EThekeytohappinessishowquickly-优题课

Most of us would say that the older we get, the less we look forward to celebrating another birthday. For children, though, a birthday is that one occasion each year when they are the center of attention all day long.
It’s not surprising, then, that children’s birthday parties have turned into big business in America. Kids—or more likely their parents—often try to outdo one another in putting on the most extravagant birthday party. In the past, you might have hired a man with a horse to come by and give everyone horse rides. Today, you can hire an entire petting zoo’s or a truck filled with animals from abroad.
Barb Hill, a mother of two girls, doesn’t hold extravagant (奢侈的) parties, but she says she does feel pressure to come up with new ideas each year. Her daughter Fiona celebrated her most recent birthday, her eighth, at a sporting-goods store. The kids enjoyed the climbing wall, as well as the pizza and cupcakes. “They always want to do something that nobody else has done yet,” Barb says. You also have to decide how many guests to invite, and if you’re celebrating at a place other than home, that means figuring out how to transport everyone.
William Doherty, a professor at the University of Minnesota, recently started a project called Birthdays without Pressure. Its website (www. birthdayswithoutpressure.org) gives parents the resources to make kids’ birthday parties less stressful and more fun for all. “Our goal was to start a local and national conversation about what’s happened to birthday parties,” Doherty told me. “We’ve succeeded beyond our expectations—tens of thousands of parents are viewing our website, contacting us and taking our online quizzes.”
In the end, most parents would agree that the best parties are usually the ones where the kids have time to hang out and play with each other. After all, isn’t what being a kid is all about?
1. The purpose of this passage is to tell us_________.
A.all the children look forward to celebrating their birthday
B.the children’s birthday parties have turned into big business in America
C.parents would like to make children’s birthday parties less stressful and more fun for all
D.parents don’t know how to hold children’s birthday parties
2. Which of the following sentences is TRUE ______.
A.The girl didn’t enjoy the party held by her mother.
B.The project called Birthdays without Pressure is popular with parents.
C.Children look forward to their birthday parties because they like extravagant parties.
D.Parents feel like hiring an entire petting zoo for their children.
3. The aim of the project called Birthdays without Pressure is to______.
A.attract parents to view the website
B.provide resources for making kids’ birthday parties
C.release parents’ stress of organizing children’s birthday parties
D.hold conversation about what’s happened to birthday parties
4. The best title for this passage may probably be ______.
A project called Birthdays without Pressure
B.Children enjoy their birthday parties
C. How to hold children’s birthday parties
D. How children feel about their birthday parties

I. Associate Product Manager -- New Grad-- Beijing
Responsibilities include working with engineers to define products, understanding user needs, researching markets and competitors, and planning future product directions. As you gain more experience, there’s an opportunity for promotion within the organization.
Requirements:
☆Bachelors degree and more than one year of job experience.
☆Strong organizational and analytical skills.
II. Director of Education -- Sylvan Learning Centers -- Long Beach, California
Job description:
As a successful director of education, your primary responsibility will be to champion the Sylvan developed course, ensure the quality of the education standards and teachings staff as well as grow the business in your center.
We require:
☆Bachelors degree and at least 2 years of teaching experience.
☆Managerial experience.
III. Area Export Manager -- Beijing Import＆Export Corporation -- Beijing
Highly developing company is looking for bright, experienced salesperson who will be responsible for the export of frozen seafood and other goods between China and the USA, Australia, and Canada.
Qualifications：
☆Excellent level of English，spoken and written.
☆Excellent communication and organizational skills.
☆Experienced salesperson with proven results in fast-moving consumer goods essential，preferable in frozen seafood market.
IV. Subeditor---Media Contacts----London
Working in the amazing world of law and enforcement（执法）, you will be making sure that you are meeting the exceptionally high standards of copy for this company. As part of a team of six, you will be meeting tight deadlines on a daily basis and ensuring regular flow of articles onto the website. Must have a keen eye for detail and confidence in working with challenging copy. Experience in subediting, and a practical knowledge of publishing law are required.
V. Casual trainer---Medilife --- Sydney，NSW Australia
Medilife requires able, reliable trainers who can demonstrate the qualities of flexibility and loyalty and join their young, fun-living team. Successful applicants will receive excellent hourly rates. Suitable training provided to the right applicant．
1. Which of the following are specially required to most of the positions in the ads？
A. Experience and responsibilities B. Experience and good English.
C. Special skills and English D. Responsibilities and bachelor’s degree
2. The positions are offered in _____ different countries.
A. three B. four C. five D. six
3. Which position is possible for a fresh university graduate to apply to？
A. Education director B. Associate product manager C. Casual trainer D. Export manager.
4. From Passage IV we can infer that a subeditor’s work is to _____.
A. write articles for website B. copy information from the Internet
C. enforce publishing laws D. examine other people’s writing

