To err is human. To blame the other guy is even more human.
Common sense is not all that common.
Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?
These three popular misquotes(戏谑的引语)are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature .To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for having made a mistake. They naturally look for someone else who could be responsible for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do .The original quote about human nature went like this:” To err is human, to forgive, divine(神圣的).”This saying mirrors an ideal: people should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite –find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a making of great maturity(成熟).
Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine．Common sense does not seem to be common for large organizations, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company,”the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”
And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary(直接推论)to that: if good excuse is “good”even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?
1.According to tile passage, which of following seems the most human?
A. To search for truth． B. To achieve one’s ideal
C. To make fun of others’mistakes．D. To criticize others for one’s own error.
2.Which of the following is NOT based on common sense?
A．A man tries to take charge of everything in a large company.
B．A student goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather.
C．A company’s next move follows a good plan．
D．A lawyer acts on fine judgments．
3.What is the author’s opinion about a good excuse?
A. Making a good excuse is sometimes a better policy.
B. Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas.
C. A good excuse is as rewarding as honesty.
D. Bitter truth is better than a good excuse.
4.What would be the best title for his passage?
A. A Mirror of Human Nature B. To Blame or to Forgive
C. A Mark of Maturity D. Truth or Excuse
When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously ,did not give her good service ,pretended not to understand her ,or even acted as if they did not hear her .
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she . I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in an adolescent(（青春期的) voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs.Tan..”
And my mother was standing beside me ,whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me check already two week late.”
And then , in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately , I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs.Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.
1.Why was the author’s mother poorly served?
A.She was unable to speak good English. B.She was often misunderstood.
C.She was not clearly heard. D.She was not very polite.
2.From Paragraph 2, we know that the author was .
A. good at pretending B. rude to the stockbroker
C. ready to help her mother D. unwilling to phone for her mother
3.After the author made the phone call, .
A. they forgave the stockbroker
B. they failed to get the check
C. they went to New York immediately
D. they spoke to their boss at once
4.What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
A. It confuses her.
B. It embarrasses her.
C. It helps her understand the world.
D. It helps her tolerate rude people.
EDGEWOOD - Every morning at Dixie Heights High School, customers pour into a special experiment: the district’s first coffee shop run mostly by students with special learning needs.
Well before classes start, students and teachers order Lattes, Cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates. Then, during the first period, teachers call in orders on their room phones, and students make deliveries.
By closing time at 9.20 a.m., the shop usually sells 90 drinks.
"Whoever made the chi tea, Ms. Schatzman says it was good," Christy McKinley, a second year student, announced recently, after hanging up with the teacher.
The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition. Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school.
They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with their affairs. They keep a timecard and receive paychecks, which they keep in check registers.
Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia.
Not that it was easy. Chevalier's first problem to overcome was product-related. Should schools be selling coffee? What about sugar content?
Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped. She made sure all the drinks, which use non-fat milk, fell within nutrition (营养) guidelines.
The whole school has joined in to help.
Teachers agreed to give up their lounge (休息室) in the mornings. Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall. Business students designed the paychecks. The basketball team helped pay for cups.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A．A best-selling coffee. B．A special educational program.
C．Government support for schools. D．A new type of teacher-student relationship.
2.The Dixie PIT program was introduced in order to_ _．
A．raise money for school affairs B．do some research on nutrition
C．develop students' practical skills D．supply teachers with drinks
3.How did Christy McKinley know Ms. Schatzman's opinion of the chi tea?
A．She met her in the shop. B．She heard her telling others.
C．She talked to her on the phone. D．She went to her office to deliver the tea.
4.We know from the text that Ginger Gray ．
A．manages the Dixie P1T program in Kenton County
B．sees that the drinks meet health standards
C．teaches at Dixie Heights High School
D．owns the school’s coffee shop
Have you ever wondered?
Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York(NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet(喷射) stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.
What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures(建筑物) float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached （附着）to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hours. If you turn something around your head on a string（细绳）, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ‘Switching off’ gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things outside would fly off into space.
1.What information can we get from the first passage?
A.It is jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly
B.Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind
C.It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY
D.The yet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic
2.The word “shoot” underline in the 2nd passage probably means “ ”
A. send for B. move quickly C. come out D. grow quickly
3.It can be inferred that without gravity .
A. buildings and other structures would float away
B. trees and buildings would not easily fly off
C. something around your head would not fly away
D. everything outside buildings would fly off into space
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入
空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be _1_ Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, “What would I say when the other kids asked what I’d 2?” Just when I started to 3that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women 4at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll, I felt such a sense of 5that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn’t 6. Somebody had thought 7of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my 8Christmas there special and memorable, I 9remembered the women’s visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of 10for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I 11a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school suppliers, 12with a child’s name. We wanted all of them to know they were 13. Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I 14them that they couldn’t open their presents 15every child had come forward. Finally the 16they had been waiting for came as I called out, “One, two, three. Open your presents!” As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles 17up the room. The 18in the room was obvious, and 19wasn’t just about toys. It was a feeling –the feeling I knew 20that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn’t forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
1.A. sending B. receiving C. making D. exchanging
2.A. found B. prepared C. got D. expected
3.A. doubt B. hope C. suggest D. accept
4.A. broke in .B. settled down C. turned up D. showed off
5.A. relief B. loss C. achievement D. disappointment
6.A. blamed B. loved C. forgotten D. affected
7.A. highly B. little C. poorly D. enough
8.A. present B. first C. recent D. previous
9.A. hardly B. immediately C. regularly D. occasionally
10.A. strength B. independence C. importance D. safety
11.A. kept up with B. caught up with C. came up with D. put up with
12.A. none B. few C. some D. each
13.A. fine B. special C. helpful D. normal
14.A. reminded B. suggested C. convinced D. promised
15.A. after B. until C. when D. since
16.A. chance B. gift C. moment D. reward
17.A. lit B. took C. burned D. cheered
18.A. atmosphere B. sympathy (同情) C. calmness D. joy
19.A. it B. such C. something D. everybody
20.A. by B. till C. for D. from
Peter was so excited _______he received an invitation from his friend to visit Chongqing.
A. where B. that C. why D. when
