The other day I came across a few local musicians and happened to hear them talking：
"I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can't even understand a bit of music."
"I'm never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us."
But one younger musician said, "There are a few clubs that book my band (乐队) a few nights a month, and I'm trying to find other places to play. I'm also looking forward to booking a few summer festivals this year."
It's said that you are the average (平均) of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.
Attitudes（态度） are important. Whether they're positive(积极的)or negative (消极的), they're rubbing off on you. If you're always around people who complain about short of work and about other musicians or say bad words about others, and you play the role of a victim, it's possible that you will start to as well. So it's time to take a look at the people you call "friends", as what kind of friends you have decides what kind of life you are going to live.
This is an easy exercise： Make a list of the people who you often go out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don't become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it and learn from them. Ask if they will help you get the work you're looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path. The musicians' words at the beginning are written mainly to show_______.
| A．the musicians live a poor life |
| B．people have poor taste in music |
| C．people have different attitudes towards the same thing |
| D．young people have greater chances of succeeding |
The underlined sentence "they'll rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 6. means_______.
| A．they'll push you ahead |
| B．they'll have an influence on you |
| C．they'll cover your feelings |
| D．they'll help you succeed |
By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can_______.
| A．improve a lot in making more friends |
| B．plan the time with your friends properly |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．come to the right way of making friends |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．You are who your friends are. |
| B．How to make friendship long. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．Friends are the most important in one's success. |
Long, long ago there was a very foolish thief. Do you know what he did one day? When he wanted to steal (偷) the bell on his neighbor’s door, he walked up to the door, took hold of (抓住) the bell and pulled hard. The bell made a very loud noise. The thief was afraid and went home.
Then he sat down to think, “I must do something about the noise,” he said. He thought and thought. At last he had an idea. “Ah, I’ll put some cotton in my ears. Then I won’t be able to hear the noise.” The next day he went to the door of his neighbor, and took hold of the bell. This time he pulled even harder. The bell rang loudly, but the thief did not hear anything. With another hard pull he got the bell out. Just then the neighbor came running out. “Steal my bell? I’ll teach you a lesson (教训),”the angry man shouted. And he hit the thief on the nose.
The foolish thief did not know how the neighbor found out he was stealing the bell. “Why did he come out just then?” he wondered (感到疑惑).The thief was trying to get .
| A．his neighbor | B．his neighbor’s doorbell |
| C．some cotton | D．a door with a bell on it |
The thief put some cotton in his ears. He thought it would be for him to steal the doorbell.
| A．safe | B．difficult | C．dangerous | D．easy |
The neighbor ran out probably (很可能) because_________.
| A．he knew his doorbell was being stolen |
| B．he thought someone was eager (渴望的) to visit him |
| C．He realized (意识到) something strange happened |
| D．Both B and C |
The neighbor hit the thief to ________.
| A．give him lessons | B．punish (惩罚) him for stealing |
| C．help him with the bell | D．be his teacher |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The thief understood why he was hit on the nose. |
| B．The thief knew why the neighbor came out. |
| C．The thief thought the neighbor could not hear the bell. |
| D．The thief didn’t want to know why the neighbor ran out just at the time he stole the doorbell. |
Michael Jackson is one of the world’s best singers. Michael Jackson was born in the middle west of Gary, Indiana, in 1958. He began singing with his four brothers. They called the group “Jackson Five”. The group became very popular after appearing on a television progam. They started singing in 1965, became popular soon. In 1970 the group made their first record the name of “I Want You Back”. It was very popular. One of their hit records was “Never Say Goodbye”.
Michael was good at dancing as well as singing, for example, his dance moves and moon walking. He was asked to act in a film in 1978 for the first time, in the same year he made a record on his own, which sold eight million copies all over the world.
Michael nearly didn’t go out because he was too famous. Once his fans went off in a faint（晕倒） when they saw him at the concert. No one can do it by now. He lived in a large house and kept lots of animals. He never ate meat. He often raises money for charity. This made him win the Guinness World Records（吉尼斯世界纪录）in 2006. He died on June 25th, 2009, but he would live in our heart forever.What’s the name of their first record?
| A．“Never Say Goodbye” | B．“See You, See Me” |
| C．“I Want You Back” | D．“On the World” |
Michael was good at __________ according to the passage.
| A．rock music | B．street dance |
| C．playing the piano | D．moon walking |
Why did Mochael have to stay at home most of the time?
| A．Because he was too famous |
| B．Because he often felt lonely. |
| C．Because he had no friends |
| D．Because his company asked him to do so |
If someone says to you: “ Give me five”, do not search your pocket to get five yuan! It will make others laugh! The person’s not asking for your money, but your fingers.
