Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self-respect ? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized (分类) as “honor” help you create this life of good feelings．
Here’s an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item．If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement．Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune．On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thanks us for our honesty．We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness ?
In the first case where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen．Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief．In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect．We would also demonstrate that we cannot be trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends．We damage our own reputations by telling others.
In contrast bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen．Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable．Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased．Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions．Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions．Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence．And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy．While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it’s started, it’s easy to continue．Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.
1.According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our________.
A．self-respect B．financial rewards
C．advertising ability D．friendly relationship
2.How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake ?
A．We’ll be very excited B．We’ll feel unfortunate
C．We’ll have a sense of honor D．We’ll feel sorry for the clerk
3.Which of the following can be the best title of this passage ?
A．How to Live Truthfully
B．Importance of Peacefulness
C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect
D．Happiness through Honorable Actions
How should one invest a sum of money in these days of inflation(通货膨胀)? Left in a bank it will hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate．Only a brave man, or a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock Market (股市)．Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past．Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique (古董) clocks, which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques．
I sometimes wonder what a being from another planet might report back about our way of life．“ The planet Earth is ruled by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound．It has a face with twelve black marks and two hands．Men can do nothing without its permission, and it fastens its young round people’s wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control．This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves.”
Whether or not we are slaves of time today depends on our culture and personality, but it is believed that many years ago kings kept special slaves to tell the time．Certain men were very clever at measuring the time of day according to the beating of their own hearts．They were made to stand in a fixed place and every hour or so would shout the time．So it seems that the first clocks were human beings.
However, men quickly found more convenient and reliable ways of telling the time．They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun．They marked the hours on candles, used sand in hour-glasses, and invented water-clocks．Indeed, any serious student of antique should spend as much time as possible visiting palaces, stately homes and museums to see some of the finest examples of clocks from the past.
Antique clocks could be very expensive, but one of the joys of collecting clocks is that it is still possible to find quite cheap ones for your own home．After all, if you are going to be ruled by time, why not invest in an antique clock and perhaps make a future profit ?
1.According to the passage, collecting antique clocks___________.
A．can hardly keep the value of your savings
B．will cost much of your savings
C．may increase your wealth
D．needs your bravery
2.By quoting (引用) the remark (话) of a being from another planet, the author intends to ________________.
A．suggest human beings are controlled by a clock
B．describes why clocks can rule the planet Earth
C．tell readers what clocks look like
D．compare clocks to human beings
3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to measure the time ?
A．Counting the beating of one’s own heart.
B．Making use of candles, sand and water.
C．Observing shadows cast by the sun.
D．Keeping all the slaves busy day and night.
4.The underlined phrase stately homes in paragraph 4 means ____.
A．state-owned houses B．houses in very good condition
C．grand houses open to the public D．houses where statesmen meet regularly
5.The purpose of the passage is ________________.
A．to introduce the culture of antique clocks
B．to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks
C．to compare different ways to make a future profit
D．to explain convenient and reliable ways of telling time
Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be a simple fact ? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit ?
If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant．The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake．The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk．The fourth, who had hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope．The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arm around one the elephant’s legs.
The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.
Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience．So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.
To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment．Get three large bowls．Put ice water in one．Put hot water in the second．Put lukewarm water in the third．Now put your left hand in the ice water．Put your right hand in the hot water．After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water．Your right hand will tell you the water is cold．Your left hand will tell you it’s hot !
1.What makes people think about simple facts differently ?
A．The fact that simple facts differ from one another
B．The fact that people have different experience in the same simple fact
C．The fact that people often disagree with one another
D．The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts
2.The writer’s advice is _______________.
A．We should never think about simple facts
B．We should never judge something with a one-sided view
C．We should not agree about simple facts
D．We must learn from the six blind men
3.After reading the last paragraph, we may think of __________.
