The other day I heard a few local musicians talking:
"I hate all the pianos in this town and I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They cannot even understand rhythm (韵律)."
"Nobody wants to pay musicians anything. I’m sick of all the people who want you to play without paying you."
One younger musician said, "There are several clubs who want me to play for a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also planning to join in several summer festivals this year."
I really liked what the younger musician said so I made friends with him.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive (积极的) or negative (消极的), they’re all rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who are always complaining or blaming (责备) others, it is possible that you will start doing the same as well. If you spend lots of time with people who don’t support (支持) your dreams, it is time to take a look at the people you call "friends".
There is an easy exercise you can try. Make a list of the people who you often stay with, and simply stop spending time with the negative ones on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Of course, this exercise is entirely different from making friends only for the good of oneself. We really should try to help and spend time with those who are working towards a goal or dream.The musicians’ conversation at the beginning is there to show that ______.
| A．musicians’ living conditions are not good |
| B．people in that town have poor taste in music |
| C．young people are more likely to succeed |
| D．different people have different attitudes |
The underlined part "they’re all rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 6 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead |
| B．they’ll help you realize your dreams |
| C．they’ll keep you from moving on |
| D．they’ll have an influence (影响) on you |
Why did the author want to make friends with the younger musician?
| A．He is more active than the others. |
| B．He can earn more than the others. |
| C．His attitude is more positive than the others. |
| D．He has more things to do than the others. |
We can get the following information from the passage EXCEPT ______.
| A．the younger musician is a positive person and would be a good friend |
| B．one should avoid (避免) making friends with people who have lots of difficulties |
| C．the exercise can help you keep close to really helpful Friends |
| D．one will start complaining if one spends too much time with negative people |
The other day my aunt paid me a visit. She was overjoyed. “I got the highest mark in the mid-term examination!” She said. Don’t be surprised! My aunt is indeed a student, exactly, a college student at the age of 45.
“Compared with the late 70s,” she says, “now college students have many doors.” I was shocked when she first told me how she had had no choice in her major. Look at us today! So many doors are open to us! I believe there have never been such abundant opportunities for self-development as we have today. And my aunt told me that we should reach our goals by grasping all these opportunities.
The first door is the opportunity to study different subjects that interest us. My aunt was happy to study management, but she could also attend lectures on ancient Chinese poetry and on Shakespearean drama. As for myself, I am an English major, but I may also go to lectures on history.
The second door is the door to the outside world. Learning goes beyond classrooms and national boundaries. I have many fellow international classmates, and I am applying to an exchange program with a university abroad. As for my aunt, she is planning to get an MBA degree in the U.K.
The third door is the door to life-long learning. Many of my aunt’s contemporaries say she’s amazingly up-to-date for a middle-aged woman. She simply responds, “Age doesn’t matter. What matters is your attitude. I don’t think I’m too old to learn.” Yes, she is right. Since the government removed the age limit for college admissions, there are already some untraditional students, sitting with us in the same classrooms. Like them, my aunt is old but young in spirit with incredible energy and determination.
The doors open to us also pose challenges. For instance, we are faced with the challenge of a balanced learning, the challenge of preserving our fine tradition while learning from the West, and the challenge of learning continuously while carrying heavy responsibilities to our work and family. So, each door is a test of our courage, ability and judgment, but with the support of my teachers, parents, friends and my aunt, I believe I can meet the challenge head on. Which of the following words can best replace the “door” in the passage?
| A．challenge | B．knowledge | C．learning | D．opportunity |
What made the writher’s aunt overjoyed?
| A．Having a chance to visit the writer |
| B．Having lots of choices in subjects |
| C．Getting the highest score in her exam |
| D．Getting admission to a university |
Which of the following statements will the writer’s aunt agree with?
| A．No pains, no gains. |
| B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．One is never too old to learn. |
| D．Rome isn’t built in a day. |
The following word can be used to describe the writer’s aunt EXCEPT __________.
| A．fashionable | B．traditional | C．energetic | D．determined |
Which chart shows the correct structure of the passage?
We use an average of 158 liters of water a day in Britain, for which we pay a bargain price of 28p a liter, but much of this is just cash down the drain, according to water companies.
