One of the most wonderful things about having a positive attitude is that it can touch many people in the course of everyday life.
Recently I stopped by a store to get a newspaper and a bottle of juice. The young woman at the check-out counter said, “That’ll be three dollars in all please.” And as I reached into my wallet，the thought occurred to me that a newspaper and a bottle of juice didn’t quite make it to three dollars.
When I looked up to get a “re-quote”(重说一遍), she had a big smile on her face and said，“I got to get my tip in there somehow!” I laughed when I knew what she mean
t. She then glanced down at the paper I was buying and said, “I’m sick and tired of all the negative material on the front pages. I want to read some good news for a change.” She then said, “In fact, I think someone should publish a Good News newspaper —a paper with wonderful, inspirational stories about people overcoming difficulties and doing good things for others. I’d buy one every day!” She then thanked me for coming in and said, “Maybe we’ll get lucky tomorrow; maybe we’ll get some good news!” We both laughed，and I thought: she just made my day.
The following day after work I dropped by the same store again to pick up bottled water and a newspaper, but a different young lady was behind the counter. As I checked out I said, “Good afternoon”, and handed her my money. She said nothing，and didn’t smile or make a gesture. She just handed me my change and said in a bored voice, “Next!”
It hit me right between the eyes. Two people, the same age; one had made me feel great, while the other had made me feel that I had inconvenienced her by showing up.
The choices we make and attitudes we show influence lives every day in positive or negative ways…our peers, our friends，and even strangers we’ve never met before and will never meet again. So every morning you should ask yourself：“Who do I want to be today—‘The Grouch’(好抱怨的人) or ‘The Good News Girl?” Your answer will go a long way toward determining the quality of your life and that of those around you. From the first salesgirl’s words we know that __________.
| A．she was sick and tired of people with bad manners |
| B．she didn’t like the bad news in the newspaper |
| C．she liked reading all kinds of stories |
| D．she thought it was boring to sell newspapers |
After the author bought the newspaper the first day，he _________.
| A．had a sad day |
| B．kept thinking about what the girl had said |
| C．read the newspaper carefully |
| D．was in a pleasant mood all day |
The other salesgirl’s attitude towards the author the next day was __________.
| A．humorous | B．enthusiastic | C．cold | D．positive |
The author learned from his experience that __________.
| A．a Good News newspaper would be very popular |
| B．a positive attitude creates warmth and happiness |
| C．good relationships matter a lot |
| D．he needed to change the quality of his life |
For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思)for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature!
The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制) our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress.
Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre.
If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to__________.
| A．take photos |
| B．cheer herself up |
| C．hop along the path |
| D．find a solution to the project |
The underlined part "to no avail" in Paragraph 1 probably means " __________".
| A．uninteresting | B．unrelated |
| C．unsuccessful | D．unexpected |
In the author's opinion, __________.
| A．a bath can make people relaxed |
| B．adults should express their inner feelings freely |
| C．walking in a busy city centre harms people's health |
| D．depression is usually caused by hard work |
The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n) __________.
| A． suggestion | B．explanation |
| C．introduction | D．reminder |
After I made it to the city center, I started to feel it might be easy for a foreigner to deal with the great size of Beijing. With growing confidence, I decided to take the subway to the hotel, not realizing that the network didn’t go that far. Impressed with the cleanliness of the station, I bought a ticket and boarded the first train that came along.
After a few minutes I asked in English of course a young man seated next to me where I should get off closest to the Friendship Hotel. Wearing a smart business suit and tie, he would surely speak English, wouldn’t he? Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand me but seemed very friendly. I showed him the room card with all the information of the Friendship Hotel in Chinese characters. He looked at it, and then his eyes moved quickly to the carriage （车厢） subway map. Next, he raised three fingers of his right hand.
In Australia, raising fingers at someone is not usually nice, but this man wasn’t smiling. At the next station he showed me two fingers. Now in Australia, that’s really rude, but I got the message. When we stopped at the third station, he didn’t just point to the door, but got up, took me out of the train, and led me to the top of the stairs, and out onto the street. Then he stopped a taxi and told the driver where to take me.
All this came from a man who couldn’t speak my language, and I couldn’t speak his. I was now speechless, especially when he refused my offer of money. I felt a little embarrassed having even thought he would accept a tip.
This experience made it clear I had to learn some Chinese quickly or my adventures might start turning into bad luck.The author decided to take the subway because ________.
| A．he lived near the city center |
| B．the network covered most of the stops |
| C．he believed in his ability to deal with the trip |
| D．he had a good impression of its cleanliness |
Having been shown the room card, the young man_________.
| A．understood the author well |
| B．still remained puzzled |
| C．answered the author directly |
| D．pointed at the subway map |
Which of the following can’t be used to describe the young man?
| A．helpful | B．rude |
| C．warmhearted | D．caring |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is mainly to ________.
| A．prove the importance of being careful |
| B．appreciate the kindness of the young man |
| C．complain some cultural misunderstanding |
| D．describe one of his adventurous experiences |
You may have noticed something different when you ate at your favorite restaurant. Or perhaps you picked up on it while looking through your social media apps （社交媒体软件） . You guessed it ---we’re becoming a foodie （吃货） culture.
