Think of life as a game in which you are playing with five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit and you keep all of them in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce (弹跳) back.
But the other four balls, family, health, friends and spirit, are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be broken. They will never be the same. You must understand that and try to have balance in your life. How?
Don’t look down on your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special.
Don’t let other people set goal for you. Only you know what is best for yourself.
Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Don’t be afraid of difficulties. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible. The quickest way to receive love is to give it; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; the best way to keep love is to give it wings(翅膀).
Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.
Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is a treasure you can always carry easily.
Don’t use time or words carelessly. You can’t get them back. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that’s why we call it “the present”. Life is not a competition, but a trip, step by step.The passage tells us not to _________ because everyone is special.
| A.be afraid of difficulties |
| B.be afraid to learn |
| C.run through life so fast |
| D.compare yourself with others to look down on your worth |
The sentence “Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.” means that _______.
| A.Nothing is possible |
| B.If we don’t give up, there is always hope |
| C.You should learn to give up |
| D.Although you try, nothing will change. |
Why can’t we use time carelessly? ___________
| A.Because time is too expensive. |
| B.Because time never returns. |
| C.Because we are too poor. |
| D.Because times will get back. |
If you run through life so fast, you will ____________.
| A.lose your own treasure that you can always carry easily |
| B.lose love by holding it too tightly |
| C.forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going. |
| D.not afraid of the difficulties |
The findings of a new survey have American professors talking about the good old days—when A's were a lot tougher to earn.
Sites like Rate My Professors.com make it easy for students to find a class taught by a professor who is known as an "easy grader".A recent survey by Kaplan Test Prep found that 46 percent of the more than 1,200 students polled admitted to using the site for just such a purpose.
"Our research shows that many of today's college students are looking at multiple factors when picking out courses: overall teacher quality that will result in a good learning experience, but also instructors who don't like to award a lot of C's and D's," said Jeff Olson, vice president of research at Kaplan Test Prep.
"While it makes sense that students would choose kinder graders, it also helps explain the recent popularity of grade inflation(膨胀)."
Grade inflation is seen by many professors as poisoning the learning environment.Some, like former Duke University professor Stuart Rojstaczer, are righting it head-on.
On his website, Gradelnflation.com, he releases an annual list of schools where grade inflation is the worst.
This year, he decided to name the schools where grades were inflated the least.He praised, for example, Princeton University, as well as Purdue University, where the average GPA has remained around 2.8 for over 30 years.
"Purdue doesn't even seem to know that grade inflation exists in the US," Rojstaczer says."Ignorance is bliss(极大的幸福)."Grade inflation is spreading because _____.
| A.it's poisoning the learning environment |
| B.instructors intend to improve their overall teaching quality |
| C.many instructors adapt to the students' expectations |
| D.students get easy access to sites like RateMyProfessors.com |
The passage suggests that _____.
| A.universities will employ hard graders |
| B.if we want to be happy, we should be ignorant |
| C.A's are becoming easy to earn at most US universities |
| D.professors and instructors should give students higher grades |
The writer tends to _____.
| A.favor easy graders | B.see grade inflation as unavoidable |
| C.oppose Kaplan Test Prep | D.miss the days when A's were hard to earn |
I am sure that everybody in his/her life has used computers.Nowadays you can feel their presence everywhere—at home,at school,at work and they certainly make life easier.On the other hand,there are people who can work without them.
Anyway, I believe their presence is a good thing.Life with them seems less difficult and more comfortable.You can use them to choose your meal,to withdraw your money,and also to save your time,because these operations are all controlled by computers.Therefore,you can hardly imagine the modern world without them;the whole planet seems to be one big computer society.
Nevertheless,problems can often appear in this area,too.To have a computer means you have to be quite rich and have the necessary skills to use it.However, think about questions like,“Are computers available for everyone, for rich and poor people,for people from villages and people from cities? Aren’t they too expensive? Is everyone able to learn how to use them and does everyone have the chance to access and work with them? How could everything in the future be dependent on them?” Therefore,I think our society will be divided into two parts.One part will work with them and enjoy the benefits that computers can bring and the other part will be pushed out of society and will actually be left far behind the other group.
Another question that bothers me is,computers are important and they’re good things in our life, but they aren’t everything. They are good as a help at school, quite often as entertainment, especially for young people, as an necessary tool to help in research etc. , but I think we shouldn’t be so dependent on them, because computers are only machines and machines can’t feel anything, can’t be human and sympathetic, and every action performed by computer can be interfered(干涉) with could cause these machines to crash or work badly.
In conclusion, I would like to say I am not against computers. I use computers too, but people should be wary all the time.Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?

