When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter(炼铜厂), and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area. Paul knocked him down. From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office. He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back. The answer from that big industry was “No.”
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants. Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds. It would be a waste of his life to try to do it. He was told everyone knew that even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn't get his idea accepted.
Paul later got married and had some kids. But, his dream would not die. And then one night he did what he could with what he had. Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass. For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense. Slowly rabbits appeared. Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.
Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has. It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow(誓言) he made to himself as a child.When Paul was a boy, _________.
| A．he had decided never to leave his hometown |
| B．the economy of Utah depended on the copper smelter |
| C．he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area |
| D．no laws were made to protect the environment against pollution |
Why did Paul go to college to study the science of plants?
| A．He wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself. |
| B．He was interested in planting trees since he was young. |
| C．He wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him. |
| D．He thought his knowledge would make his advice more persuasive. |
What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” in paragraph 5 probably refer to?
| A．That his normal work and life would be greatly affected. |
| B．That it was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland. |
| C．That no one would like to join him in the efforts. |
| D．That he had to keep everything he did secret. |
The message of the passage is that ___________.
| A．perseverance(持之以恒) will work wonders |
| B．action speaks louder than words |
| C．God helps those who help themselves |
| D．many hands make light work. |
Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be a simple fact ? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit ?
If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant．The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake．The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk．The fourth, who had hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope．The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arm around one the elephant’s legs.
The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.
Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience．So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.
To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment．Get three large bowls．Put ice water in one．Put hot water in the second．Put lukewarm water in the third．Now put your left hand in the ice water．Put your right hand in the hot water．After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water．Your right hand will tell you the water is cold．Your left hand will tell you it’s hot !What makes people think about simple facts differently ?
| A．The fact that simple facts differ from one another |
| B．The fact that people have different experience in the same simple fact |
| C．The fact that people often disagree with one another |
| D．The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts |
The writer’s advice is _______________.
| A．We should never think about simple facts |
| B．We should never judge something with a one-sided view |
| C．We should not agree about simple facts |
| D．We must learn from the six blind men |
After reading the last paragraph, we may think of __________.
| A．Newton’s law | B．Galileo’s theory of falling objects |
| C．Einstein’s theory of relativity | D．Marx’s On Capital (资本) |
After we meet people it is up to us to make them our friends．Let us stop a moment and consider what really makes a friend．The major qualities like faithfulness, devotion, friendly company, flash through our minds．But it is the large number of very small particular qualities that make up one’s whole character, such as cheerfulness, friendliness, and punctuality (守时).After all, “ to make a friend, be a friend” is not such a big and difficult order．There are particular favorable qualities, which attract others to us, and some elements which do have an effect on people in fundamental psychology(基础心理学) or not.
If you are in the presence of a shy person, talking and asking casual (随意的) questions may bring him out of his shell．Think of what would be most acceptable to the other person, for you to talk, or to listen．Either way the goal is to make yourself pleasant.
Always remember to listen, but listen intelligently．To have anyone “ hang on our words” is the most unnoticeably clever way in the world to please somebody．For a few extremely happy seconds we are the centre of attraction, but when it is our turn to be audience, let us remember how we felt as the actor, and let’s be genuinely (真正地) interested in what the other fellow is saying.
Other people will like us, if we like them．If you want friends, keep your mind and heart open to friendship．Be alive to the other person’s world.This passage is mainly about_________________.
| A．the ways of talking to a shy person |
| B．some favorable qualities to be a psychologist |
| C．how to make yourself attractive to your listeners |
| D．how to make a friend and be a friend |
The words “ bring him out of his shell” in this passage most probably means ____.
| A．make him become active |
| B．make him feel more nervous |
| C．help him understand the question better |
| D．help him listen intelligently |
According to the passage, an important way in making friends is to ________.
| A．attract them | B．be attracted |
| C．listen attentively | D．talk widely |
The words “ Be alive to” in the last sentence of this passage most probably means________.
| A．be aware of | B．keep with |
| C．deal with | D．be ignorant of |
American cities are similar to other cities around the world — American
cities are changing, just as American society is changing. After World War Two, the population of most large American cities decreased; however, the population in many Sun Belt cities increase. Los Angeles and Houston are cities where population shifts (转移) to and from the city reflect the changing values of American society. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, city residents became wealthier. They moved out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes. They bought houses in the suburbs.
