The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people. We meet them every day. A few days ago, my car was not running well. I pulled it into a garage and the young mechanic (机械师) had it fixed in just a few minutes. He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. I was amazed. The sad truth is: Great talent is not enough.
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100, 000 a year. A business consultant（顾问）who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “They are one skill away from great wealth.”
There is an old saying that goes, “Job means just over broke (破产)”. And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people. Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence, most workers “live within their means”. They work and they pay the bills. Instead I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn.
When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald's?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald's makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald's is excellent at business systems. The reason so many talented people are poor is that they focus on building a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph to show that________.
| A．he is just one of the talented people |
| B．he is ready to help others |
| C．he has a sharp sense of hearing |
| D．he knows little about car repairing |
“Live within their means” in the third paragraph can be best replaced by_______ .
| A．spend more than they can afford | B．do in their own way |
| C．live in their own circle | D．live within what they earn |
Why do talented people earn so little according to the author?
| A．They don't work hard enough. |
| B．They lack financial intelligence. |
| C．They don't make full use of their talents. |
| D．They have no specialized skills. |
The main purpose of the author is to tell us_________ .
| A．how young people can find a satisfactory job |
| B．what schools should teach students |
| C．why so many talented people are poor |
| D．how McDonald's makes much money |
In Canada you can find dogs, cats, horses, etc. in almost every family. These are their pets. People love these pets and have them as their good friends. Before they keep them in their houses, they take them to animal hospitals to give them injections(注射)so that they won't carry disease. They have special animal food stores, though they can get animal food in almost every kind of store. Some people spend around two hundred Canadian dollars a month on animal food. When you visit people's houses, they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them. You will also find that almost every family has a feeding place for birds in their garden. All kinds of birds are welcomed to come and have a good meal. They are free to come and go and nobody is allowed to kill any animal in Canada. They have a law against killing wild animals. If you killed an animal, you would be punished. If an animal happened to get run over by a car, people would be very sad about it.
People in Canada have many reasons to like animals. One of them might be that their family ties are not as close as ours. When children grow up, they leave their parents and start their own life. Then the old will feel lonely, but pets can solve this problem. They can be good friends and never leave them alone.The passage mainly talks about____ .
| A．how to keep disease from pets |
| B．pets in Canada |
| C．how to take good care of pets |
| D．life of the old in Canada |
They give their pets injections before keeping them at their houses because
| A．the pets are sick |
| B．the pets are wild |
| C．they want to stop them from getting sick |
| D．they want them to sleep on the way home |
In Canada, children leave their parents when they grow up because
A they don't love their parents any more
B. they can only find jobs far from their parents
C. their parents houses are too small
D. they wouldn't depend on their parents any moreWhich of the following is TRUE？
| A．People buy animal food only at the animal food stores. |
| B．Pets eat better than people. |
| C．Almost every family has a birdcage in his house. |
| D．Any bird can come to the bird feeders to eat. |
Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. But you should not be upset (难受的) if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you!
Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m., and end at about 11. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.
Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks(小吃). Do you want to be more polite? Say how much you like the room, or the picture on the wall. But remember—it is not polite to ask how much things cost.
In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.
Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short thank you letter. British and American people like to say “ Thank you, thank you, thank you.” all the time!If you are going to attend a dinner party,____ .
| A．you’d better bring a certain present with you |
| B．you must leave home for it at 7 p.m. |
| C．you should ask your host when you should leave |
| D．you must arrive at it before 8 p.m. |
In which order will you eat or drink the following things at the meal?
| A．Snacks, vegetables, meat and coffee. |
| B．Coffee, drinks, soup, fish, vegetables and dessert. |
| C．Soup, meat with vegetables, dessert and coffee. |
| D．Drinks, soup, something small, fish and vegetables. |
Which is the correct way in which you express your enjoyment of the evening?
| A．Before leaving for home, you should say, “Thank you for inviting me.” |
| B．When you shake hands with your host, you should say, “I did enjoy the evening.” |
| C．You can write a thank you letter to your host after that. |
| D．You should finish everything on your plate and take more if you want it. |
An old friend from California called from the airport to tell me that he had arrived. I was not able to leave the office, but I had made plans for his arrival. After explaining (解释) where my new house was, I told him that I had left the key under the doormat (门垫). Since I knew it would be pretty late before I could get home, I suggested that he make himself at home and help himself to anything that was in the refrigerator(电冰箱).
