Singles Day falls on every November 11th, and as the name indicates, this relatively new holiday is one specially for people who are still living the single life. I was a bit surprised when I googled “Singles Day” on the Internet, to find that China is the only country in the world that has set up a special day for singles to celebrate their lives.
An old story goes that once there were four single men, leading very boring lives. None of them were married, or had lovers, or did anything exciting. They just sat around all day and played Mahjong. One day they played Mahjong from 11 in the morning until 11 at night. During the game, no matter who won, the winning card was always the “four columns” card (the card shows four independent, parallel columns in two lines). Even more of a coincidence, it was Nov. 11. In order to remind them of the day, they nicknamed it Singles Day.
Singles Day was first celebrated at various universities in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province during the 1990s. These college students carried their university tradition into society after they graduated. Singles Day is now a special day for all.
The main way to celebrate Singles day is to have dinner with your single friends, but it’s important that each person pay their own way to show their independence. People also hold “blind date” parties in an attempt to say goodbye to their single lives.
For breakfast on Singles Day, singles often eat four youtiao
(deep-fried dough sitcks) representing the four “ones” in “11.11” and one baozi (steamed stuffed buns) representing the dot in between.
Many singles also choose to say goodbye to their single lives on the day. Many attend “blind date” parties and many people choose to marry on this day. In addition to meaning “single”, the four “ones” of the date can also mean “only one” as in “the only one for me”. Some p
eople will use this date an
d this meaning to tell their special someone that they are the only “one” in their heart.Which of the statement is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Singles Day has a long history. |
| B．Only men celebrate Singles Day. |
C．Singles  Day is only celebrated in China. |
| D．Students in Nanjing University started Singles Day. |
People celebrate the festival mainly by .
| A．playing Mahjong | B．having dinner |
| C．getting married | D．hanging out with friends |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Singles Day |
| B．Four Single Men’s Singles Day |
| C．University Culture on Singles Day |
| D．Symbolic Food on Singles Day |
Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
(a-para.1 b-para.2 c-para.3 d-para.4 e-para.5 f-para.6)
| A． a | B． a | C． a | D． a |
b c d b c d f b d b c d e
e e c e f
f f
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 |
What is freedom? It seems like such a simple question. Freedom is being able to do what you want to do. Allow me to explain it.
I’m tired of working for a living. I’d rather collect taxes. So that’s what I’m going to do: collect a kind of tax. You are ordered to estimate your income from the past 12 months, and write me a check for 1%. I have provided a mailing address for this purpose on my contact page …
What? You have a problem with my plan? Oh, I see. If you have to send me a check for the tax, then I have hurt your freedom to spend that money as you see fit. We have a conflict! And our basic problem is: we cannot enjoy freedom at the same time; we must settle for a limit. But what limit?
Libertarians (自由论者) believe freedom should be based on self-control. They describe freedom as being able to do what you want to do as long as it doesn’t influence the equal right of others to do what they want to do. That is, freedom is being able to do what you like as long as you do not harm another person’s life, liberty or property.
You can build a set of legal and ethical (道德的) rules on the principle of self-control, and libertarians do. Their request for self-control often becomes more important than common sense, or even freedom itself.
The definition rules out the freedom to steal, murder, and so on. Otherwise, you can do whatever you want. There is no problem until you realize that taxation is theft, that war is murder, and that national service is a form of slavery. Since only the government has a legal right to use force, libertarians focus on making the government smaller, or even going without it. The libertarians’ definition of freedom is thus freedom from the government. Isn’t it ridiculous?According to the first three paragraphs, the author’s idea of collecting taxes is _________.
| A．reasonable | B．responsible | C．unacceptable | D．understandable |
The author takes tax-collecting as an example in the passage to prove that freedom is _________.
| A．unreal | B．unbelievable | C．achievable | D．limited |
In the opinion of libertarians, freedom is realized mainly by _________.
| A．the law | B．self-control | C．ethical rules | D．common sense |
Which of the following statements is supported by libertarians according to the passage?
| A．National service should be canceled. |
| B．People can do whatever they want. |
| C．The government should have more power. |
| D．They should be governed by the government. |
The key to a good interpersonal relationship is simple once you understand the role that needs play in making a relationship weak, moderate, average, or strong.
A person who fails in a relationship is someone who neglects the needs of his or her partner. So the first step to establish a successful relationship is to find out what needs the other person has. It is also very important to understand your own needs so that you can help the other person in the relationship to meet your needs.
Unfortunately, not only do many people fail to see or to understand their partner’s needs, but they do not understand their own. Children have wonderful relationships with their parents as long as their needs are being satisfied. When the needs are not satisfied, the relationship changes and problems arise. As a child grows, needs change; it is necessary that parents recognize these changes. As it is with the child to the parents, it is also with the parents to the child.
The way to recognize the needs of other people is by their responses to you. When you do or say something and you get a positive response, you are well on the way to being recognized. The same goes for you. What is it that you respond to in a positive manner? What do you feel good about getting and about doing? What are you totally guiltless about? What can you do with complete confidence and fearlessness? What emotional scene can you control without fear or guilt? Look in these areas for your needs and you will in all probability find your answers.
