In ancient Egypt，the pharaoh（法老）treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However，if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news，his head was cut off.
Shades of that spirit spread over today's conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out of the door，picnic basket in hand，a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said，"Oh boy，bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it's going to rain." I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report，for his smile.
Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter，the sales agent said with a broad smile，"Oh that bus left five minutes ago." Dreams of head-cutting！
It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsym pathetic attitude with which it’s delivered(递送). Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way . A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling fo the receiver.
Unfortunately，many people are not aware of this. When you're tired from a long flight，has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn't ready yet？When you had your heart set on the toast beef，has your waiter merrily told you that he just served the last piece？It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.
Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy（同情），I would have appreciated his warning. Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left，I probably would have said，"Oh，that's all right I'll catch the next one." Big winners，when they bear bad news，deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded（被轰炸的）person is sure to have.In Paragraph 1，the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to ____.
| A．make a comparison | B．introduce a topic |
| C．describe a scene | D．offer an argument |
In the writer's opinion，his neighbor was ___.
| A．friendly | B．warm-hearted | C．not considerate | D．not helpful |
From "Dreams of head-cutting！"（Paragraph3），we learn that the writer___.
| A．was mad at the sales agent |
| B．was reminded of the cruel pharaoh |
| C．wished that the sales agent would have had dreams |
| D．dreamed of cutting the sales agent's head that night. |
What is the main idea of the text？
| A．Delivering bad news properly is important in communication. |
| B．Helping others sincerely is the key to business success. |
| C．Receiving bad news requires great courage. |
| D．Learning ancient traditions can be useful. |
No one is sure how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids near Cairo. But a new study suggests they used a little rock‘n’roll. Long-ago builders could have attached wooden poles to the stones and rolled them across the sand, the scientists say.
“Technically, I think what they’re proposing is possible,” physicist Daniel Bonn said.
People have long puzzled over how the Egyptians moved such huge rocks. And there’s no obvious answer. On average, each of the two million big stones weighed about as much as a large pickup truck. The Egyptians somehow moved the stone blocks to the pyramid site from about one kilometer away.
The most popular view is that Egyptian workers slid the blocks along smooth paths. Many scientists suspect wokers first would have put the blocks on sleds(滑板). Then they would have dragged them along paths. To make the work easier, workers may have lubricated the paths either with wet clay or with the fat from cattle. Bonn has now tested this idea by building small sleds and dragging heavy objects over sand.
Evidence from the sand supports this idea. Researchers found small amounts of fat, as well as a large amount of stone and the remains of paths.
However , physicist Joseph West think there might have been a simpler way , who led the new study . West said , “I was inspired while watching a television program showing how sleds might have helped with pyramid construction . I thought , “Why don’t they just try rolling the things ? ” A square could be turned into a rough sort of wheel by attaching wooden poles to its sides , he realized . That , he notes , should make a block of stone “a lot easier to roll than a square”.
So he tried it.
He and his students tied some poles to each of four sides of a 30-kilogram stone block.That action turned the block into somewhat a wheel.Then they placed the block on the ground.
They wrapped one end of a rope around the block and pulled.The researchers found they could easily roll the block along different kinds of paths.They calculated that rolling the block required about as much force as moving it along a slippery(滑的)path.
West hasn’t tested his idea on larger blocks,but he thinks rolling has clear advantages over sliding.At least,workers wouldn’t have needed to carry cattle fat or water to smooth the paths.It’s widely believed that the stone blocks were moved to the pyramid site by ______.
| A．rolling them on roads |
| B．pushing them over the sand |
| C．dragging them on some poles |
| D．sliding them on smooth paths |
What does the underlined word “it”in Paragraph 7 refer to?
| A．rolling the blocks with fat. |
| B．Rolling the blocks on wooden wheels. |
| C．Rolling poles to move the blocks. |
| D．Rolling the blocks with poles attached. |
Why is rolling better than sliding according to West ?
| A．Because more force is needed for sliding. |
| B．Because less preparation on path is needed for rolling. |
| C．Because sliding on smooth road is more dangerous. |
| D．Because rolling work can be done by fewer cattle. |
What is the text mainly about ?
| A．An experiment on ways of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
| B．An argument about different methods of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
| C．An application of the method of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
| D．An introduction to a possible new way of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
When you meet someone for the first time, you will form an impression in your mind of that person in the first moment. Your reactions to other people, however, are really just barometers (晴雨表) for how you perceive(理解) yourself. Your reactions to others say more about you than they do about others. You cannot really love or hate something about another unless it reflects something you love or hate yourself. We are usually drawn to those who are most like us and tend to dislike those who display those aspects of ourselves that we dislike.
