on the 7:35 a.m. from Penrith?" The guard seemed a bit stunned at first, replying, "Yes, yes." "Well, I really appreciate your announcement. Thank you for your extremely good message, which gave me and the other passengers such a good start to the day. Please keep doing it." I said.

There are two messages for me in what happened that day. Firstly, when people are happy in their work it shows in what they do and say. Secondly, the story attaches much importance to the benefits that accumulate from thanking people for something they've done, particularly when it's not expected. Can you imagine the conversation that guard would have when he got home?

24. Why do few train travelers listen to the announcements?

A. The messages are unattractive.

B. The guard's voice is not clear.

C. They usually feel sleepy.

D. They are absorbed in books.

25. What does the underlined word "stunned" in Paragraph 3 mean?

A. Patient. B. Cautious. C. Surprised. D. Excited.

26. What might the guard talk about with his family when he got home?

A. The beautiful weather.

B. The recorded message.

C. The train from Penrith.

D. The unexpected appreciation.

27. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A. An Intelligent Guard. B. A Boring Train Story.

C. A Different Train Announcement. D. A Lovely Morning in Sydney.

C

Love to sink into your chairs and relax when you get to school？Then you will not be happy to hear that schools all over the world are seriously considering exchanging traditional desks for ones with no seats at all﹣Yes，that means you will be encouraged to stand through those already too long math and science lessons!Why would anyone even think of putting kids to such cruelty？Experts say it improves their health and helps fight obesity．While that may seem a little far﹣fetched （牵强的）, the officials at the few schools around the world seem to agree．

Among them are educators from the College Station Independent School District in Texas，who recently completed a week﹣long experiment involving 480students across three elementary schools．The 374 kids that agreed to participate in the study were provided a device that helped record step count and calorie consumption over the entire period．

All 25 teachers involved in the study reported that students appeared to be more alert and concentrate better，when allowed to stand．The one thing that did surprise the researchers was that younger kids were more willing to stay standing than kids in higher grades．They believe this may have something to do with the fact that after years of being asked to"sit still"，older kids have a harder time adjusting to this unexpected freedom．

American schools are not the only ones reporting success with stand﹣up desks．Four