Once there was a young woman who didn’t like her job. Everyday when she came home from work, she told her husband how terrible her day had been, how tiring the work and how unreasonable her boss. “Leave that job,” her husband told her.
“Oh, I will,” she said. “But not yet. I have too many friends there for me to leave.” And so she remained unhappy at work until the years became decades and her children had children. “Leave that job,” her grandchildren told her. “Oh, I will,” she said. “But not yet. There are only seven more years until I reach thirty years of service and can retire. So I can’t just yet.”
I know this woman. And her story reminds me of an old dog half asleep on the porch of a general store, moaning and groaning in the sun. “Why is your dog acting that way?” a customer asked the store owner. “Oh,” answered the man. “He’s lying on a nail.” “Well, why doesn’t he move?” “Because it’s not hurting him bad enough.”
That’s true for people, too. We convince ourselves the pain is not bad enough to leave the workplace we know. But we’re wrong. Prolonged work pain is continuing. Some work pain damages our self-esteem, kills our passion or destroys our dreams.
Wilbur Wright once commented, “We could hardly wait to get up in the morning. I know that exhilarating feeling of being so passionate about something I was working on that I couldn’t wait to get back to work. And people who are winning at working know that kind of passion, too.”
They get excited about work. They offer their unique gifts and talents eagerly. And when things don’t change as they sometimes will, they refuse to let environment hijack(劫持) their self-esteem, passion or dreams.The woman complained to her husband every day because .
| A．she didn’t have enough money to support her family |
| B．her boss criticized her for what she had done |
| C．she was not satisfied with her job at all |
| D．her work was difficult and her boss was cruel |
From the second paragraph we can know that the woman .
| A．liked making friends with others |
| B．loved all of her children very much |
| C．left her tiring job at last |
| D．did exactly the same job all along |
The underlined word “Prolonged” (in Paragraph 4) means .
| A．lasting | B．slight | C．serious | D．hard |
People who are getting along well with their work .
| A．have to get up early every day |
| B．are not willing to go to work |
| C．need more unique gifts and talents |
| D．are likely to change with the situation |
Valentine’s Day is on Feb. 14, and Chinese call it “lovers day”. I don’t think the translation is an accurate one, since it doesn’t only belong to lovers. Valentine’s Day is for expressing affection of all sorts. But it is uniquely for the romantically involved who shine the brightest, who spend the most money, whose hearts are the most engaged.
When I was b boy, my mother would buy enough cheap cards with ugly drawings of butterflies and little rabbits and honeybees for me to give one to every kid in my class, about 20 or so. The cards came in bags, and each card had a few foolish words-“Be Mine” or “I like you” or “You’ve Got My Heart” or the uninteresting words, “Hi, Valentine!” I would sign my name on the cards quickly and the name of one of my classmates on each easily-broken envelope. I would lick （舔）each one shut, but they were so cheap that the envelopes rarely had enough glue. On Valentine’s Day, I would take the cards to school-everyone did. We would have a party in our classroom, with cupcakes（杯形蛋糕）and juice and tiny candy hearts, which also had Valentine messages printed on them-“You’re sweet” or “Cupid（爱神丘比特）”or “Love”.
Ah, love! That’s the Valentine’s Day message: love. No one knows for certain the origin of the holiday. Several, Catholic victims were named Valentine, but it’s difficult to separate legend from fact. One story tells of a priest（牧师）named Valentine who was imprisoned and may have been stoned to death around 270 for performing marriages in going against the orders of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. But it’s hard today to find any religious connection.From the first paragraph, why does the author say that we Chinese call Valentine’s Day “lovers’ day ”is not accurate?
| A．Because only lovers would spend it. |
| B．Because it is only spent on Feb. 14. |
| C．Because it doesn’t only belong to lovers. |
| D．Because only those rich people could enjoy it. |
A priest named Valentine was stoned to death for the sake of.
| A．his not attending a ceremony on time. |
| B．his stealing something from the church |
| C．his rude words to Roman Emperor Claudius II |
| D．his not obeying the orders by Roman Emperor Claudius II |
According to the passage, we can know Valentine’s Day may be related to.
| A．religion | B．sports | C．entertainment | D．art |
So much to do, so little time. So much information, so little time to read. In this age there is more information than ever before. There is not enough time to read everything we want to read. However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading. This article will not make you read 3,000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly. You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don’ts of speed-reading．
When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out. Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud. The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head．Most people tend to read this way. Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously.
