One day when I was driving on the freeway, I noticed all the way there were large dividing walls, which had been built between it and the road running parallel to it, for noise reduction (减少) and a sense of separation. The purpose was to create a sense of privacy (隐私) for people on the other side.
This got me thinking: How often do we put up mental barriers that keep us distant from others? Lifting the artificial barriers that keep us apart can offer opportunities to express our goodwill and create better relationships. If we can do like this, maybe our life will be a little different.
There is a little post office in a nearby town, and since it is closer to me than the post office in my own town, I go there. One day, with many people jammed into the little building, a man came hurrying in to mail a letter, and the girl at the counter saw he had too little postage on it. She told him he needed 2 more cents. Obviously he was a little at a loss. He had hurried over from his office, and didn’t have any money on him or time to stand in line. He was going to run back to get the needed money and wait in line again, but he hurried to get the letter mailed in the first place.
As we were watching him, one woman volunteered a two-cent stamp, and the whole line became very quiet. It was a beautiful moment. The man hesitated for a little while and asked her if she was sure, and she assured him she was fine with giving him the stamp. He offered to go back to his office to get the two cents, and she told him not to bother.
It was a small thing, but it meant something to both of the people involved, and to the rest of us. We aren’t a yard that needs defining or a freeway that needs barriers. We are human beings who can contribute to each other’s wellbeing by taking time to pay attention and interact. After all, we are all parts of a whole living in society.
1.The purpose of the first paragraph is to __________.
A. summarize the main idea
B. give detailed information
C. tell readers the author’s opinion
D. introduce the topic
2.What happened after the man being told he needed two more cents?
A. The man went back to his office immediately.
B. The man turned to a lady for help.
C. A woman offered a stamp to the man.
D. The man waited in line patiently.
3.What can we learn about the author?
A. She pays too much attention to privacy.
B. She believes people should participate in the world around them.
C. She confuses real barriers with false ones.
D. She insists all small things always have the greatest meaning.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Artificial Barriers B. Unnecessary Separation
C. An Unforgettable Experience D. The Kindness of People
Are you an optimist? Do you look at your glass and see it as half full? Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that things generally turn out for the best? Do you believe that if something is meant to be, it will be? If you reply “yes” to all of these questions, then you are an optimist. You probably are enthusiastic, cheerful and outgoing. You may be successful at work and in love.
But you may be misguided because things don’t turn out for the best. You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example, you may fail to obtain a new job; another chance will come around soon). Wrong. When one door closes, another door slams (砰然关上) in your face. That’s bitter reality.
Now a book has been published which confirms what pessimists (悲观者) have suspected all along. It’s called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism. Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results. Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear, anxiety and worry. Defensive pessimists prepare for the things by setting low outcomes for themselves. They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems. And this gives them a sense of control. Lawrence Sanno, a psychology professor, says, “What’s interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people, so their low opinion of the situation’s outcomes is not realistic. They use it to motivate themselves to perform better.”
So far, so good. This is not rocket science. Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong, whether at work, on date or even in a sports game. It makes sense to have a back-up plan. There are many sayings in English urging caution. For example, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” And “Don’t count your chickens until they hatch.” To have a confident and optimistic approach to life’s problems is good. But listen to what Woody Alien, the American comedian says, “Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.”
There are pros and cons to being an optimist and a pessimist. Don’t feel bad if you see the glass half empty. You are a realist. But lighten up and hook up with someone who sees the same glass half full.
1.What’s the passage mainly about?
A. A book that has recently been published.
B. How to become successful in life.
C. The dangers of being too optimistic.
D. The benefits of defensive pessimism.
2.The underlined sentence “This is not rocket science” (Para. 4) means __________.
A. it’s not a dangerous thing to do
B. it is quite simple to understand
C. the cost is not so high
D. there is no real proof
3.Which of the following English expressions would a defensive pessimist believe?
A. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
B. The glass is half full not half empty.
C. Whatever will be, will be.
D. Every cloud has a silver lining.
4.The writer would probably describe himself as __________.
A. an optimist B. a defeatist C. a realist D. a scientist
Eddie’s father used to say he’d spent so many years by the ocean, breathing seawater. Now, away from that ocean, in the hospital bed, his body began to look like a beached fish. His condition went from fair to stable and from stable to serious. Friends went from saying, “He’ll be home in a day,” to “He’ll be home in a week.” In his father’s absence, Eddie helped out at the pier (码头), working evenings after his taxi job.
When Eddie was a teenager, if he ever complained or seemed bored with the pier, his father would shout, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?” And later, when he’d suggested Eddie take a job there after high school, Eddie almost laughed, and his father again said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?” And before Eddie went to war, when he’d talked of marrying Marguerite and becoming an engineer, his father said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?”
And now, regardless of all that, here he was, at the pier, doing his father’s labor.
Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. It is not until much later, as the heart weakens, that children understand: their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit on top of the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.
Finally, one night, at his mother’s urging, Eddie visited the hospital. He entered the room slowly. His father, who for years had refused to speak to Eddie, now lacked the strength to even try.
“Don’t sweat it, kid,” the other workers told him. “Your old man will pull through. He’s the toughest man we’ve ever seen.”
When the news came that his father had died, Eddie felt the emptiest kind of anger, the kind that circles in its cage.
In the weeks that followed, Eddie’s mother lived in a confused state. She spoke to her husband as if he were still there. She yelled at him to turn down the radio. She cooked enough food for two. One night, when Eddie offered to help with the dishes, she said, “Your father will put them away.” Eddie put a hand on her shoulder. “Ma,” he said, softly, “Dad’s gone.”
“Gone where?”
1.In Paragraph four, the writer indicates that __________.
