In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation（模仿） is helpful. When I first learned to cook, I used recipes (菜谱) and turned out some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why follow someone else’s way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child’s bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them.
In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously (下意识地) hold poor role models. If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others.
In the field of entertainment, those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous. If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors.
Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply. The world is changed not by those who do what has been done before them, but by those who do what has been done inside them. Creative people have an endless resource of ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination.
.Imitation proves useful when you .
| A．know you are unique | B．lose the balance of life |
| C．begin to learn something new | D．get tired of routine practice |
To avoid the bad result of imitation, we should________.
| A．forget daily fear and pain | B．choose the right example |
| C．ask others for decisions | D．stay away from stars |
According to the author, the world moves on because of those who are .
| A．eager to influence others with their knowledge |
| B．ready to turn their original ideas into reality |
| C．eager to discover what their ancestors did |
| D．willing to accept others’ ideas |
The trouble a creator faces is .
| A．the lack of strong motivation | B．the absence of practical ideas |
| C．how to search for more materials | D．how to use imagination creatively |
The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to __________.
| A．emphasize the importance of creativity. |
| B．criticize the characters of role models. |
| C．compare imitation with creation. |
| D．explain the meaning of success. |
Friendship continues to remain central to our lives. Friends often affect our health and energy. More and more people are increasingly turning towards their friends for support and sharing rather than just communicating with their relatives. We may have a very unclear understanding of what makes a friend but we all want to have a good number of friends around us. There are certain things you do to help you make friends or at least help you get close to people whom you want to make friends with.
The first step to make friends with people is to make them like you. If they don’t like you in the first place, it is unlikely that they’ll be eager to become your friends. To let someone know that you are interested in him, simple gestures like a little smile and calling him by his name can help. To make the other person feel important, you need to be a good listener and to encourage him to talk. Give your honest and sincere opinion, but do not make fun of him.
The second step is to develop trust in each other. You need to share opinions with this person and it is necessary for you to develop a habit of seeing things from his point of view. To become the best of friends, you must show concern and consideration for your friends’ desires and opinions.
The third and final step is to show your support and encouragement towards your friend. Moreover, you also need to be very clear about your expectations from your friend. If what you expect from the person you want to be a friend matches with what that person can and wants to do in friendship, the developing friendship between you and your friend is sure to be easy and successful.What can we learn about friends and friendship?
| A．Friendship is not important in our life. |
| B．Friends have nothing to do with our health and energy. |
| C．Friends can provide us with support. |
| D．Relatives can not become friends. |
Which is the right order of making friends according to the writer?
① When you meet some problems, you ask him for help.
② When he is in trouble, you tell him your ideas.
③ You smile at him to let him know you like him.
| A．②①③ | B．①②③ | C．③①② | D．③②① |
We can infer from the passage that _____.
| A．you can’t call your friend by his name |
| B．friends should understand each other |
| C．there should be no secret between friends |
| D．friends don’t need support and encouragement |
What is the main purpose of the writer?
| A．To tell us about the importance of making friends. |
| B．To tell us about the advantages and disadvantages of friendship. |
| C．To introduce the steps for making friends. |
| D．To tell us that friends are hard to make. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word gestures?
| A．身势语 | B．客人 | C．猜测 | D．表演 |
You speak, write a letter, and make a telephone call. Your words carry a message. People communicate with words. Do you think you can communicate without words?
A smile on your face shows you are happy or friendly. Tears in your eyes tell others that you are sad. When you raise your hand in class, the teacher knows you want to say something or ask questions. You shake your head, and people know you are saying "No". You nod and people know you are saying "Yes". Other things can also carry messages. For example, a sign at the bus stop helps you to know which bus to take. A sign on the wall of your school helps you to find the library. Signs on doors tell you where to go in or out. Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of signs around you and that you receive messages from them all the time? People can communicate in many other ways. An artist can use his drawings to tell about beautiful mountains, about the blue sea and many other things. Books are written to tell you about all the wonderful things in the world and also about people and their ideas. Books, magazines, TV and radios and films all help us to communicate with each other. They all help us to know what is going on in the world and what other people are thinking about. Can we communicate with each other without words?
| A．Yes, some times we can. |
| B．No, we can't. |
| C．No. It's impossible. |
| D．Yes, we always do so. |
When we see somebody smile, then, he must be feeling ____.
| A．angry |
| B．joyful |
| C．surprised |
| D．sad |
We can learn news from ____.
| A．newspapers |
| B．radio |
| C．TV |
| D．ABC |
A sign at the bus stop tells you ____.
| A．how many buses there are |
| B．what kind of bus it is |
| C．where the bus comes and goes |
| D．how much money you'll pay for the ticket |
What do you think is the quickest way to communicate with your friend in another city?
| A．Writing a letter. |
| B．Making a telephone. |
| C．Drawing a picture. |
| D．Asking someone else to take a message. |
A friend of mine was fond of drawing horse. He drew the horses very well, but he always began the tail. Now it is the Western rule to begin at the head of the horse, that is why I was surprised. It struck me that it could not really make any difference whether the artist begins at the head or the tail or the belly(肚子) or the foot of the horse, if he really knows his business. And most great artists who really know their business do not follow other people's rule. They make their own rules. Every one of them does his work in a way peculiar( 奇特的) to himself; and the peculiarity means only that he finds it more easy to work in that way.