Therefore, you can allow others to be the mirror to illuminate (阐明;照亮) more clearly your own feelings of self-worth. Conversely, you can view the people you judge negatively as mirrors to show you what you are not accepting about yourself.
To survive together peacefully with others, you will need to learn tolerance. A big challenge is to shift your perspective from judgment of others to a lifelong exploration of yourself. Your task is to assess all the decisions, judgments you make onto others and to begin to view them as clues to how you can heal yourself and become whole.
Several days ago I had a business lunch with a man who displayed objectionable table manners. My first reaction was to judge him as rude and his table manners as annoying. When I noticed that I was judging him, I stopped and asked myself what I was feeling. I discovered that I was embarrassed to be seen with someone who was chewing with his mouth open and loudly blowing his nose. I was astonished to find how much I cared about how the other people in the restaurant perceived me.
Remember that your judgment of someone will not serve as a protective shield against you becoming like him. Just because I judge my lunch partner as rude does not prevent me from ever looking or acting like him. In the same way, extending tolerance to him would not cause me to suddenly begin chewing my food with my mouth open.
When you approach life in this manner, those with whom you have the greatest dissatisfactions as well as those you admire and love can be seen as mirrors, guiding you to discover parts of yourself that you reject and to embrace your greatest quality.The purpose of the author writing this passage is to advise people to _______.
| A．avoid inappropriate manners |
| B．judge others favorably in any case |
| C．pay attention to others’ needs and feelings |
| D．learn tolerance towards others |
The underlined word “objectionable” in Paragraph 4 has the closest meaning to __________.
| A．disgusting | B．disappointing |
| C．discouraging | D．disturbing |
According to the passage, the following statements are all true except ______.
| A．The moment we see a stranger, our mind forms an impression of that person. |
| B．We are easily attracted by someone who is similar to us. |
| C．Our first judgment of a person mostly comes from our personal opinion. |
| D．You can’t really love or hate others if they are similar to you. |
It can be implied from the text that __________.
| A．the writer’s first reaction to the man was to judge him as offensive |
| B．we shouldn’t focus on judging others but should constantly reflect on our own |
| C．we will need to learn tolerance to co-exist with others |
| D．the writer didn’t care about other people’s view of him |
Dogs Don't Tell Jokes - By Louis Sachar Twelve-year-old Gary Boone knows he was born to be a comedian. He never stops joking, regardless of the fact that nobody laughs much and his classmates think he is stupid. Therefore he had no real friends at school. Due to being laughed at by his classmates, Gary Boone thought winning the school talent show would be his dream of proving himself to be a real comedian, but on the big night his dream went wrong with funny results. |
Winners Never Quit - By Mia Hamm Mia Hamm, American soccer champion, tells a true-to-life inspiring story of learning that winning and losing aren't as important as being part of a team. More than anyone, soccer superstar Mia Hamm knows the value of teamwork. She shares this lesson, paired with energetic pictures by Carol Thompson, and this story is perfect for soccer kids and their soccer moms. |
Shack let on s Incredible Voyage - By Alfred Lansing The astonishing adventure of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's survival for over a year on the ice-bound Antarctic seas, as Time t magazine put it, "defined heroism". To write the authoritative story, Lansing consulted with ten of the surviving members and gained access to diaries and personal accounts by eight others. The book has a first-hand account, expanded with maps and illustrations especially for this edition. |
The Alchemist - By Paulo Coelho The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, continues to change the lives of its readers forever. It tells the magical story of Santiago, an Andulusian shepherd-boy (牧童) who desires to travel in search of treasure. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts and above all, following our dreams. |
From Shackletoris Incredible Voyage, we know the main character ______.
| A．is a writer for Time magazine |
| B．is a survival of one polar exploration |
| C．has left a lot of diaries and accounts |
| D．has formed a close friendship with Alfred Lansing |
If you want to know more about teamwork, you can read ______.
| A．Dogs Don't Tell Jokes | B．Shackletoris Incredible Voyage |
| C．Winners Never Quit | D．The Alchemist |
What do we know about The Alchemist?
| A．It has an everlasting influence on its readers. |
| B．It gives people magical power over their dreams. |
| C．It tells a story of how to find treasures. |
| D．It is mainly about the wisdom of listening to others. |
If you are looking to putting a tree in your home for Christmas, there is always one debate that seems to arise in most households: whether you want a real tree or fake tree. Year after year, as we find ourselves cleaning old pine needles (松针) for months on end, we decide that we will never get another real tree. So that begs the question: Which kind of tree is better?
