“Don't worry if you have problems!” It is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one. The only people who don't have troubles are gathered in little neighborhoods. Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries. If you're breathing, you have difficulties. It's the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you! Let me explain.
Maybe you have heard the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef.
On one tour, a traveler asked the guide an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon (泻湖) side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colorful," the traveler observed. Why is this?
The guide gave an interesting answer, "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves and storms. It has to fight for its survival every day. As it is challenged and tested, it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces."
Then he added, “That's the way it is with every living organism.”
That's how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness. So, you have problems? No problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again!"
Remember: A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.Who has no problems according to the passage?
| A．The persons who are very famous. |
| B．The persons who have much money. |
| C．The persons who have been born. |
| D．The persons who are living in the cemeteries. |
In the writer's opinion, ________.
| A．problems bring us much trouble |
| B．problems have two sides, good or bad |
| C．we should try to stay away from any trouble |
| D．the fewer things we do, the less trouble we'll meet |
The reason why lagoon side of the reef has no life is _______.
| A．it hasn't got any sunlight |
| B．it has less energy than others |
| C．it never faces any challenge and tests |
| D．it has no work to do every day |
After reading this passage, we should ________.
| A．regard any problem as challenge |
| B．learn from the lagoon side |
| C．worry your problem |
| D．enter into cemeteries |
Good health is the most valuable thing a person can have, but one cannot take good health for granted. It is important to remember that the body needs proper care in order to be healthy. There are three things that a person can do to help stay in good shape: eat right food ,get enough sleep, and exercise regularly.
Proper nutrition (营养) is important for good health. Your body cannot work well unless it receives the proper kind of “fuel”(燃料).Don't eat too much food with lots of sugar and fat. Eat plenty of foods high in protein ,like meat, fish, eggs and nuts. Vegetables and fruits are very important because they provide necessary vitamins and minerals. However, don't overeat. It is not helpful to be overweight.
Getting the proper amount of sleep is also important. If you don't get enough sleep, you feel tired and easily get angry. You have no energy. Over a long period of time a little a amount of sleep may even result in a change of personality. Be sure to allow yourself from seven to nine hours of sleep each night. If you do, your body will feel strong and refreshed, and your mind will be sharp.
Finally, get plenty of exercise. Exercise firms the body, strengthens the muscles, and prevents you from gaining weight. It also improves your heart and lungs. If you follow a regular exercise program, you will probably increase your life-span (寿命).Any kind of exercise is good. Most sports are excellent for keeping the body in good shapes: basketball, swimming, bicycling, running and so on are good examples. Sports are not only good for your body, but they are enjoyable and interesting, too.
If everybody were to eat the right foods, get plenty of sleep and exercise regularly, the world would be a happier and healthier place. We would all live to be much older and wiser.According to the passage,_______.
| A．we should always keep fit |
| B．if we were healthy, we could spend our days in doing things with less sleep |
| C．one can eat a lot to stay in good shape |
| D．one needn't take any exercise if he is healthy |
In order to keep good health, _______ .
| A．we should eat a lot of sweets | B．one needs a large amount of fat |
| C．people should eat according to the foods nutrition | D．we must try to sleep now and then |
Eating more and sleeping less_______.
| A．can keep healthy | B．is no good for you |
| C．gets you more energy | D．will keep your personality |
The writer explains ______in this passage.
| A．how to eat | B．the importance of doing exercise |
| C．how to keep healthy | D．what to eat |
More than 20 million kids in the United States live with one parent. Separation and divorce are the most common reasons for this. In other cases, the mom and dad may never have lived together, or one of them may have died.
Living with one parent instead of two can bring about a lot of emotions. These feelings can be pretty strong, and they can be confusing, too. You might feel terribly sad and angry because your parents divorced.
Single parents are often working parents because someone needs to earn money to buy food, clothing, and a place to live in. Having a job means your mom or dad is able to provide these things and more for you. People work for other reasons, too. A job can let a person use his or her special talents and skills. A job can be important because it helps people in the community.
But even though you might understand why your mom or dad has to work, sometimes it can be hard to accept. This can be especially true during the summer or school vacations. You’re home, they’re gone, and the days can seem really long.
It can be tough when you don’t have enough time with your dad or mom. When you live with one parent, that person really has to do the work of two people. Besides a job, your mom or dad is responsible for caring for the kids, the house, the yard, the car and the pets. So what can you do ?
One of the best ways is to hold a family meeting. Talk about everyone’s schedule for work, school, and activities. You can also talk about what jobs around the house need to be done every day. You might want to help your parent cook dinner sometimes. That can be both fun and helpful to your parent. Maybe you can also schedule a weekly game or a movie at night.What are the main reasons for kids’ living with one parent?
| A．Separation and divorce. | B．A lot of emotions. |
| C．Working and caring for the kids. | D．Working parents. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Some kids live with one parent for the other’s death. |
| B．Living with one parent can cause a lot of emotions. |
| C．Working means a mom or dad is able to provide things for their kids. |
| D．Kids can also talk about what jobs in their school can be done at a family meeting. |
It can be inferred from the underlined sentence (in Paragraph 4 ) that ______
| A．the kid in the company of friends does want help |
| B．the kid who plays with both parents does need their love |
| C．the kid lacks both parents’ love does feel lonely |
| D．the kid who understands parents’ work does be helpful |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Living with a single parent | B．Single parents and work |
| C．How to work with a single parent | D．Schedules for work |
On a hot African morning, Leila was lying on her stomach and an elephant was walking towards her. Leila waited. Then she pushed the button on her camera. “And I got my best photo of an elephant ever, by lying under my car,” Leila explained. “I wanted to get close to the elephants, but of course this was dangerous; they had their babies with them. So every morning I used to park my car in the open near the path (小道). They used to take the same path every morning when they left the water hole. After a week, they were used to seeing my car. So the next morning, I lay under it and got my photo!”
