Welcome every morning with a smile. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don’t waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.
Starting the day right can give good momentum (动力) for the rest of the day. Having a power morning is a key factor for a fruitful day. Here are some tips on getting the most out of the morning.
Wake up early. In theory, there’s no difference in waking up early or late as long as you get the proper amount of sleep. However, there is a psychological advantage when you wake up earlier than the average person and then you’ll have more time to do preparation before engaging in the real world.
Exercise. Good health is always a benefit with exercise, but studies have also shown that morning exercise helps you to sleep better at nights.
Eat breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day. According to the Mayo Clinic, we should choose three from the following four: fruits and vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein. Did you know that you can actually gain weight when you skip breakfast?
Take a shower. When you shower, do you do it in the morning or at night? I used to shower in the evenings, but I found that morning showers helped me to be more alert.
Prioritize (优先) your To-Do list. Leo coined the acronym MIT to mean “most important tasks.” Our to-do list might be never ending, but put on top of the list a couple of urgent tasks that will define the day to be a successful one.
Check your emails. Only once. Getting a lot of emails can be very distractive. You actually are more productive when you check them only a few times at fixed time of the day. I only do them 2-3 times a day—once in the morning, once at lunch, and one more as it gets toward the end of the day.The purpose for the author to write this passage is to .
| A．tell you to get up early every day |
| B．offer you the best way to start the day |
| C．give you advice about how to arrange a day |
| D．advise you to prioritize your to-do list every morning |
If you don’t have breakfast, you may .
| A．lose weight. | B．be productive. |
| C．put on weight. | D．be more alert. |
The underlined word “coined” in Paragraph 6 means .
| A．invented | B．designed | C．founded | D．defined |
The author advises you to check your emails only once because .
| A．the emails are not important |
| B．reading e-mails is distractive |
| C．you can only read e-mails at fixed time |
| D．getting so many emails can distract your attention |
Freda Bright says, "Only in opera do people die of love." It's true. You really can't love somebody to death. I've known people to die from no love, but I've never known anyone to be loved to death. We just can't love one another enough.
A heart-warming story tells of a woman who finally decided to ask her boss for a raise in salary. All day she felt nervous and late in the afternoon she summoned the courage to approach her employer. To her delight, the boss agreed to a raise.
The woman arrived home that evening to a beautiful table set with their best dishes. Candles were softly glowing. Her husband had come home early and prepared a festive meal. She wondered if someone from the office had tipped him off, or... did he just somehow know that she would not get turned down?
She found him in the kitchen and told him the good news. They embraced and kissed, then sat down to the wonderful meal. Next to her plate the woman found a beautifully lettered note. It read: "Congratulations, darling! I knew you'd get the raise! These things will tell you how much I love you."
Following the supper, her husband went into the kitchen to clean up. She noticed that a second card had fallen from his pocket. Picking it off the floor, she read: "Don't worry about not getting the raise! You deserve it anyway! These things will tell you how much I love you."
Someone has said that the measure of love is when you love without measure. What this man feels for his wife is total acceptance and love, whether she succeeds or fails. His love celebrates her victories and soothes her wounds. He stands with her, no matter what life throws in their direction.
Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa said: "What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family." And love your friends. Love them without measure.The sentence in the first paragraph “Only in opera do people die of love.” means _______.
| A．no love in the world is believable |
| B．love is one thing, and life is another |
| C．love in operas is truly touching |
| D．love can survive forever, though people die at different ages |
That the husband prepared her a second letter about her raise suggests that______.
| A．he loves her because he believes that she is sure to receive a raise |
| B．he has a great way to promote his wife’s love towards him |
| C．he had a false love for people even if the person is his wife |
| D．he loves his family members truly, whether they are in good conditions or not |
From the text, we might say the author_____.
| A．refuses any spiritual emotions as embraced and kissed |
| B．criticize the attitude of suspicion (怀疑) of the love |
| C．doesn’t believe there is true love in the world |
| D．thinks the true love does not expect repayment |
Most of us fear getting up and speaking in public. Many people don’t like to go gathering where they don’t know anyone, but while most of us soldier on (迎难而上), those with social anxiety disorder are often stopped by the terror and worry.
