Being busy can become a way of life. Our lives are always filled with emails and text messages. They make us feel wanted and important, but in a tiring and empty way. Being busy has a dangerous allure（诱惑）. If you are busy all the time, it’s hard to sit quietly with your thoughts or to really feel what you’re feeling. Whynot let everything become a choice — how we spend time, who we reply to and how much or little we write?
Many of us are busy becauseour self-worth goes up when people make demands（需求）on our time. Whydon’t we free ourselves from needing, or even wanting? Why don’t we make the best use of the time and space to be productive in a way that it best serves us? That may be consciously（主动地）keeping ourselves not busy. In fact many great discoverieswere made by people who built white space into their day.
Imagine asking “How are you?” to one of the most successful people you know like Warren Buffet. I’ve never heard anyone at that level answer “busy” though most people believe they are.
What are they doing differently?
First, they aim to project an image that things are under control. Second, they actually have things under control. They’ve had excellent staff, implemented（实施）thoughtful processes and they spend time only on critical tasks that require their attention. They make high-level strategic decisions with a large effect.
It’s time to end the glory of being busy and spend time setting up processes that make sense, rather than simply working more hours. To do this, you need to change yourway of thinking. It’s cool to say you’re busy, but it’s better to be busy helping someone carry a stroller up the subway stairs or busy finishing a book.
How to free us from the trendof being busy? Start with small steps. For one day, be mindful of every daily activity. Consider each thing a choice and decide proactively（预先）if it’s necessary or simply a habit you can get rid of or do in half the time. Next, stop saying how busy you are. Then, figure out what you want to achieve with your day and begin doing it. Put your time and energy where you want it to be.What are many of us busy doing every day?
| A．Sitting quietly and think actively. |
| B．Meeting people’s demands on our time. |
| C．Making great discoveries. |
| D．Takinghigh-level decisions. |
Why don’t successful people like Warren Buffet answer “busy”?
| A．Because they value working abilities and attitude. |
| B．Because they focus on attracting excellent workers. |
| C．Because they pay more attention to learning management. |
| D．Because they think well and spend more time on critical tasks. |
The writer probably agrees that we should ______.
| A．stop considering each thing a choice |
| B．work more hours to achieve our goals |
| C．answer emails and messages as soon as possible |
| D．be mindful where we want our time and energy to be |
What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To advise us to be freedfrom the trend of being busy. |
| B．To warn us about the danger of leading a busy life. |
| C．To show us ways to feel good about being busy. |
| D．To tell us how to fit into the busy modern life. |
Beijing Opera is also called Peking Opera.. It came into being after 1790 when the famous four Anhui opera troupe(戏班) came to Beijing. Its music and singing(唱腔) came from Xipi and Er-huang in Anhui and Hubei. Its costtumes are all fascinating and artistic.It is the highest expression of the Chinese culture. It’s full of famous stories , beautiful facial paintings, and wonderful gestures and fighting. This kind of opera is very popular with Chinese people.
There are four main roles in Beijing Opera: Sheng ,Dan, Jing and Chou. Sheng is the leading male(男性) actor。For example , a Wusheng is a soldier or fighter .A Xiaosheng is a young man . A Laosheng is the comedy actor or clown.Dan is the female (女性)role 。 Jing，mostly male , is the face-painted role and Chou is the comedy actor or clown.
Stories in Beijing Opera are very intetesting . Some of them are from the history book ,but most of them are from the literature , especially famous novels . The people in the story usually have some disagreements. They become angry and uhappy . They are sad and lonely . Sometimes they are nervous and worried. Then they find a way to make peace . The stories usually end with happiness and lunghter and people are all happy in the end.Beijing Opera’s singing is from _______.
| A．Anhui and hubei | B．Beijing and Anhui |
| C．the history book | D．the literature and novls |
The second paragraph(段落) of the reading is about the______of Beijing Opera.
| A．stories | B．roles | C．gestures | D．Paintings |
From the reading ,we know the the Chou most probably has a(n) _____feature.
| A．honest | B．funny | C．dull | D．serious |
Which of the following statements is TURE?
| A．Peking Opera is full of different gestures. |
| B．There are only four roles in Beijing Opera. |
| C．Beijing Opera is the most popular in the world. |
| D．The people in the story usually are in agreement. |
What role is Sheng ?
| A．the eading male actor |
| B．the female role |
| C．the comedy actor or clown |
| D．the face-painted role |
Mr. Green worked in an office in London, but he lived in the country and came to work by train every day. The station was not very far from his office, and he always went on foot from the station to his office and back from his office to the station. Every evening he walked past a poor man near a bridge. The man sat at the road and sold matches, and there was a dog near him. There was a piece of wood round the dog’s neck, and the words “I AM BLIND” were on the piece of wood.
Mr.Green was a kind man. He always stopped and gave a penny to the man, but he did not take any of his matches. One day, Mr.Green had a lot of work in his office and left the office very late. He came to the man and his dog, but he did not stop. The poor man stood up quickly, ran after him and said, “You’re always very kind to me. Give me a penny today. I’m a poor man.” Mr.Green stopped and he was surprised. Then he said, “You’re a blind man. How did you see me?” The poor man said, “No, I’m not blind. My dog is.”Mr.Green lived in __________.
| A．London |
| B．the city near London |
| C．the country near London |
| D．the country not far from his office |
Mr.Green went to his office __________.
| A．by train |
| B．first by train and then on foot |
| C．on foot |
| D．first on foot and then by train |
Every evening Mr.Green passed a poor man near a bridge__________.
| A．on his way to work |
| B．on the way to his office |
| C．on his way home by train |
| D．on his way to the station |
One day Mr.Green did not stop and give the poor man a penny because__________.
| A．he did not like the man |
| B．he was afraid of the dog |
| C．he worked too late |
| D．he hurried to catch the train |
-- What is the Chinese for “blind”?
