Ryan and Lowry had been friends since high school， but it wasn’t until after college that they hit on the idea of a home-care-products company．“We were shocked to learn how toxic cleaning products were” says Ryan．Why couldn’t they create green products that would be just as environmentally pure as Aveda’s skin-and-hair-care lines?
When Ryan’s mom heard about the plan，she stared at him blankly: “I’ve never even seen you clean your room!” Not discouraged，Lowry experimented with nontoxic ways to clean while Ryan focused on marketing．In February 2001，they mixed their first four cleaning sprays and convinced the managers of 20 grocers to try them· Once they had their approval，they tapped friends and family and pooled their savings to come up with $90，000 in seed money．
From the start，“Go big or go home’’ was their mantra(口头禅)．Their first financing— that $l million—was due to be signed on September 11, 2001. By the time they got it, two months later，says Ryan, "we had$16 in the bank and personally owed$300,000.”
Seeking a national retailer(零售商)proved just as troublesome．The friends set their sights on Target，known for its trendy，affordable goods．“But Target didn’t like the product or the brand，”recalled Ryan．“We thought the deal was dead，but then a new buyer saw that even though we weren’t selling big volumes, we were profitable, just on a smaller scale．”They won over Target．
Consumers were hooked on the natural things and wonderful fragrance. Today, the partners sell 130 products in more than 8,000 stores，and taxes are over$100 million. Such rapid growth has at times stressed the men’s friendship. “Eric and I agree on ‘what’ but never on ‘how，’ says Lowry． “Although we are willing to challenge each other，we come up with interesting and smarter solutions．There’s little fire and ice between us.”
1.The underlined word “toxic” in Paragraph 1 most probably means——·
A．poisonous B．dirty C．expensive D．troublesome
2.When Ryan told his mom his plan, ___________.
A．he knew his mom was sure to support him
B．his mom asked him to clean his room
C．his mom suspected his ability
D．he was discouraged by his mom
3.We can learn from the third paragraph that ___________．
A．Ryan and Lowry wanted to give up and go home at first
B．their plan didn’t go smoothly at the very beginning
C．they made profit two months later after their first financing
D．$1 million was not enough as their seed money
4.The partners’ cleaning products are sold very well because_________．
A．the products are made of natural material and smell nice
B．their friends and family offered to use their products
C．they cooperated with a well—known national retailer
D．they convinced 20 grocer managers to try them
5.It can be inferred from the passage that___________．
A．Aveda’s skin-and-hair-care lines are not so successful as Ryan and Lowry’s
B．Target is a famous environment-friendly cleaning brand
C．The friends "cooperation with Target was very successful
D．The partners get on well with each other in their business
Some couples spend every waking minute together. Others fill their hours with personal hobbies,outside interests and even part-time jobs, just to keep their distance from each other! "There should be private time and couple time," suggests Dr. Stephen Treat at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia."You don't want your latter years to turn into a process where two people unite as one. If you hold too tightly to your partner, it's going to cause resentment and anger. If you're completely separate, you'll both be lonely and disconnected. You need balance. So you have to talk about how you'll achieve that."
The right balance? It's different for every couple. "Having a conversation about time can be difficult,but it's important for both partners to process those feelings out loud," Dr. Treat says. "You should not be accusing and act as a judge—ask the difficult questions, but do it in a loving way. You could say something like, 'How are we going to be as individuals and how are we going to be as a couple?' "
Barbara and Chris Christensen have achieved the balance that works for them. In addition to daily routines that keep them close—including about 10 minutes for a daily check-in and about a half hour of relaxation time—they each maintain separate interests and friendships.
"We have found that we need time apart," Barbara says. "I have a group of women friends that I have known for the last 30 years. We have dinner out once a month. We women also have parties and weekend or weeklong vacations as a group at a beach or somewhere. Chris, a former fighter pilot, has many aviation-oriented(航空的) groups and friends and also a poker-playing group of our friends. I may be with him during the poker night, but I don't play, and the wives usually watch a chick flick' DVD or something while the poker group has an evening of fun. We have found it important to have separate time as well as together time."
1.The author writes the passage to ______.
A. offer some suggestions on how to spend the time after retirement
B. advise couples to develop their separate hobbies
C. warn couples not to be accusing each other
D. give people some advice on how to entertain themselves after retirement
2. Dr. Stephen suggests that _________after retirement.
A. couples stay together all the time
B. couples express their feelings in a loving way
C. couples be separate
D. wives make many friends
3.It can be inferred that________.
A. many couples are faced with problems after retirement
B. America has a large population of retired people
C. most people join various social groups after retirement
D. playing poker is a popular activity among retired people
4.Barbara and her friends do the following EXCEPT_______.
A. having dinner regularly
B. holding parties
C. having weekly vacations at the beach
D. having fun playing poker
5.The second paragraph is mainly intended to_______.
