“Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy – they’re given after all. Choices can be hard.” –– Jeff Bezos.
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old, and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor. I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately (最后), I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?
| A．His dream of being an inventor. |
| B．The support of his wife. |
| C．The greatly increasing usage of the Internet. |
| D．Millions of exciting titles. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?
| A．The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him. |
| B．He would be very excited if he tried it out. |
| C．He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try. |
| D．The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him. |
We can know from the passage that _______.
| A．the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author |
| B．the author wanted someone else to try the idea |
| C．the author might not regret if he failed the idea |
| D．the author might go back to his boss if he failed |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Cleverness and Kindness | B．The Starting of Amazon |
| C．Following My Passion | D．We Are What We Choose |
There are only 24 hours in a day，but people can use the time wisely. In other words，effective (有效的) time management is important if you want to succeed.
Knowing the importance of daily matters is the first step towards good time management. Write down the things that you want to do and organize them according to their level of importance. The important thing should be done first. If there are too many things that have to be done in one day, then you have to give up doing something that is less important on your list.
Besides this，you need to spend a specific (特定的) amount of time doing all the activities you have written down and make sure you finish them on time. People often slow down in their work even though they know that time will never wait for them. Make sure you keep to your plan and finish the tasks one by one. Do not try to do too many things at once.
Also，you can group similar activities together and do them one by one. For example, you can group all the tasks you need to do in the office together and do them while you're in office. Do all the tasks that have to be done in one place first, and then move to the next place to do the other tasks.
“The bad news is that time flies. The good news is that you're the pilot, ”said Michael Althsuler. Your future is in your hands，so remember to invest (投资) your time wisely from today on.Which of the following things should be done first?
| A．The most difficult things |
| B．The most important things |
| C．The things that weren't done yesterday |
| D．The things that take the least time |
Which of the steps below is NOT important for effective time management?
| A．Do all the tasks that need to be done in one place together |
| B．Write down daily tasks that need to be done |
| C．Do as many tasks as you can at the same time |
| D．Understand and know the importance of daily matters |
Which of the following ideas would the author agree with?
| A．Never give up doing the least important things |
| B．Successful people can make a day last longer than 24 hours |
| C．Writing down daily tasks is the first step towards success |
| D．Effective time management can help one to succeed |
The author quoted (引用) the words by Althsuler to say that ________.
| A．you can manage your time wisely |
| B．you can't control time |
| C．time passes quickly |
| D．everything has two sides |
The text is mainly about ________.
| A．the importance of time management |
| B．ways to manage time effectively |
| C．ways to organize daily activities |
| D．the importance of doing tasks on time |
Beach volleyball （沙滩排球）is one of those sports that can be an exciting game to play and watch. It’s really easy, and all you need is sand, a net and a group of people, of any age or fitness level, who want to have fun.
Beach volleyball can be played with as few as two people in each team, making a total of four people. However, if you are less skilled and experienced in the game, it will be easier to play with a larger team. The more players you have, the less ground each person will be responsible for covering and the more time they will have to recover between shots. If you only have a few players, each of you will get a lot of running for the ball after each volley (截球). If you are looking for a relaxing, fun, low-key experience, choose larger teams.
Beach volleyball is similar to regular volleyball in its rules. However, even experienced volleyball players do not realize how much more difficult it is to run and jump on sand. Since it is harder to move quickly on sand than a hard surface, play will be much slower than regular volleyball on a court. When an athlete trains for beach volleyball, he will focus on building lower body strength（力量）as well as upper body strength. Strengthening his legs is extremely important. This improves the player’s ability to move quickly and accurately on sand despite the resistance. The ability to jump high and land without injury is necessary for beach volleyball players.
Whether you are in it for the competition, or just to have a great time with your friends, beach volleyball can be extremely exciting and fun. You may start out with friends and may soon fall in love with the sport.When playing beach volleyball, in which of the following situation will you feel most relaxed?
| A．Playing in a 2-person team. |
| B．Playing in a 4-person team. |
| C．Playing in a 6-person team. |
| D．Playing in an 11-person team. |
Why is playing beach volleyball much slower than playing regular volleyball?
| A．Because it is not easy to move on sand. |
| B．Because beach volleyball has a larger court. |
| C．Because the teams of beach volleyball are larger. |
| D．Because beach volleyball players are not experienced. |
We can infer from Paragraph 3 that ______.
| A．experienced volleyball players know clearly it is hard to run and jump on sand |
| B．lower body strength is more important than upper body strength |
| C．a person must have strong legs if he wants to run and jump quickly on sand |
| D．the rules of beach volleyball are the same as those of regular volleyball |
What does the author think of beach volleyball?
| A．It’s a difficult sport. |
| B．It’s not an exciting sport. |
| C．It’s a sport which only a few people love. |
| D．It’s a sport which needs few skills. |
The passage mainly tell us ______
| A．the game of beach volleyball |
| B．how to become a good beach volleyball player |
| C．why beach volleyball is one of the exciting sports |
| D．what should be paid attention to when playing beach volleyball |
Reading newspapers has become an important part of everyday life. Some people read newspapers as the first thing to do in the morning. Others read newspapers as soon as they have free time during the day so that they can learn what is happening in the world.
