If you have failed in the past to try to make big changes in life, try again now, one tiny step at a time.
Every year it's the same. As December comes to an end, you think about the new year and all the ways you want to improve your life. But as you start to write down your hopes for the new year, you think about the last year. You excitedly write down all the changes you are going to make, but by the end of January those ideas get lost in your busy life.
Here's a suggestion : Forget the too big, hard-to-achieve goals and just think about the small ones. "We often think that we have to do everything in big steps, even though it's so hard for us to reach it," said Robert Maurer, who recently wrote the book One Small Step Can Change Your Life. "What we try to do is to begin with such a small step that we can't find any excuse not to do it. "
“Kaizen”, a Japanese word, is used to mean to change behavior and attitudes. During World War II, American factory managers were able to increase productivity by trying small, continuous improvements instead of sudden changes. After the war, the idea was brought to a rebuilding Japan. It made Japan develop fast. The Japanese called it “kaizen”, which means “improvement”.
Maurer studied the idea and did some experiments with it. "Kaizen" could possibly help people succeed in doing everything.At the end of December, people usually________.
| A．fail to make big changes | B．plan for the last year |
| C．think about the new year | D．try to lose their ideas |
Robert Maurer wrote a book to tell us_________.
| A．we should do everything in big steps |
| B．how to change one's life with one small step |
| C．we should try a lot of sudden changes |
| D．how to find a small step without any excuse |
The underlined part "increase productivity" in the passage means “________”.
| A．提高生产率 | B．增加成本 | C．增加出口量 | D．提高待遇 |
The writer of the passage suggests we should_________.
| A．make changes at the end of the year |
| B．do few experiments with "kaizen" |
| C．do things with hard-to-achieve goals |
| D．take a tiny step to achieve big goals |
Which of the following is true from the passage?
| A．You can achieve your goals if you are not too busy. |
| B．Robert Maurer studied “kaizen” and found it helpful. |
| C．You can’t find any excuse not to reach a big goal. |
| D．“Kaizen” was brought to Japan during World War II. |
Mrs. King is an American doctor. She is now in China. She works in a children’s hospital（儿童医院）in Beijing. She is also learning Chinese medicine (中医) there. She likes Chinese medicine very much. She loves working for children. She works hard in the day and reads English books on (关于) Chinese medicine at night. She learns Chinese from the Chinese doctors and her Chinese friends. Now she can speak some Chinese. She can read some Chinese books, too.
Her husband Mr. King is a teacher. He teaches English in a junior high school in Beijing. He works hard, too. He works from Monday to Friday. He teaches three classes every day. Sometimes, on Saturdays and Sundays, he teaches other English classes. He wants to make more money (挣更多钱).
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。. Mrs. King works in a _____.
| A．shop | B．junior high school in Beijing |
| C．hospital in Beijing | D．hospital in America |
. Both of the Kings _____.
| A．live in America | B．live in Shanghai |
| C．work hard | D．work every day |
Mr. King works _____.
| A．in a junior high school in Beijing |
| B．in a children’s hospital in Beijing |
| C．in a junior high school in America |
| D．in a children’s hospital in America |
. Mrs. King learns Chinese from _____.
| A．her teacher |
| B．the books |
| C．the doctors |
| D．the Chinese doctors and her Chinese friends |
Which of the following sentences is NOT true?
| A．Mrs. King can speak English and Chinese. |
| B．Mrs. King doesn’t know anything about Chinese medicine. |
| C．Mrs. King is from America. |
| D．Mr. King sometimes teaches other English classes on weekends. |
In junior high school in America, kids study English, writing, math, science, biology, music and art.
At 12 o’clock, the students eat lunch at school. They have meat, vegetables, fruit, bread and a drink, but they like hot dogs and hamburgers best. American kids like sugar (糖), and after the meal they can have a small piece of cake.
Students sleep (睡觉) for a short time after lunch. They begin classes at 1:30 in the afternoon. They go to school on weekdays and have classes for six hours every day and then return home.
Parents let their kids play or watch TV until dinner at 6:00 p. m. After dinner, they do their homework. Sometimes kids and their parents have a family activity after dinner.
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。. What do the students like best for lunch at school?
| A．Meat and fruit. | B．Hot dogs and hamburgers. |
| C．Hot dogs and sugar. | D．Bread and hamburgers. |
In America, students go to school __________ days a week.
| A．4 | B．5 | C．6 | D．7 |
The American kids usually have dinner_____ in the evening.
| A．at five o’clock | B．at six thirty |
| C．at six o’clock | D．at five thirty |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．American students like hot dogs and hamburgers best. |
| B．After lunch students sleep for a short time. |
| C．The classes begin at 2:00 p. m. |
| D．Sometimes students have a family activity with their parents. |
The best title（标题）for the passage (短文) is ______.
| A．Favorite food | B．Junior high school |
| C．Outdoor activities | D．School life in America |
Helen loved small animals. One morning while she was walking in the forest, she found two weak birds in the grass. She took them home and put them in a small cage. She looked after them with love and the birds both grew well. They thanked her with a wonderful song every morning.
