The other day I came across a few local musicians and happened to hear them talking：
"I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can't even understand a bit of music."
"I'm never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us."
But one younger musician said, "There are a few clubs that book my band (乐队) a few nights a month, and I'm trying to find other places to play. I'm also looking forward to booking a few summer festivals this year."
It's said that you are the average (平均) of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.
Attitudes（态度） are important. Whether they're positive(积极的)or negative (消极的), they're rubbing off on you. If you're always around people who complain about short of work and about other musicians or say bad words about others, and you play the role of a victim, it's possible that you will start to as well. So it's time to take a look at the people you call "friends", as what kind of friends you have decides what kind of life you are going to live.
This is an easy exercise： Make a list of the people who you often go out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don't become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it and learn from them. Ask if they will help you get the work you're looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path.
1. The musicians' words at the beginning are written mainly to show_______.
A. the musicians live a poor life
B. people have poor taste in music
C. people have different attitudes towards the same thing
D. young people have greater chances of succeeding
2.The underlined sentence "they'll rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 6. means_______.
A. they'll push you ahead
B. they'll have an influence on you
C. they'll cover your feelings
D. they'll help you succeed
3.By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can_______.
A. improve a lot in making more friends
B. plan the time with your friends properly
C. develop a better relationship with your friends
D. come to the right way of making friends
4. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A. You are who your friends are.
B. How to make friendship long.
C. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
D. Friends are the most important in one's success.
It is true that people with better education are usually able to get better paying jobs. In other words, they have more chances to choose a good job while people with little or no education don't. It seems that the purpose of education is to make people get jobs. But this isn't accepted by all people.
Some people may think that a person should spend the best years of his life to get education only for a way of living. This was probably one of the earliest reasons of education. In fact, if education is just a way of making a living, people don't need to spend so much time in school. People can get education for a living in a short time. Subjects like history and geography need not be taught to everyone. Even language and maths need not be taught in detail, either. Here it is clear that education is much more than teaching a man to get a way of living.
Education is well-rounded (全面的) and it is mainly for improving a man. It is not only to teach him to speak, read and write, but also to develop his creative thinking and other abilities. After that, it is to make him a wise man and thankfully enjoy the achievements of human. Education is to make a man lead a better life. Educated people are expected to be able to listen to good music, read good books, watch plays and take an interest in the world.
I would agree that making a good living is an important reason for education, but certainly not the most important or the main reason.
1.The earliest education was probably to_______.
A. make a man lead a better life
B. teach a man to write and read
C. make people get a way of living
D. teach people to read good books
2.It is expected that educated people will be able to_______.
A. accept education as a way of living
B. take an interest in the whole world
C. develop their abilities to make plays
D. learn subjects like language and math
3.The passage mainly tells us that_______.
A. education should make a man improve
B. people can get education in a short time
C. people should be able to get good paying jobs
D. all subjects are so important for a way of living
In classes, your teachers will talk about topics that you are studying. The information they provide will be important for you to know when you take tests. You must be able to take good written notes from what your teachers say.
Taking good notes has three stages. There are certain things you should do before class, during class, and after class. Here are the three stages of note-taking and what you should do during each class.
1. Get Ready to Take Notes
Review your notes from the previous(以前的) class before you come to class. This will help you remember what was covered and get you ready to understand the new information your teacher will provide.
Complete all assigned(布置的) readings before you come to class. Your teacher will expect that you have done this and will use and build upon this information.
Bring all note-taking materials with you to class - several pens and pencils as well as your notebook.
2. Take Notes
Keep your attention on what your teacher is saying. Paying attention to "signal statements". Examples of signal statements are "The most important point ..." and "Remember that ..," Be sure to include in your notes information that your teacher repeats or written on the blackboard.
Write quickly so that you can include all the important information in your notes. Do this by writing abbreviated (简化的) words such as med for medicine, using symbols such as % for percent, and writing short sentences. Place a "?" next to information about whose meaning you are not sure.
1.What's the writer's purpose in writing this passage?
A. To encourage us to listen carefully in class.
B. To tell us the importance of taking notes.
C. To tell us how to quickly improve our study.
D. To give us some tips on how to take notes.
2.We can learn that in the writer's opinion, _______.
A. taking notes is an easy thing
B. taking notes is important for tests
C. teachers shouldn't provide information before tests
D. taking notes is more important than listening to the teachers
3.What will most probably be talked about next?
A. How to prepare for exams.
B. An easy way to take notes.
C. Note-taking after class.
D. The importance of taking notes.
Why do you think people who live in some hot countries eat very spicy(辛辣的)food? Is it because the spices make the food taste better? Is it just because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents liked hot food，or is there some connection between spices and healthy food? Researchers from Cornell University think that it is because spice plants have some important chemicals. These chemicals can kill bacteria(细菌)which spoil food．
“Most common spices can kill 75 to 100 percent of the bacteria in food，”explains one of the scientists．The bacteria grow more easily and spoil(变质)food more quickly at higher temperatures．For this reason，it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates，
Do you like your food spicy? Your answer probably tells something about the country you come from．If you like spicy food，it is possible that hundreds of years ago，when there were no fridges，people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling．The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live longer，healthier lives．Today，in a time of fridges，the spices just make the food taste good．
1.The chemicals in spices keep food from spoiling by_________．
A．making food taste better
B．making food hotter
C．preventing bacteria getting into food
D．killing bacteria in food
2. Food goes bad more quickly in hot climates because_______．
A．cold temperature makes bacteria
B．bacteria get used to hot food
C．high temperature helps bacteria grow faster
D．bacteria spoil food only at high temperature
3.According to the passage，spices are useful in the following things except_____．
A．helping you to live longer
B．helping to keep you healthier
C．making your food taste better
D．taking the place of fridges
Tina was the best speed-walking partner I could ever meet. But I could never understand my friend's habit of while we walked.
Together we walked all over the town and even entered a marathon(马拉松）together，a full 26 miles, but she did give me a list to take with me. She told me that it her a lot. I thought it would just slow us down. I it along to the starting line. Twenty-six cheering ideas, one for every mile. I wasn’t really planning to slow myself down with all those ideas but I didn’t want to hurt Tina’s feelings, so I kept her .
I walked the first mile of the in 12 minutes—a new personal record. I looked at Tina’s cheering list when I checked my watch. was simply Yourself. It did give me a good start to the race, I thought. I thanked Tina for her cheering list. If I finished the race, I would thank her for the she gave me. By the time I finished the second mile, my husband and kids were cheering me on. It just so happened that “ ” was the next one on Tina’s cheering list. I had lots of things to be ready for them.
The next mile flew by, then the next and the next, each with a cheering idea. But by the time I neared the final mile? I was nearly out of breath. “I don’t know if I can the last mile,” I thought. In despair(绝望）I looked at the final cheering idea on Tina’s list，now sweaty in my hand： You just can make it!
I finished the marathon in less than six hours. I thought the cheering list would slow me down. ______, it carried me past the finishing line.
1.A. cheering B. smiling C. shouting D. chatting
2.A. taught B. saved C. calmed D. helped
3.A. hid B. gave C. moved D. carried
4.A. promise B.list C.word D. idea
5.A. round B.circle C.race D. road
6.A. At the back B.At the top C.In the beginning D. In the past
7.A. task B.strength C.thought D. way
8.A. Team B.House C.Family D. Home
9.A. have B.gain C.finish D. put
10.A. Besides B.Instead C.Later D. Again
---Bill, can I get you anything to drink? ---________.
A. You are welcome B. I wouldn’t mind a coffee
C. No problem D. It doesn’t matter
