When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Wee k by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?
| A．He told her not to pay any attention to what her“enemy” had said. |
| B．He criticized (批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings. |
| C．He told her to write down all that her“enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true. |
| D．He refused to take the list and have a look at it. |
What does “Week by week her list grew”mean?
| A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me. |
| B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer. |
| C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on. |
| D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious. |
Why did her father listen to her quietly?
| A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true. |
| B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while. |
| C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment. |
| D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth. |
Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend |
| B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had |
| C．My Father |
| D．My Childhood |
I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke(唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But I feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English”, for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions(认识) of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”, and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal(内在的) language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure. I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show: her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.
| A．she uses English in foreign trade |
| B．she is fascinated by languages |
| C．she works as a translator |
| D．she is a writer by profession |
| A．Americans do not understand broken English. |
| B．The author’s mother was not respected sometimes. |
| C．The author’s mother had positive influence on her. |
| D．Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts. |
| A．well structured |
| B．in the old style |
| C．easy to translate |
| D．rich in meaning |
| A．The change of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English. |
| B．The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother. |
| C．The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English |
| D．The author’s experiences of using broken English. |
At exactly eleven Sir Percival knocked and entered, with anxiety and worry in every line of his face. This meeting would decide his future life, and he obviously knew it.
“You may wonder, Sir Percival,” said Laura calmly, “if I am going to ask to be released (免除) from my promise to marry you. I am not going to ask this. I respect my father’s wishes too much.”
His face relaxed a little, but one of his feet kept beating the carpet.
“No, if we are going to withdraw(退出) from our planned marriage, it will be because of your wish, not mine.”
“Mine?” he said in great surprise. “What reason could I have for withdrawing?”
“A reason that is very hard to tell you,” she answered. “There is a change in me.”
His face went so pale that even his lips lost their color. He turned his head to one side.
“What change?" he asked, trying to appear calm.
“When the promise was made two years ago,”she said, “my love did not belong to anyone. Will you forgive me, Sir Percival, if I tell you that it now belongs to another person?”
“I wish you to understand,” Laura continued, “that I will never see this person again, and that if you leave me, you only allow me to remain a single woman for the rest of my life. All I ask is that you forgive me and keep my secret.”
“I will do both those things, ”he said. Then he looked at Laura, as if he was waiting to hear more.
“I think I have said enough to give you reason to withdraw from our marriage,” she added quietly.
“No. You have said enough to make it the dearest wish of my life to marry you,” he said.
| A．Angry. | B．Calm. |
| C．Nervous. | D．Excited. |
| A．Laura had once promised to marry Percival |
| B．Laura's father wished to end her marriage |
| C．Percival had been married to Laura for two years |
| D．Percival asked to be released from the marriage |
| A．a novel | B．a report |
| C．a diary | D．an essay |
Older people who have low expectations for a satisfying future may be more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those who see brighter days ahead, according to new research
"Our findings showed that being overly optimistic in predicting a better future was associated with a greater risk of disability and death within the following decade," said Frieder R. Lang, the leading researcher of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany." Pessimism(悲观) about the future may encourage people to live more carefully, taking health and safety measures."
Lang and colleagues examined data collected from 1993 to 2003 for the national German Socio-Economic Panel, an annual survey on approximately 40,000 people from 18 to 96 years old. The researchers divided the data according to age groups: 18 to 39 years old, 40 to 64 years old and 65 years old and above. Through mostly in-person interviews, the participants were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their lives and how satisfied they thought they would be in five years.
Five years after the first interview, 43 percent of the oldest group had underestimated(低估) their future life satisfaction, 25 percent had predicted accurately and 32 percent had overestimated (高估), according to the study. The researchers calculated that each increase in overestimating future life satisfaction was related to a 9.5 -percent increase in reporting disabilities and a 10- percent increase in risk of death。
Because a darker outlook on the future is often more realistic, older adults' predictions of their future satisfaction may be more accurate, according to the study. In contrast, the youngest group had the sunniest outlook。
"We argue, though, that the analysis may depend on age and available resources. These findings shed new light on how our perspectives can either help us take action or prevent us from taking action that can help improve our chances of a long, healthy life," Lang said.Based on the passage, the researchers____________.
| A．collected 13 years of nationwide data |
| B．calculated people's life satisfaction within five years |
| C．interviewed 40,000 people from 18 to 65 years old |
| D．divided the data into four age groups |
According to the study, older people predicted their life satisfaction more accurately because_________.
| A．they demanded less materially |
| B．they were more satisfied with their lives |
| C．they had a deeper insight into life |
| D．their outlook on the future was more realistic |
What is Frieder Lang's attitude towards the results of the study?
| A．Critical. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Astonished. | D．Objective |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The researchers only took age into consideration. |
| B．Being pessimistic leads to a greater risk of disability and death. |
| C．The findings could help people to live a healthy life. |
| D．Most participants had overestimated their future life satisfaction. |
The passage most probably appears in the __________ section of a website.
| A．health and fitness | B．arts and life |
| C．public education | D．psychology help center |
On February 3, a Laysan albatross(信天翁), a large seabird, named Wisdom, which is 62 years old, hatched a healthy chick on a Pacific island near Hawaii,. It was the sixth year in a row this bird has hatched a chick. Wisdom’s species normally lives only 12 to 40 years, while she is able to hatch healthy chicks into her 60s.
