There are two types of people in the world. Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy and the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.
People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things: the pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine and the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation. It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.
Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people offend many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrong doings. These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.
45. People who are unhappy .
A. always consider things differently from others
B. usually are affected by the results of certain things
C. usually misunderstand what others think or say
D. always discover the unpleasant side of certain things
46. We can conclude from the passage that .
A. we should pity all such unhappy people
B. such unhappy people are dangerous to social life
C. people can get rid of the habit of unhappiness
D. unhappy people can not understand happy persons
47. If such unhappy persons insist on keeping the habit, the author suggests that people should .
A. prevent any communication with them
B. show no respect and politeness to them
C. persuade them to recognize the bad effects
D. quarrel with them until they realize the mistakes
48. In this passage, the writer mainly .
A. describes two types of people
B. laughs at the unhappy people
C. suggests the unhappy people should get rid of the habits of unhappiness
D. tell people how to be happy in life
The Ice Hotel
Are you going into skiing? Is winter your favorite time of year? If you like snow and ice, maybe you should stay at Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada. But, you can only check in at this hotel during the winter. Why ? Because this hotel is built every December. It has 32 rooms and 80 people can stay there each night. The hotel even has a movie theatre, art gallery, and church. Of course, all of these parts of the hotel are made of ice. In fact, all the furniture, art, lights, and even plates and drinking glasses are made out of ice.
Because this hotel is so unusual, it is becoming very popular. People from all over the world come to the Ice Hotel to look at the fantastic ice art, drink and eat from designed ice dishes and experience the unique atmosphere (独特的气氛). Some couples have even got married in the hotel's ice church. But all these guests keep their winter coats on! Because of all the ice, the temperature inside the hotel is always between - 2ºC and - 5ºC. Surprisingly, sleeping is not a problem in the freezing cold hotel rooms. Every guest gets a special cold-weather sleeping bag and some fur blankets. These keep the room cozy and warm until morning.What is the main idea of this reading?
| A．How the Ice Hotel is built |
| B．What makes the Ice Hotel special |
| C．Why the Ice Hotel is made of ice |
| D．The services of the Ice Hotel |
Why is sleeping NOT a problem in the hotel?
| A．the rooms are warm | B．the temperature is -2ºC |
| C．the sleeping bags are warm | D．the furniture is warm |
In which part of the hotel would you probably find "plates"?
| A．the church | B．the restaurant | C．the rooms | D．the art gallery |
Mouse potatoes joined couch potatoes (who spend much time watching TV on the couch), google officially became a verb and drama queens (extremely emotional persons) finally found the attention when they crossed over from popular culture to mainstream English language.
The mouse potato, the himbo (attractive, empty-headed man) and drama queen were among 100 new words added to the 2006 update of America’s best-selling dictionary, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary《韦氏大词典》. The Internet search engine Google also found its way into the dictionary for the first time as a verb, meaning to find information quickly on the worldwide web.
New words and phrases from the fields of science, technology, pop culture and industry are chosen each year by Merriam-Webster’s team of editors after months of looking through books, magazines and even food labels. “They are not tracking spoken language. They are looking for evidence that words have been used in the written English language,” said Arthur Bicknell, senior editor of Merriam-Webster.
Other words first coming into the dictionary this year were soul patch (a small growth of beard under a man’s lower lip), unibrow (two eyebrows joining together) and supersize － the fast food industry phrase for extra large meals.
The technology world contributed ringtones (changeable incoming cellphone call signals) and spyware (software installed in a computer to track a user’s activities) while biodiesel (生物柴油) and avian influenza(禽流感) came from the world of science.
America’s first dictionary － Noah Webster’s A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language － was published 200 years ago and also introduced some fresh words that have now become familiar. Those “new” words in 1806 included slang, surf, psychology, naturally and Americanize. The mouse potato refers to ____________.
| A．a mouse that lives by potatoes |
| B．a person who spends much time on the computer |
| C．a mouse that is shown on the screen of the computer |
| D．a person who likes to eat mice and potatoes |
Which group of words and phrases is NOT the fresh words for the dictionary of this year?
| A．mouse potatoes, google, supersize， drama queen. |
| B．himbo, soul patch, unibrow, supersize. |
| C．ringtones, spyware, biodiesel, avian influenza. |
| D．couch potatoes, surf, psychology, Americanize. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?
| A．New words and phrases were introduced into the dictionary have close relationship with the time. |
| B．New words and phrases chosen by the editors of the dictionary have been used in written English somewhere. |
| C．Some words that are now familiar to us used to be fresh words collected in the dictionary. |
| D．The Merriam-webster Collegiate Dictionary becomes the best-seller because 100 new words are added to it. |
It’s easy to see how to help others, but what about those whose needs aren’t so obvious? This story may have happened a while back, but it was a lesson which has stayed with me and helped me ever since.
