Rome had the Forum. London has Speaker's Corner. Now always–on–the-go. New Yorkers have Liz and Bill.
Liz and Bill, two college graduates in their early 20s, have spent a whole year trying to have thousands of people talk to them in subway stations and on busy street corners. Just talk.
Using a 2-foot-tall sign that says, "Talk to Me." they attract conversationalists, who one evening included a mental patient, and men in business suits.
They don't collect money. They don't push religion. So what's the point?
"To see what happens, said Liz. " We simply enjoy life with open communication."
Shortly after the September 11,2001 attacks, they decided to walk from New York City to Washington, a 270-mile trip. They found they loved talking to people along the way and wanted to continue talking with strangers after their return.
"It started as a crazy idea, "Liz said." We were so curious about all the strangers walking by with their life stories. People will talk to us about anything: their jobs, their clothes, their childhood experiences, anything."
Denise wanted to talk about an exam she was about to take. She had stopped by for the second time in two days, to let the two listeners know how it went.
Marcia had lost her husband to a serious disease. "That was very heavy on my mind," Marcia said. "To be able to talk about it to total strangers was very good," she explained.
To celebrate a year of talking, the two held a get-together in a city park for all the people they had met over the past year. A few hundred people showed up, as well as some television cameramen and reporters.
They may plan more parties or try to attract more people to join their informal talks. Some publishers have expressed interest in a book, something they say they'll consider.What did Liz and Bill start doing after September 2001?
| A．Chatting with people. | B．Setting up street signs |
| C．Telling stories to strangers | D．Organizing a speaker's corner |
What they have been doing can be described as_________. .
| A．pointless | B．normal | C．crazy | D．successful |
Why are Denise and Marcia mentioned in the text?
| A．They knew Liz and Bill very well. |
| B．They happened to meet the writer of the text. |
| C．They organized the get-together in the city park. |
| D．They are examples of those who talked to Liz and Bill. |
What will Liz and Bill do in the future?
| A．Go in for publishing. | B．Do more television programs. |
| C．Continue what they are doing. | D．Spend more time reading books. |
How do they like the idea of writing a book?
| A．They have decided to wait a year or two |
| B．They will think about it carefully |
| C．They agreed immediately |
| D．They find it hard to do that |
Most people think their time problems are outer, and that they are caused by the telephone, meetings, visitors, and delayed information or decisions. Although these problems often have a bad effect on us, as when people call or drop in, we usually contribute to them. We fail to have calls screened(审查)by a skillful secretary or assistant, or we leave our door open, actually assuring constant interruptions.
In almost all cases, it is possible to influence our time. If not controlled, it usually can cause problems, such as, slowness and indecision, lack of self-discipline, the inability to delegate(委托), or the tendency to act without thinking and to jump from task to task without finishing any of them.
Time is constant that cannot be changed. The clock cannot be slowed down or sped up. Thus we cannot manage time itself. We can only manage our activities with respect to time.
The same skills are needed as those used in managing others－the abilities to plan, organize, delegate, direct, and control. Time management is simply self-management. It is impossible to be effective in any position without controlling one’s time effectively.
Successful time management does not mean working harder, but working smarter. All kinds of management skills must be used in the home and office to get most value from time. You must think ahead about what to do, and more timely than others, making it get maximum results in the shortest possible period.What does “outer” in the first sentence mean?
| A．being away from a center |
| B．situated outside |
| C．objective |
| D．relating to a person’s body or physical appearance rather than to a person’s mind or spirit |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as internally generated time wasters?
| A．Slowness and indecision. |
| B．Lack of self-discipline. |
| C．Jumping from task to task without finishing any of them. |
| D．Working hard. |
It can be concluded from the passage that the abilities to plan, organize, delegate, direct and control should .
| A．be used in managing others’ activities |
| B．be used in managing one’s own activities |
| C．not be used in time management |
| D．be used in managing both other’s and one’ activities |
We can also draw a conclusion that the key to successful time management is .
| A．working harder and harder |
| B．clever self-management |
| C．thinking of what to do, and how and when to do it |
| D．employing a skillful secretary |
Terra-cotta Warriors
As the greatest archaeological findings of the 20th century, Terra-cotta Warriors has a really long history．In 246 BC, Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had begun to prepare for his mausoleum which took 11 years to finish to defend him in the afterlife．There are over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, bronze chariots, and even weapons found in it now．Terra-cotta Warriors was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages and it has made Xi’an a famous city for tourists．
Big Wild Goose Pagoda
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda has a history of over 1,300 years and is a typical ancient Chinese building．It is located in the south of Xi’an City．Because Master Xuanzang stored his classics brought from India in the pagoda, it is also a holy place for Buddhists．As a National Key Cultural Relic Preserve, it won the title of an AAAA Tourist Attraction as well．
Xi’an Ancient City Wall
As one of the landmarks of Xi’an, Ancient City Wall still stretches round the old city today, dividing the city into the inner part and the outer part．Ancient City Wall was originally built during the old Tang Dynasty (618 — 907) and then enlarged by Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, thus forming the modern Xi’an City Wall．After the extension, the wall now stands 12 meters tall, 12-14 meters wide at the top and 15-18 meters thick at the bottom．What is The Big Wild Goose Pagoda most famous for?
