When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he in class.
When I took the first exam, I was to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper, English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained .
I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn’t change his .
One more test before the final exam. One more to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time, the meaning of the word “thorough”. But my did no good and everything as before.
The last hurdle (障碍) was the final. No matter what I got, it wouldn’t cancel three C-pluses. I might as well kiss the goodbye.
I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I’d have with a test.
A week later, l was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into Professor Jayne’s office. He to be expecting me. “If I gave you the As you , you wouldn’t continue to work as hard.”
I stared at him, that his analysis and strategy (策略) were correct. I had worked my head , as I had never done before.
I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I’ve always remembered Professor Jayne’s lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.
1.A. take B. discuss C. cover D. get
2.A. sought B. presented C. exchanged D. obtained
3.A. shocked B. worried C. scared D. anxious
4.A. but B. so C. for D. or
5.A. unchanged B. unpleasant C. unfriendly D. unmoved
6.A. reflected B. meant C. improved D. affected
7.A. quarreled B. reasoned C. bargained D. chatted
8.A. attitude B. mind C. plan D. view
9.A. choice B. step C. chance D. measure
10.A. memorized B. considered C. accepted D. learned
11.A. ambition B. confidence C. effort D. method
12.A. stayed B. went C. worked D. changed
13.A. grade B. answer C. lesson D. comment
14.A. scholarship B. course C. degree D. subject
15.A. helped B. favored C. treated D. relaxed
16.A. fun B. luck C. problems D. tricks
17.A. happened B. proved C. pretended D. seemed
18.A. valued B. imagined C. expected D. welcomed
19.A. remembering B. guessing C. supposing D. realizing
20. A. out B. over C. on D. off
Everybody gets stressed from time to time. 1. Some ways of dealing with stress—like screaming or hitting someone—don’t solve much. But other ways, like talking to someone you trust, can lead you to solving your problem or at least feeling better.
Try taking these four steps the next time you are stressed:
(1) Get support. When you need help, reach out to the people who care about you. Talk to a trusted adult, such as a parent or other relatives. 2. They might have had similar problems, such as dealing with a test, or the death of a beloved pet.
(2) Don’t take it out on yourself. Sometimes when kids are stressed and upset they take it out on themselves. Oh, dear, that’s not a good idea. Remember that there are always people to help you. Don’t take it out on yourself. 3.
(3) Try to solve the problem. After you’re calm and you have support from adults and friends, it’s time to get down to business. 4. Even if you can’t solve it all, you can solve a piece of it.
(4) Be positive. Most stress is temporary (暂时的). Remember stress does go away, especially when you figure out the problem and start working on solving it.
These steps aren’t magic, but they do work. And if you can stay positive as you make
your way through a tough time, you’ll help yourself feel better even faster. 5.
A. Ask for a helping hand to get you through the tough situation.
B. Notice your friends’ feelings and find a way to help them.
C. Different people get rid of stress in different ways.
D. Ah, it feels so good when the stress is gone.
E. You need to figure out what the problem is.
F. And don’t forget about your friends.
G. Then, find a way to calm down.
Opposition is growing to the Berlin Zoo’s plans to find a new home for Knut, the moneymaking celebrity polar bear whose popularity has been exploited by environmentalists and even Canadian tourism promoters.
No longer cute, and just days before his second birthday, Knut will be given a new home that is expected to include a potential mating partner.
The Berlin Zoo, facing the global economic crisis, can’t afford the estimated $ 13 million it would take to acquire a female and a new home for them to share. “It’s time for him to go—the sooner he gets a new home the better,” said senior bear keeper Heiner Kloes.
But some Berliners are beginning a campaign, collecting petition (情愿书) signatures and arguing that he’s a tourist draw and a symbol as important as the Brandenburg Gate. “He means a lot to many people. When you’re with him you forget your problems,” Hartmut Wiedenroth, co-founder of the campaign, told Spiegel Online.
Knut became an international celebrity in 2007, drawing huge crowds to his cage and triggering sales of thousands of Knut toys and Knut-shaped candies.
The Vancouver-based Canadian Tourism Commission made Knut a major part of its “Canada—Keep Exploring” campaign to draw tourists to the country— and especially to polar bear country in northern Manitoba to see them in their natural habitat. Environmentalists also used the bear to promote the fight against global warming.
But Knut’s popularity diminished as his size increased to 210 kilograms, He was photographed at one point snapping (咬) at a child near his cage. In September his keeper, Thomas Doerflein, died of a heart attack. Doerflein, who became a celebrity himself after nursing the tiny ball of white fur when Knut’s mother rejected him, had been re-assigned shortly after Knut’s first birthday. Some animal rights critics said Knut has been showing unusually aggressive behavior because of his unnatural upbringing.
1.The Berlin Zoo intends to find a new home for Knut mainly because of .
A. the mother bear deserting him
B. Knut’s aggressive behavior
C. lacking a skillful bear keeper
D. its financial problem
2.A campaign is being launched in Berlin .
A. in order to keep Knut in the zoo
B. by selling Knut-shaped candies
C. to draw tourists to northern Manitoba
D. to warn people of global warming
3.The underlined word “triggering” in Paragraph 5 can be replaced by “ ”.
A. decreasing B. preventing
C. promoting D. conducting
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Doerflein, a celebrity of Germany
B. Zoo says Knut must go
C. The polar bear capital of the world
D. Polar bears in Canada
The way we get about has a deep influence on the way we live－affecting where we set up home, work and holiday. So what changes might come in the way we get around? What big ideas are out there, and do they have any chance of coming true?
Personal Air Travel
The idea: flying cars
Developments in light small plane technology will make it possible for everyone to own what are, in fact, flying cars. They will have closed cabins, heating, stereos and room for two people.
