Catherine and I were on our way to our nephew’s birthday party one rainy Saturday morning, driving along what some people call moose(驼鹿) alley. It was early, there were few other cars on the road and we were looking forward to a good day with the family. Suddenly, a moose rushed across our path. Fortunately, a quick swerve(突然转向) to the other lane prevented a full impact, with only a small collision on the right side of our car ripping off the mirror and knocking the moose to the pavement.
By the time I stopped and looked back in my rear view mirror, the moose was getting up. It ran into the bush. Shaken but unharmed, we both looked at each other shocked by what had happened. We knew that moose accidents had claimed many lives throughout the years, and that we had been very fortunate to escape with no personal injury or worse. After a quick check of our vehicle, we drove off.
Even though the moose accident lasted just a few seconds, we still remember it to this day. Why?
We had often talked about the frailty of life, the here today and gone tomorrow potential we all face, but it had never felt so real. And it wasn’t that we hadn’t had friends, relatives and colleagues die before, it was that this experience was much more personal. In a matter of seconds, lives can easily change.
The effect of that one near miss with death has been positive, and made us appreciate life. Each one of us has only a limited time on this Earth; no one can predict when your time will end. We should give thanks for each day, to see the sun rise again, and to know that you can accomplish and assist others to appreciate their life if they are caught in the “poor-me” syndrome（综合症状）.What can we learn about the accident form the first two paragraphs?
| A．Fortunately, they didn’t hit the moose. |
| B．They themselves were slightly injured. |
| C．Many people have died from similar accidents. |
| D．The author should be blamed for the accident. |
What did the accident teach the author?
| A．Being open to unexpected turns in life is important. |
| B．Life is long if you know how to use it. |
| C．Life is measured by thoughts and actions, not by time. |
| D．Life is unpredictable, so we should treasure every moment. |
How should we spend every day according to the author?
a. being thankful and helpful
b. appreciating the natural beauty of the world
c. being confident
d. making every effort to succeed
| A．ab | B．bc | C．abc | D．bcd |
“Linda, if beating yourself up were an Olympic sport, you’d win a gold medal!”
Annabel, my close friend, stunned me with that frank observation after I told her how I had mishandled a situation with a student in a third-grade class where I was substituting. “I should never have let him go to the boy’s room without a pass! It was my fault he got into trouble with the hall monitor! I’m so stupid!”
My friend burst out laughing, and then made her “Olympic” comment. After a br
ief period of reflection I had to admit that she was right. I did put myself down an awful lot. Why, just during the previous day I had called myself “a slob” for having some papers spread out on my desk, “ugly” when I left the house without makeup and “an idiot” when I left the house for an emergency substitute job without my emergency lesson plan.
In a more reflective tone, Annabel said, “I once took a workshop at church where the woman in charge had us list all the mean things we say about ourselves.”
“How many did you have on your list?” I asked.
“Fifteen,” she confessed. “But then the teacher said, ‘Now turn to the person next to you and say all the items on your list as if you were speaking to that person!’ ”
My jaw dropped. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. Nobody did. We all just sat there, until I said, ‘I could never say these things to anyone else!’ ”
“And our teacher replied, ‘Well, if you can’t say them to anyone else, then don’t ever say them to yourself!’ ”
My friend had a point. I would never insult a child of God---and I’m God’s child, too!
God, today let me be as kind to myself as I would be to another of Your children. What does Annabel mean by the first sentence of the passage?
| A．The writer is a good athlete. | B．The writer scolds herself too much. |
| C．She is encouraging the writer. | D．A gold medal is not a big deal. |
What does the writer intends to tell us through the second and third paragraphs?
| A．She has low self-esteem over some small things. |
| B．She often makes serious mistakes in daily life. |
| C．She is a third-grade teacher. |
| D．She cares too much about her appearance. |
We can infer that the underlined word “slob” might be _____.
| A．something untidy | B．someone dangerous |
| C．something dirty | D．someone lazy |
What does the writer mean by the last sentence of the passage?
| A．She is ready to turn to God for help. |
| B．She will be kind to all children. |
| C．She won’t insult herself as well as others. |
| D．She is willing to be a child of God. |
A week ago, I had the great pleasure of reading an e-book, When Money Talks, Listen! By Rich Ezzo. It took only about an hour to read.
When I first received a copy, I thought it was a Get Rich Quick type of publication. Nothing is wrong with Get Rich Quick, but my mind just doesn’t chase after dreams of wealth. I think that if God ever wants me to be rich, he knows where to find my purse.
When I began reading When Money Talks, Listen!, I was overjoyed to find that Rich Ezzo isn’t money hungry either. He, too, is hungry far more important than money.
S
ince I love this e-book so much, why wait a week to write the review? Simple. I wanted 
to see if the effect it had on me was a keeper. After reading the last word of the e-book, I totally agreed with the subtitle which promised to forever change the way we thought about money. I had so many thoughts running around my mind that I had to install(安装) a stoplight to stop some while others made their way into the picture, then I yielded(让路) them as a few ones arrived in town. I had a mental traffic jam, which only goes to show how slow the traffic usually is.
