unrealistic for parents, the value of helping a teen break through a personal hairier simply by being there as moral support can not be overestimated．More help for parents in the form of videos and articles is available at our website, in our blogs and in a monthly e-newsletter．

1.The 12-by-12-inch pine boards are used as ______．

    A．materials to test one's muscles                    B．signs of goals in one's life

    C．a(chǎn)ssessments to show one's progress                 D．symbols of barriers in one's life

2.We can learn from the passage that through the event the campers ______．

    A．become hard-working                                B．get moral support

    C．gain confidence                                    D．set right goals

3.Which is the best title for the passage?

    A．The Power of WIIFM                  B．What's in It for Me

    C．The Importance of Goals                            D．Motivational Strategies

4.The passage is intended for ______．

    A．teens        B．parents         C．campers     D．tutors