Several days ago, a Beijing-based IT company fired about 400 people overnight. No one had expected the job cuts, which broke with traditional ways of letting go of workers in China. Moreover, what was special about this case was that the day before the 400 were fired, they all received from their boss a gift—the book “Who Moved My Cheese?”
The book—a bestseller in the US—is being used by men and women to deal with changes in their lives and work. Some large organizations, including Coca-Cola, Kodak and General Motors, ask their employees to read it in order to encourage them to be active towards changes.
Cheese is something related to everyone’s livelihood-Our jobs, the industries we work in, relationships and love as well.
With China’s official entry into the WTO, the whole nation will face up to more changes and challenges. So what we should do once this “cheese” on which we are so dependent is moved?
“Whatever challenges and changes we meet, we should face up to them bravely,” Jiang Hengwei, a civil servant said after reading the book.
Professor Zhang Yang in Renmin University of China agrees. “We should change our way of thinking. The coming competitive foreign companies and products provide us with great chances to learn from them and improve our own products to meet international standards and be more competitive.”
“With hard work and wisdom, we will create a much larger and better piece of cheese.” Zhang smiled confidently. The whole passage is about_________.
| A．a bestseller in the US |
| B．what people think about China’s entry into the WTO |
| C．the change in people’s attitude towards changes and challenges |
| D．how a book influences the Chinese workers |
The company in Beijing gave each of the 400 fired workers a copy of “Who Moved My Cheese” in order to_________.
| A．be more competitive with foreign firms | B．find an excuse for their job cuts |
| C．let the workers make a living on their own | D．encourage the fired workers |
The word “cheese” in the passage can refer to_________.
| A．something we depend on | B．a most important kind of food |
| C．change or challenge | D．way of life |
From what Hengwei and Professor Zhang Yang said, we can know that____________.
| A．they have different opinions on changes and challenges |
| B．people are not afraid of competition from foreign companies |
| C．the Chinese people are ready to face any changes and challenges |
| D．they are both greatly encouraged by the book |
In one way of thinking, failure is part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The “spider-story” is often told. Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider making a web(网). The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times. On the seventh time he made it and went on to make his web. Bruce is said to have been encouraged by this and to have gone on to defeat the English. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one. Once he was asked why he kept on trying to make a new type of battery when he had failed so often, he replied, “Failure? I have no failure. Now I know 50,000 ways it won’t work.”
So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top form yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?
Second, is the goal you’re trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about this question, “If I do succeed in this, where will it get me?” This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway.
The third thing to keep in mind about failure is that it’s a part of life. Learn to “live with yourself” even though you may have failed.This passage deals with _____.
| A．failure and success |
| B．two sides of failure |
| C．the “spider-story” |
| D．the invention of light bulb |
In the first paragraph the writer tells mainly about _____.
| A．the value of failure | B．how people fail |
| C．famous failures | D．how not to fail |
The thing the writer does not tell you to do to deal with failure is _____.
| A．check out your goals to see if they are right for you |
| B．think about failure as part of your life |
| C．think about failure to find out what went wrong |
| D．keep away from things that are beyond you |
Even if we have failed we should _____.
| A．learn to forget it | B．learn to remember it |
| C．learn to enjoy it | D．learn to accept it |
| Writer/ Time |
Topic: Who’s a better singer, Andy Lau (刘德华) or Jacky Cheung (张学友)? |
| Jim 8-15-2006 5:25 pm. |
Some people say Jacky is the best Chinese singer. I don’t think so! Andy is the best. I went to his concert last year. It was so wonderful, I almost cried! OK, I did cry, but that’s because Andy is so handsome! |
| Tom 9-3-2006 4:38 pm. |
I disagree with Jim. Andy sounds like every other singer. His voice is nothing special. On the other hand, Jacky’s voice is unique, and his songs are so romantic! |
| Linda 9-10-2006 8:54 pm. |
I think they’re about the same. But Andy is a better actor. I’ve seen almost all of his movies. Remember the one where he was an airplane pilot, and his plane crashed near a farm? I love that movie! |
| John 9-16-2006 10:25 pm. |
I also think Jacky is a better singer. I prefer his Cantonese songs. Maybe they sound better because Cantonese is his first language. |
| Tom 10-2-2006 10:12 am. |
I agree. Jacky’s Cantonese songs are better than his Mandarin songs. (Though, I still like all his songs!) |
Who likes Andy Lau the best? __________.
| A．Jim | B．Tom |
| C．Linda | D．John |
Why did Jim cry? Because ___________.
| A．she was sad at a concert. |
| B．she had a broken heart. |
| C．she was angry at Jacky Cheung |
| D．she thought Andy Lau was very good looking |
Why does John think Jacky’s Cantonese songs sound the best? Because _________.
| A．Jacky has no experience singing in Mandarin |
| B．it’s his native language |
| C．his mandarin pronunciation is bad |
| D．Jacky’s Mandarin songs are boring |
Which of the following is TRUE? __________
| A．Nobody likes Andy’s movies. |
| B．Tom has the same opinion as John. |
| C．Tom thinks Andy’s voice is more special than Jacky’s. |
| D．Jim has never seen an Andy Lau concert. |
I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have porridge, eggs or toast. When others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. But at least I wasn’t alone when I was sad. My sister and two brothers had the same mean(刻薄的) mother as I did.