As stated, our own needs are often hidden. The techniques covered in the power of self-mind control will allow you to discover your needs and show you who you are in regard to interpersonal relationships. Your effectiveness in influencing and dealing with people will greatly increase the power of self-mind control.From the passage we learn that ________.
| A．it is hard to make good interpersonal relationships |
| B．there are several levels of relationships among people |
| C．the success of different interpersonal relationships can be measured by needs |
| D．the first step to establish a successful relationship is to know your own needs |
According to Paragraph 2, the most important factor in dealing with people is to ________.
| A．be kind to them and help them |
| B．only think of their needs |
| C．find out both your needs and theirs |
| D．learn some interpersonal techniques |
Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．A child’s needs change with his growth. |
| B．A child should also know his parents’ needs. |
| C．It’s easier to find your own needs than to find others’. |
| D．You can learn what others need by their responses to you. |
The last two paragraphs are written mainly to tell us ________.
| A．why some people fail in a relationship |
| B．how to increase the power of self-mind control |
| C．why our needs are often hidden |
| D．how to recognize others’ needs and yours |
It is an exciting start to the college football season. A team that many people never heard of defeated one of the best in the country. If you follow American sports, then you know we are talking about the Michigan-Appalachian State game, which took place on September 1st at Michigan Stadium, in front of more than 100,000 people.
Appalachian State University is in Boone, North Carolina. Its team often plays in a stadium that holds about 25,000 people. Also, Appalachian State plays in the Football Championship Subdivision. Michigan is in the newly named Football Bowl Subdivision, the top level of college football. So the Mountaineers of Appalachian State and the Wolverines of the University of Michigan normally do not even play each other.
But they decided to meet for the first time. Michigan agreed to pay Appalachian State 400,000 dollars, win or lose. Teams like Michigan need victories, even a victory over a lower division team, to get into big, nationally broadcast bowl games. These games are worth millions of dollars at the end of the season.
Fans expected an easy Michigan win. After all, in the preseason, sports experts had considered Michigan the fifth best college football team in the country. But Appalachian State is a two-time national champion at its own division level. Its players wanted to show they could play well against a nationally ranked team. And they did. The final score was Appalachian State thirty-four, Michigan thirty-two. The game quickly became known as one of the greatest upsets in college football history.
The win has brought national attention to Appalachian State. Local stores reported a huge increase in orders for college clothing and other items. And the university official head expects more students to seek admission next year. Last Saturday, at home, Appalachian State defeated another North Carolina school, Lenoir-Rhyne College, forty-eight to seven.The Michigan-Appalachian State game ________.
| A．is a regular competition held in the US every year |
| B．is a state competition held for the football championship |
| C．is part of a national competition held on September 1st every year |
| D．was an occasional football competition between two universities |
Michigan wanted to play with Appalachian State because Michigan ________.
| A．needed money to support its development |
| B．wanted to test the skills of Appalachian State |
| C．was a new football team without experience |
| D．needed victories to enter nationally broadcast bowl games |
After the game, the Appalachian State University got _________.
| A．much economic support from the government |
| B．much national assistance |
| C．national recognition |
| D．many applicants for admission |
The Spanish exploration was the beginning of the history of San Francisco Harbor. That long history is celebrated at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The park’s main visitor center is only a few hundred meters from the waters of the great harbor. It is a memorial to the great ships and those who sailed them.
The visitor center holds many objects linked to the past of the great harbor. There are small ships, ship equipment, and hundreds of beautiful old photographs. Many visitors stop to look at a large painting of a huge sailing ship named the Balclutha.
Visitors who look at the painting can go out through the front door of the visitor center and see the real Balclutha. People walking near Fisherman’s Wharf often do not believe their eyes when they first see the Balclutha. Almost everyone stops and looks at the huge ship. The ship looks almost new. Several years ago, more than one million dollars was spent in repairing and painting it. Now, more than two hundred thousand people a year visit the ship.
The Balclutha is perhaps the most popular ship with visitors at the Maritime Park. However, there are also several other ships which are very important to the history of the great harbor. But not all of these ships are open to the public. One that is open is a small steam-powered workboat, called the Hercules. The Hercules was a tugboat. Until 1924 it pulled ships around the harbor.
Another boat popular with visitors is the Eureka. It was built in 1890. It is the largest wooden ship still floating today. The Eureka was a ferryboat. It carried people and cars across the bay. It did this until the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bay Bridge were built.
The park also has a very unusual looking museum. It is a large building that almost looks like a ship. The museum is filled with interesting equipment. One of the most interesting objects in the museum is a small sailboat called the Mermaid, which is only large enough for one person to sit in.The underlined word “It” in Paragraph 1 refers to _________.
| A．the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park |
| B．the Spanish exploration |
| C．the main visitor center |
| D．San Francisco Harbor |
What can we know about the Balclutha according to the passage?
| A．It is the largest wooden ship. |
| B．It is worth about one million dollars now. |
| C．It is a steam-powered workboat used to pull ships. |
| D．The huge ship attracts lots of visitors every year. |
The ships are described in the passage in order to _______.
| A．show the history of the great harbor |
| B．tell us each ship has its own features |
| C．tell us which one is the most popular |
| D．tell us these ships’ functions |
We know from the passage that ________.
| A．the Eureka is still used for carrying people and cars |
| B．the Hercules has not been used for pulling ships since 1924 |
| C．the Mermaid is a small tugboat that can only hold one person |
| D．most of the ships in the park are open to the public |