When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved(毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy—love, marriage, birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated (复杂的）.
My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment “. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoy-able leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grand-mother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our “right “to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.
Happiness isn't about what happens to us—it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess. As people grow older, they _________.
| A．feel it harder to experience happiness |
| B．associate their happiness less with others |
| C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness |
| D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?
| A．She cares little about her own health. |
| B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling. |
| C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life. |
| D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?
| A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness. |
| B．Psychologists' opinion is well proved by Grandma's case. |
| C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings. |
| D．Grandma's happiness came from modest expectations of life. |
People who equal happiness with wealth and success _________.
| A．consider pressure something blocking their way |
| B．stress their right to happiness too much |
| C．are at a loss to make correct choices |
| D．are more likely to be happy |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative. |
| B．Each man is the master of his own fate. |
| C．Success leads to happiness. |
| D．Happy is he who is content. |
Going to school means learning new skills and facts in different subjects. Teachers teach and students learn, and many scientists are interested in finding ways to improve both teaching and learning processes.
Sian Beilock and Susan Leving, two psychologists at the University of Chicago, are trying to learn about learning. In a new study about the way kids learn math in elementary school, Beilock 
and Levine found a surprising relationship between what female teachers think and what female students learn: If a female teacher is uncomfortable with her own math skills, then her female students are more likely to believe that boys are better than girls at math. “If these girls keep getting math-anxious female teachers in later grades, it may create a snowball 
effect on their math achievement,” Levine told Science News. The study suggests that if these girls grow up believing that boys are better at math than girls are, then these girls may not do as well as they would have if they were more confident.
Just as students find certain subjects to be difficult, teachers can find certain subjects to be difficult to learn—and teach. The subject of math can be particularly difficult for everyone.
The new study involved 65 girls, 52 boys and 17 first-and second-grade teachers in elementary schools in the Midwest. The students took math achievement tests at the beginning and end of the school year, and the researchers compared the scores.
The researchers also gave the students tests to tell whether the students believed a math superstar had to be a boy. Then the researchers turned to the teachers: To find out which teachers were anxious about math, the researchers asked the teachers how they felt at times when they came across math, such as when reading a sales receipt. A teacher who got nervous looking at the numbe
rs on a sales receipt, for example, was probably anxious about math.
Boys, on average, were unaffected by a teacher’s anxiety. On average, girls with math-anxious teachers scored lower on the end-of-the-year math tests than other girls in the study did. Plus, on the test showing whether someone thought a math superstar had to be a boy, 20 girls showed feeling that boys would be better at math—and all of these girls had been taught by female teachers with math anxiety.
According to surveys done before this one, c
ollege students who want to become elementary school teachers have the highest levels of anxiety about math. Plus, nine of every 10 elementary teachers are women, Levine said. Sian Beilock and Susan Levine carried out the new research in order to ___________.
| A．know the effects of teaching on learning | B．study students’ ways of learning math |
| C．prove women teachers are unfit to teach math | D．find better teaching methods for teachers |
The underlined
part in paragraph 2 most probably means that girls may ___________.
| A．end up learning math anxiety from their teachers | B．study the ways their female teachers behave |
| C．have an influence on their math-anxious female teachers | |
| D．gain unexpected achievement in such subjects as math |
In the study, what were the teachers required to do?
| A．Prepare two math achievement tests for the students | B．Tell their feelings about math problems |
| C．Answer whether a math superstar had to be a boy | D．Compare the students’ scores after the math tests |
What is the finding of the new study?
| A．No male students were affected by their teachers’ anxiety |
| B．Almost all the girls got lower scores in the tests than the boys |
| C．About 30% of the girls thought boys are better at math than girls |
| D．Girls with math-anxious teachers all failed in the math tests |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．117 students and teachers took part in the new study |
| B．The researchers felt surprised at the findings of their study |
| C．Beilock and Levine are interested in teaching math |
| D．Men teachers are better at teaching math than women teachers |
Today, there’s hardly an aspect of our life that isn’t being upended by the tons of information available on the hundreds of millions of sites crowding the Internet, not to mention its ability to keep us in constant touch with each other via electronic mail. “If the automobile and aerospace technology had exploded at the same pace as computer and information technology,” says Microsoft, “a new car would cost about $ 2 and go 600 miles on a small quantity of gas. And you could buy a Boeing 747 for the cost of a pizza.”
Probably the biggest payoff, however, is the billions of dollars the Internet is saving companies in producing goods and serving for the needs of their customers. Nothing like it has been seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when power-driven machines began producing more in a day than men could turn out in nearly a year. “We view the growth of the Internet and e-commerce as a global trend,” says Merrill Lynch, “along the lines of printing press, the telephone, the computer, and electricity.”
