Listening to music can help me focus better. Since I discovered it two years ago, I’ve used music to get through boring work or to focus creatively. I’ve found that it can make even the dullest jobs enjoyable and help clear mental blocks to creativity.
I first noticed the good effects of music while playing video games. It was a few days before Christmas in 2005 and I was playing online video games. My parents had just given me a new MP3, so I decided to listen to music through the headphones while I played. After a few minutes I noticed a great change in my style of play. I was playing more naturally. The music relaxed me, and, to a certain extent, distracted me from the game, allowing my subconscious (潜意识的) talent to come through. The music also helped me block out the outside world. With those headphones on I was like a machine, moving from one task to the next without unnecessary thoughts or actions.
Music can also have a great effect on mood. If I’m in a bad mood at work, I’ll listen to some of Bob Marley’s and get down to business. It always takes my mind off what I’m doing and makes me a happier person. The same is true for classic rock. One summer, I did a boring job collecting bottle openers by hand. Without a radio playing classic rock in the background, I would have hated life.
Listening to music with relaxing rhythms and a positive message helps you forget your work and think happy thoughts. But the results you see will depend heavily on your personal tastes. Experiment with the types of music you listen to during certain tasks. By trial and error you’ll finally discover your best choice. I’m always looking for new concentration aids, so I’d love to know what type of music works best for me. We can infer that the passage was written in __________.
| A．2005 | B．2006 | C．2007 | D．2008 |
The author first discovered the effects of music __________.
| A．from his parents | B．by chance |
| C．at work | D．when he was a child |
Which of the following statements is NOT an effect of music for the author?
| A．It helps him block out the outside world. |
| B．It arouses his subconscious talent. |
| C．It helps his mind relax. |
| D．It makes him work without any thought. |
The author mentions the experience of collecting bottle openers in Paragraph 3 to ________.
| A．tell us that life is dull |
| B．prove that music affects mood |
| C．tell us how to seek happiness |
| D．tell us bad mood can affect work |
In order to get the greatest effect of music, you are advised to ________.
| A．listen to some of Bob Marley’s |
| B．only choose relaxing music |
| C．test all kinds of music |
| D．listen to classic rock |
From now on, never spend your precious time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.
The seeds, and the power to grow them, 
are contained in the most awes
ome machine ever created：the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner. You were born rich. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.
You cannot be successful without first developing your self-esteem. Your level of self-esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-esteem are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are the perennial(长期的) victims and martyrs. They are leaves tossed(摇摆) by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.
You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.
Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsibl
e for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.
If you associate with positive-thinking people, you are definitely going to achieve success. On the contrary, the opposite happens. We are responsible for finding, planting, and nurturing the seeds that contain future victory, born from setbacks.
In short, in all areas of your life, whether they be financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it, you are on the road to success.People with low self-esteem are compared to leaves because they ______________ .
| A．are ready to change their minds |
| B．are easily affected by windy weather |
| C．don’t have the power to face their fate |
| D．can’t exercise control over themselves |
Losers would think that .
| A．success is the result of hard work |
| B．working hard will lead to success |
| C．their failure is only because of bad luck |
| D．they don’t make efforts to succeed |
It can be inferred from paragraph 5 that .
| A．whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes |
| B．developing confidence is the key to future success |
| C．thoughts and beliefs are the result of creative mind |
| D．setting our expectations is essential before taking action |
The last paragraph serves as .
| A．the proof of the author’s points | B．the conclusion of the argument |
| C．an introduction to another topic | D．a comparison between two views |
Which is the best title for the text?
A．Succ ess is a choice. |
B．The secrets of success. |
| C．Develop our confidence. | D．How to achieve success. |
Heather Mills McCartney lives an admirable life, attending celebrity pa
rties, meeting regularly with the rich and famous and doing meaningful work for charity. All who work with her admire and respect her. But Heather’s life hasn’t always been so easy. When Heather was only 9 years old, her mother abandoned her and her two brothers. At the age of 13, she ran away from home and ended up living on the streets in London. Eventually, however, her exceptional beauty led to a career in modeling. At that time, Heather also began helping with the war relief efforts in former Yugoslavia. Through her modeling and relief work, she soon became famous.
But in August 1993, at age 25 her life changed once again. She was crossing the street in London when a motorcycle crashed into her. She was so badly injured that the doctors had to cut off her left leg. After that, she discovered she frequently needed to change her artificial limbs. It was expensive and she felt it was a waste to just throw away the old one. It occurred to her to set up an organization that could deliver used artificial limbs to Yugoslavia and other war-torn countries. It was through her charity work that she met her husband Paul McCartney.
Throughout her life, Heather has risen above problems and focused on helping others. Her work with artificial limbs even earned her a nomination(提名) fo
r the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. Heather’s persistence and determination are what impresses anyone who knows her. Heather believes anyone can make a positive difference in the world. This passage is mainly about _________.
| A．Heather’s miserable life | B．Heather’s contributi on to the world |
| C．Heather’s success in her work | D．Heather’s belief in life |
Heather began her modeling career _________.
| A．due to her mother’s encouragement |
| B．after her brothers abandoned her |
| C．because of her excellent intelligence and performances |
| D．because she was especially beautiful |
Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?
| A．Heather won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. |
| B．Heather began her charity work while working as a model. |
C．Her artificial limbs had to be re placed continuously. |
| D．Heather has never been defeated by her problems. |
From the passage we can infer that people admire and respect Heath
er because
_________.
| A．she had a lot of misfortunes during her childhood. |
| B．she was a world-famous model |
| C．she is determined and never gives in |
| D．she made a great difference in the world |
If you happen to be the 200th customer to buy Cholesterolblock, you will .
