I start to wonder what else had changed since I’d been gone. My parents are in an awkward puzzle, wondering how to treat me now----whether to treat me—still their daughter—as one of them, an adult, or as the child they feel they sent away months earlier.
I run into two of my best friends from high school; we stare at each other, expressionless. We ask the simple questions and give simple answers. It’s as if we have nothing to say to each other. I wonder how things have changed so much in such a small amount of time. We used to laugh and promise that no matter how far away we were, our love for each other would never change. Their interests don’t interest me anymore, and I find myself unable to relate my life to theirs.
I had been so excited to come home, but now I just look at it all and wonder: Is it me? Why hadn’t the world stood still here while I was gone? My room isn’t the same, my friends and I don’t share the same promise, and my parents don’t know how to treat me—or who I am, for that matter.
I get back to school feeling half-satisfied, but not disappointed. I sit up in my bed in my dorm room, surrounded by my pictures, dolls. As I wonder what has happened, I realize that I can’t expect the world to stand still and move forward at the same time. I can change and expect that things at home will stay the same. I have to find comfort in what has changed and what is new; keep the memories, but live in the present.
A few weeks later, I’m packing again, this time for winter break. My mom meets me at the door. I have come home accepting the changes, not only in my surroundings, but most of all in me.
What can we infer about the writer?
A.She is a high school student. | B.She is a college student. |
C.She is a clerk in a school. | D.She is a traveler. |
. What surprises the writer most?
A.The living conditions of her parents. |
B.The decorations in her room. |
C.The meeting with her best friends. |
D.The things still staying the same. |
What is this passage mainly about?
A.The writer’s curiosity about the changes. |
B.The changes in the writer’s surroundings and in herself. |
C.The writer’s disappointment about the changes. |
D.The writer’s refusal to accept the changes. |
LOST AND FOUND |
ROOMATES |
FOUND: Cat, 6 months old, black and white marking. Found near Linden and South U.Steve, 800---4661 |
FEMAL ROOMATE WANTED Own room near campus. Available December 1st. Rent $80 per month until March 1st.$129 there after. Call Jill for details,800—7839. |
LOST: Gold wire rim glasses in brown case. Campus area. Reward. Call Gregg 800---2896 |
NEED PERSON to assume lease for own bedroom in apt. near campus, $92/mo. Starting Jan. 1st. Call 800---6157 after 5:00 |
FOR SALE |
HELP WANTED |
MOVING: Must sell.TV b/w2 seconds, $50; AM/FM transistor radio A/c or battery, $15;cassette tape recorder,$10; music records.Call John or Pat, 800—0739 after 5 or weekends. |
BABYSITTER-MY HOME If you are available a few hours during the day, some evenings and occasional weekends to care for 2 school-age children, please call Gayle Moore days 800—1111, evenings and weekends 800—4964. |
USED FUR COATS and JACKETS GOOD CONDITION. $50---¥125. Call 800---0436 after 12 noon. |
WAITRESS WANTED: 10 a.m.—2 p.m. or 10:30 a.m.---5 p.m. Apply in person, 207 s. Mai.Curtis Restaurant. |
If you want a job of taking care of children, which ad will you answer?
A.LOST AND FOUND | B.ROOMMATES | C.FOR SALE | D.HELP WANTED |
You will call____ if you want to buy a radio.
A.800---0436 | B.800—0739 | C.800—4661 | D.800—4964 |
If your aunt wants to rent a room from Feb.1st to Apri.1st, how much money should she pay?
A.$160 | B.$ 129 | C.$ 209 | D.$418 |
The world has changed and being intelligent isn’t normally equal to being a successful person. Look at the example of the blue whale : it has a huge brain, but it still doesn’t know how to avoid whalers or use its large size and weight to deal with those who try to use their body for profit. Scientists hold an opinion that the blue whale just likes some highly intelligent people who fail to succeed. Those highly intelligent people can’t succeed in life because they can’t communicate well with the world around them.
