Confucius said, “In a group of three people, there is always something I can learn. Choose to follow the strengths of others, and use their shortcomings to reflect upon ourselves.”
As you can see from what Confucius said, everyone that we come across can teach us something useful. As long as we reflect on the lessons learnt from and by other people, we can continuously improve ourselves. But take note that when you reflect on these lessons, you apply some wisdom to each lesson because each situation is unique although they share some common principles.
We can learn a lot from everyone. We always tend to think that we can only learn from those who are higher in status or have more knowledge than us, but that is not really the case. We learn from those who are lower in status than us as well, because the experience and knowledge of each person is very different.
The best thing about this type of learning, reflecting other people’s strengths and shortcomings onto ourselves, is that we do not pay for the mistakes that are made. The only cost to us is the time that is needed to learn about and reflect on these lessons from other people’s lives.
As we all know, some mistakes can be ones which people cannot afford to make, for instance, a broken friendship or a financial loss. Thus constantly using other people’s strengths and shortcomings to reflect upon ourselves makes us realize the costs of these mistakes and reduces the possibility that we will make similar mistakes.
What can we do now to learn from others? By keeping our eyes and ears open. Be observant and able to realize what strengths and shortcomings other people have. A lot of people in this world like to complain about their lives. Listen to them and make you own assessment and from your own assessment, reflect upon your life and make improvements where necessary.
1.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Confucius thought we should learn from strengths of others.
B. Only from those who have more knowledge than us can we learn.
C. It is by reflecting on the lessons learnt by others that we can improve ourselves.
D. Reflecting upon other people’s strengths and shortcomings can help us make fewer mistakes.
2.The underlined part “this type of learning” in the fourth paragraph probably refers to_______.
A. learning from other people’s mistakes
B. learning from others’ experiences
C. finding what strengths and shortcomings other people have
D. reflecting others’ strengths and shortcomings onto ourselves
3.From the fifth paragraph, we learn that _______.
A. sometimes we can afford the costs of a broken friendship
B. our reflection will necessarily reduce our mistakes
C. some reflection will help to improve ourselves
D. reflection will stop us from making any mistakes in life
4.The passage is probably taken from __________.
A. a magazine about life B. a book about travel
C. an advertisement D. a research report
5.What does this passage mainly talk about?
A. How to improve oneself.
B. How to use the shortcomings of others to reflect upon ourselves.
C. How to reduce the mistakes in one’s life.
D. How to learn from other people’s strengths and shortcomings.
President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to an important truth today—that business institutions have more prestige（威望）in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions possess this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly（垄断）of power. In contrast to one all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers’ dollars, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, than democracy（民主）in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic（贵族的）idea of inherited privilege.
1.The statement “The business of America is business” probably means ________.
A. America is a great power in world business
B. Business is of primary concern to Americans
C. The business institutions in America are concerned with commerce
D. Business problems are of great importance to the American government
2.Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only _______.
A. by protecting their individual freedom
B. when given equality of opportunity
C. by way of competition
D. through doing business
3.Who can benefit from business competition?
A. People with ideals of equality and freedom.
B. Both business institutions and government.
C. Honest businessmen.
D. Both businessmen and their customers.
4.Government is believed to differ strikingly from business in that government is characterized by ________.
A. its role in protecting basic American values
B. its absolute control of power
C. its democratic way of exercising leadership
D. its function in preserving personal freedom
5.It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes ___________.
A. in many countries success often depends on one’s social status
B. businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in America
C. American businesses are more democratic than those in other countries
D. Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries
Monitoring global warming usually requires a Ph. D. and enough maths to glaze your eyes. But that Francisco Lopez and Ruby Nostrant track（记录）what climate change is doing to five different plants in Tucson, Arizona and they are only in the second grade.
“We are collecting data because the weather is changing and the plants are blooming,” Ruby explained.
Scores of other students at Borton Primary Magnet School and Sunnyside High School in Tucson are heading outdoors to be part of a new scientific push to figure out how the biological timing of the earth is changing. It’s a research project that the average person, even a kindergartner, can join in.
The National Phenology（生物气候学）Network is calling on volunteers to help track early spring blooms and eventually changes in animals caused by global warming. It’s called Project Budburst. When it was first open to the public last year, thousands of people participated in 26 states.
“All people can contribute to it by tracking the timing of flowering events or leaf-out events for plants and animals in their backyard,” said Phenology Network director Jake Weltzin. He calls the volunteers “citizen-scientists.”
The idea is that tracking flowers blooming—especially lilacs（丁香）; which everyday people have helped track for decades—is fairly simple. The Website http://www.Windows.ucar.edu/ citizen_science/budburst/index.html gives directions on what to look for in different parts of the country.
University of Maryland professor David Inouye said it’s so easy to figure out what’s blooming that a lack of special knowledge isn’t a problem.
