One day not too long ago the employees of a large company in St. Louis, Missouri returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said: “Yesterday the person who has been hindering（阻止）your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym . ”
At first everyone was sad to hear that one of their colleagues had died, but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be. The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered: “Who is this person who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he’s no longer here!”
One by one the employees got closer to the coffin and when then they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: “There is only one who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.”
You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself. Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. Who has ever resisted the employees of the large company in St. Louis, Missouri?
| A．The boss | B．The leader of their group |
| C．The sign | D．The employees themselves |
Who passed away in the large company?
| A．No one | B．The boss | C．One of the employees | D．One of the colleagues |
What’s the best title of this paragraph?
| A．Independent | B．Hard Working | C．Team Work | D．Last Respects |
They say there are three ways to experience the Grand Canyon；on foot，on mules(骡子)or by air．We chose the first．Waking up early，my husband and I and our three children couldn’t wait to get started．We decided to walk along a lovely path named Bright Angel Trail．
As we set out，I was shocked at how narrow the path was．And I couldn’t help noticing that the other tourists weren’t like us．They had heavy backpacks，water bottles，and hats．But as usual we were dressed．As the sun rose higher．Arizona’s famous heat seemed to roast us．There was no shade and our legs were aching．We decided to go back，with the girl on my back and the boys far behind．By the time we finally got back，our legs were like jelly．
The next day，after we’d had a long rest and a good breakfast，we were ready for another view of the Canyon—by air．After our last walk，this would be the easiest thing in the world．
We called to each other excitedly as the plane took off and circled around the Canyon．But the smiles on our faces disappeared as the pilot tossed(翻转)the plane around，pretending he was going to hit the ground．I shouted，“STOP，TAKE US BACK!”When we finally arrived back on land，once again our legs were like jelly．We hardly spoke as we drove back．
As I said，there are three ways to view the Grand Canyon．We never tried the mules，but personally I'd suggest a fourth buy yourself a good magazine like National Geographic．That way，you can see the Canyon，without fear or tiredness．Which of the following is true according to the second paragraph?
| A．They made a careful preparation before the trip． |
| B．They children were more joyful than their parents． |
| C．Bright Angel Trail was not as lovely as they expected． |
| D．The narrow road prevented them from enjoying the view． |
The underlined expression“Our legs were like jelly”probably means_________.
| A．we were weak | B．we were unhappy |
| C．we were dissatisfied | D．we were disappointed |
Which of the following best describes their Canyon trip by air?
| A．It proved to be frightening． | B．It was more comfortable. |
| C．It turned out to be exciting． | D．It made each of them tired． |
We can infer from the passage that_________．
| A．experiencing the Canyon on mules would be the best way |
| B．one needs to dress less when visiting the Grand Canyon |
| C．the writer was not serious when she made the suggestion |
| D．the whole family narrowly escaped from the air accident |
“Eat local．” It’s one way to reduce human effect on the planet．Eating local means to try to buy and consume foods that are grown in places close to home．However, most of the food sold at supermarkets is not locally grown or produced．Trucks and planes deliver these foods from hundreds or thousands of miles away．During the transportation, greenhouse gases are produced, causing global warming．So the shorter the distance your foods must travel, the less the harm is done to the environment．
But how do you get local food if you live in a large city, hundreds of miles away from farms？Environmental health scientist Dickson Despommier and his students came up with the idea of a “vertical farm”．
A vertical farm is a glass-walled structure that could be built as tall as a skyscraper．Since the garden is built upwards, rather than outwards, it requires much less space than an ordinary farm．The world is quickly running out of room for ordinary farming．Vertical farms could be a key to this situation．Despommier imagines a 30-story building with a greenhouse on every floor．The walls of the building would be clear, to allow crops to get as much sunlight as possible．Depending on a city’s water resources, Despommier thinks hydroponic（水培） farming is another method for the vertical farm which needs no soil to grow plants．
Despommier says the hydroponic greenhouses would use a system that would use a city’s waste water and fill it with nutrition to make the crops grow．If this method works, it would provide food to a city and save millions of tons of water．
The idea of a vertical farm has attracted the attention of government officials around the world．Scott Stringer, a government official from New York City, thinks the city is suitable for the vertical farming．“Obviously we don’t have much land left for us,” Stringer said, “But the sky is the limit in Manhattan．”
Despommier admits that there is still a lot of work to do to make vertical farms a reality．“But I think vertical farming is an idea that can work in a big way．” he says．Why are people advised to eat local?
| A．Because it means convenience to people． |
| B．Because it can help people save a lot of money． |
| C．Because local food has more nutrition． |
| D．Because it is environmentally friendly． |
Which is one of the vertical farm’s benefits when compared with ordinary farming?
| A．It produces healthier food． |
| B．It does less harm to the cities． |
| C．It consumes more energy of the city． |
| D．It requires less transport costs． |
By saying “the sky is the limit in Manhattan”, Stringer means ________．
| A．people can make full use of vertical space of Manhattan |
| B．there is a limit for using empty land in Manhattan |
| C．the height of buildings in Manhattan is limited |
| D．Manhattan has a great potential for development |
What can we learn about the vertical farming in the passage?
