Last year, I was on a plane with my friend, waiting for it to take off. The pilot’s voice was heard throughout the plane: “Sorry for the delay, ladies and gentlemen. Our engines don’t work. We are going to jump-start them. Once we get them going, we’ll get up in the air and see what happens.”
That was all he said. “See what happens?” Shouldn’t we have had a better plan than that? At that point. I could only laugh nervously. One woman started crying, “Oh no! We are going to crash!’’ There were sighs of hopelessness and anxiety, and we hadn’t even taken off yet.
The pilot even seemed unhappy. He told us our one engine was working double time, and his plan was to get up in the air and see what happens! Then we did. We got up in the air, and what happened? Nothing. We arrived in Norfolk, and no sooner had the wheels touched down than applause burst out as everyone on the airplane breathed a sigh of relief.
All too often, people stop trying to achieve their goals just because they don’t have a guaranteed (有保证的) result. But success will never be guaranteed. The best thing that you can do is just get up in the air, and see what happens. While I do prefer planning better than “see what happens” when it comes to flying, it really isn’t such a bad idea for life.
If your effort is to build a business then get up in the air and see what happens! Don’t give yourself all the reasons why you can’t. Do not wait until you have everything you need. You never will!
If your goal is to start a friendship, say “Hello”, get up in the air and see what happens! The results could be very rewarding. If your goal is to learn a new skill, get up in the air and see what happens! It might not be as difficult as your think. It could be fun!How did the author feel when the pilot said the engines didn’t work?
| A．Disappointed. | B．Anxious. |
| C．Curious. | D．Relieved. |
The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means .
| A．to think carefully before you make friends |
| B．to start to fly first to see what will happen in the sky |
| C．to make an effort even if the result is uncertain |
| D．to get up from the chair and greet somebody |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．We Will See What Happens |
| B．I Survived an Adventurous Flight |
| C．The Pilot Risked Our Lives |
| D．Making Plans Is Better Than Taking Chances |
There is a wonderful story about a young girl who had no family and no one to love her.
One day，feeling very sad and lonely， she was walking through a grassland when she noticed a small butterfly caught in a thorn （荆棘） bush. The young girl carefully released the Butterfly. Instead of flying away， the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy. The young girl rubbed(擦) her eyes in disbelief.“For your wonderful kindness，” the good fairy said to the girl，“I will give you any wish you would like.” The little girl thought for a moment and then replied,“I want to be happy.”The fairy whispered（耳语） in her ear. Then the fairy disappeared.
As the little girl grew up， there was no one in the land as happy as she. Everyone asked her secret of happiness .She would only smile and answer，“The secret of my happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl.”
When she was very old and on her deathbed ,the neighbors gathered around her，they said to her “Tell us， please，” they begged，“Tell us what the good fairy said.” The lovely old woman simply smiled and said,“She told me that everyone， no matter how secure they seemed， no matter how old or young，how rich or poor, had need of me.”______ the girl felt sad and lonely.
| A．There was nobody to love her so | B．There were many friends |
| C．There was nothing to do | D．Seeing the butterfly was caught |
Noticing the butterfly was caught by the thorn，the orphan girl ______.
| A．failed to help it release from the thorn |
| B．felt sorrow，but she didn’t go up to help it |
| C．fell down on it too |
| D．helped the butterfly escaped from the thorn |
The butterfly ______ after it was saved by the little girl.
| A．flied away |
| B．changed into a fairy |
| C．still died |
| D．was more beautiful than before |
The only thing that the little girl wanted was________.
| A．to be rich | B．to have her own parents |
| C．to have a lot of friends | D．happiness |
A woman called Julia lived in the countryside, one year she decided to visit the capital city to see the sights. She stayed at a hotel near the central market. She had seldom been to the city before, and was very excited about what she would find.
On the first morning of her visit, as she walked from the hotel to the market, she passed a beggar (乞丐). He was holding up a notice, which said, “Blind from birth. Please give generously(慷慨地).”Julia felt sorry for the beggar and she bent down and put a dollar coin into his bowl. “Thank you.” he said. The same thing happened again the following day. On the third day, however, Julia did not have a dollar coin. She had only fifty cents, so she dropped this into the beggar’s bowl. “What have I done wrong?” the beggar said, “Why are you so stingy (吝啬的) today?”
