When someone says , “Well , I guess I’ll have to go to face the music,” It doesn’t mean he is planning to go to a concert . It is something far less pleasant , like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this or that , and why you did not do this or that . Sour （刺耳）music , indeed , but it has to be faced .
The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American , young and old . It is at least 100 years old . Where did the expression come from ?
The first information comes from the American writer James Fenimore Cooper . He said—in 1851—that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings （侧）to go on stage . After they got their clue（暗示）to go on , they often said , “It’s time to go to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did —face the orchestra（管弦乐队）which was just below the stage .
An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps unfriendly , especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out .
So, “to face the music” came to mean : having to go through something , no matter how unpleasant the experience might be , because you knew you had no choice .
The other explanation comes from the army . Men had to face inspection（检阅）by their leader . The soldiers worried about how well they looked . Was their equipment clean—shiny enough to pass inspection ? Still , the men had to go out , and face the music of the band , as well as the inspection . What else could they do ?
1．The phrase “to face the music” was first used by______________.
A．all the Americans
B．the American writer James Fenimore Cooper
C．American actors
D．the American orchestra
2．An actor might feel frightened or nervous when going on stage .One of the reasons is that ______________.
A．his performance might not satisfy most of the audience
B．he might not remember what he should say on stage
C．he had to face the unfriendly audience
D．the audience might be mostly his friends
3． “To face the music” is also used to mean that soldiers were not willing______________.
A．to be examined about their equipment
B．to be found weak
C．to show themselves by their leader
D．to be inspected by their leader
4．This passage is mainly about______________.
A．the meaning of the phrase “to face the music”
B．how to deal with something unpleasant
C．the origin（起源）of the phrase
D．how to go through difficulty
What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange, or red? If you do, you must be an active person who enjoys life. Do you like blue? Then you are probably quiet, shy, and would rather follow than lead.
Colors do influence our moods (情绪). A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand, black is depressing(令人压抑的). There was a black bridge over the Thames River, near London. The number of people who killed themselves on that bridge used to be larger than on any other bridge in the area -- until it was repainted green.
Light and bright colors make people not only happier but also more active. In the factory, the workers will work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black.An active person may like ____
| A．yellow, orange, or red | B．yellow, black, or red |
| C．orange, blue, or black | D．black, red, or orange |
Most people feel more __ in a yellow room than in a dark green one.
| A．tired | B．bored | C．worried | D．relaxed |
More people killed themselves on the black bridge than on any other bridge probably because ____
| A．the bridge was very tall |
| B．the bridge was too crowded |
| C．people didn't like the bridge |
| D．the color of the bridge was depressing |
In the factory, when the machines are painted orange, the workers will work __
| A．worse | B．harder | C．more slowly | D．more angrily |
Most American students have to say goodbye to fancy (高档的) fruits these days. In school restaurants across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges have taken their place.
“People are afraid to spend now.” said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store. “They don’t know what the future will bring”. During the financial crisis (金融危机), several of the country’s biggest banks have been forced to sell or close. This has made lots of Americans afraid to buy expensive things.
The crisis began last year. Experts (专家) think it was because US banks lend money too easily. Last year a lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, found themselves unable to pay it back. This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money. Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders (国界), the whole world was in trouble.
This month the US government agreed on a $700 billion plan to try to save the financial market. But no one is sure whether it will help or not. Last week presidents from 20 countries promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble. This passage is probably taken from ___________.
| A．a story book | B．a novel | C．a newspaper | D．an advertisement |
Why are people in the US afraid to spend?
| A．Because they think it’s unnecessary |
| B．Because they don’t have the habit of spending money |
| C．Because they worry about their future |
| D．Because they don’t have any money |
From the passage, we still don’t know ________.
| A．when the financial crisis began |
| B．when the financial crisis will end |
| C．why some of the US banks closed |
| D．whether the crisis has spread to other countries |
The best title for the passage is ___________.
| A．Ways to Save Money |
| B．Financial Crisis facing the World |
| C．Banks in the USA |
| D．The USA Becoming Poor |
A friend of mine, in response to a conversation we were having about the injustices of life, asked me the question, “Who said life was going to be fair, or that it was even meant to be fair?” Her question was a good one. It reminded me of something I was taught as a youngster: life isn’t fair. It’s a disappointment, but it’s absolutely true. One of the mistakes many of us make is that we feel sorry for ourselves, or for others, thinking that life should be fair, or that someday it will be. It’s not and it won’t be.
