Our spiritual intelligence quotient (精神智商), or SQ, helps us understand ourselves, and live fuller, happier lives.
Though we're all born with SQ, most of us don’t even realize that we have it. Fortunately, you don't have to sign up for classes to learn how to improve your SQ. Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding.
Sit Quietly. The process of developing spiritual intelligence begins with solitude (独处) and silence. To tune in to your spirit, you have to turn down the volume (强度) in your busy, noisy, complicated life and force yourself to do nothing at all. Start small by creating islands for silence in your day. In the car, instead of listening to the music, use the time to think. At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few breaths and let them out very, very slowly. Enjoy the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed.
Step Outside. For many people, nature sets their spirit free. Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset. If you are walking with the dog, take the time to admire flower in bloom; follow the light of a bird and watch clouds float overhead.
Ask Questions of Yourself. Ask open-ended questions, such as "What am I feeling? What are my choices? Where am I heading?"
But don't expect an answer to arrive through some supernatural form of e-mail. "Rarely do I get an immediate answer to my question," says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito, California. “But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem in a perspective(角度) I never considered before.”
Trust Your Spirit. While most of us rely on gut(本能的) feeling to realize danger, spiritual intelligence pushes us, not away from, but towards some action that will lead to a greater good. The passage is mainly about .
| A．what your SQ is and in what way it can benefit our life |
| B．what your SQ is and in what way it can be improved |
| C．the relationship between your SQ and your life |
| D．advantages and disadvantages of SQ |
The underlined phrase "to tune in to your spirit" in the third paragraph probably means to _____.
| A．get your spirit relaxed | B．keep up your spirit |
| C．keep seated quietly | D．change your spirit |
From the passage, we can know that the most important thing to improve your SQ is .
| A．a peaceful mind | B．deep thought | C．spare time and hobbies | D．good spirits |
According to the passage, which of the following is True?
| A．Not everyone has SQ. |
| B．You have to go to classes to learn how to improve your SQ. |
| C．SQ leads us to take wrong actions. |
| D．SQ can benefit our life. |
Lettuce (莴苣)has been eaten for over 4,500 years, and was known to the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Now, people in some countries start the meal with lettuce as part of a salad. There are hundreds of kinds of lettuce. The main ones include head lettuce, such as iceberg, leaf lettuce ,Boston, bibb and romaine.
Experts say lettuce is one of the easiest crops to grow in your garden. The best time to plant the seeds is during cool weather. The University of Illinois Extension advises that the best planting temperature is 15 0C.
Lettuce seeds are small, so do not place them too deep in the ground. If you plant some seeds every week or two, you will have crops ready to eat one after another.
To start the seeds inside, you can use a seed tray in your home or other shelter. This container should be deep enough to hold at least three centimeters of soil or more. There should be about one centimeter of space between the soil and the top of the container. The container should have holes in the bottom so the extra water can flow out. Drop the seeds over the surface and cover them lightly with soil. If the soil is not already a little wet, give it some water. But do not drown the seeds.
Next, cover the seed tray with paper. When the seedlings have come up far enough to touch the paper, take it off. You can transplant the seedlings into the garden when they are about two to three centimeters tall. Do this when the weather is not too hot and not too cold. Take out as much soil as you can with the seedlings, Then dig a hole in the ground bigger thanthe lettuce roots. Water the plants but not too heavily.
Harvest leaf lettuces when the leaves are big enough to eat. Pull the leaves from the outside of the planting so the inside leaves will keep growing. Or, you can cut off the whole plant. Leave about two or three centimeters above the ground so the plant will re-grow. Cut off head lettuces at ground level.
Lettuce is best when served fresh, so make a salad and enjoy. Experts say lettuce is one of the easiest crops to grow in your garden.Which of the following shows the right order of planting lettuces?
a.Dig a hole in the ground bigger than the lettuce roots.
b.Drop the seeds over the surface.
c.Water the plants.
d.Cover the seed with soil.
e.Take off the paper.
f.Transplant the seedlings into the garden.
| A．b, d, e ，f, a, c | B．a, b ，c, d ，e, f |
| C．d, e，f, b，a，c | D．b，c, d，e，f，a |
The underlined word “seedlings” in paragraph 5 means______.
| A．containers | B．seeds | C．young plants | D．layers |
When eating Iettuce5 you’d better ______ so that it tastes best.
| A．store it in plastic bags | B．eat the inside leaves |
| C．wrap it in paper | D．eat while it is fresh |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Lettuce is the easiest crop to grow in your garden. |
| B．The lettuce is not hard to plant and store. |
| C．We can plant lettuce in a two-centimeter-high tray. |
| D．We should water lettuce at least twice a day. |
The Man was very sad. He knew that the Cat's days were numbered. The doctor had said there wasn’t anything more that could be done, and that he should take the Cat home and make him as comfortable as possible.
A tear rolled down the Man’s cheek and landed on the Cat’s forehead, The Cat gave him a slightly annoyed look. “Why do you cry, Man?” the Cat asked. “Because you can’t bear the thought of losing me? Because you think you can never replace me?” The Man nodded “yes”.
“Pick up that piece of string from the floor~~there, my ‘toy’ The Man reached over and picked up the string. It was about two feet long and the Cat had been able to entertain himself for hours with it. “Now take each end of the string in one hand,” the Cat ordered. The Man did so.