My mother preferred to know where we were all the time. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. We had to clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids got to wear the same clothes for days. We could not lie in bed “sick” in order to miss school.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and get up at eight the next morning. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept, my mother was brave to break the Child Labour Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook and all sorts of things at home. I believe she lay awake thinking up all things for us to do.
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Two of her children received higher education. None of us have ever been arrested (taken away by the police) or divorced. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. I am trying to raise my three children this way. I am filled with pride when my children call me “mean”. Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.How many children does the writer’s mother have?
| A．Four | B．Two | C．Three | D．Six |
What can you infer(推测) from the passage?
| A．My family was rich, so I ate a sandwich for lunch. |
| B．My mother was a great success. We love her. |
| C．If we didn’t want to go to school, the best way was to pretend to be sick. |
| D．We needn’t share the housework at home. |
The best title for this passage may be________.
| A．My childhood | B．The meanest mother |
| C．I do as my mother did | D．Unforgettable memories |
In general, it’s hard to spend enough time in both concentrating on lessons and taking part in social activities. But I wanted to succeed in both. I knew this would be a challenge but I didn’t realize how difficult it was until my class in the high school began.
I got on well with other girls. After school, I often had ice cream with them first instead of finishing my homework before it was time to hand it in. I always finished it the next day between classes. I knew it wasn’t very good and the grades that I got showed I was not hard working enough. I realized that I needed to find some kind of balance.
So I created a timetable that would divide my time between studying and relaxing. It was a good idea but I was only able to follow it for a few days because it made me under too much pressure.
Later, I tried another plan. Each week I listed everything that I had to get done during the week and the time by which I had to get it done. The under the things I had to do, I made another list of things that I could do if I had time.
It worked really well. Ever since I have never missed any important things. At the same time, I enjoyed my spare time a lot.
Planning my time has been challenging, but I continue to do it. I’m glad that I’ve learned to balance things and it has helped prepare for what is coming after graduation.Why did the writer follow the first timetable only for a few days?
A．Because it had a specific list
B．Because it wasn’t a good idea
C．Because it brought her too much pressure.What wasn’t included in the writer’s second time plan?
A．The things she shouldn’t do
B．the things she had to get done
C．The things she could do if she had timeAccording to the passage, which of the following is true?
A．The writer had few friends because of bad grade
B．Learning to balance things is helpful to make plans for the future
C．The writer preferred to spend more time in relaxing than studyingWhich do you think is the best title of the passage?
A．Facing challenges
B．Concentrating on lessons
C．Balancing study and play
A man and his wife were very poor. They kept hoping for new clothes and good food. The man enjoyed eating, and he especially liked cakes. One night an old woman came to their house and told them she would let them have three wishes. They could wish for anything they wanted.
The man had just finished eating a piece of bread for his dinner, but he was still hungry. He said, “I wish I had a big cake!”
Suddenly a cake appeared on his plate.
“You fool!” His wife cried. “You could have wished for a house full of wonderful food, but you wished for a cake. I wish that cake was on the end of your foolish nose! ”
Immediately the cake stuck to the end of his nose.
Then the man and his wife started blaming each other. “It’s your fault!” she man cried. “No, it’s your fault!” she answered. What could they do? The cake was still stuck to the husband’s nose.
“Oh!” the wife cried. “I wish none of this had ever happened!”
Immediately the cake was gone, and the man was saying, “I’m still hungry. How I wish I had some cakes! ”
But of course nothing happened.The man quarreled with his wife because ___.
| A．he always enjoyed eating |
| B．his wife hoped that he asked for a house |
| C．the cake stuck to the end of his nose according to his wife’s wish. |
| D．he didn’t want anything except cakes |
The wrong statement of the following is ___.
| A．the man made his wishes before dinner |
| B．the wife made two wishes, which worked |
| C．the wife wanted her husband to wish for more than a big cake |
| D．the man wished that the cake were not on his nose |
Why did the old woman not satisfy the man’s wish when he said he was still hungry and wanted some cakes?
| A．Because the old lady was angry with them |
| B．Because this was the fourth wish. |
| C．Because the man had made this wish before. |
| D．Because the cake had been gone. |