When I was at university, I studied very hard. But a lot of my friends did very little work. Some did just enough to pass exams. Others didn’t do quite enough. Fred Baines was one of them. He spent more time drinking in the Students’ Union than working in the library. Once, at the end of the term, we had to take an important test in chemistry. The test had a hundred questions. Beside each question we had to write “True” or “False”. While I was studying in my room the night before the test, Fred was watching television. Fred usually worried a lot the night before a test. But that night he looked perfectly calm. Then he told me of his plan. “It’s very simple. There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty correct to pass the test. I’ll take a coin into the examination room. I haven’t studied a chemistry book for months, so I’ll just toss the coin. In that way, I’m sure I’ll get half the questions right.” The next day, Fred came cheerfully into the examination room. As he sat tossing a coin for half an hour he marked down his answers. Then he left half an hour before the rest of us. The next day, he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor.
“Oh good,” he said, “Have you got the results of the test?”
The professor looked at him and smiled.
“Ah, it’s you, Baines, just a minute.”
Then he reached into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it into the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it.
“I’m terribly sorry, Baines,” he said, “You failed!” Fred often went to the Students’ Union where he ________ .
| A．worked extra hours | B．enjoyed himself in the bar |
| C．borrowed books | D．attended a few lectures |
This time Fred expected to get ________ .
| A．an excellent mark | B．a low mark | C．his usual mark | D．the pass mark |
The chemistry professor ________ .
| A．didn’t mark the test papers correctly |
| B．tossed a coin when he marked test papers |
| C．knew about Fred’s method |
| D．thought Fred’s method was good |
According to the text, we can know working hard is ________ .
| A．unnecessary | B．valuable | C．useless | D．a waste |
From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine. We may not depend so much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways. Automobile manufacturers (制造商) and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats. When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.
An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said the wildcat congressmen went home. It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.
Wildcat also has been used as a name for money. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it. Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat bank note.
The banks which offered this money were called wildcat banks. A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.
Wildcat then was used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Wildcats and their stories. | B．Wildcats and their characters. |
| C．Varieties of animal species. | D．Relationship between animals and humans. |
From the passage we can know that ______.
| A．wildcats represent the state of Michigan. |
| B．the use of wildcats was not always the same |
| C．wildcats are the best friend of human beings |
| D．honest developers never buy wildcat oil wells |
The underlined words “a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat”in Paragraph 1 may refer to ______.
| A．gasoline companies | B．automobile manufacturers |
| C．names of wildcats | D．brands of automobile |
It can be inferred that during the days of wildcat money ______.
| A．people couldn’t buy anything with the money |
| B．people didn’t know how to save money |
| C．the rich invested too much on oil wells |
| D．people complained and suffered a lot |
I suppose that the most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention. And especially if it’s given from the heart. When people are talking, there’s no need to do anything but receive them. Listen to what they’re saying. Care about it. Most times caring about it is even more important than understanding it. Most of us don’t value ourselves or our love enough to know this. It has taken me a long time to believe in the power of simple saying “I’m so sorry,” when someone is in pain.
One of my patients told me that when she tried to tell her story people often interrupted to tell her that they once had something just like that happening to them. Her pain became a story about them. Eventually, she stopped talking to most people. We connect through listening. When we interrupt what someone is saying to let them know that we understand, we move the focus of attention to ourselves. When we listen, they know we care.
I have even learned to respond to someone crying by just listening. In the old days I used to reach for the handkerchiefs, until I realized that passing a person a handkerchief may be just another way to shut him down, to take them out of their experience of sadness. Now I just listen. When they have cried all they need to cry, they find me there with them.
