"Shark on the bait (诱饵) !" shouted Andre Harman, pointing to a spot a few yards behind the outboard motors. His voice gave no indication of panic, but the crew suddenly became tense and fixed their eyes on the water. Slowly, smoothly, Andre drew in the bait.The shark followed. No one asked what kind of shark it was. Everything about it, from its color to its shape, tells that it was a great white shark.
Andre lifted the bait aboard. Placing himself between the two motors, he dropped his right hand into the water just as the great head reached the first motor.“My goodness Andre!” I said. His hand seized the big nose, moving it away from the tube of the motor, guiding the shark's head up as it rose out of the water. Andre's hand held the nose, touching it gently. No one spoke. No one breathed. The moment seemed endless. In fact, it lasted less than five seconds before Andre pulled his hand back.
Still nobody spoke. Then Andre smiled and said: "The first time was an accident. I was just trying to move the shark away from the motor. Sharks are attracted to motors by r.heir electrical signals and have a habit of biting them to see if they are eatable. " Andre has worked with great white sharks for years. "My hand landed on its nose, and it sort of paused, so I kept it there, and when I did let go, the shark bit and bit as if it was searching for whatever it was that had attracted it."
Nearly every encounter (遭遇) we had had with the great whites had been totally illogical. The more we learned, the more we realized how little was really known about them in the past years. Back then, it was generally accepted that great whites ate people by choice. Now we know that almost every attack on a human is an accident in which the shark mistakes a human for its normal food. Back then, we thought that once a great white smelt blood, it would lead to death. Now we know that nearly three-quarters of bite victims survive, perhaps because the shark recognizes that is has made a mistake and doesn't return for a second bite.The author said, "My goodness! Andre ! " when ________.
| A.Andre was about to fall into the water |
| B.Andre was about to touch the shark |
| C.Andre was followed by the shark |
| D.Andre was bitten by the shark |
What does the author think of the encounters with great whites________.
| A.Exciting. | B.Educational. |
| C.Frightening | D.Reasonable |
Most bite victims survive in shark attacks because________.
| A.they are taught how to fight off sharks |
| B.sharks discover they are no threats |
| C.they manage to swim to safety |
| D.sharks stop attacking them |
While you may think that being smart and talented would logically make someone successful in running a business, unfortunately, this is often not the case.
This problem starts back in school when the stressful “group projects” are first assigned .The smartest don’t want to risk their grade in the class by dividing the work equally and hoping that an average student does his part well. They just take over and do the whole project themselves.
And thus begins the smart-people work cycle. The smartest people do just about everything better than most everyone else until it comes to running a business. They are not better. A smart person who can’t stand someone else doing a job badly does everything himself. Then, he is stuck with the one-man band “job-business” and ends up not being able to grow. However, it is quite interesting and strange that some “slackers” ( a person who is lazy and avoids work) are better suited to be a business leader than the “smart” people.
Smart and talented people often have a gift for the unusual, complicated or different. They don’t like to follow the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid), which is required to make a business succeed. Maybe you think the global presence of McDonald’s complex, but in reality, in the company, every single task is broken down into easy-to-follow steps and everything has been standardized. These successful companies have just a few smart enough people to run the majority of the tasks in a way that can’t be screwed up by their average employees. So, being smart or talented isn’t going to help you unless you can use those smarts to figure out a way to simplify those tasks that will make a business successful.
Another issue with the smart people starting businesses is that they often have the most to lose. The smarter you are, the more options you have available to you. You will be able to make a lot of money in various fields and have room in your career to become promoted. This means that when you start a business, you have a lot more to risk than those who are not equally smart. This is often referred to as the “golden handcuffs” dilemma.
So, don’t be surprised when the person “MOST Likely to Succeed” from high school ends up as an employee and it is one average student that finds success in his or her own business.In group work, smart students often take over the whole project because they believe ____.
| A.the work is not divided equally |
| B.they can perform better than others |
| C.the group projects are too stressful |
| D.average students are unwilling to participate |
McDonald’s is used as an example to prove that ____.
| A.a business calls for smart people’s talent |
| B.average employees can perform complex tasks |
| C.smart people are important for a successful business |
| D.simplified tasks are required for the success of a business |
The underlined expression in Paragraph 5 refers to the situation where smart people ____.
| A.have fewer options in a company |
| B.risk more when starting business |
| C.are unwilling to put money to a business |
| D.can have a good income in many different fields |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A.Potentials for Success |
| B.Bases for Business |
| C.The Ordinary Achieve Bigger Success? |
| D.Talent Means Successful Business? |
Evergreen Teen Book Club Offer
The Evergreen Teen Book Club invites you to join us and take full advantage of our limited-time introductory offer.
If you join our club, you will receive a certificate for 3 free books. These are yours to keep, even if you decide to cancel your membership. However, if you decide to purchase just one book at the regular club price, you will receive a certificate for an additional 3 free selections after your first order is placed.
As our member, you can benefit from all of our super sales and our Bonus Program. You accumulate 2 bonus points with each cash purchase of one book. Every 6 bonus points will earn you a certificate for one free book!
To join our club, fill in the brief application listing your name, address, and phone number on the postage-paid card at the bottom of this page. Then drop the card in the mail and our present catalogue will be immediately mailed out to you for your 3 free selections!
