“In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves… self-discipline（自律）with all of them came first.” — Harry S. Truman
That is the quotation (引语) that had me thinking yesterday. Discipline（纪律）, in particular self-discipline, is what will get us through most things in life, from writing this simple post to Achieving Greatness for You and I. You may ask, “Why is discipline important in writing this post?” For people who have tried writing, you would know how hard it might get sometimes to actually sit down and finish the whole article in one period without getting up every few minutes to get a drink, a snack or toilet break etc.
Just with most things in life, often we lack the self-discipline to see us through what we are hoping to do or achieve. One area where self-discipline is clearly important is in losing weight. Some people are constantly looking for quick fix to their weight problem; they will jump at anything that is claimed to help them lose weight in the shortest time. They may lose weight fast, but they will find the result short-term especially if they do not change the way they live and the food they eat.
A friend of mine shared his experience going through the journey from 115 kilograms to 56 kilograms in around one year. His journey of losing weight started from a trip with his daughter to the doctor for her check-up. He playfully weighed himself on the weighing machine while his daughter was having the check-up. The doctor saw his weight and made a remark, “If you maintain that balloon weight, you cannot see your grandchildren.”
That made him decide, “Enough is enough!” Not only that, he felt tired easily and his excessive (过多的) weight made him feel like a walking balloon. In that moment of awakening, he made decisions to change his lifestyle and eating habits.What does the author mainly talk about in the passage?
| A．His writing hobby. |
| B．The best way to lose weight. |
| C．The importance of self-discipline. |
| D．How to live a healthy life. |
We know from the second paragraph that the author ____ ______ .
| A．can write easily after finishing his routines |
| B．doesn’t think writing is an easy job |
| C．writes just for fun |
| D．must have achieved much in his writing |
The author’s friend was determined to lose weight when he ____ ______ .
| A．had a trip with his daughter and her family |
| B．knew the doctor was just making fun of him |
| C．was much touched by the doctor’s remark |
| D．realized that he would become a grandparent soon |
The author holds the belief（信念）that ____ ______ .
| A．we can’t achieve anything in life without self-discipline |
| B．only great men need self-discipline |
| C．self-discipline is most needed in losing weight |
| D．self-discipline has something to do with one’s lifestyle |
Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it looks as though TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmers, newspapers and books will come to us in this way.
In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists (未来学家) predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.
In future, cars will run on new，clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are．By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.
A number of large companies now use robots instead of people who ask for pay rises, or go on strike, and can not work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.
By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see and hear again. In the last few years, scientists have discovered how to control genes and have already produced clones of animals. By 2050，scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?
40. By 2050, people will get information mainly by _______.
A. watching TV B. reading newspapers
C. listening to the radioD. turning to a website
41. From the second paragraph, we learn that _______.
A. the demand for water will increase a lot in the future
B. future wars will lead to an increasing need for water
C. there can be no agriculture without enough water
D. the population will decrease for lack of water
42. Which of the following is NOT a reality at the present time?
A. Scientists have found out how to control some genes.
B. Cars have computers which tell drivers their positions.
C. People can learn about what has happened anywhere on the Internet.
D. Robots have completely replaced humans in some factories.
43. What will play the biggest part in the quality of life in the future?
A. Medicine. B. Technology. C. Education. D. Agriculture.
第二部分阅读理解 (共两节，满分40分)
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Once upon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the sea to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down at the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer, he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?’’
The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfishes (海星) in the ocean.”
“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 that there are miles and miles of beach and starfishes all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, and said, “It made a difference for that one.” There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can know that gift, we will gain through the strength of our vision the power (力量) to shape the future.
We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our starfish wisely and well, the world will be better.
36. 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
37. 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
38. 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
39. 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
The researchers, led by Hwang Woo-suk, insist they cloned an Afghan hound, only to help investigate (研究) human disease, including the possibility of cloning stem cells (干细胞) for treatment purposes.
But others immediately renewed calls for a global ban (禁令)on human reproductive cloning before the technology moves any farther.
"Successful cloning of an increasing number of species confirms the general impression that it would be possible to clone any species of mammals, including humans," said Ian Wilmut, a reproductive biologist at the University of Edinburgh who produced the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, from an adult cell nearly a decade ago.
Researchers have since cloned cats, goats, cows, mice, pigs, rabbits, horses, deer, mules and gaur, a large wild ox of Southeast Asia. So far, efforts to clone a monkey or another primate with the same techniques have failed.
Uncertainties about the health and life span (寿命) of cloned animals continue to exist; Dolly died at a young age in 2003 after developing cancer and arthritis.
