The repairman told me, “No charge, Professor Pan! We’re friends.” “I’d rather pay,” I replied. “If it’s free, I can’t afford it!”
Chinese often refuse payment for professional services, insisting, “We’re friends now!” But then they show up later to ask me to tutor them in English, or get them into an American university, and I wish I’d have just paid the 30 yuan I owed them in the first place!
According to the Americans “There’s no free lunch.” meaning, there’s a price for everything, and I’m always looking around to figure out what this means.
Many of our neighbors have given us fruit or flowers or costly teas, never asking anything in return. For years, a bicycle repairman has repeatedly refused to let me pay him. “Wait until you have something major to fix!” he insists.
I mentioned to a peasant friend that I wished I had a stone mill to grind (磨) flour for bread. A month later he showed up with a beautiful mill that he’d had his uncle in the countryside carve from a solid block of granting (花岗石).
Chinese generosity is a real education for Americans like me, who would rather avoid social entanglements (纠纷) and just hand over the money. But cash can’t compensate (补偿) for the greatest gift—friendship.
When an American saw some of my friends sitting on bamboo stools under the trees, sipping tea, he said, “They must have nothing better to do.” “Actually,” I said, “they are professors, with plenty of to do. But probably you’re right in saying that, at this moment, they have nothing better to do. And neither do I”
And I joined the group. We chatted about tea and Chinese cooking and how much my boys have grown since we arrived. One man said, “They were pocket-sized when you came here. Now they’re taller than you. How time flies!”
How time flies. And Chinese are smart enough to share what they know, which they cannot keep. They freely give off their time, never too busy to help a friend. And they are teaching me, slowly, to both give and receive.
So the next time someone says, “No charge. We’re friends!” I will thank them heartily. But if they show up later asking me to tutor them in English, I’ll make sure they tutor my son in Chinese as well, because there’s still no free lunch.
69.Why did the author insist paying the repairman when he was offered free repairs?
A. Because he was an upright (正直的) man.
B. Because he didn’t know the repairman.
C. Because he thought it natural to pay for others’ service.
D. Because he didn’t want to help others in return.
70. Generally, the author thinks that _____ .
A. Chinese are generous and always ready to help their friends
B. Chinese are good at exchange of equal values
C. Chinese are free enough to drink tea and chat with their friends
D. Chinese are helpful but don’t treasure time
71. The best title of the article should be _____ .
A. Still no free lunch
B. A good lesson from the Chinese
C. True help or not
D. Learn to both give and receive
72. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Chinese seldom refuse payment for professional services.
B. When a peasant knew the author needed a mill, he made one for the author himself
C. The author thinks that Chinese are wise enough to enjoy their life.
D. Finally, the author changed his mind and decided to do as the Chinese do.
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda（大熊猫）eats only one particular type of bamboo（竹子）. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly（蝴蝶）will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet（多样化饮食）. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life.
| 1． |
We can infer from the text that humans and animals.
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| 2． |
Which of the following eats only one type of food?
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| 3． |
Certain animals change their choice of food when.
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| 4． |
We can learn from the last paragraph that.
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| 5． |
What's the best tile for this passage？
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It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting. Why was the bike so important to the couple?
| A．The man’s job was bike racing. | B．It was their only possession. |
| C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed. | D．They used it for work and daily life. |
We can infer from the text that ____________.
| A．the couple worked 60 hours a week. | B．people were busy before Christmas |
| C．the stranger brought over the bike | D．life was hard for the young family. |
How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
| A．From radio broadcasts. | B．From a newspaper. |
| C．From TV news. | D．From a stranger. |
What do the couple learn from their experience?
| A．Strangers are usually of little help. | B．One should take care of their bike. |
| C．News reports make people famous. | D．An act of kindness can mean a lot. |
Malaria, the world's most widespread parasitic(寄生虫引起的) disease, kills as many as three million people every year—almost all of whom are under five, very poor, and African. In most years, more than five hundred million cases of illness result from the disease, although exact numbers are difficult to assess because many people don't (or can't) seek care. It is not unusual for a family earning less than two hundred dollars a year to spend a quarter of its income on malaria treatment, and what they often get no longer works. In countries like Tanzania, Mozambique, and the Gambia, no family, village, hospital, or workplace can remain unaffected for long.
Malaria starts suddenly, with violent chills, which are soon followed by an intense fever and, often, headaches. As the parasites multiply, they take over the entire body. Malaria parasites live by eating the red blood cells they infect (感染). They can also attach themselves to blood vessels in the brain. If it doesn't kill you, malaria can happen again and again for years. The disease passed on to humans by female mosquitoes infected with one of four species of parasite. Together, the mosquito and the parasite are the most deadly couple in the history of the earth—and one of the most successful. Malaria has five thousand genes, and its ability to change rapidly to defend itself and resist new drugs has made it nearly impossible to control. Studies show that mosquitoes are passing on the virus more frequently, and there are more outbreaks in cities with large populations. Some of the disease's spread is due to global warming.