Sometimes, we do not have enough time to read all the news carefully, so we just take a quick look at the front page. At other times, we may be in such a hurry that we only have a few minutes to look at the headlines of the passage.
Newspapers can be found everywhere in the world. We can get many different kinds of newspapers in big cities, but in some mountain villages we can see few newspapers.
Some newspapers are published once a week, but most of the papers are published once a day with many pages, some even published twice a day! You know different people enjoy reading different newspapers. Some like world news, and others prefer short stories. They just choose what they are interested in.
Today newspapers in English have the largest numbers of readers in the world. The English language is so popular that many Chinese students are reading English newspapers such as China Daily or 21st Century. Also they bring us more and more information with the Internet.From the passage we can see that ________ when people get newspapers.
| A．they read them very carefully |
| B．they just read the headlines |
| C．not everyone reads all the pages |
| D．they have no time to read them |
People read newspapers in order to.
| A．learn the latest news |
| B．meet their own different needs |
| C．read the short stories |
| D．find the morning news |
The underlined word “publish” means “________” in the passage.
| A．出售 | B．印刷 | C．出版 | D．排版 |
Newspapers have so many pages because.
| A．more and more people like to read them |
| B．people enjoy reading something different |
| C．newspapers become cheaper |
| D．more pages mean more money |
According to the passage, besides newspapers, people also get infor mation from .
| A．magazines | B．advertisements |
| C．e-mails | D．the Internet |
In most parts of the world, many students help their schools make less pollution. They join “environment clubs(俱乐部)”. In an environment club, people work together to make our environment clean.
Here are some things students often do.
No-garbage (垃圾) lunches. How much do you throw away after lunch? Environment clubs ask students to bring their lunches in bags that can be used again. Every week they will choose the classes that make the least garbage and report them to the whole school.
No-car day. On a no-car day, nobody comes to school in a car. Not the students and not the teachers! Cars give pollution to our air, so remember: walk, jump, bike and run. Use your legs! It’s lots of fun..
Turn off the water! Did you know that some toilets can waste twenty to forty cubic(立方)meters of water an hour? In a year, that would fill a small river! In environment clubs, students mend those broken toilets. We love our environment. Let’s work together to make it clean.The writer wrote the passage to ask the students to ____________.
| A．clean school | B．make less pollution |
| C．join clubs | D．help teachers |
Environment clubs ask students __________.
| A．to run to school every day |
| B．to take exercise every day |
| C．not to forget to take cars |
| D．to use lunch bags |
After students mend toilets, they save ___________.
| A．a small river | B．a club |
| C． water in cubic meters | D．a toilet |
From the passage we know the students usually have lunch ____________.
| A．at school | B．in shops |
| C．in clubs | D．at home |
Which of the following statements is true?
A.On No-car day, only the teachers can go to school in their cars.
B.In the clubs, students usually work together to make the earth less polluted.
C.The water in the toilet can fill a river.
D.D. Students can take their lunch in paper, so they can throw it after lunch.
London Underground
The world’s first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time，the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work， they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems，the idea of the London Underground，the first subway system，was born.
The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays， but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30，000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed),and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However，the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰)，as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems，riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.What led the British government to build the London Underground？
| A．Traffic jams and pollution. |
| B．Population and pollution. |
| C．Overcrowding and traffic jams. |
| D．The poverty and subway problems. |
How did the London Underground solve the smoke problem？
| A．It made the tunnels larger. |
| B．It put fans in the tunnels. |
| C．It cleaned the chemical gases in the tunnels. |
| D．It reduced the number of passengers riding in the train. |
The underlined phrase “catch on” most probably means “______”.
| A．be troublesome |
| B．become popular and fashionable |
| C．keep up with |
| D．seize |
Which of the following is TRUE？
| A．To relocate the workers’homes outside London，the government built the subway. |
| B．There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened. |
| C．The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic. |
| D．There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened. |
It seems that the writer is going to talk about ______in the next paragraph.
| A．more problems with subways |
| B．subways around the world later on |
| C．the history and culture of London |
| D．the Beijing subway |