Happiness is important for everyone. Most people want to be happy but few know how to find happiness. Money and success don’t bring lasting happiness. Happiness depends on ourselves. In other words, we make our own happiness.
Some people believe that if they are wealthy, they will be able to do anything they want, which means happiness. On the other hand, some people believe that holding a high position in the government is happiness. In this way, you have not only money, but also many other things which can’t be bought by money. However, other people believe that having lots of money is not happiness, nor is holding a high position in the government. These people value(重视) their beliefs, or their intelligence, or their health. They think these can make them happy.
Here are a few ways to help you be happier.
The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so much time thinking about the future, for example, getting into college or getting a good job, that we don’t enjoy the present. You should enjoy life’s simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have close friends usually enjoy happier and healthier lives.
The second secret of happiness is to be active. Many people go dancing or play sports. People can forget about their problems and only think about the activities.
Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. According to studies, people feel good when they volunteer their time to do many meaningful things for other people. If you want to feel happier, do something nice for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to get food for an old neighbor, or simply help around the house.
Now maybe you know how to find happiness! The underlined word “wealthy” means “__________” in the article.
| A．pleased | B．healthy | C．excited | D．rich |
Some people who hold a high position in the government think they can _________.
| A．get money and something they can’t buy with money |
| B．do what they want to do at any time |
| C．enjoy health which makes them work hard |
| D．take an active part in all kinds of activities every day |
The writer thinks the secret of happiness is that people ___________.
| A．think about getting a good job | B．think of presents they don’t like |
| C．often spend time with close friends | D．often spend time on entering the college |
Many people find it happy to ___________.
| A．remember the old days and troubles | B．do some meaningful things for others |
| C．go shopping to buy some food | D．make much money and little success |
The passage mainly tells us __________.
| A．how to find happiness | B．how to save happiness |
| C．to do something good for others | D．to value our beliefs or health |
【2014年江苏省南通市中考】
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Today the word friendship has been used so often that it has lost its meaning. Some jokingly or seriously say that friends are made to be used. It makes me very sad.
True friendship doesn’t mean that when you need your friend’s help，you will treat him to dinner，and when you have to protect yourself，you will put your friends in a difficult situation.
In fact，true friendship is the communication and understanding of the hearts（心）.
True friendship is like water. Compared wish decent wine，water is tasteless，but is of great help when we are thirsty. True friends don’t need to be with each other every day，but are connected in heart every minute.
True friendship is like medicine. Though it is bitter，it cures your illness. True friends give you some suggestions even if they know you would not take. They criticize you when others have a good word for you，not because of envy but worrying that you may lose your cool head.
True friendship has nothing to do with fame，power or money. True friends would often watch you silently far away when you are influential，but come to you whenever you need their help. You’re not his stepping-stone to success，but are his crutch to live through difficulties.
True friends make you complete. Many persons go along with you through your life─your parents，your spouse，and your children，who take care of you and make your life happy. However，you still need someone who understands your thoughts and souls. Without them，you are likely to be unhealthy in spirit.
True friends stay in your heart，rather than at your side；they know you more than yourself，and try to better you.
Once you have found such a true friend，do treasure（珍惜）him. If your true friend disappears，how can you make the sound of your heart understood？The writer feels sad because some people .
| A．don’t understand friendship |
| B．make wrong friends |
| C．don’t treasure friendship |
| D．blame their friends |
The writer speaks of water because .
| A．it has no taste |
| B．it is important to our life |
| C．it is easy to get |
| D．it stays with us every day |
The underlined word“influential”in Paragraph 5 means“ ”.
| A．busy | B．quiet |
| C．helpful | D．powerful |
According to the passage，true friends may help you .
| A．enjoy mental health | B．achieve success |
| C．understand them better | D．live a happy life |
【2014年福建省漳州市中考】
根据所提供的内容，从四个选项中选择最佳答案。
Most students have biology classes in the classrooms or the labs in China．But several days ago，I had a biology class outside in my American schoo1．
My biology teacher，Mr.Kwak，divided us into three groups and asked us to play a game about natural selection(选择)and how birds find food．
He gave the first group one spoon per person，the second group forks and my group"knives．I thought we were going hunting，so knives might work better．Surprisingly，he told us to pick up the beans on the grass with our tools．
When the game started all of us ran to the grass area．We squatted(蹲)down and looked for beans．It was hard to pick up something that small，especially from the grass .
When I almost fired a bean，it dropped back to the ground．When I finally picked up several beans．one of my friends ran into me．I couldn’t keep my balance and fell over．All my beans dropped to the ground!Just at that moment，Mr．Kwak called us back．I had to leave the game and of course I got a bad result．I couldn’t help thinking that if I were a bird living on Galapagos Island，I would be dead soon．
The fun game made me realize that natural selection is redly competitive(竞争的)．Everyone is trying his or her best to—survive．What did the writer’s group use to pick up the beans?
| A．Spoons． | B．Forks． | C．Knives． | D．Hands． |
How many beans did the writer get at last?
| A．None． | B．One． | C．Several． | D．Many． |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The writer did a good job in the biology class． |
| B．The writer had a biology class outside their schoo1． |
| C．The writer found that picking up the beans from the grass was hard． |
| D．The writer didn’t find enough food for the birds on Galapagos Island． |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word“survive’’in the last paragraph?
| A．Find food． | B．Remain alive． |
| C．Be lovely． | D．Keep balanced． |
What was the aim of Mr．Kwak’s class?
| A．To play an interesting game． |
| B．To pick up the beans． |
| C．To know different kinds of birds． |
| D．To learn natural selection． |
【2014年四川省内江市中考】
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Droughts (干旱)are common in Kenya . Before ,they came every 10 years ,but now they seem to be hitting us more often and for a longer time .
