Who's in control of your life? Who's pulling your strings? For the majority of us, it's other people-society, colleagues, friends, family or our community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young,of course. We were brainwashed. We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us. As Oscar Wilde puts it," Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. "
So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good. We long for this good feeling like a drug-we are addicted to it and seek it out wherever we can. Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to. Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix(成瘾物)we worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval.
But, just as with any drug. there is a price to pay. The price of the approval drug is freedom-the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think. People have their own agenda, and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they're more interested in themselves than in you. Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand. Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time. The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted (tired) and probably pleasing no one in the process.
So how can we take back control? I think there's only one way-make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think. We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values- not values imposed from the outside by others. but innate values which come from within. If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others. we will live a more authentic, effective, purposeful and happy life.
1.What Oscar Wilde says implies that .
A. most people have a variety of thoughts
B. we have thoughts similar to those of others
C. other people's thoughts are more important
D. most people's thoughts are affected by others
2.What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph?
A. The price of taking the drug is freedom.
B. We may lose ourselves to win the approval of others.
C. We need to pay for what we want to get.
D. Changing opinions may cost us our freedom.
3.It can be concluded from the passage that .
A. it's better to follow others' opinions
B. it's important to accept others' comments
C. we shouldn't change our own decision
D. we shouldn't care too much what others think
4.The author tries to persuade the readers to accept his arguments mainly by .
A. discussing questions B. making suggestions
C. analyzing causes and effects D. providing examples and facts
While every dog owner knows their dogs can read their moods perfectly, scientists have always been a little doubtful. Now thanks to some researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, we finally have some convincing evidence.
For this study, biologist Corson Miller and his team exposed eleven selected dogs to digital images of women that were either angry or happy. Half the dogs were rewarded for touching the screen when shown a happy face, while the other half given their treat for selecting those that appeared angry.
Interestingly, the dogs were not provided with the entire face. Some dogs were shown only upper halves while the others observed lower halves. That's because the scientists believe humans show their eruptions on their entire face.
After some training on how to recognize small differences like the wrinkles between the eyes or the changes in their shape that accompany the happy or angry expressions, the dogs were mostly able to identify the correct expression not only on a familiar face but on a strange face, the researchers concluded the dogs were smart enough to read human emotions.
They also found those being trained to read angry expressions took a longer time to learn. They guess it may be because dogs find angry faces disgusting, causing them to back away quickly. However, once the smart dogs realized they were getting rewarded, the trepidation seemed to disappear. In fact, the dogs had such a good time playing the computer "game"that scientists had a hard time keeping them away from the touch screens after the study was completed.
The researchers also noticed only dogs with a male owner had a harder time understanding the expressions correctly. Since the touched screen models were all females, this confirmed what has been observed in previous studies-dogs are more efficient at reading facial expressions of people that are the same gender as their owner.
1.How did the scientists conduct the experiment?
A. By mixing the selected dogs together.
B. By rewarding only half of the dogs touching the screen.
C. By leaving dogs to women who are either happy or angry.
D. By showing digital pictures of women's happy or angry faces.
2.The underlined word "trepidation" in Paragraph 5 probably means .
A. fear and hesitation B. curiosity and eagerness
C. excitement and happiness D. doubt and uncertainty
3.According to the last paragraph, dogs with female owners .
A. are scared away at the male faces
B. are uninterested in telling the emotions on the entire faces
C. have difficulty telling the moods on the faces of males
D. can only recognize emotions on partial faces
4.What is the best title for this passage?
A. Mood Changes Influence Dogs B. Dogs Identify the Moods
C. Dogs and Their Owners D. Dogs' Mood Research
5 Lifestyle Choices You Will Feel in Your Bones
YOU SPEND TOO LITTLE TIME ON THE MOVE
"Bone is a living tissue," says Jonathan Lee, a physician at Montefiore Health System in New York City. "The more you use it, the more it will adapt and strengthen. Likewise, if it is not subjected to loading, it will waste away. " The solution? Weight-bearing exercise-even just walking. Strength training Counts too
YOU EAT SALTY SNACKS
A study from Japan showed that women over fifty who had high sodium (钠) intakes were more than four times as likely to have a fracture (break of.bones) as those with low sodium intakes. That's because as the kidneys(肾) excrete(排出) the sodium, calcium is reducing from the bloodstream too.
YOU SHUT SUNLIGHT AWAY
" Vitamin D is required for the body to successfully absorb and use calcium," Dr. Lee says. "Most Americans do not get enough sun exposure to generate enough natural vitamin D, and thus supplementation is essential. " According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, adults under 50 need 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D daily and adults 50 and older need 800 to 1,000 IU. Talk to your doctor about your specific needs based on where you live, what time of year it is, and which vitamin D-rich foods you eat.
YOU'RE CASUAL WITH WINE
Low levels of alcohol consumption may be good for your bones, according to a study from Oregon State University, but more than a couple of drinks a day has the opposite effect. "Too much alcohol can make it harder to absorb calcium," says Dr. Lee. Furthermore, "In women in particular, higher alcohol consumption can decrease estrogen (雌激素） levels, and this can also lead to osteoporosis(骨质疏松) , " Dr. Lee says.
YOU LIVE IN AN AREA WITH DIRTY AIR
In a study recently published in the Lancet Planetary Health , researchers dealt with hospital data for 9.2 million Medicare participants in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic between 2003 and 2010. They found that even a small increase in levels of pollutants in the air--may lead to an increase in bone fractures and osteoporosis in older adults. If you live in a smoggy area,use an air purifier filter at home, avoid exercising outdoors when the air quality is bad,and get screened for osteoporosis.
