Many of us dream of having thousands and thousands of dollar to spend on what we desire We can buy lottery tickets, enter contests or spend hours building a business or invest in the stock market. We are sure that when we have plenty of money, we will be happy.
While having some money does have an impact on our level of happiness, having a lot of money does not. It is reported that Americans whose income goes from $20,000 a year to $50,000 a year are more likely to be happy. But beyond $50,000, happiness does not increase as salaries go up. It is because we are never satisfied. Catherine Sanderson, a psychology professor at Amherst College says, "We always think if we just had a little more money, we’d be happier. But when we get there, we are not."
Daniel Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard notes,"The more you make, the more you want. The more you have, the less it brings you joy. We incorrectly assume we’Il get more pleasure from more, and we don’t."
The things money can buy don't make you happy either. A lot of research suggests that you won't find the "good life" buying expensive "toys". You finally buy that BMW you've always wanted and it soon loses its appeal. Then, instead of wondering if a new car is what really makes you happy, you decide you just need a different new car. It is an endless cycle.
To really be happy, you need to understand what makes you happy in the first place. One secret of happiness is people. Surveys have found that people need people. Those who have five or more close friends are 50% more likely to describe themselves as "very happy". Good relationships have a far greater effect on happiness than larger salary. Andrew Oswald, an economist at England's University of Warwick says, "B you are looking for happiness in life, find the right husband or wife rather than trying to double your salary."
So invest your time and energy in people. The reward is much bigger in terms of happiness!In Paragraph 1 the author intends to tell us the "belief" that
| A．we are unhappy because we often lack money |
| B．people can buy what they want if they have enough money |
| C．more money will make one's dreams come true |
| D．happiness will result from more money |
Which of the following statements would the author agree to?
| A．Having some money brings happiness to some degree. |
| B．The more money one earns, the sadder one becomes |
| C．Buying expensive things will surely bring pleasure |
| D．We get nothing from buying expensive things we want. |
Why does happiness not increase with pay rises?
| A．Most of us have a psychological problem. |
| B．People are not content with what they get. |
| C．It is human nature to be unhappy. |
| D．Happiness has nothing to do with money. |
In order to find happiness we should
| A．always make new friends | B．take no notice of our salaries |
| C．focus on good relationships | D．invest our money in our friend |
Europe is now the biggest market for organic food in the world, having grown by 25 percent a year over the past 10 years. Denmark’s agriculture minister is herself an organic farmer. The UK market for organic food grew by 55 percent in 2000, while the food market as a whole grew by only one percent. Yet only seven percent of British shoppers account for nearly 60 percent of organic sales. However popular the idea of organic farming may be, it is still an interest for only a few people.
So what makes the idea of organic farming popular? Organic farming means farming with natural materials, rather than with man-made fertilizers or pesticides(杀虫剂). Organic farmers rely on many methods — such as crop rotation (农作物的轮作) and the use of resistant（有抵抗力的）varieties, because they are necessary for organic farmers to compensate for the shortage of man-made chemicals.
Organic farming is often supposed to be safer than traditional farming for the environment. Yet after a long research on organic farming worldwide for a number of years, science continues to be against this opinion. The House of Commons committee on agriculture stated that, even with complete research work, it would fail to find any scientific evidence to prove “that any of claims made for organic farming is always true”.
However, the talk about the benefits of organic farming is going on. This is partly because many people depend on their individual farm, the soil, the weather, and so on.The first paragraph mainly tells us _________.
| A．organic farming has been performed only in Europe over the past 10 years. |
| B．governments of European countries have cared less about organic farming. |
| C．organic farming isn’t so popular as expected. |
| D．European countries need organic food more than the other countries in the world. |
The underlined words “compensate for” in the second paragraph probably mean “_________”.
| A．argue for | B．care for |
| C．make up for | D．pay for |
What can we know about organic farming?
| A．It refers to farming with natural materials, instead of chemical fertilizers. |
| B．It refers to farming with chemical fertilizers rather than natural fertilizers. |
| C．It refers to farming with soil rather than any other thing. |
| D．It refers to growing crops with man-made fertilizers and pesticides. |
According to the third paragraph, _________.
| A．organic farming is safer than traditional farming for the environment. |
| B．the idea that organic farming is safer has not been proven by science. |
| C．organic farming is accepted by the UK’s House of Commons committee. |
| D．organic farming is preferred to traditional farming. |
Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?
| A．The UK’s agriculture minister is an organic farmer. |
| B．Organic farming is popular with young people. |
| C．Farmers try every means to improve the organic sales system. |
| D．Ninety-three percent of British shoppers don’t buy organic products. |
A popular student in her small high school, Katie started college, expecting to do well in her courses and be best friends with her roommates. But things didn’t turn out that way. Psych 101, the course she thought would be a first-semester favorite, turned out to be a struggle.
Living away from home tends to be the toughest adjustment for first-year students. You may feel homesick in your first weeks or months. It can help to call, write, or email your parents and friends, making them know how you’re going. You can also talk with your roommates. As first-year students themselves, they’re probably experiencing many of the same fears and worries that you’re dealing with .
But what if you don’t get along well with your roommates?
In some cases, it can be a good thing if you and your roommates aren’t much alike. Different views on things may be helpful, so respect your differences no matter what.
If you and your roommates don’t get along well, it can help to find someone who you feel does understand you, which should be easy on a campus with so many people. Many schools have student organization nights where all of the campus clubs gather and promote their organizations, so you can meet people with the same interests there as you. You’ll also meet tons of people in class or in your dorm building.
As homesickness, painful throats, sprained (扭伤的) ankles and wisdom teeth that act up are common among college students, you should check out your student guidebook or your school’s website to find out information about the university health center.