A．Newton’s law B．Galileo’s theory of falling objects
C．Einstein’s theory of relativity D．Marx’s On Capital (资本)
After we meet people it is up to us to make them our friends．Let us stop a moment and consider what really makes a friend．The major qualities like faithfulness, devotion, friendly company, flash through our minds．But it is the large number of very small particular qualities that make up one’s whole character, such as cheerfulness, friendliness, and punctuality (守时).After all, “ to make a friend, be a friend” is not such a big and difficult order．There are particular favorable qualities, which attract others to us, and some elements which do have an effect on people in fundamental psychology(基础心理学) or not.
If you are in the presence of a shy person, talking and asking casual (随意的) questions may bring him out of his shell．Think of what would be most acceptable to the other person, for you to talk, or to listen．Either way the goal is to make yourself pleasant.
Always remember to listen, but listen intelligently．To have anyone “ hang on our words” is the most unnoticeably clever way in the world to please somebody．For a few extremely happy seconds we are the centre of attraction, but when it is our turn to be audience, let us remember how we felt as the actor, and let’s be genuinely (真正地) interested in what the other fellow is saying.
Other people will like us, if we like them．If you want friends, keep your mind and heart open to friendship．Be alive to the other person’s world.
1.This passage is mainly about_________________.
A．the ways of talking to a shy person
B．some favorable qualities to be a psychologist
C．how to make yourself attractive to your listeners
D．how to make a friend and be a friend
2.The words “ bring him out of his shell” in this passage most probably means ____.
A．make him become active
B．make him feel more nervous
C．help him understand the question better
D．help him listen intelligently
3.According to the passage, an important way in making friends is to ________.
A．attract them B．be attracted
C．listen attentively D．talk widely
4.The words “ Be alive to” in the last sentence of this passage most probably means________.
A．be aware of B．keep with
C．deal with D．be ignorant of
“ Down-to-earth” means someone or something that is honest, practical and easy to deal with．It is 36 to find someone who is down-to-earth．A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to 37 accepts other people as equals．A down-to-earth is just the 38 of someone who acts importantly and proudly.
Down-to-earth persons may be 39 members of society, of course．But they do not let their importance “ go to their 40 ”．They do not 41 themselves to be better persons than others of less importance, someone who is filled with his own importance and 42 , often without cause, is said to have “his nose in the air”．There is no way a person with his nose in the 43 can be down-to-earth．Americans use another expression that means almost the same 44 “down-to-earth”．The expression is “both-feet-on-the-ground”．Someone with both-feet-on-the-ground is a person 45 a good understanding of reality．He has what is called “ 46 sense”．He may have 47 , but he does not allow them to 48 his knowledge of what is real．The opposite kind of person is 49 who has his “head-in-the-clouds”．A man with his head in the clouds is a dreamer whose mind is not in the 50 world.
Sometimes 51 a dreamer can be brought back to earth． 52 words from a teacher can usually bring a day-dreaming student down-to-earth.
Usually, the person who is down-to-earth is very 53 to have both-feet-on-the-ground.
54 we have both our feet on-the-ground, when we are down-to-earth, we act 55 and openly toward others．Our lives are like the ground below us, solid and strong.
1.A．common B．sad C．pleasant D．surprising
2.A．but B．yet C．and D．while
3.A．kind B．like C．example D．opposite
4.A．important B．famous C．successful D．necessary
5.A．nose B．heads C．minds D．forehead
6.A．wish B．desire C．expect D．consider
7.A．proud B．pride C．famous D．fame
8.A．air B．sky C．tree D．cloud
9.A．like B．with C．of D．for
10.A．has B．who C．is D．with
11.A．usual B．ordinary C．common D．daily
12.A．dreams B．fortunes C．advantages D．luck
13.A．prevent B．protect C．block D．gain
14.A．one B．those C．that D．the one
15.A．reality B．real C．dreamful D．true
16.A．so B．such C．each D．that
17.A．Sharp B．No C．All D．Bad
18.A．able B．probable C．likely D．possible
19.A．When B．While C．As D．Since
20.A．kindly B．directly C．friendly D．honestly
_______________, his idea was accepted by all the people at the meeting.
A．Strange as might it sound B．As it might sound strange
C．As strange it might sound D．Strange as it might sound
