The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The term is most commonly used to refer to those eight schools considered as a group. The term is also connected with academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism(精英主义).
The term became official, especially in sports terminology, after the formation of the NCAA Division I athletic conference in 1954, when much of the nation polarized around favorite college teams. “IV” was used because originally the league consisted only of four members. The use of the phrase is no longer limited to athletics, and now represents an educational philosophy inherent to ( 固有的，内在的)the nation's oldest schools. In addition, Ivy League schools are often viewed by the public as some of the most prestigious （著名的）universities worldwide and are often ranked amongst the best universities in the United States and worldwide. The eight institutions are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.
All of the Ivy League's institutions place near the top in the U.S. News & World Reportcollege and university rankings and rank within the top one percent of the world's academic institutions in terms of financial endowment(捐助). Seven of the eight schools were founded during America's colonial period; the exception is Cornell, which was founded in 1865. Ivy League institutions, therefore, account for seven of the nine Colonial Colleges chartered before the American Revolution. The Ivies are all in the Northeast geographic region of the United States. All eight schools receive millions of dollars in research grants and other subsidies from federal and state government.
Undergraduate enrollments among the Ivy League schools range from about 4,000 to 14,000, making them larger than those of a typical private liberal arts college and smaller than a typical public state university. Ivy League university financial endowments range from Brown's $2.01 billion to Harvard's $26 billion, the largest financial endowment of any academic institution in the world.Which meaning can the term “the Ivy League” convey today?
| A．The largest enrollment. | B．The strongest government support. |
| C．The most expensive schools. | D．First-class education. |
From the passage, we know the word “Ivy” in “the Ivy League” was first chosen to refer to _______.
| A．a plant | B．a number | C．a sport | D．a spirit |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．There is no longer sports competition in the Ivy League. |
| B．Seven colleges were set up before the USA was founded. |
| C．Brown University has the smallest number of students. |
| D．Typical public state universities are larger than the Ivies. |
What is special about Cornell University in the League?
| A．It is the oldest one. | B．It was founded by colonists. |
| C．It has the smallest endowment. | D．It is the youngest one. |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．The ABC of “The Ivy League” |
| B．Best Universities in the USA |
| C．The Financial Income of American Universities |
| D．How to Apply to an Ivy League University |
Tell a story and tell it well, and you may open wide the eyes of a child, open up lines of communication in a business, or even open people’s mind to another culture or race.
People in many places are digging up the old folk stories and the messages in them. For example, most American storytellers get their tales from a wide variety of sources, cultures, and times. They regard storytelling not only as a useful tool in child education, but also as a meaningful activity that helps adults understand themselves as well as those whose culture may be very different from their own.
“Most local stories are based on a larger theme,” American storyteller Opalanga Pugh says, “Cinderella(灰姑娘), or the central idea of a good child protected by her goodness, appears in various forms in almost every culture of the world.”
Working with students in schools, Pugh helps them understand their own cultures and the general messages of the stories. She works with prisoners too, helping them know who they are by telling stories that her listeners can write, direct, and act in their own lives. If they don’t like the story they are living, they can rewrite the story. Pugh also works to help open up lines of communication between managers and workers. “For every advance in business,” she says, “there is a greater need for communication.” Storytelling can have a great effect on either side of the manager-worker relationship, she says.
Pugh spent several years in Nigeria, where she learned how closely storytelling was linked to the everyday life of the people there. The benefits of storytelling are found everywhere, she says.
“I learned how people used stories to spread their culture,” she says. “What I do is to focus on the value of stories that people can translate into their own daily world of affairs. We are all storytellers. We all have a story to tell. We tell everybody’s story.”What do we learn about American story tellers from Paragraph 2 ?
| A．They share the same way of storytelling. |
| B．They prefer to tell stories from other cultures. |
| C．They learn their stories from the American natives. |
| D．They find storytelling useful for both children and adults. |
The underlined sentence (Paragraph 4) suggests that prisoners can _____.
| A．direct films |
| B．settle down in another place |
| C．start a new life |
| D．become good actors |
Pugh has practised storytelling with _____ groups of people.
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Storytelling can influence the way people think. |
| B．Storytelling is vital to the growth of businesses. |
| C．Storytelling is the best way to educate children in school. |
| D．Storytelling helps people understand themselves and others. |
In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by “small talk”. Small talk means the little things we talk about at start of a conversation. In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather: “Nice day, isn’t it?” But there is something special about small talk. It must be about something which both people have the same opinion about. The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something. This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable. People usually agree about the weather, so it is a safer topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk in English. The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place. At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching: “Great game, isn’t it?” At bus stops, people may comment about the transport system: “The bus service is terrible, isn’t it?”
Greetings and small talk are important parts of conversation in any language. The way people greet each other and the things they talk about, however, may be different from one language to another. This shows that there is much more to learn when we learn a language than just the vocabulary and the grammar of the language. We also have to learn the social behavior of the people who speak it.Small talk __________ .
| A．is a kind of conversation with short words |
| B．is a greeting when people meet each other |
| C．is to let people disagree about something |
| D．is something we talk about to start with a conversation |
Why do people need small talk?
| A．To choose a topic for conversation. |
| B．To agree about the weather. |
| C．To let meeting people become easier and more comfortable. |
| D．To learn a language. |
The passage suggests that when we learn a language ,__________．
| A．we should grasp the importance of the language |
| B．we should know the culture of the language |
| C．we should only master the grammar and vocabulary |
| D．we should learn about the transport system of the country |
Maybe it is true that we do not know what we have got until we lose it, but it is also true that we do not know what we have been missing until it arrives. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back. Do not expect love in return; but if it does not, be content it grows in yours.
