How to improve our life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'll say, "This is my destiny. I cannot change it."
Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your life depends on you, not on other factors.
I know a woman who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is? She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, and then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows.
Huh! Is this what she calls "doing her best"? She believes she has tried her best and just accepts it in her heart that this is the life that has been intended for her and that her luck can only change if God wills it. She hasn't realized that we have to do our share of making the effort to live the life of our dreams.
Remember that you harvest what you sow. You have to get off the sofa, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone (unless it’s helpful to your success), and get your mind and body to work! Don't expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary(暂时的) problem; Instead, learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.
If someone's life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don't just stand or sit there, do something to improve your life.
1.According to the woman mentioned in Para. 3, her life ___________.
A. doesn't need improving
B. will be better some day
C. can’t improve itself
D. will be worse in the future
2.What does the author think of the woman's life?
A. Positive B. Disturbing
C. Colorful D. Negative (消极的)
3.Which of the following statements is the author's opinion?
A. Your temporary problem is not discouraging.
B. You should treat yourself in the way you treat friends.
C. Your luck can be changed by your own efforts.
D. You can only achieve success when God wills it.
4.In Para. 5, the author emphasized（强调）the importance of _________.
A. positive thinking
B. positive action
C. hope for the best
D. intention to succeed
5.The text is mainly written to advise you to __________.
A. improve your life
B. understand yourself
C. believe in yourself
D. change your normal way
From Japan to Indonesia, a certain kind of pop culture is very hot. But it doesn’t come from Hollywood—it’s Hallyu(韩流), the wave of Korean pop culture that has washed over Asia. It has influenced everything from music to television. And thanks to the Internet and social media, it’s now spreading worldwide.
South Korea produces all types of entertainment, the most popular being music, soap operas and films. What makes Hallyu so hot in Asia? One reason is that its products are of high quality and much cheaper than western products. Another reason is that eastern cultures are similar to each other, although there are language differences.
Korean pop music, or “K-pop”, ranks the first everywhere. Fans love the songs and the attractive stars. Companies like SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment help many K-pop stars, such as Super Junior, Big Bang and Rain, to succeed. They are not only popular in Asia but also enjoy popularity in the West. In 2011, Big Bang’s mini-album Tonight reached the top 10 on U.S. Tunes Top Pop Albums. When SM Entertainment took their 2010 world tour to Los Angeles, only 30 percent of the 15,000 fans were Korean. Half of the audience wasn’t even Asian!
One important reason for the success of Hallyu is simply the Internet. A little more than 10 years ago, Korean soap operas, movies and music reached the outside world quite slowly. They began in Korea, and then gradually spread outward, appearing in its neighboring countries where local TV and radio companies would play them. Now they are played around the world online at the same time.
YouTube is another major way to get Korean entertainment to fans everywhere. It is an inexpensive and valid way for artists to introduce their work to a larger audience. In 2010 the YouTube channels for the top three Korean entertainment groups together had nearly 800 million views from 225 different countries.
1.Hallyu is very hot in Asia partly because________.
A. languages in Asia are similar to each other
B. the culture is the most fashionable in the world
C. South Korea’s products are the cheapest in Asia
D. the quality of South Korea’s products is high
2.The author shows the popularity of K-pop in the West_______.
A. by giving examples
B. in order of space
C. by listing reasons
D. in order of time
3.The last two paragraphs mainly tell us________.
A. how important the Internet is
B. Hallyu is popular worldwide
C. the Internet helps Hallyu spread quickly
D. how popular and effective YouTube is
4.What does the underlined word valid (in Para. 5) mean?
A. slow B. useless
C. successful D. necessary
5.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. K-pop Ranks the First Everywhere
B. Hallyu Makes Waves across the World
C. YouTube Helps Korean Cultures Spread
D. Korean Soap Operas Are Growing in Popularity
Millions of kids in the United States attend some kind of camp each summer. Some go to sleep-away camp for weeks, while others attend day camp in their hometowns. There is one thing all those camps have in common, though. More than nine out of 10 kids said camp helped them make new friends and feel better about themselves.
__________________
What else do kids get out of camp? Plenty!
Kids who want to be stars on the football field or basketball court have their choice of a variety of summer camps. Some, such as the Let Me Play sessions offered by Nike, are free and provide a few hours of instruction by professional athletes. Other summer sports camp opportunities are offered by professional teams or university athletic departments. Players and coaches usually lead those camps, teaching basic skills as well as teamwork and good sports behavior.
Open up to fun
It’s easy to be yourself if you have something in common with your fellow campers, even when that something is a disease.
A journal entry by one camper describes the camp’s high ropes course as a symbol of everyone there and the challenges they face. “Climbing it and going through that struggle to get up and push yourself is like getting through the sickness we all were faced with at some point,” she writes. There is another reward that comes once climbers reach the top of the ropes course and hear the words “good job” from their fellow campers. It is, “in a way, coming close to being cured. Even if we aren’t, it felt like it,” the camper says.
