Last Christmas was a very difficult time for me. My family and all of my close friends were back home in Florida, and I was all alone in a rather cold California. I was working too many hours and became very sick.
I was working a double shift at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter, it was about 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve, and I was feeling really miserable inside. There were a few of us working and very few customers waiting to be helped. When it was time for me to call the next person to the counter, I looked out to see the sweetest-looking old man standing with a cane. He walked very slowly over to the counter and in the faintest voice told me that he had to go to New Orleans. I tried to explain to him that there were no more flights that night and that he would have to go in the morning. He looked so confused and very worried. I tried to find out more information by asking if he had a reservation or if he remembered when he was supposed to travel, but he seemed to become more confused with each question. He just kept saying, “She said I have to go to New Orleans.”
After much time, I was able to at least find out that this old man had been dropped off at the curb on Christmas Eve by his sister-in-law and told to go to New Orleans, where he had family. She had given him some cash and told him just to go inside and buy a ticket. When I asked if he could come back tomorrow, he said that she was gone and that he had no place to stay. He then said he would wait at the airport until tomorrow. Naturally, I felt a little ashamed. Here I was feeling very sorry for myself about being alone on Christmas, when this angel named Clarence MacDonald was sent to me to remind me of what being alone really meant. It broke my heart.
Immediately, I told him we would get it all straightened out, and our Customer Service agent helped to book him a seat for the earliest flight the next morning. We gave him the senior citizen’s fare, which gave him some extra money for travelling. About this time he started to look very tired, and when I stepped around the counter to ask him if he was all right, I saw that his leg was wrapped in a bandage. He had been standing on it that whole time, holding a plastic bag full of clothes.
I called for a wheelchair. When the wheelchair came, we all stepped around to help him in, and I noticed a small amount of blood on his bandage. I asked how he hurt his leg, and he said that he had just had bypass surgery and an artery was taken from his leg. Can you imagine? This man had had heart surgery, and then shortly afterward, was dropped off at the curb to buy a ticket with no reservation to fly to New Orleans, alone!
I never really had a situation like this, and I wasn’t sure what I could do. I went back to ask my supervisors if we could find a place for him to stay. They both said yes, and they obtained a hotel voucher for Mr. MacDonald for one night and a meal ticket for dinner and breakfast. When I came back out, we got his plastic bag of clothes and cane together and gave the porter a tip to take him downstairs to wait for the airport shuttle. I bent down to explain the hotel, food and itinerary (行程) again to Mr. MacDonald, and then patted him on the arm and told him everything would be just fine.
As he left he said, “Thank you,” bent his head and started to cry. I cried too. When I went back to thank my supervisor, she just smiled and said, “I love stories like that. He is your Christmas Man.”Last Christmas the writer had a miserable time because ______.
| A．there were more customers than usual waiting to be helped |
| B．it was freezing cold in California at Christmas time |
| C．she was working all alone at the ticket counter |
| D．she was far away from her family and friends |
The writer’s first impression of the old man was that he was ______.
| A．gentle-looking and weak | B．tired out and worried |
| C．confused and very sick | D．sad and anxious |
The old man wanted to fly to New Orleans to ______.
| A．see his friends there |
| B．spend the Christmas with his family |
| C．visit his sister-in-law |
| D．undergo heart surgery |
On hearing the old man say that he would wait at the airport the whole night, the writer felt a bit ashamed. This is because ______.
| A．she felt sorry that she couldn’t do the old man a favor |
| B．she realized that someone was even more miserable than she felt |
| C．it took her a long time to find out how helpless the old man was |
| D．the old man was like an angel in the writer’s eyes |
The writer called for a wheelchair for the old man because ______.
| A．the old man had broken his leg when he was dropped off at the curb |
| B．the old man could spend the whole night on it at the airport |
| C．the old man was carrying a whole lot of clothes |
| D．the old man had had surgery just before and was very weak by then |
By calling the old man the writer’s Christmas Man, the writer’s supervisor implied that ______.
| A．the old man had told the writer a love story on Christmas |
| B．the old man had caused a lot of trouble for the writer on Christmas |
| C．the old man was the best gift the writer could have received on Christmas |
| D．the old man was the only customer the writer had served on Christmas |
Think about the last time you felt a negative emotion—like stress, anger, or frustration. What was going through your mind as you were going through that negativity? Was your mind cluttered with (充斥) different kinds of thoughts? Or was it paralyzed, unable to think?