You would be hard pressed to name something that isn’t available on the Internet. Consider: books, health care, movie tickets, construction materials, baby clothes, stocks, cattle feed, music, electronics, antiques, tools, real estate, toys, autographs of famous people, wine and airline tickets. And even after you’ve moved on to your final resting place, there’s no reason those you love can’t keep in touch. A company called FinalThoughts.com offers a place for you to store “afterlife e-mails” you can send to Heaven with the help of a “guardian angel”.
Kids today are so computer literate that it in fact ensures the United States will remain the unchallenged leader in cyberspace for the foreseeable(能预测的) future. Nearly all children in families with incomes of more than $75,000 a year have home computers, according to a study by the David and Lucile Pa
ckard Foundation. Youngsters from ages 2 to 17 at all income levels have computers, with 52% of those connected to the Internet. Most kids use computers to play games (some for 30 hours or more a week), and many teenage girls think nothing of rushing home from school to have e-mail chats with friends they have just left.
What’s clear is that, whether we like it or not, the Internet is an
ever growing part of our lives and there is no turning back. “The Internet is just 20% invented,” says cyber pioneer Jake Winebaum. “The last 80% is happening now.”What can we learn from the Microsoft’s remark?
| A．Today’s cars and airplanes are extremely overpriced. |
B．Information technology i s developing at an amazing speed. |
| C．Information technology has reached the point where improvement is difficult. |
| D．There’s more competition in information technology industry than in car industry. |
According to the author, the biggest benefit of the Internet is that___.
| A．it saves companies huge amounts of money | B．it speeds up profit making |
| C．it brings people incredible convenience | D．it provides easy access to information |
The author gives the example of FinalThoughts.com to make the point that____.
| A．there are some genius ideas on the Internet | B．almost anything is available on the Internet |
| C．people can find good bargains on the Internet | D．some websites provide novel services to increase hits |
What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
| A．There is a link between income and computer ownership. |
| B．Many American children don’t put computers to good use. |
| C．Studies show that boys are more computer literate than girls. |
| D．The U.S. will stay ahead in the information technology in years. |
Which sentence has the phrase that possesses the same meaning as the one underlined in the fifth paragraph?
| A．Some can tell you that he has changed their lives, while others think nothing of him. |
| B．Think nothing of it. It was my pleasure. |
| C．He thinks nothing of staying up all night in the Café bar. |
| D．He thinks nothing of the pain in his back for the moment. |
What is the message the author intends to convey?
| A．The Internet is going to get firm hold of our lives some day. |
| B．The Internet is going to influence our lives even more greatly. |
| C．We should have a positive attitude towards the changes the Internet brings. |
| D．Children should be well prepared for the challenges in the information age. |
Social Program: 22nd—26th August 2011
Monday Evening—Study Centre or Sports Park
Study Center: The school will be open from 7:45 pm to 9:35pm.
Sports Park: Aerobics, Swimming or Fitness Training (with a Fitness Card).
Tuesday Evening—Cinema
Cinema: To get your free ticket, you must write down which film you would like to watch. See the leaflet on the board for this evening’s UCI Cinema program. For more information about the films, visit the UCI website www.uci.co.uk or see the film section in this week’s Time Out magazine.
Wednesday Evening—Study Centre of Tennis Coaching
Study Center: The school will be open from 7:35 pm to 9:35 pm.
Tennis Coaching: With former Junior Wimbledon tennis player Stuart Silvester.
Thursday Evening—Chinese Party
Chinese Party: Come along and enjoy the hospitality(好客) of the Chinese students! You can try delicious Chinese food and learn about Chinese traditions. Please note that you should eat your evening meal at your home-stay, as the food is a taster and not a full meal. Non alcoholic and alcoholic drinks will be served.
Friday afternoon—Historical Walking Tour or Sports Parks
Historical Walking Tour: This afternoon you will have the opportunity to visit parts of Norwich you may have otherwise missed, with a professional guide. In medieval(中世纪的) times Norwich was the second most important city in 
England and this afternoon you can learn some of the interesting history of our fine city.
Sports Park: Badminton, Basketball, Fitness Training (with a Fitness Card), Football, Squash, Swimming or Volleyball.