1.According to the article, to have healthy bones, a lady of 65 should .
A. form a habit of drinking a bottle of wine every day
B. protect herself from being exposed to sunlight
C. exercise indoors or do little strength training
D. lessen sodium intakes in her diet
2.The article states that the health of the bones is affected by the following except .
A. air quality B. body clock
C. personal diet D. physical training
3.This article is possibly chosen from .
A. a gym advertisement
B. a medical textbook
C. a lifestyle magazine
D. a medicine instruction
This story happened when I was in Saint Lucia with my family. My sister, Diana, who also happens to be my best friend and one of the funniest and kindest people I know, went blind in one eye about 9 years ago. Diana sometimes feels concerned about the way her eye looks now. The pupil(瞳孔) is no longer black; it's sort of "glows" in photos. Diana recently purchased a special contact lens (隐形镜片) that makes her eye look like it did before it changed color, but she doesn't wear this lens often because it becomes quite painful after about an hour.
One night during our holiday, a hotel photographer was taking pictures of the guests as they entered the area set up for dinner. Diana casually said if she had known there was going to be pictures taken to capture this special memory, she would have worn her contact lens so her eye wouldn't be so shiny in the picture.
The next day, I was sitting with Diana and her husband Ted. While we were talking, the photographer who had been at the dinner the night before, handed her a photo, leaned in and quietly said, "I matched the color of your eyes in the picture. "
As he walked away, my sister happily said to me and Ted, " Look! He fixed my eye!" The photographer stopped. He turned around and walked back to our table. He put his hand on Diana's shoulder, leaned in again and gently said, "Just to be clear: I didn't fix your eye. There isn't anything wrong with your eye. I simply matched the color. "
Her eyes filled up with tears. It was very healing for her heart to hear these beautiful words. It didn't take much time and made so much difference. It helped her change the way she feels about herself.
I have always loved the quote: "The world is full of good people. If you can't find one, be one!" Your acts of kindness can impact the world in profound ways!
1.My sister bought a contact lens in order to .
A. avoid the pupil being too bright and shiny
B. show off the beautiful color of her pupil
C. protect her eye from the strong sunlight
D. keep the pupil comfortable
2.Diana felt when she knew there was a photo taken for the dinner.
A. excited B. proud
C. regretful D. shocked
3.Tears welled tip in Diana's eyes because .
A. she felt her eyes were so painful
B. she was touched by the photographer
C. she was hurt by the gesture of the photographer
D. she felt so sad that she didn't wear her lens
4.From the article we can conclude that the photographer way .
A. confident B. easy-going
C. creative D. considerate
My husband and I changed our front yard with something eatable, adding apples, bananas, oranges, and pomegranates(石榴).
Every crop brought us_______ to neighbors and strangers. The food was a(an) _______to communicate. Kids in the neighborhood (including our son) learned _______ and gentle timing. When we had extra, we would _______it. Then, we received a powerful lesson: a gift hidden as a _______. Our first-ever crop of pomegranates had ripened(成熟)._______ , at harvest, they all disappeared in the middle of the night. We were _______ sad and angry. Friends had fun suggesting deterrents(为摄物). One _______ suggested we post a sign to curse (诅咒) those who _______ our fruits.
And suddenly, the ________ was clear. We did need a sign. But our sign would encourage sharing and community. Last autumn, we had a larger crop of pomegranates. We put________a sign that read, "If you'd like one, please knock and ________ yourself, and we would be ________ to cut one off the bush for you. Cutting saves the branches and is good for future growth, so we can ________ to share pomegranates with________friends like you. Thanks, the Green Family. "
Out of eight fruits, one pomegranate was taken. and most of others were________to new friends. This year, we won the Kindness Contest award, ________we planted three trees-a peach, a pear, and a plum. Before they fruit, I'll ________ a big sign to the yard to encourage sharing. Today. I'm happy to be a role model of ________ for my young sons and to have the opportunity to________ an eatable front yard for others.
1.A. richer B. stronger C. closer D. healthier
2.A. tool B. explanation C. evidence D. excuse
3.A. patience B. kindness C. confidence D. responsibility
4.A. take B. share C. select D. store
5.A. result B. challenge C. loss D. surprise
6.A. Besides B. However C. Moreover D. Otherwise
7.A. embarrassed B. interested C. ashamed D. shocked
8.A. still B. yet C. just D. even
9.A. stole B. destroyed C. bought D. hid
10.A. attitude B. answer C. lesson D. need
11.A. away B. down C. up D. on
12.A. enjoy B. impress C. help D. introduce
13.A. happy B. afraid C. proud D. worried
14.A. pretend B. continue C. agree D. happen
15.A. true B. close C. polite D. new
16.A. gifted B. sold C. donated D. devoted
17.A. unless B. since C. so D. or
18.A. connect B. add C. turn D. keep
19.A. generosity B. encouragement C. enjoyment D. creativity
20.A. change B. provide C. prepare D. choose
在未给提示同的空白处仅填写1个适当的单同，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给的词的正确形式填空，并将答案写在答题卡相应的位置上。
In recent years, learning Chinese1.( become) popular among people around the world. Last month,I received an email from my friend Jack in Canada. He said he was enthusiastic about China, and asked me to find him some books which 2. (intend) for Chinese beginners,I Was pleased to do such a favor. So I went from one bookstore to another,3. (hope) to find something suitable for him. Finally I selected a set of Chinese textbooks among a variety of similar ones.