The next time you find yourself in the middle of a very stressful time, or you feel angry or frustrated, stop. Yes, that’s right, stop. Whatever you’re doing, stop and sit for one minute. While you’re sitting there, completely immerse yourself in the negative emotion. Allow that emotion to consume you. Allow yourself one minute to truly feel that emotion. Don’t cheat yourself here. Take the entire minute—but only one minute—to do nothing else but feel that emotion.
When the minute is over, ask yourself, “Am I willing to keep holding on to this negative emotion as I go through the rest of the day?” Once you’ve allowed yourself to be totally immersed in the emotion and really feel it, you will be surprised to find that the emotion clears rather quickly.
If you feel you need to hold on to the emotion for a little longer, that is OK. Allow yourself another minute to feel the emotion. When you feel you’ve had enough of the emotion, ask yourself if you’re willing to carry that negativity with you for the rest of the day. If not, take a deep breath. As you exhale, release all that negativity with your breath.
This exercise seems simple—almost too simple. But, it is very effective. By allowing that negative emotion the space to be truly felt, you are dealing with the emotion rather than stuffing it down and trying not to feel it. You are actually taking away the power of the emotion by giving it the space and attention it needs. When you immerse yourself in the emotion, and realize that it is only emotion, it loses its control. You can clear your head and proceed with your task.Which one does not belong to the negative emotion?
| A．anxiety | B．confusion | C．depression | D．sorrow |
What should you do when you are into negativity according to the article?
| A．Listen to some music. |
| B．Ignore it and do something else. |
| C．Just do nothing and truly feel that emotion. |
| D．Think about it and try to deal with it immediately. |
The underlined word “immerse” (Paragraph 2) most probably means ______.
| A．break down | B．get rid of | C．cut off | D．throw into |
What’s the best title of this text?
| A．Clear Your Mental Space. |
| B．Deep Breath, Trouble Away. |
| C．Try to Avoid the Negative Emotion. |
| D．Hold on to Negative Emotion as Long as Possible. |
The author’s opinion towards negative emotion is ______.
| A．doubtful | B．optimistic | C．frightened | D．confused |
We often use the words growth and development as if they meant essentially the same thing. But this may not always be the case. One can easily imagine instances in which a country has achieved higher levels of income (growth) with little or no benefit coming to most of its citizens (development).
In the past, most development policies were aimed increasing the growth rate of income per capita. Many still are, based on the theory that benefits of economic growth will come to all members of society. If this theory is correct, growth should promote development.
By the early 1970s, however, the relationship between growth and development was being questioned. A major study by the World Bank in 1974 concluded that it is now clear that more than a decade of rapid growth in underdeveloped countries has been of little benefit to a third of their population.
The World Bank study indicated that increases in GNP per capita did not promise important improvements in such development indicators as nutrition, health, and education. Although GNP per capita did indeed rise, its benefits come down to only a small part of the population. This realization gave rise to a call for new development policies. These new policies favored agriculture over industry, called for domestic redistribution of income and wealth, and encouraged programs to satisfy such basic needs as food and shelter.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the international macroeconomic crises of high oil prices, worldwide recession, and third world debt forced attention away from programs designed to get rid of poverty. However, the lesson remains: economic growth does not promise economic development. Efforts may be required to change growing output capacity into economic benefits that reach most of a nation’s people. As to the relationship between growth and development, what can we infer from the passage?