Please sign early if you wish to play any of the sports listed above.You can do all the following things during the weekday except ___________.
| A．going to the cinema | B．going to the Chinese party |
| C．taking a historical walking tour | D．taking a mountain climbing tour |
The passage may probably be found ___________.
| A．in a school’s bulletin board |
B．in a school’s text book |
| C．in a latest newspaper | D．in a fashion magazine |
From the passage we know that ___________.
| A．students have to pay for the film tickets | B．some of the students in the school are Chinese |
| C．Norwich is the second largest city in Britain | D．the school is closed during the daytime |
From the passage we can infer that __________.
| A．students in the school can have access to computers | B．students in the school only have morning classes |
| C．the school often serves Chinese food to students | D．every Friday afternoon the students will have a tour |
After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to him, so I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dick,
My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I will never get to do that. However, I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
Matthew The boy looked forward to meeting the author because _________.
| A．he was also good at weight lifting | B．he wanted to get to the Olympics and win a medal |
| C．he was one of the author’s students | D．he admired the author very much |
The underlined sentence in the third paragraph pr
obably means that _______.
| A．the boy never complained about how unlucky he was to have this disease |
| B．the boy never complained about not being able to go to school |
| C．the boy never complained why the author had never come to see him before |
| D．the boy never complained about not getting a medal |
From the passage we learn that _________.
| A．Matthew was an athlete | B．Matthew was an optimistic and determined boy |
| C．The author used to have the same disease as Matthew had | D．Matthew became a champion before he died |
Matthew didn’t accept the author’s medal because _________.
| A．he thought it was too expensive | B．he was sure that he could win one in the future |
| C．he thought it was of no use to him as he would die soon | D．he would not be pitied by others |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A sick boy. | B．A special friend. | C．A real champion. | D．A famous athlete. |
Bobby Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, a tough working-class neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side. But Hell's Kitchen lies right next door to Broadway, and the bright lights attracted Bobby from the time he was a teen. Being stage-struck was hardly what a street kid could admit to his partners. Fearing their ridicule, he told no one, not even his girlfriend, when he started taking acting lessons at age 17. If you were a kid from the neighborhood, you became a cop, construction worker, longshoreman or criminal. Not an actor.
Moresco struggled to make that long walk a few blocks east. He studied acting, turned out for all the cattle calls -- and during the decade of the 1970s made a total of $2,000. "I wasn't a good actor, but I had a driving need to do something different with my life," he says.
He moved to Hollywood, where he drove a cab and worked as a bartender. "My father said, 'Stop this 
craziness and get a job; you have a wife and daughter.' “But Moresco kept working at his chosen craft.
Then in 1983 his younger brother Thomas was murdered in a mob-linked killing. Moresco moved back to his old neighborhood and started writing as a way to explore the pain and the patrimony of Hell's Kitchen. Half-Deserted Streets, based on his brother's killing, opened at a small Off-Broadway theater in 1988. A Hollywood producer saw it and asked him to work on a screenplay.
His reputation grew, and he got enough assignments to move back to Hollywood. By 2003, he was again out of work and out of cash when he got a call from Paul Haggis, a director who had befriended him. Haggis wanted help writing a film about the country after September 11. The two worked on the writing, but every studio in town turned it down. They kept pitching it. Studio executives, however, thought no one wanted to see a severe, honest vision of race and fear and lives in collision in modern America.
Moresco believed so strongly in the script that he borrowed money, sold his house. He and Haggis kept pushing. At last the writers found an independent film producer who would take a chance, but the upfront money was too little, Moresco delayed his salary.
Crash slipped into the theaters in May 2005, and quietly became both a hit and a critical success. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three -- Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Paul Haggis and the kid from Hell's Kitchen.
At age 54, Bobby Moresco became an overnight success. "If you have something you want to do in life, don't think about the problems," he says, "think about other ways to get it done." Rearrange the following statements in terms of time order:
a. His work Half-Deserted Streets drew attention as it opened at a small Off-Broadway theater
b. Unexpectedly Crash became both a hit and a huge success.
c. He moved to Hollywood to be a taxi driver and a waiter.
d. He started learn acting in spite of hardness with the belief of doing something diiferent.
e. His younger brother Thomas was killed in conflict among bullies.
| A．d; c; e; a; b | B．d; e; c; b; a | C．c; d; e; a; b | D．c; e; d; b; a |
Why Bobby Moresco did not tell anyone that he started taking lessons at age 17?
| A．He wnted to give his girlfriend a surprise. |
| B．His girlfriend did not allow him to do this. |
C．He was afraid of being lau ghed at. |
| D．He had no talent for acting. |
Which of the following sentences is NOT true?
| A．His father did not support his work as a bartender. |
| B．Before he became an overnight success, his life experienced ups and downs. |
| C．His brother’s death inspired his writing Half-Deserted Streets. |
| D．Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen which is a few blocks east of Broadway. |
The Studio executives turned the script Crash down because ______________.
| A．they thought the script would not be popular. |
| B．the script was not well written. |
| C．they had no money to make the film based on the script. |
| D．they thought Moresco was not famous. |
What’s the best title of the article?
| A．The Road to Success | B．Try It a Different Way |
| C．A Talented man—Moresco | D．Moresco’s Perseverance |
Which of the following can best describe Bobby Moresco?
| A．initiative (主动) and persistent | B．shy but hardworking |
| C．caring and brave | D．aggressive and modest |