At breeding time, the Laysan albatross will dig out a shallow nest in the ground. The female then lays a single egg. Both she and her mate will take turns incubating (孵) the egg until it hatches. More than seven out of every 10 Laysan albatrosses’ nests are on just one island -Midway Atoll. That’s Wisdom’s home.
But her species spends most of its time in the air. In fact, biologists observe that after learning to fly, these birds may not set foot on land for the next three to five years.
Albatrosses are powerful gliders (滑翔者), With their six-foot, nearly two-meter, wingspan, Laysan albatrosses can ride wind currents for hundreds of miles or more. Biologists now estimate that Wisdom has flown for an unusually large number of miles-between two million and three million. That is equivalent to traveling from Earth to the moon and back-four to six times! And in the months when these birds are not breeding, they stay in the air, and even sleep there.
Wild albatrosses often die long before they come close to Wisdom’s age. Some are eaten. Others starve, get sick or suffer life-threatening injuries from people’s fishing boats. Clearly, Wisdom is special. She may have raised as many as 35 chicks in her life.Which of the following is TRUE about albatrosses?
| A．The females are responsible for hatching the eggs. |
| B．They can fly hundreds of miles or more in the wind. |
| C．The females usually lay several eggs at a time. |
| D．Most of them normally live more than 40 years. |
What makes Wisdom so special?
| A．She spends most of its time in the air. |
| B．She has lived more than 100 years. |
| C．She hatched a healthy chick in her 60s. |
| D．She hasn’t set foot on land for three to five years. |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?
| A．Where Laysan albatrosses live. |
| B．How albatrosses produce babies. |
| C．How albatrosses make their nests. |
| D．Why Wisdom can give birth to babies in her 60s. |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Wisdom has outlived her species by at least two decades. |
| B．Most albatrosses sleep and breed on Midway Atoll. |
| C．Wisdom gives birth to babies every six years. |
| D．Albatrosses build their big nests on trees. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Albatrosses-Powerful Gliders. |
| B．Laysan Albatrosses’ Paradise-Midway Atoll. |
| C．Endangered Birds-Laysan Albatrosses. |
| D．The Oldest Mother Bird-Wisdom. |
Lavender (薰衣草) is a beautiful yet tough plant that grows in heat and dust. It has narrow, hairy leaves and a plentiful supply of oils to protect it from drying out. It has been cherished by all cultures alike, not only for its fine smell but also its valuable medicinal properties (特性) , since 3000 B.C.
Lavenders are a small plant group containing about 50 different species Today, "true" lavender can be found growing wild in Italy, France, on the eastern coast of Spain and right into North Africa. It is also commonly found in cultivated form throughout the rest of Europe, as well as in India, China, Australia, the U.S.A. and other countries. Most lavender is cultivated at the latitudes of 40-45 degrees north and south of the equator.
Lavenders is popular in part because it is so useful.
Its essential oil is a very safe oil which can be used for first-aid as well as for a wide variety of common problems such as skin complaints, muscular pain and childhood illnesses. It is recognized for its antiseptic(防腐的)qualities, its ability to drive insects away, and its usefulness in washing. It is also one of the most popular oils for cosmetics(化妆品)and perfumes.
Lavender is also known for flavouring teas, cocktails, desserts and cakes, and is often added to salt and pepper to create the very famous Herbes de Provence (普罗旺斯香草) spice mixture. Its colour and smell have also made lavender a garden favourite for centuries, Finally, dried lavender has long been used as a spice to scent homes and closets.Which of the following about lavender does the text NOT mention?
| A．its disadvantages |
| B．its characteristics. |
| C．its uses |
| D．its growing environment |
We learn from the text that lavender ___________.
A. has broad leaves
B. had been used as medicine since 3000 BC.
C. likes growing in humid places
D. includes over one hundred speciesThe second paragraph is mainly about __________.
| A．where to find wild lavender |
| B．the places where lavender grows |
| C．the origins of lavender |
| D．how to plant lavender |
Which of the following is NOT true, according to the text?
| A．Lavender grow along the equator. |
| B．Wild lavender can be found in North Africa. |
| C．Lavender’s oil is used in cosmetics. |
| D．Lavender’s oil can be used to protect the skin. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the last paragraph?
| A．Lavender is a popular garden plant. |
| B．Lavender is used as a spice |
| C．Lavender is a popular perfume |
| D．Lavender is used as flavouring in cooking. |