A friend of mine, in response to a conversation we were having about the injustices of life, asked me the question, “Who said life was going to be fair, or that it was even meant to be fair?” Her question was a good one. It reminded me of something I was taught as a youngster: life isn’t fair. It’s a disappointment, but it’s absolutely true. One of the mistakes many of us make is that we feel sorry for ourselves, or for others, thinking that life should be fair, or that someday it will be. It’s not and it won’t be.
One of the nice things about surrendering(屈从) to the fact that life isn’t fair is that it keeps us from feeling sorry for ourselves by encouraging us to do the very best we can with what we have. We know it’s not “life’s job” to make everything perfect: it’s our own challenge. Surrendering to this fact also keeps us from feeling sorry for others because we are reminded that everyone is dealt a different hand; everyone has unique strengths and problems in the process of growing up, facing the reality and making decisions; and everyone has those times that they feel unfairly treated.
The fact that life isn’t fair doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything in our power to improve our own lives or the world as a whole. To the contrary, it suggests that we should. When we don’t recognize or admit that life isn’t fair, we tend to feel pity for others and for ourselves. Pity, of course, is a self-defeating emotion that does nothing for anyone, except to make everyone feel worse than they already do. When we do recognize that life isn’t fair, however, we feel compassion(热情)for others and for ourselves. And compassion is a heartfelt emotion that delivers loving-kindness to everyone it touches. The next time you find yourself thinking about the injustices of the world, try reminding yourself of this very basic fact. You may be surprised that it can make you out of self-pity and into helpful action. The writer thought of his friend’s question as a good one because .
| A．he also wanted to know who held such an opinion. |
| B．it made him recall something during his childhood. |
| C．many people thought life was fair |
| D．like his friend, he also thought life was unfair. |
The second paragraph of the passage mainly tells us that .
| A．it’s nice to complain about life |
| B．it’s nice to accept the injustice of life |
| C．we should not feel sorry for everything |
| D．everyone should be treated fairly |
From the passage, we can learn that the author’s attitude to life is .
| A．positive | B．negative | C．self-pity | D．indifferent |
Which of the following could be the best title of the text?
| A．A Helpful Action: Try to Feel Compassion |
| B．A bad Question: Why Life Isn’t Fair |
| C．Surrender to the Fact That Life Isn’t Fair |
| D．Do Our Best to Improve Ourselves |
“Be nice to people.” This sounds like a platitude（老生常谈）,but I’ll never forget my father’s words. I was 10, and I had been unkind to someone. He said, “There is no point in being unkind to anyone at any time. You never know who you’re going to meet later in life. And by the way, you don’t change anything by being unkind. Usually you don’t get anywhere.”
“Remember you can do anything you want to do. Don’t let anyone say, ‘You’re not smart enough, it’s too hard, it’s a foolish idea, no one has done that before, girls don’t do that.’ ”My mom gave me that advice in 1973. And it allowed me to never worry what others were saying about my job direction.
“Always do the best job you can do at whatever you’re given, even if you think it’s boring.” Jerry Parkinson, my boss at P&G, told me this in 1979. Here I was fresh out of Harvard Business School(HBS), and I was told to decide how big the hole in the Ivory shampoo bottle should be: 3/8 of an inch or 1/8 of an inch. I did research, focus groups and I would come home at night wondering how I had gone from HBS to this. But later I realized any job you’re given is an opportunity to prove yourself.
“Don’t be greedy(贪婪的). If you’re constantly in the neighborhood of good things, good things will happen to you.” Tom Tierney, who was my boss at Bain in 1981 and is now on the eBay board, told me this. It’s true that you get ahead by praising other people.
Finally, in 1998, I was in New York watching the ticker(倒计时牌) as eBay went public. My husband is a surgeon（外科医生）.I called him and told him the great news. And he said, “That’s nice. But Meg, remember that it’s not brain surgery.”According to the passage, which of the following is different from the other three?
| A．P&G． | B．HBS． |
| C．Bain． | D．eBay． |
How many pieces of advice were given by her family?
| A．Two. | B．Four. | C．Three. | D．One. |
This passage was written by _____ order.
| A．story development | B．time |
| C．working conditions | D．place |
According to the last paragraph, what her husband actually meant was that _____．
| A．he was a nice doctor |
| B．he was better than Meg |
| C．1ife matters the most |
| D．eBay was nothing at all |
What’s the main idea of the whole passage?
| A．Advice in life really makes a difference to us. |
| B．We should be nice to people around us. |
| C．People can succeed by praising others. |
| D．Too unkind persons will get nothing from life. |
People
People is America’s No.1 magazine about fascinating people. It’s a guide to who and what’s hot in the arts, science, business, politics, television, movies, books, music and sports. It is published weekly.
