Who’s in control of your life? Who is pulling your string? For the majority of us, it’s other people – society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course.We were brainwashed.We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us.As Oscar Wilde puts it,“Most people are other people.Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions,their lives a mimicry(模仿),their passions a quotation.”
So when people tell us how wonderful we are,it makes us feel good.We long for this good feeling like a drug—we are addicted to it and seek it out wherever we can.Therefore,we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives,failing to do the things we really want to.Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting theirfix(一剂毒品),we worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval.
But just as with any drug,there is a price to pay.The price of the approval drug is freedom--the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think.People have their own agenda,and they come with their own baggage and,in the end,they’re more interested in themselves than in you.Furthermore,if we try to live by the opinions of others,we will build our life on sinking sand.Everyone has a different way of thinking,and people change their opinions all the time.The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process.
So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way--make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think.We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values—not values imposed from the outside by others,but innate values which come from within.If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others,we will live a more authentic,effective,purposeful and happy life.
67.What Oscar Wilde says implies that_________.
A.we have thoughts similar to those of others
B.most people have a variety of thoughts
C.other people’s thoughts are more important
D.most people’s thoughts are controlled by others
68.What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph?
A.Changing opinions may cost us our freedom.
B.We may lose ourselves to please others.
C.We need to pay for what we want to get.
D.The price of taking the drug is freedom.
69.It can be concluded from the passage that ________.
A. it’s better to do what we like
B.we shouldn’t care what others think
C.we shouldn’t change our own opinions
D.it's important to accept others’ opinions
70.The author tries to persuade the readers to accept his arguments mainly by________.
A.analyzing causes and effects
B.providing examples and facts
C.discussing questions
D.making suggestions
C
What’s on TV?
6:00 ③Let’s talk! Guest: Animal expert Jim Porter
⑤Cartoons
⑧News
⑨News
7:00 ③Cooking with CathyTonight: Chicken with mushrooms.
⑤Movie “A laugh a Minute”(1955)James Rayburn.
⑧Spin for Dollars!
⑨Farm Report
7:30 ③Double Trouble(comedy) The twins disrupt the high school dance.
⑨Wall Street Today: Stock Market Report
8:00 ③NBA Basketball. Teams to be announced
⑧Movie “At day’s End”(1981)Michael Collier, Julie Romer. Drama set in World War11.
⑨News Special “Saving Our Waterways: Pollution in the Mississippi”.
69.The number of programs can be arranged as .
A.News>art>animals>economic
B.News>economic>art>animals
C.Art>animals>news>economic
D.Art>news>economic>animals
70.Which program would probably interests housewife most?
A.Let’s Talk! B.Wall Street Today.
C.Cooking with Cathy. D.Farm Report.
71.If you’d like to watch a game show, you could turn on the TV to .
A.Channel 5 at 6:00 B.Channel 8 at 7:00
C.Channel 3 at 7:30 D.Channel 3 at 8:00
72.Which is most probably the News Channel?
A.3. B.5. C.8. D.9.
B
The climate of any place is the kind of weather. It usually has over a long period of time. The houses we live in, the clothes we wear, the foods we eat depend on the climate of the place where we live.
Climate is pattern that is not nearly as simple as we think, and it is affected by many factors. The distance to the North or South Pole or to the equator really matters a lot. If you live near either of the poles, you live in a cold climate, for the place where you live does not get as much or as direct sunshine as a place farther away from the poles. In places close to the equator, the climate is very hot, for they are the parts where the sun shines almost straight down.
Whether rain or snow falls makes a great difference to the climate. In hot, dry deserts, little rain falls, but in a hot rain forest, the amount of rainfalls is far larger than that in a desert, for there is a heavy rain almost every day, even several times per day. Though a rainforest and a desert may be the same distance from the equator, their climates are rather different from each other.
How much rain or snow falls are considered by some to be determined by the winds, the surrounding mountains and the currents(水流) in nearby seas and so on. In short, it is a very complex natural phenomenon.
65.This passage mainly talks about .
A.weather B.different climates
C.climate and its determining factors D.the difference between weather and climate
66.From this passage, we know climate and weather are and climate is.
A.almost the same; the general term of weather
B.quite different; the average weather conditions at a particular place over a period of time
C.not the same; included by weather
D.very much alike; bigger and weather is smaller
67.The difference of the climates between a tropical(热带的)desert and a tropical rain forst affected by.
A.the amount of rainfalls
B.the winds and the surrounding mountains
C.the currents in near seas.
D.how much sunshine the two different places can get
68.From the context, we can guess that the word “complex” isand it .
