My Best Enemy
Once again, I was in a new school. So was a girl in my class named Lisa. That’s where the similarities ended.
I was tall and she was small. My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy style. Her natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great. I was 12 and one of the oldest in the class while she was 11 and the youngest. I was awkward and shy. She wasn’t. I couldn’t stand her, considering her my enemy. But she liked me and wanted to be friends.
One day, she invited me over and I said yes—I was too shocked to answer any other way. My family had moved six times in six years, and I had never managed to develop any friendships. But this girl who wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school.
She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places, an all-night bookstore, a movie theater and a park. As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood, I tried to guess which house might be hers. Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the three-story house with a front porch? I got very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building. She lived on the fourth floor in a two-room place with her mother,her stepfather, her two brothers and her sister.
When we got into the room she shared with her sister, she took out a big case of Babies, which was my next surprise. I had never played with them. We sat on the floor,laughing as we made up crazy stories about the Babies. We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had wild imaginations. We had a great day that afternoon.
Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood. The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines; the movie theater gave her free tickets… Soon I was included in her magic world. We slept over at each other’s houses and spent every free moment together.
Lisa, my first real friend since childhood, helped me get through the rough year of early adolescence(青春期) and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends: that your worst enemy can turn out to be your best friend.The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that_____.
| A．they were of the same age | B．they had the same hair styles |
| C．they were both tall | D．they were both new students |
One day Lisa invited the writer______ .
| A．to go to her home | B．to go to the movie |
| C．to go to a park | D．to go to a pizza place |
In the passage the writer described Lisa as a girl who was ______
| A．awkward and shy | B．rich and happy |
| C．friendly and lovely | D．quiet and lonely |
Which of the following did the writer learn from Lisa?
| A．How to make up stories. | B．How to deal with enemies. |
| C．How to live a better life. | D．How to make friends. |
Lying in the sun on a rock, the cougar （美洲狮） saw Jeb and his son, Tom, before they saw it. Jeb put his bag down quickly and pulled his jacket open with both hands, making himself look big to the cougar. It worked. The cougar hesitated, ready to attack Jeb, but ready to forget the whole thing, too.
Jeb let go of his jacket, grasped Tom and held him across his body, making a cross. Now the cougar’s enemy looked even bigger, and it rose up, ready to move away, but unfortunately Tom got scared and struggled free of Jeb.
“Tom, no!” shouted his father.
But Tom broke and ran and that’s the last thing you do with a cougar. The second Tom broke free, Jeb threw himself on the cougar, just as it jumped from the rock. They hit each other in mid-air and both fell. The cougar was on Jeb in a flash, forgetting about Tom, which was what Jeb wanted.
Cougars are not as big as most people think and a determined man stands a chance, even with just his fists. As the cougar’s claws（爪子）got into his left shoulder, Jeb swung his fist at its eyes and hit, hard. The animal howled（吼叫）and put its head back. Jeb followed up with his other fist. Then out of the comer of his eye, Jeb saw Tom. The boy was running back to help his father.
“Knife, Tom,” shouted Jeb.
The boy ran to his father’s bag, while Jeb started shouting as well as hitting, to keep the cougar’s attention away from Tom. Tom got the knife and ran over to Jeb. The cougar was moving its head in and out, trying to find a way through the wall Jeb was making out of his arms. Tom swung with the knife, into the cougar’s back. It howled horribly and ran off into the mountains.
The whole fight had taken about thirty seconds.
63. Why did Jeb pull his jacket open when he saw the cougar?
A. To get ready to fight. B. To frighten it away. C. To protect the boy. D. To cool down.
64. What do we know about cougars?
A. They are afraid of noises. B. They hesitate before they hit.
C. They are bigger than we think. D. They like to attack running people.
65. How did Jeb try to hold the cougar’s attention?
A. By keeping shouting and hitting. B. By making a wall out of his arms.
C. By throwing himself on the cougar. D. By swinging his fists at the cougar’s eyes.
66. Which of the following happened first?
A. The cougar jumped from the rock. B. Tom struggled free of his father.
C. Jeb asked Tom to get the knife. D. Jeb held Tom across his body.
Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an expensive French restaurant in Denver. The ice cream he was serving fell onto the white dress of a rich and important woman.
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can’t get the memory out of his mind, nor the woman’s kind reaction (反应) . She was shocked, regained calmness and, in a kind voice, told the young Odland. “It’s OK. It wasn’t your fault.” When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO (总裁) with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.
Odland isn’t the only CEO to have made this discovery. Rather, it seems to be one of those few laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up. It’s hard to get a dozen CEO’s to agree about anything, but most agree with the Waiter Rule. They say how others treat the CEO says nothing. But how others treat the waiter is like a window into the soul.