Many of the best wildlife photos come from good planning. In Africa, photographers set up their hides (隐匿处) near water holes. They also set up hides near forest paths, as animals use the same paths every night. For bird-watching, many lakes have hides. Inside the hides, bird-watchers can watch all day in the shade (荫处) out of the wind and rain.
Good wildlife photos are needed for books, postcards, magazines and newspapers. But a success rate of 1 in 20 is good.Why did Leila lie under her car on the stomach?
| A．Because she wanted to sleep. |
| B．Because she wanted to take photos but was afraid of the animals. |
| C．Because it’s easy to see the elephants. |
| D．Because it’s very comfortable. |
How can photograpers take good photos?
| A．By making good preparation. | B．By going into the forest at night. |
| C．By walking around the holes. | D．By going to the nearest lake. |
Which of the following statements is right according to the passage?
| A．All animals go to water holes at night. |
| B．Lakes are good places for bird-watching. |
| C．Leila used her car to prevent the sunshine. |
| D．Animaals pay no attention to photographers. |
What can we know from the underlined sentence?
| A．The successf rate of taking wildlife photos is 50% at most. |
| B．Photographers who take wildlife photos need more practice. |
| C．To take good wildlife photos is not difficult. |
| D．It’s hard to take good wildlife photos. |
Have you ever noticed someone "talking" to them-selves? What did you think? The word "crazy" probably came to your mind. Wait a minute, though. Maybe they’re doing something meaningful.
Speaking practice can be effective in many different forms when people learn English or another foreign language. Imitating the speech of others is proven to be highly effective in developing a native speaker’s level of fluency in a language. Actually you’ve already proven that to your-self.
How? That’s how you learned your first language! Whether it was English, Spanish, French or some other language, you "imitated" your mother, father, other family members, friends, teachers and whoever else was around making "talking" noises at you as you formed your first communicative language skills.
So don’t think those who are talking to themselves are "crazy". At least don’t do so until you’ve tried it for your-self, in English or in your new foreign language.
As you go through your day, in English or your new foreign language, tell yourself what you’re doing at the moment and what you’re going to do during the day.
"Which of these shirts, ties, etc. should I wear today? Not this one, I wore it just last week. Maybe this one, but I don’t like this color with the pants. Let’s try another one," you might say as you are getting dressed.
If you live alone, you can talk aloud whenever you want without disturbing others. If you don’t live alone, however, then first explain to your family or roommates what you’ll be doing, to avoid a quiet phone call to the local psychiatrist (精神病学家).The author wrote the passage mainly to _______.
| A．tell us how to talk to ourselves |
| B．introduce a method of learning a foreign language |
| C．tell us why some people talk to themselves |
| D．explain to us how we learned our native language |
What does the underlined word "it" in the fifth paragraph refer to?
| A．The word "crazy". | B．A foreign language. |
| C．The skill of communicating. | D．The method of talking to oneself. |
From the passage we can know that ______.
| A．people who talk to themselves are crazy |
| B．if you live alone, you should talk to yourself |
| C．you should tell yourself what you’re doing |
| D．we learned our native language by imitating |
An inventor seeks to create a new product that serves a specific need and fulfills a role that other products do not. Sometimes an inventor comes up with a wholly new idea, but more often inventions are simply improvements on an older design. With a little imagination and creativity (创造力), an old idea can suddenly become something new.
However, creating a new invention means much more than having a brilliant idea. A good designer follows the design process: identifying the challenge, researching and brainstorming ideas(集思广益), designing a solution, testing and evaluating the ideas, and finally building the product. Designers also use science, math, technology, and engineering to design a tool that satisfies the need they identified.
Anyone can be an inventor —even kids! For example, Chester Greenwood was just fifteen years old when he invented a product that changed his life. In fact, his idea was so good that his invention supported him for the rest of his life. You may not know his name, but you probably know his invention —earmuffs (保暖耳罩)!
The inspiration for his earmuff design came to Chester when he was ice-skating. His ears were cold, and he decided to find a way to keep them warm. With the help of his grandmother, he made a new product to protect his ears and at the age of eighteen, Chester patented his earmuff design.
Many other famous inventors started young as well. Margaret Knight —the inventor of the flat-bottomed brown paper bag —is said to have created a safety device for textile looms(织布机) when she was just twelve years old. Another example is Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors in history, who applied for his first patent when he was just twenty-one years old. Over the course of his life, Thomas Edison patented a total of 1,093 inventions!In most cases, an invention ________ according to the first paragraph.
| A．comes from a complete new idea | B．is usually based on an old product or idea |
| C．will change its creator’s life completely | D．is created by scientists in different fields |
The second paragraph mainly wants to tell us _______.
| A．the difficulty in making a new invention | B．the common steps of creating new things |
| C．having a good idea is the key to creation | D．designing a tool is the first step in inventing |
The example of Chester Greenwood is used to show that ________.
| A．children can also invent something |
| B．it is easy even for children to make inventions |
| C．kids have more advantages in inventing things |
| D．to be an inventor is the best way to change one’s life |
At first Chester designed his earmuffs in order to ________.
| A．protect his ears while ice-skating |
| B．earn money to support his poor family |
| C．realize his dream of becoming an inventor |
| D．make himself look fashionable while ice-skating |