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 2Os, 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 (宗教). So what's the point?
"To see what happens," said Liz. "We simply enjoy life with open communication(交流)."
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 am 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. |
There are many ways of defining success. It is accurate to say that each of us has our own ideas of success to the extent that each of us is responsible for setting our own goals and determining whether we have met these goals satisfactorily. Because each of us possesses unique differences in genetic ability and favorable environments in which to express these abilities, it is necessarily true that we must define success broadly.
For some people，simply being able to live their life with the least misery and sufferings is considered a success. Think of the peace of mind of the poor shepherd who tends his sheep, enjoys his simple life with his family in the beauty of nature, and who is respected because he does a good job of achieving the goals expected of him and accepted by his family and his society. On the other hand, it seems that even though some people appear to be rich in material possessions, many of them seem to be miserable and consider themselves unsuccessful when judged by their own standards of success. Because not all ventures can be successful, one should not set unrealistic goals for achieving success, but if one has self-confidence it would be unfortunate to set one's goals at too low a level of achievement.
A wise man once said to a young man who was experiencing frustration(挫折）with his own professional success, “You do not have to set your goal to reach the moon in order to have success in traveling. Sometimes one can be very successful merely by taking a walk in the park or riding the subway downtown,” The man added, "You have not really failed and spoiled your chances for success until you have been unsuccessful at something you really like，and to which you have given your best effort. ”Some rich people consider themselves unsuccessful because______.
| A．their life is busy and miserable |
| B．they haven't reached their own standards |
| C．they set their goals at too low a level |
| D．they are not rich in material possessions |
From the last paragraph we can tell that______.
| A．success means efforts and favorites pay off |
| B．success comes from great goal setting |
| C．success means achieving great goals |
| D．success has nothing to do with the distance of your travel |
The purpose of the passage is______.
| A．to give us a clear definition of what success is |
| B．to talk about how to achieve success |
| C．to state what our life goal is |
| D．to discuss the importance of goals |
A Bite of China, made by CCTV’s Documentary Channel, sparked discussion not only on Chinese food, but also on locally made documentary programs.
When you think of documentaries, you may think of them as long, boring programs. But documentaries can be wonderful and bring stories from the real world into our homes. With fascinating footage（影片片段）and stories, documentaries encourage us to think about interesting issues we wouldn’t necessarily know about.
So, what makes a good documentary, and what should we pay attention to when we watch one? Here, we offer a few easy strategies to help you get the most out of watching documentaries.
Pay attention to the themes
While watching a documentary, keep your eyes and ears peeled for the themes people talk about and what ideas they focus on. Is it meant to be informative or raise a certain emotional response?
Think critically
Listen to what the people in the documentary are saying and ask yourself the following questions: If you were debating with someone or introducing a new concept, would you say the things the people in the documentary are saying? Do the arguments make sense?
Check the sources
If you’re sitting at the computer and can’t think of anything to do, why not look up the points the documentary made and see if they are accurate? You could even read more about what is presented in the documentary.
Who are the creators?
The creators or financial backers of a film will usually be involved with how the subject matter is presented. For instance, as the documentary 2016: Obama’s America was directed in large part by a conservative writer, it’s not surprising that it’s critical of President Obama from the beginning.Which of the following is the most proper to describe documentaries?
| A．non-fictional | B．controversial |
| C．subjective | D．thoughtful |
The passage is mainly written to ______.
| A．inform us of factors of good documentaries. |
| B．help us enjoy documentaries better. |
| C．introduce ways of making documentaries. |
| D．help us figure out themes of documentaries. |
Why is 2016: Obama’s America mentioned in the article?
| A．Because the author dislikes Obama. |
| B．Because it is a persuasive example. |
| C．Because it is quite popular in China. |
| D．Because it is directed by a writer. |
According to the passage, ______.
| A．it’s better to think twice about what is in documentaries. |
| B．financial backers often appear in documentaries. |
| C．it is always difficult to get the themes of documentaries. |
| D．many points of documentaries are not accurate. |
Europe is home to a variety of cultural treasures. Lonely Planet, the world’s largest travel guide publisher, has offered pairs of cities for culturehungry but timepoor travelers.
London and Paris
It takes you about two hours to travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, a high-speed railway service. The two capital cities have been competing in fashion, art and nightlife for decades－but each secretly looks up to the other.