Now the very same thing is true to literature. And the question, "How shall I begin?" only means that you want to begin at the head instead of beginning at the tail or somewhere else. That is, you are not yet experienced enough to trust to your own powers. When you become more experienced you will never ask the question, and I think that you will often begin at the tail -- that is to say, you will write the end of the story before you have even thought of the beginning. A friend of the writer's drew the horses ____.
| A．very well |
| B．in the way of western rule |
| C．in the way of his own rule |
| D．all of the above |
The writer was surprised because ____.
| A．the artist began to draw at the head of the horse |
| B．the artist began to draw at the tail of the horse |
| C．the artist made his own rule |
| D．the artist did not follow other people's rule |
You are not yet experienced because ____.
| A．you don't know where to begin |
| B．you want to begin at the head instead of beginning at the tail |
| C．you always asked question |
| D．you do not trust to your own powers |
when you become more experienced you will ____.
| A．never ask question |
| B．often begin at the tail |
| C．should write the end of the story |
| D．should think of the beginning |
The topic of the passage is
| A．How to draw a horse |
| B．How to write a story |
| C．How to make your own rules |
| D．Trust to your own powers |
Jack went to a barber's shop and had his hair cut, but when he came out, he was not happy with the result(结果). When his friend Bob saw him, he laughed and said, "What has happened to your hair, Jack?"
Jack said, "I tried a new barber's shop today, because I wasn't quite satisfied with my old one, but this one seems even worse."
Bob agreed(同意). "Yes, I think you're right, Jack. Now I'll tell you what to do when you go into a barber's shop next time: look at all the barber's hair, find out whose hair looks worst, and then go straight to him."
"Why shall I go to him?" Jack asked. "But that would be foolish!"
"Oh, no, it wouldn't," answered Bob. "Who cut that man's hair? Just think it. He couldn't cut it himself, could he? Another of the barbers cut it. So you know he can't be the worst barber." When Jack went out of the barber's shop, he was not happy because ____.
| A．nobody had cut his hair |
| B．the barber hadn't cut his hair well |
| C．the barber had cut his hair carefully |
| D．he was not satisfied with his old barber |
"I tried a new barber's shop today." means ____.
| A．this barber's shop was a new one |
| B．this was the only barber's shop in this town |
| C．Jack often went to this barber's shop |
| D．Jack had not been to this barber's shop before |
After Jack had his hair cut, he thought ____.
| A．the new barber's shop was the best one |
| B．the old barber's shop wasn't so good as the new one |
| C．the new barber's shop was worse than the old one |
| D．the old barber's shop was the worst one |
Bob told Jack to find out which barber's hair looked the worst and then go straight to him. Why?
| A．Because he was certainly the best barber. |
| B．Because he was free all the time. |
| C．Because he was the worst barber. |
| D．Because he wasn't the worst barber. |
From the story we know that ____.
| A．it's foolish to have one's hair cut at a barber's shop |
| B．barbers cut each other's hair |
| C．barbers never have their hair cut |
| D．a barber always cuts his hair by himself |
Here's one very simple but lifechanging advice that I first heard from Brian Tracy. Cut down on the TV at night by just one hour. Instead, use that hour to read books that could improve your life.
If you're a salesman, google for the best and most useful books on improving your sales.
This applies (适用) to all fields, not just the work-related (与工作相关的) ones. Maybe you want to improve your health, become a more energetic person. Or maybe you want to improve your study, your relations or perhaps do some personal development.
One hour a day is not much. But if you read for one hour a day on weekdays, that's about 260 hours a year. That's a large number of books and a lot of useful advice.
If you follow the ideas, who knows what great things and feelings could come into your life. Also, all that information and advice will start to open up your mind. You will start to see more chances in your life.
Now, you might think something like this:
1. I really don't have the money...
Answer: Visit your public library or search the database (数据库). Or look for books that are used in places like amazon.com.
2. I really don't have the time...
Answer: Buy audiobooks and listen to them in the car while driving to and from work. Or copy them to your MP3-player and listen while riding your bike /bus to work or school. Recently selling audiobooks through MP3-downloads has become popular...
Shut off the TV a little earlier and start reading.What is Brian Tracy’s lifechanging advice about？
| A．Watching TV. | B．Listening to MP3. |
| C．Surfing the internet. | D．Reading helpful books. |
If you’d like to improve your work, you should_______ according to the writer.
| A．read work-related books | B．become more energetic |
| C．improve your study | D．improve your relations |
Which is NOT true about reading an hour a day？
| A．It will open up your mind. |
| B．You will have about 260 hours a year to read. |
| C．You will read lots of books and get much useful advice. |
| D．It will probably bring great things and feelings into your life. |
What should you do if you really don't have the money to read?
| A．To buy some books from amazon.com. | B．To download MP3 free. |
| C．To visit the public library. | D．To borrow audiobooks and listen to them. |
What is the writer’s idea about audiobooks?
| A．They are more useful. |
| B．Listening to audiobooks is easier than reading books. |
| C．It’s dangerous to listen to audiobooks while driving or riding. |
| D．Audiobooks are a good solution to the problem of having no time to read. |