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And don’t think that letters are out of date in the email—oriented 21st century.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. |
New evidence shows that getting enough Vitamin D may be the most important thing you can do for your health．
You know the usual prescription for good health: a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, regular exercise, no smoking．Now add this: Spend a little more time in the sun．
Huh? That may sound like medical heresy（反面观点）．After all, we've been warned for decades about the dangers of the sun: wrinkles, age spots and the increasing threat of skin cancer．But new and impressive medical evidence suggests that sunlight is beneficial．The vitamin D it prompts our bodies to make may prevent cancer, protect against heart disease and ward off a long list of disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and gum disease．It is even showing promise as a treatment for heart disease and some cancers．
Long recognized as vitally important for bone building （it's needed for calcium absorption）, vitamin D has now achieved superstar status among nutrients．While all doctors may not agree, many experts are confident enough of its wide-ranging powers to urge that we get much more of it, from the sun and from supplements, as even the best diet in the world may not give us enough．Which of the following is NOT the usual way of keeping healthy?
| A．To do exercise now and then． |
| B．To eat plenty of fruits and vegetables． |
| C．To avoid staying in the sun for a long time． |
| D．To keep away from cigarettes． |
What does the underlined word “prompts” in the third paragraph mean?
| A．causes | B．forces | C．motivates | D．encourages |
According to the passage, vitamin D ________．
| A．can be got by doing regular exercise |
| B．can be used to prevent some cancers |
| C．can be got from the sunlight |
| D．can be used to remove the wrinkles |
The passage is most likely from a（an） ________．
| A．advertisement | B．news report |
| C．magazine | D．medical prescription |
What secret force drives us into the arms of one person, while pushing us away from another who might appear e
qually desirable to any fair observer? Of the many factors influencing our idea of the perfect mate, one of the most telling is our “lovemap” ---- a group of messages formed in our brains that describes our likes and dislikes．It shows our preferences in hair and eye color, in voice, smell, body build．It also records the kind of personality that attracts us, whether it’s the warm and friendly type or the strong silent type．In short, we fall for and go after those people who most clearly fit our lovemap．And this lovemap is determined in childhood．By age eight, the pattern for our ideal mate has already begun to float around in our brains．
The mother has special influence on her sons: she not only gives them clues to what they will find attractive in a mate, but also influences how they feel about women in general．So if she is warm and nice, her sons are going to think that’s the way women are．They will likely grow up warm and responsive lovers and also be helpful around the house．
Just as mothers influence their son’s general feelings toward women, fathers influence their daughter’s general feelings about men．If a father lavishes praise on his daughter and shows that she is a worthwhile person, she’ll feel very good about herself in relation to men．But if the father is cold, critical or absent, the daughter will tend to feel she’s not very lovable or attractive．
While the mother determines in large part what qualities attract us in a mate, it’s the father ----- the first male in our lives ----- who influences how we relate to the opposite sex．Fathers have a great effect on their children’s personalities and chances or marriage happiness．What is the proper title for this passage?
| A．Why we love who we love | B．What is a lovemap |
| C．Different influence from parents | D．Ideal mate in the mind |
A perfect mate is a person who ____．
| A．is fair to everyone | B．is the most desirable |
| C．fits one’s lovemap | D．is perfect in everything |
If the husband hardly does any housework, ____．
| A．his mother must be warm | B．his father must be critical |
| C．his mother must be cold | D．his wife can’t be attractive |
The passage leads to a belief that ____．
| A．parents’ personalities decides the children’s lovemap |
| B．mothers have no influence on daughters’ marriage life |
| C．fathers care more about children’s marriage happiness |
| D．mothers influence children’s choices of perfect mates |
D
In the atmosphere,carbon dioxide actd rather like a one-way mirror or the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents the heat from excaping.
According to a weather expert's prediction,the atmosphere will be 3 warmer in the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to burn luels at the present rate. If this warming up took place,the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt,thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities.Also，the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere(半球),psooicbly resulting in an alteration of earth's chief food growing zones.
In the past,concern about a man - made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet.But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic,which may be affected by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from on burning of fuels.
Satellite pictures showthat large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing.The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place.This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.
However,most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere,where temperatures seem to be falling.Scientists conclude,therefore,that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man.The question is:Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?
One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun.Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and cold spots(that is,the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates(旋转),every 27.5 days,it presents hotter or colder faces to the earth,and different aspects to different parts of the earth.This seems to have a considerable effect on the distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure,and consequently on wind circulation.The sun is also variable over a long term:its heat output goes up and down in cycles,the latest trend being downward.
Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years ,including the last Ice Age.The problem is that the models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not.
One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia(不活动，惰性) of the earth's climate.If this is right,the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counter balance to the sun's diminishing heat.
68.It can be concluded that a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would ___.
