My mother loves flowers. As soon as warm weather comes around, you will find her planting, watering and weeding over everything .For many years we lived next door to each other, and she spent as much time in my garden as she did her own. After the flowers became plentiful each summer, she would cut colorful bouquets(花束)to enjoy inside the house—both hers and mine . I would often come home from work and find a beautiful arrangement(布置)of fresh flowers on my coffee table.
Shortly before Christmas one year, a local flower shop offered a bouquet-a-month special. It seemed to be a great way to thank her for all of the flowers she had given me through the years.
After the holidays, in early January, I drove her to the flower shop to pick up her first month’s bouquet. the small fresh colorful bouquet would hardly fill a small vase(花瓶).
I was so embarrassed(尴尬的).However, after we returned home, she began to arrange the flowers she had received.“Mom, I’m sorry, ”I told her.“I can’t believe how skimpy that bouquet is.”She looked at me and smiled.“It’s okay,”she said“It allows me to better enjoy the beauty of each one.”
Mom’s words helped me to realize something bigger and more important—when we have too many good things, we often fail to enjoy the beauty of each one.
Thanks, Mom ,for helping me understand that less is sometimes more.According to paragraph 1 ,which of the following is TRUE?
A.The author’s mother put fresh flowers on the author’s coffee table. |
B.The author used to buy some fresh flowers on her way home. |
C.The author’s mother usually bought flowers for her daughter. |
D.The author and her mother shared a beautiful garden. |
The author bought her mother flowers to_______.
A.celebrate the coming Christmas |
B.express thanks for all her mother’s done |
C.bring more flowers to her mother’s garden |
D.arrange her mother’s new house |
The underlined word“skimpy”in Paragraph 4 means_______.
A.beautiful | B.colorful | C.cheap | D.small |
What did the author learn from her mother?
A.How to grow flowers. |
B.How to arrange flowers |
C.Enjoying life if possible |
D.Considering things in other ways. |
阅读A、B、C三篇材料,然后从各小题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。
There was once a man called Mr.Flowers, and flowers were his only joy in life.He spent all his free time in one of his four glass-houses and grew flowers of every color, with long and difficult names, for competitions.He tried to grow a rose of a new color to win the silver cup (银杯) for the Rose of the Year.
Mr.Flowers’ glass-houses were very near to a middle school.Boys of around thirteen of age were often tempted (引诱) to throw a stone or two at one of Mr.Flowers’ glass-houses.So Mr.Flowers did his best to be in or near his glass-houses at the beginning and end of the school day.
But it was not always possible to be on watch at those times.Mr.Flowers had tried in many ways to protect his glass, but nothing that he had done had been useful.He had been to school to report to the headmaster; but this had not done any good.He had tried to drive away the boys that threw stones into his garden; but the boys could run faster than he could, and they laughed at him from far away.He had even picked up all the stones that he could find around his garden, so that the boys would have nothing to throw; but they soon found others.
At last Mr.Flowers had a good idea.He put up a large notice (布告) made of good, strong wood, some meters away from the glass-houses.On it he had written the words: DO NOT THROW STONES AT THIS NOTICE.After this, Mr.Flowers had no further trouble; the boys were much more tempted to throw stones at the notice than at the glass-houses.It was Mr.Flowers’ hope to ________.
A.build glass-houses in his free time |
B.grow the Rose of the Year in a silver cup |
C.win a silver cup for growing a rose of a new color |
D.grow a rose with the longest name |
Boys were often tempted to ________.
A.throw stones at Mr.Flowers’ glass-house |
B.throw stones at Mr.Flowers from their school |
C.be in or near by Mr.Flowers’ glass-houses |
D.play with Mr.Flowers near his glass-houses |
Mr.Flowers stayed in or near by his glass-houses _______.
A.at times when school-boys were walking near them |
B.all the school day when there were no boys about |
C.where he could not be seen by the boys passing |
D.at the beginning and end of the school day |
Mr.Flowers had tried to ______ to protect his glass.