It was Thanksgiving and I was volunteering with my parents at a shelter for the poor. We stood behind the counter dishing out hot food to whoever came in. most of our dinners looked like they had been having hard times, their clothes old, worn and dry. In short, they looked poor!
Then, a man came in, who looked anything but poor. He was well dressed, wearing an expensive suit. I wondered what he was doing there and my jaw dropped in amazement when he joined the line for food. The closer he came to my service station, the more I muttered. What was this man doing? I wanted to know. Surely he wasn’t gong to take food.
Then my mother quietly took me to one side. She said, “You have assumed that the needs of the people who come here must be purely physical: hunger, inadequate shelter and needs are emotional? What if he needs comfort, friends, or just to be among other human beings?” her words hit me like a ton of bricks! I felt like I should apologize to the man, but I didn’t.
About a week later the shelter received a large donation from an anonymous source. I can’t help but wonder if it came from that man.
Now, whether I meet others, I remember my mother’s words and try to send kindness and blessings to them, regardless of how they look.
Needs aren’t always visible. But kindness always makes a difference.The task of the author at the shelter was to_______.
| A．decide whether dinners looked poor | B．learn life experience there |
| C．serve hot food to the poor | D．help parents order dishes |
When the man waited in line, how did the author feel?
| A．Surprised | B．Pitiful | C．Excited | D．Angry |
The author felt he should apologize to the man, because he_______.
| A．was asked to do so by his mother |
| B．gave the man food much less than others |
| C．realized something was wrong with the man |
| D．knew later that the man went there to donate |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．We should show others kindness whatever their needs are |
| B．Some needs can’t be known clearly at times |
| C．Needs can always be met by kindness |
| D．We should find out others’ needs |
Bill and his family has been living in the six－family building for years. All the neighbors got along fairly well with each other until recently.
An old man and his wife used to live on the second floor. Bill’s mother and the old lady were good friends. Unfortunately the lady died last month. Her husband could not live alone, so he had his grandson move over and live with him.
The grandson has become a problem to all the neighbors, especially to Bill’s family. The walls of the building are thin and he is noisy. Bill is used to peace and quiet but the young man likes to listen to the radio late at night. Sometimes friends of his visit and they make a lot of noise. That is too much for Bill’s family.
Bill’s mother once asked the old man politely if he was able to sleep well at night, but obviously the man didn’t understand what she meant. If he did and spoke to his grandson, the young man obviously didn’t listen, since things haven’t changed any. Everyone in Bill’s family agrees that something must be done though they don’t want to hurt the kind old man.Bill’s family got angry because ________.
| A．the old lady had died |
| B．a young man moved in |
| C．the old man could not live alone |
| D．the grandson made a lot of noise |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The old man could not live without his wife’s help. |
| B．The old man and his wife were sometimes making trouble too. |
| C．Bill’s mother was kind to her neighbors. |
| D．Bill’s mother was the only one who likes the young man. |
The grandson makes a lot of noise as ________.
| A．he never thinks other people might not be happy with so much noise around |
| B．the walls of the building are thin |
| C．he likes to listen to the radio at night |
| D．friends of his visit |
It seems that ________to solve the problem.
| A．anyone is able | B．only the grandfather is going |
| C．Bill’s mother is able | D．nobody is likely |
Long ago in a small town, there was a place known as the House of 1,000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit.
When he arrived, he bounced (跳) happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1,000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1,000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, “This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit often.”
In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1,000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1,000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, “This is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again.”
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see on the faces of the people you meet?Why was the first dog surprised when he entered the house?
| A．Because he didn’t expect to see so many happy dogs. |
| B．Because he didn’t know there were 1,000 mirrors in the house. |
| C．Because he was always in a mixed mood. |
| D．Because he saw so many dogs smiling at him. |
Why did the first dog like the house?
| A．Because there were 1,000 mirrors in the house. |
| B．Because he thought he could keep himself warm in the house. |
| C．Because he liked everything presented to him. |
| D．Because he felt he was welcome here. |
The underlined word “growl” probably means ______.
| A．make an unfriendly noise | B．smile |
| C．say hello | D．stare |
Which of the following is the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．A Small happy Little Dog |
| B．The House of 1,000 Mirrors |
| C．The Wonderful Place and the Horrible Place. |
| D．Two Little Dogs |