We gave the droughts names :“longoza”was the drought when many animals died ; there was the drought of the “planes” because food was dropped from the air by planes; and one particularly bad drought was called “ man who dies with his money in his fist (拳头)”，because ,even if there was money , there was simply no food to buy .
I was born in 1951 in Machakos. From what my mother tells me , when I was 7, there was a serious drought . I clearly remember the terrible weather and the hunger. I can’t tell you how many times I went to bed without eating . “ I slept like that ,” is how we described it . I can’t count the number of days when “ I slept like that,” or describe the feeling of going to sleep hungry ,knowing I’d wake up and there would still be no food for breakfast.
My father would leave early in the morning carrying a little basket to ask for food on credit (赊欠). Each night he would return home around 10:00p.m. My mother would try to encourage me by telling me to keep the water in our pot boiling so that when my father arrived we could quickly cook any food he brought in the already prepared water . I would keep the fire burning and the water boiling , along with the hopes that we would eat that night. But my father would arrive frustrated and empty -handed. And I would sleep like that.The best title for the text is ________.
| A．A Hungry Childhood Caused by Droughts |
| B．Food and Hunger |
| C．Protecting the Environment |
| D．Droughts and Their Names |
What does the drought of the “ longoza”refer to (指代)?
| A．Many animals needed food dropped by planes. |
| B．People had to eat animals because of hunger. |
| C．Many animals died because of the droughts. |
| D．People died of hunger even if they had money. |
Why would the author keep the fire burning and the water boiling?
| A．To wait for her father to come back to have supper. |
| B．To cook the food that her father would bring back. |
| C．To keep her house warm all night. |
| D．To make her hungry mother happy. |
The sentence “I slept like that ” means “ ________.”
| A．I was disappointed when my father came back empty-handed |
| B．I felt sorry because my family got hungry again |
| C．I went to sleep with no food for breakfast. |
| D．I went to bed with nothing to eat |
【2014年内蒙古呼和浩特市中考】
I loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it when mother sat doing letters. Looking at the ink bottle, pens and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother,“But the desk,”she said again,“is for Elizabeth. ”
I never saw her get angry, and never saw her cry. I knew she loved me, and she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.
They never happened and a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional (易动感情的)”, but she lived“on the surface”.
As years went by and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way that she did forgive (原谅) me.
I posted the letter and waited for her answer. It didn’t come.
It seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to her.
I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the present of her desk told me that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work, though she had never been able to. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside… a photo of my father and a one-paper letter. Folded (折叠) and refolded many times.
Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose. Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.The writer began to love her mother’s desk ______.
| A．after mother died |
| B．when she was a child |
| C．before she became a writer |
| D．when mother gave it to her |
The passage shows that mother _______.
| A．was too serious about everything her daughter had done |
| B．was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter |
| C．cared much about her daughter in words |
| D．wrote to her daughter in careful words |
The word“gulf”in the 4th paragraph means _______.
| A．deep understanding between the old and the young |
| B．part of the sea going far in land |
| C．free talks between mother and daughter |
| D．different ideas between mother and daughter |
What did mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness？
| A．She read the letter again and again till she died. |
| B．For years, she often talked about the letter. |
| C．She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in her life. |
| D．She had never received the letter. |
What’s the best title of the passage？
| A．My Letter to Mother |
| B．Mother and Children |
| C．My Mother’s Desk |
| D．Talks Between Mother and Me |
【2012年江西】How would we travel without maps? It would be a bit adventurous (冒险的) to set off from Oxford University to go to London Bridge if there wasn't a map of the London Underground at each station. In fact, a lot of the early map-makers were adventurers and explorers, especially in the 15th and 16th centuries.
So what did people do before there were maps? Well, it was quite easy to use natural signs like mountains and rivers if you were travelling on foot or riding a horse. People took small boats down rivers and followed coastlines. And it was much more logical (合理的) to use time, not distance, to measure (计量) journeys: the next village is a three-hour ride, for example.
In fact, in the earliest maps, people didn't draw landmarks. They drew the stars. It was very easy to see the night sky and use it for navigation (航行). The sky was a lot clearer before the light pollution from cities that we have today. When towns and cities were built, people drew road maps which gave correct distances and directions.
The London Underground was opened in 1863 and it also used a road map style. But a man called Henry Beck realized that travelling by train wasn't the same as driving your car across London. Passengers only needed to know which stations to change at. His new design (设计) for the Underground map wasn't very popular with the train companies at first. But the passengers loved it and in 1933, 700,000 copies were printed.
These days, of course, you can ride a bike, drive a car or go through a forest and know where you are exactly, using a GPS. It's really difficult to get lost!What was drawn in the earliest maps?
| A．Stars. |
| B．Landmarks. |
| C．Cities and towns, |
| D．Mountains and rivers. |
When did road maps come out?
| A．Around 15th and 16th centuries. |
| B．When people began to travel by train. |
| C．When people began to travel by sea. |
| D．When cities and towns appeared. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．A GPS helped people to travel long time ago. |
| B．Ancient people could travel on a horse without maps. |
| C．The sky was polluted by light before cities were built. |
| D．Henry Beck's map wasn't popular with the passengers. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Maps have a long history. |
| B．We never get lost these days. |
| C．We can't travel without maps. |
| D．Henry Beck designed a new map. |