My friend Jim and I finally decided to spend our 14 days off in the eastern country.We were arranged to stay with a local family, which made it possible for us to share a real life experience with the locals and in return bring ourselves a richer experience of the native culture and tradition.
In the company of one of our well-informed local tour leaders, we started one of the trips to the nearby town . As we were passing elephants, we stopped , confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by a small rope tied to their front legs . No chains, no cages. It was obvious that these elephants could, at any time, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not . My friend went up to the trainer and asked why these beautiful animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,”he said , “When they were young and much smaller we used the same size rope to tie them and at that age, it was enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are accustomed to believing that they can not break away. They believe that the rope can hold them, so they never try to break free. We were amazed . These animals could at any time break away from their ropes but just because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we can not do something , simply because we failed at it once before ? How many of us are being held by outdated belief that no longer serves us ? How many of us have avoided trying something new because of a limited belief? Worse still , how many of us are being held back by someone else’s limiting beliefs? Your attempt may fail but never fail to make an attempt.
1.What was the author most interested in during his visit?
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A．The local people and elephants |
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B．The local culture and tradition |
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C．The history of the eastern country |
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D．The local food and scenery |
2.What amazed them was to see__________.
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A．the trainer playing skillfully with the huge animals |
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B．the trainer attracting the visitors’s attention in such a way |
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C．the huge elephants tied only by a small rope |
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D．the elephants being trained with small ropes |
3.The elephants never tried to get away because_______.
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A．they believed they couldn’t break away from the small ropes |
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B．they got used to being raised and controlled by human beings |
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C．they had a very close relationship with their trainers |
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D．it was hard to break away from the strong and powerful ropes |
4.The author holds the view that _______.
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A．people should never fail to make an attempt or get held by false beliefs |
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B．people should travel around and try new things |
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C．animals should be trained to obey their masters |
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D．it’s necessary to train creatures when they are young |
Does this sound familiar? It’s 3:00 am and you’re still awake and staring at the clock. You can’t sleep , and you’ve already tried all the familiar tricks – taken a warm bath , drunk a glass of heated milk ,tried counting sheep, and read a book –all with no success. If you are such a sufferer, remember you’re not alone. Experts said that one in every four Americans have trouble falling or staying asleep.
Lack of sleep can hurt your quality of life in so many ways. Short temper, impatience, poor decision-making, and mood swings are common among those with sleeping problems. Besides, relationships with family, friends, and co-workers may suffer as a result. Improper sleep can also put your safety at risk by reducing your awareness.
When you’re awake in the middle of the night, you can start to feel desperate for a way out . However, it makes sense to weigh the available treatments before choosing the one that’s right for you. Other sleep aids may seem like a quick fix, but it turns out that there are many disadvantages of these drugs. For one thing, they may require expensive, time-consuming trips to your physician. They may also be habit-forming or have unpleasant side effects like dizziness( 眩晕) dry mouth, and next-day sleepiness. Plus , they become less effective over time.
So what is the best sleep aid available on the market today? The answer is Somnapure , a product that represents nature and science coming together. This all-natural sleep aid which comes from Peak Life allows you to fall asleep quickly and remain asleep through the night . With Somnapure, you wake up feeling refreshed and energetic. Somnapure is currently giving away a 14-day trial here. Get your Somnapure trial for better, deeper sleep that you deserve.
1.From paragraph 1, we can know that sleep problems are_______.
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A．easy to make a sufferer lonely |
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B．common but hard to deal with |
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C．severe throughout the world |
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D．widespread only in the USA |
2.The underlined words“ a quick fix”(in paragraph3)most probably means____.
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A．a waste of money |
B．a quick repair |
C．an easy way out |
D．a cheap aid |
3.The purpose of the passage is to _______.
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A．ask people with sleep problems to try and use Somnapure |
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B．introduce a kind of medicine to help sleep better |
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C．draw people’s attention to the bad effects of the lack of sleep |
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D．talk about what the main causes of the sleep problems are |
4.We can infer that the passage is probably immediately followed by information about ______.
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A．the instructions to take Somnapure |
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B．the side effects of Somnapure |
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C．the price of Somnapure |
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D．the way to get Somnapure |
What kind of job do you want to do in the future ? One that earns the most money or one that gives you the highest social position? What about a job that makes you feel happy? Surprisingly, these three things do not always go together in the job world .
According to a general social survey by the National Organization for Research at the University of Chicago in the US, the ten happiest jobs are not those with better pay or higher social position. They are ordinary jobs.
But what is it that makes a “happy” job?
Researchers found that people are happier when they feel they are doing something worthwhile. Six of the top ten happiest jobs are based heavily on helping others, such as firefighters, teachers, and physical therapists(理疗师 ).
Being able to express oneself is also important for people to feel satisfied . Take authors as an example. Their pay is “ridiculously low or non-existent”, but “the freedom of writing down the contents of your own mind leads to happiness ,”wrote business author Steve Denning on his blog on Forbes.com.
These jobs are greatly different to the top ten “hated jobs”, according a website survey earlier this year. Director of information technology, sales manager, technical specialist and others that are generally considered respectable jobs are on the list.
