There were smiling children all the way. Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Malaysia. I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight. Immediately I came alive; I decided to wave back.
From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (拥抱). I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.
I looked forward to the return journey. The author expected the train trip to be________ .
| A．adventurous | B．pleasant | C．exciting | D．dull |
What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?
| A．The friendly country people. | B．The mountains along the way. |
| C．The crowds of people in the streets. | D．The simple lunch served on the train. |
Which of the following words can best take the place of the word "relish" in the second paragraph?
| A．choose | B．enjoy | C．prepare for | D．carry on |
Where was the writer going?
| A．Johore Baru | B．The Causeway. | C．Butterworth | D．Singapore |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Comfort in traveling by train. | B．Pleasure of living in the country. |
| C．Reading gives people delight. | D．Smiles brighten people up. |
Since around the later part of the 1950s, society started to realize that tobacco cigarettes caused health problems. As research progressed along with increasing numbers of people that developed lung cancer, emphysema, and other smoking related illnesses, cigarette smoking has become less accepted and popular. Unfortunately, the nicotine contained in cigarettes is one of the most addictive substances on the planet and makes quitting smoking one of the hardest things to do. In 2003, Chinese pharmacist, Hon Lik invented the electronic cigarette as a safer, and cleaner way to breathe in nicotine after his father, a heavy smoker, passed away from lung cancer attributed to smoking tobacco cigarettes.
Hon Lik applied for his first patent on the electronic cigarette in 2003 and afterwards introduced e-cigs to the Chinese market in the following year through his employer, Golden Dragon Holdings. Golden Dragon Holdings later changed the company’s name to “Ruyan” in order to better match the company’s name(Ruyan means “almost like smoke”)to the new product. Since the renaming, the Ruyan company has continued e-cigarette development and grown to be one of the largest global e-cig manufactures.
Dr.Sam Han, CEO of Cixi E-CIG Technology, Inc, Ltd. also has a number of e-cig related inventions, including four patents in the United States and two in China that are electronic cigarette and e-liquid technology related. Similar to Hon Lik’s father. Dr. Han was a heavy smoker for more than 40 years before beginning to work on electronic cigarette technologies in order to help himself and others make the shift to vapor smoking. Dr.Han continues to market and conduct R&D in e-cig related techonologies to this date.
After the successful deployment of Ruyan and Cixi E-CIG electronic cigarettes in China and Asia, the products started to be sold in significant quantities on the Internet.How many years is it since the electronic cigarette was first invented according to the passage?
| A．About 5 years. | B．About 11 years. |
| C．About15 years. | D．About 20 years. |
What’s the direct reason why Hon Lik invented the electronic cigarette according to the passage ?
| A．Tobacco cigarettes caused health problems. |
| B．Tobacco cigarettes were too expensive for customers to buy. |
| C．Quitting smoking became one of the hardest things to do. |
| D．His father died from lung cancer due to smoking tobacco cigarettes. |
Since when have Chinese smokers have been able to buy Hon Lik’s electronic cigarettes according to the passage?
| A．2000. | B．2003. | C．2004. | D．2005. |
What’s the correct order of the following events according to the passage?
① Hon Lik applied for his first patent on the electronic cigarette.
② Hon Lik’s father died from lung cancer because of smoking tobacco cigarettes.
③ Hon Lik’s electronic cigarettes were introduced to the Chinese market.
④ The name of the company Golden Dragon Holdings was changed to “Ruyan”.
| A．①③②④ | B．①④②③ |
| C．②④①③ | D．②①③④ |
You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.
It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. At times, the dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last.
Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Time magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine(重新定义) the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.
Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And entrepreneurship(创业) is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.
So what has led to this huge change?
Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity and social stagnation(停滞),”noted The Daily Beast.
“The rate of 16-to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree,” Time reported.
The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation’s ladder”.
Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations.”This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennias are feeling they can only attain a day-today lifestyle that suits them.”The underlined word “cornerstone” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to “ ”.
| A．growth | B．balance | C．basis | D．purpose |
What has changed Millennials’ view of the American Dream according to the passage?
| A．A lack of confidence in themselves |
| B．Fierce competition in the job market |
| C．Their dissatisfaction with the government |
| D．The discouraging economy and unemployment |
Dan Kadlec thinks Millennials’ new definition of the American Dream is ______.
| A．beautiful | B．understandable |
| C．worrying | D．positive |
What can be the best title for this passage?
| A．Redefinition of American Dream |
| B．Meaning of American Dream |
| C．Value of Achieving American Dream |
| D．History of Changing American Dream |
Shyness is the cause of much unhappiness for a great many people. Shy people are anxious and self-conscious; that is, they are concerned with their own appearance and actions too much. Negative thoughts are constantly occurring in their minds: What kind of impression am I making? Do they like me? Do I sound stupid? Am I wearing unattractive clothes?
It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must affect people unfavorably. A person's self-concept is reflected in the way he or she behaves and the way a person behaves affects other people's reactions. In general, the way people think about themselves has a deep effect on all areas of their lives.
