The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, and pain-free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably(不可避免的) brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment (义务), self - improvement.
Ask a bachelor(单身汉) why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates （解放）money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because _______ .
| A．he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities |
| B．he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single |
| C．he finds more fun in dating than in marriage |
| D．he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement |
From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .
| A．hatred | B．misunderstanding | C．prejudice | D．ignorance |
What is the author trying to tell us?
| A．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain. |
| B．One must know how to attain happiness. |
| C．It is important to make commitments. |
| D．It is pain that leads to happiness. |
Some say every day miracles are predestined (注定的)---- All that’s necessary is readiness, the right circumstance for the appointed meeting. And it can happen anywhere.
In 1999, 11-year-old Kevin Stephan was a bat boy for his younger brother's Little League team in Lancaster, New York. It was an early evening in late July. Kevin was standing on the grass away from the plate, where another youngster was warming up for the next game. Swinging his bat back and forth, and giving it all the power an elementary school kid could give, the boy brought the bat back hard and hit Kevin in the chest. His heart stopped.
When Kevin fell to the ground, the mother of one of the players rushed out of the stands to his aid. Penny Brown hadn't planned to be there that day, but at the last minute,she had changed her shift (轮班) at the hospital, and she was given the night off. Penny bent over the senseless boy, his face already starting to turn blue, and giving CPR, breathing into his mouth and giving chest compressions (按压). And he came to life.
After his recovery, he became a volunteer junior firefighter, learning some of the emergency first-aid techniques that had saved his life. He studied hard in school and was saving money for college by working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his spare time.
Kevin, now 17, was working in the kitchen when he heard people screaming, customers in confusion, employees rushing toward a table. He hurried into the main room and saw a woman there, her face turning blue, her hands at her throat. She was choking .
Quickly Kevin stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands. Then, using skills he'd first learned in Scouts, the food that was trapped in the woman's throat was freed. The color began to return to her face.
“The food was stuck. I couldn't breathe,” she said. She thought she was dying. “I was very frightened.”
Who was the woman?
Penny Brown.Kevin Stephan fell to the ground and fainted probably because ________.
| A．he stood close to the boy who was swinging his bat |
| B．he suffered from heart attack all of a sudden |
| C．he was too excited when watching the game |
| D．he swung the bat too hard to keep his balance |
Which of the following statements is True of Kevin Stephan?
| A．He was hit on the face by a boy and almost lost his life. |
| B．He was a volunteer junior firefighter, teaching the players first-aid skills. |
| C．He worked part-time in a local restaurant to save money for college. |
| D．He saved Penny Brown though he didn’t really know how to deal with food choke |
Why did Penny Brown change her shift and was given the night off that night?
| A．She was there to give her son directions. |
| B．She volunteered to give medical services. |
| C．She was a little worried about her son’s safety. |
| D．She came to watch her son’s game and cheered him . |
It takes more than just practice to become an Olympian. Gold medal performances require some serious nutrition. Have you ever wondered what these successful athletes eat to stay in peak shape?
Keri Glassman, a registered dietitian and founder of Nutritious Life Meals, appeared on “Good Morning America” today to give you a glimpse into the diets of some top athletes. Some of their meals could surprise you.
Crazy Calorie Count
Glassman said Olympians eat a lot of food- quantities that for ordinary people would constitute pigging out. One secret of swimmer Michael Phelps’ astonishing performance in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing was consuming as many as 12,00 calories in one day.
Athletes can eat like this and not gain any weight because their workouts are intense. According to Glassman, Phelps’ workouts can burn 4,000 to 6,000 calories in a day, and those calories must be added in order to train the following day.
Snacking Secrets
Some athletes eat strange foods that improve their performance. Yohan Blake, the Jamaica sprinter and 100-meter world champion, has stolen champion sprinter Usain Bolt’s thunder on the track during the Olympic trials. Asked about how he gets his energy, Blake answered that he eats 16 bananas per day ,Glassman said.
Jonathan Horton, the lead gymnast on the Us team, has a blood sugar problem. His solution is honey. When he starts to feel shaky at the gym, he takes honey to boost his energy, Classman said.
Foods for Recovery
What are the best foods to help the body recover after harsh competition?
For Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, the recovery meal is grilled chicken breasts with Alfredo sauce, whole-grain spaghetti and a salad with lemon juice and olive oil. Lochte, who recently cut out junk food, candy and soda, has undertaken a strength-training regimen(养生法)that involves flipping tractor tires, and tossing beer kegs, Glassman said.What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Good Diet Makes a True Olympian. |
| B．Olympians Have Olympic-size Appetites. |
| C．The Diet of Some Top Olympic Athletes. |
| D．Olympians’ Strange Eating Habits. |
What does the underlined sentence probably mean?
| A．Ordinary people eat few pigs compared with Olympians. |
| B．Olympians eat a lot more food than ordinary people. |
| C．Olympians tend to eat a lot of high-quality food. |
| D．Olympians eat a large amount of food, just like pigs. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Ryan Lochte quit eating junk food , candy and soda for his better recovery. |
| B．Yohan Blake finally beat Usain Bolt in the 100-meter track in the Olympics. |
| C．Michael Phelps’ astonishing performance was due to his eating lots of food. |
| D．Jonathan Horton has a blood sugar problem because of taking too much honey. |
The passage is most likely to be found in .
