Here's one very simple but lifechanging advice that I first heard from Brian Tracy. Cut down on the TV at night by just one hour. Instead, use that hour to read books that could improve your life.
If you're a salesman, google for the best and most useful books on improving your sales.
This applies(适用) to all fields, not just the work-related(与工作相关的) ones. Maybe you want to improve your health, become a more energetic person. Or maybe you want to improve your study, your relations or perhaps do some personal development.
One hour a day is not much. But if you read for one hour a day on weekdays, that's about 260 hours a year. That's a large number of books and a lot of useful advice.
If you follow the ideas, who knows what great things and feelings could come into your life. Also, all that information and advice will start to open up your mind. You will start to see more chances in your life.
Now, you might think something like this:
1. I really don't have the money...
Answer: Visit your public library or search the database(数据库). Or look for books that are used in places like amazon.com.
2. I really don't have the time...
Answer: Buy audiobooks and listen to them in the car while driving to and from work. Or copy them to your MP3-player and listen while riding your bike /bus to work or school. Recently selling audiobooks through MP3-downloads has become popular...
Shut off the TV a little earlier and start reading.
| A．Watching TV. | B．Listening to MP3. |
| C．Surfing the internet. | D．Reading helpful books. |
| A．read work-related books | B．become more energetic |
| C．improve your study | D．improve your relations |
| A．It will open up your mind. |
| B．You will have about 260 hours a year to read. |
| C．You will read lots of books and get much useful advice. |
| D．It will probably bring great things and feelings into your life. |
| A．To buy some books from amazon.com. |
| B．To download MP3 free. |
| C．To visit the public library. |
| D．To borrow audiobooks and listen to them. |
| A．They are more useful. |
| B．Listening to audiobooks is easier than reading books. |
| C．It’s dangerous to listen to audiobooks while driving or riding. |
| D．Audiobooks are a good solution to the problem of having no time to read. |
House For Sale
Red Rose Garden，Pudong
3-storey（层） home，509 sqm（平方米） total land area，428.8 sqm built-in, 312.9 sqm garden.
Asking RMB13 million (USDl.57 million).
MP: 13761973547 Tel: 021—58609228 Fax: 021—58609728
Job Wanted
Cherry, 24, a shining girl, good at oral English and putonghua. Now I am working at an international trade (国际贸易) company in Guangzhou. I am kind-hearted, hard-working and healthy, and would like part-time weekend work offering putonghua lessons to foreign friends. If you are interested, please e-mail me at cherryif@hotmail.com.
Beijing Snow World Ski Park
Price: 18 yuan (ticket), 50 yuan／hour on weekdays and 70 yuan／hour at weekends, 120 yuan／four hours on weekdays and 190 yuan／four hours at weekends.
Tel: 010—69191617If an Australian student wants to learn Chinese，he or she can __________.
| A．call 021—58609228 | B．fax 021—58609728 |
| C．e-mail cherryif@hotmail.com | D．telephone 010-69191617 |
How many square meters is the garden of the house for sale?
| A．509 sqm | B．428.8 sqm |
| C．312.9 sqm | D．741.7 sqm |
Where is Cherry working now?
| A．Shanghai | B．Guangzhou | C．Beijing | D．Pudong |
If Nick goes skiing in Beijing Snow World Ski Park，he has to pay more money on ___________ than on Tuesday.
| A．Sunday | B．Friday | C．Wednesday | D．Monday |
If you want to ski for four hours on weekdays，how much money will you pay at least?
| A．208 yuan | B．200 yuan | C．138 yuan | D．280 yuan |
Mother Hen’s family is very poor. They don’t have lots of money to buy food. Mother Hen often takes her children out to look for food. On a sunny day, Mother Hen plays with her children on the grass. She finds a grain(谷粒) of wheat (麦子). So she asks her children to plant (种植) it in the garden. But her children don’t do it. Mother Hen has to do it herself.
A few months later, they get a lot of wheat. She asks her children, “Who would like to take the wheat to the store and get some flour?” But her children don’t want to do it. So she takes the wheat to the store and brings the flour home.
After getting home, she asks, “Who will make some bread with the flour?” They all say,
“I’m not free.”
When she makes the bread, she says to her children, “Who wants to eat the bread?”
“I do,” they all say.
“No, you can’t. You don’t do anything before I make the bread. You must know ‘No pains,
no gains(不劳无获).’ She doesn’t give any bread to her children and she eats the bread herself.Why do Mother Hen and her children want to look for food?
| A．Because they have nothing to do. |
| B．Because Mother Hen wants her children to work. |
| C．Because they want to play out. |
| D．Because they don’t have lots of money. |
________ take(s) the wheat to the store.
| A．Mother Hen |
| B．Mother Hen’s children |
| C．Mother Hen and her children |
| D．One of Mother Hen’s children |
The underline word “flour” means “________” in Chinese.
| A．面包 | B．面粉 | C．大米 | D．食品 |
Why doesn’t Mother Hen give any bread to her children?
| A．Because they aren’t at home. |
| B．Because she doesn’t like them. |
| C．Because they don’t want to eat it. |
| D．Because they don’t do anything. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．The bread | B．No pains, no gains |
| C．The wheat | D．Mother Hen |
Bats are the only flying mammal(哺乳类动物) in the world. They can’t see very well. It is long believed, in many places, that all bats are blind(瞎的). “Blind as a bat” is often heard.