University of Arizona ecology graduate student Lisa Benton coordinated（协调）the Tucson high school students as they looked at plants five minutes from their high school. Each student has specific guidelines and she’s been happy so far with the data she is getting. For his part, second-grader Francisco said he had fun helping out.
“I like going out in the desert,” he said. “I want to be an Einstein.”
1.Francisco Lopez and Ruby Nostrant are monitoring global warming by __________.
A. watching early spring blooms and changes in animals
B. studying the biological timing of earth
C. collecting data of the local weather
D. tracking the early spring blooms of some local plants
2.Those who participate in Project Budburst are mostly ___________.
A. ecology college graduates B. high school students
C. common people D. experts
3.What David Inouye says suggests that ____________.
A. the study carried out by students is convincing
B. the students still need special training to study climate change
C. it is difficult to study climate change
D. to figure out what’s blooming needs special knowledge
4.Who is primary school student joining in the Project Budburst?
A. Lisa Benton. B. David Inouye
C. Francisco Lopez. D. Jake Weltzin.
5.We can conclude from the passage that _______.
A. changes in animals caused by global warming happen earlier than those in plants
B. the biological timing of earth is changing because of climate change
C. the effect of climate change in Tucson, Arizona can be hardly noticed
D. all the plants in Tucson, Arizona are blooming earlier because of climate change
假设你是红星中学高三年级一班的学生李华，近日你班同学参加了世界自然基金会WWF组办的“我为哥本哈根减斤碳”活动，大家开始在日常生活中减少能源、纸张等的消耗。请根据以下四幅图提供的信息，给某英文杂志写一篇以“Low-carbon Living”为题的英文稿件，介绍你们参加此次活动第一天的具体做法并谈自己的看法。
字数100-120字
［1］Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict”. He jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled”. Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and sports shirt to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I’m working harder than ever”. David says, “And I need to feel comfortable”.
[ 2 ]More and more companies are allowing their office workers to in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday. This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
[ 3 ]Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “Many young people don’t want to dress up for work”, says the owner of a software company, “So it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code”. Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employees’ motivation. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative influence on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day”, one person said, “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes”.
1.Why does David Smith wear casual clothes now? (no more than 8 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.List three advantages of casual office wear according to the text? (no more than 10 words)
①______________________________________________________________________________
②______________________________________________________________________________
③______________________________________________________________________________
3.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words. (no more than 6 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
4.What does it mean by a conservative dress code? (no more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
5.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3? (no more than 18 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Human beings are the most intelligent of all animals because we are gifted with the ability to think and reason logically. Scientists and even common people with special intelligence have made a lot of inventions and contributions to modern lifestyle in the past. “Houses” have been the most popular area for discoveries and inventions in the past and even now.
Many household items have been the result of inventions of people who desired better functioning of the existent products. Every individual has intelligence and if it is used properly for the right purpose it leads to invention of a new tool or device. Many new household inventions are made almost every day and there are specific companies, which particularly keep a record of all these inventions.
A lot of inventions have been made recently in the household field. These products are patented(专利的)and have trade mark licenses(许可). The patented sliding cinch is a very simple but effective method to prevent shoulder stress and injury for those who work before computers all day long. Vanity PC is a type of computer furniture that specifically hides all the computer wires and keeps a clean and good look. All the outdoor dust, mud and snow can be kept out of the house by installing(安装)the dirt drain(排水管)at the entrance of the door. Another important invention is the automatic toilet night-light, in which a small light starts when the lid of the toilet seat is opened and closes as soon as the lid is closed.
These are some of the new household inventions invented mostly by common people. Thus, a variety of new household items are invented every day, which helps in a better functioning of household chores and in a more useful manner.
1.The first paragraph tells us the importance of _________.
A. the particular changes in houses
B. human beings’ role in making inventions
C. the advantages of modern lifestyle
D. the difference between human beings and animals
2.What plays the most important role in causing people to invent new things?
A. To earn more money and gain awards.
B. To be recorded by some special companies.
C. To improve the present living conditions.
D. To meet the new demands of new science.
3.It can be inferred that the sliding cinch is used to _________.
A. prevent your shoulder from being over-pressured
B. keep your shoulder safe and sound when you are in an accident or an operation
C. help you practice your shoulder more often and reduce shoulder pains
D. cover your shoulder and make it stronger to resist the outside strike
4.Common people can also make good inventions because __________.
A. wisdom and inspiration sometimes come from everyday life
B. some inventions are easy to be made and can be mastered by common people
C. common people have a strong desire to do something for science research
D. success is often connected with hardship and bitter experience of common people
5.The passage is mainly talking about _________.
A. the correct use of household facilities
B. different ideas about household inventions
C. the history of household inventions
D. household inventions and their influence
