A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.
1. The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.
A. his wife B. his mother-in–law C. his own mother D. no one
2. He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
A. he was very rich B. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him
C. he was anxious to get it D. his business had been successful
3. He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.
A. exactly the same size as the black on
B. exactly the same quality as the black one
C. worth no more than $ 25,000
D. exactly as big and nice as the black one
4. Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.
A. to see the perfect pearl
B. to buy some beautiful pearls too
C. to get in touch with the rich man
D. to sell their own pearl at a high price
5. The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
A. he died suddenly.
B. He happened to be out
C. He got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money.
D. He wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time.
There are times when nothing seems to be working in our favor. We may use complaining as a coping mechanism (办法，途经) when we are truly unhappy. However, there are many times when we don’t try our best and just want things to work our way. We may try to cover our faults by complaining about the unfairness of it all. These are expressive complaints where the complainer just wants to let out his/her anger or frustration, with no real intention of solving the problem. The complainer expects pity and recognition from the listeners although the results often disappoint him/her.
Sometimes, we use complaints as a conversation starter. Conversations that start with a complaint often have a domino effect. It may cause the listener to include his/her complaints in the conversation as well, which makes you think that you are not the only one facing problems. However, your good feeling won’t last long as long as you are always focusing on the negative.
When complaining becomes a habit, you complain to anyone that comes around. Negativity that comes from complaining kills creativity and innovation (创新). Habitual complainers are less likely to come up with new ideas, as they are busy finding faults and discourage others from trying new things by making them feel that they won’t work. When you spend time with people who constantly complain, you are likely to view things in a negative light. This will make things worse. This can affect the way you perceive your own situation, and even the people around you.
Though expressing your feelings may momentarily improve your state of mind, it could sometimes have a bad effect on the listener’s state of mind. A recent study has shown that at social gatherings while people who are unhappy may join you when you play the victim at the beginning, the majority would start avoiding you because of your negativity.Why do people who don’t try their best often complain?
| A．They want to get others’ pity. |
| B．It is the best way to let out their anger. |
| C．They try to find an excuse for their faults. |
| D．They hope to get a solution to their problems. |
According to Paragraph 2, complaints in conversations ________.
| A．are easy to deal with |
| B．can spread to others |
| C．may help you make friends |
| D．help focus on the similar unfairness |
What do we know about habitual complainers?
| A．They can hardly influence others in their negative way. |
| B．They can get momentary comfort by complaining. |
| C．They have a better understanding of their faults. |
| D．They are more likely to put forward new ideas. |
According to the author, complaining at social gatherings is ________.
| A．unusual | B．acceptable |
| C．unwelcome | D．frustrating |
The world was mysterious (神秘的) when I was a child, so miracles (奇迹) were welcome wonders. Now, there doesn’t seem to be space for them in this world I so intelligently understand.
Perhaps it’s from years of working around sick and often dying children, watching time and time again as a child slips away from the arms of a begging mother. I have stopped hoping as the parents around me hope.
I recently cared for a patient near the end of his life. Medically speaking, his situation was hopeless, which made me feel helpless and defeated.
His mother came in to see him. I had prepared myself to support her, imagining she would crumble (崩溃) into a pile of tears.
“Our God is faithful,” she said, with a smile on her face and the sunshine of hope in her eyes.
“Cancer is faithful,” I muttered (嘀咕) in my mind.
“We still believe he can heal him,” she continued, as if she had heard what I was thinking.
I provided updates on his body. In a laundry list of updates, perhaps two things were positive. She thanked me for the information, repeating back the minor positive notes I had given.
I brcame kind of angry. And I wanted to sak, “Do you really not understand the gravity (严重性) of this illness?”
And then, yet again, as if she had heard me, she replied with this: A positive attitude gives us power over our circumstances, rather than allowing our circumstances to have power over us.
I was shocked. Here I was, judging her positive attitude as a fault. I completely disregarded the choice to believe in something more powerful than me, more healing than the doctors on our team. It wasn’t blind faith. It was strength and devotion.
When I came out of the room, tears welling in my eyes, I sat at my computer and looked
down at a small plate of candies she must have left for me on her way into the room. A hand
written note was laid above them: Kate, your devotion is so appreciated, S.
S, it is your devotion that I am appreciating today. Because of you, I am begging again to
believe in miracles.The author is probably a ________.
| A．nurse | B．patient | C．teacher | D．mother |
Before seeing the patient’s mother, the author thought that the patient ________.
| A．would recover soon |
| B．had got much better |
| C．was going to die of cancer |
| D．might make a miraculous recovery |
Why was the author angry with the patient’s mother?
| A．Because of her optimism. |
| B．Because of her impoliteness. |
| C．Because she couldn’t stop crying. |
| D．Because she was always complaining. |
Finally, the patient’s mother made the author become ________.
| A．more patient | B．more positive |
| C．more aggressive | D．more sympathetic |
A few weeks ago, while I was reading the morning paper, I turned the radio up to listen to a Saturday morning talk show and I heard an old sounding gentleman, with a golden voice. He was telling whoever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles”.
