A group of graduates, successful in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor．Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life．
Before offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups — porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking and cheap, some extremely expensive — telling them to help themselves to the coffee．
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones．While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress．The fact is that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee．In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink．What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously(有意识地） went for the best cups．．．And then you began eyeing each other's cups．
Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups．They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not change the quality of life we live．Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us．"God makes the coffee, not the cups．Enjoy your coffee!"The happiest people don't have the best of everything．They just make the best of everything．"
Live simply．Love generously．Care deeply．Speak kindly．Leave the rest to God．What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．the nice-looking cup |
| B．the ordinary-looking cup |
| C．the coffee of good quality |
| D．the coffee of poor quality |
Why did the professor offer his students coffee with varieties of cups?
| A．To give his students many more choices． |
| B．To teach his students how to enjoy coffee． |
| C．To tell his students the right attitude to life |
| D．To show the students his collection of cups． |
According to the professor, the happiest people are the ones who _____．
| A．get the best type of coffee cups |
| B．care about social status and wealth |
| C．have a wide range of coffee cups |
| D．make the best of what they have |
“Cool” is a word with many meanings．Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little bit cold．As the world has changed，the word has had many different meaning．
“Cool” can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything．
When you see a famous car in the street，maybe you will say，“It's cool．”You may think，“He's so cool，”when you see your favorite footballer．
We all maximize（扩大） the meaning of “cool”．You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”．Here's an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used．A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall（瀑布）they had visited．On one student's paper was Just the one sentence，“It's so cool．Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt．
But the story also shows a scarcity（缺乏）of words．Without “cool”，some people have no words to show the same meaning．So it is quite important to keep some credibility（可信性）．Can you think of many other words that make your life as colorful as the word “cool”？ I can．And I think they are also very cool． We know that the word "cool" has had ________.
| A．only one meaning | B．no meanings |
| C．many different meanings | D．the same meaning |
In the passage，the word “express” means “________”.
| A．see | B．show | C．know | D．feel |
If you are _______ something，you may say，“It’s cool.”
| A．interested in | B．angry about | C．afraid of | D．unhappy with |
The writer takes an example to show he is ______the way the word is used．
| A．pleased with | B．strange to | C．worried about | D．careful with |
In the passage，the writer suggests（暗示）that the word “cool”________．
| A．can be used instead of many words |
| B．usually means something interesting |
| C．can make your life colorful |
| D．may not be as cool as it seems |
An old man died and left his son a lot of money. But the son was a foolish young man, and he quickly spent all the money, so that soon he had nothing left. Of course, when that happened, all his friends left him. When he was quite poor and alone, he went to see Nasreddin, who was a kind, clever old man and often helped people when they had troubles.
My money has finished and my friends have gone, said the young man. What will happen to me now?
Don't worry , young man, answered Nasreddin. Everything will soon be all right again. Wait ,and you will soon feel much happier.
The young man was very glad .Am I going to get rich again then? he asked Nasreddin.
No, I didn't mean that, said the old man. I meant that you would soon get used to being poor and to having no friends.An old man died and left his son_______.
| A．nothing | B．some gold | C．much money | D．only a house |
When the son was________, he went to see Nasreddin.
| A．short of money | B．quite poor and sick |
| C．in trouble | D．quite poor and alone |
The young man was very glad because Nasreddin said that________.
| A．he would become rich again |
| B．he would soon feel much happier |
| C．he would become clever |
| D．he would have more friends |
Nasreddin meant the young man______.
| A．would get rich again |
| B．would get used to having nothing |
| C．would get used to being in trouble |
| D．would get out of poorness |
What this story tells us is________.
| A．that money is everything |
| B．that money makes the mare go |
| C．to save each penny |
| D．that misfortune tests the sincerity of friends |
Mexico's neighbours are the United States to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the south. Mexico is about one quarter of the size of the United States. Mexico has more than ninety million people. The language of Mexico is Spanish. This makes Mexico the world's largest Spanish-speaking country.
Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. The city is also very high. It is 7349 feet high (2240 metres). This makes it one of the highest capital cities in the world. The population, of Mexico City grows bigger every day. About thirty million people live there. It has more people than any other city in the world, even more than Tokyo.
Mexico also has its specialities. Many of the foods we eat started in Mexico. Foods like beans, maize, avocados, tomatoes, peanuts, chili peppers, vanilla, and chocolate come from Mexico. Mexico is also famous for its cactus (仙人掌) plants. Mexico has more kinds of cactus than any other country.Mexico is ____the USA.
A. on the south of B. on the north of
C. a part of D. as large asMexicans speak______.
| A．English | B．Spanish | C．French | D．Latin(拉丁语) |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. |
| B．The population of Mexico City is 30,000,000. |
| C．Tokyo is one of the cities with the largest population. |
| D．Mexico City is the highest city in the world. |
Tomatoes were originally (最初) grown in ______.
| A．America | B．Spain | C．Tokyo | D．Mexico |
The best title (题目) of the passage is ___.
| A．Mexico City | B．Mexico's plants | C．Mexico | D．Mexico's population |
Mr. Scott has worked at a police station since he left army five years ago. He’s brave and has already caught many thieves. He was promoted (提升) to the rank of officer last month. Now he works harder.
It was Mrs. Scott’s birthday yesterday. The woman thought her husband was very busy, and she decided to hold a small party only with her husband. Mr. Scott agreed with her and they didn’t invite any friends of theirs to the party. At noon he didn’t go home for lunch and went to a shop. There he bought an expensive diamond necklace for his wife. He hoped to put it on her neck with his own hands at the party. To his sorrow, a rich woman’s house was broken into and some jewelry was stolen, and at once he was sent there to solve the case (案件)，when he came back to his office, it was late at night. He was tired and hungry. He brought out the necklace and was going to leave when he was asked to answer a telephone. Several minutes later when he came into his office, he found the necklace was gone, and he saw the case (盒子) only on his table. He became very angry and called all the policemen in and told them about it. But nobody admitted having stolen the necklace.
“I’ll give you a chance.” Said Mr. Scott, “ All the lights will be turned off. The man who took the necklace away will be able to put the necklace into the case in the dark.”
A few minutes later, Mr. Scott turned on the lights again. To his surprise, the case was also stolen.Mr. Scott was promoted because _______.
| A．he had been in the army. |
| B．he was young. |
| C．he had worked there for five years. |
| D．he did his duty better than his workmates. |
Having read the story, we can know ______.
| A．Mr. and Mrs. Scott loved each other. |
| B．the necklace was the most expensive in the town. |
| C．The Scotts had a few friends there. |
| D．Mr. Scott was the richest at the police station. |
At last, _________
| A．Mr. Scott knew who had stolen the necklace. |
| B．Mr. Scott lost both the necklace and the case. |
| C．the thief put the necklace back into the case. |
| D．Mr. Scott caught the thief in his office. |
Happy April Fool’s Day! In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes (恶作剧) in history. They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them.
▲INSTANT COLOR TV
In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station’s Kjell Stepson, appearing on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon (尼龙) stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, were taken in. Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
▲SAN SERRIFFE
In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven –page supplement(增刊) in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot. Few noticed that every thing about the island was made up.
▲NIXON FOR PRESIDENT
In 1992 American National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that, Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, “ I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” Accompanying this announcement were audio clips(片断) of Nixon delivering his election speech. Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Huckleberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon’s voice was copied by comedian Rich Little.Which of the following countries in NOT mentioned in the text?
| A．India | B．The UK | C．The United States | D．Sweden |
Who worked as a host on the radio?
| A．Kjell Stepson | B．Rich Little | C．Richard Nixon | D．John Huckleberry |
When did the small republic San Serriffe come into being?
| A．In 1962 | B．In 1977 | C．In 1992 | D．Never |
Where can we probably read this article?
| A．In the ad. | B．In a magazine | C．In a novel | D．In a news report |