A.mean a warming - up im the Arctic
B.raise the temperature of the earth's surface
C.prevent the sun's rays from reaching the earth's surface
D.account for great changes in the climate in the northern hemiphere
69.Although the fuel consumption is greater in the northern hemisphere,temperatures there seem to be falling.This is _______.
A.mainly because the levels of carbon dioxide are rising
B.partly due to variations in the output of solar energy
C.possibly because the ice caps in the poles are melting
D.exclusively due to the effect of the inertia of the earth's climate
70.On the basis of their models,scientists are of the opinion that ________.
A.the climate of the world should be becoming cooler
B.the new Ice Age will be delayed by the greenhouse effect
C.the man - made warming effect helps to increase the solar effects
D.it will take thousands of years for the inertia of the earth's climate to take effect
C
The curtain on the 2008 US presidential election finally rose last month as Requblican Senator(参议员) John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama were formally selected as candidates of the two major parties.This may be one of the hardest decisions voters have to make between two appealing candidates.The big question for voters,as they face both an economic downturn and international threats,is :who will they elect? A young first - term senator promising change and new ideas,or a longtime senator with strong military experience and a reputation as a maverick(特立独行的人)？
American voters have never seen a candidate quite like Obama.He has a white mother from the US and a black fater from Kenya who left the family when Obama was very young.He spent part of his youth in Indonesia.
However,McCain has a very different life story.
He grew up in a Navy family and was a daring pilot during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. When Obama was in kindergarten in Indonesia,McCain's plane was shot down over Ietenam and he became a prisoner of war.McCain could have been set free if he disowned America but he refused and so was held for five years.
"We need a president who is very,very old,"McCain joked at his age as many others do.If elected,he would be 72 when he takes office and the oldest man to step in.
So in the end,the election may depend on several factors that are hard to judge:Will Obama's race matter to a significant number of voters ? Will workingclass whites who tended to support his primary (党内初选) oponent,Hillary Clinton,vote for Obama? And perhaps most important of all,will uncertain voters be more attracted to Obama's vision or to McCain's experience?
Whatever happens,one thing is clear,however:Whoever walks into the White House on January 20,2009,will find huge challenges waiting for him in the Oval Office,both at home and abroad.
64.______makes the result of the election hard to predict.
A.Whether working class whites care about Obama's inexperience
B.The economic trouble the country now faces
C.Who uncertain voters will finally decide to vote for
D.McCain being too old to govern the country
65.The appeal in Obama as a presidential candidate lies in _________
A.his multi - cultural background
B.his belife in tradition
C.his inexperience in politics
D.his fantastic promises
66.The word "disown" in Paragraph 6 means closest to ______.
A.flee from
B.turn his back on
C.not keep it private
D.expose secrets about
67.The challenges that will face the new preident______.
A.are not mentioned in the text
B.include buklding a strong party and a friendly image
C.refer to the problems of immigrants and economy
D.refer to the problems of economy amd international relations
B
Capturing the Memories
Almost everyone has heard of MySpace.com.It allows friends to connect with each other.But did you ever wonder where the idea for this website came from? It is modeled after high school yearbooks.
A yearbook is a book used to record memories of a specific class.For example,I graduated from Manchester West High School in 2001.My yearbook is dedicated(献给) to my senior class.In this book you will find a picture of all my classmates.
Alongside your picture,you can put a quote that is important to you.Next to the quote and your photo is a list of your school and sports activities.Later in the book are pages dedicated to teams and organizations.For example,the girls football team has a page of pictures and memories.
After you receice the yearbook,you go around and have your friends sign it and write letters to you.This will remind you about the many adventures you had with your friends. Although, 40 years ago,a girl wrote a loving message in my father's yearbook but when he showed me it,he didn't remember who the girl was!
But the yearbook is the final memory for seniors,so it will often be the one reminder of your high school years that you carry with you throughout life.In my mother's yearbook she still has,pressed between the pages,the flower her date gave her at her senior prom. That was in 1967.
High school is a magical time.It is when we experience many of the important moments of your lives.Our first kiss.Driving for the first time.Our first big success.Out first major hearbreak.Unlike MySpace,which can constantly be updated,a yearbook captures these special moments in our lives and holds on to them forever so that we may never forget.Because,honestly , we will never want to.
60.What does the passage mainly focus on?
A.The characteristics of MySpace.com.
B.The members who set up MySpace.com.
C.The differences between MySpace.com and a yearbook.
D.The introduction to yearbooks.
61.All of the following will be included in a school yearbook except ______.
A.some interesting stories of famous actors
B.a picture of classmates
C.an activity of playing table tennis
D.some significant successes
62.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.People keep a yearbook just for fun.
B.The yearbook follows the example of MySpace.com.
C.A yearbook can help you remember the great moments you shared with classmates.
D.The yearbook is more popular than MySpace.com in American high school.
63.The word "captures" in the last paragraph most probably means ______.
A.arrests B.gains C.preserves D.films