Healthy benefits
There are also health and wellness camps for kids who don’t have any illnesses. For Erin H. of Oklahoma, the first thoughts she had about going to a weight-loss camp were that it would be embarrassing and a waste of time. But as soon as she arrived at Wellspring Adventure Camp, she knew it would be awesome. “I had the most fun ever!” says Erin, who liked Wellspring so much. She stayed for eight weeks instead of the four weeks she’d originally agreed to. “This camp has helped improve my self-respect 100 percent, and I’m no longer self-conscious.”
1.The first paragraph serves as _________.
A. conclusion B. definition (下定义)
C. background D. comment (评论)
2.What is suitable phrase for the blank in the passage?
A. Setting a goal B. Developing an ability
C. Killing time D. Forming a habit
3.The author mentioned the example of high ropes course to prove_______.
A. it was an effective way to cure campers’ illness
B. it had campers know the difficulty to fight against illness
C. it made campers realize the importance of health
D. it helped campers feel better about their illness
4.From the last paragraph, we know that Erin___________.
A. gained a lot from the weight-loss camp
B. stayed in the weight-loss camp for four weeks
C. thought taking part in the weight-loss camp was useless
D. felt embarrassed about her appearance now
5.The purpose of writing this passage is to ____________.
A. give advice on how to choose a suitable camp
B. compare sleep-away camps and day camps
C. advertise for some famous summer camps
D. introduce the benefits of going to a camp
It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable when they are with their parents. They say that their parents don’t understand them. They often think that their parents are out of touch with modern ways, that they are too serious and too strict with their children, and that they seldom give their children a free hand.
It is true that parents often find it difficult to win their children’s trust and they tend to forget how they themselves felt when young. For example, young people like to act on the spot without much thinking. It is one of their ways to show that they have grown up and they can face any difficult situation. Older people worry more easily. Most of them plan things ahead, at least in the back of their minds, and do not like their plans to be upset by something unexpected. When you want your parents to let you do something, you will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.
Young people often make their parents angry with their choice in clothes, in entertainment and in music. But they do not mean to cause any trouble: it is just that they feel cut off from the older people’s world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That’s why young people want to make a new culture of their own, and if their parents do not like their music or entertainment or clothes or their way of speech, this will make the young people extremely happy.
Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents to say, “Yes” to what you do. All you want is to be felt alone and do what you like. It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents’ control. If you plan to control your life, you’d better win your parents over and try to get them to understand you. If your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility, they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.
1.____are to blame for the quarrels between parents and their children according to this passage.
A. Parents
B. Young people
C. Both parents and their children
D. Neither parents nor their children
2.According to the passage, young people prefer to _______.
A. do things without thinking carefully ahead.
B. ask for advice before they really start to do anything.
C. think in the same way as their parents do.
D. be very strict with themselves
3.According to the passage, young people want to make a new culture of their own because____.
A. they don’t feel they belong to the world of the older people.
B. they do not want to get into trouble.
C. they feel they are as clever as old people.
D. they want to show they have grown up.
4.The underlined word “this” in the third paragraph stands for _______.
A. the young people’s choice
B. their being accepted by their parents
C. developing a new culture of their own
D. their parents’ dislike of their choice
5.If a young man intends to control his own life, it’s better for him to _______.
A. do everything according to his own wish.
B. be responsible for what he does
C. do everything beyond his parents’ control
D. do everything the way his parents do.
A well-dressed man came to a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, because she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl? ” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I got it from my mother, and my mother from hers. But I really need the money. ”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.
1.He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
A. he loved his wife deeply
B. his business had been successful
C. he was anxious to get it
D. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him
2.He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.
A. exactly the same size as the black one
B. exactly as big and nice as the black one
C. exactly as expensive as the black one
D. exactly the same quality as the black one
3.Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.
A. to see the perfect pearl
B. to sell their own pearl at a high price
C. to get in touch with the rich man
D. to help the rich man’s wife
4.The little old lady was probably________.
A. the man’s partner
B. short of money
C. unwilling to sell the pearl
D. the man’s wife
5.The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
A. his wife had found another perfect pearl already
B. he happened to be out at that time
C. he got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money
D. he was angry with the jeweler for waiting too long
Two men travelling through a forest together promised to help each other whatever danger threated them. They had not gone far ___1.___ a bear rushed at them from some bushes. One man was a good ___2.___(climb), and quickly climbed a nearby tree, but the other, ___3.____(see) that he had no chance alone against the bear, fell flat on his back and pretended to be dead.
The Bear came up to him, sniffed at him.The Bear thought the man was dead,so he went off into the wood again ___4.____ hurting him.When he had gone, the other traveler came down from his tree, and __5.____(smile) asked his companion what the Bear ___6.___(say) to him. "For I could see," he said, " that he put his mouth close to your ear."
"He told me to tell __7.____," replied the other, "that you were __8.____great coward(懦夫), and that in future I should not trust those ___9.__make fine promises, but will not stand by their friends in danger."
Don't trust fine promises __10.___ you are sure of the person who makes them.