| A．a technical report | B．a fashion magazine |
| C．an education column | D．a sports newspaper |
After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to him, so I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dear Dick,
My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I will never get to do that. However, I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
MatthewThe boy looked forward to meeting the author because _________.
| A．he was one of the author’s fans |
| B．he wanted to get to the Olympics and win a medal |
| C．he was also good at weight lifting |
| D．he admired the author for his courage very much |
From the passage we learn that _________.
| A．Matthew was an athlete |
| B．Matthew was an optimistic and determined boy |
| C．The author used to have the same disease as Matthew had |
| D．Matthew became a champion before he died |
Matthew didn’t accept the author’s medal because _________.
| A．he thought it was too expensive |
| B．he was sure that he could win one in the future |
| C．he thought it was of no use to him as he would die soon |
| D．he would not be pitied by others |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A sick boy. | B．A special friend. | C．A real champion. | D．A famous athlete. |
Why do people drink too much, eat too much, smoke cigarettes or take drugs? What’s to blame for all the bad behavior? Most people would say that, while these self-destructive (自我毁灭的) acts can have many root causes, they all have one obvious thing in common: they are all examples of failures of self-control, lacking the will power to resist them.
According to a recent study, however, if you really think about it, something about that simple answer doesn’t quite make sense. In fact, it turns out that sometimes it’s having will power that really gets you into trouble.
Think back to the time you took your very first sip (啜饮) of beer. Disgusting, wasn’t it? When my father gave me my first taste of beer as a teenager, I wondered why anyone would voluntarily drink it. And smoking? No one enjoys their first cigarette — it tastes awful. So even though smoking, and drinking alcohol or coffee, can become temptation (诱惑) you need will power to resist, they never, ever start out that way.
Just getting past those first horrible experiences actually requires a lot of self-control. Ironically (讽刺的是), only those who can control themselves well, rather than give in to them, can ever come to someday develop a “taste” for Budweiser beer, Marlboro cigarettes, or dark-roasted Starbucks coffee. We do it for social acceptance. We force ourselves to consume alcohol, cigarettes, coffee and even illegal drugs, in order to seem experienced, grown-up, and cool.
These bad habits aren’t self-control failures — far from it. They are voluntary choices, and they are in fact self-control successes. Self-control is simply a tool to be put to some use, helpful or harmful. To live happy and productive lives, we need to develop not only our self-control, but also the wisdom to make good decisions about when and where to apply it.What do most people think causes bad behavior?
| A．Being forced by others. | B．Enjoying their first experiences. |
| C．Not having enough will power. | D．Following the examples of their friends. |
The author mentions his experience in the third paragraph to prove ____.
| A．will power helps develop bad habits sometimes |
| B．drinking beer is harmful to the health of teenagers |
| C．self-control should be developed when one is young |
| D．everyone can be challenged by different temptations |
In the last paragraph, the author stresses that ____.
| A．without self-control, no one can succeed |
| B．applying self-control correctly is important |
| C．bad habits don’t always lead to bad results. |
| D．people can develop wisdom from bad behavior |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．My First Sip of Beer | B．Do You Have Will Power ? |
| C．Will Power Benefits Us | D．Dark Side of Self-control |
LONDON (Reuters)—New faces given to a Chinese man after a bear tore off part of his face and a FrenchCaribbean man disfigured by a rare tumor show that such transplants can work and are not medical oddities (怪异)，researchers said．
The findings give hope to some people with severe facial disfigurement and suggest the transplants could prove longlasting without major problems．Despite the tissue rejection in the first year after their transplants，neither men had psychological problems accepting their new faces and have been able to rejoin society，they reported．
Only three people have received face transplants．The world’s first was carried out on French woman Isabelle Dinoire in November 2005 after she was disfigured in an attack by her dog．In 2007，her doctors reported that she had recovered slowly and steadily，overcoming two periods of rejection．
In 2006，Chinese doctors performed a face transplant on a 30yearold hit by a bear．While there were some complications with tissue rejection following the operation，two years later the man was doing well，his doctors said．“This case suggests that facial transplantation might be an option for restoring a severely disfigured face，and could enable patients to bring themselves back into society，” Shuzhong Guo and colleagues at Xijing Hospital in China wrote．
A French team described their work on a 29yearold man who suffered from Von Recklinghausen disease，an illness that changes the shape of his face．“The man，who was not named，was given a new nose，mouth and chin in a 2007 operation．He began to work 13 months after the transplant has more function in his face and has not rejected the new tissue，” his doctors said．
“Our case confirms that face transplantation is practical and effective for the correction of specific disfigurement，” Dr．Laurent Lantieri and colleagues at the HenriMondor hospital outside Paris wrote．What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．Face transplants help regain confidence． | B．Face transplants can work． |
| C．Three people have received face transplants． | D．Disfigured people need face transplants． |
The underlined word “restoring” in Paragraph 4 means “________”．
| A．removing | B．recovering | C．repairing | D．rejecting |
What problem resulted from the facial operations?
| A．The patients usually suffered from tissue rejection． |
| B．It was hard for the patients to get along with others． |
| C．It took some time for the patients to recover from the operation． |
| D．The patients wouldn’t accept the facial change． |