.
For a long time, being happy was considered something that just happened, and there was nothing special about it. Now we know it is something that we can work at.
You are happy if you get along well with others. To make people like you better, you should be unselfish, not wanting everything from your friends. Another way is to look for good points, not bad ones in other people. It is surprising how successful this can be.
You don’t have to be spineless (没有骨气的) in order to be popular. In fact, you will be liked and respected if you are not afraid to stand up for your rights. But do it politely and pleasantly. It is one way to develop a good character if you are friendly and polite to your group, to other people and to strangers and especially to those who do not look important or do not interest you.
Second, you must learn not to be unhappy when you make mistakes. You can not expect to be perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. No one is to be blamed (责备) unless he refuses to learn from them. Many young people become discouraged when they know in themselves qualities that they do not like — selfishness, laziness, and other unpleasant qualities. Just remember that we all have some of these faults and have to fight against them.
At the same time, it is important to remember that, while you are probably no worse than others, the best way to be happy is to think yourself above other people. When something is wrong, it is good sense to try to make it right. Perhaps you don’t like a teacher or a classmate. Try to see why, and look at yourself, too, to be sure that you are not doing anything to make that person dislike you. Some day, things may turn out all right and then you will have to learn to get along the best with the situation, without thinking too much about it. Worrying never helps in a situation you can’t change.
67. Which of the following is suggested in the passage?
A. Draw attention of our friends.
B. Ask for the best share of everything.
C. Look for faults that are shared among people.
D. Pay more attention to other people’s strong points.
68. According to the passage, if we want to be popular, we should ______.
A. be polite and friendly
B. give up some rights
C. never argue with other people
D. be ready to change our character
69. One should be blamed if he or she ______.
A. is not better than others
B. is selfish and lazy
C. does not draw a lesson from his or her mistakes
D. has some unpleasant qualities
70. The writer will possibly agree with the following EXCEPT that ______.
A. no one is perfect
B. every person has their own advantages over others
C. getting worried helps to change the situation for the better
D. self-examination is necessary if something is wrong
71. The author writes the passage in order to ______.
A. teach you how to make yourself perfect
B. show you how to be happy
C. tell you how to act when in trouble
D. teach you how to be popular among your friends
Collecting information about pre-employment and filling out an application form are closely connected, However, filling out an application form is much easier because you have total control and have enough time to think and plan.
That you are given a form to fill out does not necessarily mean that you have to answer all the questions in it. If the form contains unclear questions or terms and conditions, you can make some changes before signing(签约)it, or refuse to answer some of the questions. What you must realize is that those terms and conditions have been written by highly paid lawyers. Each word is important, or it would not be there; and you can be sure that there is not anything there that is written with your interests in mind.
I know what I speak of because, as a lawyer for Litton Industries. I wrote the terms and conditions that were printed on the back of order forms, I wrote the most tiring terms and conditions anyone has ever seen. Still, 90 percent of the buyers would just sign on them without questioning anything. If anyone questioned them, we would reach an agreement on something that was acceptable to both sides.
So when you see a preprinted application that contains questions or terms and conditions, read it all and read it slowly. If you don’t like something, you can simply change the parts you don’t like, Remember that everything can be settled by discussion. To what degree it can be settled depends on your position, of course, and that is something only you can determine.Filling out application forms is much “easier” because_______.
A.everything connected with application forms is easier |
B.you can control the form filling with enough time |
C.you can plan and have control of the needed time |
D.it is easier to collect information about pre-employment |
We can learn from the underlined part “Each word is important” that _______.
A.questions in a form must be answered |
B.everything in a form must be read carefully |
C.the conditions that interest you are changeable |
D.something of your interests is most important |
It can be inferred from the 4th paragraph that_______.
A.you must change a preprinted application before it is discussed |
B.questions in a form are more important |
C.you have little right to determine the conditions you like most |
D.it depends on yourself to settle things in a form |
We’ve reached a strange—some would say unusual—point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.
Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What’s going on?
We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.
In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.
Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body-conscious country.
We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.
Others blame good food. They say: it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food.
Some also blame their parents—their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape, or rather slim.
It’s a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say—not as I do.What is the “strange” point mentioned in the first sentence?
A.Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world. |
B.WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety. |
C.The good life is a greater risk than the bad life. |
D.Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts. |
Why does the author think that people have no excuse for being overweight?
A.They have been made fully aware of its dangers. |
B.A lot of effective diet pills are available. |
C.Body image has nothing to do with good food. |
D.There are too many overweight people in the world. |
The example of Finland is used to illustrate (说明)_________.
A.the cause of heart disease |
B.the effectiveness of a campaign |
C.the fashion of body shaping |
D.the history of a body-conscious country |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
A.Overweight or Underweight? | B.WHO in a Dilemma |
C.No Longer Dying of Hunger | D.Actions or Excuses? |
Sparrow is a fast-food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago, the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining, the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast-food concepts reaching the market, the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse, its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.
Sparrow failed to grow for another two years. Until a new CEO, Carl Pearson, decided to build up its market share. He did a survey, which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain, while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.
Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain’s owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy’s restaurants. Pearson resisted, arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time. Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success, rather than customers’ speeding power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.
The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast-food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original sons performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product, the intension was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.
Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example, he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover. (营业额)
These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated. Which was one of the problems Sparrow faced before Pearson became CEO?