Publisher: The Time Inc. Magazine Company
Cover Price: $211.47
Our Price:$117.00
Issues（期数）:53 issues/ 12 months
Lucky
Lucky is the shopping magazine with the best buys, and the fashion tips you’ll need before you hit the stores. What makes Lucky really different is that it gets you the information you need before anyone else has it.
Publisher: Conde Nast Publications Inc.
Cover Price: $35.40
Our Price:$15.00
Issues: 12 issues/ 12 months
Parents
The most trusted magazine for parents who want to raise smart, loving and self-confident children. Each issue has age-specific child-development guidance, advice on your child’s health and safety, and the best ways to encourage your child’s learning.
Publisher: Meredith Corporation
Cover Price: $42.00
Our Price:$9.97
Issues: 12 issues/ 12 months
Entertainment
This magazine covers movies, television, music, Broadway stage productions, books, and popular culture. Unlike celebrity-focused magazines like People, its main concentration is on entertainment media and reviews. It’s intended for a more general audience.
Publisher: The Time Inc. Magazine Company
Cover Price: $199.50
Our Price:$38.95
Issues: 62 issues/ 12 monthsWhich of the following comes out every week?
| A．Lucky. | B．Parents |
| C．Entertainment. | D．People. |
According to the passage, what makes Lucky so special?
| A．It has lots of cartoons. |
| B．It has pictures of stars. |
| C．It tells you where to find bargains. |
| D．It has information no one else has. |
The underlined phrase, “celebrity-focused magazines”, probably refers to magazines focusing on ______.
| A．hot events and famous stars |
| B．festivals and celebrations |
| C．political events |
| D．daily life |
You’re most likely to find the above information ______.
| A．on a magazine club website |
| B．in an educational magazine |
| C．in a guide to magazines |
| D．in a magazine sales report |
Buy ______, a reader can save most.
| A．Lucky. | B．Parents |
| C．Entertainment. | D．People. |
Fluency(流利) in another language is one of the most important aims of a newcomer to another country. In addition, understanding the culture and learning to communicate comfortably with people of that culture are as important as learning the rules of the language. Language learning and culture learning go together and may take a long time.
Sometimes people feel that they understand a culture after a few weeks or months. People do learn a lot when they first begin living in another culture, but this is only the first stage of learning. It usually includes things like learning everyday activities and some basic customs.
To really understand another culture, people have to go beyond the first stage, This is challenge because it is often difficult to know what to learn. Much of what we call “culture” is hard to see.
Culture is like an iceberg（冰山）. Picture in your mind a huge iceberg in the ocean. The only part of the iceberg that you see is the top. You don’t see the rest of the iceberg because it is hidden from sight in the water. It is easy to forget that it is there. Most of the iceberg is deep within the ocean, just as much of a culture is deep within its people.
When you meet someone from another culture，certain culture differences are easy to see: You hear another language or you hear your own language spoken with an accent(口音). You see different foods, clothes and sometimes physical characteristics of people. You notice new customs or habits, such as the use of chopsticks, and, bowing or kissing as a way of saying hello. These differences are interesting and important, but they are usually not too difficult to understand. They are visible so they are seen easily and quickly.
The part of culture that is like the underwater part of the iceberg consists of assumptions(设想), communication styles, values, and beliefs about what is right and wrong. The hidden part of culture affects much of a person’s way of thinking and communicating. It is the meaning behind his or her verbal (言语的) and nonverbal language. Learning to communicate well with people from another culture includes getting to know the hidden part of culture.What’s the subject of this passage?
| A．Learning about culture. |
| B．Language learning. |
| C．The hidden part of the iceberg. |
| D．Fluency in another language. |
What is learning about culture?
| A．Learning the hidden part of the iceberg, which is underwater. |
| B．Learning everyday activities and some basic customs. |
| C．Learning the culture of an iceberg. |
| D．Learning the visible as well as the hidden differences of culture. |
What’s the writer’s opinion?
| A．Communication styles can be easily seen and learned. |
| B．Language learning is more important than culture learning. |
| C．Learning about culture is not easy and may take a long time. |
| D．People usually learn a culture after a few weeks or months. |
The underlined phrase “consists of” can be replaced by “______”.
| A．is compared with | B．is made up of |
| C．agrees with | D．is different from |
What conclusion can we draw after reading this passage?
| A．Values and beliefs are like the top of the iceberg. |
| B．People are often clear about the hidden part of culture. |
| C．The top of the iceberg is larger than the hidden part. |
| D．The hidden part of culture has a great effect on people’s communication styles. |
Recently, my college degree has just been completed. The last project was called “Smile”. The class was asked to go out to smile at three people and write down their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake.