①="Paragraph" ②="Paragraph2" ③="Paragraph" 3 ④Paragraph4 ⑤=Paragraph5By saying“wary”(in the last paragraph),the author is trying to say,“People should”.
| A.be strongly for the use of computers because of its convenience |
| B.be careful with computers that will also cause problems |
| C.master more necessary computer skills |
| D.not do something that causes computers to work badly |
In the third paragraph,the author presents his idea by.
| A.asking questions for people to think about |
| B.giving examples to support his argument |
| C.raising questions and answering them |
| D.expressing his opinion directly |
The author’s main purpose in writing the passage is to.
| A.encourage us to use computers in our society |
| B.advise us to say no to computers from now on |
| C.remind us to care about the problems that computers bring |
| D.inform us that computers has become a necessary part of our life |
I used to believe in the American dream that meant a job, credit, success.I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us separately chasing the same thing.
One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell apart.I found myself homeless and alone.I had my truck and $56.I searched the countryside for some place I could rent for the cheapest possible amount.I came upon a deserted cottage in a small remote valley.I hadn't been alone for 25 years.I was scared, but I hoped the hard work would distract and heal me.
I found the owner and rented the place for $50 a month.The locals knew nothing about me.But slowly they started teaching me the art of being a neighbor.They dropped off blankets, tools and canned deer meat and began sticking around to chat.They would ask if I wanted to meet cousin Albie or go fishing.They started to teach me a belief in a different American dream, not the one of individual achievement but of neighborliness.Men would stop by with wild berries, ice cream, truck parts to see if I was up for courting.I wasn't, but they were civil anyway.The women on that mountain worked harder than any I'd ever met.They taught me how to store food in the stream and keep it cold and safe.I learned to keep enough for an extra plate for company.
What I had believed in, all those things I thought were necessary for a civilized life, were non-existent in this place.Up on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my relationships with my neighbors.
After four years in that valley, I moved back into town.I saw a lot of people were having a really hard time, losing their jobs and homes.With the help of a real estate broker (房地产经纪人) I chatted up at the grocery store, I managed to rent a big enough house to take in a handful of people.It's four of us now, but over time I've had nine come in and move on to other places from here.We'd all be in shelters if we hadn't banded together.
The American dream I believe in now is a shared one.It's not so much about what I can get for myself; it's about how we can all get by together.Before a series of unhappy events happened, the writer ____.
| A.had a well-paid job |
| B.worked hard for his American dream |
| C.worked hard and liked to share |
| D.felt hopeless about his American dream |
What does the underlined sentence "I learned to..." in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
| A.The writer learned to run a company. |
| B.The writer learned to share with others. |
| C.The writer learned to keep enough plates. |
| D.The writer learned to save money for his company. |
Why did the writer rent a big house?
| A.To make some money. | B.To show off his wealth. |
| C.To share with those people in need. | D.To make friends with his neighbors. |
The writer mainly tells us about ____.
| A.his unhappy experiences | B.the friendly people in the valley |
| C.the change of his living conditions | D.his new idea of the American dream |
阅读下列短文并按要求回答问题(共3小题,满分7分)
In China, more and more middle school students are getting shorter sleeping time than before. Most students sleep less than nine hours every night, because they have much homework to do. Some homework is given by their teachers, and some by their parents. Also, some students don’t know how to save time. They are not careful enough while they do their homework, so it takes them a lot of time. Some students spend too much time watching TV or playing computer games. They stay up(熬夜) very late. Some students have to get up early every morning on weekdays to get to school on time by bus or by bike. It can be a long way from home to school. It will probably make them sleepy(困的) during school hours.
Schools and parents should cut down some of the homework so that our children can enjoy more than nine hours of sleep every night for their health. For children, they should make the most (best use ) of their time. When they have enough time for sleeping , they will find it much better for both their study and health.According to the passage, who else gives children some homework to do besides their teachers? (no more than 2 words)
________________________________________________________________How many hours of sleep is good for students’ health? (no more than 4 words)
_____________________________________________________________What is most likely to happen to a student who often goes to bed late and gets up early? (no more than 7 words)
______________________________________________________________
阅读下面短文,从每题所给的四个选项中,选出最佳答案。
This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers(young people aged from13~19)from all over the world will spend about ten months in U.S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected—much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.
“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize(批评)American schools,” he said. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”This year ________teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.
| A.twenty-three hundred |
| B.thirteen hundred |
| C.over three thousand |
| D.less than two thousand |
The whole exchange programme is mainly to__________.
| A.help teenagers in other countries know the real America |
| B.send students in America to travel in Germany |
| C.let students learn something about other countries |
| D.have teenagers learn new languages |
Fred and Mike agree that__________.
| A.America food tasted better than German food |
| B.German schools were harder than American schools |
| C.Americans and Germans were both friendly |
| D.There were more cars on the streets in America |
What is particular in American schools is that________.
| A.there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings |
| B.there are a lot of after-school activities |
| C.students usually take fourteen subjects in all |
| D.students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car |