But something happened one day. Helen left the door of the cage open. The larger bird flew from the cage. She thought that it would fly away, so she grasped it. She was very excited to catch it. Suddenly she felt strange. She opened her hand and looked sadly at the dead bird. Her great love had killed the bird!
The other bird was moving back and forth (来回地) in the cage. Helen could feel the bird want to go out. It wanted to fly into the blue sky. At once, Helen took the bird out of the cage and let it fly away. The bird circled, twice, three times…
Helen enjoyed watching the bird flying and singing happily. Suddenly the bird flew closer and landed softly on her head. It sang the sweetest song that she had ever heard.
The easiest way to lose love is to hold too tight. The best way to keep love is to give it freedom.
根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出正确选项，并将所选答案涂到答题卡（填在答题卷）的相应位置上。 What was Helen doing when she found two weak birds?
| A．Singing | B．Walking |
| C．Dancing | D．Playing |
The underlined word “grasped” in the second paragraph means _____________.
| A．抓住 | B．控制 |
| C．保护 | D．击打 |
Something happened one day, _______________ .
| A．the larger bird was moving back and forth in the cage |
| B．the smaller bird was dead in Helen’s hand |
| C．Helen left the door of the cage open. The larger bird flew from the cage |
| D．the other bird thanked Helen with a wonderful song every morning |
Why did Helen let the second bird fly away?
| A．Because Helen hated the bird. |
| B．Because Helen could call the bird back again. |
| C．Because Helen thought the bird could fly back itself. |
| D．Because Helen realized the bird wanted freedom very much. |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．How to feed birds. | B．Helen’s favorite birds. |
| C．How to keep love. | D．The story of the two birds. |
Once a boy went to a palace to ask a wise man what the secret of happiness is. After talking with the boy, the wise man asked the boy to look around the palace and return in two hours. “And , I want to ask you to do something,”said the wise man .“As you look around, carry this spoon with you without making the oil spill (溢出).”
The boy began walking up and down the stairs of the palace, and he kept his eyes on the spoon all the time. After two hours, he returned. “Well,” asked the wise man, “what did you see in my palace?” The boy said that he had seen nothing.
“Then go back and enjoy my wonderful world,” said the wise man. The boy picked up the spoon and began to look around the palace again. This time, he saw many beautiful things in the palace. When he returned, the wise man asked, “but where are the drops of oil I give you?” The boy saw that the oil was gone.
“There is only one piece of advice I can give you,” said the wise man. “The secret of happiness is to see all wonders of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”
根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出正确选项，并将所选答案涂到答题卡（填在答题卷）的相应位置上。The boy visited the wise man for _______________.
| A．helping the wise man carry the oil |
| B．becoming famous |
| C．getting the secret of happiness |
| D．going sightseeing in the palace |
The story happened _______________ .
| A．in a university | B．in a palace |
| C．in a restaurant | D．in a boy’s home |
Why did the boy see nothing for the first time to look around the wise man’s palace?
| A．Because he kept his eyes on the spoon all the time. |
| B．Because he was blind. |
| C．Because there was nothing in it. |
| D．Because the oil was gone. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The wise man lived in the beautiful palace. |
| B．There were many beautiful things in the palace. |
| C．It was difficult for the boy to carry the spoon with him without making the oil spill. |
| D．The boy was invited to see a wise man. |
According to the passage, we can know _______________.
| A．the boy didn't get the secret of the happiness at all |
| B．the wise man told the boy what was the happiness, but not directly |
| C．the secret of happiness is to see all wonders of the world |
| D．the wise man said nothing |
A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was cooking supper, and passed her a piece of paper that he had written something on. After his mom dried her hands on an apron (围裙), she read what it was on the paper .
For cutting the grass: $5.00
For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00
For going to the supermarket for you: $1.00
For looking after my little brother while you went shopping: $1.00
For taking out the trash: $1.00
For getting a good report card: $5.00
For cleaning up the garden: $2.00
Total: $16.00
Well, his mother looked at him for a while, and then she picked up the pen, turned over the paper he’d written on, and this was what she wrote:
For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me, free.
For all the nights that I’ve sat up with you, fed you and sung songs for you, free.
For all the tears (泪水) that you’ve caused through the years, free.
For all the nights that were filled with worries, free.
For the toys, food, clothes and even cleaning your nose, free.
Son, when you add it up, the full cost of my love is free.
When the boy finished reading what his mother had written, there were tears in his eyes and he looked straight at his mother and said, “Mom, I sure do love you.” And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote: "PAID IN FULL".
根据短文内容，判断下列句子的正误。正确的填“T”，错误的填“F”，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑（将答案写在答题卷的相应位置上）。 The boy came to his mother for money.
After his mom dried her hands on an apron, she gave his son the money right away.
When his mother went shopping, the boy looked after his little sister.
The boy thought that his mother should pay him $16.
The mother did everything for the boy freely.