This catalogue offers a wide selection of over 500 books in every issue, including mysteries, adventures, biographies, cookbooks, sports, and many more. Our catalogue also contains interviews with your favorite authors, reviews of newly published novels, and a teen top-ten list for both fiction and nonfiction.
Once you are a member, you will receive our catalogue monthly, but you don’t need to purchase any selections. We send you only exactly what you order.
If you join before June 30th, we will also provide complimentary shipping (免费送货),even if you choose to order nothing except your 3 free books.
You can build a great book collection!
Begin now by taking advantage of this great offer. If you join the Evergreen Teen Book Club, you can __________.
| A.buy books at cost price |
| B.get one free book for a cash purchase of 3 books |
| C.receive a gift after each order |
| D.expect 3 free books each month |
If Lily wants to get free delivery, she should __________.
| A.accumulate 6 bonus points |
| B.order at least 3 books |
| C.purchase the catalogue |
| D.join the club before June 30th |
The purpose of the text is to get more people to __________.
| A.collect books for the club |
| B.read different kinds of books |
| C.join the club and order books |
| D.learn from famous writers |
Yesterday I started the Year of Giving, my first day of a year-long journey into exploring the act of giving and the meaning of charity. I chose December 15 as the starting date, which marked three years since my mother died from heart disease. She was one of the most generous people that I have ever known. She always thought of others first and certainly serves as an inspiration to me.
I had a rather busy day yesterday, ironic (具有讽刺意义的) for someone who is unemployed right now. In the morning I went to the gym, and unsuccessfully got the phone call from the unemployment office for some job searching. Before I knew it, it was noon. I grabbed a quick lunch and rushed down to a meeting. On my way to Connecticut, I wondered if I would see someone that I would feel forced to give my first $ 10 to. I was running late and decided to do it afterwards.
After the meeting I had about half an hour to find the first person of my Year of Giving! I decided to check out DuPont Circle. I had met a guy there named Jerry once and thought he would willing accept my $ 10. He wasn’t there, but I did see a man sitting by himself who looked really lonely, so I approached him. Now I had to figure out what I was going to say, I think I said something like, “Hi, can I sit down here?” “I would like to know if I could give you $ 10?” He asked me to repeat what I had said, I did, then he looked at me funny, got up and left.
I then started walking south where I spotted a man standing by the bus stop on Connecticut Ave. He appeared to be in his 60s. I don’t know what drew me to him, but I thought I would make my second attempt. I was a bit nervous and asked him which bus came by that stop. Then I explained that I was starting a year-long project to give $ 10 to someone every day and that I wanted to give my $ 10 for today to him. The gentleman, I later found out that his name was Ed, responded without hesitation that he could not accept my offer and that there were many people more deserving the money than him. This was exactly one of the things that I hoped would happen. People would think of others before themselves. The author set the starting date on December 15 to ____.
| A.help the charity |
| B.remember his mother |
| C.make an explosion |
| D.fulfill a wish if his mum |
In the author’s first attempt to give away the money, ____.
| A.he was considered ridiculous |
| B.he hesitated for a long time |
| C.he was forced to donate the money |
| D.he had no time to take action |
In the author’s second attempt, the gentleman refused his offer because ____.
| A.he didn’t need other’s help |
| B.he thought more for others |
| C.he didn’t care about money |
| D.he wanted to get more money |
We can refer that the author was inspired by ____.
| A.true friendship | B.his own kindness |
| C.generous donations | D.human’s good nature |
The first day of school, our professor introduced an old lady Rose to us.
“Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked her. She replied, “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” We became friends quickly.
At the end of the term I invited Rose to make a speech to our football team. I’ll never forget what she taught us. She said, “There are some secrets of staying young and being happy. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You must have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you will die. There is a huge difference between growing old and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t need any talent or ability. To grow up, you must always find the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The people who are afraid of death are those with regrets.”
At the end of the year, Rose finished her college. One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. We would always remember the great woman.
根据短文内容,选择正确答案。(每题1分,计5分) From the passage, we can learn that Rose ___.
| A.went to college at an old age |
| B.became a professor later |
| C.once worked in a hospital |
| D.died before college graduation |
At the end of the term the writer invited Rose to ___.
| A.go to a party | B.play football |
| C.make a speech | D.write a book |
The underlined word “talent” in the third paragraph means “___” in Chinese.
| A.训练 | B.方法 | C.途径 | D.才能 |
If you want to stay young and be happy, ___, according to Rose.
| A.never grow up |
| B.don’t be afraid of death |
| C.have a dream and never lose it |
| D.don’t find the opportunity in change |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A.Laughing every day |
| B.Never too old to learn |
| C.Growing old and growing up |
| D.How to stay young and being happy[ |
Many people go to school for an education. Some learn languages, history, math and other subjects. Others go to school to learn a skill. School education is very important and useful. Yet no one can learn everything from school. A teacher cannot teach his students everything they want to know. So much more is learned outside school by the students themselves.
Great people before us didn’t get everything from school. Their teachers only showed them the way. Edison didn’t even finish school. But they were all so successful because they knew how to study. They read books that were not taught at school. They would ask many questions as they read. They worked hard all their lives. Above all, they knew how to use their heads.
根据短文内容,判断句子正(T)误(F)。(每题1分,计5分)People go to school only for an education, they don’t go there to learn a skill.
People can learn everything from school.
Students can learn much more outside school by themselves.
Edison was successful because he read many books that were taught at school.
Great people knew how to use their heads.