The first time Luca heard the Island of Inventions, he was very young, but the wonders he heard about sounded so unbelievable to him that they were forever kept in his memory. Since then, he never stopped searching clues which might lead him to that place of wonder. He read widely to collect information.
Taking a little from here and there, he got quite a clear idea of what the Island was really like. It was a secret place, where all the great men learn and invent together. To be able to join that select club, you had to have created great inventions. Only then could you receive the invitation.
To get a chance, Luca spend the years studying and inventing. Every new idea he got, he made it into an invention, and if there were anything he didn’t understand, he would seek help. Soon he met other brilliant inventors too, and he told them of the secrets of the Island. These young inventors would likewise dream of being sent “the letter”.
As time passed, the disappointment of not being sent the letter gave rise to even greater cooperation and help between them. Their inventions soon became known throughout the world.
But no invention came.
They didn’t lose heart. They continued learning and inventing, trying to come up with better ideas. Fresh talent was added to their group. One day, Luca, already very old, was speaking with a brilliant young man who had written to join their group. Luca told the young man the secrets of the Island, and of how he was sure that they would receive an invitation. Surprised, the young inventor said: “What? You mean this isn’t really the Island of Inventions?”
It inspired Luca and he realized that his dream had become true.Luca read widely to ________.
| A．get information about the great inventions |
| B．get clear ideas about the island for vacations |
| C．seek massages about the secret club of inventions |
| D．get more knowledge for the benefit of his inventions |
Luca and other brilliant inventors around him shared a dream of _______.
| A．being great inventors of worldwide fame |
| B．being accepted as members of the Island of Inventions |
| C．being inventors envied by members of the Island of Inventions |
| D．being remembered for the contribution to scientific development |
What is the effect of their not being given “the letter”?
| A．They were disappointed, while it encouraged them to work harder. |
| B．They became desperate and decided to have another way of living. |
| C．They changed their strategy and promote their inventions publicly. |
| D．They gave up their dream while continued their inventions together. |
Throw out the bottles and boxes of drugs in your house．A new theory suggests that medicine could be bad for your health．This new theory argues that healing （the process of becoming healthy and strong again） is at our fingertips：we can be healthy by doing Reiki on a regular basis．
Supporters of medical treatment argue that medicine should be trusted since it is effective and scientifically proven．They say that there is no need for spiritual methods such as Reiki, Yoga，Tai Chi．These waste our time，something that is quite precious in our material world．There is medicine that can kill our pain and x-rays that show us our broken bones．We must admit that these methods are very effective in the examples that they provide．However, there are some “everyday complaints”such as back pains，headaches，which are treated currently with medicine．When you have a headache，you take an Aspirin；when you cannot sleep，you take Xanax without thinking of the side effects of these．When you use these pills for a long period，you become dependent on them；you cannot sleep without them．We pay huge amounts of money but never get better．How about a safer and more economical way of healing?When doing Reiki to yourself，you do not need anything except your energy so it is very economical．Also，there are no side effects and it is scientifically explained．
They also claim that serious illnesses such as HIV／AIDS and cancer cannot be treated without drugs．They think so because these patients spend the rest of their lives in the hospital taking medicine．How can Reiki make these people healthy again? It is very unfortunate that these patients have to live in the hospital losing their hair and weight because of the side effects of the medicine they take．Actually，instead of drugs which are expensive and have many side effects，you can use your energy to overcome the hardships of life，find an emotional balance，leave the stress of everyday life and let go of the everyday worries．
Some people may still hold that in our material world，everything depends on time．How
would it be possible to find time to do Reiki?In fact，Reiki does not require more than 15 minutes of our time．It is less time consuming than medicine if we think of all the time we spend taking medicine for some complaints and taking some more for the side effects as well．The author's attitude towards Reiki is．
| A．uninterested | B．serious |
| C．positive | D．doubtful |
Which statement does the passage lead you to believe?
| A．Reiki will soon become the most popular exercise around the world． |
| B．Reiki is an effective treatment but not scientifically explained． |
| C．Reiki can make people less dependent on drugs． |
| D．Reiki is a kind of cheap drug but works well． |
How many advantages of Reiki are mentioned in the last two paragraphs?
| A．One． | B．Three． | C．Five． | D．Seven． |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A New Way of Treating Illness． |
| B．Health and Healing at Your Fingers． |
| C．The Advantages and Disadvantages of Reiki． |
| D．The Advantages and Disadvantages of Medicine． |
Tight-lipped elders used to say, "It's not what you want in this world, but what you get．"
Psychology teaches that you do get what you want if you know what you want and want the right things．
You can make a mental blueprint of a desire as you would make a blueprint of a house, and each of us is continually making these blueprints in the general routine of everyday living．If we intend to have friends to dinner, we plan the menu, make a shopping list, decide which food to cook first, and such planning is an essential for any type of meal to be served．
Similarly, If you want to find a job, take a sheet of paper, and write a brief account of yourself．In making a blueprint for a job, begin with yourself, for when you know exactly what you have to offer, you can intelligently plan where to sell your services．
This account of yourself is actually a general description of your working life and should include education, experience and references．Such an account is valuable．It can be referred to in filling out standard application blanks and is extremely helpful in personal interviews．While talking to you, your could-be employer is deciding whether your education, your experience, and other qualifications will pay him to employ you and your abilities must be displayed in an orderly and reasonably connected manner．
When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something tangible to sell．Then you are ready to look for a job．Get all the possible information about your could-be job．Make inquiries about the details concerning the job and the firm．Keep your eyes and ears open, and use your own judgment．Spend a certain amount of time each day seeking the position you wish for, and keep in mind: Obtaining a job is your job now．What do the elders mean when they say, “It’s not what you want in this world, but what you get．”?
