Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity. But, it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. In her biography, she remembers with great fondness when her good friend, Sean, whom she met in secondary school, became the first person to encourage her and help build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
"He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it, which pieant much more to me than I ever told him at the time. "
Despite many setbacks Rowling persevered in her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until 1990 that she first conceived the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that " the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my immense frustration （沮丧），I didn't have a functioning pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four （delayed train） hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me. "
That same year, her mother passed away after a ten-year battle with multiple sclerosis, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression. Unemployed, she completed her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being rejected by 12publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her commitment to writing that was fostered by the confidence of a friend ！Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter __________.
| A．at the age of 6 |
| B．on a train journey |
| C．after her mother's death |
| D．in her secondary school |
She felt frustrated on the train because __________.
| A．her train was delayed for four hours |
| B．she didn't have a pen with her |
| C．her mind suddenly went blank |
| D．no one would offer her help |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is __________.
| A．open-minded | B．warm-hearted |
| C．good-natured | D．strong-willed |
The text mainly tells us __________.
| A．hardship makes a good novelist |
| B．the courage to try is a special ability |
| C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere |
| D．encouragement contributes to one's success |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The voyage through the wormhole is a considerable challenge. |
| B．A team of crime-fighters uncovers a criminal plot in Big Hero. |
| C．President Coin pushes Katniss to protest Peeta. |
| D．Penguins have to wrestle with problems in District 13. |
The similarity that exists in the four films is that ________.
| A．each of them is a branch of film series |
| B．all of them are concerned with positive energy |
| C．they all have the best actors and actresses in the world |
| D．the four films all have something to do with exploration |
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
A consumercomplaint or customer complaint isan expression of dissatisfaction on a consumer’s behalf to a responsible party. It can also be described in a positive sense as a report from a consumer providing documentation about problems with a product or service.
So what are the common reasons for customer complaints? The most common complaints about retail(零售) storesfall into several aspects. First, they have to circle the filled parking lot endlessly, which is a waste of time and a test for their patience. They also can’t stand clutteredshelves, over-loaded racks, out-of-stock items and long check-out lines. Worst of all, sometimes some salespeople are rude, turning their mood into a bad one.
In fact, some modern business consultants urge businesses to view customer complaints as a gift but not a trouble.Some retailers, however,ignore complaints or deal with them dishonestly, which can cause a chain of events like bad reputation, leave theirbusiness with fewer and fewer customers. The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.In the most severe cases, it can even cause companies to shut down.
Increasing competition is forcing companies to take more effective measures to satisfycustomers and better their customer service.During peak shopping hours, some moonlighting(业余兼职的) local police have been employed as parking attendants bysome retailers to solve the parking problems. Some hire flag wavers to direct customers to parking spaces that are empty. This guidance can avoid confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.Retailers can relieve the headache by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring the cashiers with much experience, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions.Most importantly, salespeople should be trained to deal with angry customerswith politeness.Try their best to resolve the problem if they can.
Quickly and properly solving customer complaints can help retailers smooth over issues and their business can grow and prosper.
How many times a day do you check your email? When you wake up? Before bed? A dozen times in between? The technology that was supposed to simplify our lives has become the vital time-suck: the average teen spends more than seven hours a day using technological devices, plus an additional hour just text-messaging friends.
The advantage of technological devices is connectedness: email lets us respond on the go, and we are in touch with more people during more hours of the day than at any other time in history. But is it possible we’re more lonely than ever, too? That’s what MIT professor Sherry Turkle observes in her new book, Alone Together, a fascinating portrait of our changing relationship with technology. Turkle details the ways technology has redefined our comprehension of closeness and loneliness—and warns us of the danger of accepting such virtual(虚拟的) relationships in place of lasting emotional connections.
For Turkle, the biggest worry is the effect all these shallow connections have on our development. Is technology offering us the lives we want to live? “We’re texting people at a distance,” says Turkle, “We’re using lifeless objects to convince ourselves that even when we’re alone, we feel together. And then when we’re with each other, we put ourselves in situations where we are alone—constantly on our mobile devices. It’s what I call a perfect storm of confusion about what’s important in our human connections.”
What can’t be denied is that technology, whatever its faults, makes life a whole lot easier. It allows us to communicate with more people in less time and makes conversation simple. But it can also be seductive(具有诱惑性的), providing more stimulation than our natural lives. There are usually some unhealthy videos online which remove teenagers’ attention from their schoolwork. Besides, some online activities make people addicted, which occupied their daily life and affected their ability to form real-world relationships.“Technology can be more immediately satisfying than the labor of building an intimate relationship,” said one highschool student, “Every time I text, I start to have some happy feelings.”
