My basketball coach at Princeton used to say, "On the court, you can tell who is selfish(
自私的)."
When my sister Michelle brought Barack Obama home to meet the family, she said to me, "I want you to take him out to play, to see what type of man he is when he’s not around me." So I invited Barack to play basketball with a few friends of mine.
I was very nervous although I had already met Barack a few times. I was thinking this guy seemed like a good guy. We played a hard five-on-five. He was thin but not weak. He played extremely left-handed. He dealt with everything perfectly. He wasn’t the best guy out there or the worst guy. I liked the fact that he was confident but wasn’t proud. Barack was very team-oriented (有团队精神的), very unselfish. He played as if he was one of us —he wasn’t trying to be president of Harvard Law Review. But the best part about it was that when we were on the same team, he did not pass me the ball each time. He wasn’t trying to suck up to my sister through me. I was glad to give my sister the good news, "Your boy is straight."
He isn’t selfish, which is the greatest praise you can give both a player and a leader. America has got a guy who is running a government in an efficient (有效率的) mann
er. That’s the same guy I got to know playing basketball when he was visiting my family.
Why does the author begin the passage with his coach’s words?
A.He wants to remember and thank his coach. |
B.He wants to show that he is a basketball player. |
C.He wants to tell his sister about the words. |
D.He wants to use the words to test a person. |
Why did Michelle ask the author to take Barack to play basketball?
A.To see whether he was confident. |
B.To see whether he was good at sports. |
C.To see whether he was selfish or not. |
D.To see whether he could get along with others. |
During the basketball game, Barack ______.
A.played best all the time | B.was strong enough to play |
C.was not confident | D.wanted to be the team leader |
The underlined phrase in the third paragraph can be replaced by "______".
A.please (使满意) | B.know about | C.help | D.look for |
The age at which kids first fall victim to bullying (欺侮)could influence how strongly they are affected,suggests a new study. And,surprisingly,it is not the youngest kids who are hurt the most in the long term.
Bullying can have long-lasting effects,but particularly when it begins in adolescence,the researchers say. People subjected to either verbal ( 口头 上的)or physical bullying are known to be at greater risk of developing depression,anxiety disorders or to behave violently. But not everyone reacts in this way.
Children bullied for the first time before they hit adolescence seem to get over it, but those who are bullied for the first time later on in adolescence seem to become more aggressive or are more likely to turn to drink as a means of coping. These are the conclusions of psychologist Matthew Newman and colleagues from the University of Texas at Austin,US.
The team gave questionnaires to nearly 1,500 college students regarding their experience of physical and psychological bullying before adolescence—before high school—and in late adolescence—at high school. They assessed mood and mental state,judging by signs of anxiety or depression,such as sleeplessness. The group was also questioned about how they would react to certain challenges,such as humiliation.
People who were bullied all revealed slightly higher levels of stress. But while those bullied earlier in life seemed to respond normally to provocation (杉匕畔),people bullied for the
first time late in adolescence are more withdrawn and sensitive to violence.
There are also sex differences between those bullied for the first time during adolescence, with females more likely to react aggressively when provoked and males are much more likely to turn to alcohol to escape bad situations.
The best solution in all cases was strong social support,whether from friends,family or school. Those with no one to share their problems with suffered the most.
So perhaps it is best not to shelter children completely from bullying early on,suggests Newman. “They may get stressed,but unhealthy coping really jumps out when they are bullied for the first time later on. ”What determines the degree of bullying’s effect on people according to the study?
A.The reason why they are bullied. |
B.The place where they are first bullied. |
C.The age at which they are first bullied. |
D.The person who first bullies them. |
What may happen to those first bullied later on in adolescence according to Newman and his colleagues?
A.Some are likely to be more aggressive. |
B.They seem to easily get over the effect of bullying. |
C.Most of them will respond to bullying normally. |
D.Most of them are afraid of sharing their problems. |
What does the underlined word "humiliation"in Paragraph 4 mean?
A.Carrying out an important plan. |
B.Being made to feel ashamed. |
C.Trying hard to survive an accident. |
D.Feeling hopeless in an emergency. |
The sex differences between people bullied for the first time during adolescence are reflected in .
A.the support they get from the society |
B.the effect bullying has on them |
C.the way they react to provocation |
D.the type of bullying they receive |
For many years,machines have been doing work that people once did,including some dit- ficutt jobs. Search and rescue operations in dangerous environments are often seen as the first areas that will employ high technology robots. But there is another area where they may soon take jobs traditionally held by human beings: the restaurant industry.