| A．It has a history of over 1,300 years． |
| B．It is a typical ancient Chinese building． |
| C．It is a holy place for Buddhists． |
| D．It won the title of an AAAA Tourist Attraction． |
When was the modern Xi’an City Wall formed?
| A．In the Tang Dynasty． | B．In AD907． |
| C．In modern times． | D．In the Ming Dynasty． |
Who are the text written for?
| A．Archaeologists． | B．Scientists |
| C．Tourists． | D．Artists |
Should e-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) be a new choice for the smokers trying to get rid of the habit? Reactions from Americans are mixed. More than half of the people questioned in a survey think e-cigarettes should be controlled by the US Food and Drug Administration, but 47 percent believe the e-cigarettes should be available to the smokers who want to quit.
“In the hunt for a safter cigarette, e-cigarettes are becoming a popular choice among those either trying to quit.”or looking to replace standard tobacco smoke with an alternative that manufacturers claim to be safer, ”Zogby International, which conducted the survey, said in a statement.
About half of the 4,611 adults who took part in the survey had heard about e-cigarettes, which are battery-powered, or rechargeable cigarettes that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution. They do not produce smoke but a water vapor without smell. Sold mostly on the Internet, e-cigarettes were first made in China.
Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using e-cigarettes, saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit. The WHO said people who smoke e-cigarettes breathe in a fine fog of nicotine into the lungs.
Nearly a third of people questioned in the survey think that e-cigarettes should be allowed in places where smoking is forbidden, because they don’t produce smoke, but 46 percent disagree. Men who were aware of the availability of e-cigarettes were more likely than woman to say they should be a choice available to smokers who want to quit. Young people, aged 18-29, and singles were the groups most open to trying e-cigarettes. Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide, according to the WHO.What can we learn from Paragraph 1?
| A．American smokers ought to try e-cigarettes. |
| B．Americans have different opinions about e-cigarettes. |
| C．Every kind of cigarettes should be forbidden in America. |
| D．Most of the Americans don’t like e-cigarettes. |
According to Zogby International, e-cigarettes .
| A．are much safer than common cigarettes |
| B．are popular among people who want to quit smoking |
| C．will take the place of traditional cigarettes |
| D．are produced in a safer way by manufacturers |
What do we know about e-cigarettes from the passage?
| A．Most Americans are familiar with them. |
| B．They are a good choice as there is no nicotine. |
| C．They produce a water vapor that can’t be seen. |
| D．Most people buy them on the Internet. |
What’s the attitude of the WHO towards e-cigarettes?
| A．Negative | B．Supportive | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent |
Children are very, very observant and have excellent memories.
Around Christmas last year, we were heading to Grandma’s house. The drive was an hour long, so we had plenty of time to chat. We were waiting to get onto the freeway when my daughter Hayley noticed a homeless man, no sign in hand. “Mom, is that man homeless?” I told her I believed he was.
We got onto the freeway and drove away. But the chatting had stopped. Hayley was quiet all the way there. We spent a few hours at Grandma’s then packed up to head home. As we drove back, Hayley rustled(沙沙作响地移动) around in her seat, trying to reach something on the floor of the car. I asked her to sit still, worried her seatbelt would slip from the booster seat. She mumbled(咕哝)something and sat back.
“Mom, will the homeless man still be outside tonight?” I told her I was not sure, maybe. It was a freezing night, and I started to think of the man now too, and how cold he must be.
All of a sudden, as we got onto the freeway exit, Haley shrieked (尖叫): “There he is! There he is!” and started rolling down her window. “Mom, I found these gloves and scarf back here. Can I give them to him? Can I?” she asked.
I pulled over to the edge of the road, and beckoned(招手示意) the man to come over. Haley smiled at him and handed him her gift. I looked in the front passenger seat, loaded with leftovers from Grandma’s house, and handed those out to him as well.
The man thanked us, he clutched (抓紧) my hand in his and I could feel the bitter cold of them. We wished him a safe night and continued on our journey to our warm home.
“Haley, that was very sweet of you!” I told her. “Well, they were your gloves and scarf, Mom, but his hands looked colder, and he has to keep looking for his house!”
We had talked about homelessness before , and I could hear myself telling her: “Someone who has lost their home.” She had taken my words literally and thought the man’s home was like a lost puppy.