But are any of those feelings equal to the kind we feel when engaged in real, face-to-face communication? Online, you can neglect others’ feelings. In a text message, you can avoid eye contact. A number of studies have found that this generation of teens is less sympathetic than ever. That doesn’t spell disaster, says Turkle—but，From the first paragraph we can infer that_________.
| A．email checking helps people wake up early |
| B．technological device production has been simplified |
| C．using technological devices costs teens much time |
| D．people communicate mainly by text-messaging now |
Turkle’s new book mainly discussed________.
| A．ways to draw a fascinating portrait |
| B．how technology influences human relationships |
| C．the dangers of accepting emotional connections |
| D．the advantages of technology |
What worries Turkle most is that more and more people are_________.
| A．starting to accept emotional connections in place of virtual connections |
| B．convincing themselves by using fewer lifeless objects in connections |
| C．dropping the use of technological devices for connection with each other |
| D．being affected by the shallow connections through the mobile devices |
Which of the following is True according to the passage?
| A．Others’ feelings can be ignored in online communication. |
| B．No stimulation is provided in natural life connections. |
| C．People always send text messages to avoid eye contact. |
| D．It may be a disaster that teens are less sympathetic than ever. |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To instruct people how to do with emails. |
| B．To stress the importance of technology. |
| C．To promote a wider use of technological devices. |
| D．To lead us to consider what’s important in human connections. |
The snow cap of Mount Kilimanjaro, famous in literature and beloved by tourists, initially formed some 11,000 years ago, but will be gone in two decades, according to researchers who say the ice fields on Africa’s highest mountain shrank by 80 percent in the past century.
Lonnie G. Thompson,one professor from Ohio State University, said measurements using modern navigation satellites show that the oldest ice layers on the famous mountain were deposited during an extremely wet period starting about 11,700 years ago.The mountain appears in literature, most notably Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and some ancient beliefs in Africa hold the mountain to be a sacred place.
But a temperature rise in recent years is destroying the 150-foot-high blocks of ice that gave Kilimanjaro its unique white cap.“The ice will be gone by about 2030,” said Thompson. The disappearing ice already has reduced the amount of water in some Tanzanian rivers and the government fears that when Kilimanjaro is bald of snow the tourists will stop coming.
“Kilimanjaro is the number one foreign currency earner for the government of Tanzania,” said Thompson. “It has its own international airport and some 20,000 tourists every year. The question is how many will come if there are no ice fields on the mountain.”
Africa was not alone in the global drought. Thompson said other records show that civilizations during this period collapsed in India, the Middle East and South America.
Researchers put markers on the ice field blocks in 1962 and Thompson said measurements using satellites show the summit of the ice has been lowered by about 56 feet in 40 years. The margin of the ice also has moved back more than six feet in the past two years, much smaller than before.
“That’s more than two meter’s worth of ice lost from a wall 164 feet (50 meters) high,” said Thompson. “That’s an enormous amount of ice.”The snow cap of Mount Kilimanjaro ________.
| A．will disappear in two centuries |
| B．first developed some 11,000 years ago |
| C．resulted in a temperature rise in recent years |
| D．has decreased to 80 percent over the past century |
According to Thompson, the disappearing of the snow may mainly influence________.
| A．the local water supply |
| B．the local tourism |
| C．the weather in the surrounding areas |
| D．the government foreign currency exchange |
The underlined word “margin”inParagraph6 means__________.
| A．center | B．Top | C．edge | D．back |
The writer’s tone in this article is___________.
| A．concerned | B．casual |
| C．doubtful | D．angry |
Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A．Risks of Visiting Mount Kilimanjaro |
| B．ASacred Place— Kilimanjaro |
| C．Africa’s Highest Mountain |
| D．Kilimanjaro Snow Cap May Melt Soon |
Karl Fleming joined the military because he needed a change in his life. He had a successful career with a shipping company but he wanted to do something more. He found that something in the U.S. army. Fleming began his service in 2009 and never looked back.
A few years later, Fleming volunteered to go to Afghanistan. There, he worked as a bodyguard for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He enjoyed it, except for the almost-nightly rocket attacks. Karl was never hit directly by a rocket, but he didn’t need to be to feel its effects. The rockets caused severe shaking, shaking so bad that Fleming was left with many injuries. He was also diagnosed with concussions(脑震荡) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD).
Fleming said he was down but not out. Once he returned from Afghanistan, Fleming underwent one test after another. At first, Fleming said he thought he could recover or be able to return to duty and realize his dream of becoming an officer. But then came the news he had never imagined: Fleming would never be an officer because he was too injured to continue.
Fleming said he was depressed after learning his military career was over. Add that to the memory loss, extreme anxiety and the many painful medical procedures he was already experiencing. He rarely ventured outside on the weekend. Instead, he preferred to sleep in. All that changed, however, with Fleming’s service dog, Kuchar.
Fleming said he had heard dogs could help people suffering from PTSD, so he started doing research. Karl eventually selected K9s for Warriors, which is where he met Kuchar, a yellow lab. Fleming and Kuchar trained together for weeks, before returning to Fort Benning. K9s for Warriors provided Fleming with Kuchar and the training for free.
Life with Kuchar has been life-changing. Fleming doesn’t sleep in any more because Kuchar won’t let him. Instead, they venture out into a world Karl was once afraid of — a world for Fleming that now seems impossible to imagine without Kuchar by his side.Karl Fleming joined the army because ___________.
| A．he had a successful career |
| B．he loved to be a soldier |
| C．he wanted to have a change |
| D．he expected to work in a shipping company |
From Paragraph 2, we can learn Karl Fleming was __________.
| A．forced to go to Afghanistan |
| B．struck directly by a rocket one day |
| C．satisfied with everything in the army |
| D．injured because of the shaking from the rockets |
Fleming suffered from the following illnesses except ___________.
| A．concussions | B．PTSD |
| C．memory loss | D．a heart attack |
Karl Fleming recovered with the help of ___________.
| A．an experienced bodyguard | B．a well-trained dog |
| C．a laboratory engineer | D．a military officer |
The passage is mainly about Fleming’s__________.
| A．change of life | B．service in the military |
| C．medical procedures | D．experiences in Afghanistan |