Teams from around the world competed in early June at the DARPA Robotic Challenge Finals in California. A team from South Korea and its robot,called DRC-Hubo,won the first place in the competition. The second and third place winners were from the United States. The robots were required to drive a vehicle,climb up steps and do mechanical work. Such activities are easy for humans to perform,but more difficult for machines. Not all of the competitor were successful. The failures showed how difficult it is to design effective walking
machines.
Akihiro Suzuki works at Yaskawa Electric,a company that develops robots. He says robots cannot do everything a human can,but they are able to work without becoming tired. He says robots cannot taste food,change heating levels or seasonings to get the best flavor (风味).But he says if a food can be easily prepared,a robot can repeat the same movement to reproduce the same meal.
One Japanese woman who saw the robots working wanted to bring them home. Masayo Mori says she would like to have a husband who could work like a robot. Suzumo Machinery showed its sushi (寿司)maker robot. It performs the often difficult work of wrapping the popular Japanese food. Hiroshi Monden is an official with the company. He says people all over the world now eat sushi,but there are not enough skilled workers to prepare it. He says his machine can help anyone make sushi.In Paragraph 1,the author tells us .
A.robots just do difficult jobs |
B.robots are sometimes dangerous |
C.robots are widely used in our life |
D.robots are gradually replacing humans |
Why did some teams fail at the DARPA Robotic Challenge Finals?
A.Their robots cannot be applied at home. |
B.Preparing food is really difficult for robots. |
C.Their robots can just repeat the same movement. |
D.They failed to design effective walking robots. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that .
A.Japanese men are lazy |
B.robots are popular in Japan |
C.Japan has advanced high technology |
D.robots usually take the job of making sushi in Japan |
In which column can we probably see the text?
A.Education. | B.Culture. | C.Health. | D.Science. |
Dobson Ranch Housing Association 1000 Sidewinder Road Mesa,AZ 85202 October 15 Mr and Mrs Fred Deacon 1442 Saddleback Road Mesa,AX 85205 Dear Mr and Mrs Fred Deacon, I am writing this letter to congratulate you on your new purchase of a house in the Dobson Ranch area. We feel that this is one of the best neighborhoods of high quality in the city of Mesa,and we are happy to be able to call you neighbors. For your information,there are a few things we would like to tell you. One is that there are certain duties that go with living in Dobson Ranch. In order to keep property (房地产) values at the highest possible levels,we insist that everyone who lives in Dobson Ranch take care of their property. This means that the grass needs to be cut regularly,branches of the trees and bushes should be cut off,and there should be no unattractive additions to houses, nor should houses be painted in colors like red or blue. If you want to make any additions to your house,you need our permission first. The people of Dobson Ranch also have monthly meetings to discuss various issues of concern in our community. You are welcome to attend. We typically hold meetings on the first Saturday of every month at 7 : 00 PM at the Dobson Ranch Community Center. You will receive a notice via e-mail a few days before every meeting as a reminder. We hope that you will join us as much as you see fit. Again,welcome to the neighborhood,and I look forward to meeting you soon. Sincerely Juan Sanchez President Dobson Ranch Housing Association October 20 Dear Mr Sanchez, Thank you very much for your letter welcoming us to the neighborhood. My wife and I appreciate your concern, and we also appreciate you letting us know about the various rules that apply to this neighborhood. Please do not worry about us. No matter where we live,we always try to be neighbors taking care to do our work properly. We too are well aware of property values. To be honest,we are actually pleased that there are regulations that must be obeyed. In the past,we have had neighbors who have not taken care of their homes and yards; at least we know that we will not have to worry about that here. As for the meetings, thank you for your kind invitation,but I’m afraid that you probably won’t see us too often. My work takes me out of town,so when I,m not traveling,I prefer to stay home. Similarly,my wife works long hours at the hospital and prefers to spend her days off relaxing at home. However,if we have the time,we will try to make it to a meeting. Again,thank you for welcoming us. Sincerely Fred Deacon |
Why do people who live in Dobson Ranch need to take care of their homes?
A.To ensure that no one complains about how the area looks. |
B.To make the neighborhood look as good as possible. |
C.To keep the property worth as much as possible . |
D.To be good neighbors. |
What does Fred Deacon think about the rules at Dobson Ranch?
A.He agrees to them. |
B.He thinks they require too much. |
C.He would like to discuss them later. |
D.He feels that they are not severe enough. |
For the invitation to the monthly meetings,Fred Deacon responds that .
A.he will attend regularly |
B.he will attend with his wife |
C.his wife will attend alone |
D.neither he nor his wife will attend very often |
Alexandra Scott was born to Liz and Jay Scott in Manchester,Connecticut on January 18, 1996,the second of four children. Shortly before her first birthday,Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma,a type of childhood cancer.
