It is true that shyness can be a disadvantage socially for those who suffer from it seriously. I mean real shyness, not somebody who is simply quiet. Quiet people could be shy, but on the other hand, they may just be observing because they are unsure of you or others in your company. They may be capable of being extrovert (性格外向的) and sociable, but on some particular occasions, they are quiet.
I have learnt from my experience that those who observe and listen more and talk less can gain a position of strength. This means that even a very shy person, the type who is reluctant to talk in company (在交际场合) , especially new company, can become a strong person in just about anything they choose. Remember, knowledge is power, and a shy introvert (性格内向的人) is in a better position to gain knowledge than an extrovert. Introverted people can give great attention to learning, and as good listeners they can take in an enormous amount from others. Over time, people can come to respect them far more than the extrovert who speaks a lot. Usually about themselves.
What does it take , then for a very shy person to be that successful person they have always wanted to be ? They may only need one more thing to push themselves on their way. They need to dare themselves to take the leap; and when they do , they will probably find all the knowledge they have gained over the years will help them on their way to the top in their chosen field.What does the first paragraph mainly want to tell us?
| A．A person who is quiet may not be shy. | B．A shy person may not be a calm one. |
C．Quiet people are usually doubtful . |
D．Shyness is sometimes a bad feature. |
The underlined word “reluctant” in paragraph 2 probably means ________.
| A．lazy | B．careful | C．eager | D．unwilling |
According to the author, introverted people can be successful because they usually ________.
| A．have a strong will | B．talk less and show off less |
| C．learn more than extroverts | D．have a good attitude to learning |
It can be learned from the last paragraph that “one more thing” probably refers to ________.
| A．energy | B．courage | C．quietness | D．knowledge |
D
The world is filled with smart，talented and gifted people．We meet them every day．A few days ago，my car was not running well．I pulled it into a garage，and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes．He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine．I was amazed．The sad truth is，great talent is not enough．
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn．I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100，000 a year．A business consultant who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially．It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase，“They are one skill away from great wealth．”
There is an old saying that goes，“Job means ‘just over broke（破产）’”．And unfortunately，I would say that the saying applies to millions of people．Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence，most workers“ live within their means”．They work and they pay the bills．Instead I recommend young people to seek work for what they will learn，more than what they will earn．
When I ask the classes I teach，“How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands．I then ask，“So if most of you can cook a better hamburger，how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems．The reason why so many talented people are poor is that they focus on building a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems．The world is filled with talented poor people ．They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger．The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph that ．
| A．he is just one of the talented people |
| B．he is ready to help others |
| C．he has a sharp sense of hearing |
| D．he knows little about car repairing |
The underlined part in the third paragraph can be best replaced by ．
| A．spend more than they can afford |
| B．do in their own way |
| C．live in their own circle |
| D．live within what they earn |
Why do talented people earn so 1ittle according to the author?
| A．They don’t work hard enough |
| B．They lack financial intelligence |
| C．They don’t make full use of their talents |
| D．They have no specialized skills． |
The main purpose of the author is to tell us ．
| A．how young people can find a satisfactory job |
| B．what schools should teach students |
| C．why so many talented people are poor |
| D．how McDonald’s makes much money |
C
It’s illegal for the police to attach a GPS unit to your car without your permission, as the U.S. Supreme Court settled in 2012. But if the police are in hot pursuit of a bank robber or other escaping criminals that threaten public safety, a GPS tracker is acceptable. But exactly how can the police GPS track a car that is moving fast?
The answer to that question comes from StarChase, a new police technology being used by a small-but growing number of law enforcement agencies. It allows the police to fire 4.5-inch glue-covered GPS bullet-like projectiles (发射体) from an air gun fixed in their police cars. If the GPS tracker makes contact with the escaping robber’s car, it’ll stick no matter how fast the vehicle is going. That way, the police will have a constant read on the car’s location and heading. Aside from simply apprehending (逮捕) criminals, it’s believed this new technology could help save lives. If the police successfully fire a GPS unit at a speeding criminal, they can pull back from a high-risk chase. Chases can be incredibly dangerous to all involved, including innocent bystanders and other drivers. Once the GPS bullet connects, there’s no need for the chase any longer.
Now, predictably, a GPS-loaded gun isn’t cheap. Police departments need to pay about $5,000 per vehicle for the technology, and individual GPS bullets cost as much as $250 each. That may sound expensive, but remember: The alternative is often thousands of dollars in property damage, and great human cost in injury and lost life. According to Star Chase, their GPS bullet system has an apprehension rate of 80% without any report of injury or property damage. If you’d like to learn more about the StarChase system, Popular Mechanics has just published a good article about it. There’s also plenty more information available at the company’s website.When the GPS bullet sticks to the escaping robber’s car, the police can______ .
| A．know the car’s condition |
| B．ensure the robber’s safety |
| C．play a fair game with the robber |
| D．know the car’s position and direction |
The GPS bullets could help save lives mainly because
| A．the bullets won’t hurt people |
| B．they can make the robber’s car stop |
| C．the police can stop the dangerous chasing |
| D．they have more advantages than normal bullets |
From the text we can learn that GPS bullets
| A．are useful for the police |
| B．are widely used in America |
| C．can control the rising crime rate |
| D．can replace the police in the future |
In which part of a newspaper can we read the text
| A．Life | B．Nature | C．Fashion | D．Technology |
B
However urban life strikes you, cities worldwide have been growing every day。However urban life strikes you, cities worldwide have been growing ever more rapidly. Some of this growth has occurred in the developed world, but the most dramatic increase has been in the Third World. Almost all the world’s population growth over the next 30 years will take place in the cities of developing countries
By the year 2030, for the first time in history, 60 percent of the world’s people will be living in cities.
