With all the wars, fighting and sadness in the world today, it's not only necessary, but also essential to have a good sense of humor just to help us get through each and every day of our lives. Putting a smile on someone's face when you know they are feeling down in the dump, makes me feel good and warms my heart.
How would you feel if you could not joke around with your wife, husband, child, co-worker, neighbor, close friends, or even just someone that you are standing in line with at your corner store? I am always saying things that make others smile or laugh, even if I don't know the person I'm joking around with. My Grandma always found humor in everything she did, even if it was the hardest job anyone could imagine. This not only relieves stress in any situation, but also is common courtesy(礼貌)to speak to others that are around you.
I know of a few people that don’t have a funny bone in their bodies, as they say.
Everyone around them could be rolling on the floor after hearing a great joke and they would sit there without the slightest smile on their face. They don't get the joke that makes others laugh. I am busting a gut while they just sit there, looking at me as if I were from outer space. How can people not get a really funny joke?
Laughing is essential to keep your stress levels under control. Without humor we would find ourselves with a lot of psychological problems, or on a lot of medications to keep us from going crazy. There is too much sadness in this present world. It drives people crazy. We all need to find a way to ignore the sadness and bring a little light into our lives. So, I believe our best medicine is to get together and tell some jokes and have some fun laughing together.According to the author, humor is useful in the aspect that _________.
| A．it makes people more confident |
| B．it can pick up people’s spirits |
| C．it can help get rid of the cruelty in the world |
| D．it can help people get on well with others |
From the second paragraph, we can know that __________.
| A．the writer is funny and polite |
| B．family members should play tricks on each other |
| C．the writer’s grandma is humorous |
| D．we should relieve stress in any situation |
The phrase “busting a gut" in the third paragraph can be replaced by _______.
| A．explaining carefully | B．speaking loud |
| C．keeping silent | D．laughing hard |
In writing the passage, the author mainly intends to _______.
| A．encourage people to be humorous in daily life |
| B．talk about his own understanding of humor |
| C．introduce a practical way to get through daily life |
| D．convince people of the power of being optimistic about life |
What is the author’s attitude towards the present world?
| A．Critical | B．Positive |
| C．Satisfied | D．Indifferent |
Something strange was unbelievable. Take Robert for example. After the terrible car accident, his whole world had been completely dark and quiet for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing made him try many times to put end to his life.
His family especially his wife did their best to tend and comfort him. By and by he finally regained the courage to live on.
On a hot summer afternoon he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started suddenly. He stood under a large tree in order not to get himself wet. Unfortunately he was struck down to the ground by a lightning. The witnesses thought him dead but he woke up some 20 minutes later lying face down in muddy water below the tree. He felt that he was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes ,he didn’t dare to believe that he saw a plough（ 犁子 ）lying near the wall. When Mrs Edwards came running up to him, she shouted their neighbours for help. And he saw her and heard her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.
The news of Robert’s regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread in his area. And many doctors came to prove the truth of the news. Most of them said that he gained sight and hearing again obviously from the knock of lightning; none of them could give convincing reasons, however. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since Edwards lost his sight and hearing as a result of sudden shock in a terrible accident, perhaps the only way for them to regain was by another sudden shock.What did Edwards see first after being struck down by a lightning?
| A．His wife | B．The large tree |
| C．A plough | D．The lightning itself |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Edwards had been deaf and blind for nearly ten years |
| B．Edwards lost all his senses for about 20 minutes after the lightning had struck him down |
| C．Doctor held the belief that Edwards was never really blind and deaf. |
| D．Edwards woke up with face in mud. |
What was Edwards doing when he was struck by the lightning?
| A．Hiding from the rain under a tree. |
| B．Driving a car. |
| C．Taking a walk |
| D．lying on the ground |
How did Edwards get his sight and hearing once more according to the doctor?
| A．He regained them from head injury when he fell from a tree. |
| B．His wife’s first visit after almost ten years made him so happy that he regained them. |
| C．The lightning took the feeling from his legs and gave the senses of sight and hearing to his head. |
| D．The blow that caused him blind and deaf was very severe, so it took another severe blow to regain them. |
Nowadays they are giving homework even during the holidays and I hate that very much. But I think there is a reason for it. Homework is given so that we can remember whatever we have learnt. Regular drilling and repetition make perfect. But teachers have started to give too much homework. Anything in excess (过度) is bad.
