When I was a teenager growing up in Russia, I felt studying very boring, I wanted to leave school and have my own life. There were only two ways for me to do this—working in the toy factory in my town, or getting married. I chose the first one. I was nervous when I told my father that I wanted to leave school. I thought he would say, “No! You are going to college.” Instead, he took me by surprise when he said, “OK. We’ll go to the toy factory.”
Two days later, he took me to the factory. I had a very romantic idea of working in a factory. I had imagined everyone to be friendly working together and having fun. I even imagined there would be music and singing. I guess I had watched too many movies as a teenager.
When we arrived at the factory gates, my father spoke to the guard and one minute later we went inside. My father said, “Take your time. Look around.” I walked around the factory, looking at the buildings, the workers, and listening to the noise. It was terrible. I ran back to my father and said, “I want to go home.”
He asked me, “What do you think of the factory?”
“It’s terrible,” I replied.
“And you have another choice, but I think getting married is even worse!” he said.
I went back to school the next day. From then on, I studied as hard as I could. Finally I got into a good college. I enjoyed studying English so I decided to major in languages at college. Thanks to my father and our trip to the factory, I now work at the United Nations and my father is very proud of me. I married a very good man and my life is much better than it would have been working in the factory!The writer lived in ________ when she was a teenager.
A.Russia | B.Japan | C.China | D.England |
At first she thought life in the factory would be ________ than in school.
A.more terrible | B.more colorful | C.busier | D.more boring |
After they visited the factory, the writer ________.
A.decided to work there | B.changed her romantic idea |
C.wanted to get married | D.argued with her father |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.The writer studied languages after she went into the college. |
B.The writer now works at the United Nations. |
C.The writer’s father used a special way to let his daughter go back to school. |
D.The writer’s father is proud because his daughter married a good man. |
Are you thinking about what to do in your free time? Come and join us —Youth (青年) Club! Join in lessons and activities. It’s fun! For more information, call 34789256 !
Lessons |
Activities |
Monday ~ Friday 6:00p.m. ~ 7:00p.m. Computer lessons for beginners |
Saturday and Sunday 8:00a.m~ 9:00p.m. Basketball and volleyball playgrounds open |
Monday, Wednesday 7:30p.m ~ 9:30p.m. Dance lessons for dance-lovers Learn and enjoy wonderful dances. |
Monday ~ Sunday Swimming pool open |
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 6:30p.m. ~ 7:30p.m. Cooking lessons Learn to cook delicious dishes from all over China. |
The last Saturdays of every month 7:00p.m.~9:30 p.m. Concert time — Enjoy Swedish rock, American jazz and beautiful songs from different parts of the world! |
You can’t have computer lessons on __________.
A. Monday. B. Sunday. C. Friday. Rose is free after 6:20 p. m. She can take__________ .
A. Computer lessons.
B. Cooking lessons.
C. Both computer and cooking lessons.. Dick wants to swim after playing basketball. He can go to the club on __________.
A. Monday and Wednesday.
B. Monday and Sunday.
C. Saturday and Sunday. You can enjoy music in the club__________.
A. Once a month. B. Once a week. C. Twice a month. What should you do if you want to know the cost of the lessons? __________
A. Call 347 89256.
B. Join all the clubs.
C. read the posters carefully.
Think of life as a game in which you are playing with five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit (精神) and you keep all of them in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce (弹跳) back.
But the other four balls, family, health, friends and spirit, are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be broken. They will never be the same. You must understand that and try to have balance in your life. How?
Don’t look down on your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special.
Don’t let other people set goals for you. Only you know what is best for yourself.
Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Don’t be afraid of difficulties. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible. The quickest way to receive love is to give it; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly (紧紧地); the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.
Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is a treasure (珍宝) you can always carry easily.
Don’t use time or words carelessly. You can’t get them back. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery (秘密), and today is a gift; that’s why we call it “the present”. Life is not a competition, but a trip, step by step.The passage tells us not to _________ because everyone is special.
A.be afraid of difficulties | B.be afraid to learn |
C.run through life so fast | D.compare yourself with others to look down on your worth |
The sentence “Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.” means that.
A.Nothing is possible | B.If we don’t give up, there is always hope |
C.You should learn to give up | D.Although you try, nothing will change. |
Why can’t we use time carelessly? ___________
A.Because time is too expensive. | B.Because time never returns. |
C.Because we are too poor. | D.Because times will get back. |
If you run through life so fast, you will ____________.
A.lose your own treasure that you can always carry easily |
B.lose love by holding it too tightly |
C.forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going. |
D.not afraid of the difficulties |
According to the passage, which is the best title? ___________
A.Nothing is impossible. | B.Glass balls are easy to be broken. |
C.Things you can’t do. | D.Treat your life in a right way. |
In Britain you may often hear “Drop in any time.” or “Come to see me soon”, but you can’t really do that. People just say those things to make you feel welcome. It is better to telephone before visiting someone at home. If you receive a written invitation to an event that says “RSVP”, you should reply to let the person who sent the invitation know whether or not you plan to go.
