It was a village in India. The people were poor . However, they were not unhappy. After all , their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived . They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing . There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them . Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time ,the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first ,but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often ,and ,there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides （杀虫剂）and medicines. Soon there was no money left .
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog .They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job-eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed , the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now, the people are still poor .But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning. From Paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers .
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．dreamed of having a better life |
| C．were poor but somewhat content |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
| A．The frogs were easy money. |
| B．They needed money to buy visitors. |
| C．They wanted to please the visitors. |
| D．The frogs made too much noise. |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．The crops didn’t do well. |
| B．There were too many insects. |
| C．The visitors brought in diseases. |
| D．The pesticides were overused. |
What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country. |
| B．Health is more important than money. |
| C．The harmony between man and nature is important. |
| D．Good old days will never be forgotten. |
A group of graduates, successful in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Before offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups—porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking and cheap, some exquisite and expensive—telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided for us.”
God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee!
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. "[Z
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.Why did the professor offer his students coffee with varieties of cups?
| A．To give his students many more choices. |
| B．To teach his students how to enjoy coffee. |
| C．To show the students his collection of cups. |
| D．To tell his students the right attitude to life. |
According to the professor, the happiest people are the ones who _____.
| A．get the best type of coffee cups |
| B．make the best of what they have |
| C．have a wide range of coffee cups |
| D．care about social status and wealth |
The best title for the passage would be _____.
| A．God's Coffee | B．The Pressure of Life |
| C．The Happiest People | D．Professor's Coffee Cups |
No one has enough, but everyone has all there is. We each have just twenty-four hours in a day. Time is not our problems, but what we do with the limited time we have is the issue. Many people spend their days on dozens of activities, but achieve very little because they aren’t concentrating on right things. The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80:20 Rule shows us that typically eighty percent of unfocused effort generates only twenty percent of the results. The remaining eighty percent of the results are achieved with only twenty percent of the effort. To effectively manage your time, you need to change where you are spending your time. We all have the same amount of time every day. How you spend your time is how you spend your life. Here are time management strategies, which may be helpful.
Learn to say no
Politely say no should become a habit. Saying no frees up time for the things that are most important.
Make a “to-do” list
List the tasks that need to be done in order of their importance. Save other less important things for when you have time.
Minimize interruption(打扰)
Plan ahead. Think through projects. Look for ways to “block” interruptions. For example, close your door, don’t answer the phone or work in a different space.
Combine several activities
Try to do several activities at one time. While going to school, listen to taped notes. This allows up to an hour or two a day of good study review. While showering, make a mental list of the things. Above all, be creative, and let it work for you.According to the Pareto Principle, we can know that _____. .
| A．people can’t achieve a lot even though they concentrate on right things |
| B．people should focus more effort on right and important things and finish them first |
| C．people are certain to succeed if they spend twenty percent of their time |
| D．eighty percent of effort spent on one matter is useless |
According to the passage, if you want to do several things on Sunday, you should _____.
| A．do them while listening to the music |
| B．do all of them at one time |
| C．do the most important one first |
| D．put some of them off till next Monday |
The underlined word “block” in the passage means “_____”.
| A．accept | B．prevent | C．arrange | D．defend |
What would be the best title of the passage？
| A．Time Management | B．The Pareto Principle |
| C．How to Make a “To-do” List | D．Time and Habits |
Are you a problem shopper? The answer is “Yes”, if you or someone else thinks that you sometimes get carried away with shopping. In other words, do you or does someone else think you are occupied in extreme shopping? If people have regrets later about their shopping, or have an “out-of-control” feeling about the quantities of what they buy or the amount of credit they use, they may be considered to be problem shoppers.
Extreme shopping can lead to a more serious problem—addictive shopping. Addictive shoppers feel driven by the desire to shop and spend money. They experience great tension which drives them to shop and spend money and they feel a “rush” during the time they are occupied with the shopping activity.
Extreme or addictive shopping may result from long-time unpleasant feelings, of which anxiety, pain and shame are common ones. When we feel bad inside, we often do something to make ourselves feel better. In this case, we often go shopping.
A few people shop to relieve their boredom or emptiness. For some people, the motivation is a desire for status, power, beauty or success. Some love to shop as it makes them feel valued in the eyes of the shop assistants. Others shop simply because it makes them forget, at least temporarily, tension, fear or unhappiness in their life.
Besides, shopping malls are designed to encourage continual shopping. For instance, there are some malls where you can’t see clocks displaying the time because they don’t want you to become too aware of the time you spend there. What’s more, food courts, coffee shops and restrooms are provided, so you don’t have to leave the mall because of your physical needs.