Most are campaigning to cut the amount we use. And the frontline weapon in their campaign is the water meter (计量器). They want us all to have one and one company is seeking powers to make this compulsory.
The Government is anxious for us to use less water, too. Elliot Morley, the Environment Minister, says he is impressed by the savings when a meter is installed. In most homes, consumption drops by 20 percent.
He also thinks consumers get a good deal from meters. He said, “Most people would find that they would either be exactly the same or better off with water meters and it is a fairer way of paying for water.”
At present, only 25% of households have meters and most of those are in East Anglia. They are installed by water companies, and households then have about ￡43 added to each bill to cover the cost of installing and reading the meter.
Barrie Clarke, a spokesman for Water UK, said, “We want everyone to be more water wise—to think about the amount of water they use. But with our climate change and different weather patterns, over time it will make economic and environmental sense to think how we use water. This may mean meters.”
Mr. Clarke believes the easiest way to save water is to use less in the garden. In one hour, a sprinkler uses the same amount of water as the average family of four uses in a day—about 632 liters. He said that gardeners should water in the evening so that it dose not evaporate in the heat of the day and that every household should have a water butt to collect rainwater for use in the garden. Which of the following is NOT the advantage of installing water meters?
| A．Water consumption drops. |
| B．It’s fairer to pay for water. |
| C．They’re installed for free. |
| D．People are more water wise. |
The passage implies that ________.
| A．water meters are welcome by British people |
| B．people will be better off with water meters |
| C．everyone has become wiser to use water now |
| D．saving water is both good to economy and environment |
How many liters of water does an average family of four use in a day after installing a meter in Britain?
| A．about 126 liters | B．about 158 liters |
| C．about 506 liters | D．about 632 liters |
The underlined word “evaporate” in the last paragraph means _________.
| A．change into steam and disappears |
| B．absorb the heat of the day |
| C．sink into the soil |
| D．turn into ice |
According to Mr. Clarke, some good ways to save water are as follows EXCEPT ________.
| A．using less on the garden |
| B．using a sprinkler |
| C．watering in the evening |
| D．gathering rainfall for garden use |
It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no address. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years.
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. He didn’t hate the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it; overspending, running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and powder for Grandma…
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, at 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended and before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear to protect a wrestler’s ears. They obviously could not afford.
Mike shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.”
Mike loved kids—all kids—and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came.
That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Precious Present | B．Christmas Gift |
| C．The Small White Envelope | D．The Good Old Tradition |
Why did Mike hate Christmas according to the passage?
| A．He didn’t like the true meaning of Christmas |
| B．He didn’t like people spending too much money on presents |
| C．He hated buying presents for Uncle Harry and Grandma |
| D．He didn’t want to receive gifts like shirts, sweaters or ties. |
Which is the closest meaning to the underlined phrase “take the heart right out of them”?
| A．make them excited |
| B．make them inspired |
| C．make them lose confidence |
| D．make them kill themselves |
Why was his smile the brightest thing about Christmas that year? ( paragraph 9)
| A．He received some sporting goods |
| B．He found a potential wrestling team |
| C．His son won the wrestling match |
| D．His wife sent presents to those poor kids |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The tradition of sending presents will pass from generation to generation. |
| B．The children were eager to get their new toys ignoring the envelope. |
| C．With the presents, the poor kids will surely win the match one day. |
| D．Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us. |
Across countryside, non-food crops are growing alongside wheat．Some are used in new alternatives to plastics and other materials, but others will simply be burned．
Burning crops is becoming more popular because it is good for the planet．Doing so is also cheaper than burning fossil fuels．As more land is devoted to non-food crop production, the economics of crops for fuel are likely to become even more favorable．
Humans have been burning such biomass—organic materials from plants or animals— since they discovered fire．But that burning fossil fuels could have catastrophic consequences has brought biomass back into fashion．
Even allowing for emissions (排放) of carbon dioxide from fuel used in planting, harvesting, processing and transporting biomass fuel, replacing fossil fuel with biomass can typically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90 percent．
Power stations around the world are experimenting with forms of biomass to add to their coal or oil, with encouraging results．Indeed, power companies could profit by turning to biomass, especially when the subsidies (补助) many governments offer for using renewable energy are taken into account．
Farmers can benefit from growing biomass．In Europe, the reduction of subsidies for certain crops is exposing farmers to market forces．Instead of being paid for whatever they produce, farmers must seek a clear demand for their product．Many believe that the demand for alternatives to fossil fuels could be just such a driver．
But while biomass offers a variety of potential alternatives, the world's infrastructure (基础设施） has developed around burning fossil fuels to such a stage that switching to biomass involves a change in conception that many companies have not accepted．
Also, there are problems with using biomass．Although most coal-fired power stations could take a small amount of their fuel from biomass without significant adjustment, few are built to run on biomass alone．Burning some forms of biomass also causes environmental problems．Oils and waste can be smelly, while wood produces smoke unless burned properly．
The supply chains for fossil fuels are set up well, but those for biomass are just the beginning. Sources of supply for biomass rely on farm production and can therefore be less reliable. They are necessarily limited and it wouldn't make sense to turn a very large amount of valuable agricultural land away from food crops．But as the world adjusts to the need to control greenhouse gas emissions, these problems may receive more attention．What do we know about biomass?