No one can doubt the grand and impressive beauty of Paris' Louvre Museum, but if you want to save money, you cannot skip the British Museum free to visit. Compared with London, Paris has more outdoor attractions such as the beautiful green walkway La Promenade Plantee.
In Paris, you'll see diners linger over red wine. While in London, you can try some afternoon tea, eat fish and chips or salted cake.
Vienna and Bratislava
Austrian capital Vienna and Slovakia city Bratislava are an hour apart by train. But since they are linked by the Danube River, the best way to travel is by ship. A tour of the two cities is the perfect way to experience everything from 17th century’s Habsburg dynasty splendor to scifi restaurants.
Vienna is famous for Mozart and imperial palaces. You can appreciate the perfect blending of architecture and nature in the grand Schonbrunn Palace, and reward yourself with a cup of Vienna coffee, which has made its way to the world's cultural heritage list.
Bratislava is best known for its fine dining－the remarkable UFO restaurant. You can enjoy a meatladen dinner here in an amazing setting.What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “looks up to”?
| A．helps | B．admires | C．attacks | D．dislikes |
What are the advantages of Paris mentioned in the article?
a. The Louvre Museum
b. Free access to museums
c. More outdoor attractions
d. Better wines and perfumes
| A．acd | B．cd | C．ac | D．bcd |
Which of the cities should you choose if you are interested in scifi restaurants?
| A．London. | B．Paris. |
| C．Glasgow. | D．Bratislava. |
Lonely Planet recommends these two pairs of cities because ________.
| A．they are not expensive to visit |
| B．they are best known to the world |
| C．they are always enemies between each other |
| D．they are close but different in many aspects |
As a good mother to three children, I have tried never to let my passion stand in the way of being a good parent．
I no longer consider myself the center of the universe．I show up．I listen．I try to laugh．I am a good friend to my husband．I have tried to make marriage vows （誓言）mean what they say．I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me．Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today．
So here's what I want to tell you today: Get a life．A real life, not a desire of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house．
Get a life in which you are not alone．Find people you love, and who love you．And remember that love is not leisure; it is work．Pick up the phone．Send an e-mail．Write a letter．And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted．
It's so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours and our minutes．It's so easy to exist instead of to live．I learned to live many years ago．Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my choice, it would never have been changed at all．And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all．
I learned to love the journey, not the destination．I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and totally．And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned．
By telling them this: Read in the backyard with the sun on your face．Learn to be happy．If you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived．It can be inferred from the passage that．
| A．the author doesn’t try her best to work well |
| B．the author spends all her time caring for her children |
| C．the author is a success in personal life |
| D．the author likes traveling very much |
How did the author form her view of life?
| A．Through social experience． |
| B．By learning from her friends． |
| C．From her children and husband． |
| D．Through an unfortunate experience． |
By the underlined sentence “It's so easy to exist instead of to live" in the fifth paragraph, the author really means that people tend to．
| A．work rather than enjoy life |
| B．make a living rather than live a real life |
| C．waste a lot in life |
| D．forget the most important lessons in life |
What's the author's attitude toward work?
| A．Don't let it affect your real life． |
| B．Earn enough money to make life better． |
| C．Do it well to serve others． |
| D．Try your best to get a higher position and a pay raise． |
七选五 （共5小题，每小题3分，满分15分）
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。
Have you ever been in a situation where you have done something just to make someone else happy?
You think that you are making yourself happy. I have done that many times because I wanted to impress people or I thought that if I made someone else happy it would certainly make me happy. I understand that all of us want our close friends and family to be proud of us, so we work hard in school or in our careers to meet their expectations.
But if you are trying to realize other people’s dreams without keeping yourself satisfied, you will never be happy.
So you have to be clear and honest with yourself about what you want in your life. If you are honest with yourself, you will be more optimistic. You feel like you won’t need to achieve something for someone else.
__ They fear to be rejected(排斥) by others. They think and say “If I choose this job or career path, that person will think I am out of my mind”, or “I really want to start this business but those people will think that I won’t make any money”.
__ Don’t think this way. If you follow other people’s wishes but cannot be true to yourself, you will have a hard time feeling great about yourself.
| A．The truth is that you are really trying to make someone else happy. |
| B．So why don’t I follow what they say？ |
| C．And you will develop a drive from your heart. |
| D．So we should try our best to realize our dreams. |
E. But we sometimes have to meet expectations from others.
F. Why do so many people want to live their dreams for someone else?
G. There is nothing wrong with that.