Yet they have no trouble flying in the darkest nights and finding their way around. How can bats fly and see at night? They fly by radar (雷达).
The bat’s radar system works the same way as the one that ships and planes use. When a bat flies through the air, it makes sounds that people can’t hear. If the sounds hit things, they will come back. The bat’s ears can receive the messages. In this way it can know where the things are.
Bats go out to look for food at night. In the daytime they stay in some dark places. Some people think bats are bad animals. In fact, they are useful animals.The bat has no trouble flying in the darkest nights because________.
| A．its eyes are good |
| B．it can’t see well |
| C．it can make a sound |
| D．it has a kind of radar system to help it |
When does the bat begin to go out to look for food?
| A．In the daytime. |
| B．In the early morning. |
| C．At night. |
| D．In the late afternoon. |
The bat “sees” things with its________.
| A．ears | B．eyes | C．mouth | D．nose |
Which of the following is True?
| A．The bat is the only flying animal in the world. |
| B．The bat has poor eyesight, but it can “see” its food. |
| C．Not all bats are afraid of flying in the sun. |
| D．The bat often comes out in the daytime. |
Do you know the Air Quality Index(空气质量指标)? Do you pay attention to(关注) the AQI report in the newspaper? The AQI helps us understand what the quality of the air around us means to our health. The AQI uses colours, numbers and words to tell us about the air. Let’s see what these colours and numbers mean.
| AQI colours |
AQI numbers |
Health words |
What to do |
| Green |
0---50 |
Good |
Just enjoy the clean air! |
| Yellow |
51---100 |
Moderate(适中的) |
Air quality is fine for most people. |
| Orange |
101---150 |
Unhealthy(不健康的) for sensitive (敏感的) groups |
Active children, adults and people with lung disease(肺病) should spend less time outdoors. |
| Red |
151---200 |
Unhealthy |
Active children, adults and people with lung disease shouldn’t spend too much time outdoors. Everybody else should try to spend less time outside. |
| Purple |
201---300 |
Very unhealthy |
Active children, adults and people with lung disease shouldn’t spend any time outdoors. Everybody else should try not to go outside. |
| Maroon |
300--- |
Very healthy, poisonous(有毒的) |
Everybody should not go outside. Stay indoors all the time. |
If the weather report says today’s AQI number is 39, we can________.
| A．enjoy the clean air |
| B．spend less time outside |
| C．try not to go outside |
| D．stay inside all the time |
If the AQI colour is purple, people with lung disease________.
| A．should spend less time outdoors |
| B．shouldn’t spend too much time outdoors |
| C．should not spend any time outdoors |
| D．should try not to go outside |
To tell about the quality of the air, which are mentioned(提及到)?
① words ② numbers ③ weather ④ colours
| A．①②③④ | B．①②③ | C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
Which of the following is True ?
| A．If the AQI number is 140, the AQI colour will be red. |
| B．If the AQI colour is purple, the air is best for people. |
| C．People with lung disease are very sensitive to the air. |
| D．The AQI can’t help people to know the air quality. |
May 10th is Meg’s birthday. She gets a gift from her sister. It is a new coat .The coat is very beautiful and she feels very happy.
One day, Meg finds that a button(纽 扣) of her coat is lost. She looks for the button everywhere, but she can’t find it. The next day, she doesn’t wear that coat to school and feels sad all day. After school, she goes to the clothes shops and wants to buy that kind of clothes. But she doesn’t find it. She feels very disappointed.
Meg tells her sister about that, and her sister says, “We can change all the buttons. Then the buttons will be the same.” The coat is beautiful again and Meg feels happy again.What does Meg’s sister buy for her on her birthday?
| A．some buttons | B．a new coat |
| C．a new bike | D．some flowers |
How does Meg feel when she doesn’t wear that coat?
| A．She feels happy. | B．She feels sad. |
| C．She feels excited (激动的). | D．She feels bored (无聊的). |
What does Meg’s sister do at the end of the story?
| A．She changes all the buttons of the coat. |
| B．She buys another coat again. |
| C．She buys a button in the clothes store. |
| D．She goes to the clothes store and changes the coat. |
What does the underlined word ‘disappointed’ mean in Chinese?
| A．兴奋的 | B．失望的 |
| C．难为情的 | D．高兴的 |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．A lost button | B．A lost coat |
| C．A kind sister | D．A clothes store |