Research shows that around fifteen million Americans suffer from social anxiety disorder. People in this condition feel that they are always being watched. Even though they know these fears are unreasonable, they cannot overcome their fears on their own.
Social anxiety disorder sufferers are often misdiagnosed with conditions such as schizophrenia (精神分裂症) and personality disorder. Many feel lonely, and are unsure whether anyone else can understand their thoughts and emotions. This can lead to withdrawal from most social situations, even to being unable to hold employment.
Those who suffer from social anxiety disorder are often dismissed(辞退)as being shy. This is simply not the case; shyness is not even a symptom of social anxiety disorder. The majority of sufferers find their symptoms linked to specific situations, rather than all types of social interactions.
An important step in overcoming social anxiety disorder is seeking out a therapist who specializes in training this type of disorder. Group treatment has been shown to be especially effective. Medication also help reduce the symptoms, but it should not be used as a replacement for psychotherapy (心理疗法).
On your own, you can help reduce the symptoms by taking deep breaths and practising medication or prayer. Alcohol and nicotine should be avoided, as both can cause panic attacks. Exercises can relieve the symptoms, because it burns up the chemicals in your body that cause stress.Patients with social anxiety disorder______.
| A．are shy in all situations |
| B．feel they don’t understand themselves |
| C．are anxious and terrified while speaking in public |
| D．feel it is unreasonable to be watched by others |
We know from the passage that_____.
| A．most people will try to fight against social anxiety disorder |
| B．shyness is the main symptom of social anxiety disorder |
| C．people who feel lonely are often misdiagnosed with social anxiety disorder |
| D．psychotherapy is very important in treating social anxiety disorder |
According to the passage, if Jack suffers from social anxiety disorder, he should_____.
| A．burn up some unsafe chemicals |
| B．ask for help from a doctor |
| C．practise speaking in public |
| D．resign from his present job |
We are most likely to find this passage in_______.
| A．American Culture | B．Cross Country |
C．Family Doctor | D．English Nature |
My bookshelves are full of dust — and with good reason. When it comes to cleaning that part of my home, I suffer from the most serious case of avoidance (回避反应症).
The thing is this: when I do set out to clean and re-organize my books, which seldom happens, I place myself into a really bad situation. No sooner do I take a title from the shelf, blow off the dust, and wipe down the cover than I find myself sitting on the floor with legs crossed and my back against the wall. Pretty soon books get piled up on my legs as I am reunited with old friends.
It is as if these books have voices, and each wants to say its piece. “Remember me? I was given to you when you went into the Navy, so that you would never lack for companionship,” one whispers. Another says, “I was your first book of poems, given to you before you learned to love poetry.” And a third, “I was the book that made history so attractive to you.”
Perhaps the greatest pleasure of re-organizing my books are the surprises — or better said, reunions — that occur. During my latest book-cleaning adventure, I found one that had fallen behind the shelf: “Tales of Edgar Allan Poe.” Not an unusual title, but the words written on the first page made it very special: “With Love from Mom and Dad, Christmas 1965.” What’s this? A book on the physics of lasers（激光）. It is filled with mathematical statements, and I had bought it at a library sale when I was 12, not long after the laser had been invented. I couldn’t understand a bit of it, but I did learn what “laser” meant.
What I end up with when I empty my bookshelves is a cross-section (横剖面) of my personal history. It’s like a road cut where one sees all the layers of rock going back through time to the beginning of the simplest life forms. The books I’ve read — and kept — are not just old friends. They are my résumé.What could be said about the author?
| A．He is too busy to tidy up his bookshelves. |
| B．He considers his books treasured possessions. |
| C．He has made a lot of notes in his books. |
| D．He is a lover of science books. |
By saying that his books have voices, the author means ________ .
| A．they bring back happy memories |
| B．they are recorded in human voice |
| C．they say a lot about human history |
| D．they offer good topics for discussion |
What does the author enjoy most from re-organizing his books?
| A．Finding some missing books. |
| B．Putting books in good order. |
| C．Learning something new from the books. |
| D．Rediscovering interesting stories behind some books. |
The underlined word “résumé” in the last paragraph probably means ______.
| A．personal history | B．precious notes | C．good companion | D．simple life forms |
New Zealand
What can you see? Mountains, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, forests, beaches. Both islands are mountainous. In fact, only 30% of New Zealand is flat.
