Passage Two
Like most people, I was brought up to look upon life as a process of getting. It was not until in my late thirties that I made this important discovery: giving away makes life so much more exciting. You need not worry if you lack money. This is how I experimented with giving away. If an idea for improving the window display of a neighborhood store flashes to me, I step in and make the suggestion to the storekeeper. One discovery I made about giving away is that it is almost impossible to give away anything in this world without getting something back, though the return often comes in an unexpected form. One Sunday morning the local post office delivered an important special delivery letter to my home, though it was addressed to me at my office. I wrote the postmaster a note of appreciation. More than a year later I needed a post office box for a new business I was starting. I was told at the window that there were no boxes left, and that my name would have to go on a long waiting list. As I was about to leave, thepostmaster appeared in the doorway. He had overheard our conversation. 'Wasn't it you that wrote us that letter a year ago about delivering a special delivery to your home?' I said yes. 'Well, you certainly are going to have a box in this post office if we have to make one for you. You don't know what a letter like that means to us. We usually get nothing but complaints. '
From the passage, we understand that ______.
题干大意是：通过这篇文章，我们明白了________。根据文章第二句"It was not until inmy late thirties that I made this important discovery…"可知，作者直到近四十岁才发现给予的重要性。故选A。
According to the author ______.
题干大意是：在作者看来_________。根据文章第三、四句“You need not worry if you lackmoney. This is how I experimented with giving."可知，即使你没钱，也不必担心(给予),这就是作者尝试给予的方式。由此可推知，即使你不是很富有也可以给予。句中的giving(给予)并不只是指物质上的帮助，还指精神上的给予。故选C。
The author wrote a note of appreciation to the post office because ______.
题干大意是：作者给邮局写了一封感谢信是因为_____。根据文章第七、八句"OneSunday morning the local post office delivered an important special delivery letter to my home, though it wasaddressed to me at my office. I wrote the postmaster a note of appreciation.”可知，在一个星期天的早晨，尽管作者的收信地址是公司，但当地邮局把这封重要的特快专递的信件送到了作者家里，因此作者给邮政局长写了一封感谢信。由此可推知，作者写感谢信是因为邮递员把一封重要的信件及时送来了。故选D。
When the author needed a post office box, ______.
题干大意是：当作者需要一个邮递箱时，_______。根据文章第十句"I was told at thewindow that there were no boxes left, and that my name would have to go on a long waiting list.”可知，在服务窗口作者被告知已经没有邮递箱了，作者的名字将不得不写在一个长长的等待名单上。由此可推知，在作者之前已经有很多人申请过了。故选C。
In reply to the postmaster's question, the author said ______.
题干大意是：当回答邮政局长的问题时，作者说______。根据文章中的“'Wasn't ityou that wrote us that letter a year ago about delivering a special delivery to your home?' I said yes."可知，邮政局长问一年前作者是否因为邮局把特快专递送到他家而给邮局写了封信，作者说是。由此可推知，作者说正是他一年前写了一封信。故选D。