The right to pursue happiness is issued to us all with our birth, but no one seems quite sure what it is.
A holy man in India may think that happiness is in himself. It is in needing nothing from outside himself. If wanting nothing, he lacks nothing. We westerners, however, are taught that the more we have from outside ourselves, the happier we will be, and then we are made to want. We are even told it is our duty to want. Advertising, one of our major industries, exists not to satisfy these desires but to create them---and to create them faster than any man’s money in his pocket can satisfy them. Here, obviously someone is trying to buy the dream of happiness and spending millions upon millions every year in the attempt. Clearly the happiness-market is not running out of customers.
I doubt the holy man’s idea of happiness, and I doubt the dreams of the happiness-market, too. Whatever happiness may be, I believe, it is neither in having nothing nor in having more, but in changing --- in changing the world and mankind into pure states.
To change is to make efforts to deal with difficulties. As Yeats, a great Irish poet once put it, happiness we get for a lifetime depends on how high we choose our difficulties.
It is easy to understand. We even demand difficulty for the fun in our games. We demand it because without difficulty there can be no game. And a game is a way of making something hard for the fun of it. The rules of the game are man-made difficulties. When the player ruins the fun, he always does so by refusing to play by the roles. It is easier to win at chess if you are free, at your pleasure, to cast away all the rules, but the fun is in winning within the rules.
The same is true to happiness. The buyers and sellers at the happiness-market seem to have lost their sense of the pleasure of difficulty. Heaven knows what they are playing, but it seems a dull game. And the Indian holy man seems dull to us, I suppose, because he seems to be refusing to play anything at all.
The western weakness may be in the dreams that happiness can be bought while eastern weakness may be in the idea that there is such a thing as perfect happiness in man himself. Both of them forget a basic fact: no difficulty, no happiness.
1.Who shares the same idea of happiness with the author?
A. The Indian holy man B. The great Irish poet Yeats
C. Advertisers D. The buyers and sellers at the happiness-market
2.What does “happiness-market” mean in the second paragraph?
A. It means a place in which people can buy things happily
B. It means a market which lacks happy customers
C. It means a pure state for the world and mankind
D. It means a market where people try to buy happiness with money.
3.According to the passage, which of the following is Right?
A. The Indian holy man is much happier than westerner.
B. The westerners understand happiness better than the Indian holy man.
C. There is no fun without playing by the rules
D. Both the eastern weakness and western weakness are the same.
Friendships are some of the most important relationships that we will ever have in our lives. But how to build a solid friendship? Here are five tips for you.
Tip 1. _____
True friendships can only be built in honesty. This is more than just telling the truth. Being real and open about who you are and your thoughts and feelings are a part of building a solid friendship. If your “friends” don’t even really know you, who are they really friends with?
Tip 2. Shared Experiences
As you build your friendship, you will share many experiences together. Some of these may be great adventures or hard times that the two of you go through together. These shared experiences are things that you will laugh about, talk about, and cry about no matter how much time passes.
Tip 3. Sacrificial（牺牲精神的）love
Love is the basis（基础）of all solid relationships. I am not referring to the emotion（情感） of love, but to the action of love. Love is what will cause a friend to get out of bed in the middle of the night to help another. Love is what will put aside someone’s own wants to make sure that their friend is alright.
Tip 4. Understanding
When a friendship is solid, it will be based on each other’s understanding. You may not agree with everything that a friend says or does, but you will be able to put yourself into his or her shoes to begin to understand. Offering understanding to a friend is very important, as it allows them to feel that they have someone in their corner that they can talk to and who will offer advice and suggestions, without having to worry that if they don’t always follow it, the friendship will be lost.
Tip 5. Acceptance
A solid friendship is one in which two people accept one another, faults and all, for just who they are. There is no having to build up false excuses, or hide away the “dark secrets” from one another. We accept each other as whole, complete, and totally unique people.
1.What’s the best title of Tip 1?
A. Introduction of yourself. B. Telling the truth
C. Honesty D. True friendships
2.Which tip can remind us of an English proverb “Love me, love my dog”?
A. Tip 2. B. Tip 3. C. Tip 4. D. Tip 5.
3.What’s the meaning of the underlined part “put yourself into his or her shoes” in Tip 4?
A. Exchange your shoes with his or hers. B. Try on his or her shoes.
C. Put yourself in his or her position. D. Force yourself.
4.What’s the best title of the whole passage?
A. A solid friendship B. The most important relationships
C. Five tips for you D. Tips on how to build a solid friendship
China’s government has been trying all measures to reduce pollution in the past few years. Now people can enjoy a fresh environment everywhere. The following two graphs are adopted from the column of “City Information” on the webpage of Beijing Review.
