Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate from the bottom of your heart, for he was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When asked how he was able to do so, he would reply,“ If I were any better, I would be twins!”
There was no doubt that Jerry was unique because he had several followers who were in his shadow from restaurant to restaurant. Obviously, these colleagues were greatly touched by Jerry’s attitude so as to follow him here and there. Being a natural motivator, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation whenever he or she was having a bad day.
Curious about his style, I went up to Jerry and asked him, “ I can’t believe it! You can’t be a positive person all the time. How do you do it? ” Jerry replied, “ Each morning I wake up and say to myself, ‘Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or to point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.”
“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,” I protested. “ Yes, it is,” Jerry said. “ Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live life.”
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon after I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination(密码组合). The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments(碎片) of the bullets still in his body.
I bumped into Jerry about six months after the terrifying accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “ If I were any better, I’d be twins. Want to see my scars(伤疤)？” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Jerry replied. “ Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.” “Weren’t you scared?” I asked.
Jerry continued, “The paramedics(护理人员)were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read,‘ He’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action.” “What did you do?” I asked. “Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything. ‘Yes’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets(子弹)！’. Over their laughter I told them, ‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’ ”
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his experienced doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.By saying “If I were any better, I would be twins！”(Paragraphs 1&7), Jerry means that_________.
| A．he felt depressed in life |
| B．he was content with his life |
| C．he regretted not having a twin brother |
| D．he attempted to live as good a life as his twin brother |
According to Paragraph 3, what did the writer think of Jerry’s positive thinking style at first?
| A．He accepted it and tried to copy it. |
| B．He was jealous of and even hated it. |
| C．He was in favor of and reflected on it. |
| D．He failed to understand it and tended to confirm it. |
Why did Jerry think he needed to take action in hospital?
| A．He couldn’t bear the rudeness of a big nurse. |
| B．The medical staff were not skilled enough to save him. |
| C．He was in danger and had to follow the nurses’ instructions. |
| D．He had to encourage the doctors and nurses for the operation. |
The underlined part” declined to”(Paragraph 7) can best be replaced by__________.
| A．refused to | B．promised to |
| C．agreed to | D．intended to |
Which of the following would best describe Jerry according to the passage?
| A．Humorous and optimistic. |
| B．Unique(独特) and unselfish. |
| C．Positive and cautious. |
| D．Outstanding and ambitious. |
Which of the following is conveyed in this article?
| A．Jerry’s survival is a miracle (奇迹). |
| B．Unique people may achieve success. |
| C．Attitude is everything. |
| D．Choices mean success. |
At the time, I would go out in the evening with my parents. But this time I had borrowed a bicycle from a friend of mine. I didn’t know why, but once I was on my own bicycle, a kind of free feeling flooded through me. The faster I rode, the faster I wanted to go! Far ahead, I rode as if my life depended on it, head down, hands grasping the handbars（车把手）. I meant to get to Jinghai Bar as fast as I could...
Oh! My hands! Don’t come any closer... Don’t touch me! That poor doctor just couldn’t get my gloves off. Each time he took a step towards me, I broke into painful shouting. Much later, I discovered that I had crashed(碰撞) heavily with another bicycle, and I hadn’t spoken one word of sense for at least three hours! After some time, my mother arrived at the hospital, her face as white as a sheet（纸张）, and gave me a hug(拥抱), only then did the doctor begin to stitch(缝合) my head wound, not only did he merrily（愉快地） cut off a long lock of my hair, but used no anaesthetic(麻药) either! Later. I seemed to hear faraway voices saying that my right hand was broken. I almost burst into tears. How would I ever play the piano again?On her way to Jinghai, the writer felt _______.
| A．nervous | B．comfortable |
| C．light-hearted | D．Upset |
Why did the writer ride a bicycle to Jinghai Bar that evening?
| A．Because she wanted to attend a party on time. |
| B．Because she wanted to meet her friend who was waiting for her there. |
| C．Because she just wanted, to join some of her friends and drink some wine. |
| D．We are not quite sure about what she was really going there for. |
What did the writer think of the doctor?
| A．Friendly. | B．Cruel. |
| C．Hardworking. | D．Kind. |
One thing is sure, that is, before she was wounded she _______.
| A．often went to Jinghai Bar with her friends |
| B．liked playing the piano |
| C．didn’t like any doctors at all |
| D．would burst into tears when she was in trouble |
Mr. Briggs got a job with an insurance company(保险公司) after he left school and went around visiting people in their homes to sell them life insurance. One day, after he had been working for the company for about a year, the insurance manager sent for him and said, “Mr. Briggs, I have been looking at your record as a salesman with our company, and there is one thing that surprises me about it. Why have you been selling insurance only to people over 95 years old, and why have you been giving them such generous（宽厚的）conditions? You’ll ruin our company if you go on like that.”
