My son and I were trying to sell the house we had repaired but in the barn(谷仓)there were bats(蝙蝠)and they would not leave. The barn was their home. They told us so in their own way. They hung there in the barn and seemed determined to stay for the season. Don’t worry about it, Dad, " Patrick said. They keep down the mosquitoes(蚊子).”
Unfortunately they also kept the buyers away. when we had asked a person to sell the house for us he had refused to show it because of the bats. Bats are popular, “Patrick comforted me. They’re ecological(生态学的).”Isn’t there a machine you can buy that produces high frequency sounds to keep bats away?” “I don’t know,” said Patrick. But I like bats, and whoever buys this house will probably like them too. “Probably?” I hated that word. “How many bats are there ,anyway?” “I counted about 90 last night,” said Patrick. “They were dropping out from under the edge of the roof.” “You mean there are more — outside?” “They’re everywhere, Dad. But look at it this way. When the cold weather comes, they’ll be off to Mexico. Maybe in the spring we can keep them out. Don’t worry about it,” he said for the hundredth time. “It’s not a problem.”
The bat expert I called was even more active than Patrick. I think you’ve got a large number there,” he said in wonder, I’ve been trying to attract bats to our house for 25 years. A single bat eats up his weight in mosquitoes and black flies three times every night. You’re a very lucky man.” I offered to share my luck with him. He could take them away. Bats have a remarkable homing instinct(本能),”he said, “They’d fly straight back even if I transported them 100 miles. Once they have settled, you can’t stop them from coming back.” I was silent.
Finally we managed to rent “(出租)the house to a young family, who were also interested in buying it. What about the bats?” I said to Patrick.
“Oh, they love the bats,” he said. “No mosquitoes. No black flies. It’s one of the things that attracted them.”
“Do you think they will really buy the blouse?”
“Probably.”
“Probably? Well, if they do ,I suppose I’ll have to admit that I was wrong.”
“You mean you’re going to eat your words?”
“Yes, I am.”
36. What was the problem the author had with his house?
A.Bats were living in the barn and wouldn't go away.
B.The author and his son couldn't sleep well because of the bats.
C.The author and his son might be able to stay for the season.
D.The house was still badly in need of repair.
37.What did Patrick suggest the author should do to stop the bats living in the barn?
A.He should buy a high frequency machine.
B.He should move them one hundred miles away.
C.He should reduce the number of mosquitoes.
D.He should close the barn in the spring.
38.Why did the author fall silent when he talked with the bat specialist?
A.He felt sure about the situation.
B.He found out that it would be impossible to remove the bats.
C.He learned that he would be able to share his luck with the expert.
D.He liked the advice given by the expert.
39What happened regarding the house in the end?
A.Some people agreed to rent the house.
B.The author failed to find anybody who wanted to live in the house.
C.The bat expert made the decision to buy the house.
D.The bats left the house for Mexico in the spring.
40.Why did the author think he might have to “eat his words”?
A.He felt sorry for the bats.
B.He might be mistaken about being unable to sell the house.
C.He realized he might be wrong about the bats’ actions.
D.He was happy about selling the house.
Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes-khaki pants and sports shirt-to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” of “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”
1. David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because _______.
A. he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt
B. he couldn’t stand a clean appearance
C. he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time
D. he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes
2. David Smith wears casual clothes now, because _______.
A. they make him feel at ease when working
B. he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes
C. he looks handsome in casual clothes
D. he no longer works for any company
3. According to this passage, which of the following statements is false?
A. Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code.
B. Comfortable clothes make employees more productive.
C. A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees.
D. All the employers in the U. S. are for casual office wear.
4. According to this passage, which of the following statements is true?
A. Company workers started to dress down about twenty years ago.
B. Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 1990s.
C. “Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers.
D. Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people.
5. In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned in the passage except _______.
A. saving employees’ money
B. making employees more attractive
C. improving employees’ motivation
D. making employees happier
A punctual person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.
The unpunctual man, on one hand, never does what he has to do at the proper time. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. A lost thing may be found again, but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things. In fact, time is life itself. The unpunctual man is for ever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable asset (财产) as well as other’s. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters, or return calls or keep appointments promptly. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and seldom complains of want of it. He knows that he can not get through his huge amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every piece of work when it has to be attended to.
Failure to be punctual in keeping one’s appointments is the sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time, he keeps all the other guests waiting for him. Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.
