Read the passage carefully． Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words．
Hidden deep in our subconscious is an idyllic（牧歌般的，田园诗式的）vision． We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent． We are traveling by train． Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls． But uppermost in our minds is the final destination． On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station． Bands will be playing and flags waving． Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle． How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for hanging around—waiting, waiting, waiting for the station． “When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry． “When I’m 18．”; “When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz!”; “When I put the last kid through college．”; “When I paid off the mortgage!”; “When I get a promotion．”; “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!” Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all． The true joy of life is the trip． The station is only a dream． It constantly outdistances us． “Relish（享受）the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 180: 24: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it．” It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad, it is the regrets over yesterday and fear of tomorrow． Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today． So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles． Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less． Life must be lived as we go along． The station will come soon enough．
（Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TWELVE WORDS．）
1.What does the author of this passage compare life to?
______________________________________________________________________________．
2. Hidden in the uppermost part of our minds is________________________________．
3.Life is made dull and boring by______________________________________
4. According to the author, what is the true meaning of life?
___________________________________________________________________________
Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph． There is one extra heading which you do not need．
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A． Don’t overlook talented people around you B． Seize the opportunity when it comes up C． Stay humble D． Find the system that works for your style E． Keep Honest Forever F． Work hard |
1. __________
Lin（Jeremy Shu-How Lin）got to start for the Knicks because they had to start him． They had too many injuries． Baron Davis was gone． The other point guards were out． Carmelo Anthony was injured． Amare Stoudemire had to leave the team because of a family death． Lin could have squandered the opportunity and we would have never have noticed． But he made the most of it． You never know when opportunities are going to arise in life． Often, they’re when you least expect them． Make the most of them． Don’t waster them．
2. __________
Lin isn’t Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant． He’s not a pure scorer． He’s a passer and distributor – who can also score very well． It didn’t work for him in Golden State or Houston – where he was before landing at the Knicks． But Mike D’Antoni’s system at the Knicks has been perfect for him to show off his strengths． You’ve got to do your best to understand what your strengths are and then ensure that you’re in a system （a job or organization or industry） that is a good fit for those strengths． Otherwise, people overlook the talents you bring to the table．
3. __________
You probably manage people at your own company today． Are you sure you don’t have a Jeremy Lin living among you now? How do you know that “Mike” couldn’t do amazing things if you gave him a new project to run with? How do you know “Sarah” isn’t the right person to take the open job in London that you’ve been talking over with your colleagues? We put people around us in boxes． He’s from Harvard． He’s Asian-American． Not sure he can play． How many assumptions have you made about talent around you? Don’t be like the General Managers in Golden State and Houston, and let talent slip through your fingers． With all their money, scouts（球探）, and testing, they didn’t have a clue what they had in their hands． Do you know what your people （or even yourself） are really capable of? Take off the blinders of assumptions you wear when you look at the world．
4. __________
If you one day are lucky enough to have newspapers want to put you on the cover in order to sell more, don’t let it get to your head． It’s been remarkable watching how humble Lin remains through all this media craze． It makes his teammates and fans love him that much more．
5. __________
Lin couldn’t have seized his opportunity if he hadn’t worked like crazy for years perfecting his skills． There are no short cuts to hard work． Success is a by product of that． If you’ve got a Tiger Mom who’s always pushed you to work hard, great． If not, let your conscience be your own Tiger Mom! Get up early, stay up late． Nobody gave Lin any free passes． Why should you get any? You can only control what you control and that means you’ve got to work harder than anyone else you know．
The popular college rankings focus primarily on prestige as measured by the SAT scores of incoming students and how many applicants are turned away． An initiative（措施）started last fall by the Obama administration could help families go beyond these limited, and far too easily exploited, indexes to learn quickly and easily how a college is compared with its competitors nationally on important criteria like graduation rates, what a degree actually costs and how much debt a student can expect to run up by graduation day．
If the federal government makes it legally necessary to disclose this information in a clear and consistent（一贯的）way, as it should, families will be better able to make informed college choices． And this will help put pressure on colleges that perform poorly to improve．
Critics may regard this initiative as an example of government overreach． But given that the federal government spends nearly $190 billion a year on higher education aid to students, it has a legitimate interest in making sure that the money flows to the schools that best meet their responsibilities to families and students．
Congress has taken some steps to require greater transparency（透明）from colleges． The 1990 Student Right to Know Act, for example, required colleges and universities that receive federal aid to disclose graduation rates． And the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act required schools to offer a way for consumers to determine actual costs after student aid is taken into account．
But many colleges have done a poor job of obeying federal disclosure rules, and much of the available information is not in one place． The administration’s new efforts would enforce reporting requirements and provide some new tools．
President Obama wants to expand campus-based aid to about $10 billion from the current $2．7 billion． He has proposed moving money away from colleges that fail to control tuition increases or provide good value to others that do a better job． That is a worthy idea in principle, but he will need strong data-based evidence to determine how colleges are doing．
The transparency initiatives are a good place to start and should be embraced by both parties in Congress． If students and families, facing higher tuition and rising debt, are to make sound choices, they need more and better information．
1.Why did the Obama administration start the initiative last fall?
A． To require colleges to make their graduation rates known to the public．
B． To help colleges perform better in the future．
C． To help parents and students make better choices of colleges．
D． To put more pressure on colleges that are not doing well enough．
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A． Critics agree that the government should require colleges to obey the disclosure rules．
B． Congress has approved and made the transparency initiatives a law．
C． SAT scores alone do not determine one’s choice of college．
D． Students and families find it very difficult to choose their ideal colleges now．
3.A most suitable title for the passage could be______．
A． Congress To Require Greater Transparency
B． What College Parents and Students Need to Know
C． What a Good College Is Measured By
D． Parents and Students Need to Make Wise Choices
4.What attitude does the author hold towards the transparency initiative?