How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read. Get some reading material, preferably a book. Find out how many words are on the page. Time yourself one minute. Start your timer and start reading. When the timer sounds, stop at once. If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute.
The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it. Don’t say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance. Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed. This is the first and most important step in speed-reading.
The next step is technique. As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique. You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal surface, such as a table or desk. Next, should be able to see the entire page．This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words. Lastly, you should be focused. It’s hard to read a lot of noise. Find a quiet place to read. This will help your understand of the text. You need something to guide your eyes while reading. Then right, you should use your hand, Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger. That is a great technique, only now you're using your hand to underline each line．Move your finger smoothly across page．No need to go rush , start our slow. Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide. This will increase you speed.
The third step is practice. Practice makes perfect. Set time intervals（时间间隔）. Read using different techniques, but make sure you understand what you’re reading.Which of the following statements in true according to the text?
| A．Now there is limited information than ever before. |
| B．Now conditions ask people to use less time to know more information. |
| C．No people can read what they like. |
| D．The less you read, the more time you will spend. |
What is the subject discussed in the text?
| A．What speed-reading is. |
| B．Why we need speed-reading. |
| C．Now it has much information, less time. |
| D．People should practice speed-reading in different kinds of ways. |
Which of the following shows the right way for the speed-reading from the text?
a．Ask for some techniques.
b．Look at many words and recognize them.
c．Practice more.
| A．c, a, b | B．c, b, a | C．b, a, c | D．a, c, b |
The underlined sentence “you should be focused” in the fifth paragraph means that .
| A．a person should devote his attention to it while reading |
| B．your feelings will be hurt while reading |
| C．a person should smooth away difficulties while he reads |
| D．you should pay attention to your faults while you are reading |
To speed up your reading, you should。
| A．sit up straight with your book flat and use something to guide your eyes |
| B．say every word out loud and sound it out |
| C．know it is necessary to read quickly |
| D．underline some important words while you say them |
Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie. For example, a two-hour movie costs $6 million to make. A TV commercial（广告节目）can cost more than $6000 a second. And that does not include cost of paying for air time. Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money-and making money is what television is all about-the commercial is by far the more important.
Research, market testing, talent, time and money—all come together to make us want to buy a product．No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works．The sales of Charm went up once the ads began．TV commercials actually buy their way into our head．We, in turn, buy the product.
And the ads work because so much time and attention are given to them．Here are some rules of commercial ad making．If you want to get the low middle-class buyer, make sure the announcer has a tough, manly voice．Put some people in the ad who work with their hands．If you want to sell to upper-class audience, make sure that the house, the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies with(认同)．If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself.
We laugh at commercials．We don’t think we pay that much attention to them．But facts show we are kidding ourselves．The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff（非常简单的事物）．It’s a big, big business．And it’s telling us what to think, what we need, and what to buy．To put it simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing.TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because _______.
| A．they bring in great profits |
| B．they require a lot of money to make |
| C．they are not difficult to produce |
| D．they attract more viewers than other programs |
The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is _______.
| A．to persuade people to buy the product |
| B．to show how valuable the product is |
| C．to test the market value of the product |
| D．to make them as interesting as TV movies |
From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that_______.
| A．the lower-middle-class buyer likes to work with his hand |
| B．the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product |
| C．ad designers attract different people with different skills |
| D．an upper-class buyer is more interested in houses and furniture than a lower-middle-class |
buyerIt is believed by the writer that_______.
| A．few people like to watch TV commercials |
| B．TV commercials are a good guide to buyers |
| C．TV commercials often make people laugh |
| D．people do not think highly of TV commercials |
“BANG!” the door caused a reverberation（冲击声）. It was just standing there, which father standing on one side, and I on the other side.
