An African proverb says that a single hand cannot tie a bundle. Everyone needs companions to help them sail through the rough seas of life. Even the strongest and richest person still needs friends. Our money and strength would have no value if we had no friends to share with us. The best friendship is a give-and-take relationship. We need the support of our family, friends and the community. In turn we also give support to the society, our friends and our family.
The word “friend” has many meanings. It could be the bus driver who takes you to and from work every day. It could be a parent, a colleague, a wife or husband, a brother or sister, or even the unknown person who helped you just once when you could not find your way. Real friends share not only our happiness but our sorrows as well. This may explain why we have the expression “a friend in need is a friend indeed”.
Friendship is like the sunshine that keeps us warm. It is like the refreshing raindrops on the fields that give the farmers hope of a good planting season. Without friends our life would be like a desert where our only friend would be loneliness and sadness. The most fortunate person is the one who has friends from all levels in the society. A driver might find friends not only among his colleagues but among farmers, bankers, traders, students, politicians or teachers. We should never forget our old friends when we make new ones. We should treasure each of our friends whether poor or rich, beautiful or not. Each friend is unique in his or her own way. And all together, they enrich life and make it very colourful.
What is the main topic of the passage?
| A．How to sail through the sea of life. |
| B．Friends and friendship. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．Never forget old friends when making new ones. |
What is the correct understanding of friends according to the writer?
| A．Friends who share our happiness are not real friends. |
| B．Friends will take us through rough seas. |
| C．Friends never expect anything from others. |
| D．Friends can be different people around us. |
An unknown person can be a friend as well when .
| A．he helps you with what you need |
| B．he is told how to find his way |
| C．he becomes one of your family |
| D．he is a driver taking you from and to work |
The underlined word “unique” in the last paragraph most probably means “ ”.
| A．special | B．poor | C．rich | D．Valuable |
A few weeks ago, while I was reading the morning paper, I turned the radio up to listen to a Saturday morning talk show and I heard an old sounding gentleman, with a golden voice. He was telling whoever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles”.
I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say …
“Let me tell you something, Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities (优先考虑的事).”
He continued, “You see, I sat down one day and did a little math. The average person lives for about seventy-five years. Now then, I multiplied 75 by 52 and I came up with 3,900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with (继续倾听……的话) me, Tom. I’m getting to the important part.”
“It wasn’t until I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays that I started thinking about all this in any detail,” he went on. “I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.
“I found that by watching the marbles diminish (变少), I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.
“It was nice to meet you, Tom. I hope you spend time with your family, and I hope to meet you again.”
You could have heard a pin drop on the radio when the old man signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had panned to work that morning. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “Come on, honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast. And can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”The underlines word “intrigued” in Paragraph 2 probably means “ ________”.
| A．encouraged | B．moved | C．worried | D．attracted |
The old man started practicing the theory of “a thousand marbles” ________.
| A．in his twenties | B．in his fifties |
| C．in his seventies | D．in his eighties |
What life lesson does this text teach us?
| A．Spending more time with our family. |
| B．Enriching our life with marble games. |
| C．It’s never too late to love our family. |
| D．Learning to live life to the fullest. |
Here is your best chance to travel around the UK in 2012: More than 200 B&Bs (bed & breakfast) across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are selected to offer you amazing services for your stay at their lowest prices! Don’t miss it. Just collect the vouchers（活动券）in our B&B Daily printed from 01/ 04/ 2012 to 07/ 04/ 2012 and book the stays for your travel following the terms and conditions below:
● The offer includes a room for the night and a breakfast the next morning.
● The offer is of two kinds: £20 per room, per night, valid（有效的）during stay
period of 02/ 04/ 2012—31/ 05/ 2012 and then again 01/ 09/ 2012— 31/ 10/ 2012;£35 per room, per night, valid during stay period of 01/ 06/ 2012 — 31/ 08/ 2012.
● The offer is valid for a basic twin or double room only.
● The stay must be booked directly with the chosen B&Bs before 28/ 04/ 2012.
● Each voucher can only be used by the holder to book one room for one night.
● If voucher holders book either the £20 or £35 per room per night, any additional
services such as lunch, evening meal or activities may require an extra charge. But these are not required in order to take up the offer. Please check directly with your chosen B&Bs to see what extra services are available.
● Vouchers must be presented on arrival. If no vouchers are presented, the B&Bs may reserve（保留） the right to charge at full price for every night of stay.
● Vouchers may not be used together with any other offer.
● The voucher holders must pay for the stay in full at the time of booking. Additional £10 may be paid to confirm（确认）the booking and will be returned on arrival.