If you think you cannot deal with your problems, make a stop at the school counseling (咨询)center. First-year troubles are something the counselors know well. You can get help there.From Paragraph 1 we can infer that __________.
| A．Katie had been worried about the changes before starting her college life. |
| B．Katie felt satisfied when her college life started. |
| C．Katie wasn’t used to the new environment in college at first. |
| D．Katie has fallen behind in her study after the first semester in college. |
What’s the author’s first suggestion on dealing with homesickness?
| A．Adjust to it gradually. |
| B．Never share fears with your parents. |
| C．Talk to your roommates about it. |
| D．Get along with your roommates. |
Which of the following ways of dealing with roommates is RIGHT?
| A．Not trying to change them. |
| B．Avoid making friends with them. |
| C．Developing the same interest as them. |
| D．Not talking with them. |
From the passage, we can know that_________
| A．It’s easy for the first-year students to adapt to the college life. |
| B．First-year students can get along well with roommates quickly. |
| C．The university center can only help the first-year students solve problems. |
| D．The school counseling center is familiar with the problems the first-year students face. |
What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．Freshmen may meet many problems. |
| B．Communication is important in college. |
| C．How you can adjust to your first year in college. |
| D．How schools help freshmen to get used to college life. |
We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.
“Look down, Elsa,” father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross (十字形) of twisting, turning streets leading to the square. “ See, my dear,” father said gently. “ There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can’t get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.”
Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.
When I turned to father for help, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.
At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered（喷溅出） “ The cook must have gone mad！” Quickly I told her what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day!
In the years that followed, I often remembered the lesson father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn’t stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father’s wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square. The author’s father took her to the top of a church tower to ____________.
| A．enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town |
| B．find out how many ways lead to the square |
| C．inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem |
| D．help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day |
What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?
| A．Do something delicious for lunch. |
| B．Taste her awful lunch. |
| C．Dismiss the mad cook. |
| D．Speak to the school about lunch. |
The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph suggests that_____________.
| A．the cook agreed to serve the soup to the writer’s mother. |
| B．the author’s mother was angry with the cook. |
| C．her father persuaded her mother successfully. |
| D．the method the author thought of was effective. |
What did the author’s mother think of her lunch soup after she tasted it?
| A．It was delicious. |
| B．It wasn’t so bad as the author said. |
| C．It is terrible. |
| D．It was as good as her cook did. |
By sharing her own experiences, the author tries to tell us ____________.
| A．when one road is blocked, try another |
| B．how bad the lunch of her school is |
| C．how wise her father is |
| D．about the church tower near her home |
People believe that climbing can do good to health. Where can you learn the skill of climbing then? If you think that you have to go to the mountains to learn how to climb, you’re wrong. Many Americans are learning to climb in city gyms(体育馆). Here, people are learning on special climbing
wall. The climbing wall goes straight up and has small holding places for hands and feet.
How do people climb the wall? To climb, you need special shoes and harness(保护带) around your chest to hold you. There are ropes(绳索)tied to your harness. The ropes hold you in place so that you don’t fall. A beginner’s wall is usually about 15 feet high, and you climb straight up. There are small pieces of metal that stick out for you to stand on and hold on to. Sometimes it’s easy to see the new piece of metal. Sometimes, it’s not. The most difficult part is to control your fear. It’s normal for humans to be afraid of falling, so it’s difficult not to feel fear. But when you move away from the wall, and the ropes hold you, and you begin to feel safe. You move slowly until you reach the top.
Climbing attracts people because it’s good exercise for almost everyone. You use your whole body, especially your arms and legs. This sport gives your body a complete workout. When you climb, both your mind and your body can become stronger.The most difficult thing to do in wall climbing is _______.
| A．to tie ropes to your shoes | B．to control your fear |
| C．to move away from the wall | D．to climb straight up |
The word “workout” underlined in the last paragraph most probably means _________.
| A．settlement | B．exercise |
| C．excitement | D．tiredness |
Why does the author write this passage?
| A．To tell people where to find gyms. |
| B．To prove the basic need for climbing |
| C．To encourage people to climb mountains. |
| D．to introduce the sport of wall climbing |
Mr. Samson was a newspaper editor in Boston, America. On the night of August 28, 1988, when he was on night duty, he dreamed that a volcano (火山) near the Island of Java erupted (爆发) , and that the local people were buried under lava (熔岩).
When he woke up from the bad dream with a start, he thought it was very interesting material, so he wrote it down on a piece of paper, left it on the desk and went home. Early in the morning, the editor-in-chief came to work and saw the paper. He took it for the latest news that something important had happened last night and published it immediately. Only later did he find out it was just about what Mr. Samson had seen in his dream. But it was all too late because the newspaper had already been delivered (传送).And it caused a great panic.
In no time the editors met to discuss the serious problem. They finally decided to make an apology in the newspaper. Just at that time word came that a volcano on a small Island between Java and Sumatra did erupt. The eruption made the small island lose two thirds of its area, and the seismic sea waves caused tragedy (悲剧) in human.The volcano on a small island between Java and Sumatra erupted _______.
| A．on the night of August 28, 1988. |
| B．on the morning of August 28,1988. |
| C．on the night of August 29, 1988. |
| D．on the morning of August 29,1988 |
The editor in the newspaper office ______.
| A．didn’t make an apology in the newspaper |
| B．took back all the newspaper |
| C．made an apology to the readers in the newspaper. |
| D．didn’t realize the serious problem |
From the passage we learn that ______.
| A．the eruption did little damage to the small island |
| B．Mr.Samson was an expert in volcanos |
| C．the newspaper would be more popular |
| D．Mr. Samson would lose his job for the news |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Bad News |
| B．News Leading to a Tragedy(悲剧) |
| C．Seeing is Believing |
| D．Dream News Became True |