Unpunctuality, moreover, is very harmful when it comes to do one’s duty, whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men.
1. What does the author think is the main difference between a punctual person and an unpunctual person?
A. A punctual person does everything ahead of time while an unpunctual person does everything behind schedule.
B. A punctual person does everything at the right time while an unpunctual person seldom does anything at the correct time.
C. A punctual person has a lot of appointments while an unpunctual person has few appointments.
D. A punctual person has much time to do everything while an unpunctual person has little time to do anything.
2. According to the passage, the main reason that a person is always unpunctual is that _______.
A. he has more work to do than other people
B. he is always in a hurry when he works
C. he doesn’t care much about time
D. he always mismanages and wastes his time
3. According to the third paragraph, when you are invited to dinner, you should arrive there _______.
A. after other guests have arrived
B. before all other guests
C. at the appointed time
D. after the host has got things ready
4. Which of the following statements best describes the harm of unpunctuality?
A. If you are an unpunctual person, you cannot be in charge of any important task.
B. If your friends know that you are unpunctual, they may not see you again.
C. Unpunctuality may bring about heavy losses for both public and private affairs.
D. Unpunctuality may make you miss a lot of appointments and lose friends.
“The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful,” says Plato. Self-control is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in to his impulses (冲动) and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral (道德上的) freedom.
A single angry word has lost many a friend. When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in great anger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad.” “Keep cool”, says George Herbert, “for fierceness (狂怒) makes error a fault.”
To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself. “Anger,” says Pythagoras, “brings with folly(愚蠢) and ends with regret.” You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.
Self-control is man’s last greatest victory.
If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything. Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also.
1. What does the reader learn from the first paragraph?
A. The greatest victory for a man is to conquer everything except himself.
B. One’s moral freedom is based on the control of himself.
C. To control oneself is the most difficult in one’s life.
D. If a person is too stubborn, he will feel most shameful.
2. What is the correct interpretation of “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad” ?
A. If the gods want to kill you, they make you crazy first.
B. If you always lose your temper, you will soon be finished.
C. If you cannot control yourself, you will become crazy.
D. If you are mad, you will be punished by the gods.
3. If a man lacks self-control, he lacks all of the following EXCEPT _______.
A. the very backbone and nerve of character
B. the patience and power to control himself
C. strong feelings
D. self-confidence
4. The author’s main purpose in writing this article is to _______.
A. explain that self-control is the key to success
B. teach people how to control everything in order to make a great success
C. distinguish all kinds of self-control and suggest ways for keeping it
D. advise people not to lose temper so as to make and keep more friends
Among various programmes, TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style(风格). But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “rubbish talk”. The contents on his show are as surprising as can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show titles of love, sex, cheating, and hate, to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other people’s lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its top. But Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality(质量) of life. Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society. Jerry ends every show with a “final word”. He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show’s main viewers are middleclass Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and ability to deal with life’s tough problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society. These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drug. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show’s exploitation.
1. Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey are ____.
A. more interesting B. unusually popular C. more detailed D. more formal
2. Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear unpleasant, people who watch the shows____.
A. remain interested in them B. are ready to face up to them
C. remain cold to them D. are willing to get away from them
3. Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
A. A new type of robot. B. Nation hatred.
C. Family income planning. D. Street accident.
4. We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows_____.
A. have become the only ones of its kind
B. exploit the weaknesses in human nature
C. appear at different times of the day
D. attract different people
Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.
One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own.
Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. People who like country things prefer to live outside the city.
B. People who work in London prefer to live in the country.
C. Because of certain disadvantages of living outside London, some people who work in London prefer to live inside London.
D. Because of certain advantages of living outside London, many people who work in London prefer to live outside London.
2. One can use the same money for ________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.
A. getting a small flat with a garden B. having a small flat with a garden
C. renting a small flat without a garden D. buying a small flat without a garden
3. When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _______ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
A. who live in the country
B. who have spent time working in the garden
C. who have a garden of their own
D. who have been digging, planting and watering
4. People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that _______ if they had to live it outside London.
A. their life was meaningless B. their life was invaluable
C. they didn’t deserve a happy life D. they were not worthy of their happy life
5. The underlined word rest in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A. the rest time B. the rest people
C. the rest of the country D. the rest of the parks and of the sea