第二节：阅读下列材料, 从所给的六个选项(A、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ、Ｅ、和F) 中，选出符合各小题要求的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。
It was coming up on Mother’s Day, and John usually tried to make it “back home”, but this year he was just too tired. He was in a small town just outside of Little Rock when he drove by a flower shop. He said to himself. “I know what I will do, I’ll send Mom some roses.”
He went into the small shop and saw a young boy talking to the clerk. “How many roses can I get for six dollars, ma’am?” The boy asked. The clerk was trying to explain that roses were expensive. Maybe the young man would be happy with carnations.
“No. I have to have roses,” he said. “My Mom was sick so much last year and I didn’t get to spend much time with her. I want to get something special. It has to be red roses, because that’s her favourite.”
The clerk looked up at John and was just shaking her head. Something inside of John was touched by the boy’s voice. He wanted to get those roses so bad. John had been blessed in his business, and he looked at the clerk and silently mouthed that he would pay for the boy’s roses.
The clerk looked at the young man and said, “Okay, I will give you a dozen red roses for your six dollars.” The young man almost jumped into the air. He took the flowers and ran from the store. It was worth the extra thirty-five dollars just to see that kind of excitement.
John ordered his own flowers and had the clerk to be sure that delivery would include a note telling his mother how much he loved her. As he drove away from the shop, he was feeling very good. He caught a light about two blocks from the shop. As he waited at the light, he saw the young boy walking down the sidewalk. He watched him cross the street and enter a park through two huge gates. Suddenly, he realized it wasn't a park. It was a cemetery(墓地). He saw the young man stop by a small monument and go to his knees. He carefully laid the roses on the grave and began to cry.
As he cried, John heard the young man speak, “Mommy, oh Mommy, why didn’t I tell you how much I love you. Why didn’t I tell you one more time? Jesus, please, find my Mommy. Tell my Mommy I love her."
John turned, tears in his eyes, and walked back to his car. He drove quickly to the flower shop and told her he would take the flowers personally. He wanted to be sure and tell his Mother one more time just how much he loved her.
1. How much money did the young man’s flowers altogether cost?
A. 41 dollars B. 6 dollars C. 35 dollars D.29 dollars
2. What’s the main reason that John helped the young man pay the roses?
A. Because he had a lot of money.
B. Because they are good friends.
C. Because he was moved by what the young man said.
D. Because he likes to help others.
3. According to the passage, which sentence is true?
A. The young man’s mother has passed away.
B. The young man often tells his mother that he loves her.
C. John often goes home to visit his mother.
D. John doesn’t love his mother.
4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. He will have the flowers delivered to his mother.
B. He will send the flowers to his mother himself.
He decided to buy more flowers.
He will not buy the flowers.

A quarrel at home may result in you falling ill. Don’t laugh, it’s true. Family matters including living habits and even the way we speak have a big effect on our health, doctors say.
Wang Xiaoyu, a Senior 2 girl from Xichang, Sichuan Province, fainted (晕倒) in class when she heard her classmates quarrel at the top of their voices. Quarrels between her parents also put the girl into a coma. It is because she is suffering from depression (抑郁症), caused by bad relations at home, doctors explained.
“We don’t get sick or stay well by ourselves,” says Dr Robert Ferrer from the US. Ferrer shows that family forces may explain up to a quarter of health problems, in his recent research. The genes you get from your family may cause illness. If one of your parents has a heart attack, your risk of being affected may double. But effects on health are not only written in our DNA.
Unrelated people who live under the same roof also get similar problems. Diet, lifestyle and environment affect our health, too. Ferrer’s research also found that if teenagers feel they are ignored or unimportant at home they are more likely to get sick.
We may never fully understand all the effects that families have on our health. But just as individual (个别的) problems can have effects on others, a small improvement can have big benefits, Ferrer said.
1. Which of the following can best explain why Wang Xiaoyu fainted in class?
A. Because her classmates often quarreled in class.
B. Because her parents used to quarrel.
C. Because of her depression caused by bad family relations.
D. Because her classmates shouted loudly at her.
2. According to Dr Ferrer, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. We get sick or stay well by ourselves.
B. Only the genes we get from our family have a big effect on our health.
C. Our health has nothing to do with diet, lifestyle and environment.
D. Teenagers who are ignored at home get sick more easily than those who are not.
3. The underlined word “coma” in Paragraph2 probably means ________.
A. surprise B. faint C. tiredness D. sadness
4. The best title for this passage is ________.
A. Family relations. B. The reasons why we get sick.
C. Family---- another cause to health D. A research about health.

Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his now place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are of a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and family but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young adult(成年人)I feared(害怕) him and felt bitter about him He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boy friends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling worried.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor cafe. We walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical(挑剔的)air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day my dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad in his new home in Arizona is back to me from where he was.
1. Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?
A. He was silent most of the time B. He was too proud of himself
C. He did not love his children D. He expected too much of her
2. When the author went out with her father on weekends, she would feel_______.
A. nervous B. sorry C. tired D. safe
3. What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?
A. More critical B. More talkative C. Gentle and friendly D. Strict and hard-working
4. The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to ________.
A. the author’s son B. the author’s father C. the friend of the author’s father D. the cafe owner