This is actually good news in some ways. “Cities are the fundamental building blocks of prosperity,” says Marc Weiss, chairman of the Prague Institute for Global Urban Development, “ both for the nation and for families.” Industrial and commercial activities in urban areas account for between 50 and 80 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in most countries of the world“ there’s the crazy notion that the way to deal with a city’s problems is to keep people out of them,”Weiss continued. “But the problems of the rural life are even more serious than those of the city.” For better or worse, urban-watchers are clear on one point: The quality of life for most people in the future will be determined by the quality of cities. Those cities will be bigger than ever. And yet, population numbers by themselves don’t determine a city’s prospects; after all, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Hamburg, Germany, have the same population. Nor is explosive growth necessarily the determining factor. “City problems,” one authority points out, “mostly have to do with weak, ineffective, and usually unrepresentative city governments.”In the author’s opinion, _________.
| A．better city, better life |
| B．both urban and rural areas have a larger population |
| C．the larger population, the faster a city develops |
| D．both urban and rural areas have larger gross domestic products |
Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The developing countries develop faster than the developed countries. |
| B．Cities contribute more to the GDP than the villagers. |
| C．Some problems are more easily solved in cities than in country. |
| D．It’s impossible to solve urban problems by getting people out of cities. |
The last paragraph implies that ____________.
| A．Public services are ineffective. |
| B．Cities are increasing too fast. |
| C．Population is not linked with development. |
| D．Government should be responsible for the problems in the cities. |
I teach geography at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so good. He had his wisdom teeth removed. The young man then asked me why I always seemed to be so cheerful. “I choose to be cheerful.” I said. Then I told them a story.
In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died and wouldn’t start again. So I left my car there and marched down the road to the college.
As soon as I got there I called AAA (美国汽车协会)and arranged for a tow truck (拖车) to meet me at my car after class. The secretary in the office asked me what had happened. “This is my lucky day.” I replied, smiling.
“Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?” She was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway but it didn’t.” I replied, “Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance from here. I’m still able to teach my class, and I’ve been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class.” The secretary’s eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class. So ended my story.
I scanned the sixty faces in my class at UNLV. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe it wasn’t the story at all. In fact, it had all started with a student’s observation that I was cheerful. An Indian wise man once said, “Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say.” I suppose it must be so. Why did the author tell his students the story?
| A．To share his lucky experience. |
| B．To make his class more lively. |
| C．To draw all students’ attention. |
| D．To encourage his students to be positive. |
What happened to the author on his way to the community college?
| A．He parked his car in a perfect place. |
| B．He called AAA for a tow truck to meet him. |
| C．He covered the last quarter mile on foot. |
| D．He drove off the freeway at a wrong exit. |
By saying “it wasn’t the story at all”, the author means that_______.
| A．His story is not convincing |
| B．He shouldn’t have told the story |
| C．His attitude to life has inspired the students |
| D．His story is not as interesting as expected |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Easier said than done. |
| B．You are what you choose. |
| C．Behind bad luck comes good luck. |
| D．A good beginning makes a good ending. |
Next time you hear a funny joke you’d better not laugh too hard. According to a paper published by the British Medical Journal, laughter isn’t always the best medicine. Sometimes it can even be harmful. Professor Robin Ferner from the University of Birmingham, one of the authors of the study, found that bad things could happen to people who laughed too much. He says: “We found people with heartbeat problems which had stopped their heart, we found people who had fainted(昏倒), and we found people who’d dislocated their jaws or burst their lungs.”
It seems that laughing can be no laughing matter. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Professor Ferner says there are benefits to laughing when you want to lose weight, for example. Yes, that’s right: laugh and be slimmer! Professor Ferner explains that: “You use energy when you laugh, you move your diaphragm(横膈膜), you expand your lungs, and both those things can be helpful.”
According to the research, laughing for a quarter of an hour can burn up to 40 calories, and if you laughed all day you’d use up about 2,000 calories, which is what most people consume in a day. But don’t do that or you might end up with a painful jaw. Ouch! Or you might find people looking at you in a funny way.
But I don’t want to finish this article leaving you feeling desperate. Laughter comes naturally for most of us. Babies begin to laugh at around 3-6 months. So give in to your sense of humour and keep smiling. Life is short anyway.
Laughing too much may cause the following harmful results EXCEPT_________.
| A．heart stop | B．diaphragm movement |
| C．lung burst | D．jaw dislocation |
The underlined phrase “doom and gloom” in Paragraph 2 probably means_______.
| A．hopeless | B．funny | C．painful | D．nervous |
How many calories can you use if you laugh for half a day?
| A．About 40. | B．About 1,000. |
| C．About 2,000. | D．About 2,040. |
What is the author’s attitude towards laughing in the last paragraph?
| A．Uninterested. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Worried. | D．Favorable. |