It is impossible not to make a mistake at some points in your life. We may as well accept that some thing will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore sensible to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter. This way you can take care over every work you write— which you can’t do if you say sorry to someone in person.

We all say or do something that we wish we hadn’t said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards that a client or customer expected.

You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn’t be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy（修补）the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process.

For the contents of the letter, just remember TABS—Timing, Action, Brevity, Sincerity.

The timing of a letter of apology is essential—it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound(add to) the problem. In this case “Better late than never” is not the best motto! The longer you wait before you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been coerced（被迫）into writing it.

Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to rectify whatever it was you did wrong. Research has shown that some indication that you have thought about what future action you plan to take is always well received.

A letter of apology should be brief and the word “sorry” should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware using it a second time—“once again, I am so sorry for…” or “as I said earlier, I am really sorry about…”. Finally, the tone of the letter has to be sincere. In fact, the combination of all the above factors will help in this respect.

And don’t think that letters are out of date in the email—oriented 21st century. An apology email can be worse than no apology at all!

72．What kind of advice does the text suggest about apologizing?

A．It’s a good idea to write a letter of apology as soon as something has gone wrong.    

B．It’s a good idea to send several emails to apologize.

C．Write a long letter apologizing several times to make your point.

D．Wait to see how they react to your letter before planning to do anything.

73．What kind of things do you NOT apologize for?

A．A service that is not as good as it should be.

B．Genuine mistakes.

C．Car accidents.

D．Causing offence or hurt.

74．The underlined expression “Rather than dwell on the mistake” in the third paragraph means you _____.

A．should not waste time worrying about what happened.

B．should consider the problem

C．should forget about what happened.

D．should analyse who was at fault.

75．How can timing compound problems?

A．If you write immediately, they will be suspicious.

B．If you leave it for a few days, they will know it is your idea to write.

C．Waiting for a few days before you write will show your sincerity.

D．Waiting too long will make it worse because they won’t believe you mean it.

It is over 40 years since first atomic bomb was dropped on a major city in Japan. Yet even now its effects are showing themselves and may continue to do so for years to come. Much effort and human energy have been used to try to prevent such a terrifying thing from happening again. So far there is no guarantee that it will not. Countries which already possess nuclear knowledge and resources have bombs stored away which are powerful enough to wipe out all life on earth. But this is not all. Other countries, which previously were not so advanced in technology, are gradually buying materials that can be used for making atomic devices. This nuclear energy will naturally be of great value in helping the economy of poorer nations.

The generation of electricity through nuclear power came directly from the original work on the atom bomb. Because of the increase in demand for energy and the possibility of decreasing supplies of oil and natural gas, the interest in electricity has increased. One of the by-products of nuclear power stations is plutonium (钸) produced from unclear fuel: plutonium is ingredient (成分) in bomb-making. It means that there are far more opportunities for the manufacture of bombs.

This brings the problem to a full circle again. How can something so valuable and useful be controlled so that it works for the benefit and not the destruction of man?

9. The effects of dropping the first atomic bomb ________.

A. are not over                      B. may go on forever    

C. could last much longer             D. will not be over in the near future

10. The writer says that enough atomic bombs have already been manufactured to ________.

A. wipe out Japan                    B. last forever    

C. act as a peace-keeping device       D. destroy all living things

11. The advantage of less developed countries being able to make atomic devices is that it ______.

A. gives them more opportunities for work     B. will help poor countries to become richer

C. will enable them to make better explosives    D. will be of great value to them

12. The second paragraph tells us that the increased demand for electricity today ________.

A. has led to the decrease in supplies of oil

B. means that more countries are interested in nuclear power

C. has increased the risk of accidental explosions

D. has increased the very means of producing more atomic bombs

It is impossible not to make a mistake at some points in your life. We may as well accept that something will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore sensible to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter. This way you can take care over every work you write— which you can’t do if you say sorry to someone in person.

We all say or do something that we wish we hadn’t said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards that a client or customer expected.

You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn’t be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy（修补）the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process.

For the contents of the letter, just remember TABS—Timing, Action, Brevity, Sincerity.

The timing of a letter of apology is essential—it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound the problem. In this case “Better late than never” is not the best motto! The longer you wait before you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been coerced（被迫）into writing it.

Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to rectify whatever it was you did wrong. Research has shown that some indication that you have thought about what future action you plan to take is always well received.

A letter of apology should be brief and the word “sorry” should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware using it a second time—“once again, I am so sorry for…” or “as I said earlier, I am really sorry about…”. Finally, the tone of the letter has to be sincere. In fact, the combination of all the above factors will help in this respect.

And don’t think that letters are out of date in the email—oriented 21st century. An apology email can be worse than no apology at all!