One of the nice things about surrendering(屈从) to the fact that life isn’t fair is that it keeps us from feeling sorry for ourselves by encouraging us to do the very best we can with what we have. We know it’s not “life’s job” to make everything perfect: it’s our own challenge. Surrendering to this fact also keeps us from feeling sorry for others because we are reminded that everyone is dealt a different hand; everyone has unique strengths and problems in the process of growing up, facing the reality and making decisions; and everyone has those times that they feel unfairly treated.
The fact that life isn’t fair doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything in our power to improve our own lives or the world as a whole. To the contrary, it suggests that we should. When we don’t recognize or admit that life isn’t fair, we tend to feel pity for others and for ourselves. Pity, of course, is a self-defeating emotion that does nothing for anyone, except to make everyone feel worse than they already do. When we do recognize that life isn’t fair, however, we feel compassion(热情)for others and for ourselves. And compassion is a heartfelt emotion that delivers loving-kindness to everyone it touches. The next time you find yourself thinking about the injustices of the world, try reminding yourself of this very basic fact. You may be surprised that it can make you out of self-pity and into helpful action. The writer thought of his friend’s question as a good one because.
| A．he also wanted to know who held such an opinion. |
| B．it made him recall something during his childhood. |
| C．many people thought life was fair |
| D．like his friend, he also thought life was unfair. |
The second paragraph of the passage mainly tells us that.
| A．it’s nice to complain about life |
| B．it’s nice to accept the injustice of life |
| C．we should not feel sorry for everything |
| D．everyone should be treated fairly |
From the passage, we can learn that the author’s attitude to life is .
| A．positive | B．negative | C．self-pity | D．indifferent |
Which of the following could be the best title of the text?
| A．A Helpful Action: Try to Feel Compassion |
| B．A bad Question: Why Life Isn’t Fair |
| C．Surrender to the Fact That Life Isn’t Fair |
| D．Do Our Best to Improve Ourselves |
Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive (欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture.
For example, someone might say, I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery. It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!
This guy's a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $ 200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!
He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.
Some politicians often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents (对手) says, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” That’s true. However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.”
Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.” It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.
This kind of deception happens too often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.How much did the lottery winner lose?
| A．One hundred dollars. |
| B．Two hundred dollars. |
| C．Three hundred dollars. |
| D．Four hundred dollars. |
We may infer that the author believes people should ______.
| A．buy lottery tickets |
| B．make use of half-truths |
| C．not take anything at false value |
| D．not trust the Yucky Company |
What do the underlined words “net gain” in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．final increase | B．big advantage |
| C．large share | D．total saving |
What can we know from the example of the Yucky Pill advertisement?
| A．False statements are easy to see through. |
| B．Half-truths are often used to mislead people. |
| C．Doctors like to act in advertisements. |
| D．Advertisements are based on facts. |
Once there was a young woman who didn’t like her job. Everyday when she came home from work, she told her husband how terrible her day had been, how tiring the work and how unreasonable her boss. “Leave that job,” her husband told her.
“Oh, I will,” she said. “But not yet. I have too many friends there for me to leave.” And so she remained unhappy at work until the years became decades and her children had children. “Leave that job,” her grandchildren told her. “Oh, I will,” she said. “But not yet. There are only seven more years until I reach thirty years of service and can retire. So I can’t just yet.”
I know this woman. And her story reminds me of an old dog half asleep on the porch of a general store, moaning and groaning in the sun. “Why is your dog acting that way?” a customer asked the store owner. “Oh,” answered the man. “He’s lying on a nail.” “Well, why doesn’t he move?” “Because it’s not hurting him bad enough.”
That’s true for people, too. We convince ourselves the pain is not bad enough to leave the workplace we know. But we’re wrong. Prolonged work pain is continuing. Some work pain damages our self-esteem, kills our passion or destroys our dreams.
Wilbur Wright once commented, “We could hardly wait to get up in the morning. I know that exhilarating feeling of being so passionate about something I was working on that I couldn’t wait to get back to work. And people who are winning at working know that kind of passion, too.”
They get excited about work. They offer their unique gifts and talents eagerly. And when things don’t change as they sometimes will, they refuse to let environment hijack(劫持) their self-esteem, passion or dreams.The woman complained to her husband every day because.
| A．she didn’t have enough money to support her family |
| B．her boss criticized her for what she had done |
| C．she was not satisfied with her job at all |
| D．her work was difficult and her boss was cruel |
From the second paragraph we can know that the woman.
| A．liked making friends with others |
| B．loved all of her children very much |
| C．left her tiring job at last |
| D．did exactly the same job all along |
The underlined word “Prolonged” (in Paragraph 4) means.
| A．lasting | B．slight | C．serious | D．hard |
People who are getting along well with their work .
| A．have to get up early every day |
| B．are not willing to go to work |
| C．need more unique gifts and talents |
| D．are likely to change with the situation |