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A few years ago,my friend Al won the lottery. It changed his life. He did not have a rich family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Instead,my friend was always hard up for cash. He did not have much money. And the money he did earn was chicken feed — very little.
Sometimes Al even had to accept handouts,gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me wrong. My friend was not a deadbeat. He was not the kind of person who never paid the money he owed. He simply pinched pennies. He was always very careful with the money he spent. In fact,he was often a cheapskate. He did not like to spend money. The worst times were when he was flat broke and had no money at all.
One day,Al scraped together a few dollars for a lottery ticket. He thought he would never strike it rich or gain lots of money unexpectedly. But his combination of numbers was chosen and he won the lottery. He hit the jackpot. He won a great deal of money.
Al was so excited. The first thing he did was buy a costly new ear. He splurged on the one thing that he normally would not buy. Then he started spending money on unnecessary things. He started to waste it. It was like he had money to burn. He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket so he spent it quickly.
When we got together for a meal at a restaurant,Al paid every time. He would always foot the bill,and pick up the tab. He told me the money made him feel like a million dollars. He was very happy.
But,Al spent too much money. Soon my friend was down and out again. He had no money left. He was back to being strapped for cash. He had spent his bottom dollar, his very last amount. He did not even build up a nest egg. He had not saved any of the money.
I admit I do feel sorry for my friend. He had enough money to live like a king. Instead,he is back to living on a shoestring—a very low budget. Some might say he is penny wise and pound foolish. He is wise about small things,but not about important things.
The underlined word “pinched” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “___________”.

A.took B.carried
C.squeezed D.spent

How did Al feel at first after he bought a lottery ticket?

A.He expected to win the lottery.
B.He was excited to wait for the money.
C.He didn’t think he could win the lottery.
D.He regretted spending money for a lottery ticket.

Why did A1 live a poor life again after he won the lottery?

A.Because he lost a lot of money he had won.
B.Because he spent much money freely on unnecessary things.
C.Because his friend borrowed much money from him.
D.Because he gave away a lot of money to others.

What can we learn from the story of Al?

A.Keep on and you will succeed one day.
B.Do not pick up the sesame seeds but overlook the watermelons.
C.It is no use crying over spilt milk.
D.No pains, no gains.
科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 中等
知识点: 日常生活类阅读
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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 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 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 because they focus on bui1ding 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

The underlined part 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 success of McDonald's lies in its .

A.skills at making hamburgers. B.good business systems
C.talented workers D.excellent service

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

“Confidence” is probably one of the most noticeable traits (品质) in the Americans. They show confidence in the way they talk, the way they smile, the way they dress and the way they walk. Living and competing with all these confident American students, I find it extremely important to be confident as an international student and instructor. As a student, being confident means you should never hesitate to raise your hand whenever a question or a point comes to your mind. Don't mind if it sounds simple or silly. Otherwise you will never get a chance to speak in class at all. What's worse, the professors may think you are not prepared for the discussion or you do not have your own opinion on the issue—this is the last comment any graduate would like to receive.
Being confident for me as a foreign instructor means calmly asking the student to repeat what he or she has said if I did not get it. Pretending to understand what you actually did not may just bring yourself embarrassment or even disgrace. But the time I most need to be confident is when my students come to my office and bargain about the grades I have given for their speeches. (The course I'm teaching here is Public speaking). Modesty is a trait highly valued in China, but it won't be of much help here if you want to survive and succeed in a good American graduate program.
To compete with American students it's very important to.

A.be quite confident
B.be polite and friendly
C.have more discussions with them
D.understand what they think about

A professor will have the worst opinion of a student who.

A.gives a silly or simple answer
B.tries to seize any chance to speak in class
C.shows no interest in the course
D.is considered to have no opinion of his own

The author is most likely to feel embarrassed if .

A.he asks a student to repeat what he has said
B.the students bargain with him
C.he pretends to know what he doesn't
D.he has to give a speech

We learn from the second paragraph that .

A.we should also remain modest in America
B.modesty doesn't help you much in America
C.Americans also like modest people
D.modesty can help you through an American graduate program

What can we infer from the passage?

A.American students are ready to accept the grades from the teacher.
B.The writer teaches in Europe for a living.
C.Students are encouraged to present simple questions.
D.One’s ignorance will give away in time.

