“Confidence” is probably one of the most noticeable traits（品质）in the Americans．They show confidence in the way they talk，the way they smile，the way they dress and the way they walk．Living and competing with all these confidence American students，I find it extremely important to be confident as an international student and instructor．As a student，being confident means you should never hesitate to raise your hand whenever a question or a point comes to your mind．Don’t mind if it sounds simple or silly．Otherwise you will never get a chance to speak in class at all．What’s worse，the professors may think you are not prepared for the discussion or you do not have your own opinion on the issue—this is the last comment any graduate would like to receive．
Being confidence for me as a foreign instructor means calmly asking the student to repeat what he or she has said if I did not get it．Pretending to understand what you actually did not may just bring yourself embarrassment or even disgrace．But the time I most need to be confident is when my students come to my office and bargain about the grades I have given for their Speeches．（The course I’m teaching here is Public Speaking）．Modesty is a trait highly valued in China，but it won’t be of much help here if you want to survive and succeed in a good American graduate program．To compete with American students it’s very important to ．
| A．be quite confident |
| B．be polite and friendly |
| C．have more discussions with them |
| D．understand what they think about |
A professor will have the worst opinion of a student who ．
| A．gives a silly or simple answer |
| B．tries to seize any chance to speak in class |
| C．shows no interest in the course |
| D．is considered to have no opinion of his own |
The author is most likely to feel embarrassed if ．
| A．he asks a student to repeat what he has said |
| B．the students bargain with him |
| C．he pretends to know what he doesn’t |
| D．he has to give a speech |
We learn from the second paragraph that ．
| A．we should also remain modest in America |
| B．modesty doesn’t help you much in America |
| C．Americans also like modest people |
| D．modesty can help you through an American graduate program |
The passage is mainly developed by ．
| A．providing examples |
| B．making comparisons |
| C．giving different figures |
| D．telling personal experiences |
There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckers. One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled . The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, “See how capable I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”
And all that the old bucket could say was, “I know I’m not very useful, but I can only do my best. I’m happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”
One day, the gardener heard that kind or conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, “You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path.”
Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.What does the underlined word “dilapidated” probably mean?
| A．Dirty | B．Dark | C．Worn-out | D．Plain-looking. |
What was the old bucket ashamed of?
| A．His past. | B．His aging. | C．His manner. | D．His leaking. |
The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to
| A．laugh at the old one |
| B．take pity on the old one |
| C．show off its beautiful looks |
| D．praise the gardener’s kindness |
Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?
| A．Because it was used to keep a balance |
| B．Because it stayed in its best condition |
| C．Because it was taken as a treasure |
| D．Because it had its own function |
Removing the sleeve(封套), you will find a book that is entirely white, except for the names of its author and subject in elegant black type on the cover. It is the perfect design for the biography of a man who insisted that even the insides of his products be perfectly constructed, and that his factory wails flash in the whitest white.
The cover was the only part of the book Steve Jobs wanted to control, writes Isaacson in his introduction. Though Mr. Jobs pushed the biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin to write in his own way, generously allowing the writer more than 40 interviews, this book offers quite a different view of Mr. Jobs, who won much praise from his fans after his death on October 5th at the age of 56.
As a biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Isaacson knows how to celebrate long-dead genius, but he claimed that "Steve Jobs" would not be entirely praiseful words. The picture he paints, particularly in the first half of this book, is not nice. Mr. Jobs emerges as a controlling and often cold-blooded character. A child of the 1960s counter-culture (反主流文化), he hated, materialism and lived in simply furnished houses ( in part because he was too particular about furniture). But when Apple went public in 1980, he refused to give any share to Daniel Kottke, a Iongtime supporter and soul mate from college. "He has to abandon the people he is close to," observes Andy Hertzfeld, an early Apple engineer.