I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say …
“Let me tell you something, Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities (优先考虑的事).”
He continued, “You see, I sat down one day and did a little math. The average person lives for about seventy-five years. Now then, I multiplied 75 by 52 and I came up with 3,900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with (继续倾听……的话) me, Tom. I’m getting to the important part.”
“It wasn’t until I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays that I started thinking about all this in any detail,” he went on. “I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.
“I found that by watching the marbles diminish (变少), I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.
“It was nice to meet you, Tom. I hope you spend time with your family, and I hope to meet you again.”
You could have heard a pin drop on the radio when the old man signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had panned to work that morning. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “Come on, honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast. And can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”The underlines word “intrigued” in Paragraph 2 probably means “ ________”.
| A．encouraged | B．moved | C．worried | D．attracted |
The old man started practicing the theory of “a thousand marbles” ________.
| A．in his twenties | B．in his fifties |
| C．in his seventies | D．in his eighties |
What life lesson does this text teach us?
| A．Spending more time with our family. |
| B．Enriching our life with marble games. |
| C．It’s never too late to love our family. |
| D．Learning to live life to the fullest. |
Here is your best chance to travel around the UK in 2012: More than 200 B&Bs (bed & breakfast) across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are selected to offer you amazing services for your stay at their lowest prices! Don’t miss it. Just collect the vouchers（活动券）in our B&B Daily printed from 01/ 04/ 2012 to 07/ 04/ 2012 and book the stays for your travel following the terms and conditions below:
● The offer includes a room for the night and a breakfast the next morning.
● The offer is of two kinds: £20 per room, per night, valid（有效的）during stay
period of 02/ 04/ 2012—31/ 05/ 2012 and then again 01/ 09/ 2012— 31/ 10/ 2012;£35 per room, per night, valid during stay period of 01/ 06/ 2012 — 31/ 08/ 2012.
● The offer is valid for a basic twin or double room only.
● The stay must be booked directly with the chosen B&Bs before 28/ 04/ 2012.
● Each voucher can only be used by the holder to book one room for one night.
● If voucher holders book either the £20 or £35 per room per night, any additional
services such as lunch, evening meal or activities may require an extra charge. But these are not required in order to take up the offer. Please check directly with your chosen B&Bs to see what extra services are available.
● Vouchers must be presented on arrival. If no vouchers are presented, the B&Bs may reserve（保留） the right to charge at full price for every night of stay.
● Vouchers may not be used together with any other offer.
● The voucher holders must pay for the stay in full at the time of booking. Additional £10 may be paid to confirm（确认）the booking and will be returned on arrival.
● The B&Bs reserve the right to refuse voucher holders’ bookings for people under the age of 18.The voucher can be used for a stay at the chosen B&B on .
| A．09/ 01/ 2012 | B．28/ 04/ 2012 |
| C．01/ 03/ 2012 | D．04/ 02/ 2012 |
How much should be paid for a two-night stay in October 2012 at a chosen B&B?
| A．£ 70. | B．£30. | C．£35. | D．£40. |
By taking up the offer, the voucher holders can choose to .
| A．have lunch or evening meal without paying extra money |
| B．book either a basic twin or double room at the chosen B&Bs |
| C．use the B&B offer together with other offers |
| D．book the stays through B&B Daily |
It is common and usual to see people freak out when they face challenges in their life. We all pass in different life problems and challenges. No one is free of life problems. Only a dead man faces no problem. As long as you are alive, challenges are everywhere.
How do you face problems and challenges in your life? Problems and challenges are the building blocks of your personality. They make you who you are. Besides, whether what happened in your life builds or destructs（破坏、毁灭）you depends on how you look at it. If you take your problems as troubles, they will be troubles and may cause destruction. If you take them as constructive (有建设性的）tools, you are going to be built up on them.
Problems are everywhere. No one can avoid them. And they are good too. They open up a different look and opportunity if you are willing to see. When you face troubles, do not frustrate or freak out. Just cool yourself to think in a different direction. Think in a positive way. Every problem has its own good as well as bad sides. Focus on the good one. Look at the bright side.
Besides, there is always a good person, perhaps your mom or dad, or one of your friends, right beside you who can turn everything into your best if you are willing to turn to them. No matter what happens, they will be there to help you. Trust them and they will never let you down. All you need to know is that you are loved wherever you are.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “freak out” in Paragraph 1?
| A．Feel shy. | B．Stay calm. |
| C．Keep silent. | D．Feel upset. |
In Paragraph 2, the writer implies that ______.
| A．problems cause troubles |
| B．attitude is everything |
| C．challenges can be avoided |
| D．personalities are built on failures |
What’s the writer’s purpose to write the passage?
| A．To encourage. | B．To compare. |
| C．To prove. | D．To explain. |
What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．How to Avoid Problems |
| B．Challenges Are Everywhere |
| C．Face Your Challenges Bravely |
| D．You Are Loved Wherever You Are |