A cancer-stricken British teenage girl said Thursday she had been moved by messages of support from around the world after writing an online “Bucket List” of things she wanted to do before dying.
Alice Pyne, l5, created an Internet blog in which she described her fight against a cancer of the white blood cells. “ I've been fighting cancer for almost four years and now l know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesn't look like I'm going to win this one,” she wrote.
For her list, the teenager took inspiration from the 2007 film “The Bucket List”, in which two terminally ill (患绝症的) men, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, draw up a list of things they wish to do before they die.
On her list, at the site www. alicepyne. blogspot. com, she has included making everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor (骨髓捐赠者), swimming with sharks, meeting boy band Take That and getting a purple iPad computer.
Messages of support and offers of help quickly flooded her webpage and it became one of the most talked about subjects on Twitter.
“Oh dear and I thought that I was just doing a little blog for a few friends!” she wrote after her site attracted huge attention. “Thank you so much for all your lovely messages to me.”
Pyne, who lives with her family in the northwest English town of Ulverston, revealed (透露) the management of Take That had arranged for her to see the band after reading her blog. A group of local lawmakers have also joined forces with the Anthony Nolan blood cancer charity to encourage people to join its stem cell register.
What happened after Alice Pyne wrote her“Bucket List”?

A.The media called on people to help her.
B.People sent gifts to her from all over the world.
C.A lot of people offered to donate bone marrow to her.
D.People around the world sent messages to support her.

Alice Pyne wrote her “Bucket List” to.

A.express her last few wishes
B.say goodbye to a few friends
C.give comfort to two terminally ill men
D.catch people's attention

It can be inferred from the second paragraph that Alice Pyne .

A.is unaware of her own conditions
B.is calm to know that death is approaching
C.is very sad to know that she will die
D.is still quite confident in fighting against cancer

Which of the following is NOT on Alice Pyne's “Bucket List”?

A.To meet a boy.
B.To get a cool computer.
C.To swim with sharks.
D.To ask people to donate bone marrow.

Take That will arrange to .

A.invite Pyne to join the band
B.help Pyne in any possible way
C.donate money to Pyne
D.meet Pyne in person

When Boris left school, he could not find a job. He tried hard and pestered (纠缠) his relatives, but they had problems of their own. He answered advertisements until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. Boris grew annoyed, then depressed, then a little hardened. Still he went on trying and still he failed. He began to think that he had no future at all.
“Why don't you start your own business?” one of his uncles told him. “The world is a money-locker. You'd better find a way of opening it.”
“But what can I do?”
“Get out and have a look round.” advised his uncle in a vague sort of way. “See what people want; then give it to them, and they will pay for it.”
Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of a waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer. He worked hard, made friends with his customers and gradually managed to build up his goodwill and profit. A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself. He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good: in the wrong position, too expensive or with some other snag(障碍). But at long last, he managed to find an empty shop on a new estate where there were plenty of customers but no competition.
Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair scooters and motor-cycles. Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed. At last, Boris had managed to open the money-locker and found bank notes and gold coins inside.
Which of the following best describes Boris' job hunting experience?

A.Surprising. B.Encouraging. C.Boring. D.Disappointing.

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A.Goodwill is the key to success
B.The world is a money-locker
C.No education, no future
D.Difficulty of starting a small business

Boris started his career by .

A.repairing cycles B.developing a waste ground
C.cycling around the town D.buying empty shops

Boris finally chose an empty shop on a new estate because .

A.it was not so expensive
B.he had a lot of old customers there
C.there were good opportunities there
D.he could make good use of his skills there

We can infer from the last paragraph that Boris.

A.still couldn't make good profits
B.found a lot of gold coins by accident
C.set off in a successful career
D.had great difficulty running his business

In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The fattened (压平的) wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation like five dots. During the following years, farmers in England found the strange circles in their fields more and more often.
The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain - usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but never broken; it continues to grow, and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September.
At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax, people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmer had found. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks(痕迹), and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.
Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circle to communicate with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.
Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles - the same downward rush of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash. Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations: crop circles often appear in formations, like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.
In the summer of 1978, an English farmer discovered in his field that __________.

A.some of his wheat had been damaged
B.his grain was growing up in circles.
C.his grain was moved into several circles
D.some of his wheat had fallen onto the ground.

According to the text, the underlined part “hoax” (in the 3rd paragraph) probably means __________.

A.an attempt made to fool people
B.a special way to plant crops
C.a research on the force of winds
D.an experiment for the protection of crops.

Which of the following may prove that the crop circles are not made by man?

A.The farmer couldn’t step out of the field.
B.The farmers couldn’t make the circles round.
C.The farmers couldn’t leave without footprints.
D.The farmers couldn’t keep the wheat straight up.

A proper title for this passage is ___________.

A.An Unsolved Mystery
B.Strange Flying Objects
C.The Power of Natural Forces
D.The discovery of Strange Circles

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