AlexisPilkingtonwasapopular17y-优题课

Huge global interest in “the best job in the world”—earning good money for lazing on a paradise(天堂) island for 6 months — has crashed the Australian website where it is advertised.
The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (about 100,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the successful candidate’s home country to tropical Hamilton Island on the famous Great Barrier Reef. In return, the winner will be expected to have as much fun as he or she can — soaking up the sun, swimming, snorkeling, sailing—and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.
The successful candidate—who will stay rent—free in a multi-million-dollar three-bedroom beach home—must be over 18, a “fantastic and charismatic” communicator, and able to speak and write English.
The campaign is a key element in a drive to promote the northeastern Australian state’s 18-billion-dollars-a-year tourism industry during the tough global economic climate, officials say. And they are at pains to stress that it is “a real job”.
The successful applicants will “also have to talk to media from time to time about what they’re doing so they can’t be too shy and they’ll have to love the sea, the sun, the outdoors,” said acting state Premier Paul Lucas. “The fact that they will be paid to explore the islands of the great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel and generally live the Queensland lifestyle makes this undoubtedly the best job in the world.”
60. The Australian website was crashed because .
A. some people destroyed it B. the website was clicked very frequently
C. the website was infected by a virus D. the government banned the website
61. To apply for the job, the person is supposed .
A. to have a good knowledge of Australia B. to be strong in health
C. to be able to speak at least 3 languages D. to talk to media from time to time
62. The purpose of the campaign is to improve .
A. the global economy B. the environment
C. the popularity of the website D. the tourism industry
63. Through the passage, the writer is intended to .
A. encourage everyone to apply for the job
B. tell us something about the most attractive job
C. encourage everyone to visit the Great Barrier Reef
D. support Australian tourism industry

第三部分阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The truth in other words
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked: “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”
The man said: “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”
What he had written was : “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”
Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?
Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind. The first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple story.
The first is : Be thankful for what you have. Someone else has less. Help where you can.
The second is: Be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way!
56. The man wrote some words on one side of the boy’s sign because .
A. he thought that the blind boy didn’t know how to write
B. he wanted to prove that the boy was really blind
C. he thought that the boy couldn’t get any money
D. he wanted to help the poor blind boy
57. The changed sign worked better than the original one because .
A. the original sign told people to do things, which people don’t like
B. the second sign made people see their health as a gift, which made them willing to help
C. the original sign pointed out a kind of suffering that people don’t care about at all
D. the second sign drew people’s attention to another problem the boy had
58. We can learn from the story that the man who rewrote the sign was .
A. creative B. patient C. funny D. curious
59. The story shows us that .
A. thinking in a different way can get us out of trouble
B. learning to be thankful for what we have may help us to live happier lives
C. creative thinking may bring us better results
D. being kind and respectful will encourage blind people to help themselves

Happiness and sadness are states of being states of being that define the way we view the world. It is often said that some people by nature have a sunny character. Now scientists may have discovered why.
Some people may be hard-wired for happiness, while others are genetically negative, as
scientists have suggested in a study published in late February, in a British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Earlier research had already established that the gene known as 5-HTTLPR plays a key role in
determining how the neurotransmitter (神经传递素) serotonin (血清素) works within the brain. Serotonin, a hormone (荷尔蒙), passes chemical messages between nerve cells. It has been closely linked to mood. Several anti-depressant (抗抑郁) drugs regulate serotonin levels. Scientists had also identified three variants of the gene. Two so-called "short" variants were linked to a higher risk of depression and suicide attempts. Unlike the two "short" variants, the "long" variant of 5-HTTLPR showed a clear dislike of negative images, such as fierce animals, and a clear liking for positive ones, such as flowers.
Researchers from the University of Essex in Britain, led by Elaine Fox, showed participants a
series of images. The images were divided into three kinds: negative ones aimed at inspiring fear or stress such as a spider or person about to commit suicide, pleasant ones and neutral ones.
“The participants who had the long variant of the 5-HTTLPR gene showed a clear dislike of negative material alongside a careful attention for positive material,” the researchers found. They paid close attention to the pretty pictures, and ignored the frightening ones. On the other hand, the short variant groups had the opposite reaction.
In January, the Australian government organized "happiness workshops", teaching government
staff how to be happy. The department that held the "happiness workshops" said unhappy staff weren't productive staff. Australian political opposition parties have argued that the "happiness workshops" are probably a waste of money and couldn't increase productivity as intended. However, whether the workshop will have a happy or disappointing result, we will have to wait and see.
67．Form the third paragraph, we know that .
A．affected by 5-HTTLPR, the neurotransmitter serotonin works within the blood
B．there are 5 variants of 5-HTTLPR genes which control people’s moods
C．how the neurotransmitter serotonin works is greatly determined by 5-HTTLPR
D．5-HTTLPR receives chemical messages from verve cells
68．What does “It” in the sentence “It has been closely linked to mood.” in the 3rd paragraph refer to?
A．Serotonin. B．A nerve cell. C．5-HTTLPR. D．The brain.
69．If a person had the long variant of 5-HTTLPR, he or she would probably .
A．like the images of spiders B．prefer the images of crocodiles
C．enjoy an image of green tress D．suffer from depression very often
70．What can we infer from the passage?
A．People’s moods can change a little bit under the influence of certain drugs.
B．Researchers showed participants of the research two kinds of images.
C．A person possesses one long and one short variant of 5-HTTLPR at the same time.
D．The author firmly believes that “happiness workshops” will not change people’s moods.