A.a noun; means a simple thing
B.an adjective; means being easy to understand
C.an adverb; has almost the same meaning of “rather”
D.an adjective; means being difficult to understand
第四部分:阅读理解(20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题纸上将该项标号涂黑。
A
TV Shows and Long Bus Trips
Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end-with commercials thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. “Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.” “Drink Good’n Wet Root Beer.” “Fill up with Pacific Gas.” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”
The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed-new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless(不计后果的) or daring, the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.
The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with you legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the am rests---even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at the right time. There are just no more ways to sit.
61. According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?
A.buses on the road. B.films on television.
C.advertisements on the board. D.gas stations.
62.What is the purpose of this passage?
A.To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips.
B.To persuade you to take a long bus trip.
C.To explain how bus trips and television shows differ.
D.To describe the billboards along the road.
63.The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because .
A.the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun
B.they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between
C.the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses
D.both traveling and watching TV are not exciting
64.Why does the writer think that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning?
A.Because both are exciting. B.Because both are comfortable.
C.Because both are tiring. D.Because both are boring.
D
He looks like somebody important! I remember thinking about a middle-aged man standing at a checkout counter. Something set him apart. Even the boy bagging groceries seemed to sense it. He sped up than usual as he glanced with respect at the man.
Trying to find out what was different about him, I found that he looked quite ordinary. Although he gave the impression of being tall, I could see he was actually a little shorter than average. His appearance wasn’t particularly outstanding, and he was wearing plain weekend sports attire ( 运动休闲装 ). Not until the man was leaving did it strike me. He carried himself as if he were somebody worth caring about. Head up and chest out, he walked proudly from the market. I watched the other shoppers as they looked down over their baskets. And me? In the glass of the store’s side doors, I saw reflected ( 映现 ) a worn-out housewife who looked as if she’d carried too many bags of groceries.
Suddenly, the words I’d heard my mother repeat hundreds of times as I was growing up held new meaning. “Stand up straight ! Lift yourself by pretending strings are pulling you from the tops of your ears.” I thought of myself being pulled up . I felt taller as I came nearer to the market’s doors. This time I saw reflected a woman who looked as if she knew where she was going! But as I rushed home in five o’clock traffic and tried to fix dinner before a seven o’clock meeting, my good manners disappeared. It wasn’t until the next day as I was trying on clothes in a department store that I remembered again. Each thing I put on seemed wrong. Suddenly I recalled the man in the supermarket. I lifted myself up. The dress looked nicer on me. I liked the dress! Sure enough, I looked five to seven pounds lighter. Dieting titles I’d read came to mind, such as “How to Lose Pounds in Weeks?” Now I had a new title: “How to Look Thinner in Seconds.”
68.The boy bagging groceries glanced with respect at the man because ____ .
A.the man gave him some tips for his service
B.the man walked in a strange way in the supermarket
C.his manners was different from the other people in the supermarket
D.the man was a special person for him
69.The writer looked five to seven pounds lighter because _________ .
A.she was having a diet
B.she stood straight up
C.she was taking exercise
D.she wore a beautiful dress
70.The underlined phrase “ set him apart ” in the first passage probably means .
A.made him unordinary
B.made him strange
C.made him handsome
D.upset him
C
A letter to Edward, a columnist
Dear Mr. Expert,
I grew up in an unhappy home. I always promised myself that I’d get out as soon as possible. Now, at age 20, I have a good job and a nice house, and I’m really proud of the independence I’ve achieved.
Here’s the problem: several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine — so much so that they make mine theirs.
It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me. But now they seem to take it for granted that they can show up any time they like. They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever.
I enjoy having my friends here sometimes— it makes the place feel comfortable and warm— but this is my home, not a party house. I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can’t I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy?
Joan
Edward’s reply to Joan
Dear Joan,
If your family didn’t pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now.
And if you’ve gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere, you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict you grew up with— or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy. You need to understand that in true friendship it’s okay to put your own needs first from time to time.
Be clear about the message you want to send. For example, “I really love your company but I also need some privacy. So please call before you come over.”
64.We can learn from the first letter that Joan Edward.
A.lives away from her parents
B.takes pride in her friends
C.knows Mr. Expert quite well
D.hates her parents very much
65.We can infer from the first letter that.
A.Joan considers her friends more important than her privacy
B.Joan’s friends visit her more often than she can accept
C.Joan doesn’t like the parties at all
D.Joan dislikes the boyfriends her friends bring over
66.According to Mr. Expert, why can’t Joan tell her friends her feelings?
A.She is afraid of hurting her friends
B.She does not understand true friendship
C.Her family experience stops her from doing so
D.She does not put her needs first
67.The second letter suggests that Mr. Expert.
A. is worried about Joan’s problem
B. warns Joan not to quarrel with her friends
C. advises Joan on how to refuse people
D. encourages Joan to be brave enough