Wilmut and others complimented Hwang's achievement, reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. But they said politicians and scientists must face the larger issue — how to go on with the research without crossing the moral boundary of copying human life in the lab.
"The ability to use the technology is hopeful," said Robert Schenken, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "However, the paper also points out that in dogs as in most species, cloning for reproductive purposes is unsafe."
The cloned puppy was the lone success from more than 100 dogs implanted (嵌入)with more than 1,000 cloned embryos.
In a news conference in Seoul, the cloning team also condemned(谴责)the reproductive cloning of humans as "unsafe and inefficient." Human reproductive cloning already is banned in South Korea. Other nations, including the United States, are divided on whether to ban just human cloning or cloning of all kinds, including the production of stem cells.
56. An Afghan hound is a kind of ______.
A. catB. goat c. cow D. dog
57. A ______ is a large wild ox of Southeast Asia.
A. horse B. deer C. mules D. gaur
58. Accrding to the passage, scientists haven’t been able to clone a ______ so far.
A. deer B. mule C. mouse D. monkey
59. The underlined word complimented is probably similar in meaning to ______.
A. praised B. doubted C. refused D. gave up
60. The cloning of human beings is banned in ______.
A. South Korea B. the United States
C. both South Korea and the United States D. neither South Korea nor the United States
Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, and died on July 18,1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously(匿名地)
But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath's many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806, Bath was her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen's Bath can be enhanced (增强)by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen's time and the importance of Bath in her life and work.
The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy.
You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen's Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian City of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours, The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped.
51. Jane Austen paid two long visits to Bath ______.
A. in her early twenties B. in her early teens
C. in her late twenties D. in her late teens
52. What can we learn about Bath from the passage?
A. Bath has greatly changed since Jane Austen's death.
B. The city has changed as much as Jane Austen knew it.
C. Bath remains almost the same as in Jane Austen's time.
D. No changes have taken place in Bath since Jane Austen's time.
53. Which of the following statements is wrong?
A. Jane Austen published her books using a different name.
B. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are mostly about Bath.
C. Steventon was Jane Austen’s birthplace.
D. Jane Austen Centre has been set up by the government
54. The author writes this passage in order to ______.
A. attract readers to visit the city of Bath
B. ask readers to buy Austen's books
C. tell readers about lane Austen' s experience
D. give a brief introduction to the Jane Austen Society
55. It takes you about one and a half hours ______.
A. to get to the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street
B. to buy Jane Austen related books, cards and gifts
C. to find a guide to take you to the Centre
D. to took around the city of Bath on foot
Parents should stop blaming themselves because there’s not a lot they can do about it. I mean the teenager problem. Whatever you do or however you choose to deal with it, at certain times a wonderful, reasonable and helpful child will turn into a terrible animal.
I’ve seen friends deal with it in all kinds of different ways. One strict mother insisted that her son, right from a child, should stand up whenever anyone entered the room, open doors and shake hands like a gentleman. I saw him last week when I called round. Sprawling himself (懒散地躺) on the sofa in full length, he made no attempt to turn off the loud TV he was watching as I walked in, and his greeting was no more than a quick glance at me. His mother was ashamed. “I don’t know what to do with him these days,” she said. “He’s forgotten all the manners we taught him.”
He hasn’t forgotten them. He’s just decided that he’s not going to use them. She confessed (坦白) that she would like to come up behind him and throw him down from the sofa onto the floor.
Another good friend of mine let her two daughters climb all over the furniture, reach across the table, stare at me and say, “I don’t like your dress; it’s ugly.” One of the daughters has recently been driven out of school. The other has left home.
“Where did we go wrong?” her parents are now very sad. Probably nowhere much. At least, no more than the rest of that unfortunate race, parents.
46. This text is most probably written by ______.
A. a specialist in teenager studies
B. a headmaster of a middle school
C. a parent with teenage children
D. a doctor for mental health problems
47. The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to ______.
A. the change from good to bad that’ s seen in a child
B. the way that parents often blame themselves
C. the opinion that a child has of his parents
D. the advice that parents want their children to follow
48. The boy on the sofa would most probably be described as ______.
A. lazy B. quiet C. unusual D. rude
49. From the second example we can infer that the parents of the two daughters ______.
A. pay no attention to them
B. are too busy to look after them
C. have come to hate them
D. feel helpless to do much about them
50. What is the author’s opinion about the sudden change in teenage children?
A. Parents have no choice but to try to accept it.
B. Parents should pay still more attention to the change.
C. Parents should work more closely with school teachers.
D. Parents are at fault for the change in their children.