| A．You’ll certainly get what you want． |
| B．It’s no use dreaming． |
| C．You should be dissatisfied with what you have． |
| D．It’s essential to set a goal for yourself． |
A blueprint made before inviting a friend to dinner is used in this passage as ________．
| A．an illustration of how to write an application for a job |
| B．an indication of how to obtain a good job |
| C．a guideline for job description |
| D．a principle for job evaluation |
According to the passage, one must write an account of himself before starting to find a job because ________．
| A．that is the first step to please the employer |
| B．that is the requirement of the employer |
| C．it enables him to know when to sell his services |
| D．it makes him become clearly aware of himself |
When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something______．
| A．specific to offer | B．imaginary to provide |
| C．precious to supply | D．desirable to present |
I had the meanest mother in the whole world．While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast．When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich．As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids' also．But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings．My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．
My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times．She had to know who our friends were and where we were going．We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath everyday．
The worst is yet to come．We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning．We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends．So while they slept --- my mother actually had the nerve to break the Child Labor Law．She made us work．We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things．I believe she lay awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us．
Through the years, things didn't improve a bit．We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school．Our marks in school had to be up to par．Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing．My mother, being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks．With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out．
My mother was a complete failure as a mother．Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education．None of us have ever been arrested or divorced．Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country．She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults．Using this as a background, I am now trying to raise my three children．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 whole world．What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The author is not happy to have such a mean mother． |
| B．The author's mother broke the Child Labor Law to make money． |
| C．The author's mother failed to educate her children to be honest adults． |
| D．The author is strict with her children． |
Why couldn’t the author eat candy for breakfast?
| A．Because she preferred cereal, eggs or toast to candy． |
| B．Because her mother couldn’t afford for candy． |
| C．Because her mother thought it not good to eat candy for breakfast． |
| D．Because her mother had to give candy to the author’s sister and two brothers． |
The author’s mother made her children work because _________ ．
| A．she had trouble falling into sleep． |
| B．she could not keep such a big family without her children’s help． |
| C．she was teaching her children to live by themselves． |
| D．she had no time to do the housework． |
When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who possess wings of their own and who will fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate（照亮）me and train me up for love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say: “Let’s start with a train whistle today.” We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories that grew out of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we, too, were changing into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped.
When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend. He was in despair(失望)and I was in despair. But our friendship was based on the idea in each of us that we would be sorry later if we did not explore this great city because we had felt bad at the time. We met every Sunday for five weeks and found many excellent things. We walked until our despairs disappeared and then we parted. We gave London to each other.
For almost four years I have had remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine. We write long letters in which we often discover our strangest selves. Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other’s dreams. She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind. In my most interesting moments, I often think:“Yes, I must tell….”We have never met.
It is such comforting companions I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist（心理学家），who will only fill up the healing（愈合的）silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be my own best friend.In the eighth grade, what the author did before developing proper social behavior was to ______.
| A．become serious about her study | B．go to her friend’s house regularly |
| C．learn from her classmates at school | D．share poems and stories with her friend |
In Paragraph 3, “We gave London to each other” probably means ______.
| A．our exploration of London was a memorable gift to both of us |
| B．we were unwilling to tear ourselves away from London |
| C．our unpleasant feeling about London disappeared |
| D．we parted with each other in London |
According to Paragraph 4, the author and her friend _______.
| A．call each other regularly | B．have similar personalities |
| C．enjoy writing to each other | D．dream of meeting each other |
In the darkest moments, the author would prefer to ______.
| A．seek professional help | B．be left alone |
| C．stay with her best friend | D．break the silence |
When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation (住所). I suggested that they should stay at ‘bed and breakfast’ houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.
“We didn’t stay at bed and breakfast houses,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”
I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought ‘VACANCIES’ meant ‘holidays’, because the Spanish word for ‘holidays’ is ‘vacaciones’. So they did not go to house where the sign outside said ‘VACANCLES’, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to house where the sign said ‘NO VACANCLES’, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels!
We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word ‘DIVERSION’ means fun. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word ‘DIVERSION’ on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hold.
English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris, when someone offered me some more coffee, I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more. However, to my surprise, the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No, thank you.”My Spanish friends wanted advice about ______.
| A．learning English | B．finding places to stay in England |
| C．driving their car on English roads | D．going to England by car |
‘NO VACANCIES’ in English means ______.
| A．no free rooms | B．free rooms | C．not away on holiday | D．holidays |
When someone offered me more coffee and I said “Thank you” in French, I ______.
A didn’t really want any more coffee B. wanted them to take the coffee pot away
C. really wanted some more coffee D. wanted to express my politeness I was surprised when the coffee pot was taken away because I ______.
| A．hadn’t finished drinking my coffee | B．was expecting another cup of coffee |
| C．meant that I didn’t want any more | D．was never misunderstood |