Now things are changing. The children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults. Many, unlike their parents, want to live in the cities. They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest. Many young professionals are moving back into the city. They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there, or they just enjoy the excitement and possibilities that the city offers.
This population shifting is bringing problems as well as benefits. Countless poor people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent. In the 1950s, many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.
Only a few years ago, people thought that the older American cities were dying. Some city residents now see a bright, new future. Others see only problems and conflicts. One thing is sure: many dying cities are alive again.What does the author think of cities all over the world?
| A．They are alive. | B．They are hopeless. | C．They are similar. | D．They are different. |
Why did American city residents want to live in the suburbs after World War Two? Because ______.
| A．older American cities were disappearing | B．they got richer and needed more space. |
| C．cities only provided them with apartments | D．they could hardly afford to live in the city. |
According to the 3rd paragraph, a great many poor people in American cities .
| A．are faced with housing problems | B．are forced to move to the suburbs |
| C．want to sell their buildings | D．need more money for daily expenses |
We can conclude from the text that .
| A．American cities are changing for the worse |
| B．people have different views on American cities |
| C．many people are now moving from American cities |
| D．the population is decreasing in older American cities |
For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries — where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. Partly, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents
and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. The second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. The third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is — politics, the taws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg — the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong for both wish to be considered an authority, and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to suppose that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?
| A．Both can continue for generations. | B．Both are about where to draw the line. |
| C．Neither has any clear winner. | D．Neither can be put to an end. |
What does the underlined part in Para. Two mean?
| A．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict. |
| B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict. |
| C．The teens accuse their parents of misleading them. |
| D．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents. |
Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ______.
| A．give orders to the other | B．know more than the other |
| C．gain respect from the other | D．get the other to behave properly |
What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts. | B．Examples of the parent-teen war. |
| C．Solutions for the parent-teen problems. | D．Future of the parent-teen relationship. |
DGEWOOD — Every morning at Dixie Heights High school, customers pour into a special experiment: the district’s first coffee shop run mostly by students with special learning needs.
Well before classes start, students and teachers order Lattes, Cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates. Then, during the first period, teachers call in orders on their room phones, and students make deliveries.
By closing time at 9:20 a.m., the shop usually sells 90 drinks.
“Whoever made the chi tea, Ms. Schatzman says it was good,” Christy McKinley, a second year student, announced recently, after chatting with the teacher on the line.
The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition. Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school. They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with their affairs. They keep a timecard and receive paychecks, which they keep in check registers.
Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia.
Not that it was easy. Chevalier’s first problem to overcome was product-related. Should schools be selling coffee? What about sugar content?
Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped. She made sure all the drinks, which use non-fat milk, fell within nutrition (营养) guidelines.
The whole school has joined in to help.
Teachers agreed to give up their lounge (休息室) in the morning. Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall. Business students designed the paychecks. The basketball team helped pay for cups. What is the text mainly about？
| A．A best-selling coffee. | B．A special educational program. |
| C．Government support for schools | D．A new type of teacher-student relationship. |
The Dixie PIT program was introduced in order to .
| A．raise money for school affairs | B．do some research on nutrition |
| C．develop students’ practical skills | D．supply teachers with drinks |
How did Christy McKinley know Ms. Schatzman’s opinion of the chi tea？
| A．She once met her in the shop. | B．She heard her saying it with others. |
| C．She talked to her on the phone. | D．She went to her office to deliver the tea. |
We know from the text that Ginger Gray .
| A．starts the guidelines for coffee shops | B．sees that the drinks meet health standards |
| C．teaches at Dixie Heights High School | D．manages the Dixie PIT program in Kenton County |