| A．Development is a reliable measure of growth. |
| B．Growth always brings about development. |
| C．Development is not necessarily the result of growth. |
| D．Growth and development refer to the same thing. |
According to the study by the World Bank in 1974,economic growth in some background countries brought
| A．benefit only to a third of their population. |
| B．almost no benefit to a third of their population. |
| C．little benefit to their people. |
| D．no benefit at all to their people. |
The programs designed to get rid of poverty were not very well carried out because the government
| A．knew that growth didn’t promise development. |
| B．gave too much attention to increases in GNP per capita. |
| C．wished to replace the programs with new development policies. |
| D．was busy solving other more serious economic problems. |
If the passage continues, what is the author most likely to discuss in the next paragraph?
| A．How to turn growth into development. |
| B．How to remove poverty from society. |
| C．How to decrease third world debt. |
| D．How to cope with economic crises. |
During the next several weeks I went completely to the wolves. I took a tiny tent and set it up on the shore of bay. The big telescope was set up in the mouth of the tent in such a way that I could observe the wolves by day or night.
Quite by accident I had pitched (set up) my tent within ten yards of one of the major paths used by the wolves. Shortly after I had taken up residence one of the wolves came back and discovered me and my tent, but he did not stop or hesitate in his pace. Later, one or more wolves used the track past my tent and never did they show the slightest interest in me. I felt uncomfortable at being so totally ignored. The next day I noticed a male wolf make boundary markers by passing water on the rounds of his family lands.
Once I had become aware of the strong feeling of property rights which existed among the wolves, I decided to use this knowledge to make them at least recognize my existence. One evening, after they had gone off for their regular nightly hunt I staked out a property of my own, including a long section of the wolves’ path. In order to ensure that my claim would not be overlooked, I made a property mark on stones, dumps of moss, and patches of vegetation with a lot of tea. Before the hunters came back, task was done, and I retired, somewhat exhausted, to observe results. A few minutes later, the leading male appeared. As usual he did not bother to glance at the tent, but when he reached the point where my property line intersected (cut across) the trail, he stopped as suddenly as if he had run into an invisible wall.
Cautiously, he extended his nose and sniffed at one of my marked bushes. After a minute of hesitation he backed away a few yards and sat down. Then, he looked directly at the tent and at me.
His glare seemed to become more fierce as I attempted to stare him down. The situation was becoming intolerable. To break the impasse I turned my back on the wolf. Then quickly and with an air of decision, he turned his attention away from me and began a systematic tour of the area I had staked out as my own. As he came to each boundary marker he sniffed it once or twice, then carefully placed his mark on the outside of mine. Why did the wolves manage to ignore the author’s presence?
| A．Because his tent was out of the wolves’ estate boundaries. |
| B．Because the author and the wolves were already good friends. |
| C．Because they did not know him at all. |
| D．Because the wolves were afraid of strangers. |
Which is TRUE according to the passage ?
| A．The author likes staring matches esp. with wolves. |
| B．Staking the land was very easy. |
| C．Wolves can see the estate boundaries clearly with their eyes. |
| D．The author managed to know why the wolves ignore his presence. |
What was the author’s discovery?
| A．Wolves were not settled beasts, as is almost universally believed. |
| B．Wolves were settled beasts and the possessors of an estate with definite boundaries. |
| C．Wolves were not interested with strangers. |
| D．Wolves’ family was dominated by a female. |
Why did the author stake out an area of his own?
| A．Because he thought it better to be stared at than to be ignored. |
| B．Because he didn’t want the wolves to use the track past his tent. |
| C．Because he wanted the wolves to take cognizance of his existence. |
| D．Because he wanted to find out how fierce the wolf’s glare was. |
If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise and, as a result, we are growing old unnecessarily soon.
Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why quite healthy in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a rather early age, and how the speed of getting old could be slowed down.
With a team of researchers at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages with different jobs. Computer technology helped the researchers to get most exact measurements of the volume of the front and side parts of the brain, which have something to do with intellect and feelings, and decide the human character. As we all know, the back part of the brain, which controls task like eating and breathing, does not contract with age.
Contraction of front and side parts—as cells die off—was seen in some people in their thirties, but it was still not found in some sixty and seventy-year-olds.
Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple way to prevent the contraction—using the head.
The findings show that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the towns. “Those with least possibility,” says Matsuzawa, “are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White collar workers doing the same work day after day in government offices are, however, as possible to have contracting brains as the farm worker, bus driver and shop assistant.” The team of doctors wanted to find out _____.
| A．at what point people grow mentally old |
| B．how to make people live longer |
| C．the size of certain people’s brains |
| D．which people are the most clever |
Their research findings are based on _____.
| A．an examination of farmers in northern Japan |
| B．tests given on a thousand old people |
| C．examining the brain volumes of different people |
| D．using computer technology |
The doctors’ tests show that _____.
| A．our brains contract as we grow older |
| B．one part of the brain does not contract |
| C．sixty-year-olds have better brains than thirty-year-olds |
| D．some people’s brains have contracted earlier than other people’s |
The most possible conclusion of the passage is that _____.
| A．most of us take more exercise |
| B．it’s better to live in the town |
| C．the brain contracts if it is not used |
| D．the more one uses his brain, the sooner he becomes old |
What if we could replace oil with a fuel which produced no pollution and which everybody had equal access to?The good news is that we can, In fact, we are swimming in it—literally.
Hydrogen is one of the building blocks of the universe ,Our own sun is basically ,a big ,dense cloud of the stuff ,And hydrogen can be used to create electricity for power ,heat and light.
The problem is that hydrogen is everywhere and nowhere at the same time , It does not exist as a material on its own ,but is always part of something else, So it has to be separated before it can be used.
Most commercial hydrogen in use now is created from natural gas , As oil will start to run out in around the year 2030.,it makes sense to produce as much hydrogen as possible as soon as we can ,But natural gas supplies will also begin to run out soon after, Another source is needed.
Researchers are now using electricity to make water into hydrogen ,Companies are working on the problem in their own areas ,The first commercial hydrogen ,”fuel cells”for computers and mobile phones have already come on to the market ,Auto companies have also invested over US ＄2billion in the production of hydrogen fuelled cars
Thd nations of a hydrogen fuelled planet would not fight over evergy recourses, There would be a great reduction in pollution ,The only by-product of creating hydrogen is pure drinking water—something that is very scarce in many parts of the world ,But that is not where the good news ends, Once the costs of producing hydrogen have been brought down ,it will possibly provide power for a third of the Earth ‘s population that has no electricity.
And electricity creates wealth, In South A frica over the last decade there has been a large programme of electrification, Thanks to the programme , people do not have to spend their days looking firewood to burn for heat, And with electric light , they can work long into the night.
Some scientists see radical changes in the way the human race co-operates, Hydrogen creates clectricity, and is also created by it. With dual use fuel cells, everyone who consumes energy could also produce it ,Late at night, a man drives home in London and connects his car into the “world-wide hydrogen web”, which it supplies with electricity ,A few hours later, a man in Beijing uses that electricity to power the hydrogen cell in his car, Hydrogen could be the first democratic energy source.
Like all dreams of the future, it seems very far away, But the threat of war and terrorism in the Middle East has made governments and businesses more aware of the need to edn oil dependency and spend more time and money on hydrogen resource, So maybe the threat of war is not a completely bad thing for the future of the human race.What does the underlined word “it”in the last but one paragraph refer to?
| A．wealth | B．hydrogen | C．electricity | D．fuel |
What is the problem with using hydrogen as energy?
| A．It has by-products |
| B．It has to be separated from other materials |
| C．It will make energy too cheap |
| D．It is too far away from us |
Why does the author give the example in the last but one paragraph?
| A．To tell us that we produce energy while using hydrogen power |
| B．To tell us that hydrogen power does not produce pollution |
| C．To show hydrogen power can stop war |
| D．To show hydrogen power is cheap |
What is the author’s attitude about the future?
| A．skeptical | B．negative | C．indifferent | D．positive |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．war and energy |
| B．the future of hydrogen as an energy resource |
| C．the disadvantages of oil |
| D．How to end war |