We all think that we know what happiness is. We all seem to be making great efforts towards this goal of happiness but what is it really? It is an agreed fact that all the creatures want happiness and are afraid of pain and sadness. The question, however, is “what is real happiness?” What really is called happiness? The desire for happiness has no meaning without understanding the real nature of happiness.
Some thinkers say, “Happiness does not lie in objects of enjoyment; happiness or unhappiness lies in imagination.”
To prove their belief, they give examples like the following one: A man has a two-storey house; on the right is a five-storey building and on the left a cottage. When he sees right, he feels unhappy and when he sees left he feels happy. As such happiness does not lie in possession of sensory objects, but in imagination. They advise people to look towards those who have fewer possessions and be happy. If you look towards people having more wealth and possessions, you will always be unhappy.
It is unreasonable to hold this point of view. It is unkind to regard one happy by imagining that one is better than the poor and the unhappy. “If you want to be happy, look towards the poor”. We know that those poor people cannot satisfy even their basic needs. This attitude satisfies the sense of pride of possessions, but this can never be called happiness.
Unless we really find where happiness lies, we cannot really be happy.
Some ask people to do this and do that and say, “This way your desires would be satisfied. You would get the desired objects and become happy.” People holding these views regard happiness as satisfaction of desires. But it is not possible to satisfy one’s desires because there are countless desires of countless people and the material things are limited. Then new desires arise as soon as the previous ones are satisfied. Therefore, desires, which are changing all the time, can never be satisfied.
Happiness is a characteristic of a good life, that is, a life in which a person fulfills (履行) human nature in an excellent way. People have a set of purposes which are typically human: these belong to our nature. Happiness is also a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated (培养), and defended privately by each person. People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives and come to being happy. Happiness lies in the distribution of easiness among others. Happiness stands for forgiveness and justice. Happiness is the name of struggle and courage. Happiness may be founded in seeking of true knowledge and rule of wisdom. Happiness may be shared in service and duty. This life is combination of joys and sorrows, and honest efforts should be done to make this life journey full of happiness, love, peace and harmony. What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To show how to achieve happiness. |
| B．To encourage people to achieve happiness. |
| C．To explain the features of happiness. |
| D．To argue how to understand happiness. |
According to the passage, people who think happiness lies in imagination will try to achieve happiness by .
| A．looking towards those with fewer possessions |
| B．looking towards people having more wealth |
| C．imagining how rich you will be in the future |
| D．imagining that you have a five-storey building |
The writer doesn’t think that happiness lies in the satisfaction of desires because .
| A．no desires of a person can be satisfied at all |
| B．ever-changing desires can never be satisfied |
| C．there isn’t enough money to meet people’s needs |
| D．the desires of a person are limited |
In the writer’s opinion, happiness .
| A．can be achieved easily by earning money |
| B．must belong to those with rich knowledge |
| C．can be gained by setting small goals |
| D．can be gained by controlling inner experience |
According to the last paragraph, who can have real happiness?
| A．Jack who often struggles with others. |
| B．Tom who has life of a high quality. |
| C．Mike who always forgives others’ mistakes. |
| D．Tim whose requirements are always met. |
For many businessmen online education has been a dream. Now it has come true. The investment (投资) in higher education, whether financial or in terms of time, has long been impossible for many of them. But well-known educational institutions have chosen to deliver an internet-based program, and these barriers have been lifted.
That is good news for people eager to improve themselves and is more attractive to employers. It is also a benefit to industry with better qualified candidates applying for jobs at every level.
Having the benefits of a higher qualification without going to the university campus is attractive to many students. Campus study means greater cost, while online programs are flexible and save time, whether at home or at work. Students can achieve their degrees without causing too much disruption to their career or home life.
In addition to affordable, flexible classes and greater convenience, students also have access to the online learning resources of many of the world’s top educational institutions. They can also communicate with their tutors no matter what time it is or whether either party is away for any reason.
This has opened up the possibility of getting a qualification from a university or college that many students could only have dreamed of in the past. It also allows specialists to get the precise qualifications and focus on their studies. As well as seeing the increase of applicants from lower-incomes and housewives, studying online in the US is even becoming popular with younger people of college age.
Employers have become increasingly welcome and positive to online qualifications as more candidates earn them, especially if they’re properly approved by the US Department of Education.