Intelligence is a word in life that makes you think you are better than others. Intelligence can blind these very people from how others view them. These people also think that the route to power and success results purely from intelligence and they sometimes live in a fantasy world that they create by their supposed brain power.
This is a distance that develops whether or not they realize it and sometimes, a person can be disliked simply because of his or her intelligence. This distance is sometimes so far apart that it gets to the position where they can’t listen to each other. One side thinks the other is stupid and the other thinks he/she is haughty(傲慢的). And most of the time it is the intelligent people who lose themselves in this situation. They become unpopular with most of the people around them. This affects them in whatever they do and sooner or later they will lose their confidence.
It doesn’t help that they get a culture shock - especially when they leave college and realize success and richness don’t always and sometimes never come naturally with intelligence. While some might think this is a dramatic picture to paint, it is sometimes the end result of some people. The example of “the blue whale” is used to show ____.
A.communication is more important than intelligence |
B.human beings are always more intelligent than animals |
C.humans should have the sense of protecting animals |
D.the blue whale is the largest animal in the world |
Those supposed intelligent people often believe that ____.
A.they should make their life the same with others |
B.they should live in a better world than the others |
C.they are sure to be successful because of their intelligence |
D.other people’s opinion should be seriously considered |
What makes the intelligent people lose their confidence?
A.They become separated from other people and lose their support. |
B.They often can’t get higher positions though they are intelligent. |
C.They can’t persuade those stupid people to accept their ideas. |
D.They often can’t make good use of their advantages. |
We can infer that the end result of the supposed intelligent people would be ____.
A.great achievements | B.more efforts |
C.failure in the future | D.proper changes |
Grown-ups know that people and objects are solid. At the movies, we know that if we reach out to touch Tom Cruise, all we will feel is air. But does a baby have this understanding?
To see whether babies know objects are solid, T. Bower designed a method for projecting an optical illusion of a hanging ball. His plan was to first give babies a real ball, one they could reach out and touch, and then to show them the illusion. If they knew that objects are solid and they reached out for the illusion and found empty air, they could be expected to show surprise in their faces and movements. All the 16 to 24-week-old babies tested were surprised when they reached for the illusion and found that the ball was not there.
Grown-ups also have a sense of object permanence. We know that if we put a box in a room and lock the door, the box will still be there when we come back. But does a baby realize that a ball that rolls under a chair does not disappear and go to never-never land?
Experiments done by Bower suggest that babies develop a sense of object permanence when they are about 18 weeks old. In his experiments, Bower used a toy train that went behind a screen. When 16-week-old and 22-week-old babies watched the toy train disappear behind the left side of the screen, they looked to the right, expecting it to reappear. If the experimenter took the train off the table and lifted the screen, all the babies seemed surprised not to see the train. This seems to show that all the babies had a sense of object permanence. But the second part of the experiment showed that this was not really the case. The researcher substituted a ball for the train when it went behind the screen. The 22-week-old babies seemed surprised and looked back to the left side for the train. But the 16-week-old babies did not seem to notice the switch. Thus, the 16-week-old babies seemed to have a sense of “something permanence, while the 22-week-old babies had a sense of object permanence related to a particular object. The passage is mainly about _____.
A.babies’ sense of sight |
B.effects of experiments on babies |
C.babies’ understanding of objects |
D.different tests on babies’ feelings |
In Paragraph 3, “object permanence” means that when out of sight, an object ________.
A.still exists | B.keeps its shape |
C.still stays solid | D.is beyond reach |
What did Bower use in his experiments?
A.A chair. | B.A screen. | C.A film. | D.A box. |
Which of the following statements is true?
A.The babies didn’t have a sense of direction. |
B.The older babies preferred toy trains to balls. |
C.The younger babies liked looking for missing objects. |
D.The babies couldn’t tell a ball from its optical illusion. |
The words “timetable” and “schedule” make most final year students want to eat their own vomit. Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that final year students must develop a timetable. If you don’t have a schedule or plan for studying, you will have no way of allocating your valuable time when the unexpected arises. A well-thought-out timetable can be a lifesaver. It is up to you to learn how to develop a schedule that meets your needs. Change it if necessary, but most important, follow it . All timetables should be made with the idea that they can be changed. A good one will keep you from wandering off course.