We were both in great anger, “Never set foot in this house again!” stormed father. With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street.
The street lights were shining, causing rather sad-feeling．I wandered aimlessly．
A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and carefree．
But now．．．I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old．We differ in our ways of thinking．He always put his opinions and codes of behavior on me．Whenever I do something wrong, he never admits it．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．
I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company．When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived ,I saw that the light was still on．
I thought to myself: “Is father waiting for me, or is he still angry with me?”
In fact, it was nothing．Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．I can’t stand his words: “I can’t throw you away, let alone these old papers ?”
All the lights were off except father’s．
Dad was always like this．Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself．After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret．After an argument he has the habit of creeping up in my sleep and then tucking me underneath the covers．
This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．
The light was still on． “Am I wrong?” I whispered ,maybe．．．With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last, I decided to open the door, as soon as I opened the door tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all．Love—it second to none．Decide which is the best order of the following according to what happened in the passage．
a．I opened the door and entered the house．
b．Sadly I ran out into the street．
c．I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit．
d．I thought of my father’s kindness towards me．
e．I walked about in the street without any aim．
| A．b,e,d,c,a | B．b,e,c,d,a | C．b,e,a,c,d | D．b,e,c,a,d |
What made the writer think of his childhood?
| A．The sight of the street lights． |
| B．The sight of the empty street． |
| C．The sight of a father with a child in his arms． |
| D．The sight of light in his own house． |
Why do you think the father often shouts at his son?
| A．perhaps the father is getting older and older． |
| B．perhaps the son has already grown up． |
| C．perhaps they never agree with each other． |
| D．perhaps the father has got used to doing that． |
What conclusion can you come to after reading the passage?
| A．The father treats his son in an unfair way． |
| B．The father is actually kind to his son． |
| C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his son． |
| D．The father is always finding fault with his son． |
阅读下列材料, 从所给的四个选项(A、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ) 中，选出符合各小题要求的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The people below are needed to take part in a sport. After the description of these people, there is information about four sports(A-D). Decide which sport would be most suitable for the person mentioned in questions 58-61 and then mark the correct letter(A-D) on your answer sheet.Bob is a very active man. He is very strong and healthy. He’d like to take part in an exciting sport. But he is afraid of water.
Simon is very fat. He would like to lose his weight. But he is not interested in double quick and excitement activity. He enjoys water sports.
Mathew hates to take part in the violent sports. He is in poor health. He wants to build up his body.
Jack is brave and risky and a good swimmer. He enjoys water game. He looks for excitement with his friend when they are on holiday.
| A．Hiking is a great way to travel. You will get close to nature and take exercise at the same time. Hiking is easy to do and doesn’t have to be very expensive. You can hike close to home or travel to other places. The basic equipment you need for hiking is simple: good shoes, clothes and a backpack. You can hike in the mountains, in a forest or along a river. You can also go for a hike in the city. Hiking is fun and exciting, but you shouldn’t forget safety. |
| B．Rafting is a good way to experience nature. If you want a normal rafting trip, choose a quiet stream or river that is wide and has few fallen trees or rocks. If you are looking for more excitement you may want to try whitewater rafting. You should always think about your safety and wear good clothes. You also need to learn the basic skills of rafting, such as how to handle the raft, how to paddle and how to get in and out of the raft. You should not go rafting unless you know how to swim, and you should always wear a life jacket. |
| C．Swimming is a good way for swim lovers. You can reduce your weight and become slim by swimming. You can train your willpower and increase your energy of your lung. You can swim in the swimming pool, in the lake, in the river or even in the sea. |
| D．Long running is a good sport, for example, Marathom is very popular with young people especially people with strong body and will. If you have hypertension or heart disease, perhaps, it is not suitable for you. |