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 |
My husband had just bought a new washing machine for me . I decided to use it the very day and I washed a lot of things .
Everything worked well , but I found one of my husband’s socks(短袜) missing . I looked everywhere for it , but I couldn’t find it anywhere .
The next morning , I got ready for school as usual . When the bell rang , the students came in . I greeted them and told them what we were going to do that day .
When I turned around to write on the blackboard , the class bursted out a roar (大笑声)! They laughed and laughed . They laughed so much , in fact ,that I was afraid the headmaster would be in to see all this .
I asked the class to stop , but the more I talked , the more they laughed . I decided to pay no attention to them and I continued to write on the blackboard . when I did this , they roared even more .
Finally , the teacher who had the room next to mine came in to see what all the laughter was about .
“Good heavens ,” I said , “Will someone please tell me what is so funny?”
“Oh , God,” said the teacher , “You have a brown sock to the back of your skirt !”
So that’s how I found my husband’s missing sock .
“Oh , well ,” I said to the class , “Let’s just say you have had an unforgettable lesson on static electricity(静电)。”What was the writer ?
| A．A washer | B．A student | C． A headmaster | D． A teacher |
What happened when the writer turned around to write on the blackboard ?
| A．The class roared with anger . |
| B．The class began to laugh loudly . |
| C．Another teacher came in |
| D．There was a loud noise outside the room |
Why couldn’t she find one of her husband’s socks?
A. Because some students had hidden it .
D. Because her husband had taken it away .
C. Because she had left it in the classroom .
D. Because she never expected that it would stick to her skirt .What did the writer do when she got to know why her students laughed?
| A．She did nothing but laugh. |
| B．She got angry with the class . |
| C．She did nothing |
| D．She explained the matter in a clever way . |
Balzac was good at buying things at its lowest price. One day he wanted to buy a vase in a shop window that was much more expensive than he could offer. Not being able to make the shopkeeper cut down its price very much, he left without further talking. Collecting a half dozen of his friends, he explained his wish to them and they worked a plan. The first would enter the shop and make an offer, lower than the marked price. Not getting the vase at his price, he would walk out. Shortly after another would enter and ask for a price lower than the first. In this way, each of the others would offer a price lower than the one before, and the last of his friends made a great effort to attempt to get it at the lowest price. Before long Balzac himself would return, offer more than the last two or three persons made and trust to luck. The plan worked--- Balzac got the vase at his price!Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．A vase in the window was placed much higher than Balzac could reach. |
| B．At first the price of the vase was much higher than Balzac could offer. |
| C．Balzac always wanted to buy a vase that was much more expensive than he could pay |
| D．Balzac was very poor. He couldn’t buy the vase at a high price. |
How many friends did Balzac gather?
| A．Six | B．Twelve | C．Ten | D．Five |
Who asked for the lowest price?
| A．The first one. | B．The second one. |
| C．The last of his friends. | D．Balzac. |
What kind of person does the writer try to tell us about Balzac and his friends?
| A．Unkind | B．Dishonest | C．Selfish | D．Clever |
阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。
When you are in a place where you are hunting for a new job or career, you will find that there are several things that you should pay attention to. Jobs and careers are fewer than you expect, especially when satisfying employment is something you need to seriously think about. How are you going to find the job that you want and what should you avoid on your way? When you want to make use of your job search, take a moment and think about the things that you must avoid at all costs.
One of the most important rules is never to compromise(妥协) on the things you ask for or desire or it will have a bad effect on your life and peace of mind. Keep in mind your basic expectations of a dream job. They might be something about money or you might find they have something to do with time off. Whatever they are, make sure that you do not accept a job without them. Your requirements might not be easy to meet, but you have the right to try and achieve them.
What’s more, don’t go away from odd (临时的)jobs that might actually take you to the place that you want to be in. Sometimes, finding the right job is a matter of luck and chance after you have been searching and putting in a lot of effort. And if something unexpected happens, remember that taking the chance is of great importance and is something you might want to seriously consider. As long as you keep your goals in mind , you are going to be doing much better than other people during the job search.