You should never accept an invitation unless you really plan to go. You may refuse by saying, “Thank you for inviting me, but I will not be able to come.” If, after accepting, you are unable to go, be sure to tell those who are expecting you as soon as possible that you will not be there. Although it is not necessarily expected that you give a gift to your host, it is considered polite to do so, especially if you have been invited for a meal. Flowers, chocolate, or a small gift are all appropriate(合适的). A thank-you note or telephone call after the visit is also considered polite and is an appropriate way to express your appreciation for the invitation.What can you do when a British friend says, “Drop in anytime”?
A.Visit him or her at any time. | B.Say no time to him or her seriously. |
C.Telephone him or her before visiting. | D.Visit him or her soon. |
What does the underlined word “RSVP” probably mean in Chinese?
A.请自便 | B.请回复 | C.请审阅 | D.请来访 |
What should you do if your British friend sends you an invitation but you do not want to go?
A.Do not give him or her an answer. |
B.Tell another friend to go instead of you. |
C.Tell him or her that you can’t be there for some reason. |
D.Tell him or her that you don’t want to go there. |
Which of the following is considered impolite in Britain?
A.Buy small presents when invited. |
B.Refuse the invitation without telling anyone. |
C.Write a thank-you note after a visit. |
D.Give a telephone call after a visit. |
Where would you probably see this passage?
A.In an invitation. | B.In a guidebook. |
C.On a poster. | D.In a newspaper. |
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Huang Xiaoming Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming visited the panda base(据点) in Sichuan province. During his visit, Huang put on a keeper’s suit and tried cutting bamboo, cleaning cages and feeding the pandas. Huang also adopted a pair of panda twins with a gift of one million yuan. |
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Angelina Jolie Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie can do all kinds of things on screen. It looks like she’s good at everything, shooting, fighting and killing. But there’s one thing she’s afraid of—cooking. The 33-year-old actress says she was never able to master cooking skills.“I don’t cook—it’s the one thing I can’t do!”she says. |
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Chen Luyu Chinese hostess Chen Luyu is famous for her popular talk show. She set up an online version of her show at Sina.com. People have grown tired of Chen’s show, especially her habit of constantly asking guests, “really?”. But the producer of the show supports Chen. “She’s one of the few Chinese hosts who knows how to control her desire to express herself and let the guests speak freely in an interview.” |
What kind of animals does Huang Xiaoming like?
A.Pandas. | B.Monkeys. |
C.Tigers. | D.Lions. |
Which is TRUE about Angelina Jolie?
A.She is good at everything. | B.She can’t shoot well. |
C.She can’t cook by herself. | D.She can cook well. |
Why have people grown tired of Chen Luyu’s show according to the passage?
A.Because she isn’t famous for her talk show. |
B.Because she set up an online version of talk show. |
C.Because she has the habit of constantly asking, “Really?”. |
D.Because she likes to express herself. |
What does the underlined word“adopt”mean in the first paragraph?
A.批准 | B.继承 | C.采纳 | D.收养 |
We can know from the passage that _______.
A.Angelina Jolie is a shy actress | B.Chen Luyu isn’t famous any more |
C.Huang Xiaoming is a kind man | D.All the three stars are Chinese |
ARE you creative, shy, outgoing? Our personalities reveal a lot about who we are. But what’s surprising is that our personality can also say something about our health. That’s according to researchers at Duke University, US.
During an experiment on 1,000 people, scientists assessed (评定) their personalities in two ways: by asking someone they knew, such as a family member or friend; then by asking someone they had just met, such as a nurse. The study found that those who were careful at age 26 were in better health after 12 years.
Being careful means that people tend to have a lot of self-control, and are less likely to smoke, the scientists said. Careful people are also more likely to have an active lifestyle and healthy diet.
From those who were least careful, 45 percent developed health problems by the age of 38. Such health issues included gum disease and high blood pressure (高血压). To compare, only 18 percent of careful people went on to develop health problems.
Another positive personality was called “openness to experience”, meaning curious and imaginative. People who have more of this personality have higher IQ scores. So they’d be more likely to know how to find medical help to prevent disease.
According to the report, if doctors assessed our personalities, it could help doctors to find which young adults need advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle. What’s surprising is that stress didn’t play a big part on a person’s health. Even though stress and anxiety (焦虑) are usually linked to bad health.
But can a doctor who knows our personality really improve our health? Or should doctors be kept away from knowing something so personal?Which personality type may be better for our health, according to the research?
A.self-controlled. | B.Stressed. |
C.Shy. | D.Careless. |
From the passage, we learn that careful people ____.
A.are too shy to talk to strangers |
B.love to ask the doctor for advice |
C.are likely to have a healthy lifestyle |
D.may have high blood pressure when they’re older |
Where can you probably read the article?
A.Newspaper. | B.Science fiction book. |
C.Research paper. | D.Travel guide. |
What is the main idea of the article?
A.People can change their personality type. |
B.Scientists have found two different personality types. |
C.Personalities have something to do with our lifestyle. |
D.Personalities say something about our health. |