One morning more than thirty years ago, I entered the Track Kitchen, a restaurant where everyone from the humblest(卑微的)to the most powerful came for breakfast. I noticed am empty chair next to an elderly, unshaven man, who looked somewhat disheveled. He was wearing a worn-out hat and was alone. I asked if I might join him. He agreed quietly and I sat down to have my breakfast.
We cautiously began a conversion and spoke about a wide range of things. We never introduced ourselves. I was concerned that he might have no money and not be able to afford something to eat. So as I rose to go back to the counter and buy a second cup of coffee, I asked,
“May I get you something?”
“A coffee would be nice.”
Then I bought him a cup of coffee, We talked more, and he accepted another cup of coffee, Finally, I rose to leave, wished him well, and headed for the exit. At the door I met one of my friends. He asked,
“How did you get to know Mr. Galbreath?”
“Who?”
“The man you were sitting with. He is chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs.”
I could hardly believe it. I was buying, offering a free breakfast, and feeling pity for one of the world’s richest and most powerful men!
My few minutes with Mr. Galbreath changed my life. Now I try to treat everyone with respect, no matter who I think they are, and no matter another human being with kindness and sincerity.What does the underlined word “disheveled” mean?
| A．Unfriendly. | B．Untidy. | C．Gentle. | D．Kind. |
The author bought coffee for the old man because
| A．he thought the old man was poor |
| B．he wanted to start a conversation |
| C．he intended to show his politeness |
| D．he would like to thank the old man |
How did the author probably feel after he talked with his friend?
| A．Proud. | B．Pitiful. | C．Surprised. | D．Regretful |
What is the message mainly expressed in the story?
| A．We should learn to be generous. |
| B．It is honorable to help those in need. |
| C．People in high positions are not like what we expect. |
| D．We should avoid judging people by their appearances. |
In our culture, the sources of what we call a sense of “mastery”- feeling important and worthwhile—and the sources of what we call a sense of “pleasure”—finding life enjoyable—are not always the same. Women often are told “You can’t have it all.” Sometimes what the speaker really is saying is: “You choose a career, so you can’t expect to have closer relationships or a happy family life.” or “You have a wonderful husband and children—what’s all this about wanting a career?” But women need to understand and develop both aspects of well-being, if they are to feel good about themselves.
Our study shows that, for women, well-being has two aspects. One is mastery, which includes self-respect, a sense of control over your life, and low levels of anxiety and depression. Mastery is closely related to the “doing” side of life, to work and activity. Pleasure is the other aspect, and it is made up of happiness, satisfaction and optimism. It is tied more closely to the “feeling” side of life. The two are independent of each other. A woman could be high in mastery and low in pleasure, and vice versa（反之亦然）. For example, a woman who has a good job, but whose mother has just died, might be feeling very good about herself and in control of her work life, but the pleasure side could be damaged for a time.
The concepts(概念)of mastery and pleasure can help us identify(找到)the sources of well-being for women, and correct past mistakes. In the past, women were encouraged to look only at the feeling side of life as the source of all well-being. But we know that both mastery and pleasure are important. And mastery seems to be achieved largely through work. In our study, all the groups of employed women were valued significantly higher in mastery than women who were not employed.
A woman’s well-being is developed when she takes on multiple（多项的）roles. At least by middle adulthood, the women who were involved in a combination of roles—marriages, motherhood, and employment—were the highest in well-being, in spite of warnings about stress and strain.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ________.
| A．for women, a sense of “mastery” is more important than a sense of “pleasure” |
| B．for women, a sense of “pleasure” is more important than a sense of “mastery” |
| C．women can’t have a sense of “mastery” and a sense of “pleasure” at the same time |
| D．a sense of “mastery” and a sense of “pleasure” are both necessary to women |
The author’s attitude towards women having a career is________.
| A．negative | B．positive | C．neutral（中立的） | D．realistic |
One can conclude from the passage that if a woman takes on several social roles,_____.
| A．it will be easier for her to overcome stress and strain |
| B．she will be more successful in her career |
| C．her chances of getting promoted will be greater |
| D．her life will be richer and more meaningful |
Which of the following can be considered as a source of “pleasure” for women?
| A．Family life | B．Multiple roles in society |
| C．Regular employment | D．Freedom from anxiety |
People tend to become more personal and hide less of themselves when using email. Researchers from Open University in Britain have found in a recent study that there are good reasons for this.
The team of researchers asked 83 pairs of students, all strangers to each other, to solve a problem. They had to discuss this question: If only five people in the world could be saved from a world disaster, who should they be? The pairs of students had to talk over the problem either face to face or by computers. Dr. Johnson said, “They told their partners four times as much about themselves when they talked over the Internet as when they talked face to face. When the computers were fitted with cameras so that students could see each other, this limited the personal side of the conversation.”
Generally the information was not extremely personal. It was mainly about things such as where they went to school, or where they used to live. But some students discussed their love stories, and personal childhood experiences.
Dr Johnson believes that emailing encourages people to focus on themselves. And when they do this, they become more open, especially if there are no cameras. “If you cannot see the other person, it becomes easier to talk about yourself. This is because you are not thinking what the other person is thinking of you. So emailing has become the modern way of talking,” said Dr. Johnson. However, this style of talking is not entirely new. “In the 19th century people started to use the ‘telegraph’ to communicate. Now the same kind of thing has happened and people ended up speaking more freely.”