In the US, “ give me five” or “ give me the high five” is a popular gesture ( 动作 ). You can see it often in films or on TV. It means the clapping ( 拍 ) of each other’s raised right hands together.
People do it when they meet for the first time or something happy happens. For example, a student has good marks in exams or wins a lottery ticket ( 彩票 ). If a football team wins a game, the players will give high fives to everyone around to celebrate.
This gesture may come from the old Roman gesture of raising the right arm for the king. This showed that the person raising his arm did not have a sword ( 剑 ) in his hand.
Why not try to give the high five to your friends?“ Give me five” is a gesture to ______________.
| A．ask for money | B．celebrate success |
| C．search one’s pocket | D．play |
The gesture “ give me five” is the clapping of _________.
| A．toes | B．hands | C．arms | D．legs |
When you ________, you give your friends high fives.
| A．lose your money | B．go back home |
| C．win a football game | D．do badly in exams |
The gesture started in _______ according to the story.
| A．Rome | B．America | C．China | D．Britain |
Why did the Romans raise the right arm for the emperor? Because ________.
| A．they were proud of their emperor |
| B．they were happy to see the emperor |
| C．they wanted to show there were no swords in their hands |
| D．We don’t know |
Once there was an old farmer. He had a horse and the horse was almost as old as himself. One morning he set out with his young son to sell the horse before it died. The father and the son walked because the farmer did not want the horse to be too tired.
They met two men on the road. They said, “Why are you walking, farmer? You have a horse. It’s a long way to get to the market. ” The farmer knew that this was true, so he rode on the horse while his son walked.
Then they met two old ladies. “What are you doing up there, farmer? Can’t you see how tired your son is? ”So the farmer got down, and let his son ride on it.
Twenty minutes later, three old men stopped them. One said, “Why are you walking, farmer? Get up. It’s too hot for an old man like you to walk today. ” So the farmer got up behind his son and they went on riding.
Some time later, a young woman passed them. “Why aren’t you walking? ” she asked, “It isn’t far to the market. Give your poor old horse a rest. ”So the farmer and his son got down once again. It is a fact that you cannot please all the people all the time.The farmer was______.
| A．nearly the same age as his horse |
| B．almost always older than his horse |
| C．not quite as old as his horse |
| D．a little older than his horse |
The two men on the road________.
| A．asked how far it was to the market |
| B．said they thought the horse looked very tired |
| C．asked why the farmer was not riding on his horse |
| D．told the farmer’s son to get off the horse and walk |
The two old ladies said it was wrong for_________ .
| A．the farmer to ride such a tired horse |
| B．the farmer to ride while his young son walked |
| C．the boy to ride instead of his father |
| D．only one person to ride such a long way |
The farmer got up behind his son because_________.
| A．the old farmer said it was too hot for him to walk |
| B．the three old men stopped them on the road |
| C．he did hot know why he was walking |
| D．his son could not ride the horse by himself |
What did the writer really want to tell us?
| A．The old man was a fool. |
| B．The horse was old and was going to die. |
| C．It is not right to listen to others. |
| D．It is impossible for a man to make everyone satisfied（满意）all the time. |
Old age may not sound exciting. But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older. Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of 50. In fact, they say by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were when they were 18 years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of 18 and 85. The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 24 and 25. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
The study also showed that men and women have similar feeling patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their feelings. They so spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.According to the survey of the Gallup Organization people are most likely to become happier .
| A．when they are between the ages of 18 and 85 | B．when they come to their old age |
| C．when they are in their twenties | D．when they are 18 years old |
You may have the highest level of stress when you are at the age of .
| A．20 | B．25 | C．35 | D．40 |
According to Arthur Stone, old people may .
| A．have a positive attitude towards their life | B．know how to spend money wisely |
| C．dream about good things every day | D．control their behaviors better |
Who would probably show the greatest interest in the passage?
| A．Those who are worried about getting old | B．Those who are single and unemployed |
| C．Those who feel unhappy all the time | D．Those who suffer from mental stress |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Getting Older Means Getting Happier | B．The Young Are Happier Than the Old |
| C．Women Are Easier to Be Happy in Life | D．The Younger, the Happier |