I live in Hollywood. You may think people in such an attractive, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.
Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more long-lasting emotion. Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells “happiness”. But in memoir(回忆录) after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children, and long-time loneliness.
The way people hold on to the belief that a fun-filled, pain-free life equates happiness actually decreases their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equated with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. But, in fact, the opposite is true: More times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very efforts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, charitable work and self-improvement.According to the passage, “fun activities” ____________.
| A．are the things we do before we find happiness |
| B．may help us relax and forget our problems sometimes |
| C．will lead us to the true happiness |
| D．could provide long-last positive effects |
In the author’s opinion, those Hollywood stars ____________.
| A．possess happiness because they are rich and famous |
| B．experience almost all kinds of happy things |
| C．tell us happiness isn’t equal to fun using their own stories |
| D．have to suffer a lot before they become successful |
It is difficult for people to find real happiness because ____________.
| A．they believe happiness is the fun life without pain |
| B．they find pain equals unhappiness |
| C．they fear to lose what they already have in life |
| D．They are afraid all their efforts were in vain |
The main purpose of the text is to ____________.
| A．describe the difference between happiness and fun |
| B．show the true meaning of happiness |
| C．encourage people to pursue fun activities |
| D．advise people to find their real life |
Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that men and animals possess, if they are properly used. If fire did not hurt when it burnt, children would play with it until their hands were burnt away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear didn’t, a child would burn himself or herself again and again, because fear would not warn himself or herself to keep away from the fire that had burnt himself or herself before. A really fearless soldier—and some do exist is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which men and animals might soon die out.
In our first sentence we suggested that fear should be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. Even in your house you are not absolutely safe an aeroplane may crash on your house, or ants may eat away some of the beams in your roof so that the latter falls on you, or you may get cancer!
The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.
In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight towards you. Fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is well.
In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you can’t prevent an aeroplane crashing onto your house. In this case, fear has given you its warning; you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of this particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.Children would play with fire until their hands were burnt away if _________.
| A．they were given no warning beforehand |
| B．they had never burnt themselves |
| C．they had no sense of pain |
| D．they were fearful of the fire |
A really fearless soldier _____________.
| A．is of great use to the army |
| B．is not a real soldier |
| C．is nothing but a dead soldier |
| D．easily gets killed in a battle |
People sometimes succeed in timely avoiding the danger because _________.
| A．they have gained experience |
| B．they jump out of the way in time |
| C．they are calm in the face of danger |
| D．they are warned of the danger by fear and take quick action |
What's the writer's suggestion when the danger can't be avoided?
| A．You have to try to overcome it. |
| B．Fear can really help you to run away. |
| C．Fear always helps you stay safe. |
| D．Fear is of great use to you. |
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn't help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy—who could not have been more than seven or eight years old—replied. “Frankly, I've been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn't find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.
Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don't seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development depends not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation（揭示） machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation （诱惑）, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials. According to the author, feeling depressed is ____________.
| A．a sure sign of a mental problem in a child |
| B．a mental state present in all humans, including children |
| C．something that cannot be avoided in children's mental development |
| D．something hardly to be expected in a young child |
According to the author, that today's children seems adult-like results from ______.
| A．the widespread influence of television |
| B．the poor arrangement of teaching content |
| C．the fast pace of human scientific development |
| D．the rising standard of living |
What does the author think of communication through print for children?
| A．It enables children to gain more social information. |
| B．It develops children's interest in reading and writing. |
| C．It helps children to read and write well. |
| D．It can control what children are to learn. |
What does the author think of the change in today's children?
| A．He feels their adult-like behavior is so funny. |
| B．He thinks the change worthy of note. |
| C．He considers it a rapid development. |
| D．He seems to be upset about it. |
The Boston Opera House
In Person
● The Boston Opera House Box Office is open Monday – Friday from 10 am – pm. We provide a direct and customer-friendly service that allows our customers to choose their seats and purchase their tickets at face value without service charges or delivery fees. The savings and confidence associated with an in-person purchase at our box office can make the trip very worthwhile. While you’re in the neighborhood, check out our dining and parking choices when you attend your favorite shows.
● The Boston Ballet Box Office operates year-round at their 19 Clarendon Street headquarters（总部）in Boston’s South End. Boston Ballet sells tickets at the Boston Opera House box office during Boston Ballet performance weeks.
Online
● Tickets for all Broadway in Boston shows and other concerts and cultural presentations are sold online at www.ticketmaster.com.
● Tickets for all Boston Ballet performances are sold online at www.bostoneballet.org.
By Phone
● Tickets for all Broadway in Boston shows and other concerts and cultural presentations can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 1. 800. 982. 2787.
● Tickets for all Boston Ballet performances can be purchased by calling 617. 695. 6955.
Refund Policy
No refunds or exchanges.
The Boston Opera House Policies
● Some shows may not be appropriate for children of all ages. Please enquire at 617. 259. 3400.
● Regardless of age, everyone must have a ticket. No “babies in arms” will be allowed.
