There is a small village named Bugu in the mountains of Shanglin County, Guangxi. The place is so small that it can’t be found in the map of the county of Shanglin. However, the place has strongly interested experts(专家) both at home and abroad.
There are altogether 81 families in the village with more than 540 people. Among them as many as 156 villagers have a university education. Take this year’s college entrance examination for example. Six out of nine students from the village who took the examination were taken into universities.
Going to school has been a great thing for the whole village. To encourage children to study hard and become useful people, the village has set up a special group made up of four old villagers. Every day, the four villagers go round the village. If they find any child who is not going to school, the child’s parents will be punished（惩罚）.
When university students come back to the village for the Spring Festival,the old villagers of the special group always ask them to make up test papers and let the children take the special “Village Test”. Those who are taken into university can receive money from the village’s education fund. The whole village also helps the poor families send their children to school.The main idea of the news story is __________.
| A．how Bugu villagers get education. |
| B．how Bugu villagers pay attention to education. |
| C．how many students go to university in Bugu village. |
| D．how Bugu villagers encourage children to study hard.. |
The four old villagers’ job is________.
| A．to collect the children together in the village. |
| B．to go around the village to keep it safe. |
| C．to take care of children’s education. |
| D．to solve family problems in the village. |
If a child who is not going to school is found by the four villagers,________.
| A．his parents are punished |
| B．the child is punished |
| C．the four old villagers are punished |
| D．the child’s whole family members are punished. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that _______.
| A．The villagers respect those with knowledge |
| B．The villagers are rich enough in this village. |
| C．All the children prefer to go to university |
| D．Poor families are supported by the other villagers. |
People aren’t walking any more--- if they can figure out a way to avoid it.
I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn’t in any hurry, either, I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.
It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune, for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as a sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced –and beat—a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty.
Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercise. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise--- the most familiar and natural of all. It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world. He cannot learn in a car.
The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don’t dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat. To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
I say that the green of forests is the mind’s best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.What was life like when the author was young?
| A．people often walked 25 miles a day |
| B．People usually went around on foot. |
| C．People used to climb the Statue of Liberty. |
| D．people considered a ten-hour walk as a hardship. |
The author mentions Henry Thoreau to prove that ________.
| A．middle-aged people like getting back to nature |
| B．people need regular exercise to keep fit |
| C．walking in nature helps enrich one’s mind |
| D．going on foot prevents heart disease |
What is compared to “a steel river” in Paragraph6?
| A．A ray of traffic light | B．A queue of cars |
| C．A flash of lightning | D．A stream of people |
No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from their successes, and keep that knowledge longer.
One of the researchers was Vinit Desai, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. He worked with Peter Madsen from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.
They did not find much long-term "organizational learning" from success. It is possible, they say. But Professor Desai says they found that knowledge gained from failure lasts for years. He says organizations should treat failures as a learning opportunity and not try to ignore them.
The study looked at companies and organizations that launch satellites--and other space vehicles. Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights.
In two thousand two, a piece of insulating(隔热的) material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis. Still, the flight was considered a success.
Then, in early two thousand three, a piece of insulation struck the Columbia during launch. This time, the shuttle broke apart on re-entry and the seven crew members died. NASA officials suspended all flights and an investigation led to suggested changes.
Professor Desai says the search for solutions after a failure can make leaders more open-minded. He points to airlines as an example of an industry that has learned from failures in the past.
He advises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided. He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information. The study appeared in the Academy of Management Journal.
The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own. We recently asked people on our Facebook page to tell us a time they had done something really silly.
Fabricio Cmino wrote: Not long ago I wanted to watch TV, but it wouldn't turn on, so I did everything I could to start it. Thirty minutes later my mum showed up and, passing by, said to me "Did you try plugging it'? I’m just dusting, Mum!”So she wouldn't notice how dumb I am sometimes!
Bruno Kanieski da Silva told about a time he looked everywhere for his key. It was in his pocket. He wrote: I always promise I will never do it again, but after-a few weeks,where is my wallet? For sure it will be in a very logical place.From the passage, we can infer that________.
| A．The insulating material problem in 2002 didn't arouse enough attention |
| B．There were no astronauts on Columbia |
| C．In spite of the problem, Atlantis was considered a success |
| D．Columbia exploded during its launch time |
The writer gives the last two paragraphs to show that________.
| A．many people make mistakes in the world |
| B．mistakes were a very embarrassing thing when found by others |
| C．we can also draw a lesson from others' mistakes |
| D．making mistakes was a necessity |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Only organizations can learn from mistakes |
| B．We can also learn from failures that have been avoided. |
| C．Lessons from the shuttle flights are more important. |
| D．Leaders often lack an open mind and seldom share information. |
Ask most people how they define the American Dream and chances are they’ll say, “Success.” The dream of individual opportunity has been home in American since Europeans discovered a “new world” in the Western Hemisphere. Early immigrants like Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur praised highly the freedom and opportunity to be found in this new land. His glowing descriptions of a classless society where anyone could attain success through honesty and hard work fired the imaginations of many European readers: in Letters from an American Farmer (1782) he wrote. “We are all excited at the spirit of an industry which is unfettered (无拘无束的) and unrestrained, because each person works for himself … We have no princes, for whom we toil (干苦力活)，starve, and bleed: we are the most perfect society now existing in the world.” The promise of a land where “the rewards of a man’s industry follow with equal steps the progress of his labor” drew poor immigrants from Europe and fueled national expansion into the western territories.