My husband, the youngest son and I went out to McDonald. We were standing in line when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away. As I turned around, an unpleasant body smell came to my nose and two poor homeless men stood just behind me. As I looked at the short blue-eyed gentleman closest to me, he was “smiling”. The second man fumbled（摸索）with his hands as he stood behind his friend.
The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, “Coffee is all, Miss,” because that was all they could afford.
Then I really felt it — I embraced（拥抱）the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked two more breakfast meals and gave them to the men.
The blue-eyed gentleman looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you.”
I turned in my project. My teacher said, “Can I share this?” I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings share this need to make people happy and to be made happy.
In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald’s and every soul that heard the story in the classroom. But, I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn.The underlined part “a piece of cake” in Paragraph 1 means _______.
| A．easy | B．embarrassing |
| C．moving | D．Comfortable |
Why did people around the writer in the McDonald step back?
| A．Because they were very polite to the two men. |
| B．Because they were moved by the two men. |
| C．Because the two men smelt terrible. |
| D．Because the two men seemed unfriendly. |
Why did the two men only buy coffee?
| A．Because they didn’t have enough money. |
| B．Because they didn’t feel hungry. |
| C．Because they knew others would help them. |
| D．Because they were looked down upon. |
How did the teacher think of the author’s project?
| A．Hard to believe. | B．Interesting to read. |
| C．Very puzzling. | D．Very satisfying. |
What did the writer think she learn from the story?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．Helping others can bring pleasure to many people. |
| C．Nothing is difficult to a willing heart. |
| D．Don’t judge people according to their appearance. |
Did you know that there are actually people who have paid for a flight to the moon? In the future, there will be a lot more opportunities to travel to faraway places than now… perhaps even as far as the moon. As people adventure further and further away and as planes, trains, cars, and rocket ships become faster, is it safer to have these vehicles controlled by humans or by computers?
While many flights by plane are controlled automatically by machines, most people today wouldn’t let their car drive itself. That’s because currently the autopilot function on your car can only keep it on the same course you are travelling on. It won’t turn the car right or left. It won’t stop if an animal jumps in the way. However, cars today can sense when something is too close and warn the driver with flashing lights and alarms. Many cars also have GPS（global positioning systems） that tell drivers which road to take and when to turn. These systems, unlike human drivers, never get lost. In the future, it is easy to believe that your car will be better able to drive itself with the aid of computers that can determine the position of your car and the speed it should travel at.
In addition to computers being ‘smarter’ than people regarding the best way to go or knowing how close another vehicle is, computers don’t get sick, tired, or angry. This means they won’t make the same mistakes that people make when they are not having a good day. While responding with emotion is a good thing when choosing the best way to deal with a friend’s personal problem, it may not be such a good thing when deciding what to do at the wheel of a fast-moving vehicle.
So what are the disadvantages of autopilot systems? Maybe one disadvantage is that a small computer problem could cause a serious accident. It could also be argued that in unexpected situations, computers might not be able to respond appropriately; some decisions require human emotions. Another problem might be that if everything were controlled by computers or robots, people wouldn’t have any jobs.What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Development of Autopilot |
| B．Technology of Future Travel |
| C．A New Driving System |
| D．Computerized Cars |
Which of the following is the disadvantage of an autopilot system?
| A．It won’t make the same mistakes as people do. |
| B．It can point out the best route for the driver. |
| C．It might not respond properly to unexpected situations. |
| D．It does not have human emotions to influence its function. |
If some falling rocks roll down toward your car, the autopilot on your car will_______.
| A．inform you of the danger |
| B．turn the car right or left |
| C．do nothing about it |
| D．stop the car |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the autopilot?
| A．Approving. | B．Objective. |
| C．Negative. | D．Doubtful. |