My mind seems always to return to the day when I met Carl. The city bus stopped at a corner to pick up the daily commuters (someone who travels regularly to and from work), a group in which I was included. Boarding the bus, I looked for a place to sit. At last, I found a place near the back.
The occupant of the seat next to the one I was going for was an older man in a grey suit, well-worn dress shoes, and a black hat like I always pictured reporters wearing, but without the little press card. Seated myself, I began to read the book I had been carrying, which was Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. The man in the seat next to me introduced himself by asking if I had read any other book like the one I was holding. When I told him I had, he seemed to become interested, and so did I. He introduced himself as Carl and asked if I liked jazz, and I told him that I didn’t really listen to it, and that I liked rock and roll. Waiting for Carl to tell me that I should listen to real music, I was shocked when he just smiled and nodded. He said, “You remind me of myself when I was your age. I remember how my parents hated jazz, how they couldn’t see how I could listen to that awful noise. I bet your parents say the same thing, don’t they?” Now it was my turn to smile, amused with how right he was.
As the bus ferried us from one side of the city to the other, Carl and I talked about a lot of different things. The more we talked, the more amazed I became at how much the two of us really had in common, despite the age difference. I haven’t seen him since we parted, but the thought of our connection that day rarely leaves my mind.
Carl really made me think about how much we can learn from each other if we just break through the blocks between us we’ve got. I mean, I would have never thought before that day that I could have anything in common with someone so much older than I, just because of age. But Carl taught me that no matter what, we are all just people, and that we should make an extra effort to try and get to know our neighbors and people we see every day, regardless of age, race, religion, sex, or anything else. If we all take the time to attempt to understand each other, I think that the world would be a much better place that we could share together, as humans.
1.From the first paragraph we know that the author _______.
A. did not mind whether there was a seat or not
B. hoped to have a seat when getting on the bus
C. thought the bus was overcrowded
D. looked for a seat but failed
2.The author usually imagined a reporter as one who _______.
A. liked jazz music
B. enjoyed talking with others
C. liked reading Jack Kerouac’s works
D. usually wore a black hat and press card
3.After talking with Carl, the author realized that _______.
A. older people were nice to talk to
B. he should have known Carl earlier
C. his parents were so different from Carl’s in listening to music
D. age was not necessarily a problem in heart-to-heart communication
4.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. the author hasn’t seen the old man since then
B. jazz music used to be more popular than rock and roll
C. the author was not satisfied with human relationships in the world
D. Carl made the author realize how much people could learn from each other
I live in Hollywood. You may think people in such an attractive, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.
Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more long-lasting emotion. Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells “happiness”. But in memoir(回忆录) after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children, and long-time loneliness.
The way people hold on to the belief that a fun-filled, pain-free life equates happiness actually decreases their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equated with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. But, in fact, the opposite is true: More times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very efforts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, charitable work and self-improvement.
1.According to the passage, “fun activities” ____________.
A. are the things we do before we find happiness
B. may help us relax and forget our problems sometimes
C. will lead us to the true happiness
D. could provide long-last positive effects
2.In the author’s opinion, those Hollywood stars ____________.
A. possess happiness because they are rich and famous
B. experience almost all kinds of happy things
C. tell us happiness isn’t equal to fun using their own stories
D. have to suffer a lot before they become successful
3.It is difficult for people to find real happiness because ____________.
A. they believe happiness is the fun life without pain
B. they find pain equals unhappiness
C. they fear to lose what they already have in life
D. they are afraid all their efforts were in vain
4.The main purpose of the text is to ____________.
A. describe the difference between happiness and fun
B. show the true meaning of happiness
C. encourage people to pursue fun activities
D. advise people to find their real life
Twenty years ago, Mark Thatcher, the son of Mrs. Thatcher, was reported missing in the Sahara Desert while competing in the Grand Prix Motor race from Paris to Daker. The sad news, so unexpected, shook the unusually and unhurried politician off her balance. Though she did her best to as if nothing had happened and made her public appearance as usual, people could not fail to notice that she was no longer the old self-assured prime minister who always had everything under . Instead she had become a very sad mother who was unable to from her shock.
One day when she was to at a lunch party, a reporter caught her off her guard by bringing up the of her missing son again. She was mentally unprepared for the question and lost her self-control. Tears were her cheeks she sobbingly told the reporter there was still no news of Mark and that she was very worried about him. She said that all the countries concerned had to do their best to help her find her son. With that she down completely and sobbed silently for quite a while. Gradually she calmed down and started to speak as . It was a very scene which exposed a new side of Mrs. Thatcher’s the public do not usually see. People began to talk about the Iron Woman’s love, a that is common to all human race.
Later Mark returned to his mother’s side, good-humored and all smiles as usual nothing unusual had ever happened. The Iron Woman, , broke down again and was sobbing for a second time.
1.A. outstandingB. busy C. calm D. considerate
2.A. seem B. talk C. doD. pretend
3.A. construction B. controlC. discussion D. pressure
4.A. respond B. relieve C. reduce D. recover
5.A. arrive B. eat C. speakD. read
6.A. subject B. object C. theme D. message
7.A. hardly B. totally C. partly D. mostly
8.A. putting down B. taking off C. getting off D. rolling down
9.A. because B. thoughC. ifD. as
10.A. permittedB. admittedC. promised D. managed
11.A. fellB. wentC. broke D. brought
12.A. agreedB. planned C. announcedD. explained
13.A. moving B. shocking C. interestingD. serious
14.A. quality B. action C. position D. character
15.A. livelyB. likelyC. lovelyD. motherly
16.A. habit B. hobby C. feeling D. thought
17.A. hungry and tired B. safe and funny C. safe and soundD. tired and sleepy
18.A. as if B. even ifC. so that D. if only
19.A. thereforeB. however C. besides D. thus
20.A. made B. heard C. felt D. seen
The fans ______ to see the pop singer the whole afternoon, and they won’t leave until he turns up.
A. have been waiting B. waited C. had waited D. would have waited
She was ______ good terms with her twin sister, because they were two of a kind. In other words, they were identical ______ each other.
A. in; to B.in; with C. on; with D.on; to
The peace talk between the two sides ______, as neither wanted to give in.
A. broke out B. broke up C. broke down D. broke away