Dr. Johnson thinks that emailers need to know about these effects of emailing, especially when they start work in a company. “ If you don’t know about it, you could find yourself saying more about yourself than you wanted to.” The subject discussed in this passage is _______.
| A．how people open up when emailing | B．how people do research studies |
| C．how to communicate at work | D．how to discuss and solve a problem |
The reason that some couples talked freely about themselves is that _______.
| A．they didn’t talk about very personal things | B．they couldn’t see each other |
| C．the cameras on the computers were turned on | D．they had to discuss a question |
What does the underlined sentence refer to?
| A．The telegraph. | B．The computer. | C．Emailing. | D．Face-to-face talk. |
In the writer’s opinion, one should ______.
| A．focus on oneself when emailing | B．talk more freely in emails than usual |
| C．discuss any subject that one wants to | D．consider how one uses email at work |
If you want to teach your children how to say sorry, you must be good at saying it yourself, especially to your own children. But how you say it can be quite tricky.
If you say to your children “I’m sorry I got angry with you, but…”, what follows that “but” can make the apology ineffective: “I had a bad day” or “You noise was giving me a headache” leaves the child who has been injured feeling that he should be apologizing for this bad behavior.
Another method by which people appear to apologize without actually doing so is to say “I’m sorry you’re upset”; this suggests that you are somehow at fault for allowing yourself to get upset by what the other person has done.
These pseudo(虚假的) apologies are used by people who believe saying sorry shows weakness. Parents who wish to teach their children to apologize should see it as a sign of strength, and therefore not turn to these pseudo apologies.
But even when presented with examples of true regret, children still need help to become aware of how difficult it is to say sorry. A three-year-old child might need help in understanding that other children feel pain just as he does, and that hitting a playmate over the head with a heavy toy requires an apology. A six-year-old child might need reminding that spoiling other children’s expectations can require an apology. A 12-year-old child might need to be shown that taking away the biscuit tin without asking permission is acceptable, but that borrowing a parent’s clothes without permission is not.If a mother adds “but” to an apology, ________.
| A．the child may find the apology easier to accept |
| B．the child may feel that he should apologize to his mother |
| C．she does not realize that the child has been hurt |
| D．she doesn’t feel that she should have apologized |
According to the author, saying “I’m sorry you’re upset.” most probably means “_____”
| A．You have good reason to get upset | B．I apologize for hurting your feelings |
| C．I’m wrong for making you upset | D．I know you’re upset, but I’m not to blame |
We learn from the last paragraph that in teaching children to say sorry ____.
| A．their ages should be taken into consideration |
| B．parents should be patient and tolerant(宽容的) |
| C．parents need to set them a good example |
| D．the difficulties involved should be taken no notice of |
It can be inferred from the text that apologizing properly is ________.
| A．not necessary among family members | B．a sign of social progress |
| C．not as simple as it seems | D．a matter calling for immediate attention |
A businessman had two sons. While he gave the younger son a lot of love and gifts, he neglected (忽视) the elder son. It was completely puzzling (令人费解) and no one knew why.
When the boys grew up, they were asked to manage the father’s business. The elder son was absorbed in the business. From morning till late in the evening, he was busy working. Within a few years, he ran the business very well and even expanded (扩大) it.
What about the younger son? He didn't have much to do except have a good time. But the father believed that his favorite son would be a success. If the elder son could be a successful businessman, surely the younger one, with a higher education, would do much better.
A few years later, the results of his decision became clear. Uninterested in business, the younger son continued spending his time enjoying himself. And he went out of business. But the elder son’s far smaller share (份
) of business had expanded and he had proved himself to be a good decision maker.
Ashamed at the turn of events, the father met the elder son and was angry with the younger one. The elder son, who was listening to all this quietly, suddenly said he wanted to set up an independent business and live on his own.
“Why?” asked the father.
“I blame (责备) one person for the way my brother has turned out, and it’s not him. You can’t blame children for the faults (过失) of their parents, can you?” asked the elder son.Before the younger son went into the father’s business, he______.
| A．was interested in business | B．had achieved great success |
| C．often looked down upon his brother | D．was well-educated at school |
Why did the father treat the two sons differently?
| A．the elder son didn’t work hard | B．no one knew why he did it |
C．the you nger son was hardworking |
D．he wanted to do an experiment |
Which is NOT the reason for the younger son’s going out of business?
| A．he himself didn’t work hard |
| B．his father didn’t educate him properly |
| C．he was not interested in business at all |
| D．he was busy working every day |
What does the text really want to teach us?
| A．Parents are responsible for children’s development. |
| B．Once something is done, you should do it well. |
| C．Interest is the most important for success. |
| D．One has responsibility for what he himself has done. |
“Someday, there’ll be no Americans left in the NBA,” said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school team two weeks ago after watching Yao Ming in a televised NBA game. “The players will all be Chinese, like Yao.”
To China, Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world’s first basketball league closer to Chinese players. To the NBA, the 2.23-meter center offers an opening of a different sort into the world’s largest new market. Yao’s NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million families in the US. That game might have been a bit of a letdown to Yao’s fans: He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds (抢篮板球) and got no points. Comparing that with his performance on December 19, also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10 rebounds. “This is one of the most exciting games I’ve had,” Yao said after Houston’s 95-83 victory. The NBA has to be excited about his on-count success. In all his games, he’s averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, quite good for a new star. “Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese,” said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, “That makes the dream seem practical for other people in China and proud to be Chinese.”
Yao is not the country’s first player in the NBA, but Yao’s combination of modesty and skills makes him a favorite back home. What’s the direct reason for Xing Tao to join the school basketball team?
A. He watched an NBA game.
B. He liked basketball.
C. He hoped to play for NBA.
D. He had a dream that he would become a basketball star. How many points did Yao Ming win in his first game in NBA?
| A．0. | B．2. | C．29. | D．10. |
What does the underlined word “letdown” in the second paragraph mean?
| A．failure | B．surprise | C．disappointment | D．sadness |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. Middle school students want to play basketball.
B. Yao Ming makes NBA closer to China.
C. There’ll be no Americans left in the NBA.
D. There are many new stars fro
m China in the NBA.