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 |
February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.
But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine. Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?
| A．Because there were few women in his country at that time. |
| B．Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers. |
| C．Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people. |
| D．Because he wanted to control the birth rate. |
Valentine was put into prison because ______.
| A．he killed one of the soldiers | B．he stole a lot of food |
| C．he didn’t obey the emperor’s order | D．he didn’t want to be a soldier |
The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.
| A．students in China send cards to their teachers |
| B．it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| C．it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| D．Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now |
The best title for this passage should be ______.
| A．Valentine’s Day | B．A Brave Priest | C．Valentine’s Day in China | D．A Romantic Man |
Hobbs was an orphan（孤儿）. He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work made him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts.
One day a lawyer said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, “I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I’d like to do: painting pictures. I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place in the factory and have no money to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for one and too little for the other.”
“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will（遗嘱）,” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”
“Yes, I see. I’ll do that,” said the young man. Hobbs wanted to borrow money to _______.
| A．study abroad | B．work abroad | C．pay off the debts | D．learn to paint pictures |
What does the underlined word “dumbfounded” （in Paragraph 2） probably mean?
| A．Surprised. | B．Frightened | C．Satisfied. | D．Excited. |
With the money he got, at first Hobbs _______.
| A．planned to have a happy life for a few days | B．decided to give up his work in the factory |
| C．was to give a dinner to his friends | D．had no idea what to do |
Hobbs was asked to _______.
| A．tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it |
| B．read his uncle’s will |
| C．buy some pictures |
| D．tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money |
A young officer was teaching some old soldiers. They had been in the army for many years and did not like officers, young or old.
They did not think this young officer could tell them anything about how to fight in a war.
Private Jones was nearly sixty years old and had fought in many wars. He had a row of medals on his chest.
“Imagine you are in a battle,” the young officer said to him. “You see seven hundred enemy soldiers coming towards you. What do you do?”
Private Jones thought for a few moments, and then he said, “I shoot them all with my rifle.”
“Now imagine there are seven hundred enemy soldiers coming towards you from the left,” the young officer said, “and seven hundred enemy soldiers coming to you from the right. What do you do?”
“I shoot them with my rifle,” Private Jones answered.
“OK,” the young officer went on, trying to get the answer he wanted, “but what if there are a thousand enemy soldiers coming at you from the right, a thousand coming at you from the left, and another thousand coming straight towards you. What do you do now?”
“I shoot them with my rifle,” Private Jones replied.
“But where are you getting all the bullets from?” the young officer demanded.
Private Jones smiled. “From the same place you are getting all those enemy soldiers.”What was the young officer supposed to do?
Train the soldiers. B. Attack the soldiers.
C. Shoot the soldiers. D. Like the soldiers.What was Private Jones doing in the story?
Answering questions. B. Shooting the enemy.
C. Getting a lot of bullets. D. Showing off his medals.At the end of the story the young officer was probably__________.
| A．pleased with Private Jones | B．annoyed with Private Jones |
| C．delighted with Private Jones | D．frightening Private Jones |
Americans: Restless? Illiterate（文盲）？
Americans are queer people; they can’t rest. They have more time, more leisure, shorter work hours, more holidays, and more vacations than any other people in the world. But they can’t rest. They rush up and down across their continent as tourists; they move about in great herds to conventions（大会）; they search the wilderness; they flood the mountains; they keep the hotels full. But they can’t rest. The scenery rushes past them. They learn it, but they don’t see it. Battles and monuments are announced to them on a tour bus. They hear them, but they don’t get them. They never stop moving; they rush up and down as Shriners, Masons, Old Graduates, Bankers—they are a new thing each day, always rushing to a reunion or something. So they go on rushing about till eventually the undertaker（殡葬工）gather them to a last convention.
Americans are queer people; they can’t read. They have more schools, and better schools and spend more money on schools and colleges than all Europe. But they can’t read. They print more books in a year than the French print in ten. But they can’t read. They cover their country with one hundred thousand tons of Sunday newspapers every week. But they don’t read them. They’re too busy. They use them for fires and to make more paper with. They buy eagerly thousands of new novels at two dollars each. But they read only page one. Their streets are full of huge signs. They won’t look at them. Their streetcars are filled with advertising; they turn their eyes away. Transparent colors, cart wheels, and mechanical flares whirl and flicker in the crowded streets at night. No one sees them. Tons of letters pour into the mail boxes, through the houses, and down the garbage cans. No one reads them.The underlined word“queer”mean _________________.
| A．strange | B．difficult | C．forgetful | D．friendly |
According to the text, when do the Americans stop rushing about?
| A．When they are not allowed to. |
| B．When they feel tired and sleepy. |
| C．When they stop breathing eventually. |
| D．When they are seriously ill in bed. |
The Americans know the places of battles and monuments ______________.
| A．by driving there in person |
| B．when they are on the tour bus |
| C．from books and magazines |
| D．from their friends and co-workers |
Why does the writer write this passage?
A. To tell people the Americans are illiterate.
B. To prove the Americans to be a queer nation.
C. To make fun of the American way of life.
D. To give the readers information about USA.
There is an English saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying very seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to study laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found facts that laughter really can improve people’s health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart rate and the rate of breathing. it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produce pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programmes. The group which tolerated(忍受) the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny programme. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins(内啡肽) in the brain. These are natural chemicals which diminish both stress and pain.
There is also some fact to suggest that laughter helps the body’s immune （免疫的）system, that is , the system which fights infection. In an experiment, one group of students watched a funny video while another group of students served as the control group--- in other words, a group with which to compare the first group. Doctors checked the blood of the students in both groups and found that the people in the group that watched the video had an increase in the activity of their white blood cells, that is, the cells which fight infection.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists( 精神病医生) in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they try to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh.
They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing , making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter. It can be learnt from the passage that laughter can ______.
| A．make people feel younger | B．change people’s habits |
| C．improve people’s health | D．make people love their lives |
The underlined word “diminish” refers to _______.
| A．test | B．reduce | C．stop | D．find |
Smiling can produce____.
| A．the same effects as laughter | B．more effects than laughter |
| C．less effects on the human body | D．no effects on the human body |
The main idea of this passage is that _____.
| A．there are several ways of studying the benefits of laughter. |
| B．laughter and physical exercise have the same effects on human body. |
| C．tests show that laughter can produce beneficial effects on human body. |
| D．the doctors should learn how to make people laugh. |