Jane
What’s the use of just homework without allowing children to get an insight (洞察) into the subject? It just makes them bookworms but nothing else. Homework such as writing some things 5 times at home will just make them memorize things but not put them into use. I regret to say that teachers find it easy to bundle (归拢) the children with homework rather than making them get interested to understand what they learn. The same trend continues even in college. I find that most of the so-called high scorers are unable to answer simple things in an interview.
Sally
It is OK to give homework. But it should be given less. We are spending most of our time in school and at least we must be free in our home. If you give homework, we will be very tired and we wouldn’t be able to pay attention to extra-curricular activities, which in turn may affect our physical and mental health. So please give less homework to us.
Johnson
It is part of our work to give students homework. There will be some punishments if we won’t do our work. So I have to do that though I know such a teacher is not liked by students.Who thinks that too much homework may do harm to students’ physical and mental health?
| A．Sunny. | B．Jane. |
| C．Sally. | D．Johnson. |
Who thinks homework should help students learn something practical?
| A．Sunny. | B．Jane. |
| C．Sally. | D．Johnson. |
What problem do the speakers talk about?
| A．Whether students should be punished without doing homework. |
| B．What kind of homework should be given to students. |
| C．What role homework plays in helping students to learn. |
| D．Whether teachers should give homework to students. |
Love, success, happiness, family and freedom----how important are these values to you? Here is one interview which explores the fundamental questions in life.
Question: Could you introduce yourself first?
Answer: My name is Misbah, 27 years old. I was born in a war-torn area. Right now I’m a web designer.
Q: What are your great memories?
A: My parents used to take us to hunt birds, climb trees, and play in the fields. For me it was like a holiday because we were going to have fun all day long. Those are my great memories.
Q: Does your childhood mean a lot to you?
A: Yes. As life was very hard, I used to work to help bring money in for the family. I spent my childhood working, with responsibilities beyond my age. However, it taught me to deal with problems all alone. I learnt to be independent.
Q: What changes would you like to make in your life?
A: If I could change something in my life, I’d change it so that my childhood could have taken place in another area. I would have loved to live with my family in freedom. Who cares whether we have much money, or whether we have a beautiful house? It doesn’t matter as long as I can live with my family and we are safe.
Q: How do your get along with your parents?
A: My parents supported me until I came of age. I want to give back what I’ve got. That’s our way. But I am working in another city. My only contact with my parents now is through the phone, but I hate using it. It filters(过滤) out your emotion and leaves your voice only. My deepest feelings should be passed through sight, hearing and touch. In Misbah’s childhood, .
| A．he was fond of getting close to nature |
| B．he liked living in the countryside |
| C．he was free from worry |
| D．he often spent holidays with his family |
What did Misbah desire most in his childhood?
| A．A colorful life. | B．Peace and freedom |
| C．A beautiful house | D．Money for his family. |
How would Misbah prefer to communicate with his parents?
| A．By chatting on the Internet. |
| B．By calling them sometimes. |
| C．By writing them letters |
| D．By paying weekly visits |
If there were only one question left, what would it most probably be?
| A．What was your childhood dream? |
| B．What is your parents’ view of you? |
| C．What is your biggest achievement? |
| D．What was your hardest experience in the war? |
There once was a very honest shopkeeper whose business was to provide goods to the local people. He would open his shop at 8:00 a.m. after having his breakfast and at 1:00 p.m. he would go for lunch. In the evening at 8:30 p.m. he closed his shop to complete his daily routine.
However, to get time for lunch was really difficult because he didn’t have anybody to help him at that time. Therefore, it was his daily practice that whichever customer was shopping at 1:00 p.m. would be asked to oversee (看管) the shop until the shopkeeper returned from lunch.
