Adults（成年人）usually do not remember most of the things that are taught by their teachers at school. But this story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I think of this story.
It was a normal Monday morning, and my teacher was teaching us on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:
An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get onto the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg（乞讨）. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.
His house was dirty, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled terrible. The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they called for the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.
The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire (百万富翁). They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.
But the old man 
said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, sat at the street corner and continued to beg.
Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant (有意义的) for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than（除了）staying focused on（专心于）the things we enjoy doing. The underlined part in the first paragraph may mean ______.
| A．I get tired of learning my subjects |
| B．I fail to listen to lessons attentively |
| C．I go in the wrong direction of life |
| D．I wouldn’t like to go to school |
The neighbor called the police because ______.
| A．the old man kept begging money from them every day |
| B．there was something dangerous in the old man’s house |
| C．the old man wouldn’t buy tickets for the train |
| D．they couldn’t bear the smell from the old man’s house |
When the old man knew he was a millionaire, he ______.
| A．remained calm | B．became excited |
| C．felt worried | D．became nervous |
What lesson do we learn from the story?
A．Make great pla ns for your life. |
| B．Keep on doing what you like. |
| C．Do something that is good to society. |
| D．Depend on yourself rather than others. |
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All believed that they were the most important.
“ Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. Without me, all animals would die. ” Green said.
“ You only think about the earth,” Blue interrupted, “ but consider the sky and the sea. The sky gives space, peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing. ”
Yellow shouted, “ You are all so serious. I bring laughter and warmth into the world. Without me there would be no fun. ”
Orange started next , “ I am the color of health and strength. My beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you. ”
Red could stand it no longer, he shouted out, “ I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. Without me, the earth would be an empty as the moon. ”
Purple rose up to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp(炫耀), “ I am the color of loyalty(忠诚) and power. I am the sign of authority(权利) and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey. ”
Finally Indigo(靛蓝) spoke, much more quietly than all the others, “ I represent thought and reflection（反思）. You need me for balance and contrast(对比). ”
Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning. Rain started to pour down and speak “ You should stretch across the sky in a great bow of color. Remember to appreciate one another. Only the rainbow is the most beautiful. ”Green thinks he is according to the passage.
| A．the sign of life | B．the laughter of the world |
| C．the ruler of the world | D．the sign of authority |
Purple thinks people should listen and obey him because he stands for .
| A．life | B．peace | C．power | D．strength |
From the story we know that is very calm(镇定的).
| A．Red | B．Yellow | C．Purple | D．Indigo |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．None of the colors would agree with others. |
| B．Yellow believes the world have fun because of him. |
| C．Rainbow is the most beautiful because of all the colors. |
| D．Rain thinks he is the most important. |
The implied(暗指的) meaning of the story is that .
| A．colors can quarrel like humans |
| B．everyone should learn to appreciate one another |
| C．only the rainbow is the most beautiful |
| D．the rainbow is made up of many colors |
To be punctual is important for us because people rather expect us to be on time for appointments. But it seems not easy to be on time every time. Here are some useful methods to help you be punctual.
Plan your route. If your destination(目的地) is unfamiliar, go online the night before to map out your route and see how long it’s going to take. Then you will know when you have to leave the house.
Do as much as possible the night before. Make your mornings less stressful（有压力的） by doing what you can the night before to make your time enough. Get your clothes ready. Set the breakfast table. Make your lunch if you need to take it.
Make a time table. You need to make a time table if you have lots of things to do in a day. For example, the time you get up, the time you leave the house, and the time you wait for the bus. You also need to estimate(估计) how long it takes.
Give yourself a gift of being early. If you plan to get to your destination 15 minutes early, you’ll probably never be late again. Being early seems a waste of time. But you can do something you love. Read the newspaper, read your favorite blogs and even call a friend. It really can be a gift.The underlined word “punctual” probably means .
| A．on time | B．at work | C．quiet | D．careful |
You need to plan your route when .
| A．you are busy in the morning |
| B．you have to take your breakfast |
| C．you have lots of things to do |
| D．you are unfamiliar with your destination |
What don’t you need to do to make your mornings less stressful?
| A．Get your clothes ready. | B．Set the breakfast table. |
| C．Make a time table. | D．Make your lunch. |
The writer gives us methods to help us be punctual.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
From the passage, we can know that .