Mr. Jobs was undoubtedly possessing an extraordinary ability to attract others and inspire a kind of faith that could not be questioned. But also he could be cold and cruel. If he disapproved of an employee's work, he often shamed him. "This is who I am," he once said after being challenged,"and you can't expect me to be someone I'm not. " This disgusting personality wasn't always helpful,but it served a purpose, writes Mr. Isaacson, many would "end their chain of horror stories by saying that he got them to do things they never dreamed possible. "
Mr. Isaacson treats "Steve Jobs" as the biography of record, which means that it is a strange book to read so soon after its subject's death.The biography for Jobs is believed to have the perfect design because __
| A．it follows Jobs' style |
| B．its cover is entirely white |
| C．black and white are his favorite . |
| D．it is designed by a famous biographer |
The picture of Jobs that Isaacson paints in his book is __
①cruel②humorous③particular④generous
| A．①③ | B．②③ | C．①④ | D．③④ |
It can be safely concluded that
| A．Jobs is highly spoken of in the book |
| B．Isaacson doesn't think Jobs a good man |
| C．Jobs didn't care about the design of the book |
| D．all descriptions of Jobs are not nice in the book |
This passage can be classified as
| A．a personal diary | B．a book review | C．a news report | D．a TV interview |
Forget hard work and perseverance. Getting ahead is as simple as tidying your desk.
According to a leading expert, having a cluttered environment reflects a cluttered mind, but the act of tidying up can help you be more successful. The advice comes from Jayne Morris, the resident"life coach" for NHS Online, who said it is no good just moving the mess around. In order to clear the mind, unwanted items must be thrown away to free your "inner world", she said.
Ms Morris, who claims to have coached celebrities to major business figures, said:“Clearing clutter from your desk has the power to transform your business. " How? Because clutter in your outer environment is the physical sign of all the clutter going on inside of you. " Clearing clutter has a chain effect across your entire life, including your work. Having an untidy desk covered in clutter could be stopping you achieving the business success you want. " She is sure cleaning up will be helpful even though some of history's biggest achievers lived and worked in messy conditions.
Churchill was considered untidy from a boy throughout his life, from his office to his artist's studio,and the lab where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin was famously untidy.
Among the recommendations is that simply tidying a desk at work and an overflowing filing cabinet(陈列柜) will instantly have a positive impact on "your inner world. " Anything that is no longer used should not be put into storage but thrown away completely.
Keeping something in the loft, garage or other part of the house, does not help because it is still connected to the person "by tiny energetic li.nes", Ms Morris. claims.
She said, "The things in your life that are useful to you, that add value to your life, that serve a current purpose are charged with positive energy that refreshes you and enriches your life. But the things that you don't ever use and don't need anymore have the opposite effect on your energy.
Things that no longer fit or serve you, use up your energy. "The underlined word "cluttered" (in Para.2) is closest, in meaning to __
| A．messy | B．brief | C．complex | D．aggressive |
Which of the following statements does Ms Morris agree to?
| A．Changing the position of staff frequently will help to build up a clear mind. |
| B．A tidy office will lead to a success in your business affairs in no time. |
| C．To have a free mind, we need to throw away unneeded items at times. |
| D．You can pack up your things in garage or loft to cheer you up. |
According to Ms Morris, an untidy desk probably means that
| A．you are quite a failure |
| B．you are in a messy mind |
| C．you are toe tired to deal with it |
| D．you have achieved the business success |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Less untidy, more successful. |
| B．How to improve your inner world. |
| C．Cleaning up makes you less intelligent. |
| D．Being bigger achiever needs more effort. |
As Apple tries to maintain its growth and success in China, the world's largest smart-phone market is becoming even more critical. Apple's shares(股份) fell sharply as the company's earnings for the holiday quarter through December disappointed investors.
The sales of the iPhone, which include both the iPhone 5 and older models, came in at the low end of analysts' expectations, while the company's income plan for the second quarter was below analysts' forecasts, though Apple is known to give conservative (保守的) forecasts.
Som'6 analysts have said that for Apple to regain its growth, the company.needs a more aggressive strategy for markets, or more specifically for China, where the market for smart phones has been expanding more rapidly than anywhere else. In China, demand is particularly great for inexpensive phones that run on Android(安卓) operating system, sold by many Chinese phone makers as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.
But Apple says it's already enjoying strong growth in China. "We saw big growth in iPhones,"Chief Executive Tim Cook said. He said that the company has been quickly expanding its sales channels in China, including the number of Apple stores. "This isn't nearly what we need, we're not even close to that, but we're making great progress. " he said.