Two hours later my friend phoned me from the house. At the moment, he said, he was listening to some of my records after having had a delicious meal. Now, he said, he was drinking a glass of orange juice. When I asked him if he had had any difficulty finding the house, he answered that the only problem was that he had not been able to find the key under the doormat, but luckily, the living room window by the apple tree had been left open and he had climbed in through the window. I listened to all this in great surprise. There is no apple tree outside my window, but there is one by the living room window of my next door neighbor's house!An old friend of mine called ______.
| A．to tell me to meet him at the airport |
| B．to tell me about his arrival |
| C．to ask me to leave the office |
| D．to ask me to make plans for his arrival |
My friend climbed into the room because ______ .
| A．there was an apple tree outside |
| B．the living room window was left open |
| C．he had difficulty opening the door |
| D．he hadn't found the key |
My friend telephoned me two hours later ______ .
| A．from my home | B．at the airport |
| C．in his office | D．from my neighbor's house |
Moods, say the experts, are feelings that are likely to become fixed, having effects on one's outlook (way of looking at things) for hours, days or even weeks. That's great if your mood is a pleasant one, but a problem if you are sad, anxious, angry, or simply lonely.
Perhaps the best way to deal with such moods is to talk them out; sometimes, though, there is no one to listen. Modern pharmacology (药理学) offers a lot of tranquilizers (镇静剂) and anti-anxiety drugs. What many people don't realize, however, is that scientists have discovered the effectiveness of several non-drug methods to make you free from an unwanted mood. These can be just as useful as drugs, and have the added benefit of being nonpoisonous. So next time you feel out of sorts, don't head for the drug store―try the following method.
Of all the mood-changing self-help techniques, aerobic exercise (有氧运动) seem to be the best cure for a bad mood. ―If you could keep the exercise, you'd be in high spirits, says Kathryn Lance, author of Running for Health and Beauty.
Researchers have explained biochemical and various other changes that make exercise a better mood-raiser than drugs. Physical work such as housework, however, does little. The key is aerobic exercise – running, cycling, walking, swimming, or other repetitive and sustained activities that increase the heart rate and circulation(循环), and improve the body's use of oxygen. Do them for at least 20 minutes a time, three to five times a week.What is the main subject of the passage?
| A．How to beat a bad mood. |
| B．How to talk bad moods out. |
| C．How to do physical exercises. |
| D．How to do aerobic exercise. |
It can be inferred from the passage that __________.
| A．when one is in a bad mood, he or she may not work very well |
| B．the best way to overcome a bad mood is to talk to oneself |
| C．some drugs are more effective than physical exercises |
| D．taking drugs is at risk of being poisonous |
The phrase "feel out of sorts", as is used in the second paragraph, could be best replaced by ___.
| A．put things in order | B．are in a bad mood |
| C．search for tranquilizers | D．want a mood-raiser |
Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?
| A．An exercise and its importance are explained |
| B．A problem is examined and solutions are given |
| C．Two different views of a problem are presented |
| D．Recent developments in medicine are described |
Our lifestyles today are very busy. We have family, school, sports, entertainment and social activities to fit into a time that seems never enough. We need to be healthy to meet the demands of daily life. But what does it mean to have a healthy lifestyle?
To have a healthy lifestyle, we need to:
◆ eat different kinds of healthy food most of the time
◆ do exercise often
◆ have time to relax
◆ get enough sleep to give our bodies time to grow healthy and strong
Read about a normal day in the lives of two children.
Abbey gets up at 7:00 am, feeds the dog, and has cereal (谷物) and a glass of juice for breakfast. She walks to school with her friend, Julia. She has a bag of chips for a morning snack, drinks water, and has a chicken and lettuce sandwich with a banana for lunch. She likes to play soccer with her friends at lunch and morning break time. She walks home with Julia, has some crackers with cheese and juice for afternoon snack and plays with the dog for a while. She plays computer games for an hour or two before dinner, then has a shower and does her homework. She watches her favorite television show for an hour, then usually goes to bed at about 9:30 pm.
Carl gets up at 8:30 am and has two pieces of bread with jam and a glass of milk for breakfast. His mother drives him to school on her way to work. He eats cookies with juice for morning snack and a pot pie ordered from the school lunch room with juice for lunch. He likes to play card games with his friends at lunchtime and climb the fixed equipment at morning break time. He catches the bus home, has a cereal bar and a can of soda for afternoon snack, then watches some television. He has a shower before dinner, then plays the computer for an hour or two. He goes to bed at about 10:30 pm.
No matter which kind of lifestyle you agree on, just remember it's important to balance all aspects of life.About a healthy lifestyle, the writer doesn't talk about __________.
| A．diet | B．exercise | C．relaxation | D．medicine |
What can we learn from the article?
| A．Abbey plays soccer with her friends at school. |
| B．Abbey does her homework first after school. |
| C．Carl goes to school by bus every day. |
| D．Carl has only juice for breakfast. |
Where is the article probably from?
| A．A health magazine. | B．A clothing website. |
| C．A sports guidebook. | D．A travel advertisement. |