| A．being early is a waste of time |
| B．your friends will give you a gift if you’re on time |
| C．being late sometimes is good |
| D．doing something you love is a gift sometimes |
A number of recent studies have shown how making several small lifestyle changes could help you lose weight without losing the pleasure to enjoy the food you love．
1．Use a smaller plate
A Comell University study found that when a fixed portion（一份，一客） of food was eaten from a large plate, diners felt they had been given a smaller than average portion, so ate more．When the same portion of food was eaten from a smaller dish, the meal seemed more, so they ate less．
2．Eat with men
Eat with men if you're a woman．According to psychologist Meredith Young, women eat less if there are men around．She told The Atlantic: "It is possible that small food portions signal attractiveness．"
3．Avoid light at night
This includes late-night television and computer use．A study into the effects of bright light or darkness on weight-gain in mice found that those under a bright light at night gained 50 per cent more weight than those in darkness．
4．Be careful around friends
Children eat more with a friend than with a stranger, according to a study at the State University of New York at Buffalo．Researchers said that it ，which applies to adults too, can be blamed on the fact that friends act as so-called permission-givers, and encourage one to eat．
5．Be aware of skinny friends who eat a lot
Worse still, are thin friends who have large appetites．A study found that participants ate more during a movie when accompanied by a skinny person who ate a Jot, compared with those sitting next to a fat person who ate a lot．
6．Avoid advertisements for exercise
A study shows that participants who were shown advertisements encouraging exercise ate more than those who weren't．The same was true of participants exposed to words related to exercise during mealtimes．The underlined word "it" refers to ____．
| A．children eat more with a friend |
| B．adults eat more with a friend |
| C．friends act as permission-givers |
| D．people should be careful around friends |
In order to lose weight, everyone should _____．
| A．be exposed to words related to exercise |
| B．try to eat with men together |
| C．avoid watching TV at night |
| D．be always around skinny friends |
The purpose of writing the passage is ______．
| A．to make the readers amused |
| B．to give advice on losing weight |
| C．to introduce common sense |
| D．to attract more fat readers |
Any list of the world's top ten most famous paintings will surely include da Vinci's Mona Lisa．Part of the painting's attraction is its mystery（神秘）．
Those lucky enough to have a view of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre often stare in awe（敬畏）, surprised by the smile that seems to flicker（忽隐忽现）．Staring at a reproduction of the work produces the same effect．Now she's smiling, then she's not．
What's the deal with Mona Lisa's smile?
Harvard scientist Margaret Livingstone is pretty sure she's solved the puzzle．After careful studies on human brains, Livingstone reasoned that the famous painting's flickering smile is caused by the way human beings see．
Our eyes use two separate regions（部位） to see．One is central vision（视力；视觉）, used to see colors and pick out details such as fine print．The other is the vision around, used to observe lights, shadows, black and white contrasts．
When we look at a person's face, according to Livingstone, we usually focus centrally on the eyes．Staring at Mona Lisa's eyes, our less accurate vision notices the mouth, picking up shadows from the cheekbones．The shadows play tricks, looking like a smile．But when we look directly at the mouth, our central vision doesn't see the shadows, and so the smile suddenly disappears．As our eyes observe different parts of the painting, Mona's smile seems to show up or disappear．
Did da Vinci intend to create this flickering smile effect? Perhaps．In any case, he was talented enough to paint shadows so good as to puzzle viewers for centuries．Meanwhile, Mona Lisa will keep smiling．And not．Staring at Mona Lisa, people are amazed because _____．
| A．it is one of the world's top ten most famous paintings |
| B．Mona Lisa's smile seems to disappear sometimes |
| C．they are lucky enough to have a view at the Louvre |
| D．the reproduction of the work produces the same effect |
The central vision is used to see ______．
| A．colors and pick out details | B．black and white contrasts |
| C．lights and shadows | D．fine paintings |
While looking at a person's face, the first we focus on is ____．
| A．eyes | B．brains | C．mouth | D．cheekbone |
What can you infer from the passage?
| A．Da Vinci created the flickering smile effect by design． |
| B．The flickering smile effect is caused by the shadows． |
| C．Our eyes use many separate regions to see paintings． |
| D．Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world． |
The protest movement called Occupy Wall Street has struck a nerve．The demonstrators' （示威者） goals may not be obvious but their complaints are very real．
The truth is that millions of Americans lost their jobs, their homes and their life savings because of the greed（贪欲） and illegal behavior of Wall Street．Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bemanke also said the protesters hold the view that the financial institutions are responsible for "getting the US into this mess", and added, "I can't blame those protesters．"
Where do we go from this movement? How do we calm the protesters' anger?
For starters, we should break up the super financial institutions．Left to their own selfish will．Wall Street bankers will continue to gamble（赌博） with other people's money．There also is a sound economic argument against too few owning far too much．The idea that six super financial institutions （Bank of America, CitiGroup, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs） can take control over the economy frightens anyone who believes in a competitive free-market system．Good Republican presidents like William Howard Taft and Teddy Roosevelt broke up Standard Oil, the Railroad Trusts ．and other huge companies a century ago．
Real unemployment is more than 16%．Average family income has declined by $3,600 over the last decade．A record 46 million Americans live in poverty．The gap between the very rich and everyone else, the widest of any major country, is growing wider．Now is the time for us to end the financial oligarchy（寡头） that has been so harmful to our economy．If a bank is too big, it is too big to exist．Millions of Americans lost their jobs as a result of _____．
| A．the decline of average family income |
| B．illegal behavior of Wall Street |
| C．wider gap between the very rich and everyone else |
| D．the protest movement called Occupy Wall Street |
Which of the following belongs to the super financial institutions?
| A．Standard Oil | B．Federal Reserve |
| C．JP Morgan Chase | D．Teddy Roosevelt |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The protest movement has very clear aims． |
| B．Wall Street bankers manage people's money well． |
| C．Super financial institutions should be broken up． |
| D．Average family income is always in decline． |
What is the attitude of the writer towards the financial institutions?
| A．critical | B．supportive |
| C．indifferent | D．enthusiastic |