A.The number of its customers was declining |
B.It was in need of financial support |
C.Its customers found the food unhealthy |
D.Most of its restaurants were closed |
What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Customers of Sparrow restaurants |
B.Sparrow restaurants |
C.other fast-food chains |
D.Customers of other fast-food chains |
For what purpose did Pearson start the advertising campaign?
A.To stress the unusual tradition of Sparrow |
B.To lean about customers; spending power. |
C.To meet the challenge from Marcy’s restaurants. |
D.To build a good relationship with the public |
What was Pearson’s achievement as a CEO?
A.He made Sparrow much more competitive |
B.He managed to pay off Sparrow’s debts. |
C.He helped Sparrow take over a company |
D.He improved the welfare of Sparrow employees |
In early autumn I applied for admission to college. I wanted to go nowhere but to Cornell University, but my mother fought strongly against it. When she saw me studying a photograph of my father on the sports ground of Cornell, she tore it up.
“You can’t say it’s not a great university, just because Papa went there.”
“That’s not it at all. And it is a top university.” She was still holding the pieces in her hand. “But we can’t afford to send you to college.”
“I wouldn’t dream of asking you for money. Do you want me to get a job to help support you and Papa? Things aren’t that bad, are they?”
“No,” she said. “I don’t expect you to help support us.”
Father borrowed money from his rich cousins to start a small jewellery shop, His chief customers were his old college friends. To get new customers, my mother had to help. She picked up a long-forgotten membership in the local league of women, so that she could get to know more people. Whether those people would turn into customers was another question. I knew that my parents had to wait for quite a long time before their small investment could show returns. What’s more , they had not wanted enough to be rich and successful;otherwise they could not possibly have managed their lives so badly.
I was torn between the desire to help them and change their lives, and the determination not to repeat their mistakes. I had a strong belief in my power to go what I wanted. After months of hard study, I won a full college scholarship .My father could hardly contain his pride in me, and my mother eventually gave in before my success.The author was not allowed to go to Cornell University mainly because___________
A.his father graduated from the university |
B.his mother did not think it a great university |
C.his parents needed him to help support the family |
D.his parents did not have enough money for him |
The father started his small shop with the money from___________
A.local league | B.his university |
C.his relatives | D.his college friends |
Why did the mother renew her membership in the league?
A.To help with her husband’s business |
B.To raise money for her son |
C.To meet her long-forgotten friends |
D.To better manage her life |
According to the text, what was the author determined to do in that autumn?
A.To get a well-paid job for himself |
B.To improve relations with his mother |
C.To go to his dream university |
D.To carry on with his father’s business |
“A very disruptive(调皮捣蛋的) six-year-old child kicked my legs and clawed at my hand,” said one teacher. “ I broke up a fight and was kicked between my legs,” said another. Many people have heard stories like this. But the situation is more worrying still and it involves parents.
Every child, regardless of the circumstances into which they are born, has the right to achieve their potential, regardless of their parents’ wealth and class. And we recognize that, as a nation, it is a long way to achieve this goal. But with rights come responsibilities and what worries people is that we are in danger of ignoring the latter.
Far too many children are behaving badly at school, even to the point of being violent to staff. This is terrible enough, but it is hard to be surprised since many children are just mirroring the behaviour of their parents.
My members tell me that parents also come into school often and threaten staff and some staff have been attacked by a pupil’s parents. One father encouraged his child to start a fight on the playground before school started. A primary teacher reported that a parent shouted at him. We need to have a serious and sensible debate about the roles and responsibilities of parents and the support that they can reasonably expect of schools and teachers.
Children will not learn how to behave as social beings if they are stuck in front of the TV for hours every day. They need their parents to show an interest in them and to spend time with them, helping them to play with their peers(同龄人) and to learn the rules of social behavior.
Children are now arriving at school socially undeveloped, increasingly unable to dress themselves, unable to use the toilet properly, unable to hold a knife and fork and unused to eating at a table, Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, writes in today’s Observer. Instead of taking responsibility themselves, too many parents expect teachers to control their children’s behaviour and wellbeing, she adds. Bousted says one mother blamed staff when she discovered that her 16-year-old son was smoking.
We are in danger of becoming a nation of families living separate lives under one roof. The bedroom, once a place to sleep, has become the living space for the young. Spending hours in front of computer screens, on social networking sites or being immersed(沉迷于) in computer games, children and young people spend little time with their parents. Parents are unable to monitor just what their children are watching.
Schools cannot right the wrongs of society and teachers cannot become substitute parents. Both parties need to work together. Parents must be helped and given confidence to take back control. They are responsible for setting boundaries for their children's behaviour and sticking to those boundaries. They are responsible for setting a good example to their children and for devoting that most precious of resources — time — so that children come to school ready and willing to learn.In the opinion of the writer, what problem do people ignore?
A.The violence in the school |
B.The study pressure of students. |
C.The responsibilities of the students |
D.The right to achieve students’ potential. |
The underlined part in Paragraph 7 means _____.
A.parents care little about children’s life at home |
B.parents and children live in their separate rooms |
C.children don’t live with their parents in the same house |
D.children live a different life from that of parents at home |
The author’s attitude to the behaviour of parents may be ______.
A.dissatisfied | B.indifferent |
C.understanding | D.tolerant |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that ______.
A.teachers have no responsibility for playing the role of parents |
B.schools can’t correct the wrongs that society does to teachers |
C.students are responsible for making themselves known in society |
D.parents should spend time with children to make them ready to learn |