This simple thing has not been that easy to learn. It certainly went against everything I had been taught since I was very young. I thought people listened only because they were too shy to speak or did not know the answer. But now I know that a loving silence often has far more power to heal than the kindest words.What does the author value most in the communication with each other?
| A．Deep understanding | B．Saying “I’m Sorry”. |
| C．Attention from heart. | D．Doing nothing. |
The woman patient stopped telling her story to most people because ______.
| A．She didn’t get enough respect from others |
| B．she was discouraged by being often interrupted |
| C．people often told her their own opinions |
| D．people couldn’t understand her sad situation |
If you hand a handkerchief to someone crying, you may ______.
| A．hurt his feelings | B．make him embarrassed |
| C．encourage him to continue to cry | D．stop him from letting out his sorrow |
It can be inferred from the passage that while communicating, ______.
| A．listening is a perfect way to respond to others |
| B．people keep silent because they don’t know the answer |
| C．keeping silent means being too shy to speak |
| D．it is easy to form the habit of listening silently |
Low-Cost Gifts for Mother's Day
Gift No. I
Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits
whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say "no need," another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit. The best part ? This one is free.
Gift No. 2
Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them. "Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life," Dr. Marie Savard said.
Gift No. 3
Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. "Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said. "We know that good sleep is very important to our health."
Gift No. 4
Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构) Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things -many of which are "green" - and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor's visits?
| A．Take notes. |
| B．Be with her. |
| C．Buy medicine. |
| D．Give her gifts. |
Where can you find a gift idea to improve your mother’s sleep?
| A．In Gift No. 1. | B．In Gift No. 2. |
| C．In Gift No. 3. | D．In Gift No. 4. |
Buying gifts from Presents for Purpose allows mothers to
| A．enjoy good sleep | B．be well-organized |
| C．bet extra support | D．give others help |
Given that many people's moods (情绪)are regulated by the chemical action of chocolate, it was probably only a matter of time before somebody made the chocolate shop similar to a drug store of Chinese medicine. Looking like a setting from the film Charlie&the Chocolate Factory, Singapore's Chocolate Research Facility (CRF) has over 100 varieties of chocolates.its founder is Chris Lee who grew up at his parents' corner store with one hand almost always in the jar of sweets.
If the CRF seems to be a smart idea, that's because Lee is not merely a seasoned salesperson but also head of a marketing department that has business relations with big names such as Levi's and Sony. That idea surely results in the imagination at work when it comes to making different flavored(味道)chocolates.
The CRF's produce is "green". made within the country and divided into 10 lines, with the Alcohol Series being the most popular. The Exotic Series一with Sichuan pepper, red bean (豆).cheese and other flavors一also does well and is fun to taste. And for chocolate snobs，who think that they have a better knowledge of chocolate than others, the Connoisseur Series uses cocoa beans from Togo, Cuba, Venezuela , and Ghana, among others.What is good about chocolate?
| A．It serves as a suitable gift. |
| B．It works as an effective medicine. |
| C．It helps improve the state of mind. |
| D．It strengthens business relations. |
Why is Chris Lee able to develop his idea of the CRF?
| A．He knows the importance of research. |
| B．He learns form shops of similar types. |
| C．He has the support of many big names |
| D．He has a lot of marketing experience. |
Which line of the CRF produce sells best?
| A．The Connoisseur Series. |
| B．The Exotic Series. |
| C．The Alcohol Series. |
| D．The Sichuan Series. |
The words "chocolate snobs" in Paragraph 3 probably refer to people who
| A．are particular about chocolate |
| B．know little about cocoa beans |
| C．look down upon others |
| D．like to try new flavors |
In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an intemational festival of music,dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947,in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform,and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon,groups of studentsfirstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge,Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the “Fringe”,once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre,music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959,with only 19 theatre groups performing,some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1,25 million tickets were sold.Point was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at he beginning?
| A．To bring Europe together again. |
| B．To honor heroes of World War 11. |
| C．To introduce young theatre groups. |
| D．To attract great artists from Europe. |
Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?
| A．They owned a public house there. |
| B．They came to take up a challenge. |
| C．They thought they were also famous. |
| D．They wanted to take part in the festival. |
Who joined the "Fringe" after it appeared?
| A．they owned a public house there |
| B．University students. |
| C．人rusts from around the world. |
| D．Performers of music and dance. |
We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival.
| A．has become a non-official event |
| B．has gone beyond an art festival |
| C．gives shows all year round |
| D．keeps growing rapidly |