It takes an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. Do not rely on one's appearance, it can deceive. Do not rely on wealth, even that fades away. Rely on someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them.
Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy.
Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.
The happiest of people do not necessarily gave the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Happiness waits for those who cry, those who have been hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tired, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You cannot go on well in life until you let your past failures and heartaches go off.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you are the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.The writer thinks the trouble with some people is that they __________.
| A．always take a long view about problems |
| B．look at problems all-sidedly |
| C．can be good at doing with problems |
| D．deal with problems one-sidedly |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．We often don't know what we have lost until it happens. |
| B．If it takes you an hour to love someone, you will easily forget her. |
| C．If you give someone your love, you are sure that she will give her love to you in return. |
| D．If someone accepts your love and he doesn’t give you his love in return, you should be angry with him. |
If you put yourself in another's position, ___________.
| A． you should depend on wealth |
| B．you shouldn't do those things that will hurt you and other people |
| C．you will do what you want to do however dangerous it is to people |
| D．you should depend on other people |
In the last paragraph of the passage, the writer is actually telling us that a man in the world should be one who __________.
| A．can accept the suggestions made by others |
| B．can live happily and forget the past |
| C．does good for the people and is respected by them |
| D．has made a lot of money for himself when he dies |
I was very sympathetic with world leaders burdened with resolving conflicts between nations. When my three children were young, in most days it was hard to keep my house from becoming a war zone. It got worse as they grew older. Three years ago, Zack, then 16, couldn’t make it through a day without playing tricks on his sisters, Alex and Taryn, then 11 and 9.
My husband and I tried to understand his adolescent moodiness. We begged, reasoned, punished, and left heartfelt notes on his bed about how his behavior was hurting our family. His response was a shrug and “I say it because it’s true”.
I even tried telling the girls to fight back. But it was a bad idea. Now I had three kids at war. At wit’s end, I poured my heart out to my sister in an e-mail. She wrote back, “Don’t e-mail me. E-mail him.”
Our son was online every day, mailing and instantly messaging his friends. So what if I was within shouting distance? Maybe he would actually hear me this way. There’d be no yelling or door slamming（猛然关闭）. Zack wouldn’t feel under attack. And with a few simple keystrokes, he could respond. Or not. Zack didn’t reply for days. When he finally did, his entire message was four words. I expected the worst, but then smiled when I read them, ”You are right. I’m sorry.” The kids still fought, of course, but Zack scaled back the abuse (恶习). Best of all, I now have an effective way to communicate with not one but three easily annoyed teens. They don’t tune me out as much. They don’t like to listen to me nag (唠叨) .Or as Alex says, “You’re so much nicer online.”
All I know is that the house is quiet, and we’re talking. In fact, Taryn just instantly messaged me from upstairs. It’s time to take her to softball practice.The purpose of this passage is to tell us _________ .
| A．how to solve family problems |
| B．how a mother shows her love to her children |
| C．how to treat kids in a more sensible way |
| D．the value of understanding between parents and children |
By the first sentence of the passage, the author really means to be_______.
| A．humourous | B．sympathetic | C．serious | D．inspiring |
How did Zack react when the author first tried to stop his bad behavior？
| A．He was annoyed and got worse. |
| B．He talked back to the author. |
| C．He felt sorry and changed. |
| D．He was persuaded and acted politely. |
Zack stopped fighting with his sisters because _________ .
| A．his mother learned how to mail him |
| B．his mother stopped yelling and nagging |
| C．his sisters learned to instantly message him |
| D．his mother had more friendly communications with him online |
There are two types of people in the world. Although they have equal degree of health, wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy and the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.
People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things: the pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine and the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend (冒犯) many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this turn of mind was sounded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation. It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have realized its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.
Although in fact it is chiefly all act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people offend many others: nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrong doings. These people should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels. People who are unhappy．
| A．always consider things differently from others |
| B．usually are affected by the results of certain things |
| C．usually misunderstand what others think or say |
| D．always discover the unpleasant side of certain things |
The phrase “sour the pleasure of society” most probably means“.”
| A．have a good taste with social life | B．make others unhappy |
| C．tend to scold others openly | D．enjoy the pleasure of life |
We can conclude from the passage that__________.
| A．we should pity all such unhappy people |
| B．such unhappy people are dangerous to social life |
| C．people can get rid of the habit of unhappiness |
| D．unhappy people can not understand happy persons |
If such unhappy persons insist on keeping the habit, the author suggests that people should_______.
| A．prevent any communication with them |
| B．show respect and politeness to them |
| C．persuade them to recognize the bad effects |
| D．quarrel with them until they realize the mistakes |
In this passage, the writer mainly __________.
| A．describes two types of people |
| B．laughs at the unhappy people |
| C．suggests the unhappy people should get rid of the habits of unhappiness |
| D．tells people how to be unhappy in life |