US institutions have led the way in online education provision. Many top US colleges and universities offer a range of online programs that are highly respected and in every way perfectly fit for adults who need to combine their studies with a working life.According to Paragraph 1, many US colleges and universities.
| A．have begun to lift the barriers to financial investment |
| B．have begun to run an internet-based program |
| C．have had a dream of offering online education |
| D．have gained financial investment |
Why do people choose online education?
| A．They can find jobs more easily than on-campus graduates. |
| B．They can get qualifications from US Department of Education. |
| C．They can save money and arrange their time and courses freely. |
| D．They can invest money in different courses provided online. |
The underlined word “disruption’’ in the third paragraph probably mean.
| A．dissatisfaction | B．Attention |
| C．attraction | D．interruption |
Which would be a good title for the passage?
| A．Adult Education Online |
| B．The Best of USA’s Online Education |
| C．Top US Universities Offering Online Education |
| D．Online Education Taking the Place of Campus Education |
Sir,
Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in the Morning Mail for a set of the complete works of William Shakespeare. Your company, Cosmo books Ltd., offered this set (eight books of plays and two books of poetry) at what was claimed to be a ‘remarkable’ price: fifteen pounds and fifty pence, including postage and packing. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare’s plays and poems for some time, and these books, in red imitation leather, looked particularly attractive; so I sent for them.
Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the complete works of Charles Dickens which I had not ordered. So I returned the Dickens books to you, with a cheque for fifteen pounds and fifty pence for the works of Shakespeare. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived on my door step a second set of the works of Shakespeare, the same set of novels by Dickens and a six book set of the plays of Moliere, in French. Since I do not read French, these were of no use to me at all. However, I could not afford to post all these books back to you, so I wrote to you at the end of August of last year, instructing you to come and collect all the books that I did not want, and asking you not to send any other books until further notice.
You did not reply to that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for forty two pounds, and a set of the plays of Schiller, in German. Since then, a new set of books has arrived every two weeks, the works of Goethe, the poems of Milton, the plays of Strindberg; I hardly know what I have. The books are still all in their boxes, in the garage, and my car has to stand in the rain outside.
I have no room for any more books, and even if I read from now until the Last Judgment, I should not finish reading all the books that you have sent me.
Please send no more books, send no more bills, send no more angry letters demanding payment. Just send one large lorry and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the complete works of Shakespeare for which I have paid.
Yours faithfully,
SIMON WALKERSimon Walker wrote the letter to ________
| A．show his anger to Cosmo Books Ltd.. |
| B．complain about getting books he didn’t want. |
| C．advise readers not to order books from Cosmo Books Ltd.. |
| D．urge for the final solution to the problem with the unwanted books. |
The advertisement that Mr. Walker saw in the Morning Mail was for ________
| A．unlimited number of Cosmo Books. |
| B．a set of 10 books of the works of Shakespeare. |
| C．fifteen pounds and fifty pence. |
| D．a book containing all the plays and poems of Shakespeare. |
Mr. Walker answered the advertisement because ________
| A．he wanted a set of Shakespeare’s works which was a good bargain |
| B．he claimed that the books were being offered at a remarkable price. |
| C．he had ordered the set and had been waiting for them to come for some time. |
| D．the set he already had was not particularly attractive. |
It is a bright morning in the Ethiopian countryside. Yohannes walks beside a pair of donkeys that are pulling a two-wheeled cart. They arrive at the agricultural town of Awassa where Yohannes opens the sides of the cart to display, not the usual vegetables or tools, but children’s books. This is the Donkey Mobile Library, the first of its kind in Ethiopia and one of only a few in the world.
Yohannes was born in Ethiopia, North Africa, but trained to be a librarian in the USA and returned to Ethiopia years ago. The cart is full of picture books donated by American libraries, teachers and school children.
Yohannes arranges small painted benches in the shade of the trees, and suddenly Ethiopian children come shouting and racing down every road and path. It’s mobile library day! They circle the bookshelves with great excitement. Until the Donkey Mobile Library began its regular two-monthly visits, many of these children had never seen a book.
“Without books, education is very dull, like food without salt. You can survive but you can’t really come alive,” says Yohannes. “The ability to read is the basis for greater productivity, better health and longer life. Even though the children lack material goods, with books they can imagine a world of possibilities.”