It has been a week and the effect is the same. I truly do look at money differently and have even done a few things differently this week. This is an e-book you’ll want to read, I promise. I often recommend books to my daughter, and this is one that I didn’t just “suggest”---I left it open at the bottom of the computer and told each one, “Read it, you’ll love it.”
I would never point someone in a direction I wouldn’t go myself. I urge you to visit the author’s website, Myster Money, and to download the e-book. You won’t regret it. According to the passage, a Get Rich Quick type of publication ______
| A．is what the author really cares for |
| B．deals with how to make money |
| C．is also an e-book written by Rich Ezzo |
D．is more popular than  e-books |
The author didn't write the review as soon as he finished reading the book
because________.
| A．he was too excited to write anything |
| B．he was not sure whether he did well |
| C．he had to wait for Rich Ezzo's permission |
| D．he wondered if the book would have long influence on him |
By saying the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4, the author probably _________.
| A．shows that the book brought him many new thoughts |
| B．shows how bad the traffic is in town |
| C．describes the difficulty in understanding the book |
| D．explains it's hard to change one's attitude to money |
Which of the following is supported by the passage?
| A．The author had known Rich Ezzo before. |
| B．The author hasn't dreamed of getting rich immediately. |
| C．The author always prefers e-books to paper books. |
| D．The author likes Get Rich Quick-type of publications. |
Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative meaning.
So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (创新). But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel （平行的）paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.
Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.
But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.
“The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide’, just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider’.” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”
“All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,” she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally（程序上的）, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.
The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will … and Ms. Markova’s business partner. “That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters（培养）commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” This is where developing new habits comes in. Brain researchers have discovered that.
| A．the forming of new habits can be guided | B．the development of habits can be predicted |
| C．the regulation of old habits can be transformed | |
| D．the track of new habits can be created unconsciously |
The underlined word “ruts” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to.
| A．zones | B．connections | C．situations | D．tracks |
Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?
| A．Decision makes no sense in choices. | B．Curiosity makes creative minds active. |
| C．Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind. | D．Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas. |
The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us.
| A．to give up our traditional habits deliberately | B．to create and develop new habits consciously |
| C．to resist the application of standardized testing | D．to believe that old habits conflict with new habits |
A woman renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation．She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself．
“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”
“Of course I have a job,” said Emily．“I’m a mother.”
“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation… ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.
One day I found myself in the same situation．The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title．“What is your occupation?” she asked．
The words simply popped out．“I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”
The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.
I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”
Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t）, in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out)．Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it)．But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out．
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (依托) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern．
I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”
Motherhood…What a great career! Especially when there’s a title on the door.What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?
| A．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was. |
| B．The recorder was impatient and rude. |
| C．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced. |
| D．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society. |
How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?
| A．curious | B．indifferent | C．puzzled | D．interested |
Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?
| A．Because the author cared little about rewards. |
| B．Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab. |
| C．Because she thought the author did admirable work. |
| D．Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of. |
What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it. |
| B．To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect. |
| C．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily. |
| D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work． |
The vitamins necessary for a healthy body are normally supplied by a good mixed diet, including a variety of fruits and green vegetables. It is only when people try to live on a very restricted diet, say that when trying to lose weight, that it is necessary to make special provisions to supply the missing vitamins.
An example of the dangers of a restricted diet may be seen in the disease known as “beri-beri”, which used to make large numbers of Eastern people who lived mainly on rice suffer. In the early years of last century, a Dutch scientist named Eijkman was trying to discover the cause of beri-beri. At first he thought it was transmitted（传播）by a germ（病菌）. He was working in a Japanese hospital, where the patients were fed on polished rice which had had the outer coverings removed from the grain. It was thought this would be easier for weak and sick people to digest.
Eijkman thought his germ theory was proved when he noticed the chickens in the hospital yard, which were fed on remains from the patients’ plates, were also showing signs of the disease. He then tried to separate the germ, which he thought was causing the disease, but his experiments were interrupted by a hospital official, who ordered that the rice without coverings, even though left over by the patients, was too good for chickens. It should be recooked for the patients, and the chickens should be fed on cheap, rough rice with the outer coverings still on the grain.
Eijkman noticed that the chickens began to recover on the new diet. He began to consider the possibility that eating unmilled rice（糙米）somehow prevented or cured beri-beri — even that a lack of some ingredient（成分）in the coverings may be the cause of the disease. Indeed this was the case. The element needed to prevent beri-beri was shortly afterwards separated from rice coverings and is now known as vitamin B. The milled rice, though more expensive, was in fact causing the disease the hospital was trying to cure. Nowadays, this terrible disease is much less common thanks to our knowledge of vitamins.According to the passage, a good mixed diet ________.
| A．is suitable for losing weight | B．should be only fruits and vegetables |
| C．normally contains enough vitamins | D．is often difficult to arrange |
What do we know about the disease beri-beri?
| A．It killed large numbers of people. | B．It resulted from lack of vitamins. |
| C．It was transmitted by milled rice. | D．It was caused by diseased chickens. |
What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．A Good Mixed Diet | B．New Discovery |
| C．The Dangers of Beri-beri | D．The Importance of Vitamins |