A.be on watch in his free time |
B.ask the headmaster for help |
C.pick up all the stones around his garden |
D.do all the above |
Mr.Flowers’ good idea was to ______.
A.write some words on the glass |
B.put up a large notice to cover his glass-houses |
C.give the boys something else to throw stones at |
D.send for policemen |
阅读A、B、C三篇材料,然后从各小题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。
Typhoons (台风) in the northern part of the world have girls’ names.Sometimes they have very beautiful names.Rose is a pretty name but there was nothing pretty about Typhoon Rose.It was the worst typhoon to hit Hong Kong in ten years.
It began to rain in the morning of Monday, August 16th, 1971.At ten o’clock in the morning, Typhoon Rose was still 130 miles away but already the wind was blowing people’s umbrella away.The wind became stronger and stronger.The typhoon shelters (避风港) were soon full of boats.Ships that were too big to go inside the shelters put down more anchors (锚).Some very big ships went out to sea.It is safer for a big ship to be at sea in a typhoon because it cannot be blown onto rocks.Kai Tak Airport closed.No planes were able to take off or land.At 9:00 in the evening, all the lights went out.
No one slept well that night.It is difficult to sleep in such bad weather.
In Typhoon Rose, more than one hundred people died.229 people were hurt and 66 of these had to go to hospital.1500 lost their homes.The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose!What’s true according to the passage?
A.Typhoons all over the world have girls’ names. |
B.Typhoons with pretty names are usually beautiful. |
C.Typhoon Rose only hit Hong Kong. |
D.For ten years, people in Hong Kong haven’t seen a worse typhoon than Typhoon Rose. |
What’s the possible result of Typhoon Rose?
A.Lots of big shops were blown onto rocks. |
B.More than two hundred people lost their lives and many more lost their homes. |
C.People didn’t sleep well in such bad weather. |
D.People turned off the lights at 9:00 in the evening. |
The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose because ____________.
A.it caused the terrible losses(损失) |
B.they didn’t sleep well that night |
C.Typhoon Rose wasn’t as pretty as its name |
D.they couldn’t find their ships after the typhoon |
Some big ships didn’t go inside the shelters because _______.
A.they had more anchors |
B.it is safer outside |
C.they were out at sea and they weren’t fast enough to reach the shelters when Typhoon Rose came |
D.it was too expensive for big ships to go inside the shelters |
This passage is mainly about ______.
A.the names of typhoons |
B.typhoons in Hong King |
C.Typhoon Rose |
D.the typhoons |
阅读A、B、C三篇材料,然后从各小题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。
The Winter Olympics is also called the White Olympics.At this time, many colorful stamps are published to mark the great Games.The first stamps marking the opening came out on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics.From then on, publishing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule.
During the 4th Winter Olympic Games a group of stamps were published in Germany in November 1936.The five rings of Olympics were drawn on the front of the sportswear.It was the first time that the rings appeared on the stamps of the White Olympics.
In the 1950s, the stamps of this kind became more colorful.When the White Olympics came, the host countries as well as the non-host countries published stamps to mark those Games.China also published four stamps in February 1980, when the Chinese sportsmen began to take part in the White Olympics.
Japan is an Asian country that has ever held the White Olympics.Altogether 14,500 million stamps were sold to raise money for this sports meet.
Different kinds of sports were drawn on these small stamps.People can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful movements of some sportsmen.The White Olympics and the Winter Olympics _______.
A.are the same thing |
B.are different games |
C.are not held in winter |
D.are held in summer |
The world made it a rule to publish stamps to mark the great world Games ______.
A.after the year 1936 |
B.after the 3rd Winter Olympics |
C.before the 3rd White Olympics |
D.before the year 1932 |
The Winter Olympics is held once ________.
A.every two years |
B.every three years |
C.every four years |
D.every five years |
Which of the following is true?
A.Only the host countries can publish stamps to mark those Games. |
B.Only the non-host countries can publish stamps to mark those Games. |
C.All the countries can publish stamps to mark those Games. |
D.Japan can’t publish stamps to mark those Games. |
What may appear on the stamps of the White Olympics?
