One day a student went to see his teacher. He had been given an important position and now was coming to say goodbye to his teacher. The old man asked him how he would live among high officials. The student answered, “ I will be all right. I have prepared a hundred high hats, one for each official I will meet. I am sure I will succeed.” The teacher got angry on hearing this. “What?” he cried. “Is this what ten years of my teaching has made of you? Nothing but flatterer(拍马屁的人)?” “Excuse me, honored(尊敬的) master,” the student rose to his feet and apologized hurriedly. “But you have always been absorbed in your studies and don’t know how vulgar(庸俗的) the world has come to be. There are few men in the world who are above flatterers like you.” “There is something true in what you said,” the teacher nodded, smiling with one of the student’s “high hats” on.The student came to say goodbye to his teacher because_____________.
| A．he had got hundred hats to sell |
| B．he had got a fairly high position in society |
| C．he wanted to see his parents in his home town |
| D．he moved away to another city |
The student would live among high officials by___________.
| A．selling hats to them | B．making a hundred hats for them |
| C．flattering them | D．serving them |
The teacher was angry with__________.
| A．himself | B．the society | C．his student | D．high officials |
The phrase “rose to his feet” means________.
| A．stood up | B．kicked with his feet |
| C．became quite excited | D．raised his feet |
The teacher____________.
| A．liked to be flattered as well |
| B．really knew nothing about the vulgar world |
| C．was in need of a high hat |
| D．was satisfied with the new hat |
The English test will be removed from China’s college entrance exam by 2020, according to the Ministry of Education. The national college entrance exam, known as the “Gaokao” has been used to evaluate Chinese students for three decades. The Ministry of Education has worked out a plan for reforming exams and enrollment. Tests will be held several times a year to allow students to choose when and how often they sit the exam so as to reduce study pressure and change China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system.
The decision has aroused a heated discussion among Shanghai educators and parents who doubted whether the reform would reduce the burden of learning English or if the substitute test could reflect a student’s English skills and help students learn English better.
“As far as I see, the reform doesn’t mean English is no longer important for Chinese students after it is excluded from the unified college entrance exam,” Yu said. “In a way, English is even more important than before since the test would only serve as reference, while every college and university, even every major, can have different requirements of a student’s English skills under a diverse evaluation system.”
Yu said some students will have their study pressure reduced if the major they choose doesn’t need excellent English while others still need to study hard if they want to be among the best students.
The education ministry said the reform would not affect students attending the college entrance exam over the next three years.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．English will become less and less important in the stage of compulsory education. |
| B．It has been 30 years since English became one subject of national college entrance exam. |
| C．China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system is unacceptable at all. |
| D．The system that tests are held several times does more good than once-in-a-lifetime exam system. |
According to the passage, Shanghai educators and parents argue that _____.
| A．the new exam and admission system will make no difference |
| B．English shouldn’t be removed from China’s college entrance exam |
| C．the reform may accomplish the very opposite |
| D．Western educational system does not apply to China |
What does the passage try to express in the underlined sentence?
| A．Students needn’t lay a good foundation during the period of high school. |
| B．Whether students should study English hard may depend on their major. |
| C．Students can constantly strive for perfection only in their major. |
| D．English must be close to full mark. |
What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To advise students not to devote themselves to English. |
| B．To call on Education Department to remove English from “Gaokao”. |
| C．To support the act of Ministry of Education. |
| D．To encourage students to do as they have planned. |
The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people. We meet them every day. A few days ago, my car was not running well. I pulled it into a garage and the young mechanic (机械师) had it fixed in just a few minutes. He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. I was amazed. The sad truth is: Great talent is not enough.
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100, 000 a year. A business consultant（顾问）who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “They are one skill away from great wealth.”
There is an old saying that goes, “Job means just over broke (破产)”. And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people. Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence, most workers “live within their means”. They work and they pay the bills. Instead I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn.
When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonalds ?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonalds makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonalds is excellent at business systems. The reason so many talented people are poor is that they focus on building a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph to show that________.
| A．he is just one of the talented people |
| B．he is ready to help others |
| C．he has a sharp sense of hearing |
| D．he knows little about car repairing |
“Live within their means” in the third paragraph can be best replaced by_______ .
| A．spend more than they can afford |
| B．do in their own way |
| C．live in their own circle |
| D．live within what they earn |
Why do talented people earn so little according to the author?
| A．They don't work hard enough. |
| B．They lack financial intelligence. |
| C．They don't make full use of their talents. |
| D．They have no specialized skills. |
The main purpose of the author is to tell us_________ .
| A．how young people can find a satisfactory job |
| B．what schools should teach students |
| C．why so many talented people are poor |
| D．how McDonalds makes much money |
When you get tense(紧张的) about something that happens in your life, you are experiencing stress. Too much stress can cause anger, depression and other related symptoms, which you need to seriously look into.
The following are simple ways that can be used to deal with stress.
Be Gentle with Yourself
There are times when you are not fair to yourself. Often you are harder on yourself than you are on other people. If you can learn to accept yourself just the way you are, especially unconditionally, this would reduce the pressure you apply to yourself.
Exercise
Go for a walk. Go to the shops. You can join a local walk, swim or jog team. If you are tired out from doing housework and haven`t left your workstation, have a stretch. Change your environment for an hour or so.
Stop Comparing Yourself with Others
Often you don`t realize that a great deal of unhappiness is caused by constant comparisons you make. You say, “if only I had a big house like she has…”, “if only my husband were as rich as hers…” The comparison is endless. The only comparison that counts is the comparison between where you were and where you are now . By all means, admire others, congratulate them and be proud of their achievements, but remind yourself that only you can decide the standard（标准） you want to set for yourself.