What kind of advice does the text suggest about apologizing?

A. It’s a good idea to write a letter of apology as soon as something has gone wrong.     

B. It’s a good idea to send several emails to apologize.

C. Write a long letter apologizing several times to make your point. 

D. Wait to see how they react to your letter before planning to do anything.

What kind of things do you NOT apologize for?

A. A service that is not as good as it should be.

B. Genuine mistakes.

C. Car accidents.

D. Causing offence or hurt.

The underlined expression “Rather than dwell on the mistake” in the third paragraph means you _____.

A. should not waste time worrying about what happened.  

B. should consider the problem

C. should forget about what happened.

D. should analyse who was at fault.

How can timing compound problems?

A. If you write immediately, they will be suspicious. 

B. If you leave it for a few days, they will know it is your idea to write.

C. Waiting for a few days before you write will show your sincerity.       

D. Waiting too long will make it worse because they won’t believe you mean it.

 “It’s no use, Mum,” said Johnny. “I’m just no good at dancing.”

“You’ve got to keep trying. Tonight will be     36    , dear. Try a turn with that pretty Lisette.”

Johnny     37    . Every Saturday night used to be the best of the week. He and his parents went to the     38     at the Club, where his hero, Alcide, played the accordion （手风琴） with the band. But lately everything had changed. Now that Johnny was older, he was     39     to dance with a girl!

    40     Johnny and his parents arrived at the Club, music had already started. Johnny got up his     41     to approach Lisette. “May I have this dance?” Johnny asked. “That’s all right,” said Lisette. Johnny struggled to keep up with Lisette’s     42     steps, but he was always one beat behind her. Then Johnny heard his friend Pierre say, “Look! Johnny has two left feet!”     43    

burst from the crowd. Johnny     44     and ran outside, determined never to go to another dance.

The next Saturday, Alcide     45     to Johnny’s house for some potatoes. He happened to hear Johnny playing the accordion. Alcide’s eyes     46    . “Bring that accordion and play some songs tonight,” Alcide said. Then he drove off, leaving Johnny staring open- mouthed     47     him.

At the Club, Johnny scanned the crowd for Lisette and     48     her. The band played for a long time before Alcide said, “Dear friends, I got a     49     for you tonight. Young Johnny is going to join us!”     50    , Johnny stepped up on the platform, his eyes on the floor. He began to play, and the band     51     behind him. When the song ended, he heard cheers. Johnny kept playing until the dance was     52    . “You did a fine job tonight. Play with us again next Saturday night,” Alcide said. “Yes, sir!” said Johnny.   53   he went outside, Johnny saw Lisette and her friends near the door. Lisette stepped     54    , smiling. “You played really good tonight!” she said.

“Thank you,” Johnny blushed （脸红）. As he walked on, Pierre     55     moved out of the way for him to pass.

Johnny patted his accordion. Come to think of it, in his whole life, he had never once seen Alcide out on the dance floor.

It was just getting dark. There was a touch of fog and I was on a lonely stretch of road.   36 I was going along cheerfully, thinking about the dinner I would eat when I got to Salistury .
I was going along   37 at about thirty-five miles an hour when suddenly I heard a scream, a  38 scream--- “ Help! ” I looked round, but the only   39 of life was a large, black, rather suspicious--looking（可疑的）car just   40  a bend in the road about a hundred yards away. That was where the cry had come from. I   41  speed and went after it. I think the driver saw what I was doing, for he did the same and began to draw   42  me. As I drew near, the girl’s voice came again, a lovely voice but trembling with   43  .
“Let me go, you coward; you’re hurting me. Oh ! Oh ! ”
I felt my   44  boil. The fog was coming down   45  now, and the countryside was lonelier. I had no  46 that the murderous guy in the car noticed this. Again came a cry.
“Drop that knife, you fool. Oh ! ” Then a cry and a groan（呻吟）.
If I was to save her, it was now or   47 . Perhaps even now I was too late. But if I couldn’t save the girl, I would at least try to bring the murderer to   48 . The car was only a couple of yards away now. I drove the bike right across its   49 , and its brakes（刹车）screamed as the driver tried to pull it over and  50  into the ditch（沟）at the side of the road. The door of the car was pushed open angrily and a dark, evil-looking fellow stepped out .
“You fool!” he shouted as he came towards me with his fist raised to hit me. But I was   51   than he. I put all I could into   52  that would have knocked out Joe Louis. It   53  him right on the point of the chin; his   54  slowly bent under him, and he dropped to the ground without a sound. I rushed to the car,   55  open the door and looked inside. There was no girl there. Suddenly from the back of the car came a voice.
“You have been listening to a radio play, Murder in Hollywood, with Mae Garbo and Clark Taylor. The news will follow immediately . ”