● The B&Bs reserve the right to refuse voucher holders’ bookings for people under the age of 18.The voucher can be used for a stay at the chosen B&B on .
| A．09/ 01/ 2012 | B．28/ 04/ 2012 |
| C．01/ 03/ 2012 | D．04/ 02/ 2012 |
How much should be paid for a two-night stay in October 2012 at a chosen B&B?
| A．£ 70. | B．£30. | C．£35. | D．£40. |
By taking up the offer, the voucher holders can choose to .
| A．have lunch or evening meal without paying extra money |
| B．book either a basic twin or double room at the chosen B&Bs |
| C．use the B&B offer together with other offers |
| D．book the stays through B&B Daily |
It is common and usual to see people freak out when they face challenges in their life. We all pass in different life problems and challenges. No one is free of life problems. Only a dead man faces no problem. As long as you are alive, challenges are everywhere.
How do you face problems and challenges in your life? Problems and challenges are the building blocks of your personality. They make you who you are. Besides, whether what happened in your life builds or destructs（破坏、毁灭）you depends on how you look at it. If you take your problems as troubles, they will be troubles and may cause destruction. If you take them as constructive (有建设性的）tools, you are going to be built up on them.
Problems are everywhere. No one can avoid them. And they are good too. They open up a different look and opportunity if you are willing to see. When you face troubles, do not frustrate or freak out. Just cool yourself to think in a different direction. Think in a positive way. Every problem has its own good as well as bad sides. Focus on the good one. Look at the bright side.
Besides, there is always a good person, perhaps your mom or dad, or one of your friends, right beside you who can turn everything into your best if you are willing to turn to them. No matter what happens, they will be there to help you. Trust them and they will never let you down. All you need to know is that you are loved wherever you are.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “freak out” in Paragraph 1?
| A．Feel shy. | B．Stay calm. |
| C．Keep silent. | D．Feel upset. |
In Paragraph 2, the writer implies that ______.
| A．problems cause troubles |
| B．attitude is everything |
| C．challenges can be avoided |
| D．personalities are built on failures |
What’s the writer’s purpose to write the passage?
| A．To encourage. | B．To compare. |
| C．To prove. | D．To explain. |
What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．How to Avoid Problems |
| B．Challenges Are Everywhere |
| C．Face Your Challenges Bravely |
| D．You Are Loved Wherever You Are |
I have been consistently opposed to feeding a baby regularly. As a doctor, mother and scientist in child development I believe there is nothing to recommend it, from the baby’s point of view.
Mothers, doctors and nurses alike have no idea of where a baby’s blood sugar level lies. All we know is that a low level is harmful to brain development and makes a baby easily annoyed. In this state, the baby is difficult to calm down and sleep is impossible. The baby asks for attention by crying and searching for food with its mouth.
It is not just unkind but also dangerous to say a four-hourly feeding schedule will make a baby satisfied. The first of the experts to advocate a strict clock-watching schedule was Dr Frederic Truby King who was against feeding in the night. I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous. Baby feeding shouldn’t follow a timetable set by the mum. What is important is feeding a baby in the best way, though it may cause some inconvenience in the first few weeks.
Well, at last we have copper-bottomed research that supports demand feeding and points out the weaknesses of strictly timed feeding. The research finds out that babies who are fed on demand do better at school at age 5, 7, 11 and 14, than babies fed according to the clock. By the age of 8, their IQ scores are four to five percent higher than babies fed by a rigid（严格的）timetable. This research comes from Oxford and Essex University using a sample of 10,419 children born in the early 1990s, taking account of parental education, family income, a child’s sex and age, the mother’s health and feeding style. These results don’t surprise me. Feeding according to schedule runs the risk of harming the rapidly growing brain by taking no account of sinking blood sugar levels.
I hope this research will put an end to advocating strictly timed baby feeding practices.What does the author think about Dr King?
| A．He is strict. |
| B．He is unkind. |
| C．He has the wrong idea. |
| D．He sets a timetable for mothers |
The word copper-bottomed in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to .
| A．basic | B．reliable |
| C．surprising | D．interesting |
What does the research tell us about feeding a baby on demand?
| A．The baby will sleep well. |
| B．The baby will have its brain harmed. |
| C．The baby will have a low blood sugar level. |
| D．The baby will grow to be wiser by the age of 8. |
The author supports feeding the baby .
| A．whenever it wants food |
| B．according to its blood sugar level |
| C．in the night |
| D．every four hours |
When Frida Kahlo’s paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon（丝带）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症） at the age of seven. Her spine（脊柱） became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influence on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in Paragraph 1 most nearly mean?
| A．a far better artist |
| B．a much more famous person |
| C．a much stronger person |
| D．a far more gifted artist |
The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by .
| A．back injuries | B．her bent spine |
| C．polio | D．the operations she had |
Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the .
| A．1930s | B．1970s | C．1950s | D．1940s |
What is the author’s attitude toward Kahlo?
| A．Devotion. | B．Encouragement. |
| C．Worry. | D．Sympathy. |