When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices（装置）tell the time—which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.
But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others—apparently including some distinguished men of our time—are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to £250.000 for a piece.
This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions—but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?
If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.
Watches are now classified as“investments”(投资). A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly £350, 000, while the 1960s Rolexes have gone from £15, 000 to £30, 000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It's a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up—they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that £350, 000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Timex.
It seems ridiculous to the writer that_______________.
| A．people dive 300 meters into the sea |
| B．expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones |
| C．cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones |
| D．expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell |
What can be learned about Swiss watch industry from the passage?
| A．It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors. |
| B．It targets rich people as its potential customers. |
| C．It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising. |
| D．It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches. |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Watches? Not for Me! | B．My Childhood Timex |
| C．Timex or Rolex? | D．Watches—a Valuable Collection |
Gloria is a famous hostess of a TV station. When she was 15, she happened to walk into a bookstore in her hometown and began looking at the books on the shelves. The man behind the counter, John Smith, asked if she'd like a job. She needed to start saving for college, so she said yes.
Gloria worked after school and during summer vacations, and the job helped pay for her first year of college. During college she would do many other jobs: she served coffee in the student union, was a hotel cleaner and even made maps for the Forest Service. But selling books was one of the most satisfying jobs.
One day a woman came into the bookstore and asked Gloria for books on cancer. The woman seemed anxious. Gloria showed her practically everything they had and found other books they could order. The woman left the store less worried, and Gloria has always remembered the pride she felt in having helped her customer.
Years later, as a television hostess, Gloria heard about a child who was born with problems with his fingers and hand. His family could not afford an operation, and the boy lived in shame, hiding his hand in his pocket all the time.
Gloria persuaded her boss to agree to let her do the story. After the story was broadcast, some doctors called, offering to perform the operation for free.
Gloria visited the boy in the hospital after the operation. The first thing he did was to hold up his repaired hand and say, "Thank you. " What a sweet sense of satisfaction Gloria felt!
At Smith's bookstore, Gloria always realized she was working for the customers, not the store. Today it's the same. The TV station pays her, but she feels that she should work for the people who watch the programmes, helping them understand the world better.
56. When did Gloria get her first job?
A. A few years before college. B. Several years after college.
C When she was studying at college. D. When she was working in the TV station.
57. In which part-time job did Gloria feel the happiest?
A. Cleaning in the hotel. B. Selling books in the bookstore.
C. Serving coffee in the student union. D. Making maps for the Forest Service.
58. How did Gloria help the child get the operation he needed?
A. Her boss agreed to raise money. B. She paid for the operation herself.
C She allowed the boy to show on TV. D. Her news report affected some doctors.
59. What particularly gives her the feeling of pride?
A. Helping people through her work. B. Reporting interesting stories.
C Being able to do different jobs well. D. Paying for her college education herself.
One would have to be a fool to overlook the importance of using positive thinking for you rather than allowing negative thinking to work against you. In recent years, research in psychopharmacology (精神药理学) has proved what many people have known over the centuries: a positive attitude is good for you, good for your health, good for your wealth, good for everything. Researchers found that a positive attitude produces a specific chemical reaction which makes people feel better, while negative thinking results in a decline of hormone (荷尔蒙) and shuts down the immune (免疫的) system. This leads to illness and depression. Positive thoughts will make you feel better. Even if you must begin by literally forcing yourself to be positive (faking it, so to speak), it will become contagious (会传播的) and the positive thoughts will generate nice little w*w^w.k&s#5@u.c~o*mchemicals and good feelings which will reinforce the positive thoughts.
For example, if you force yourself to smile or laugh, even when you don't feel like smiling or laughing, if you keep at it for a few minutes, you will soon feel like it. Feelings can generate thoughts, but thoughts can also generate feelings. Control your thoughts and you can control your feelings. Positive thinking is important in all aspects of our lives. There is probably no single factor more important in determining your success in achieving your career objectives than your own attitude.
It's often been said that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. And in the office of militant (好战) negativism, the positive workers shine like gold. You cannot control external events, but you can learn to control your reaction to those events and thereby have a positive attitude and be happy. This vital key to success is totally within your control. Use it.
67. We can infer from the passage that .
A. positive thinking can cure you of your diseases
B. positive thinking can easily be generated by anyone
C. a decline of hormone may cause you to be depressed
D. a specific chemical reaction is the cause of negative thinking
68. According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A. Feeling and thoughts can generate each other.
B. It's easier to control thoughts than to control feelings.
C. Your success depends wholly on your attitude.
D. Keeping smiling will surely make you successful.
69. Just like a one-eyed man in the land of the blind, you should .
A. take positive attitude in the office of militant negativism
B. be king in your office
C. pay no attention to what is going on around you
D. control your feeling to what is happening to you
70. The best title to the passage is .
A. the Bad Effect of Negative Thinking B. Why Should People Think
C. Positive Thinking Benefits People D. Thinking: The Vital Way
The hole in the Earth's ozone layer (臭氧层) has until now protected Antarctica from the worst effects of global warming. But scientists have warned that as the hole closes up in the next few decades, temperatures on the continent could rise by around 3℃on average, with melting ice contributing to a global sea level increase of up to 1.4 metres.