Yohannes first worked in the children’s section of the main library in America. Surrounded by books he had never seen before, he realized how joyful and imaginative children’s literature is. He says, “I always thought of Ethiopia. But how could I bring children’s books to my home country when it had almost no libraries to keep the books in?”
He contacted Jane Kurtz, a writer born in America but brought up in Ethiopia, and together they created the Donkey Mobile Library. The children say that the Library has given them ideas about what they might do in the future. A child called Dareje wants to be a scientist and find a cure for life-threatening diseases. An eleven year-old girl, Fikerte, wants to do research about the moon and discover new facts about outer space. Tamrat, aged 10, comes every time.
“What brings you back here time and time again?” the librarian asks him.
“The stories,” Tamrat replies instantly.How do the children feel when they see the Donkey Mobile Library?
| A．Curious. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Interested. | D．Excited. |
We can conclude from the passage that .
| A．Ethiopian children have no idea about their future |
| B．Yohannes and Kurtz share similar life experiences |
| C．donkey carts in Awassa usually carry vegetables and tools |
| D．most books in the Donkey Mobile Library were bought in America |
According to the passage, the Donkey Mobile Library .
| A．visits the countryside every day |
| B．benefits Ethiopian children a lot |
| C．was created by Yohannes himself |
| D．was the first of its kind in the world |
Where is the passage most likely to have been taken from?
| A．A news report. | B．A book review. |
| C．A historical story. | D．An advertisement. |
When something goes wrong，it can be very satisfying to say，”Well, it’s so-and-so’s fault,” or “I know I’m late，but it’s not my fault；the car broke down”. It is probably not your fault，but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation，you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your workmate causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. You should accept the fact and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your workmate fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners also have some problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own abilities. So, stop focusing on “whose fault it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.According to the passage, winners.
| A．deal with problems rather than blame others |
| B．meet with fewer difficulties in their lives |
| C．have responsible and able colleagues |
| D．blame themselves rather than others |
The underlined word remedy in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _________.
| A．avoid | B．refuse | C．improve | D．consider |
When your colleague brings about a problem, you should .
| A．find a better way to handle the problem |
| B．blame him for his lack of responsibility |
| C．tell him to find the cause of the problem |
| D．ask a more able colleague for help |
When problems occur, winners take them as
| A．excuses for their failures |
| B．barriers to greater power |
| C．challenges to their colleagues |
| D．chances for self-development |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Winner’s Achievement. | B．A Winner’s Problem. |
| C．A Winner’s Opportunity. | D．A Winner’s Secret. |
An explosion on Thursday killed one and injured 21 in a busy street in Tongren, Southwest China’s Guizhou Province.
The bomb was hidden in a rubbish bin in the city’s commercial hub（商业中心），where lots of shops and restaurants are concentrated.
The ear-splitting blast was heard around 12∶50 p.m.，said a local newspaper, citing witnesses. The power of the blast（爆炸）shattered nearby shop windows and ripped the stainless（不生锈的）steel rubbish can to pieces.
One passer-by，identified（确认）only as Zhang，said she was shocked by the noise and saw a lot of pedestrians lying on the ground when she got to the scene.
Thirteen of the injured were taken to a local hospital after the explosion. A doctor there said five were in serious condition but already out of danger after emergency treatment. The others were just slightly hurt.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, said an officer with the Tongren police, but refused to speculate as to the cause.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．All the injured were taken to a hospital |
| B．8 of the injured were not taken to a hospital |
| C．The rubbish bin with a bomb was in a restaurant |
| D．The rubbish bin with a bomb was in a shop |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．One passer- by, saw a man throwing a bomb into a bin. |
| B．Some customers in restaurants were injured. |
| C．The writer didn’t get to the scene. |
| D．All customers in shops got hurt. |
In the last paragraph the underlined word“ speculate” probably means ________.
| A．tell | B．guess | C．discuss | D．talk |
What of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Bomb Hidden in a Rubbish Bin |
| B．The Cause of the Explosion |
| C．A Terrible Thing |
| D．Market Blast Kills 1 ,Injures 21 |
The passage probably comes from________.
| A．a newspaper | B．a diary |
| C．a story book | D．a survey |