There is certainly a lot to be said for real trees. There is something fun about gathering the family together, going to a Christmas tree farm, and selecting or even cutting down your own tree. Real Christmas trees have that lovely holiday pine needle smell and they look great in your home.
Of course, on the other hand, they also leave a complete mess behind and needles that seem to keep appearing for weeks or even months after the tree comes down. You must also find a way to deal with your real Christmas tree after you’re done, which may mean cutting it into pieces so it will fit in the trash. Many dustmen will refuse to take away a tree that is left beside your regular trash, especially if it is a big tree or an old, yellow one with falling needles, making it hard to pick up. They don’t want a face full of sharp needles any more than you do!
With a fake Christmas tree, there is no mess, but there is also no Christmas smell and no exciting trip to the Christmas tree farm. Of course, these trees look the same in appearance as a real tree when decorated. Many of them come already with lights, so using that old, messy string of lights will be a thing of the past. For some people, a can of pine air freshener is enough to recreate the pleasant smell of a real tree.
As to which tree is the better choice, it is really a matter of personal preference. Both real and fake trees certainly have their benefits, and knowing which is better for you this Christmas really depends on what your family wants.Which of the following shows the benefits of real Christmas trees?
a.providing more fun
b.easy to clean up
c.giving off a natural smell
d.easy to decorate
| A．a, c | B．a, d | C．b, c | D．b, d |
The third paragraph is mainly about ________.
| A．why many dustmen refuse to take away a real tree |
| B．how long a real tree can live |
| C．how to cut a real tree into pieces |
| D．what weaknesses a real tree has |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 shows that fake Christmas trees _______.
| A．look more beautiful | B．are more fashionable |
| C．can be used longer | D．are more convenient |
What is the author’s attitude towards this debate?
| A．Objective. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Skeptical. | D．Optimistic. |
About 30 years ago, I left Cuba for the United States with my son. After getting settled finally in Brunswick, New Jersey, I enrolled(注册) my son in kindergarten. Several weeks later, my son’s teacher asked me to meet him at his office.
In the teacher’s office, an exchange of greetings was followed by his questions: “Is your son mentally retarded(弱智的)? Does he suffer from any kind of mental disability?”
Was he talking about my wonderful Scola? No, no, it can’t be. What a helpless, lonely moment! I told him that Scola was a quiet, sweet little boy, instead. I asked him why he was asking me all these questions.
My son could not follow the teacher’s directions, he told me, and thus, Scola was disrupting the class. Didn’t he know my son did not speak English yet?
He was angry: “Why hasn’t your son been taught to speak English? Don’t you speak English at home?”
No, I didn’t speak English at home, I replied. I was sure my son would learn English in a couple of months, and I didn’t want him to forget his native language. Well, wrong answer! What kind of person would not speak English to her son at home and at all times? “Are you one of those people who come to this country to save dollars and send them back to their country, never wanting to be a part of this society?”
Needless to say, I tried to tell him I was not one of “those people.” Then he told me the meeting was over, and I left.
As I had expected, my son learned to speak English fluently before the school year was over. He went on to graduate from college and got a job, earning close to six figures. He travels widely and leads a well-adjusted, contented life. And he has benefited from being bilingual(双语的).
Speaking more than one language allows people to communicate with others; it teaches people about other cultures and other places — something very basic and obviously lacking in the “educator” I met in New Jersey.The teacher asked the author to his office ______.
| A．to discuss Scola’s in-class performance |
| B．to get Scola enrolled in kindergarten |
| C．to find a language partner for Scola |
| D．to work out a study plan for Scola |
What does the underlined word “disrupting” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Breaking | B．Following |
| C．Attending | D．Disturbing |
The author’s attitude towards being bilingual may best be described as ______.
| A．critical | B．casual | C．positive | D．passive |
This text is likely to be selected from a book of _______.
| A．medicine | B．education | C．geography | D．History |