Watch out for anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like, “I could but this place and fire you,” or“I know the owner and I could have you fired.” Those who say such things have shown more about their character(人品) than about their wealth and Power.
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He wrote a best-selling book called, Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management.
“A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person,” Swanson says. “I will never offer a job to the person who is sweet to the boss but turns rode to someone cleaning the tables.”
49. What happened after Odland dropped the ice cream onto the woman’s dress?
A. He was fired. B. He was blamed.
C. The woman comforted him. D. The woman left the restaurant at once.
50. Odland leaned one of his life lessons from ________.
A. his experience as a waiter. B. the advice given by the CEOs
C. an article in Fortune D. an interesting best-selling book
51. According to the text, most CEOs have the same opinion about __________.
A. Fortune 500 companiesB. the Management Rules
C. Swanson’s book D. the Waiter Rule
52. From the text can learn that __________.
A. one should be nicer to important people
B. CEOs often show their power before others
C. one should respect others no matter who they are
D. CEOs often have meals in expensive restaurants
Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven. His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes. Lieberman improved his kitchen skills greatly during a year abroad before college, learning from a cook in Italy and studying local specialties(地方特色菜) in Germany, Spain and France. At Yale, he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handedly frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens of friends. Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking. Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmates how to do things like make drinks out of dining-hall fruit. That helped the show become very popular among the students. They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking. Tapes of the show were passed around, with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network.
Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the network television. He says Lieberman’s charisma is key. “Food TV isn’t about food anymore,” says Flay “Its about your personality (个性) and finding a way to keep people’s eyeballs on your show.”
But Lieberman isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket. After taping the first season of the new how, Lieberman was back in his won small kitchen preparing sandwiches. An airline company (航空公司)was looking for some one to come up with a tasteful, inexpensive and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flights, Lieberman got the job.
41. We can learn from the text that Lieberman’s family__________.
A. have relatives in EuropeB. love cooking at home
C. often hold parties D. own a restaurant
42. The Food Network got to know Lieberman _______.
A. at one of his parties B. from his teachers
C. through his taped show D. on a television program
43. What does the word “charisma” underlined in the text refer to?
A. A natural ability to attract others. B. A way to show one’s achievement.
C. Lieberman’s after-class interest. D. Lieberman’s fine cooking skill.
44. Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?
A. He could prepare meals in a small kitchen. B. He was famous for his shows on Food TV.
C. He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches.
D. He could cook cheap, delicious and simple meals.
45. What can we learn about Lieberman from the text?.
A. He is clever but lonely.B. he is friendly and active.
C. He enjoys traveling around. D. He often changes his menus.
Our “Mommy and Me” time began two years ago. My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were out in our front yards, watching seven children of age 6 and under ride their bikes up and down. “I wish I could take one of my children out alone,” said Christie.
Then we worked out a plan: When Christie takes one of her children out, I’ll watch her other three. And when she watches two of mine, I’ll take someone out.
The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of “Mommy and Me” time. Christie’s daughter, McKenzie, went first. When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions. McKenzie was smiling broadly. Christie looked refreshed and happy. “She’s like a different child when there’s no one else around,” Christie shared with me quickly. With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn’t have to make an effort to gain attention.
Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children during our alone times. For example, I am always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently. My stuttering（口吃的）son, Tom, doesn’t stutter once during our activities since he doesn’t have to struggle for a chance to speak. And the other son, Sam, who’s always a follower when around other children shines as a leader during our times together.
The “Mommy and Me” time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child —talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest gain. Every child deserves（应得到）to be an only child at least once in a while. 64. What is the text mainly about?
A. The experience of the only child being with mother.
B. The advantage of spending time with one child at a time.
C. The happy life of two families.
D. The basic needs of children.
65. Right after McKenzie came back, the other children were _____________.
A. happy B. curious C. regretful D. friendly
66. What is one of the changes the author finds in her children?
A. The daughter acts like a leader. B. Sam holds her hand more often.
C. The boys become better followers. D. Tom has less difficulty in speaking.
67. The author seems to believe that ___________.
A. having brothers and sisters is fun
B. it’s tiring to look after three children
C. every child needs parents’ full attention
D. parents should watch others’ children
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.
56. Why was the bike so important to the couple?
A. The man’s job was bike racing. B. It was their only possession.
C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed. D. They used it for work and daily life.
57. We can infer from the text that ____________.
A. the couple worked 60 hours a week. B. people were busy before Christmas
C. the stranger brought over the bike D. life was hard for the young family.
58. How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
A. From radio broadcasts. B. From a newspaper.
C. From TV news. D. From a stranger.
59. What do the couple learn from their experience?
A. Strangers are usually of little help. B. One should take care of their bike.
C. News reports make people famous. D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.