The Maoris
When the Maoris first arrived in New Zealand, they lived in villages and were excellent fishermen, hunters and farmers. About 50 years ago many Maoris started to live and work in the large cities and took jobs in government, industries, medicine and education. They are proud of their culture and are determined to keep many of the customs which are part of their way of life.
Who can you meet? Most people live on North Island. Eighty-five percent of New Zealanders are “pakeha” (“white men”), which means their “great grandfathers” came from Europe. Ten percent are Maoris. The Maoris came to New Zealand from the Polynesian islands probably around the tenth century. The “pakeha” started to arrive in New Zealand from Europe about 200 years ago as farmers and traders.
Fact box: New Zealand
Position: South of the Equator ; Nearest neighbor: Australia, 1600 km away.
Size: Two main islands — North Island and South Island: together they are 268.680 sq. km.
Population: 4 million
Capital: Wellington
Languages: English and MaoriWhich of the following is a fact about New Zealand?
| A．20% of the population being Maoris. |
| B．Four million white people. |
| C．About 1600 km south of the Equator. |
| D．Nearly 1/3 of the country being plains. |
The country’s population is mainly made up of _________.
| A．the white people and the Polynesians |
| B．the white people and the “pakeha” |
| C．the Maoris and the white people |
| D．the Maoris and the Polynesians |
When did the white people begin to live in New Zealand?
| A．1000 years ago. | B．200 years ago. |
| C．85 years ago. | D．50 years ago. |
What do the Maoris value most in life?
| A．Living in small villages. | B．Developing farming skills. |
| C．Keeping their own culture. | D．Taking up government jobs. |
阅读下面短文，从各题A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。
People who smoke could lose around one third of their daily memory, researchers say.
A study by a team at Northumbria University showed that smokers lost more of their memory when compared to non-smokers.
And the research also found that those who kicked the habit saw their ability to recollect information restored to almost the same level as non-smokers.
The study involved more than seventy 18-to-25-year-olds and included a tour of the university’s campus. Those who took part were asked to recall small details, such as a list of songs played at a campus concert and tasks completed at various points－known as real world memory test. Smokers performed badly, remembering just 59 percent of tasks. But those who had given up smoking remembered 74 percent and those who had never smoked recalled 81 percent of tasks.
Dr. Tom Heffernan, who leads Northumbria University’s Collaboration for Drug and Alcohol Research Group, said the findings would be useful in anti-smoking campaigns. He said, “Given that there are up to 10 million smokers in the UK and as many as 45 million in the United States, it's important to understand the effects smoking has on everyday cognitive（认知的）function-of which prospective memory is an excellent example. ”
“This is the first time that a study has set out to examine whether giving up smoking has an impact on memory. We already know that giving up smoking has huge health benefits for the body, but this study also shows how stopping smoking can have knock-on benefits for cognitive functions too. ’’
The research will now investigate the effects of passive smoking on memory, while Dr. Heffernan and Dr. Terence O’Neil will look into the effects of third-hand smoking－toxins left on curtains and furniture. What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Smoking does harm to health. |
| B．Smokers take a tour to the University’s campus. |
| C．Smoking can affect one’s memory. |
| D．Smokers are compared to non-smokers. |
How did those who took part in the study perform when asked to recall small details?
| A．Smokers did the worst among the participants. |
| B．Non-smokers could recall about half of them. |
| C．Smokers could recall nothing at all. |
| D．Those who gave up smoking did best. |
According to Dr. Tom Heffernan, the findings_______.
| A．would be really a surprise to the public |
| B．would contribute to fighting against smoking |
| C．would be used in real world memory test |
| D．would be nothing new to the researchers |
What does the underlined word “impact’’ most probably mean?
| A．order | B．impression | C．expression | D．effect |
What will Dr. Heffernan and Dr Terence O’Neil do?
| A．Investigate the effects of third-hand smoking. |
| B．Do research on how smoking affects passive smokers. |
| C．Find ways to persuade people to quit smoking. |
| D．Study whether giving up smoking affects memory. |