You will take off from a field near your home and fly to towns and cities. After landing, you will take off the fixed wing and continue your journey by road just as if you were traveling by car.
Fuel efficient engines and the advantage of being able to travel in the sky will keep costs and the environmental influence down.
Flying for Fun
The idea: Jet Packs
The idea was a hit when a stuntman (特技演员) flew around on one during the opening ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which was very successful.
You’ll be able to use the equipment－roughly the size of two scuba tanks fastened to your back－for short journeys.
They will be handy for cleaning hard-to-reach windows, arriving in style at a party and shopping.
Taxis
The idea: driverless taxis
These computer-controlled taxis will take you wherever you want along a fixed route, whenever you want to go.
For the price of one person’s bus fare, several people can ride at speeds of up to 25 mph, and there will be fences to guard against accidents.
There will be little, if any, wait for the use of the taxis, which will leave from stations and will be used by prepaid cards.
The taxis, which will travel on a 1.5 m-wide track, will use 75% less energy per passenger than a car and 50% less than a bus.
1.The passage is mainly about ________.
A. future travel B. big ideas and dreams
C. advanced technology D. the influence of travel
2.We learn from the passage that flying cars ________.
A. will operate only in the sky
B. will be more expensive than common cars
C. will have few bad effects on the environment
D. won’t be equipped with things similar to what cars have
3.With Jet Packs, we can do all the following EXCEPT ________.
A. attend a party B. clean high windows
C. go shopping D. have a long journey
4.As for driverless taxis, we can infer that ________.
A. we can go wherever we want in them
B. they will be both convenient and safe
C. it costs more to take them than to take ordinary cars
D. they will be operated by computers as well as by people
The Peales were a famous family of American artists. Charles Willson Peale is best remembered for his portraits of leading figures of the American Revolution. He painted portraits of Franklin and Jefferson and over a dozen of George Washington. His life-size portrait of his sons Raphaelle and Titian was so realistic that George Washington reportedly once tipped his hat to the figures in the picture.
Charles Willson Peale gave up painting in his middle age and devoted his life to the Peale museum, which he founded in Philadelphia. The world’s first popular museum of art and natural science mainly covered paintings by Peale and his family as well as displays of animals in their natural settings. Peale found the animals himself and found a method to make the exhibits more lifelike. The museum’s most popular display was the skeleton (骷髅) of a huge, extinct elephant, which Peale unearthed on a New York farm in 1801.
Three of Peale’s seventeen children were also famous artists. Raphaelle Peale often painted still lives of flowers, fruit, and cheese. His brother Rembrandt studied under his father and painted portraits of many noted people, including one of George Washington. Another brother, Rubens Peale, painted mostly landscapes and portraits.
James Peale, the brother of Charles Willson Peale, specialized in miniatures (小画像). His daughter Sarah Miriam Peale was probably the first professional female portrait painter in America.
1.What is the main topic of the passage?
A. The life of Charles Willson Peale.
B. Portraits in the 18th century.
C. The Peale Museum.
D. A family of artists.
2.The author mentions in Paragraph 1 that Washington tipped his hat to the figures in the painting to show that _______.
A. Charles Willson Peale’s painting was very lifelike
B. Washington respected Charles Willson Peale’s work
C. Washington was friendly with Raphaelle and Titian Peale
D. the painting of the two brothers was very large
3.Which of the following is NOT the child of Charles Willson Peale?
A. Titian Peale. B. Rubens Peale.
C. Raphaelle Peale. D. Sarah Miriam Peale.
4.The author’s attitude toward the Peales is in general _______.
A. puzzled B. excited C. admiring D. disappointed
A girl became a volunteer in the activities of Deathbed Care, which meant visiting and taking care of a patient suffering from an incurable disease with days numbered.
The girl was assigned to look after an old man suffering from cancer whose children lived abroad. Their living conditions were not satisfactory while the old man had a lot of savings. She was expected to comfort him and keep up his spirits.
Every Saturday the girl came on time to keep him company, telling him stories. When he was having an intravenous drip (静脉滴注), she would help massage his arms. The doctor found the patient much improved mentally. The old man began to involve himself actively in the medical treatment and he seldom shouted at others.
But something that happened made the doctor uneasy and puzzled. Each time the girl left, the old man would give her some money. The doctor did nothing to interfere (干涉), unwilling to offend the old man. A month later the old man showed evident signs of decline after suffering coma (昏迷) a few times.
When rescued from the latest coma, the old man told the doctor his last wish, “I have deep sympathy for the girl. Will you be kind enough to help her finish her studies？”
But the doctor knew that her family was well-off and she had no difficulty pursuing her studies. Sometimes she even came to the hospital in her father’s car.
When the girl came at the weekend after the death of the old man, the doctor told her the bad news. She was very sad and burst into tears. Then she handed $ 500 to the doctor, saying, “The old man had all along thought I came to do the job because of poverty. He gave me money so that I could continue my schooling.” Now he got the answer to the puzzle. In the last period of his life, the old man found it a real pleasure to be able to help a girl badly in need.
1.If you’re a volunteer in the activities of Deathbed Care, what kind of people do you have to attend to?
A. Patients with a lot of money.
B. Patients suffering from cancer.
C. Patients without many days left.
D. Patients living alone.
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A. The doctor told the old man the truth.
B. The old man’s children were wealthy.
C. The girl’s father encouraged her to accept the money.
D. The girl didn’t accompany the old man when he died.
3.What is the real reason resulting in the old man’s mental improvement?
A. The girl’s love and great care.
B. The pleasure of helping people in need.
C. The doctor’s medical treatment.
D. His children’s progress in life.