In the past decades the western Antarctic has seen rapid ice loss as the world has warmed, but the other parts of the continent have, paradoxically, been cooling, resulting in a 10% increase in ice in the seas around the region. This is because the hole in the ozone layer has increased cold winds in Antarctica, making much of the continent surface colder than usual.
But now that the gasses that cause the ozone hole have been banned, scientists expect the hole to repair itself within the next 50 to 60 years. By then the cooling effect will have faded out and the Antarctic will face the full impact of global warming. This means an increase in average air temperatures of around 3℃ and a reduction in sea ice by around a third.
The biggest threat to the continent comes from warming seas. Robert Johnson, a scientist who monitors Antarctica ice sheets, said, "The ice sheets in Antarctica are hundreds of metres thick. But once warm ocean waters start flowing underneath, the ice will begin thinning and could break up very quickly. "Thinning ice sheets cause ice to break away from the continent and to melt even faster. Escaping ice from western Antarctica has already resulted in a 10% rise in global sea level in recent decades.
Johnson believes that international action to reduce global warming is required immediately or it may be too late. "Everything is connected - Antarctica may be a long way away but it is an important part of the Earth's system," said Johnson. "It contains 90% of the world's ice, 70% of the world's fresh water and that is enough, if it melts completely, to raise sea levels by 63 metres."
Even in a worse-case situation scientists don't expect the ice to entirely disappear, but predict that, because of the melting ice sheets, average sea level rise will be around 1.4 metres higher by the end of the century.
63. The underlined word "paradoxically" (in Paragraph 2) most probably means "__".
A. rapidly B. approximately C. contradictorily D. apparently
64. What is the effect of the hole in the ozone layer on Antarctica?
A. It is causing the ice to melt faster.
B. It is making much of the continent colder.
C. It is making the effects of global warming in the region worse.
D. It is reducing the amount of water in Antarctica.
65. What do scientists think is the biggest danger facing Antarctica?
A. Rising sea levels. B. Warming sea water temperature.
C. Water pollution. D. Growing ice sheets.
66. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Antarctica is currently experiencing the full effects of global warming.
B. The average temperature has increased by 3℃ in recent decades.
C. Antarctica contains most of the world's fresh water.
D. Ten percent of Antarctica's ice has already been lost.
|
60. Which one of the following activities requires the longest time to complete?
A. Fun in MandarinB. Fairytale Holiday Chinese Camp
C. Magic Moments English Speech and Drama Camp
D. Magic Moments Mandarin Speech anti Drama Camp
61. After attending the Building Confidence course, the children will ______. .
A. become magicians B. overcome stage fright
C. grow cells in the lady D. tend to patients in the hospital
62. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Participators need not bring any materials for the activities.
B. All activities are targeted at primary school children only.
C. All participants will receive a free gift upon registration.
D. All activities are organized throughout the year.
The sun shone in through the dining room window，lighting up the hardwood floor. We had been talking there for nearly two hours．The phone of the“Nightline”rang yet again and Morrie asked his helper．Connie，to get it .She had been taking down the callers’names in Morrie’s small black appointment book .It was clear 1 was not the only one interested in visiting my old professor—the“Nightline”appearance had made him something of a big figure—but I was impressed with．perhaps even a bit envious of，all the friends that Morrie seemed to have
“You know．Mitch，now that I'm dying，I've become much more interesting to people．I’m on the last great journey here——and people want me to tell them what to pack．”
The phone rang again．
“Morrie，can you talk?”Connie asked .
“I’m visiting with my old friend now，”he announced．“Let them call back．”
I cannot tell you why he received me so warmly．I was hardly the promising student who had left him sixteen years earlier．Had it not been for“Nightline，”Morrie might have died without ever seeing me again．
What happened to me?
The eighties happened .The nineties happened．Death and sickness and getting fat and going bald happened．I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck，and I never even realized I was doing it .Yet here was Morrie talking with the wonder of our college years，as if I'd simply been on a long vacation
“Have you found someone to share your heart with?” he asked .
“Are you at peace with yourself?”
“Are you trying to be as human as you can be?”
I felt ashamed，wanting to show I had been trying hard to work out such questions．What
happened to me? I once promised myself I would never work for money，that I would join the
Peace Corps，and that 1 would w*w^w.k&s#5@u.c~o*mlive in beautiful，inspirational places．
Instead, I had been in Detroit for ten years，at the same workplace，using the same bank，visiting the same barber .I was thirty-seven，more mature than in college，tied to computers and modems and cell phones．I was no longer young，nor did I walk around in gray sweatshirts with unlit cigarettes in my mouth．I did not have long discussions over egg salad sandwiches about the meaning of life．
My days were full，yet I remained，much of the time，unsatisfied .
What happened to me?
56．When did the author graduate from Morrie’s college?
A．In the eighties． B．In the nineties．
C．When he was sixteen D．When he was twenty-one．
57．What do we know about the“Nightline”?
A．Morrie started it by himselfB．It helped Morrie earn a fame．
C．The author helped Morrie start it． D．It was only operated at night．
58．What can we infer from the passage?
A．Both the author and Morrie liked travelling.
B．Morrie liked helping people pack things for their journeys.
C．The author envied Morrie’s friends the help they got from him.
D．The author earned a lot of money at the cost of his dreams.
59．What’s the author’s feeling when he writes this passage?
A．Regretful. B．Enthusiastic. C．Sympathetic. D．Humorous.