| A．It is a useful way of burning crops． |
| B．It is plant and animal matter used to provide power． |
| C．It is a new alternative to be used widely． |
| D．It is a popular approach to fighting against pollution． |
What are the advantages of using biomass?
a．It gives off less greenhouse gases．
b．It helps farmers receive subsidies for what they produce．
c．It has met the clear demand for energy．
d．It has brought subsidies for some power companies．
e．It is cheaper than burning fossil fuels．
| A．a, b, c | B．b, c, d | C．c, d, e | D．a, d, e |
For coal-fired power stations, ______．
| A．more effective ways to use biomass have been tried |
| B．using renewable energy has become their daily task |
| C．burning biomass alone would require considerable changes |
| D．setting up dependable supply channels needs governments' support |
What is the author's attitude towards biomass fuels?
| A．Defensive． | B．Doubtful． | C．Negative． | D．Objective |
What if it isn’t a dog-eat-dog world? What if caring for a dog or for a mom with Alzheimer’s (老年痴呆症) makes you stronger and allows you to live longer?
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are born to be selfish.
Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was misunderstood by his male followers, the researchers say. Rather than “every man for himself”, Darwin believed that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our educational, selfless and sympathetic characteristics.
Why has it taken so long for Darwin’s central revelation(揭示) to be properly understood? “We’ve had too many men in social science,” Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner told me in an interview. “Female scientists acknowledge that caring for people is part of human nature according to the research, which shows the human ability to care exists in our brains and nerve systems.”
In my book Passages in Caregiving , I urge women who take the whole responsibility for taking care of an elderly parent or a sick relative to build a “Circle of Care”. Reach out to your brothers and sisters, friends, neighbors and community volunteers to help you care, because no one can perform this overwhelming role alone. You will be as shocked as I to learn how the most selfless caregivers are rewarded with longer life.
Sympathy is not a woman’s word. In fact it makes all of us stronger under stress and more highly respected by our peers. For so long we have repeated the false saying “Nice guys finish last”. But the 40 richest Americans committed to doing good by donating half their fortunes are no spring chickens. So here is my new explanation：Nice guys die last.The first paragraph serves to .
| A．give the background of the topic |
| B．blame the world for selfishness |
| C．urge people to care for a dog |
| D．bring out the topic of the passage |
In Passages in Caregiving, women are advised to.
| A．share the responsibility of caring with others |
| B．take good care of themselves |
| C．learn how to live a longer life |
| D．help as many people as possible |
The underlined words “no spring chickens” in the last paragraph refer to .
| A．rich people | B．poor people | C．young people | D．aged people |
Why does the author mention the 40 richest Americans’ commitment in this passage?
| A．To argue against offering sympathy. |
| B．To use it as an example to support his opinion. |
| C．To show their generosity to society. |
| D．To call on people to learn from them. |
Which of the following might be the BEST title of the passage?
| A．Selflessness could be the secret to longer life |
| B．Darwin’s theory of evolution is out of date now |
| C．Measures must be taken to improve the world |
| D．Males and females have different opinions about selflessness |