George, when your big brother and your little dog and I walked you up to schools today, you
had no idea how I was feeling.
You were so excited. You had packed and unpacked your pencils and safety scissors in your backpack a dozen times. I am really going to miss those lazy mornings when we waved your brother and sister off to school.
Because you are my youngest, I had learned a few things by the time you came along. I found out that the seemingly endless days of babyhood are gone like lightning. I blinked(眨眼), and your older siblings were setting off for school as eagerly as you did this morning, I was one of the lucky ones; I could choose whether to work or not. By the time it was your turn, the shining prizes of career advancement and a double income had lost their brightness. A splash(溅水) in the pool with you in your bright red boots or "just one more" rereading of your favorite book, Frog and Toad Are Friends, meant more. You didn't go to preschool and I hope that doesn't hold you back. You learned numbers by helping me count the soda cans we returned to the store.
I have to admit that in my mind's eye, an image of myself while you're in school has developed, I see myself updating all the photo albums and starting that novel I always wanted to write. As the summer wound down and more frequent quarrels erupted between you and your siblings, I was looking forward to today. And then this morning, I walked you up the steep hill to your classroom. You found the coat hook with your name above it right away, and you gave me one of your characteristically fierce, too-tight hugs. This time you were ready to let go before I was.
Maybe someday you will deliver a kindergartner to the first day of school. When you turn at the door to wave good-bye, he or she will be too deep in conversation with a new friend to notice. Even as you smile, you'll feel something warm on your cheek.
And then, you’ll know…
64．What does the author mean by the underlined sentence?
A．She gave up the job with a big salary and prizes.
B．She could only recall her good job at home now.
C．Many good jobs with better pay attracted her but she didn’t take them.
D．Compared with bringing up the baby, work seemed to fade to her.
65．Which statement is NOT TRUE about George’s family according to the letter?
A．George’s parents gave birth to three children
B．The Georges is a double income family.
C．The children had more arguments during the summer.
D．They recyled soda cans.
66．The passage tries to show us .
A．how excited a child will be on his first day to school
B．how deeply a mother loves her child
C．how many efforts a mother has made to raise a child
D．how a mother plans her future life after her children go to school

What does it mean to day that we live in world of persuasion? It means that we live among
competing interests. Your roommate’s need to study for an exam take priority（优先）over pizza. Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic interest may have other choices.
In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our points of view. When we persuade, we want to influence what others believe and how they behave. We may not always prevail（占优势）--other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situation, and the merits of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position receives the attention it deserves.
Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome approach to their lives or as a control. In contrast, we believe that persuasion is inevitable--to live is to persuade. Persuasion may be moral or immoral, selfless or selfish, inspiring or discouraging. Persuaders may enlighten our minds or make us hurt. Moral persuasion, however, calls on sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now must make. Therefore, an essential part of education is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to encourage and practice the other.
Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is a need to society. The right to persuade and be persuaded is the basic principle of the American political system.
60．What’s the author’s attitude towards persuasion?
A．Critical. B．Uninterested. C．Supportive. D．Neutral.
61．The passage states that some people are against persuasion because they think it is .
A．an unwelcome influence B．difficult to do well
C．not trustworthy at all D．never successful
62．We can conclude from the passage that persuasion means .
A．getting people to act according to your will
B．exercising power over other people
C．making use of your past wise experience
D．getting other people to consider your reasonable points of view.
63．According to the passage, we can infer that .
A．we can learn how to persuade in school
B．only society can benefit from persuasion
C．persuasion plays an important role in America
D．persuasion is considered to be an inborn ability

A．has strong self-confidence	B．has strong leadership skills
C．is actually weak inside	D．is usually good at study