Julia was very surprised at the beggar . “How do you know I haven't given you a dollar?” she said, “If you’re blind you can't know what coin I put into your bowl.” “Ah,” explained the beggar, “The truth is that I'm not blind. I'm just looking after this place for the regular beggar while he’s on holiday.” “On holiday?” Julia said, “And what exactly does your blind friend do on holiday?” “He goes into the countryside,” the man said, “and takes photographs. He's a very good photographer.”Where was the beggar sitting?
| A．In the market. |
| B．In the busiest part of the city. |
| C．Outside the shops. |
| D．Between Julia's hotel and the market. |
On the first two days, ____.
| A．the blind man waited for Julia |
| B．the blind man demanded money from Julia |
| C．Julia gave the blind man some money |
| D．Julia gave him nothing |
On the third day, the blind man____ .
| A．accepted Julia's fifty cents quite happily |
| B．noticed that Julia had only given him fifty cents |
| C．refused Julia's fifty cents |
| D．also received one dollar from Julia |
Several years ago，a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America. One was a very rich banker， another owned one of the largest companies in the world， and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.
The reporter was talking to them about being important.
“How do we know if someone is really important？” the reporter asked the banker.
The banker thought for a few moments and then said， “I think anybody who is invited to the Whiter House to meet the President of the United States is really important.”
The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that？” she asked.
The man shook his head， “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You’d be important only if while you were visiting the President， there was a telephone call from the president of another country， and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it.”
The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so？”
“No， I don‘t，” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important.”
“Then what would make the visitor important？” the reporter and the other two men asked.
“Oh， I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang， and the President picked up the receiver， listened and then said， ‘It’s for you.‘ ”This story happened in _______.
| A．America | B．England | C．Japan | D．Australia |
There are _______ in this passage.
| A．two men and two women |
| B．three men and one woman |
| C．three women and one man |
| D．four women |
The banker thought _______.
| A．he was really important because he was a rich banker |
| B．the reporter was really important |
| C．the visitor who met the President of the United States |
| D．the visitor to the White House was really important |
The owner of many buildings thought _______.
| A．he was really important because he owned many buildings in the center of New York |
| B．the owner of the very large company was really important |
| C．the visitor was really important if the President received a telephone call for the visitor |
| D．the person who worked in the White House was really important |
Here I must put in a few words about my experience here in China. If I have ___36__ with a Chinese host, he always presses(硬塞给)___37__ food onto my plate as soon as I have emptied the previous helping(份额). That often makes me ___38___awkward(尴尬). I have to eat the food even if I don’t ___39___ it, because it is ___40___ manners in the West to _41__ one’s food on the plate. I have also ___42__ that when a Chinese sits at an American’s dinner party, he often ___43___ the offer of food or drink though he is in fact still hungry or ___44___. This might be good manners in China, but it is
certainly__45___ in the West. In the United States, it is___46___ to keep asking someone again and again or press something on him. Americans are very ___47___. If they want something, they will ask for it. If not, they will say, “__48__” Here’s an example: When an American is offered ___49_ by the host, and he doesn’t feel like beer, he will probably say, “No, thanks. I just don’t feel like it. I’ll ___50___ some Pepsi-Cola （百事可乐）if you have it.” That is ___51__ an American will do. ___52___are taught that “Honesty is the best policy”. But in some countries, courtesy(谦虚) might be more important than ___53___. So when I am here in China, I have to observe（遵循） the __54__ here. But when you go to ___55___, you had better “Do as the Romans do.”
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Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on January 8, 1942. At the age of 17, he entered University College, Oxford. He wanted to study mathematics, but took up the study of physics when math was unavailable. He received a Ph.D. in physics despite being diagnosed (诊断) with Ameliotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化症) while at Oxford in 1963. In 1985 he became ill with pneumonia (肺炎), and since then has required 24-hour nursing. Dr. Hawking’s determination, along with the help of his family and associates, has allowed him to continue to work. In 1970 he began studying black holes. His research led him to predict that black holes send out radiation in the X-ray to gamma-ray(伽马射线) range of the spectrum (光谱). In the 1980s he returned to an earlier interest, the origins of the universe. He has co-authored many publications, such as 300 Years of Gravity and The Large Scale Structure of Space time. Dr. Hawking has also written books such as A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and other Essays, The Universe in a Nutshell and others. He continues to give lectures, despite having been unable to speak since 1985, with the aid of a speech synthesizer (合成器) and a portable computer. He currently holds Isaac Newton’s chair as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University in England.Hawking went to University College, Oxford, in order to _____.
A. get a Ph.D. in physics
B. study mathematics
C. study the universe and black holes
D. seek help from the Lucasian ProfessorBefore Hawking started researching black holes, _____.
| A．he gave lectures with the help of a speech synthesizer |
| B．he finished his book The Universe in a Nutshell |
| C．he was made the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics |
| D．he was diagnosed with Ameliotrophic Lateral Sclerosis |
Which of the following books was NOT written by Dr. Hawking alone?
| A．300 Years of Gravity |
| B．A Brief History of Time |
| C．The Universe in a Nutshell |
| D．Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays. |
When did Hawking enter University College, Oxford?
| A．in 1942 | B．in 1970 | C．in 1959 | D．in 1963 |