● Parents may be asked to remove restless children from the auditorium（演出大厅）. The parent and child will be able to wait in a comfortable lounge while the rest of the family enjoys the show. We appreciate your cooperation.
Tips for Theatergoers：
● Leave yourself enough time for traffic.
● Check the date and time of the performance on tickets purchased.
● If you arrive late to your performance you may have to wait to be seated at appropriate breaks in the performance. Please arrive on time, no less than 15 minutes before curtain.You can buy tickets for performances at the Boston Opera House in all the following ways EXCEPT ________________.
| A．at the box office | B．by telephone |
| C．through e-mail | D．on the website |
What is one advantage of purchasing tickets in person?
| A．You don’t need to pay extra fees. |
| B．You can get free parking and dining. |
| C．You are sure to get the best seats |
| D．You can exchange tickets if you wish. |
If you are attending a show at the Opera House, _____________.
| A．You can take your infant with you. |
| B．you don’t have to buy a ticket for your child |
| C．you are allowed to enter the auditorium immediately even if you are late |
| D．you are advised to arrive 15 minutes before the performance begins |
You must know what BYD stands for? Yes, Build Your Dream. Have you built your dream and spare no effort to achieve it? Here is an inspiring story from http//www.naijamotiveation.com
Eddie Arcaro dreamed of becoming the world’s greatest jockey（赛马骑师）. But after watching him ride a horse for five minutes, reality reflected a rough contradiction. He was awkward and clumsy, and in his early years in the saddle（马鞍 ）he couldn’t do one thing right.
In his first 100 races he never even came close to winning. Still, he got right back on and trained again. Even as a schoolboy, Arcaro had set his own track in life. Because he was only a little over five feet tall (1.5 meters) and weighed barely 80 pounds (36kg), the other students picked on him. So he skipped school, hanging out at the local race track where a trainer let him ride horses.
His father reluctantly agreed to let him pursue a career as a jockey. The trainer had told him so. “Send him back to school,” he said. “He’ll never be a rider.” In spite of that, Arcaro was determined not just to ride, but to become the world’s greatest jockey. But first someone would have to give him a chance.
He finally got to ride in a real race. Before it was over, he’d lost his whip and his cap and had almost fallen off the saddle. By the time he finished the race, the other horses were on their way to the stables（马厩）. He’d come in dead last. Nevertheless, Arcaro went from track to track, looking for any opportunity to ride.
Finally, a trainer who pitied him took him in and gave him a chance. One hundred losses later, he was still giving him chances. He saw something in this unlucky jockey, something he couldn’t define.
There were many brushes with death and several broken bones. Every time he would return to the saddle. Then Arcaro began to win. In thirty years of riding, he won 4, 779 races, becoming the only jockey in history to win the Kentucky Derby five times. By the time he retired in 1962 he was a millionaire and a legend in his own lifetime.The underlined phrase “picked on” in the passage probably means _______.
| A．paid attention to | B．made fun of |
| C．offered help to | D．took special care of |
The trainer who believed in Arcaro gave him chances because __________.
| A．Arcaro had shown great talents in horse racing |
| B．he thought all that Arcaro needed was a bit of luck |
| C．he had sympathy for Arcaro for his unfortunate experiences |
| D．he was impressed by the way Arcaro stuck to his dream |
The key message the author wants to convey through the passage is that _____.
| A．a man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds |
| B．you can’t stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf |
| C．winners in life set goals and follow through on them |
| D．life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing well those you hold. |
Which of the following would be the most proper title for the passage?
| A．The Man With The One Track Mind |
| B．A Star With Many Skills |
| C．An Inspiring Website Story |
| D．Inspiration Is Around Us |
Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that men and animals possess, if they are properly used. If fire did not hurt when it burnt, children would play with it until their hands were burnt away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear didn’t, a child would burn himself or herself again and again, because fear would not warn himself or herself to keep away from the fire that had burnt himself or herself before. A really fearless soldier—and some do exist is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which men and animals might soon die out.
In our first sentence we suggested that fear should be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. Even in your house you are not absolutely safe an aeroplane may crash on your house, or ants may eat away some of the beams in your roof so that the latter falls on you, or you may get cancer!
The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.
In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight towards you. Fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is well.
In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you can’t prevent an aeroplane crashing onto your house. In this case, fear has given you its warning; you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of this particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.Children would play with fire until their hands were burnt away if _________.
| A．they were given no warning beforehand |
| B．they had never burnt themselves |
| C．they had no sense of pain |
| D．they were fearful of the fire |
A really fearless soldier _____________.
| A．is of great use to the army |
| B．is not a real soldier |
| C．is nothing but a dead soldier |
| D．easily gets killed in a battle |
People sometimes succeed in timely avoiding the danger because _________.
| A．they have gained experience |
| B．they jump out of the way in time |
| C．they are calm in the face of danger |
| D．they are warned of the danger by fear and take quick action |
What's the writer's suggestion when the danger can't be avoided?
| A．You have to try to overcome it. |
| B．Fear can really help you to run away. |
| C．Fear always helps you stay safe. |
| D．Fear is of great use to you. |