One day, a group of four thieves planned to steal from his shop while he was gone for lunch. One of the thieves went at 1:00 p.m. to be the customer that would be asked to oversee the shop.
The thief, pretending to be a customer, went in at 1:00 p.m. and started buying several items. As planned, the shop-keeper asked the thief to sit on his chair for thirty minutes until he returned from lunch.
Then, the other three thieves quickly came and told the pretended customer to help, but something had changed within him and he knew deeply in his heart that if he was given responsibility for the shop, he should not perform any dishonest acts during that time. His friends did not agree. As the now honest man tried to stop them, they resisted (抵抗) and a fight started. And at the same time the shopkeeper returned and asked why there was a fighting. The now honest man explained the entire plan.
The shopkeeper had been searching for an honest man who could take ownership of the shop and run it. The shop-keeper felt that he had found the right man.What is the problem for the shopkeeper?
| A．Nobody could prepare lunch for him every day. |
| B．He had nobody to keep the shop when he went for lunch. |
| C．He was too busy to have lunch every day. |
| D．He couldn’t find a person to work at the shop. |
Why did the thief go to the shop at 1:00 p.m.?
| A．Because he thought he would be asked to keep the shop. |
| B．Because the shopkeeper invited him to lunch then. |
| C．Because the shop was closed at that time. |
| D．Because he thought he could buy cheap things then. |
When the shopkeeper returned from lunch, he found _______.
| A．everything in his shop was stolen |
| B．the thief became the new owner of the shop |
| C．there was a fighting in his shop |
| D．the thief helped his fellows steal things from his shop |
From the passage, we can infer that _______.
| A．once a thief, he will always be a thief |
| B．an honest man will be responsible for his action |
| C．you can’t believe in a dishonest man forever |
| D．trust can change a thief into an honest man |
A young man returns to his hometown of Aractataca, Colombia. He visits the house where he lived as a child. Here, he remembers the most important memories of his childhood. Standing in front of his old house, the young man makes an important decision. He says to himself, “I will start my life over again. I will become a writer.”
This man is the world famous writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born on March 6, 1928. During his early life, Garcia Marquez’s grandmother and grandfather told him many stories. His grandmother would tell him legends as if they were real. Garcia Marquez says that his grandmother’s way of storytelling later influenced his own methods.
When Garcia Marquez was about 20 years old, he left Aractataca and attended university in Bogota. He began studying law because this was what his father wanted him to study. However, Garcia Marquez was not happy.
During this time Garcia Marquez returned to Aractataca. It was on this visit that he realized he must stop studying law. And he recognized that he must return to the dream of his childhood-writing. For the next few years, Garcia Marquez wrote for many different newspapers. And in 1955, he published his first book called “Leaf Storm”.
For many years, Garcia Marquez knew he wanted to write about his grandfather’s house in Aractataca. To write this book, Garcia Marquez and his wife had to sell almost all of their possessions to survive. But their act was worth it. The book, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” was immediately successful. And this book created a path for Garcia Marquez’s future success.
In 1982, Gabriel Garcia Marquez was given the Nobel Prize in Literature for his book “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, making him the first Colombian and the fourth Latin American to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.Who influenced Garcia Marquez’s writing style?
| A．His grandfather. | B．His father. |
| C．His grandmother. | D．His wife. |
Garcia decided to take up writing_________.
| A．when he worked for a newspaper |
| B．under the influence of his family |
| C．when he graduated from college |
| D．after a visit to his hometown |
Garcia’s book “One Hundred Years of Solitude” .
| A．was written in the 1950s |
| B．enjoyed a quick success |
| C．helped Garcia lead a better life |
| D．was about Garcia’s grandfather |
What do we know from the text about Garcia Marquez?
| A．He is the first Latin American to win a Nobel Prize in Literature. |
| B．He wrote for newspapers before publishing his own books. |
| C．His book “Leaf Storm” marked his great success in literature. |
| D．He followed his father’s wish to become a writer. |