Our national mythology (神化) is full of illustration of the American success story. There’s Benjamin Franklin, the very model of the self-educated, self-made man, who rose from modest origins to become a well-known scientist, philosopher, and statesman. In the nineteenth century, Horatio Alger, a writer of fiction for young boys, became American’s best-selling author with rags-to-riches tales. The notion of success haunts us: we spend million every year reading about the rich and famous, learning how to “make a fortune in real estate with no money down,” and “dressing for success.” The myth of success has even invaded our personal relationships: today it’s as important to be “successful” in marriage or parenthoods as it is to come out on top in business.
But dreams easily turn into nightmares. Every American who hopes to “make it” also knows the fear of failure, because the myth of success inevitably implies comparison between the haves and the have-nots, the stars and the anonymous crowd. Under pressure of the myth, we become indulged in status symbols: we try to live in the “right” neighborhoods, wear the “right” clothes, eat the “right” foods. These symbols of distinction assure us and others that we believe strongly in the fundamental equality of all, yet strive as hard as we can to separate ourselves from our fellow citizens.What is the essence of the American Dream according to Crevecoeur?
| A．People are free to develop their power of imagination. |
| B．People who are honest and work hard can succeed. |
| C．People are free from exploitation and oppression. |
| D．People can fully enjoy individual freedom. |
By saying “the rewards of a man’s industry follow with equal steps the progress of his labor” (Line 10, Para. 1), the author means __________ .
| A．the more diligent one is, the bigger his returns |
| B．laborious work ensures the growth of an industry |
| C．a man’s business should be developed step by step |
| D．a company’s success depends on its employees’ hard work |
The characters described in Horatio Alger’s novels are people who ___________.
| A．succeed in real estate investment |
| B．earned enormous fortunes by chances |
| C．became wealthy after starting life very poor |
| D．became famous despite their modest origins |
It can be inferred from the last sentence of the second paragraph that ____________.
| A．business success often contributes to a successful marriage |
| B．Americans wish to succeed in every aspect of life |
| C．good personal relationships lead to business success |
| D．successful business people provide good care for their children |
What is the paradox (说法) of American culture according to the author?
| A．The American road to success is full of nightmares. |
| B．Status symbols are not a real indicator of a person’s wealth. |
| C．The American Dream is nothing but an empty dream. |
| D．What Americans strive after often contradicts their beliefs. |
Perhaps you think you could easily add to your happiness with more money. Strange as it may seem, if you're unsatisfied, the issue is not a lack of means to meet your desires but a lack of desires—not that you cannot satisfy your tastes but that you don't have enough tastes.
Real riches consist of well-developed and hearty capacities (能力) to enjoy life. Most people are already swamped(淹没) with things. They eat, wear, go and talk too much. They live in too big a house with too many rooms, yet their house of life is a hut.
Your house of life ought to be a mansion (豪宅) , a royal palace. Every new taste, every additional interest, every fresh enthusiasm adds a room. Here are several rooms your house of life should have.
Art should be a desire for you to develop simply because the world is full of beautiful things. If you only understood how to enjoy them and feed your spirit on them, they would make you as happy as to find plenty of ham and eggs when you're hungry.
Literature, classic literature, is a beautiful, richly furnished room where you might find many an hour of rest and refreshment. To gain that love would go toward making you a rich person, for a rich person is not someone who has a library but who likes a library.
Music like Mozart's and Bach's shouldn't be absent. Real riches are of the spirit. And when you've brought that spirit up to where classical music feeds it and makes you a little drunk, you have increased your thrills and bettered them. And life is a matter of thrills.
Sports, without which you remain poor, mean a lot in life. No matter who you are, you would be more human, and your house of life would be better supported against the had days, if you could, and did, play a bit.
Whatever rooms you might add to your house of life, the secret of enjoying life is to keep adding.The author intends to tell us that____________.
| A．true happiness lies in achieving wealth by fair means |
| B．big houses are people's most valued possessions |
| C．big houses can in a sense bring richness of life |
| D．true happiness comes from spiritual riches |
The underlined sentence in the second paragraph probably implies that__________.
| A．however materially rich, they never seem to be satisfied |
| B．however materially rich, they remain spiritually poor |
| C．though their house is big, they prefer a simple life |
| D．though their house is big, it seems to be a cage |
Larry was on another of his underwater expeditions(探险)but this time, it was different. He decided to take his daughter along with him. She was only ten years old. This would be her first trip with her father on what he had always been famous for.
Larry first began diving when he was his daughter’s age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children his age were not even allowed to dive.
After the first expedition, Larry’s later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures.
Larry’s first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them. Fortunately for him, a man offered to take him around the different Spots for free. Larry didn’t even know what the time was, how many spots he dived into or how many photographs he had taken. The diving spots afforded such a wide array of fish and sea creatures that Larry saw more than thirty varieties of creatures.
Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than had been then. This was the key to a successful underwater expedition.What can be inferred from Paragraph2?
| A．Larry had some privileges. |
| B．Larry liked the rented diving suits. |
| C．Divers had to buy diving equipment. |
| D．Ten-year-old children were permitted to dive. |
Why did Larry have to stay in a cage underwater sometimes?
| A．To protect himself from danger. |
| B．To dive into the deep water. |
| C．To admire the underwater view. |
| D．To take photo more conveniently. |