Shy people, who have low respect, are likely to be passive and easily influenced by others. They need faith that they are doing "the right thing". Shy people are very sensitive to criticism. It makes them feel inferior（自卑）.They also find it difficult to be pleased by praises because they believe they are unworthy of praise. A shy person may respond to a praise with a statement like this one: "You're just saying that to make me feel good, I know it's not true.” It is clear that, while self-awareness is a healthy quality, overdoing it is harmful.
Can shyness be completely got rid of, or at least reduced? Fortunately, people can overcome shyness with determination since shyness goes hand in hand with lack of self respect. It is important for people to accept their weakness as well as their strengths. Each one of us has his or her own characteristics. We are interested in our own personal ways. The better we understand ourselves, the easier it becomes to live up to our chances for a rich and successful life.The first paragraph is mainly about______.
| A．the cause of shyness |
| B．the effect of shyness on people |
| C．the feelings of shy people |
| D．the questions in the minds of shy people |
According to the writer, self-awareness is______.
| A．harmful to people |
| B．a weak point of shy people |
| C．the cause of unhappiness |
| D．a good characteristic |
What is the shy people's reaction to praise?
| A．They are pleased by it. |
| B．They feel it is not true. |
| C．They are very sensitive to it. |
| D．They feel they are worthy of it. |
We can learn from the passage that shyness can ______.
| A．block our chances for a successful life |
| B．help us to live up to our full development |
| C．enable us to understand ourselves better |
| D．have nothing to do with lack of self respect |
Roughly half of college students will have some degree of depression at some point during their time in school. Even more startling, 6.2 percent of college students surveyed in 2012 considered suicide and 1.3 percent attempted it, according to an American College Health Association study released this spring. If you’re feeling depressed on campus, you may find the following tips helpful.
Exercise: Physical activity releases endorphins – chemicals that produce an overall positive feeling within the body, which fight depression naturally. Mental health experts claim that exercise is a solution to those feeling mild or moderate depression. However, for those severely depressed, simply doing sports is not enough.
Use school counseling services: Campuses don’t employ mental health experts simply to throw thousands of dollars down the drain. Their job is to help students, so experts recommend you use them. Most students, however, are hesitant to take a trip to their college’s counseling center, fearing being laughed at by peers. As a result, some schools like Texas Christian University, are testing students for mental health problems when they get sick and visit the campus health clinic.
Take advantage of technology: Staying in touch with family members and friends from childhood and high school has become easier than ever with the coming of Facebook and video chat services like Skype. While mental health experts insist that it’s important to make friends in your new environment and be involved in the college community, it’s also significant to keep in touch with the people you knew before college.
Go to sleep: Following a fairly regular sleep pattern can defend you against depression. In college, many students’ sleep patterns are irregular thanks to late-night studying and partying, which is harmful to their mental health. Research strongly suggests that sleep is the key to learning and memory formation.According to the passage, physical activity __________ .
| A．is regarded as the best way to fight depression |
| B．contributes to the release of endorphins |
| C．can’t help the seriously depressed students |
| D．improve people’s ability to learn and memorize |
It can be inferred from the 3rd paragraph that __________ .
| A．employing mental health experts on campus is a waste of money |
| B．students with mental health problems can’t get on well with others |
| C．going to college’s counseling center for help requires a lot of courage |
| D．sick students in Texas Christian University must take psychological tests |
Taking advantage of technology is encouraged because it ____
| A．enables students to get involved in college life |
| B．helps students stay in contact with others |
| C．offers students a way to make new friends |
| D．provides a way to avoid getting bored |
which of the following can NOT help one reduce depression?
| A．Taking exercise regularly every week |
| B．Chatting with old friends with Skype |
| C．Turning to mental health experts for advice |
| D．Holding parties deep into the night to relax |
Decision-thinking is not unlike poker—it often matters not only what you think, but also what others think you think what you think they think you think. The mental process(过程) is similar. Naturally, this card game has often been of considerable interest to people who are, by any standards, good thinkers.
The great mathematician John von Neumann was one of the founders of game theory. In particular, he showed that all games fall into two classes; there are what he called games of 'perfect information', games like chess where the players can't hide anything or play tricks; they don't win by chance, but by means of logic and skills. Then there are games of 'imperfect information', like poker, in which it is impossible to know in advance that one course of action is better than another.
One mistaken idea about business is that it can be treated as a game of perfect information. Quite the reverse Business, life itself are games which we must normally play with very imperfect information. Business decisions are often made with many unknown and unknowable factors(因素), which would even puzzle (困惑)best poker players. But few business people find it comfortable to admit that they are taking a chance, and many still prefer to believe that they are playing chess, not poker.The subject discussed in this text is _________.
| A．the process of reaching decisions |
| B．the difference between poker and chess. |
| C．the secret of making good business plans |
| D．the value of information in winning games |
An important factor in a game of imperfect information is ___________.
| A．rules | B．luck | C．time | D．ideas |
Which of the following can be used in place of "Quite the reverse" in paragraph 3?
| A．Quite right. | B．True enough. |
| C．Most unlikely. | D．Just the opposite. |
In the writer's opinion, when making business decisions one should ___________ .
| A．put perfect information before imperfect information |
| B．accept the existence of unknown factors |
| C．regard business as a game of chess |
| D．mix known and unknown factors |