Todd May from The New York Times didn’t find the results strange. He argued that
“ a meaningful life must, in some sense then , make people feel worthwhile”. If a person doesn’t participate in the causes “ that are generally regarded as worthy, like feeding and clothing the poor, their life will lack meaning ,”he said . Work takes up the greater part of most people’s lives . It’s no wonder that the people with the most worthwhile jobs are the happiest of all.
However, it’s important to remember that these two surveys are broad ones and that it doesn’t matter whether your dream job is on the two lists. Now it is the time to think about the future . After all, something that satisfies your mind will always bring you happiness.
1.According to the passage , which of the following is probably a happy job?
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A．A marketing manager |
B． An engineer of IT |
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C．A teacher of art |
D． A technical expert |
2.Steve Denning thinks that being an author is happy mainly because authors_____.
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A．are helpful to others |
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B．can be free to express themselves |
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C．earn much money |
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D．are considered respectable |
3.From the passage we learn that_________.
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A．the more you earn , the happier you are |
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B．respectable jobs are happy jobs |
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C．the higher your social position is , the happier you are |
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D．most happy jobs are related to helping others |
4.In the last paragraph the author stresses that_________.
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A．your future job should be one that makes you happy |
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B．your dream jobs should be based on the two surveys |
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C．the two surveys are of great importance |
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D．it won’t be easy to find a job in the future |
To Whom It May Concern:
On March 5, 2012 , I bought a Perfect Muffin Kit(松饼粉 ) from your store at Midfield Shopping Center. The cashier who assisted me was George. George was very friendly and told me that the Perfect Muffin Kit would live up to the guarantee on the box: “Perfect Muffins Every Time!”.
Unfortunately, this product did not live up to what it promised . The muffins I made were far from perfect . I followed the directions in the package very carefully . First , I removed the bag of mix from the box. Then , I poured it into a bowl. Next, I added the correct amount of water to the mix and stirred it. According to the directions, after stirring the mixture , I added half a cup of dried prapes, nuts , berries, or another favorite ingredient(配料 ) . My favorite ingredient happens to be hot sauce (沙司 ). I find that a bit of hot sauce makes pizza and soup taste very delicious. So, continuing to follow the directions, I added half a cup of hot sauce to the mix and stirred it. Finally, I poured the mix into muffin tins and baked it in the baker at 350 degrees for exactly 20 minutes.
When the muffins finished baking, I was very excited to eat the “Perfect Muffins” as promised on the box. You can imagine my disappointment when, upon tasting the muffins, I discovered that they were not perfect. These muffins were , in fact , absolutely terrible. Not even my dog was interested in eating these supposedly “perfect”muffins.
I would appreciate a full refund(退款 ) of $3.99 for this product as soon as possible. Enclosed are the receipt, the empty box, and one of the un-perfect muffins so that you can experience it for yourself . Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely ,
Michelle Bauer
1.This letter is most likely addressed to _______.
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A．a local storeowner |
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B．the owner of the muffin mix company |
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C．the clerk at a local muffin bakery |
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D．George, the cashier who sold the muffin mix |
2.The tone(语气 ) of the author can best be described as ________.
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A．embarrassed |
B．hopeless |
C．disappointed |
D．disgusted |
3.The author was unhappy with the product because________.
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A．the directions of the product contained a mistake |
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B．it was not up to the promise made on the box |
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C．it was too difficult to follow the directions |
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D．it was worth less money than she paid for it |
4.The author’s main purpose in writing this letter is to ________.
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A．prevent others from making the same mistake |
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B．persuade the company to change the wording on their box |
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C．get back all the money paid from the shop |
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D．complain about how bad the muffins tasted |
We all have weaknesses and strengths—no matter who we are .Some get sick easily.
Some are 36 people in communication, struggling with 37 .
Sometimes weaknesses seem to outweigh (胜过)the strengths and sometimes it’s the other way around. 38 ,facing huge limitations, many people tend to 39 it as just bad luck ---but not everyone. Those who rise over their weaknesses can still manage to 40 extraordinary things.
I 41 a school prize –giving ceremony and the guest speaker was Andrew Becroft, 42 had a severe stutter (结巴 ) as a child . 43 allowing this to limit him , he chose to overcome it. Now he is a famous judge . Not only 44 he become successful, but he did so in a profession 45 he had to speak before others regularly. Had he not worked on his 46 ability, it would have been very limiting to his success in life and work.
Many people face far huger limitations, such as loss 47 legs or arms , being born extremely poor, 48 you do. But whatever the limitation, you’ll 49 find people who have overcome it. Helen Keller, who fell 50 and lost her sight and hearing at 19 months old, worked hard to be a famous woman with great 51 . Mark Inglis lost both his legs in a mountain climbing accident, 52 has since climbed Mt. Everest.
If one of them had told you what they hoped to achieve, you would have nodded kindly while 53 thinking to yourself that they had no chance . And yet the results speak for 54 .
Though most of us will never have to face such challenges , yet most of us will never achieve to the 55 that these people have either if we never seriously think of what we can do.
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19.A. yourself B, ourselves C. themselves D. itself
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You can’t have lost the keys.___ all your pockets again.
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A．Go down |
B．Go against |
C．Go through |
D．Go across |