Talk the Stress Out
Sometimes it helps to share or talk about your stress to close friends or family members. The other person`s active listening can help.The passage is mainly about________.
| A．doing exercise is good for your health |
| B．how to deal with stress in life |
| C．comparing yourself with others is wrong |
| D．how to lead a happy life in daily life |
According to the fifth paragraph, we should________.
| A．make comparisons with others constantly |
| B．remind yourself that you`re unhappy |
| C．compare with yourself instead of others |
| D．set the standard of happiness |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Comparing with others makes us happy. |
| B．Too much stress is bad for our health |
| C．Others put much pressure on us. |
| D．Talking out our stress might be dangerous |
A euphemism (from the Greek words eu—well and pheme—speak) is a word or expression that is used when people want to find a polite or less direct way of talking about difficult or embarrassing topics like death or the bodily functions. Most people, for example, would find it very difficult to say in plain language that they have arranged for their sick old dog to be killed. They would soften the pain by saying "We had Ruby put down" or "We had Ruby put to sleep". Many people prefer to call someone plain than ugly, or cuddly rather than fat.
Euphemisms are an important part of every language, but it seems that English has an ever-growing number of them. The non-native speaker not only has to make sense of the euphemisms he hears, but he also has to learn which euphemisms are appropriate in any particular situation. He might be aware that his American friend needs to use the toilet when she asks where the bathroom (or restroom, or comfort station) is, but he is less likely to guess that his English friend has the same need when he says he has to see a man about a dog. He might have learned, for example, that "in the family way" is a euphemism for pregnant. If, however, he says to his boss, "Congratulations! I hear your wife is in the family way", he would be using an expression that is too familiar for the circumstances.
Schools are full of euphemisms. At Frankfurt International School, for example, the special lessons given to students who are having difficulties in their school subjects are called Study Center (in the middle school) and Academic Workshop (in the high school). Teachers rightly do not want to upset students or parents by being too frank or straight-forward, and usually choose a softer word or expression to convey the same message.According to the passage, people use euphemisms in order to ________ .
| A．make themselves understood |
| B．attract attention |
| C．avoid embarrassment |
| D．sound straightforward |
A person who is described as plain and cuddly is in fact ________.
| A．tall and handsome |
| B．ugly and fat |
| C．ugly but tall |
| D．pretty and slim |
When an English lady says she has to see a man about a dog, she might want to ______.
| A．go to the toilet |
| B．see a doctor about her dog |
| C．have her old dog killed |
| D．see a pregnant woman |
The main purpose of Paragraph 2 is to ________ .
| A．stress that euphemisms are an important part of every language |
| B．suggest non-native speakers use euphemisms as often as possible |
| C．inform readers that English has an ever-growing number of euphemisms |
| D．warn English learners to be careful about the meaning and use of euphemisms |
At Frankfurt International School, the students who receive lessons in Study Center ____.
| A．work hard at their lessons |
| B．do well in school |
| C．have poor grades in the subjects |
| D．prefer to learn more |
Conventional wisdom says that hardship can make us old before our time. In fact, a new study suggests that violence not only leaves long-term scars on children’s bodies, but also changes their DNA, causing changes that are equal to seven to ten years of premature aging (过早老化).
Scientists measured this by studying the ends of children’s chromosomes (染色体), called telomeres, says Idan Shalev, lead author of a study published in Molecular Psychiatry.
Telomeres are special DNA sequences (序列) which prevent the DNA in chromosomes from separating. They get shorter each time a cell divides, until a cell cannot divide any more and dies.
Several factors have been found to shorten telomeres, including smoking, radiation and psychological stresses such as being treated badly when young and taking care of a chronically ill person.
In this study, researchers examined whether exposure to violence could make children’s telomeres shorten faster than normal. They interviewed the mothers of 236 children at ages 5, 7 and 10, asking whether the youngsters had been exposed to domestic violence between the mother and her partner, physical maltreatment by an adult or bullying. Researchers measured the children’s telomeres—in cells obtained from the insides of their cheeks—at ages 5 and 10.
Telomeres shortened faster in kids exposed to two or more types of violence, says Shalev. Unless that pattern changes, the study suggests, these kids could be expected to develop diseases of aging, such as heart attacks or memory loss, seven to 10 years earlier than their peers.
Shalev says there is hope for these kids. His study found that, in rare cases, telomeres can lengthen. Better nutrition, exercise and stress reduction are three things that may be able to lengthen telomeres, he says.
The study confirms a smallbutgrowing number of studies suggesting that early childhood hardship imprints itself in our chromosomes, says Charles Nelson, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School.The new study has found that ________.
| A．violence leaves scars on a child’s mind |
| B．violence can speed up a child’s aging |
| C．hardship can change a child’s aging |
| D．hardship has a long-term effect on children |
According to the text, telomeres ________.
| A．probably cause a cell to divide quickly |
| B．can help prevent DNA from separating |
| C．can make a cell die quickly |
| D．become shorter before they die |
All of the following things can shorten telomeres EXCEPT ________.
| A．maltreatment | B．radiation |
| C．smoking | D．exercising |
Which of the following is TRUE, according to the text?
| A．Researchers measured the children’s telomeres from their legs in the study. |
| B．Kids interviewed in the study are exposed to two or more types of violence. |
| C．Children who have shorter telomeres may suffer from a heart attack earlier. |
| D．Victims of domestic violence have no hopes of lengthening their telomeres. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Violence aging children’s DNA |
| B．Children’s changing DNA patterns |
| C．Violence and children |
| D．The function of telomeres |