Therefore, once you become aware of how market forces work, you will certainly come to control your shopping behavior. For example, how much time you will spend and what areas you will visit can be decided before you enter the mall. Keep a written account of what items you will buy and how much money you will spend. Make a plan for what you are going to buy before you feel the urge to shop and then stick to it. That is vital for gaining self-control.Which of the following people may not be problem shoppers?
| A．Those who cannot control the amount of credit they use. |
| B．Those who just walk around the shopping malls. |
| C．Those who are occupied in too much shopping. |
| D．Those who feel sorry for their shopping. |
According to the passage, what may not result in addictive shopping?
| A．The awareness of how market forces work. |
| B．The desire for status, power, beauty or success. |
| C．Boredom, emptiness, tension, fear or unhappiness in people’s life. |
| D．Long-time bad feelings of anxiety, pain and shame. |
What does the author suggest to control our shopping behaviour?
| A．Never go to the shopping malls because there are many tricks. |
| B．Apply for a credit card before we go shopping. |
| C．Make the shopping time as short as possible. |
| D．Make a shopping list before we go shopping. |
The author writes this passage to _____.
| A．inform the shopping malls how to attract more shoppers |
| B．provide solutions to the problem shopping |
| C．scold the problem shoppers |
| D．tell a shopping story |
Have Fun with Funny Faces
Here is a great new toy just for you! It is called FUNNY FACES. It is small enough to fit in your hand, but you can do so many things with Funny Faces! 
With Funny Faces, you can shape a mouth into a happy smile, or you can make a sad face. If you want to show an angry face, you can make it appear to be fierce. The eyebrows (眉毛) move up and down, the eyes turn from side to side, and the ears move slightly.
It is lots of fun to play with Funny Faces, by yourself or with your friends, make up stories about the different faces, put on a Funny Faces show and invite your friends to watch it.
A Funny Faces toy costs only five dollars. It is a super toy that every child should have. Buy Funny Faces today! You will find it in many stores in your city or town.
And if you buy Funny Faces now, we will send you a FREE gift. It is a special case for your toy. You will not find this case in stores. Here is all you have to do:
Cut off the top of the Funny Faces box. It writes “A Great New Toy!”
Write your name and address on a piece of paper.
Mail both pieces to the Funny Faces address on the front of the box.
Act today! This offer is good only until June 30.According to the passage, what is Funny Faces?
| A．A kind of toy. | B．A box. | C．A special show. | D．A picture. |
With Funny Faces, we can _____.
| A．make our friends angry |
| B．write names and address |
| C．shape a mouth into a smile |
| D．turn our eyes from side to side |
Why does the author write this passage?
| A．To tell us how to get a free gift. |
| B．To encourage us to buy Funny Faces. |
| C．To show us how to enjoy Funny Faces. |
| D．To advise us to put on an interesting show. |
We can see the passage is _____.
| A．a story | B．a news report | C．a letter | D．an advertisement |
If you’ve been joining in chat room conversation, or trading e-mail with your e-pals, you have become one of the millions who write in a special short form of English.
And you’ve got a sense of humor about short forms like SOHF(="sense" of humor failure) to describe Internet newcomers who understand you. Across the globe, every night teenagers and their elders are "talking" online — many of them all talking at the same time.
It’s fast: try talking to six people at once. It’s brief: three or four words per exchange. It takes wit（诙谐）, and quick fingers.
Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI(="pardon" me for jumping in).
Interested in whom you’re talking to? A/S/L, the nearly universal request to know your pal’s age, sex and location. You may get 15/M/NY as a response from your pal.
If something makes you laugh, say you’re OTF(="on" the floor), or LOL(="laughing" out loud), or combine the two into ROTFL(="rolling" on the floor laughing).
And when it’s time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG(got to go) or TTYL(="talk" to you later).People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can. Capital letters(大写字母) are left in the dust, except when expressing strong feelings, as it takes more time to hold down the "shift" key and use capitals. Punctuation （标点） is going, too.In order to talk to several people at the same time on the Internet, _______.
| A．you have to speak fast and fluently |
| B．you should speak with wit and humor |
| C．one should pay much attention to the use of exact words |
| D．you have to express your ideas in a brief way |
If you get 17/F/NY as an answer to your A/S/L, it means ______.
| A．you are talking to a girl who is 17 and lives in New York |
| B．the person who is talking to you is a 17-foot-tall New York girl |
| C．you are talking to 17 girls who are from New York |
| D．the person on the other end is 17 from New York and he is fine |
To save time on the Internet, ______.
| A．some people leave their letters in the dustbin |
| B．some people never use "shift" in their writing |
| C．people seldom use capital letters and punctuation |
| D．many people only use the capital or punctuation |
The passage is probably written for ______.
| A．young students | B．parents | C．teachers | D．web chatters |