“The end in your left hand is my birth and the end in your right hand is my death. Now bring the two ends together,” the Cat said. The man did so. Then the Cat continued, “You have made a continuous circle. Does any point along the string appear to be different, worse or better than any other part of the string?” The Man inspected the string and then shook his head.
“Close your eyes.” the Cat said. “Now lick your hand.” The Man widened his eyes in surprise. “Just do it，” the Cat said. “Lick your hand, think of me in all my familiar places, and think about all the pieces of string.”
Licking his hand, he discovered what a cat must know, that licking a paw is very calming and allows one to think more clearly. He continued licking and the corners of his mouth turned upward into the first smile he had shown in days. He waited for the Cat to tell him to stop, and when he didn’t, he opened his eyes. The Cat’s eyes were closed. The Man stroked the warm, brown fur, but the Cat was gone.
One day, not long after, there was a new cat on his lap. She was a lovely calico and white.
It is very different from his earlier beloved Cat and very much the same.Why did the Cat give the man a slightly annoyed look?
| A．Because the man’s tears made the Cat really anxious. |
| B．Because the Cat didn’t know what made the man burst into tears. |
| C．Because the Cat couldn’t go to sleep when the man was in low spirits. |
| D．Because the man didn’t have to be so sad and concerned. |
According to the text, which of the following is the reason why a cat licks paws?
| A．Licking paws can make a cat remain calm and have a clear mind. |
| B．Licking paws will make a cat happy and energetic. |
| C．Licking paws will make a cat find out many unknown secrets. |
| D．Licking paws can make a cat stay tidy and healthy. |
What does the underlined word “string” in paragraph 3 stand for?
| A．Life. | B．Birth. | C．Hope. | D．Power. |
What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Pets play an important part in our life. |
| B．Life has no end and death is just a new beginning. |
| C．We should take a positive attitude towards life and live life to its fullest. |
| D．It gives us some suggestions on how to relieve ourselves when a pet passes away. |
Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing. Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits. When you think of forgiveness, you probably don’t think of it as being a health or medical problem. Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can change your well-being.
When cartoon book characters like the Incredible Hulk get angry, they change colours and often gain special power. In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous. That’s why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, says holding on to anger and hatred can harm your physical and mental health. Two new studies seem to show the same idea.
The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression. They also have fewer headaches, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping.
So it doesn’t matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or other things. Learning to let it go is important. Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help. Or just ask yourself if it’s worth hurting yourself by staying angry with someone else.
Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it’s OK. Instead, it’s a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past.
| A．by raising his own examples |
| B．based on his own experience |
| C．by mentioning some studies |
| D．by mentioning some typical patients |
| A．support the viewpoint that anger and hatred harm physical and mental health |
| B．introduce a famous expert |
| C．let the reader know the different colours of cartoon faces |
| D．show how to control one’s temper |
| A．removing | B．keeping up |
| C．getting rid of | D．learning about |
| A．People who are able to forgive feel less stress. |
| B．People who are able to forgive feel less depression. |
| C．People who are able to forgive have fewer problems on sleeping. |
| D．People who are able to forgive feel less tired. |
| A．Forgiveness | B．Forgiveness Is Good for Health |
| C．A Secret to Keeping Health | D．Anger Is Bad for Health |
Welcome aboard the Luxury Cruise bus to Dallas, Rouge, and Atlanta. We plan to arrive in Dallas at 1:45 this afternoon. There will be a fifteen-minute rest stop at that time. We will give a thirty-minute dinner stop in Rouge at 6:15 for those of you who are continuing on to Atlanta. We should arrive in Atlanta at 1:15 tomorrow morning. Please remember the number of your bus for re-boarding. That number is 3224.
This bus is air-conditioned for your comfort. Please remember that smoking of cigarettes is permitted only in the last six rows, and the smoking of any other material is not allowed, as is the drinking of wine.
| A．Atlanta | B．Rouge | C．Baton | D．Dallas |
| A．Smoking of cigarettes. | B．Smoking of any material. |
| C．Having a thirty-minute dinner. | D．Drinking of wine. |
| A．telephoning |
| B．writing a letter |
| C．returning to the bus after a rest stop |
| D．finding the hotel |
| A．there will be a rest stop between the cities |
| B．smoking of cigarettes is permitted |
| C．the air-temperature in the bus can be controlled |
| D．the passages will have a free dinner |
| A．5 hours | B．6 hours and a half |
| C．17 hours | D．18 hours |
Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception (接待). I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth－so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, "Would you like to buy a chair?" He looked it over carefully and said, "Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?" "Twenty pounds," I said. "OK," he said, "I’ll give you twenty pounds." "It’s got a slightly broken leg," I said. "Yes, I saw that, it’s nothing."
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. "What will you do with it?" I asked. "Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done." "I’ll buy it," I said. "What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me," he said. "Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it." "You must be crazy," he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. "I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair." "You’re right," I said. "And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, “ Would you mend this chair for me?”. “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it," he said. "We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for five pounds?" He was a very nice man and was greatly amused (感到有趣) by the whole thing.
| A．was rather impolite |
| B．was warmly received |
| C．asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair |
| D．asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair |
| A．plan for dealing with things |
| B．decision to sell things |
| C．idea of repairing things |
| D．way of doing things |
| A．changed his mind | B．accepted the offer |
| C．saw the writer’s purpose | D．decided to help the writer |
| A．￡5. | B．￡7. | C．￡20. | D．￡27. |
| A．honest | B．careful | C．smart | D．funny |