For some, that means photographing every dish, but others are taking it one step further. Sophia Hampton, a senior at Staples High School in US, chooses to make her own food. She has been published in Future Chefs, a cookbook of recipes （食谱） by teens.
Hampton’s best advice for those who want to be foodies is to get in the kitchen.
“Start cooking,” she said. “There are so many resources online, like recipes and articles about food. Go to your local farmers’ market and start cooking with them.
Besides blogs and online resources, there are also hands-on cooking classes for students. The Chopping Block, a Chicago cooking school, offers many different classes for teens, including courses on chocolate and French food.
By attending cooking classes, surfing online and going to restaurants, you can find endless recipes. But sometimes becoming a real foodie means being behind a camera. As our food-loving culture becomes more popular and teen-friendly, social media apps like Facebook, have become major players in food culture.
“Getting involved in foodie culture is as easy as having a camera and a social media app,” one foodie said. “I always go to streets and farmers’ markets to take beautiful pictures of food. Wherever food prices are expensive, the photos are free.”What does Hampton advise those who want to be foodies to do?
| A．Post their recipes online. |
| B．Cook food by themselves. |
| C．Eat at their favorite restaurant. |
| D．Take photos of every dish they eat. |
Where can students find new recipes, according to the article?
①cooking classes ②online resources
③new restaurant④public libraries
| A．①②③ | B．①③④ | C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
What has made foodie culture more popular, according to the article?
| A．People’s growing interest in traditional culture. |
| B．The convenience of getting different food. |
| C．The use of cameras and social media. |
| D．The drop in food prices. |
The average British 22 year-old has more than 1,000 online friends on sites like Facebook, compared to those in their fifties who have fewer than 20, according to a new study.
The “Facebookgeneration gap” has been highlighted in a new piece of research which shows that the average 22 year-old claims to have 1,000 or more friends on sites like Facebook.
People in their twenties have more than 50 times as many digital friends as those who are over 50 years old, despite the popularity of sites like Facebook with the older generations, says a study conducted by consumer research group Intersperience.
The news comes during the same week Facebook's second-in command, Sheryl Sandberg, is visiting the UK to deliver a speech at the London School of Economics.
Facebook's chief operating officer is going to speak about how the social web has transformed people's friendships and relationships.
The survey found that there was a clear link between people's age and the number of online friends they have．The researchers found that those aged 13 to 16, have an average of 450 friends on social networks, with girls having slightly more friends that boys．People in their thirties tend to have between 100 and 200 friends, while those in their forties have between 50 and 100.
However, those using sites such as Facebook over the age of 50, tended to have 20 or less friends．The oldest person surveyed was 70 years old.
Paul Hudson, Intersperience's chief executive, said: "Our research underlines fundamental （根本的）changes taking place in British society as a result of finally entering the digital age．Half of the UK population are on Facebook now．In a social media context, a 'friend' means something different to a 20 year old than to a 50 year old."
He added: “Social networking activity is just one example of how different groups are adapting to the digital age at different paces．In this case, age is the determining factor - however in other instances it is not.”Which is the determining factor in social networking activity?
| A．Gender | B．Age | C．Relationship | D．Pace |
What can we learn from the survey?
| A．The older a person is, the less online friends he may have |
| B．Girls have remarkably more friends than boys |
| C．People in their thirties tend to have between 50 and 100 friends |
| D．The link between people’s age and the number of online friends they have is not clear |
According to the passage, the following statements are True except.
| A．The oldest people surveyed is 70 |
| B．Paul Hudson will deliver a speech at the London School of Economics |
| C．Different groups are adapting to the digital age at different paces |
| D．Facebook is popular in UK now |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Social networking activity |
| B．The digital age |
| C．“Facebook generation gap”—Facebook generation has more than 1,000 friends |
| D．Changes taking place in British society |
The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I noticed every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I looked down on the computer and asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down? I wanted to know.”
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer—What about your planes? They are still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could, just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he is flying to Washington,” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. It can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The words soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.Where do you often hear the frightening words “Our computer is down”?
| A．at the airport. | B．At the gate. |
| C．On business | D．In the ticket office |
What could the girl in the ticket office do without asking the computer?
| A．She could do nothing. |
| B．She could write out a ticket. |
| C．She could still sell a ticket. |
| D．She could answer passengers’ questions. |
What does the underlined word “down” in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A．White | B．Broken | C．Black | D．Dark |
We can learn from the last paragraph that .
| A．a modern computer won’t be down |
| B．computers can take the place of human |
| C．there will be great changes in computers |
| D．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people |