-- ___________________.
| A．看见的 | B．聋的 | C．瞎的 | D．哑的 |
The Guidance Department （教导处）at Berryville High School has a staff of eleven teachers. Most of their work is done with the students. But the staff sees a lot of parents, too.
“Parents meetings make clear monthly diagram（图表）.”says Mildred Freman, head of the Guidance. “This diagram stays much the same from year to year. The busy months are October, March and May. ”
September, the beginning of a new school year, starts rather slowly. Few parents come in. Most of these want to talk about the schedules. October brings many problems caused by some students. Some parents are called in. Others come by themselves. Things quiet down in November. December is a quiet month. “It’s the holiday. ”Ms Foreman says, “People want to come in, I know, but they decide to wait until after New Year’s Day.”
Report cards go home just before Christmas holidays. Bad marks bring parents in as school opens again. This happens again in March, another report card month. May is always the year’s busiest month. That’s when parents begin to think that their children may be asked to stay in the same grade again. They come in to see if anything can be done before things are decided in June.The teachers in the Guidance Department usually ______.
| A．do most of their work for the students |
| B．answer all the questions from parents |
| C．help other teachers get along with students and parents |
| D．only bring report cards to students and parents |
In December parents usually ______.
| A．stay at home with their children for their holidays |
| B．wait for the teachers to bring report cards to their children |
| C．wouldn’t like to visit the teachers in the Guidance Department |
| D．let teachers have a good rest during their holidays |
Why do some parents come to school in March? Because ______.
| A．they want to see their children’s teachers after Christmas holidays |
| B．they are called by the teachers of Guidance Department |
| C．bad marks have them do it |
| D．it’s the beginning of a new school year |
Which of the following is Right?
| A．In June the school decides who will stay in the same grade again. |
| B．Almost all the parents come to meet Mildred Foreman every month. |
| C．April is also the second busiest month for the staff. |
| D．The parents help to do most of the work for the staff. |
Matt's hobby was collecting stamps. He had stamps from many countries, like America, Egypt and China. On his birthday, can you guess what people gave him? That's right——stamps.
Matt's favorite stamps came from France. He had almost every stamp from 1954 to 2003 except one. That was a 1974 special edition (版). It was very hard to find.
He looked for it everywhere. He asked his friends and relatives to help him. But nobody could find the stamp. It made Matt very sad.
"Don't worry," his father said to him. "You'll find it one day."
"I hope so," Matt said.
"Be patient (耐心的),"his father said. "Don't give up."
Besides collecting stamps, Matt liked writing. He had a pen friend in France. They wrote to each other every month. Matt's pen friend, Philip, gave him a big, green stamp. It looked old. When Matt received the letter, he was very surprised. On the envelope, he looked closely at the stamp. It was the 1974 special edition stamp. Matt was so happy! He told his sister, his mother and his father.
"You see," his father said, "You did find your stamp. So, you see, it's good to have two things in life."
"What are they?" Matt asked.
“Friends and patience (耐心).” he answered.Matt loved the stamps from ______best.
| A．America | B．Egypt | C．France | D．China |
It was very difficult for Matt to find a special French stamp of_____.
| A．1954 | B．1974 | C．2003 | D．2011 |
His father told him to_______.
| A．stop looking for it | B．ask his friends for help |
| C．be patient | D．write a letter |
______sent Matt the letter with the special edition stamp on it.
| A．Philip | B．Philip's mother | C．Matt's father | D．Philip’s friend |
Every day when I enter the classroom, I will take a look at the wall beside my seat. You will find nothing special about this old wall if you just look at it. But for the students in my class, it is a special wall. Take a good look at it, and you will get to know the real feelings and thoughts of us, the 9th graders.
In the middle of the wall, there is a big “VICTORY”. It was written in pencil. I guess it must have been written by someone who got a good mark in an exam.
A little higher above the formulas, there is a poem. It only has two sentences. It reads: All those sweet memories have disappeared. Like tears dropping in the heavy rain.
Oh! It must have been written at the end of the last semester in middle school. Classmates had to leave school and good friends had to part. What a sad poem!
If you look at the wall more carefully, you will find many other interesting things, like a crying face, or a happy face, and other patterns(图案). There are still some patterns and letters that I can’t understand, but they all show the feeling of the students who drew them.
For years, the wall has witnessed(目睹) all the things that have happened in the classroom. I don’t know how it will be next year, two years from now, or even ten years from now. But I hope more smiling faces will be drawn on it.There is ______ special on this wall.
| A．something | B．anything | C．nothing | D．everything |
What was the “VICTORY” written in?
| A．Chalk | B．Pencil | C．Pen | D．Brush |
When has the poem been written?
| A．At the beginning of the last semester. |
| B．At the end of the year. |
| C．At the end of the last semester. |
| D．At the beginning of the last month. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word?
| A．部分 | B．分离 | C．和好 | D．聚集 |
What’s the title of the passage?
| A．The Pictures of the Wall |
| B．The Feelings of the Students |
| C．The Patterns of the Classroom |
| D．The Hope of the Writer |