Graph 1: Olympic Cities Air Quality Report
|
City |
Date |
API |
Major Pollutant |
Air Quality Degree |
Quality Condition |
|
Beijing |
Sep. 8 |
37 |
N/A |
Ⅰ |
Very good |
|
Qinhuangdao |
Sep. 8 |
52 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
|
Qingdao |
Sep. 8 |
68 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
|
Shanghai |
Sep. 8 |
67 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
|
Shenyang |
Sep. 8 |
88 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
|
Tianjin |
Sep. 8 |
54 |
PM10 |
Ⅱ |
Good |
Graph 2: Chinese National Standard
|
API Values |
Levels of health concern |
Colors |
|
When the API is in this range: |
...air quality conditions are: |
...as symbolized by this color: |
|
0 to 50 |
Very good |
Blue |
|
51 to 100 |
Good |
Green |
|
101 to 150 |
Slight pollution |
Yellow |
|
151 to 200 |
Moderate pollution |
Orange |
|
201 to 250 |
Medium pollution |
Red |
|
251 to 300 |
High pollution |
Purple |
|
301 to 500 |
Hazardous |
Brown |
Notes:
**API stands for Air Pollution Index(指数).
**Particulate matter (PM10) is a major component of air pollution that threatens both our health and our environment. It consists of very small liquid and solid particles floating in the air.
**Sulfur dioxide(SO2) acts as an acid．Inhalation(吸入) results in labored breathing, coughing, or a sore throat and may cause permanent lung damage.
1.According to Graph 1, which of the following cities has the worst air pollution?
A. Qinhuangdao. B. Tianjin.
C. Qingdao D. Shenyang. .
2. If your city is symbolized by either red or purple, the pollution in your city is .
A. Moderate or high. B. Moderate or slight.
C. Medium or high. D. Medium or slight.
3.Which of the following statements is TURE?
A. With API value below 150 the air is free from being polluted.
B. The colors from purple to Yellow indicate the air quality is becoming much worse.
C. When there are floating solid particles and dust in the air, it is dangerous pollution.
D. On September 8th the color-symbol of Beijing City’s air quality is ‘Blue’.
4.When more citizens are beginning to have labored breathing soon after they are in the open air, it suggests that .
A. there is a large amount of sulfur dioxide in the air
B. it is so cold that they may have caught a cold
C. they are starting to cough or have a fever
D. they must be infected with permanent lung disease
My mother used to ask me what was the most important part of the body. Through the years I would 21 what I thought was the correct answer. When I was younger, I thought 22 was very important to us as humans, so I said, “My ears, Mommy”. She said, “No. Many people are 23 . But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon.”
Several years passed 24 she asked me again. Since making my first 25 , I had often thought of the correct answer. So this time I told her， “Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes.” She looked at me and told me, “You are 26 fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind.”
27 the years, Mother asked me a couple more 28 and always her answer was, “No, but you are getting 29 every year, my child.” Then last year, my Grandpa died. Everybody was crying when it was our 30 to say our final good-bye to Grandpa. Mom asked me, “Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?”
I was 31 when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a 32 between her and me. She saw the 33 on my face and told me, “This question is very important. It shows that you have really 34 your life.” I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, “My dear, the most important body part is your 35 .” I asked, “Is it because it holds up your head?” She replied, “No, it is 36 on them a crying friend or loved one can rest their head. I only hope that you have enough 37 and friends that you will have a shoulder to cry 38 when you need it.” Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a 39 one. It is sympathetic to the pain of 40 .
1.A. notice B. believe C. doubt D. wonder
2.A. love B. health C. sound D. sight
3.A. blind B. deaf C. lame D. foolish
4.A. while B. once C. after D. before
5.A. discovery B. decision C. attempt D. suggestion
6. A. learning B. thinking C. growing D. changing
7.A. Before B. Till C. Beyond D. Over
8.A. ways B. things C. questions D. times
9.A. stronger B. taller C. smarter D. nicer
10.A. duty B. turn C. pity D. chance
11.A. shocked B. satisfied C. interested D. excited
12.A. game B. test C. match D. job
13.A. worry B. puzzlement C. regret D. pain
14.A. enjoyed B. found C. disliked D. lived
15.A. shoulders B. feet C. hands D. hair
16.A. how B. because C. why D. whether
17.A. respect B. favor C. love D. fun
18.A. by B. on C. above D. for
19.A. valuable B. useful C. selfish D. precious
20.A. others B. the deaf C. Grandpa D. the blind
---_________ she can’t find her keys? She’ll be locked out all night.
---You are right. I’d better call her to check if she’s OK.
A. What about B. What with C. What if D. What for
---Have you got used to your school life here?
---Yes, but I don’t like _______ when we have to do exercise on cold winter mornings.
A. that B. it C. those D. this