A. warn the husband not to act as a judge
B. suggest couples have discussions about difficulties
C. suggest how to keep the correct balance
D. require couples to be considerate
I used to work in an office, which had a Iocust tree growing outside the window. It had grown into a tall tree and must have been there for a long time. The tree blocked the view and made the office seem dull. Unfortunately, this happened to be the room assigned to me, and l was depressed by it for quite some time.
When the first spring came, everything was green except the locust tree.I felt very happy because I had thought it had died!
One morning, when I opened the window for some fresh air, I unexpectedly smelt a familiar sweet scent floating into my office which I could not name. Suddenly,I realized it was the locust tree!The tree that I thought dead was in full bloom!
From then on, I usually came to the office very early to see dew forming on the locust tree blossoms, and was eager to see spring again every year.
During summer, the green leaves provided shade protecting me from the harsh sunlight, but allowing enough light in to make it pleasant. In autumn, the leaves turned many different colors. Its beauty touched my soul. Many times, I thought to take photos but never did. Then, I had to leave in a hurry. Later in life, it became a great regret that I had not done so.
Actually, many times in our lives we think we own something and thus do not value it. We don't feel regretful until we lose it one day! Moreover, sometimes, we have to accept the things we don't want and need to discover the hidden beauty to find unexpected joy!
1. The locust tree first attracted the author most by____.
A. the way it blocked the view B. its height
C. the smell of its flowers D. its green leaves
2.In which season do you think the author paid the least attention to the locust tree?
A. Spring. B. Summer C. Autumn. D. Winter.
3.Which of the following statements is true of the author according to the passage?
A. He would have regretted if the locust tree had died as he had thought it had.
B. The locust tree turned out to be a lovely memory for him.
C. He felt unhappy as he had forgotten to take the photos with him.
D. His work in the office changed with the seasons every year.
4.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. the locust tree died soon after the author left the office
B. the author worked in the office for at least a few years
C. it was summer when the author took his job in the office
D. the weather was dry when the author first saw the tree
5.What advice does the author intend to give us?
A. Treasure what we've owned. B. Look before you leap.
C. Treat everything calmly. D. Never forget the past.
Today I felt very uncomfortable studying English as usual．My eyes were 36 and my mind was confused．I buried my head deep in the great pile of books．Many vocabulary words 37 my mind．As more and more entered，I 38 focus，and my 39 became crazy．The clock hands were pointing at twelve. I always 40 the time when I study．Without any fruitful results，I felt more 41 and tired．I 42 up and walked to the living room just to take a little break． 43 that would make me feel better．The street lamps looked like stars outside the window．A few scattered(分散的)branches 44 shadows on the French window．Something seemed more 45 and quiet than before．I walked to the 46 slowly，and let my face press against it， 47 very carefully…oh my God!!…It’s snow! It was very bright and covered up the whole 48 while I was studying English painfully, so white and so quiet．At this moment, I was so 49 that I felt like I might burst into tears．The snow was like a spring 50 into my heart，and my eyes were shining with it．All my pain and tiredness 51 at this moment，as the snow dropped into my heart．
I quickly became calm again as the excitement went away．I sat on the bed silently，and drew the 52 to one side to let the white house and white tree stay just beside my bed．I thought this must be a(n) 53 from God，because I liked snow so much． 54 I was weakest and most helpless in this world，nothing could inspire me but 55 ．I should inspire myself from such a beautiful scene．
|
1.A. closed |
B. tired |
C. shining |
D. weeping |
|
2.A. left |
B. confused |
C. filled |
D. impressed |
|
3.A. lost |
B. got |
C. realized |
D. changed |
|
4.A. thoughts |
B. feeling |
C. words |
D. concept |
|
5.A. waste |
B. limit |
C. remember |
D. forget |
|
6.A. flexible |
B. guilty |
C. unhappy |
D. curious |
|
7.A. stood |
B. turned |
C. checked |
D. hurried |
|
8.A. Sure |
B. Maybe |
C. Immediately |
D. Always |
|
9.A. shook |
B. cast |
C. like |
D. printed |
|
10.A.disappointing |
B. frightening |
C. bright |
D. light |
|
11.A. shadow |
B. lamp |
C. branch |
D. window |
|
12.A. looking |
B. thinking |
C. moving |
D. cleaning |
|
13.A. night |
B. house |
C. world |
D. mind |
|
14.A. disturbed |
B. excited |
C. surprised |
D. bored |
|
15.A. pouring |
B. delivering |
C. drilling |
D. rising |
|
16.A. occurred |
B. arose |
C. escaped |
D. disappeared |
|
17.A. bed |
B. curtain |
C. desk |
D. book |
|
18.A. anger |
B. smile |
C. gift |
D. punishment |
|
19.A. As usual |
B. As a result |
C. At last |
D. At a time |
|
20.A. snow |
B. God |
C. white |
D. beauty |
It was not until yesterday that I realized ____ silly mistakes I had made.
A．what B．that C．how D．which
With mum’s birthday around the corner, I have taken some money out of the bank _____ a present for her.
A．buy B．to be bought
C．buying D．to buy
