The professor stood before his class of 30 senior biology students, about to pass out the final exam. “I have been honored to be your instructor this term, and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test. I also know most of you are off to medical school or graduate school next fall,” he said to them.
“I can well understand how much pressure you are under to keep your grades up, and because I know you are able to understand this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic(自动的) “B” to anyone who would prefer not to take the final.”
In relief a number of students jumped up to thank the professor and left the class. The professor looked at the students who remained, and offered again, “Any other takers? This is your last chance.” One more student decided to go.
There were seven students left. The professor closed the door. Then he handed out the final exam. There were only two sentences typed on the paper: “Congratulations, you have just received an “A” in this class. Keep believing in yourself.”
I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It may seem like the easy way out of grading (评分) a lot of exams, but it’s a test that any teacher in any subject could and should give. Students who don’t have confidence in what they’ve learned are “B” students at best.
The same is true for students of real life. The “A” students are those who believe in what they’re doing because they’ve learned from both successes and failures. They have learned life’s lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and become better people.
Take your cue(榜样) from Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma: “It’s not the mountain we conquer (征服), but ourselves.” Don’t let the biggest limit be yourself.
The professor offered an automatic “B” to those who would prefer not to take the final exam because _________.
| A．he liked the students who wanted to get a “B” |
| B．he believed they were able to pass the exam |
| C．he thought any teacher should give them a “B” |
| D．he thought it was the easy way of grading exams |
According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．22 students got a “B” in the final test without doing the paper. |
| B．Most of the students would go to medical school shortly after the exam. |
| C．There were actually no problems on the test papers for the students to work out. |
| D．The way the professor tested his students would not be suitable for other subjects. |
According to the writer, the test given by the professor was ________.
|
The point of the story is to advise readers _________.
| A．to pay attention to what they can do |
| B．not to miss any final exam at school |
| C．not to let themselves limit their growth |
| D．to surround themselves with confident people |
A young man who lived in London was in love with a beautiful girl. Soon she became his fiancée. The man was very poor while the girl was rich. The young man wanted to make her a present on her birthday. He wanted to buy something beautiful for her, but he had no idea how to do it, as he had very little money.
The next morning he went to a shop. There were many fine things there: gold watches, diamond… but all these things were too expensive. There was one thing he could not take his eyes off. It was a beautiful vase. That was a suitable present for his fiancée. He had been looking at the vase for half an hour when the manager of the shop noticed him. The young man looked so pale, sad and unhappy that the manager asked what had happened to him.
The young man told him everything. The manager felt sorry for him and decided to help him. A bright idea struck him. The manager pointed to the corner of the shop. To his great surprise the young man saw a vase broken into many pieces. The manager said: “When the servant enters the room, he will drop it.”
On the birthday of his fiancée the young man was very excited. Everything happened as had been planned. The servant brought in the vase, and as he entered the room, he dropped it. There was horror on everybody's face. When the box was opened, the guests saw that each piece was packed separately(分离地).The story took place ______.
| A．France | B．England | C．Germany | D．the US |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The young man's family was poor while the beautiful girl is rich. |
| B．A rich young man fell in love with a beautiful girl. |
| C．The young man loved the girl but the girl didn't love him. |
| D．The young man had enough money to buy a beautiful vase. |
Why did the young man want to buy a present for the girl?
| A．He wanted to give her a Christmas present. |
| B．He fell in love with her. |
| C．Her birthday was coming soon. |
| D．They were going to get married. |
Why did the shop manager come to talk to the young man?
| A．He looked very excited. |
| B．He looked pale and sad. |
| C．He was poorly dressed. |
| D．He said he wanted to buy a beautiful vase. |
What do you think happened at the end of the story?
| A．The manager had cheated the young man. |
| B．His fiancee must be thankful to him for the present. |
| C．The guests would be angry because the servant had broken the vase. |
| D．What the careful servant had done gave the trick away. |
根据短文内容，从下框的A-F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余项。
| A. Live below your means B. Always stay positive C. Educate yourself D. Work towards a dream E. Developing lasting personal relationships F. Stay in shape |
____________
We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive dinner, or take out a loan for the car we can't afford. It might feel great at the time but hasty（匆忙的）spending hurts a lot later on. Enjoy life's simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don't create lasting happiness. Careful spending will bring you greater enjoyment in the long run._____________
To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life-long education. This doesn't mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self-education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas.____________
Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don't forget about them. Taking the time to develop and enjoy personal relationships is important to long-term happiness._____________
Even if your life isn't perfect, you can always build toward a goal. The best way to do this is working towards a goal. We can’t control everything about our lives, but working towards a goal gives us something positive to focus on and lays the foundation for future success. No matter what your passion is, get out there and start doing something._____________
You only get one body. Once it is ruined, there isn't much you can do about it. Exercise to keep the body working well. Avoid eating too much of damaging substances and unhealthy foods. It may feel terrible at the time but enjoying good health in your later years is worth the sacrifice.
Alan Izhar-Bodner, an Israeli inventor, has developed a swimming suit for divers to breathe underwater without carrying heavy oxygen tanks. His suit makes use of the air that is dissolved（溶解）in water, just like fish do.
The system uses the Henry Law which states that the amount of gas that can be dissolved in a liquid is proportional (成比例的)to the pressure on the liquid. Raise the pressure ---more gas can be dissolved in the liquid. Decrease the pressure --- less gas dissolved in the liquid releases the gas. This is exactly what happens when you open a can of soda; carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the liquid and is under pressure in the can. Open the can, releasing the pressure, and the gas fizzes(嘶撕作响)out.
