OldBearKevinHenkes(2008),under-优题课

Welcome every morning with a smile. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don’t waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.
Starting the day right can give good momentum (动力) for the rest of the day. Having a power morning is a key factor for a fruitful day. Here are some tips on getting the most out of the morning.
Wake up early. In theory, there’s no difference in waking up early or late as long as you get the proper amount of sleep. However, there is a psychological advantage when you wake up earlier than the average person and then you’ll have more time to do preparation before engaging in the real world.
Exercise. Good health is always a benefit with exercise, but studies have also shown that morning exercise helps you to sleep better at nights.
Eat breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day. According to the Mayo Clinic, we should choose three from the following four: fruits and vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein. Did you know that you can actually gain weight when you skip breakfast?
Take a shower. When you shower, do you do it in the morning or at night? I used to shower in the evenings, but I found that morning showers helped me to be more alert.
Prioritize (优先) your To-Do list. Leo coined the acronym MIT to mean “most important tasks.” Our to-do list might be never ending, but put on top of the list a couple of urgent tasks that will define the day to be a successful one.
Check your emails. Only once. Getting a lot of emails can be very distractive. You actually are more productive when you check them only a few times at fixed time of the day. I only do them 2-3 times a day—once in the morning, once at lunch, and one more as it gets toward the end of the day.
The purpose for the author to write this passage is to .

A．tell you to get up early every day

B．offer you the best way to start the day

C．give you advice about how to arrange a day

D．advise you to prioritize your to-do list every morning

If you don’t have breakfast, you may .

A．lose weight.	B．be productive.
C．put on weight.	D．be more alert.

The underlined word “coined” in Paragraph 6 means .

A．invented

B．designed

C．founded

D．defined

The author advises you to check your emails only once because .

A．the emails are not important

B．reading e-mails is distractive

C．you can only read e-mails at fixed time

D．getting so many emails can distract your attention

The fact that blind people can see things using parts of their bodies apart from their eyes may help us to understand our feelings about color．If they can sense color differences, then perhaps we, too, are affected by color without knowing it．Salesmen have discovered by experience over a long period of time that sugar sells badly in green wrappings, that blue foods are considered not agreeable to the taste, and that cosmetics（化妆品） should never be packed in brown．These discoveries have grown into a whole subject of color psychology．
Some of our preferences are clearly psychological．Dark blue is the color of the night sky and therefore connected with calm, while yellow is a day color connected with energy and encouragement．Experiments have shown that colors, partly because they are connected with psychology, also have a direct effect on people's mind．People in bright red surroundings show an increase in breathing speed, heartbeat and blood pressure．Red is exciting．Pure blue has exactly the opposite effect; it is a calming color．Being exciting, red was chosen as the signal for danger, but a closer study shows that a bright yellow can produce a more basic state of alarm, so fire engines in some advanced areas are now rushing around in bright yellow colors that stop buses, trucks and cars．
The passage tells us that salesmen have____ ．

A．tried colors on blind people

B．found out that colors affect sales

C．developed a special subject of color psychology

D．discovered the relationship between color and psychology

It can be inferred from the passage that__ _．

A．blind people cannot sense color differences

B．foods sell well in green or blue wrappings

C．w hat color we prefer depends on our state of mind

D．a bright color has exactly the opposite effect to red

The most effective color in the passage for warning people is____．

A．red

B．dark blue

C．green

D．bright yellow

If someone is in an angry mood, which color is better for him to become quiet?

A．Red．

B．Dark blue．

C．Brown．

D．Bright yellow

Which of the following do you think is the best title for the passage?

A．Colors and Feelings

B．Colors and Sales

C．The Blind and Colors

D．Preferences for Colors

I had the meanest mother in the world．While other kids ate candy for breakfast．I had to have cereal, eggs and toast．Others had cakes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich．As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids'．But at least I was not alone in my suffering．My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times．She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing．We had to wear clean clothes every day．Other kids always wore their clothes for days． We reached the height of disgrace （耻辱） because she made our clothes herself, just to save money．
The worst is yet to come．We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning．So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law．She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us．Through the years, our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing．My mother, however, would only be satisfied with black marks．None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout （辍学者）．
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults．Using this as a background, I'm now trying to bring up my three children．I'm filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world．
From the passage we can learn that the writer's mother was____．

A．not generous at all

B．very cruel to her children

C．very mean with money matters

D．very strict with her children

Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?

