Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity（逆境）. But it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. In her biography（传记）, she remembers with great fondness when her good friend-Sean became the first person to encourage her and help her build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition（志向） to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to（注定）be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Though there were many difficulties, Rowling continued her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn’t until l990 that she first came up with the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls（回忆）, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my great disappointment, I didn’t have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details came up in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, bespectacled（戴眼镜的）boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother died after a ten-year fight with serious diseases, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with depression（诊断患有抑郁症）. Unemployed, she finished her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her friend’s encouragement as well as her ambition to write. Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?
| A．Her friend Sean. | B．Her mother. |
| C．Her daughter. | D．Her husband. |
Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter________.
| A．at the age of 6 | B．on a train journey |
| C．after her mother’s death | D．in her secondary school |
She felt disappointed on the train because_________.
| A．her train was delayed for four hours |
| B．she didn’t have a pen with her |
| C．her mind suddenly went blank |
| D．no one would offer her help |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is_________.
| A．open-minded | B．warm-hearted |
| C．good-natured | D．strong-willed |
The text mainly tells us_________.
| A．adversity makes a good novelist |
| B．the courage to try is a special ability |
| C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere |
| D．encouragement helps one succeed |
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy．After all, you probably sing when you are happy．
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy．However they sing most of the time for a very different reason．Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory．
Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own．Only he and his family are welcome there． No other families of the same species are welcome．Your house is your territory where only your family and friends are welcome．If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout．Probably this would be enough to frighten him away．
If so, you have actually frightened the stranger away without having to fight him．A bird does the same thing．But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting (筑巢) season．So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not．This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away．Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually ______．
| A．an expression of happiness | B．a way of warning |
| C．an expression of anger | D．a way of greeting |
What is a bird’s “territory”?
| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted. |
| B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice． |
| C．An area for which birds fight against each other． |
| D．An area which a bird considers to be its own． |
Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
| A．Because they want to invite more friends． |
| B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away． |
| C．Because they want to find outsiders around． |
| D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears． |
How does the writer explain birds’ singing?
| A．By comparing birds with human beings． |
| B．By reporting experiment results． |
| C．By describing birds’ daily life． |
| D．By telling a bird’s story． |
Once upon a time, there was a lovely vegetable field, on which grew a very thick tree. Both the vegetables and the tree gave the place a wonderful appearance, which was the joy of the garden’s owner. What no one knew was that the vegetables in the field and the tree couldn’t stand each other. The vegetables hated the tree’s shadow, because it left them only just enough light to survive. The tree, on the other hand, hated the vegetables because they drank nearly all the water before it could get to him, leaving him with just enough to survive.
The situation became so extreme that the vegetables got totally fed up and decided to use up all the water in the ground so that the tree would dry up. The tree answered back by refusing to give the vegetables shadow from the hot midday sun, so they both began to dry up. Before long, the vegetables were really thin and the tree’s branches were drying up.
Neither of them thought that the gardener, on seeing his vegetable field becoming worse, would stop watering it. When he did that, both the tree and the vegetables really learned what thirst was. There seemed to be no solution, but one of the vegetables, a small courgette（小胡瓜）, understood what was going on, and decided to deal with it. Despite the little water and the unbearable heat, the little courgette did all he could to grow, grow... He managed to grow so big that the gardener started watering the field again. The gardener wanted to enter that beautiful big courgette in some gardening contest.
They should really learn how to live in harmony（和谐）with those around them, doing the best they could. So they decided to work together, and help each other instead of fighting, using both the shadow and the water in the best combination to grow good vegetables. Seeing how well they were doing, the gardener now gave the best of care to his vegetable field, watering it better than any other field for miles around.From the passage, we can learn____.
| A．the gardener was very lazy |
| B．the tree and vegetables grew very well at first |
| C．the tree and vegetables got along well with each other at first |
| D．the gardener was satisfied with his work on the garden |
The vegetables and the tree fought for____.
| A．living space | B．the gardener’s attention |
| C．attending the contest | D．their own good |
What drew the garden’s owner’s attention to the field again?
| A．Some gardening contests. |
| B．The fight between plants. |
| C．The big and beautiful courgette. |
| D．The wonderful appearance in the garden. |
What was out of the expectation of the tree and vegetables?
| A．That the gardener stopped watering them. |
| B．That the courgette understood what was happening. |
| C．That they could live together. |
| D．That they could take part in the contest. |
How can one live in harmony with others according to the passage?
| A．By working together and helping each other. |
| B．By learning to be thankful. |
| C．By respecting others and oneself. |
| D．By learning to stop being angry with others. |
Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing. Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits. When you think of forgiveness, you probably don’t think of it as being a health or medical problem. Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can change your well-being.
When cartoon book characters like the Incredible Hulk get angry, they change colours and often gain special power. In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous. That’s why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, says holding on to anger and hatred can harm your physical and mental health. Two new studies seem to show the same idea.
The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression(抑郁). They also have fewer headaches, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping.
So it doesn’t matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or other things. Learning to let it go is important. Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help. Or just ask yourself if it’s worth hurting yourself by staying angry with someone else.
Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it’s OK. Instead, it’s a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past. The author of the passage tries to make his viewpoint clear__________.
| A．by raising his own examples |
| B．based on his own experience |
| C．by mentioning some studies |
| D．by mentioning some typical patients |
The example of the cartoon book characters is taken in the passage to__________.
| A．support the viewpoint that anger and hatred harm physical and mental health |
| B．introduce a famous expert |
| C．let the reader know the different colours of cartoon faces |
| D．show how to control one’s temper |
The underlined phrase“holding on to”in this passage possibly means“__________”.
| A．removing | B．keeping up | C．getting rid of | D．learning about |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in this passage?
| A．People who are able to forgive feel less stress. |
| B．People who are able to forgive feel less depression. |
| C．People who are able to forgive have fewer problems on sleeping. |
| D．People who are able to forgive feel less tired. |
The best title for this passage is probably__________.
| A．Forgiveness | B．Forgiveness Is Good for Health |
| C．A Secret to Keeping Health | D．Anger Is Bad for Health |
My first visit to Angkor Wat(吴哥窟) was in 1980. The country had been at war for many years and the temple was deserted and falling to pieces. Plants were growing out of the roofs, and trees were growing in the courtyards.
Today, the temple is the scene of a busy repair program. A team of 15 Indian experts are organizing a workforce of 400 Cambodians, most of them women, who are cleaning, repairing and rebuilding parts of this temple.
As I walked through the courtyards, I noticed the Cambodian women devote hours to cleaning carefully a tiny area of stone. Boards are laid down to protect the precious painted stones while the repair work is going on. There are very few machines and little heavy equipment. Workers carry building materials in buckets at the end of long poles. Piles of stones lie in a corner of the courtyard, waiting to be replaced.
The work of cleaning the stones is watched over by three Indian chemists. It is a very slow task. First they clean the stones with brushes using buckets of a weak chemical. Then gaps between the stones are filled in. Finally another material is painted onto the stones which will protect them from water forever.
Work starts every day at 7 a. m. and goes on until late afternoon six days a week, with a break at midday.
Evening is the best time to visit the temple, after the tour groups have left. As the sun sinks lower, shadows spread across the courtyard. After sunset, the sky turns pink. The grey stone towers take on a golden color before turning pink. Nowhere else in the world can there be such a quiet, beautiful place.This passage mainly tells ________.
| A．the poor look of the temple Angkor Wat in 1980 |
| B．the history of the temple Angkor Wat |
| C．the repair work being done to the temple Angkor Wat |
| D．the difficulty in the repair work |
According to the author, which of the following plays the LEAST important role in the repair work?
| A．The women workers. | B．The Indian workers |
| C．Machines | D．Skilled workers |
The underlined sentence “the temple was deserted” possibly means that _______.
| A．there was no one in the temple and it was in a poor state |
| B．the temple was built on desert and nobody noticed it |
| C．the temple was very old with a long history |
| D．the temple was repaired by the Cambodians, most of whom women |
To clean the stone, how many steps should be followed?
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
Which work needs a lot of time to do?
| A．To get rid of certain types of plants. |
| B．To carry the building materials. |
| C．To replace the stones. |
| D．To clean the stones. |
Two years after the First World War (1914-1918), a small group of soldiers left the army and returned to their hometown in France. Most of them lived well, but one of them was poor. His name was Clinton. Once a year they had supper in Barton’s house. Barton was very rich.
One evening Barton showed his friends a large gold coin at the supper table. The coin was passed around and praised by everyone. At the same time they were talking and talking. They soon forgot about the coin. After supper, Barton asked for his coin, but nobody could tell where it was. It was lost. One man said that everyone must be searched. One by one they turned their pockets inside out. Only Clinton refused, however.“I didn’t steal the coin, and I will not be searched,” he said.After that, people turned their heads away from Clinton when they met him. He grew poorer. Soon his wife died.
A few years later, Barton had his house repaired. The lost coin was found under the floor. Barton felt sorry and went to Clinton to apologize. “But,” he asked, “you knew the coin was not in your pocket. Why did you refuse to be searched?” “Because I was a thief,” Clinton answered. “My pockets were full of food at that time. I had taken some food from the table to carry to my hungry wife and children.” The story took place ________.
| A．in 1920 | B．after 1945 | C．in 1950 | D．1916 |
The coin was passed and praised because ________.
| A．Clinton was rich | B．the supper was good |
| C．it was a large gold coin | D．they were happy |
Everyone was to be searched because _________.
| A．they were thieves | B．the gold coin was lost |
| C．Clinton stole the gold coin | D．they stole the gold coin |
Clinton refused to be searched because _________.
| A．he was afraid to be found that there was some food in his pockets |
| B．he didn’t steal the coin |
| C．he was poor enough |
| D．the gold coin was in his pocket |
“After that, people turned their heads away from Clinton when they met him.” From the sentence we know that _____.
| A．people thought of him as a beggar |
| B．people took no notice of him |
| C．people look down upon him |
| D．Clinton refused to see his friends |