Thedreamofflyingintoouterspace-优题课

New York, the city that never sleeps, fell silent last week—schools were closed; bus and subway services were stopped; flights were canceled, and even the stock market closed for the first time since 1985. All the disorder was caused by one thing, the arrival of hurricane Sandy.
This big storm landed on Oct 29 on the US east coast and brought damaging winds, flooding, blackouts (停电) and heavy snow.
Sandy is one of the largest storms that have ever hit the US, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By the afternoon of Nov1 (Beijing time), about 140 deaths were caused by the storm as it traveled across the Caribbean islands and into the US.
Unlike most hurricanes that happen during summer, Sandy was strengthened not only by warm ocean water, but also by the cold air coming from the northwest. Sandy’s power grew because of the difference in masses between the warm and wet air and cool and dry air. It became a kind of “super-storm”, the Guardian reported.
The flooding was particularly severe. Scientists said it was because Sandy’s arrival happened together with a full moon, which normally means higher-than-usual tides (潮水).
“The most worrying aspect of Sandy is the high tides,” Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee told Reuters before the storm arrived. “With the full moon on Monday, with Sandy coming up the bay, we’re very concerned about flooding in our low-lying coastal areas.”
Apart from the power of Sandy itself, another reason why her arrival has caused so much damage is that its target area is crowded with big cities such as New York and Philadelphia. These urban areas are home to tens of millions of people. The flood, the snow and the blackout have brought the country’s financial and political centers to a stop.
“The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is history making.” Said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist.
The author mentioned the disorder in New York city at the beginning of the article to _______.

A．remind us of the problems people might face when disaster strikes

B．introduce the disastrous influence of hurricane Sandy

C．criticize the poor management of the city by the New York government

D．prove New York suffered most from hurricane Sandy

According to the text, hurricane Sandy _______.

A．only got its power from the warm ocean water

B．grew stronger than other hurricanes because of the full moon

C．led to flooding in many cities around the US

D．brought with it strong winds, high tides, blackouts and heavy snowfall

From the article, we learn that areas hurricane Sandy targeted _______.

A．were mostly high land

B．were mostly near the sea

C．were far away from important cities

D．were empty as people were evacuated (疏散)

What is the main point of the article?

A．To show how a super-storm comes into being.

B．To explain why hurricane Sandy was so destructive.

C．To show that big cities in the US are easily affected by huge hurricanes.

D．To explore the best ways to avoid loss when a hurricane hits.

A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said.“Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date whenyou may start. ”
The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an email.”
“I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an email, that means you do not exist.And who doesn’t exist cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do, with only $10 in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10Kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he managed to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home with $60.
The man realized that he could survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future, and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker, and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an email.”
The broker answered curiously, “You don’t have an email, and yet have managed to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”
Why can’t the man have the job at Microsoft?

A．Because he was lazy.	B．Because he didn't pass the test.
C．Because he didn’t have an e-mail.	D．Because he didn’t have the application.

The underlined word “tripled” can be replaced by “_________”.

A．became 3 times	B．became large
C．increased quickly	D．decreased quickly

According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．The man is one of the biggest food retailers in the world.

B．Those who have e-mails can work at Microsoft.

C．He started his career by selling tomatoes in the supermarket.

D．The man didn’t give up though he failed the interview.

Which proverb can be the title of the story?

A．Misfortune may be an actual blessing (幸事).

B．Actions speak louder than words.

C．Accidents will happen.

D．No pains, no gains.

There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process．People have generally viewed personal growth as an external（外部的） result or product that can easily be identified and measured．The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language--- all these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts．
By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way．The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they go through new experiences and unexpected obstacles．In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept．
In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to be faced with the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first．How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential to our ability to grow．
These feelings of insecurity and self – doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow．If we do not face and overcome these internal fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease to grow．We become trapped inside a shell of our own making．
A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when______．．

A．he has given up his smoking habit

B．he has made great efforts in his work

C．he is interested in making anything new

D．he has tried to determine where he is on his journey

In the author’s eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would______．

A．judge his ability to grow from his own achievements

B．succeed in climbing up the social ladder

C．face difficulties and take up challenges

D．aim high and reach his goal each time

When the author says “a new way of being” （para．3）, he is referring to _____．

A．a new way of taking risks

B．a new approach to experiencing the world

C．a new system of adapting to change

D．a new method of finding ourselves

For personal growth, the author may not support __________．．

A．curiosity and more chances

B．being quick in self – adaptation

C．open – minded to new experiences

D．avoidance of internal fears and doubts

Researchers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes．
"Shoes convey a thin but useful slice of information about their wearers," the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality．"Shoes serve a practical purpose, and also serve as nonverbal cues with symbolic messages．People tend to pay attention to the shoes they and others wear．"
Medical Daily notes that the number of detailed personality traits detected in the study include a person's general age, their gender, income, political affiliation, and other personality traits, including someone's emotional stability．
Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style, cost, color and condition of someone's shoes．In the study, 63 University of Kansas students looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants．Volunteers in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes, and then filled out a personality questionnaire．
So, what do your shoes say about your personality?
Some of the results were expected: People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes, and flashier footwear was typically worn by extroverts（外向性格的人）．
However, some of the more specific results are intriguing．For example, "practical and functional" shoes were generally worn by more "agreeable" people, while ankle boots were more closely aligned with "aggressive" personalities．
The strangest of all may be that those who wore "uncomfortable looking" shoes tend to have "calm" personalities．
And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take exceptional care of them, you may suffer from "attachment anxiety," spending an inordinate amount of time worrying about what other people think of your appearance．
There was even a political calculation in the mix with more liberal types wearing "shabbier and less expensive" shoes．
The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personality traits, but researchers noted that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were revealing deep insights into their personalities．
We learn from the text that shoes one wears may．

A．be used to judge others’ personality accurately

B．show thick and useful information about one’s personality

C．convey useful information including one’s emotional stability

D．only convey some information about one’s personality

Which of the following is not true according to the text?

A．People who wear practical and functional shoes may be hard to deal with．

B．People with high incomes probably wear expensive shoes．

C．Ankle boots are closely aligned with “aggressive” personalities．

D．People wearing “uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to be calm．

What can be the best title for this article?

A．Shoes and Information	B．Shoes and One’s Personality
C．Shoes One Wears	D．Judging One’s Personality

For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner．Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict．In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it．From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness．And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely．Both feel trapped．
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap．The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things．Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends．Second, blaming．The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong．Third, needing to be right．It doesn’t matter what the topic is．The laws of physics or the proper way to break an egg —the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something — and therefore to command respect．Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress．
Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

A．Both can continue for generations．

B．Neither can be put to an end．

C．Neither has any clear winner．

D．Both are about where to draw the line．

What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．The teens cause their parents to mislead them．

B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict

C．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict．

D．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents

Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________．

A．give orders to the other	B．gain respect from the other
C．know more than the other	D．get the other to behave properly

What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．Solutions for the parent –teen problems．

B．Examples of the parent –teen war．

C．Causes for the parent –teen conflicts．

D．Future of the parent-teen relationship．