A．Eating differently from other kids．

B．Letting mother know where they were．

C．Going to bed early and getting up early．

D．Wearing clean clothes made by mother．

It can be inferred from the passage that____．

A．the writer's family lived a miserable life

B．all the other kids studied better than the writer

C．Mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law

D．the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The writer is very thankful to her mother．

B．The writer has a deep hatred for her mother．

C．Mother practiced economy in running her home．

D．The writer is strict with her children when bringing them up．

The passage was written in a way oftone．

A．humorous

B．hateful

C．ridiculous

D．impatient

Onceupon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the sea to do his writing. Hehad a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.One day he waswalking along the shore. As he looked down at the beach, he saw a human figuremoving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone woulddance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, hesaw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he wasreaching down to the shore, picking up something and throwing itinto the ocean. As he got closer, he called out, “Good morning! What are youdoing?’’
Theyoung man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwingstarfishes(海星)in theocean.”
“I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfishes in the ocean?”
“The sun is up and the tide is going out.And if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die”.
“But, young man, don’t you realize thatthere are miles and miles of beach and starfishes all along it. You can’tpossibly make a difference!”
Theyoung man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked another starfish andthrew it into the sea, and said, “It made a difference for that one.”Thereissomething very special in each and every one of us. We have all beengifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can know that gift, wewill gain through the strength of our vision of the power toshape the future.
We musteach find our starfish. And if we throw our starfish wisely and well, the worldwill be better.
One day, the wise man saw a young man _____.

A．dancing along the beach

B．walking with a dancer

C．picking up starfish for sale

D．trying to save as many starfishes as possible

The underlined words “something very special” refers to _____.

A．the gifts from friends

B．the strength of making decision

C．our own starfish

D．the ability to make a difference

From the last two paragraphs, we can learn that _____.

A．the wise man realized something new and important

B．the wise man thought it was foolish of the young man to throw starfishes in the ocean

C．the young man had the ability to make a difference

D．it is necessary for us to save starfish on the beach

The writer told this story to show us _____.

A．how and where we can write a good article

B．everyone can do something for the future

C．wise men are sometimes stupid

D．young men are in fact wiser than old people

Last night I had the best gift ever.
My older son was reading a detective novel while my younger son was reading fairy tales. They were each in different rooms, engrossed in their books with no TV, music or anything else distracting (使分心) their attention.
I read a lot during my childhood, curling (蜷缩) up in sofa or lying in bed. Like anyone else, I had lots of other interests, but once I discovered reading, I really enjoyed it. I read everything — books, magazines, newspapers, even the back of food packages if there was nothing else to read at the moment. I must thank my parents for their love of reading. Longing for more information and knowledge, my parents were always reading a lot.
Today’s children are provided with a variety of choices. It is so easy for them to become uninterested in reading and to view it as boring, uncool and unnecessary. There are TVs with astonishing choices of programs; there are MP3 players with thousands of songs at their fingertips; there are the Internet and mobile phones.
I’ve told my sons that reading comes with information, understanding and connection, each of which will help them at every stage in their lives now and forever. So when my sons were reading their books last night, I watched them, noticing them put a bookmark into their books. That’s the most amazing gift that I have ever received.
The best title for this passage is _____.

A．My Two Sons	B．An Amazing Gift
C．My Favorite, Reading	D．Let’s Read Together

The phrase “engrossed in” in the second paragraph can be replaced by “_____”.

A．connected by	B．separated by
C．devoted to	D．worried about

What does the author think of TVs, MP3 players, the Internet and mobile phones?

A．They are boring, uncool and unnecessary.

B．They are too expensive for a family to afford.

C．They might distract children’s attention.

D．They might enrich children’s lives and make them happy.

According to the passage, the author’s best gift is _____.

A．her sons’ love for reading	B．reading books alone
C．bookmarks from her sons	D．having a happy family