A good timetable should make every hour count—every class ,social event and other activity you engage in .You must focus on the other “free time” available and how you will use it .Make a weekly schedule and divided each day into one-hour increments. Indicate times for classes, socializing, and work time. Also block off a period for sleeping every day. In the precious hours left over, plan time for study. This gives you a rough road map of the time available. Of course, you can change your schedule as circumstances need.
The timetable you develop should guide you in how to distribute the available time in the most productive manner. Sticking to your schedule can be tough, but don’t dribble away valuable time. Avoiding study is the easiest thing in the world. It is up to you to follow the schedule you’ve prepared. A good deal of your success in high school and with any future study depends on this simple truth.
Remember, there is a learning curve. You learn the most in the first 30 minutes of study; after that, it progressively deteriorates. After four or five hours of studying the same material in the same way, you are learning virtually nothing. The solution is to keep switching subjects and study styles.What is the best title of the passage?
A.Advantages of starting a timetable |
B.Keep to it, and you will succeed |
C.Make a schedule, and follow it |
D.Learn to love your timetable |
What does Paragraph 2 talk about?
A.Tips for making a schedule. |
B.Significance of a scientific timetable. |
C.Requirements for making a timetable. |
D.Importance of following one’s schedule. |
The following are characteristics of a good timetable EXCEPT that.
A.it can be changed | B.it is flexible |
C.it is of many periods | D.it can save our time |
From this passage, we can learn if we wish to achieve high learning efficiency, we’d better.
A.shift subjects and use different methods regularly |
B.devote to the same material continuously |
C.turn to teachers for help if necessary |
D.have a break every thirty minutes |
You feel happiest when you create a healthy balance between giving and receiving. If you give and give without making time to fill your own needs, then it’s likely you will burn out, or feel upset .When you take and take without giving anything back, you never feel fulfilled, so you are always searching for ways to fill the void in your life.
The way to create a healthy balance between giving and receiving is to know and then live by your values. I break values up into two groups which I call being and having values. Your being values are the character traits of the ideal person you would like to be. I suggest to my clients that they choose three being values that they are willing to make a commitment to live by. An example of some being values are: kind, loving, generous, inspirational, peaceful, wise and even powerful. By acting on these values you give to others through your actions and you inspire others by being a positive role model. Mastering being these character traits becomes your life purpose.
Your having values are the feelings you need to create in order to be happy. These could be companionship, achievement, support, being valued or financial security. This is what you receive. You take responsibility for filling your own needs by taking steps to create these feelings and conditions in your life.
When you make a commitment to live by your being values, it becomes easier to make conscious choices rather than reactionary ones. If your usual pattern is to talk about your problems, you could choose to think and act like a calm person. A calm person might go for a walk, meditate, or set a time limit before responding. If your usual pattern is to worry, you could choose to act like a responsible or wise person. In other words, you would act like the person you choose to be—this is the key to personal power.
When you choose to act on your values, you not only feel good about yourself, you reinforce your chosen beliefs. Over time acting in this way changes how you see the world, and in turn the way other people think of you.The main purpose of this passage is to.
A.persuade the readers to make a commitment |
B.explain to the readers what personal values are |
C.inform the readers how to be truly happy |
D.instruct the readers how to make wise choices |
According to the text, living by your being values, you would.
A.gain a lot of power | B.form positive personality |
C.seek all human virtues | D.fill your own needs |
The underlined word “void” in Paragraph 1 means.
A.a feeling of emptiness | B.an absence of one’s mind |
C.a break of continuity | D.a state of confusion |
What can be inferred from the text?
A.Having values are better than being values. |
B.A calm person does not choose to complain. |
C.The way other people think of you decides who you are. |
D.A responsible person does not care about financial security. |