A. Children like moving away from their parents
B. Children often feel regretful because they leave their parents
C. Children wouldn’t have achieved so much without their parents’ support
D. Children can never understand how much their parents have devoted to them
2. The underlined sentence “Don’t sweat it” (Para. 6) probably means __________.
A. Don’t touch it B. Don’t give it up
C. Don’t let him down D. Don’t worry about it
3.Which of the following shows the right order of the story?
a. Eddie’s father died.
b. Eddie married Marguerite.
c. Eddie worked as a taxi driver.
d. Eddie was bored with his father’s job.
A. dbca B. dcab C. bcda D. bacd
4.From the last paragraph, we learn that __________.
A. Eddie’s mother liked to listen to the radio
B. Eddie’s mother missed her husband so much that she was at a loss
C. Eddie and his wife lived in his mother’s apartment
D. Eddie often helped his mother wash the dishes
Once upon a time, a man was walking on a mountain when he found an incredible cave with all kinds of treasure inside it. So he gave up his job, his home, and his friends, and spent all his time guarding the cave.
He was so dedicated to it that he hardly ate or drank, and before long he fell ill. One day, when he could hardly move at all, he decided to share the treasure.
He crawled into the cave to get a handful of jewels, but discovered, to his horror, that it was empty except for a small emerald (绿宝石). The man took it and gave it to the first person to come by, a woman.
Then an old man came by. “What bad luck!” the man said. “Just a moment ago I gave a woman the last of the treasure I was guarding.”
“Are you sure there is nothing left?” the old man asked.
The man took him into the cave, where they found a chest with jewels and some bags of gold. The man was shocked, and the old man explained to him, “At last! At last! At last someone has broken the spell of this cave. This is the Cave of Treasure, and you’re the first to have passed its great test. Many have dedicated their lives to this cave, only to end up realizing there was nothing here …”
“And why does this happen?” the man asked.
“This magic cave has only as many riches as your own heart. When someone discovers it, the cave fills with the treasure they bring with them, but later, when they have devoted themselves to guarding the treasure, their hearts become empty, as does the cave. The only way to fill it is by filling your heart with all that is good, as you did by giving the woman that last jewel.”
From that day on, the man understood that it was better to share than to keep. Thanks to the cave and the old man, he became noble and generous.
1.Why did the man give up his job, home and friends?
A. Because he possessed a variety of treasure.
B. Because he devoted himself to a great test.
C. Because he had to guard the treasure cave.
D. Because he wanted to find the treasure cave.
2. What did the man find when he showed his cave to the old man?
A. All kinds of treasure. B. A chest with jewels and gold.
C. A small emerald. D. A handful of jewels.
3.What do we learn about the people who dedicated their lives to the cave before?
A. They all found the cave empty at last.
B. The old man freed them from its spell.
C. They all filled the cave with the treasure they had.
D. They thought it was better to share than to enjoy the treasure alone.
4.What can we learn from the text?
A. Different people have different views.
B. Treasure only belongs to those who possess it.
C. Some people never learn what is really valuable.
D. Purely material things cannot make us truly wealthy.
At the age of three, I was discovered to be totally deaf. Having consulted many specialists, my parents made a(n) that would forever alter my future. sending me to a special education school for the deaf, they chose an ordinary one for me. All of my schoolmates and teachers there would have hearing.
I experienced great throughout my primary school because, in addition to the problems of with the other students, I also with most of my school work. I seemed to spend every spare moment doing homework just so I could .
for me, Mrs. Jordan, my 5th grade teacher, changed all of that with a simple three-word phrase.
One morning, she asked the class a question. I her lips and immediately raised my hand. Here was an opportunity to impress the powerful teacher and even my classmates. Although a little afraid when I heard my named called, I felt unusually because I was sure I had the right answer. I took a deep breath and answered Mrs. Jordan's question.
Her response all of us. Mrs. Jordan enthusiastically her right foot on the floor and turned her right hand around in a full circle it pointed directly at me. With shining eyes she cried, "THAT'S RIGHT, STEPHEN!"
For the first time in my young life, I was an instant star. My heart burst with . Smiling widely, I sat a little taller in my chair. My confidence like never before. I decided right then and there that I would make a(n) in this world. No matter how many I might come across in life, I knew I could overcome them.
The very three-word phrase entirely my young life. From that day on, my grades and speech improved greatly, my among my classmates increased, and my viewpoint on life did a complete turnabout.
1.A. decision B. effort C. commitment D. attempt
2.A. Apart from B. Rather than C. Regardless of D. Instead of
3.A. strong B. normal C. weak D. sharp
4.A. excitement B. sympathy C. anxiety D. authority
5.A. making up B. getting away C. coming up D. fitting in
6.A. struggled B. handled C. impressed D. absorbed
7.A. leave behind B. turn out C. take off D. keep up
8.A. Gradually B. Eventually C. Luckily D. Subsequently
9.A. found B. read C. observed D. appreciated
10.A. confident B. embarrassed C. frightened D. jealous
11.A. carelessly B. nervously C. casually D. naturally
12.A. fooled B. delighted C. surprised D. upset
13.A. hit B. stepped C. placed D. settled
14.A. unless B. since C. after D. until
15.A. regret B. pride C. envy D. courage
16.A. increased B. declined C. escaped D. built
17.A. fortune B. impression C. living D. difference
18.A. feelings B. obstacles C. competitions D. opportunities
19.A. devoted B. surrounded C. occupied D. transformed
20.A. hardship B. character C. popularity D. health
Being quick-minded and good at creating a win-win situation, the young manager was sent to sign the document _____ the committee.
A. on account of B. on behalf of C. in favour of D. in honour of