In China, a big missing piece for Apple is China Mobile Ltd. , the biggest local telecom carrier that doesn't yet sell the iPhone. Earlier this month, Mr. Cook met China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in Beijing and discussed cooperation, stirring hopes that the world's largest mobile carrier may soon start offering the iPhone.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is working on a lower-end iPhone that could launch as early as this year. But one possible challenge for Apple in China is that low-pricod Android-based phones are getting better in terms of quality. A report from CLSA in late November showed that many smart-phones sold at about 1,000 yuan ( $160) came with higher-reso-lution screens, better cameras and more powerful processors than phones at that price did a year earlier.Apple's shares dropped sharply because in December__
| A．the iPhone wasn't popular in China |
| B．its product quality was widely criticized |
| C．the earnings for the holiday quarter was disappointing |
| D．the investors were not satisfied with Apple's management |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Apple tends to offer a lower sales forecast. |
| B．China Mobile Ltd began to team up with Apple. |
| C．Cook is pessimistic about what Apple did in China. |
| D．Apple didn't take measures to develop Chinese market. |
The author uses the report from CLSA to prove
| A．their prices are actually lower than a year earlier |
| B．Apple in China has ability to deal with any problem |
| C．low-ended Android-based phones are progressing fast |
| D．the promotion of lower-end iPhone will face a challenge |
The main purpose of the passage is to show the readers __
| A．Apple.'s high popularity in China |
| B．the challenge Apple faces in China |
| C．the approaching failure Apple will suffer in China |
| D．Apple's aggressive strategy in its market expansion |
Over three million people will do their Christmas shopping entirely online this year without once visiting an actual shop, a poll (民意调查) has found. Overcrowding and long queues in shops are forcing people away from the high street as the hassle (烦扰) of Christmas shopping becomes too much.
The number of people turning their backs on the high street is almost one million higher than it was last year, according to the poll by YouGov. Last Christmas 2.4 million shoppers did not do any of their shopping in actual shops. The figure this year is predicted to be around 3.4 million, equal to around 7 percent of the adult population.
Over a third of people said that the main turn-off about shopping on the high street is 0ver-crow-ding. Meanwhile almost a quarter said that long queues at the cheek-out are the worst thing about it.
Of the 2.065 people pored, even those who are stir taking to the shops plan to spend less time in them this Christmas. Around 31 percent of shoppers who plan to spend at least some time on the high street will spend less than half of their shopping time in actual shops, using the rest of the time to shop remotely via the internet. This compares to 28 percent of people last year. Meanwhile the proportion of people spending over half of their shopping time in high street shops has dropped from 41 percent last year to 39 percent this year. Just 2 percent of people said that they are looking forward to dealing wi.th store staff this festival season.
Guy Boxall, senior product marketing manager at Casio Business Solutions Division, which commissioned the research from YouGov, said that despite the fall in people visiting the high street,humans are "social creatures" who actually like spending time together.
"Although the high street is facing a big challenge Christmas, retailers (零售商) should see this research as a challenge to improve the in-store shopping experience, rather than the nail in the coffin. We are social creatures, and the desire to spend time with each other, particularly at Christmas, is never going to go away," said Mr. Boxall.According to the poll, in this year's Christmas
| A．about 7 % of the population will do both online and actual shopping |
| B．about 31% of shoppers will do half of their shopping in actual shops |
| C．about 39% of shoppers will do more than half of their shopping in actual shops |
| D．over three million shoppers will quit actual shopping just because of the long queues |
What's the meaning of "turn-off" in Para.5?
| A．Something that makes people lose heart |
| B．Something that makes people lose face |
| C．Something that makes people lose interest |
| D．Something that makes people lose courage |
It can be inferred from Mr. Boxall's words that
| A．retailers should reduce their in-store goods. |
| B．retailers wiR be pessimistic about the result of this research. |
| C．retailers should focus on the advantage of in-store shopping. |
| D．retailers will make more profits this Christmas than last Christmas |
Wheat's the writer's attitude towards Christmas online shopping?
| A．Concerned. | B．Doubtful. | C．Approving. | D．Objective. |