On the ride home, and as I carried my sleeping angel into the house that night, my heart filled with gratitude.The underlined word “observant” in Paragraph I means “”.
| A．fond of serving others | B．quick at noticing things |
| C．good at memorizing | D．easy to be pleased |
The girl thought “a homeless person” was a person who .
| A．had no home to go to |
| B．had lost his or her puppy |
| C．was in need of gloves and scarves |
| D．couldn’t find his or her home |
The mother felt thankful because .
| A．she felt lucky to have such a warm-hearted daughter |
| B．she was pleased that she had a great family |
| C．she felt happy to have given the leftovers to the man |
| D．they had arrived home safely despite the cold |
The article is mainly structured around .
| A．analysis | B．comparison | C．time order | D．cause and result |
“I was only thirteen when four of my team members and I were chosen by my swim coach to train with the Chinese National Team. The following piece shows how that experience has influenced me.”
The night before I left for China, my mother called me into her room. I entered not knowing what to expect. I sat down at the end of her very neatly-made bed, opposite the bedroom table on which she kept a Ming-style vase illustrated in great detail. She told me that my great-grandmother was still living in the surroundings of Beijing. Her name was Ren Li Ling and she was 97 years old. This was the first time I had ever heard of her.
The dragon on the vase snaked through the flowers and vines（藤蔓）as my mother said, “Pu Pu, look at me. You need to hear this so that when you go to China you will understand. You must keep this knowledge in your heart.”
She told me a story about my grandfather, Ren Li Ling's son, who left Beijing to go to college in Taiwan. She told me how the Chinese civil war kept him away from his mother for fifty years, so neither of them even knew that the other was alive. No one from Taiwan could visit, write, or call anyone in mainland. All lines of communication were cut off.
She told me of my grandfather's devotion to his own children, and how difficult it was for him to send his daughter to America for her education, fearing that same separation. He gave my mother all that he could give — nineteen years of love and fifty years of savings. I learned how my mother, through means only available in this country, would finally be able to unite my great-grandmother with my grandfather again. The dragon curled around the vase, connecting the separate vines. For a fleeting second, I felt it was present in my mother's room. It was all very strange, yet very clear. I began to understand that this trip to China was not just for me; it was for my mother, and her father, and his mother. Now, I had not only a future, but more significantly, a past. I saw the world with new eyes.
And so I went to China and met my great-grandmother. My great-aunt picked me up at the training center, and we rode in a taxi through the crowded city. The noise of the taxi and the city united into a deep roar. We finally stopped in front of a narrow street lined on either side with small one-level houses. As we made our way to a house like all the others, I drew the stares of many people in the street. My great-aunt led me through a rotting（朽烂的）doorway into a room with a furnace（炉子）, table, and a rocking chair where an old woman wearing gloves sat facing the doorway, covered with a worn brown blanket. I walked over and immediately embraced this frail woman as if I had known her all my life. My limited, broken Chinese wasn't up to expressing my complicated feelings. And even though I couldn't completely understand what she was saying in her thick Beijing accent, I knew — the same way I knew what my mother had been trying to tell me before I left. Her joy shone through her toothless smile. She wouldn't let go of my hand. I haltingly（结结巴巴地）asked her how she had managed to live such a long life. She answered in words I will never forget, “Hope has kept me alive. I have lived this long because I wanted to see my son before I died.”
My fellow team members must have wondered how two people separated by three generations could be so close. Before this trip, I would have wondered the same thing. And even now, I can't quite explain it. We were as different as two people can be; some 85 years and 8,000 miles apart. We came from two entirely different cultures; yet we were connected by a common heritage(传统).
I stayed for dinner which was cooked in a black iron wok（锅）over the furnace. The meal was lavish（过分丰盛的）, prepared in my honor. As I began to eat, with my great-grandmother beside me, I felt the dragon was present. But this time, the feeling didn't pass; the dragon had become a part of me.
My great-grandmother passed away last year at the age of 100. With her highest hopes and wildest dreams fulfilled, I know she died happy. The writer’s mother called him into her room to ___________________.
| A．prepare him for the trip and warn him against possible problems |
| B．remind him of his origin |
| C．ask him to look for his great-grandmother |
| D．share with him the story of her childhood |
The dragon is mentioned several times in the passage because __________________.
| A．the vase with the dragon on it is very valuable and beautiful |
| B．it stands for the blood running in every Chinese |
| C．it is a sign of the writer’s devotion to his birthplace |
| D．the writer’s mother hoped the writer would be as strong as a dragon |
How old was the writer’s mother when she was sent to America for her education.
| A．13 | B．16 | C．19 | D．20 |
Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
| A．The writer’s grandfather was afraid of a war when sending his daughter to America. |
| B．The hope to see her son again kept the writer’s great-grandmother alive for this long. |
| C．It was within the writer’s expectation that he could be so close to his great-grandmother. |
| D．The writer’s great-grandmother was reunited with her son before she died. |
Which is the best title for the text?
| A．We Share the Same Heritage. |
| B．Love from My Great-grandmother. |
| C．A Story from My Mother. |
| D．An Unforgettable Training Trip. |