A． supportive B． critical C． indifferent D． not stated
There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown． They probably came about just to give children something to do．
In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another． In societies where social roles are rigidly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers． This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world．
What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same． The changes have been mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology． It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing． In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the Arctic （北极的） peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared． Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys imitate their surroundings． Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles．
Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been subject to technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use． The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of ascent （进步）． The progress from a rattle used by a baby in 3,000 BC to one used by an infant today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness． Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of available materials．
1.Which is a major factor leading to the different variations of toys?
A． Scientific advances and technological progress
B． Different local customs and lifestyles of different peoples
C． Craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology
D． The artistic tastes of the times and the limitations of available materials
2.Why do boys and girls play with different kinds of toys?
A． Because they are intended for different social roles and responsibilities．
B． Because boys like to invent and girls imitate．
C． Because boys play with their fathers while girls their mothers．
D． Because they will take up different jobs when they grow up．
3.One amazing aspect about the “universality of toys” is______．
A． They appeared all over the world almost at the same time in history．
B． They have not changed except in craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology．
C． Having existed for thousands of years, toys are still found all over the world today．
D． They are a kind of art form, which has been promoted by inventiveness．
The rise of multinational corporations （跨国公司）, global marketing, new communications technologies, and shrinking cultural differences have led to an unparalleled increase in global public relations or PR．
Surprisingly, since modern PR was largely an American invention, America’s relations is being threatened by PR efforts in other countries． Ten years ago, for example, the world’s top five public relations agencies were American-owned． In 1991, only one was． The British in particular are becoming more sophisticated and creative． A recent survey found that more than half of all British companies include PR as part of their corporate （公司的） planning activities, compared to about one-third of U．S． companies． It may not be long before London replaces New York as the capital of PR．
Why is America lagging behind in the global PR race? First, Americans as a whole tend to be fairly provincial and take more of an interest in local affairs． Knowledge of world geography, for example, has never been strong in this country． Secondly, Americans lag behind their European and Asian counterparts （相对应的人） in knowing a second language． Less than 5 percent of Burson—Marshall’s U．S．employees know two languages． Ogilvy and Mather have about the same percentage． Conversely, some European firms have half or more of their employees fluent in a second language． Finally, people involved in PR abroad tend to keep a closer eye on international affairs． In the financial PR area, for instance, most Americans read the Wall Street Journal． Overseas, their counterparts read the Journal as well as the Financial Times of London and The Economist, publications not often read in this country．
Perhaps the PR industry might take a lesson from Ted Turner of CNN （Cable News Network）． Turner recently announced that the word “foreign” would no longer be used on CNN news broadcasts． According to Turner, global communications have made the nations of the world so interdependent that there is no longer any such thing as foreign．
1.Compared with the American PR personnel, what is/are an advantage（s） of the non-Americans involved in PR?
A． They tend to be more internationally minded
B． They speak more and better foreign languages．
C． They usually pay more attention to global financial situation．
D． Both A and B．
2.What is the immediate cause of the downfall of America’s public relations?
A． The number of US public relations agencies had greatly decreased by 1991．
B． Other countries have increased their efforts in public relations．
C． On the global scale, cultural differences have significantly shrunk．
D． The British companies are becoming especially sophisticated and creative in public relations．
3.It could be inferred that the author of the passage is______．
A． an American B． a Briton
C． Ted Turner D． an Asian
4.The underlined word “provincial” in paragraph 3 could possibly mean “ ”．
A． strict in thinking B． like people from rural areas
C． limited in outlook D． interested in geographical knowledge
For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D． Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context．
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of 1 , teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become． You 2 know who these people maybe （possibly your roommate, neighbor, co-worker, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger）, but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some 3 way．
And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful． and unfair at first, but __4__you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart．
Everything happens for a reason． Nothing happens5 or by means of good luck． Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul． 6 these small tests whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere． It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly 7 ． The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become．
Even the 8 experiences can be learned from． In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones． If someone hurts you, 9 you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart． If someone loves you, love them back 10 , not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your 11 and eyes to things．
Make every day count． 12 every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again． Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen． Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high． Hold your head up because you have 13 right to． Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you． You can make of your life anything you wish． Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no 14 ．
Most importantly, if you LOVE someone, tell him or her, for you never know what tomorrow may have 15 ． And learn a lesson in life each day that you live．
That’s the story of life．
1.A． people B． purpose C． intention D． advantage
2.A． already B． sometimes C． should D． never
3.A． limited B． strange C． other D． profound
4.A． in reflection B． in reality C． in addition D． in a way
5.A． on purpose B． by any chance C． by accident D． on principle
6.A． Despite B． With C． For all D． Without
7.A． bored B． pointless C． undeserved D． meaningful
8.A． good B． different C． bad D． pleasant
9.A． betrays B． loves C． appreciates D． understands
10.A． in turn B． moderately C． unconditionally D． in a way
11.A． mouth B． mind C． heart D． emotion
12.A． ComprehendB． Appreciate C． Expect D． Evaluate
13.A． every B． each C． proper D． exact
14.A． ambition B． hatred C． belief D． regrets
15.A． in the futureB． in stock C． in store D． in pursuit