| A．In a vertical farm, soil may not be needed to grow plants． |
| B．It has solved the problem of the food shortage in a big way． |
| C．It is a 30-story building with a greenhouse on every floor． |
| D．Crops are mainly grown in the rainwater in a vertical farm． |
Researchers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes．“Shoes convey a thin but useful slice of information about their wearers,” the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality．“Shoes serve a practical purpose, and also serve as nonverbal cues （线索） with symbolic messages．People tend to pay attention to the shoes they and others wear．”
Medical Daily notes that the number of detailed personality traits （特质） detected in the study include a person's general age, income, political tendency, and other personality traits, including someone's emotional stability．Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style, cost, color and condition of someone's shoes．In the study, 63 University of Kansas students looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants．Participants in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes, and then filled out a personality questionnaire．
So, what do your shoes say about your personality? Some of the results were expected: People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes, and flashier footwear was typically worn by outgoing people．However, some of the more specific results are interesting．For example, “practical and functional” shoes were generally worn by more “friendly” people, while ankle boots were more closely connected with “aggressive” personalities．The strangest of all may be that those who wore “uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to have “calm” personalities．
And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take exceptional care of them, you may suffer from “attachment anxiety,” spending too much time worrying about what other people think of your appearance．There was even a political calculation in the mix with wearing “shabbier and less expensive” shoes．
The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personality traits, but researchers pointed out that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were revealing deep insights into their personalities．By looking at a person’s shoes, it’s possible for people to_____．
| A．know the wearer thoroughly and accurately |
| B．form an opinion about the wearer’s character |
| C．have exact cues about the wearer’s social status |
| D．judge the wearer’s educational background |
What can we know about the passage?
| A．Wealthy people tend to choose shiny shoes． |
| B．Calm people prefer shoes with uncomfortable appearance． |
| C．Friendly people are likely to wear ankle boots． |
| D．Outgoing people always wear shoes with practical functions． |
Takingexceptional care of new shoes shows that _____．
| A．the owners care much about others’ opinions on their appearance |
| B．the owners are in a relaxed state |
| C．the owners are particular about their appearance |
| D．the owners have too many shoes to choose from |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How To Choose Suitable Shoes |
| B．How To Judge People’s Personality Traits |
| C．People Are What They Wear |
| D．Shoes Reflect People’s Personalities |
Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets．When connected electronically, they are away from physical reality．
People have been influenced to become technology addicted．One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices．One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol．
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life．They have successfully created a cultural disease．Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern．
I see people trapped in a pathological （病态的） relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them．I call this technology servitude．I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money．
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question．Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology．When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology．Mae West is famous for the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful．” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology．
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies．” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology．The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______．
| A．advantage | B．attraction |
| C．adaption | D．attempt |
From the passage, technology companies aim to ______．
| A．attract people to buy their products |
| B．provide the latest information |
| C．improve people’s quality of life |
| D．deal with cultural diseases |
It can be inferred from this passage that people ______．
| A．consider too much technology wonderful |
| B．have realized the harm of high-tech devices |
| C．can regain freedom without high-tech devices |
| D．may enjoy life better without overused technology |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
| A．Neutral． | B．Skeptical． |
| C．Disapproving． | D．Sympathetic． |
Dear David,
I’m glad you would like to share your feelings with me．It’s hardly surprising that your feelings of not being “grown up” have come on strongly at this point in your life, just before you’re about to become a father．You are asking: will I make a good father? How will I cope? Should I have brought another little person into the world? Can I provide for it? Heeelp! I think nearly every sensitive about-to-be-parent must have these occasional feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy before the birth and it would be most unusual if you didn’t share them．
It’s difficult, honestly, to feel grown-up unless you have something less grown-up to relate to．The boss with a hen-pecking wife may feel like a seven-year-old when he’s at home．But as he walks through the office door, and knows he’s going to be surrounded by staff looking to him for advice, he grows into a fully mature man．And I think it’s a mistake to imagine that we all feel, as we age, a kind of progression of states, from the baby to the adult．Most people feel, on Tuesday, about three years old, and on a Wednesday, around 80．I remember feeling very grown-up at eight, a time when I was weighed down with responsibility．These days, much older, I can, in the company of people I feel at ease with, feel like a young girl．
There’s a common remark that “all men are little boys”, but it’s not true．It’s truer that men often behave like little boys．But nearly all people, at some moments in their lives, are capable of great maturity．
Once your baby arrives, you’ll soon feel less childlike, or rather, less often．When your child tries to put its fingers into the electric plug, the adult in you will rise up to prevent it．You’ll see you have very little in common with a needy child, particularly if it’s looking to you for comfort and support．
Comfort yourself, David, with two truths．One is that your friends laugh when they talk about this subject because they, like you, feel frightened．And remember that people who haven’t grown up don’t go around talking about the fact that they don’t feel grown-up．
Hope my advice will be helpful and good luck to you and your little one．
Sincerely Yours,
Miss AdviceAccording to the passage, Miss Advice thinks David’s self-doubt is _______．
| A．valuable | B．natural | C．unusual | D．bearable |
From Paragraph 2, we can learn that people’s sense of maturity _______．
| A．will increase with age |
| B．is obviously seen at home |
| C．changes with different situations |
| D．becomes stronger with familiar people |
Miss Advice holds the opinion that _______．
| A．all men behave like little boys |
| B．people tend to laugh at the subject |
| C．men with a baby feel more grown-up |
| D．people enjoy talking about their immaturity |
Miss Advice wrote the letter to _______．
| A．offer suggestions to a future father |
| B．teach people how to grow up |
| C．encourage people to be responsible |
| D．solve problems of the less grown-up |