On her first birthday, the doctors informed Alex’s parents that if she beat her cancer it was doubtful that she would ever walk again. Just two weeks later,Alex slightly moved her leg at her parents’ request to kick. This was the first indication that she would turn out to be a courageous and confident child with big dreams and big accomplishments.
By her second birthday,Alex was able to stand up with leg braces (支架).She worked hard to gain strength and to learn how to walk. She appeared to be overcoming the difficulties, until the shocking discovery within the next year that her tumors (肿瘤)had started growing again. In the year 2000,the day after her fourth birthday,Alex received a stem cell transplant (干细胞移植)and informed her mother,“When I get out of the hospital I want to have a lemonade stand. ” She said she wanted to give the money to doctors to allow them to “help other kids,like they helped me.,,True to her word, she held her first lemonade stand later that year with the help of her older brother and raised an amazing $ 2,000 for “her hospital,
People from all over the world,moved by her story,held their own lemonade stands and donated the earnings to Alex and her cause. In August of 2004,Alex passed away at the age of 8,knowing that,with the help of others,she had raised more than $ 1 million to help find a cure for the disease that took her life. Alex’s family—including brothers Patrick,Eddie,and Joey—and supporters around the world are committed to continuing her inspiring cause through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (基金会).It can be learned from the text that Alex .
A.couldn’t walk until she was four |
B.was the only daughter of the Scotts |
C.held her first lemonade stand in 2001 |
D.was born with cancer |
Why was Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation founded?
A.To promote her lemonade. |
B.To set up a children’s hospital. |
C.To attract public attention to her disease. |
D.To collect money to help children with cancer. |
What did the public do to support Alex and her cause?
A.They helped her sell lemonade. |
B.They provided free stands for her. |
C.They donated money to her foundation. |
D.They donated stem cells for her operation. |
Which of the following can best describe Alex?
A.Stubborn. | B.Determined. | C.Innocent. | D.Energetic. |
Reading is a great way to improve your English. You'll learn new words, revise previously-taught structures and absorb thousands of useful expressions and phrases... without any effort. By reading, you are receiving valuable language input. And this is how you learn! Remember, language learning is a combination of input + practice. As you're reading, you're taking in language naturally, and you're seeing how it all fits together. This is crucial to your learning.
The great thing about reading is that learning takes place subconsciously. There are no exercises to do, no grammar rules to learn, no tasks to complete... it's all natural. The language flows in through your eyes, and gets recorded in your brain. What could be easier?
The key to effective reading is to read things that you want to read. There are millions of books, magazines and websites out there. You couldn't possibly read them all. So, the important thing is to find things that you like reading. Then, you'll be motivated to read. And then the reading won't be difficult. It'll be easy! And then you'll learn. It's simple.
Remember: read what you want to read. What you like reading. What motivates and inspires you. But where can you start? Well, you could read a book that you've already read in your own language. Simply find a translated version of a book that you have read and enjoyed. This will make processing the content in the target language much easier as you’ll already know what the book is about! You could also read the news. This is great as you can read the news in your own language first, then in English. You'll see that it won't be too difficult as you'll be familiar with the topics and stories. Magazines are also great. Find one that covers a topic you're interested in: business, clothing, guns, horses, houses, housekeeping, stocks and shares, sports, computers, electronics, designing, cooking... you name it, they'll have it. If not, look for information on the internet. There are also websites for every topic under the sun! Why not join a forum? They're a great source of English input as the language is often written in a simple, spoken style. Go to Google Groups, which has discussion groups based on common interests. Just type in the topic that interests you and join the chat.
Finally, how you read is also important. The best thing is to read without using a dictionary. Let the words flow over you. Just skip the parts you don't understand. If you make your reading feel too much like work, it'll stop being fun. Of course, you could make a note of any new words and phrases that you like or see repeated frequently, but try not to break your concentration too much. Also, set yourself mini-objectives. For example, if you're reading a novel, read 20 pages a day. Very soon, you'll have been exposed to thousands of useful phrases and words. Have fun reading! You'll learn so much!The underlined word “crucial” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to ________.
A.easy | B.important |
C.difficult | D.suitable |
The key to effective reading is _______.
A.to read millions of books | B.not to learn grammar rules |
C.to be motivated to read | D.to read easy things |
You can start to read by ____.
A.reading a book that you've already read in English |
B.reading the news in English first |
C.going to Google Groups to practice spoken English |
D.reading magazines containing topics you are interested in |
From the passage we can learn that ______.
A.when you read you needn’t look up every new word in the dictionary |
B.the great thing about reading is that you can read without any effort |
C.to read is as much fun as to work |
D.you should make notes of every new word and phrase while reading |