A.Basketball |
B.Table tennis. |
C.Football |
D.Skating. |
Almost every day we come across situations in which we have to make decisions one way or another. Choice, we are given to believe, is a right. But for a good many people in the world, in rich and poor countries, choice is a luxury, something wonderful but hard to get, not a right. And for those who think they are exercising their right to make choices, the whole system is merely an illusion, a false idea created by companies and advertisers hoping to sell their products.
The endless choice gives birth to anxiety in people's life. Buying something as basic as a coffee pot is not exactly simple. Easy access to a wide range of everyday goods leads to a sense of powerlessness in many people, ending in the shopper giving up and walking away, or just buying an unsuitable item that is not really wanted. Recent studies in England have shown that many electrical goods bought in almost every family are not really needed. More difficult decision-making is then either avoided or trusted into the hands of the professionals, lifestyle instructors, or advisors.
It is not just the availability of the goods that is the problem, but the speed with which new types of products come on the market. Advances in design and production help quicken the process. Products also need to have a short lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The typical example is computers, which are almost out-of-date once they are bought. This indeed makes selection a problem. Gone are the days when one could just walk with ease into a shop and buy one thing: no choice, no anxiety. What does the author try to argue in Paragraph 1?
A.The exercise of rights is a luxury. |
B.The practice of choice is difficult. |
C.The right of choice is given but at a price. |
D.Choice and right exist at the same time. |
Why do more choices of goods give rise to anxiety?
A.Professionals find it hard to decide on a suitable product. |
B.People are likely to find themselves overcome by business persuasion. |
C.Shoppers may find themselves lost in the broad range of items. |
D.Companies and advertisers are often misleading about the range of choice. |
By using computers as an example, the author wants to prove _______.
A.advanced products meet the needs of people |
B.products of the latest design flood the market |
C.competitions are fierce in high-tech industry |
D.everyday goods need to be replaced often |
What is the passage mainly about?
A.The variety of choices in modern society. |
B.The opinions on people's right in different countries. |
C.The problem about the availability of everyday goods. |
D.The helplessness in purchasing decisions. |
It was the summer of 1965. DeLuca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked DeLuca about his plans for the future. “I’m going to college, but I need a way to pay for it,” DeLuca recalls saying. “Buck said, ‘You should open a sandwich shop.’”
That afternoon, they agreed to be partners. And they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $1000. DeLuca rented a storefront (店面) in Connecticut, and when they couldn’t cover their start-up costs, Buck kicked in another $1000.
But business didn’t go smoothly as they expected. DeLuca says, “After six months, we were doing poorly, but we didn’t know how badly, because we didn’t have any financial controls.” All he and Buck knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.
DeLuca was managing the store and going to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They’d meet Monday evenings and brainstorm ideas for keeping the business running. “We convinced ourselves to open a second store. We figured we could tell the public, ‘We are so successful, we are opening a second store.’” And they did—in the spring of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.
But the partners’ learn-as-you-go approach turned out to be their greatest strength. Every Friday, DeLuca would drive around and hand-deliver the checks to pay their suppliers. “It probably took me two and a half hours and it wasn’t necessary, but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and the personal relationships established really helped out,” DeLuca says.
And having a goal was also important. “There are so many problems that can get you down. You just have to keep working toward your goal,” DeLuca adds.
DeLuca ended up founding Subway Sandwich, the multimillion-dollar restaurant chain.DeLuca opened the first sandwich shop in order to ______.
A.support his family |
B.pay for his college education |
C.help his partner expand business |
D.do some research |
What can we learn about their first shop?
A.It stood at an unfavorable place. |
B.It lowered the prices to promote sales. |
C.It made no profits due to poor management. |
D.It lacked control over the quality of sandwiches. |
They decided to open a second store because they _______.
A.had enough money to do it |
B.had succeeded in their business |
C.wished to meet the increasing demand of customers |
D.wanted to make believe that they were successful |
What contribute most to their success according to the author?
A.Learning by trial and error. |
B.Making friends with suppliers. |
C.Finding a good partner |
D.Opening chain stores. |