Bodner's System obviously uses a special machine to lower pressure in part of a small amount of seawater taken into the system; dissolved gas is taken out. The patent（专利）reads: A self-contained open-circuit（循环）breathing instrument for use within a body of water naturally containing dissolved air. The instrument is adapted to provide breathable(可吸入的)air. The instrument contains an inlet for taking out a quantity of water from the body of water. It further contains a separator for separating the dissolved air from the quantity of water, thus gaining the breathable air. The instrument further contains an outlet for expelling (驱逐)the separated water back into the body of water, and another outlet for removing the breathable air and supplying it for breathing. The air is supplied so as to enable it to be expelled back into the body of water after it has been breathed .
Human beings have been thinking about how to breathe underwater since they started swimming. This long-held desire plays an important part in one of the first great science fiction novels, Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.It can be inferred from the passage that____________ .
| A．the less pressure it is, the less carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the liquid |
| B．the deeper one dives into the ocean, the less gas is dissolved in the water |
| C．the greater pressure it is, the more carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the liquid |
| D．the deeper one dives into the ocean, the more gas is dissolved in the water |
This passage is mainly about __________.
| A．how Bodner invented the instrument for breathing underwater |
| B．why Bodner invented the instrument for breathing underwater |
| C．how Bodner's instrument for breathing underwater works |
| D．how Bodner's instrument is used by divers for breathing underwater |
From the passage we learn that __________.
| A．a separator is used to expel breathable air back into the body of water |
| B．a separator is used to separate the air from the water so as to make use of the water |
| C．The breathable air removed from an outlet will eventually go back to the body of water. |
| D．The breathable air removed from an outlet will immediately go back to the body of water. |
A few days ago, I went to school with lots of books，hoping to get a locker (锁柜). Suddenly, it started raining heavily. I hurried to pay for my locker, but I was disappointed when they informed me they only accepted cash. I was $ 7.00 short, which meant I had to carry the books back home. It would be an exhausting (令人精疲力竭的) two-hour journey back home with all those books.
An elderly gentleman nearby noticed my problem. He asked how much cash I needed. When I told him I was $7 short, he quickly took out the money from his wallet .“You don’t have to pay me back ,”he said. I was speechless; I didn't know whether to take the money or come back with the books the next day. A young student who was working there noticed my hesitation. “He’s really nice ,”said the student. I was starving this morning and he bought breakfast for me. He always helps people in different ways.
The next day, I went to him and thanked him for trusting me and lending me the money. He said he forgot about it and didn't expect I would give it back. “I’m very happy,” he said,“not because I’m getting my money back, but because this is the right way to go---whatever you get from this world, give it back as much as you possibly can. Spread kindness around the world with the smallest things you can do.”
Later, I found out he wasn’t involved with any charity（慈善）organizations. He has been performing these types of acts for years. Earlier, someone had done something incredibly kind for him and he has been spreading the kindness ever since.
He taught me a very important lesson in life. We come to this world with nothing and we will leave with nothing. Whatever we own, it will become somebody else’s and whatever we leave, it will become somebody else’s.Why did the writer need a locker in the school?
| A．To help him get away from the sudden rain. |
| B．To store his large quantity of books. |
| C．To carry it back home with his books inside. |
| D．To make it easier for him to go on a trip. |
When the old gentleman offered the money, the writer was________.
| A．touched | B．amazed | C．hesitant | D．embarrassed |
From Paragraph 3 we learn that ________.
| A．the gentleman worked in the school |
| B．the gentleman was kind but forgetful |
| C．the gentleman thought it right to give back to society |
| D．the gentleman refused to take back the money |
From the passage we can conclude that_______.
| A．people shouldn't focus too much on money |
| B．the writer often takes many books to school |
| C．there was only $ 7 in the writer's wallet |
| D．the writer lived not far from the school |
Last year, on report card day, my son and a group of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car, ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald's. “Jack got a laptop for getting straight A's, and Laurie got a cell-phone,” one boy said. “Oh, yeah, and Sarah got an iPod Nano, and she's only in third grade,” said another. “And how about Brian? He got $10 for each A.”
I suddenly became concerned. These payoffs might get parents through grammar school, but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar, the cell-phone, and the DVD player?
I saw the road ahead: As the homework load increased, my income would decrease. I saw my comfortable lifestyle disappear before my eyes---no more of those $5 bags of already-peeled organic（施有机肥料的）carrots. No more organic anything!
I started to feel surprised and nervous. Would every goal achieved by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system: soccer goals, touchdowns（橄榄球底线得分）? What about the orchestra（管弦乐队）? Would first chair pay more than second? I'd be penniless by eighth-grade graduation.
“We never paid anything for good grades,” said my neighbor across the street, whose son was recently accepted at MIT. “He just did it on his own. Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza, but that's about it.”
Don't you just hate that? We're all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation; we get negotiation. And what about the primary grades? What do these students get? “When the teacher asked if anyone got rewards for good grades, everyone in my class raised their hands and said they got ice cream cones (蛋卷),” said one third-grader.What's the best title for the passage?
| A．Tips on Paying Kids for Good Grades |
| B．New Trends in Paying Kids for Good Grades |
| C．Good Grades Mean Good Rewards |
| D．Don't Pay Kids for Good Grades |
What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably mean?
| A．Taking care of my children would influence my work. |
| B．I would spend less money on my children's good grades. |
| C．More rewards would be needed as my children grow up. |
| D．Reducing my children's homework load would cost me a lot. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．if you buy children pizza as a reward, they will work harder |
| B．if you pay kids for good grades, they will take it for granted |
| C．children will not ask for rewards when they enter high school |
| D．good grades won't help kids make great progress in the future |
The author takes her neighbor as an example to show _______.
| A．pizza is the best way to motivate children |
| B．it is necessary to reward children for their good grades. |
| C．getting rewards for good grades is common nowadays |
| D．rewards are not the only way to motivate children |