| A．be able to buy it at a low price | B．be the luckiest one online |
| C．try it free of charge | D．chan ge your diet |
Liptor®, Zocor®, Crestor® are .
| A．diseases | B．side effects | C．medicines | D．cholesterol |
CholestrolblockTM has the following advantages EXCEPT that _____________________.
| A．it helps take cholesterol out of whatever food you eat. |
| B．it has been proved useful in hospital testing. |
| C．it helps people absorb at least 42% cholesterol. |
| D．it sells best on Internet every month. |
Where can you most probably read this passage?
| A．In a travel guide book. | B．On a university bulletin board. |
| C．In a health magazine. | D．In a doctor's prescription. |
You know Australia is a big country, but you may not know how easy it is to get
around. The untouched beaches that go for miles and deserts that touch the horizon are just there, waiting to be reached and explored. Following are the different ways you can explore our vast country.
Getting around Australia
Air
Flying is the best way to cover large distances in a short time. You can spend more time on the Australia’s can’t - miss landscapes and relaxing lifestyle. Moreover, competition among airlines makes great flying fees a
vailable for you.
Drive
Australia has a vast network of well - maintained roads and some of the most beautiful touring routes in the world. You have no difficulty finding car rental companies at major airports, central city locations, suburbs and attractions.
Bus
Bus travel in Australia is comfortable, easy and economical. 
Buses generally have air conditioning, reading lights, adjustable seats and videos. Services are frequent, affordable and efficient.
Rail
Train travel is the cheapest and gives you an insight into Australia’s size and variety, all from the comfort of your carriage. Scheduled services are a great way to get quickly between our cities and regional centers.
Ferry(轮渡)
The Spirit of Tasmania runs a passenger and vehicle ferry service between Melbourne and Tasmania nightly. Extra services are running during summer rush hours. Sea - link ferries connect South Australia and Kangaroo Island several times a day. Ferries connect suburbs in our capital cities
Walk
With easy - on - the - feel pedestrian streets, walking is a great way to get around our cities.
Besides all of above, you can also experience some of the longest tracks and trails in the world in central Australia - impressive journeys of a thousand kilometers or more that can take several weeks to complete. The underlined word "untouched" (in the 1st paragraph) means______.
| A．secure | B．special | C．natural | D．artificial |
Which of the following is TRUE about traveling in Australia? ______.
| A．More travelers make the flying fees among airlines higher than before |
| B．You can easily rent a car to explore its most beautiful touring routes |
| C．Taking a bus tour is the most comfortable, economical and efficient way |
| D．Train services can offer you more comfort than any other means of transport |
Ferry service between Melbourne and Tasmania usually runs ______.
| A．only at night hours | B．only during rush hours |
| C．several times a day | D．between different cities |
From the passage, we know that ______.
| A．pedestrian walking is a great way to travel between cities |
| B．traveling in Central Australia is time - consuming |
| C．Central Australia has the world’s longest railway line |
| D．you have to walk over a thousand kilometers in Australia |
How Much to Tip
You’re out to dinner. The food is delicious and the service is fine. You decide to leave a big fat tip. Why? The answer may not be as simple as you think.
Tipping, psychologists have found, is not just about service. Instead, studies have shown that tipping can be affected by psychological reactions to a series of different factors from the waiter’s choice of words, to how they carry themselves while taking orders, to the bill’s total. Even how much waiters remind customers of themselves can determine how much change they pocket by the end of the night.
“Studies before have shown that mimicry (模仿) brings into positive feelings for the mimicker,” wrote Rick van Baaren, a social psychology professor. “These studies show that people who are being mimicked become more generous toward the person who mimics them.”
S
o Rick van Baaren divided 59 waiters into two groups. He requested that half serve with a phrase such as, “Coming up!” Those in the other half were instructed to repeat the orders and preferences back to the customers. Rick van
Baaren then compared their take-home. The results were clear — it pays to mimic your customer. The copycat(模仿者) waiters earned almost double the amount of tips to the other group.
Leonard Green and Joel Myerson, psychologists at 
Washington University in St. Louis, found the generosity of a tipper may be limited by his bill. After research on the 1,000 tips left for waiters, cabdrivers, hair stylists, they found tip percentages in these three areas dropped as customers’ bills went up. In fact, tip percentages appear to plateau (达到稳定水平) when bills topped $100 and a bill for $200 made the worker gain no bigger percentage tip than a bill for $100.
“That’s also a point of tipping,” Green says. “You have to give a little extra to the cab driver for being there to pick you up and something to the waiter for being there to serve you. If they weren’t there, you’d never get any service. So part of the idea of a tip is for just being there.” Apart from service, how many other factors affecting the customers’ tipping are mentioned in the passage?
| A．1. | B．2. | C．3. | D．4. |
These studies show that _________.
| A．tipping can be affected by physical reactions to many different waiter’s factors |
| B．people who are being mimicked usually tip less to the person who mimics them |
| C．the mimic waiters can get almost twice as much money as the other group |
| D．mimicry makes the mimicker feel bad |
According to the passage, which of the following will be likely to show the right change of the tip percentages?
 |
A B C D We know from the passage that the writer seems to __________.
| A．object to Mr. Green’s idea about tipping |
| B．think part of Mr. Green’s explanation is reasonable |
| C．give his generous tip to waiters very often |
| D．support the opinions of Mr. Green and Rick van Baaren about tipping |