If you are looking for the right job, another thing that you can do to make sure that you get the right kind of employment is to market yourself. When you do nothing to push yourself forward, you will be the one suffering for it. If required, give enough encouragement to yourself and try to confidently look at all that you have. Make sure that you can show your skills and abilities. If the jobs that you have set your sights on are challenging , set goals for yourself and work hard at them. The more efforts you put in marketing yourself, the more your chances of obtaining the job you like will be.
Remember that when you are working on a job search, you should not short-change yourself. This is because you will only harm yourself by setting low goals.
| Title |
What to avoid during your job search |
| Brief introduction |
Satisfying jobs are When hunting for a job,there are several things that you should pay |
| Important |
Remembering your expectations Don’t compromise on your requirements or it will have a bad Although your requirements are |
| Taking the chance Take some odd jobs and this might help you When something |
|
| Marketing yourself if required ,look at all you have positively and give yourself enough Show your skills and abilities If the jobs that you want are |
|
| Conclusion |
Don’t short-change yourself because |
The hardworking businessman Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks(火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see him every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the man worked.
“ Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (钉) , even if it is only to pass the time ? ” said Jones. “ Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you .”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son because of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
“ How funny it seems, ” he used to say, “ even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ___________.
| A．his father told him to | B．he wanted to learn a skill |
| C．Jones encouraged him to | D．he just wanted to pass his time |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?
| A．Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks. |
| B．Jones had said the young man must be in need of the skill. |
| C．The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get. |
| D．The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young. |
What can we learn from the story ?
| A．Practice makes perfect. |
| B．Skill makes life easy. |
| C．A good beginning makes good ending. |
| D．Every man has his gift. |
| AVERAGE RESOURCES |
|
| 620 m3 water |
If we put fresh water and sea water together, we can each have 620 m3 water. But remember, sea water is too salty for us to drink if the factories don’t process it first. So, 620 m3 is little. Saving water in daily use is important. |
| 0.5 hectares of forests |
There are 3.869 billion hectares(公顷) of forests on Earth. But we are losing them mainly because we cut trees too much. If we calculate（计算）at the size of a football field, we are losing 343,000 football fields every day, or 1,431 per hour, or 24 per minute! |
| 1.5 centimeters long corals(珊瑚) |
All the corals that we have now spread for about 100,000 km in 109 countries. But each of us can only have such a little piece, because seas are getting polluted and corals are dying. |
| 33 stars |
According to the latest report, there are 200 billion stars in the Milky Way. Each of us can have 33 of them. Unfortunately, we cannot see most of the 200 billion stars from Earth. We can only see about 6,000 stars. If we don’t use telescopes or we have bad weathers, we can only see about 2,000 stars. |
| 90kg rice |
On average, we harvest 0.54 billion tons of rice each year round the world and each of us can have 90 kg. Asia produces and eats 90% of all the rice. How long will it take you to eat up this 90 kg rice? |
| 1 iceberg |
Luckily, we still have icebergs to share when Earth gets warmer and warmer. Each of us can have an iceberg of 170m×170m×170m. Up to 10% of Earth surface is covered by ice. There is 31,000,000km3 of ice on Earth in all. |
On average we each probably have ________ fresh water in the world.
| A．over 620m3 | B．more than 620m3 | C．far less than 620m3 | D．only 620m3 |
We are losing the forests on Earth mainly because of________.
| A．the man-made damage | B．the climate change |
| C．the construction of many football fields | D．the environmental pollution |
When we don’t use telescopes or the weather is bad, we can see ________ stars from Earth.
| A．all the stars | B．about 2,000 | C．about 200 billion | D．about 6,000 |
According to the table above, we each can only have _____ because of pollution.
| A．less water | B．fewer icebergs | C．fewer corals | D．less rice |