“Oh, no, sir,” answered Mr. Briggs at once, “Before I started work, I looked at the figures(数字) for deaths in this country during the past ten years, and I can tell you that few people die at the age of 95.”Before he worked in an insurance company, what was Mr. Briggs?
| A．He was a student. | B．He was an official. |
| C．He was a worker. | D．He was a businessman. |
As a salesman with the company, Mr. Brigs .
| A．visited people to ask them to work with him |
| B．called on people to make them join the company |
| C．saw old people in order to help them |
| D．visited many people so as to offer insurance |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Mr. Briggs had studied the figures for deaths for several years. |
| B．Mr. Briggs began to look at the figures after he started work. |
| C．The number of the very old people who died every year is small. |
| D．A great number of very old people die every year. |
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your half prepared meal. You hang up（挂断电话） hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can go wrong on a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly go into a panic (恐慌) and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a truck-driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up（排成长龙） behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meanwhile, the truck-driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident, for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!According to the author’s opinion, ____.
| A．troubles always come in groups |
| B．accidents may happen anytime |
| C．a small matter may cause great trouble |
| D．anyone may have trouble any day |
When the telephone rings,____.
| A．you should never go to answer it in a hurry |
| B．your trouble is sure to come |
| C．you’d better just let it ring all the way |
| D．you’d better have your baby a little distant from your table before answering it |
What did the police do after the accident?
| A．They helped the driver clean up the road. |
| B．They tried to stop the people from arguing. |
| C．They helped the drivers to go on with their journey. |
| D．They would find out who should be responsible |
It has long been thought that first-born children are more successful than their younger brothers and sisters and often have qualities of being more organised and responsible as well as being eager to be in charge.
But a new study has shown that the elder child's achievements can help improve their younger siblings(兄弟姐妹) exam results by helping them to raise their game. For the first time ever, researchers from the University of Essex examined how the success of first born children in school affected their younger brothers and sisters by studying primary school test results.
And the data showed that having an older brother or sister improved a child’s learning with the equal effect of spending an extra £670 on the younger sibling's schooling. One of the study’s authors Birgitta Rabe explained, the older sibling’s achievement may have a direct effect on the younger sibling’s school grades if the older sibling teaches the younger sibling or helps with homework; the younger sibling imitates(模仿) the older sibling, for example in their work style, or tries to be different, for example to avoid competition; the older sibling passes on important information about educational choices or school and teachers to the younger sibling.
The effect is even more noticeable in less well-off families showing poorer children benefit more from a successful older sibling. “We find that the effect is larger for siblings in families relying on free school meals, living in poverty and speaking a language other than English at home. This means that children who live in poverty benefit more from a successful older sibling than children who live in well-off families.”The study is mainly based on the children’s ________.
| A．exam results | B．work style |
| C．family background | D．educational choices |
According to the study, ________ tend to benefit more from a successful older sibling.
| A．the children who live in rich families |
| B．the children who live in poor families |
| C．the children whose parents are successful |
| D．the children whose mother language is English |
What can we conclude from the study?
| A．Younger siblings are more successful than first borns. |
| B．First-born children are as successful as their younger siblings. |
| C．First-born children are more successful than their younger siblings. |
| D．The success of first borns has positive effects on their younger siblings. |
The passage is likely to appear in ________.
| A．a newspaper advertisement |
| B．a high school textbook |
| C．a science magazine |
| D．a news report |
Goedeker's loves to see happy customers, so every year we host a drawing competition in January and July, and one lucky person receives an iPad Mini. Goedeker’s customers can enter the competition through many ways, such as sending product or customer reviews.
When I spoke to July’s drawing winner, I couldn’t believe the encouraging story behind her efforts. Sari Bailey entered the drawing competition in hopes of winning the iPad Mini for her blind granddaughter, Aubrey. Aubrey, soon-to-be 4 years old, was born with a rare condition called Septo-Optic Dysplasia. The condition, also known as De Morsier’s Syndrome, happens when the optic(视觉的) nerves do not develop fully before the baby is born. Aubrey once had an iPad Mini, given to her by the Gia Foundation, which provides an iPad Mini to the blind once a year. However, it was stolen, and her family did not know how they could replace it. The iPad was extremely important to Aubrey’s development, as she uses it for intensive therapy(强化治疗). Each week, Aubrey works through an hour of physical and speech therapy.
While Aubrey may struggle with her sight, she loves music and plays the piano and sings fairly well for a three-year-old! As one can imagine, the iPad plays a huge role in this. She also finished her first year of school in May.
Sari says, "We are very happy for her progress. We like to have as many tools for learning as possible available to Aubrey, thus, my desire for the winning of the iPad Mini! She is a very special little girl and I love her dearly."
Here at Goedeker’s, we wish Aubrey the very best, and we hope she loves the new iPad Mini!Why did Sari take part in the drawing competition?
| A．To win an iPad Mini for her granddaughter. |
| B．To make customers at Goedeker’s happy. |
| C．To encourage her granddaughter to draw. |
| D．To prove her drawing talent to her family. |
How long has Aubrey been suffering from her illness?
| A．More than 1 year. | B．Around 2 years. |
| C．Less than 3 years. | D．Almost 4 years. |
The iPad Mini is special to Aubrey because________.
| A．it’s a prize received by her grandmother |
| B．it’s a tool for the treatment of her illness |
| C．it’s something her family can’t afford |
| D．it teaches her to sing and play the piano |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Yearly Competition at Goedker’s. |
| B．The Brave Girl Fighting Rare Disease |
| C．iPad Mini Winner Shares the Love |
| D．The New iPad Mini from Grandmother |