For decades, the first-choice treatment for malaria parasites in Africa has been chloroquine, a chemical which is very cheap and easy to make. Unfortunately, in most parts of the world, malaria parasites have become resistant to it. Successful alternatives that help prevent resistance are already available, but they have been in short supply and are very expensive. If these drugs should fail, nobody knows what would come next. According to paragraph 1, many people don't seek care because___.
| A．they are too poor |
| B．it is unusual to seek care |
| C．they can remain unaffected for long |
| D．there are too many people suffering from the disease |
People suffering from malaria___.
| A．have to kill female mosquitoes |
| B．have ability to defend parasites |
| C．have their red blood cells infected |
| D．have sudden fever, followed by chills |
Which of the following may be the reason for the wide spread of the disease?
| A．Its resistance to global warming. |
| B．Its ability to pass on the virus frequently. |
| C．Its outbreaks in cities with large populations. |
| D．Its ability to defend itself and resist new drugs. |
It can be inferred from the passage that___.
| A．no drugs have been found to treat the disease |
| B．the alternative treatment is not easily available to most people |
| C．malaria has developed its ability to resist parasites |
| D．nobody knows what will be the drug to treat the disease |
Which of the following questions has NOT been discussed in the passage?
| A．How can we know one is suffering from malaria? |
| B．How many people are killed by malaria each year? |
| C．Why are there so many people suffering from malaria7 |
| D．What has been done to keep people unaffected for long7 |
Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.
Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness. According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our
| A．self-respect | B．financial rewards | C．advertising ability | D．friendly relationship |
The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to___.
| A．lying | B．stealing | C．cheating | D．advertising |
The phrase "bringing the error to the clerk's attention" (in para. 5) means___.
| A．telling the truth to the clerk | B．offering advice to the clerk |
| C．asking the clerk to be more attentive | D．reminding the clerk of the charged item |
How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake?
| A．We'll be very excited. | B．We'll feel unfortunate. |
| C．We'll have a sense of honor. | D．We'll feel sorry for the clerk. |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage.*
| A．How to Live Truthfully | B．Importance of Peacefulness |
| C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect | D．Happiness through Honorable Actions |
How should one invest a sum of money in these clays of inflation (通货膨胀)? Left in a bank it will hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate. Only a brave man, or a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock Market. Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings, and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past. Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks, which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.
I sometimes wonder what a being from another planet might report back about our way of life. "The planet Earth is ruled by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound. It has a face with twelve black marks and two hands. Men can do nothing without its permission, and it fastens its young round people's wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control. This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves."
Whether or not we are slaves of time today depends on our culture and personality, but it is believed that many years ago kings kept special slaves to tell the time. Certain men were very clever at measuring the time of clay according to the beating of their own hearts. They were made to stand in a fixed place and every hour or so would shout tire time. So it seems that the first clocks were human beings.
However, men quickly found more convenient and reliable ways of telling the time. They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun. They marked the hours on candles, used sand in hour- glasses, and invented water-clocks. Indeed, any serious student of antique should spend as much time as possible visiting palaces, stately homes and museums to see some of the finest examples of clocks from the past.
Antique clocks could be very expensive, but one of the joys of collecting clocks is that it is still possible to find quite cheap ones for your own home. After all, if you are going to be ruled by time, why not invest in air antique clock and perhaps make a future profit?According to the passage, collecting antique clocks____.
| A．can hardly keep the value of your savings |
| B．will cost much of your savings |
| C．may increase your wealth |
| D．needs your bravery |
By quoting (引用) the remark of a being from another planet, the author intends to____.
| A．suggest human beings are controlled by a clock |
| B．describe why clocks can rule the planet Earth |
| C．tell readers what clocks look like |
| D．compare chicks to human beings |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to measure the time?
| A．Counting the beating of one's own heart. |
| B．Making use of candles, sand and water. |
| C．Observing shadows cast by the sun. |
| D．Keeping slaves busy day and night. |
The underlined phrase stately homes in paragraph 4 means
| A．state-owned houses |
| B．houses in very good condition |
| C．grand houses open to the public |
| D．houses where statesmen meet regularly |
The purpose of the passage is
| A．to introduce the culture of antique clocks |
| B．to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks |
| C．to compare different ways to make a future profit |
| D．to explain convenient and reliable ways of telling time |