Have you ever been in a situation where you have done something just to make someone else happy?
You think that you are making yourself happy. 1. I have done that many times because I wanted to impress people or I thought that if I made someone else happy it would certainly make me happy. I understand that all of us want our close friends and family to be proud of us, so we work hard in school or in our careers to meet their expectations. 2. But if you are trying to realize other people’s dreams without keeping yourself satisfied, you will never be happy.
So you have to be clear and honest with yourself about what you want in your life. If you are honest with yourself, you will be more optimistic. 3. You feel like you won’t need to achieve something for someone else.
4. They fear to be rejected(排斥) by others. They think and say “If I choose this job or career path, that person will think I am out of my mind”, or “I really want to start this business but those people will think that I won’t make any money”. 5. Don’t think this way. If you follow other people’s wishes but cannot be true to yourself, you will have a hard time feeling great about yourself.
A. The truth is that you are really trying to make someone else happy.
B. So why don’t I follow what they say？
C. And you will develop a drive from your heart.
D. So we should try our best to realize our dreams.
E. But we sometimes have to meet expectations from others.
F. Why do so many people want to live their dreams for someone else?
G. There is nothing wrong with that.
According to researchers, money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else．
Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly bring you happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found.
Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably（适度地） happier when they spent money on others---even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier.
"We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn," said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia.
They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity（慈善机构）．
"Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not," Dunn said in a statement.
Dunn's team also surveyed（调查）16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus（奖金） of between $3,000 and $8,000.
"Employees who devoted more of their bonus to pro-social（有益社会的） spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus, and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor(预示) of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself," they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.
They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it．Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it.
"These findings suggest that very minor alterations（改动） in spending allocations（分配） --- as little as $5 --- may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," Dunn said.
1. According to the passage,_____________.
A. the more money you spend on others, the happier you are
B. spending money on others can bring you happiness
C. Elizabeth Dunn is a psychologist from Harvest Business School
D. six hundred volunteers took part in the experiment
2. The 16 employees mentioned in the passage _________.
A. were given clear instructions on how to spend the bonus
B. had more happiness than the size of the bonus itself
C. experienced greater happiness after receiving their bonus
D. felt happier after they contributed much of the bonus to charities
3. Dunn’s statement suggested that ______________.
A．those who spent money on others felt happier no matter how much they earned
B．those who spent more money on themselves felt happier
C．people thought spending money could make themselves happier
D．the money spent was as important as the money earned
4. The best title of this passage is ___________.
A. Experiment on Money Spending
B. Devoting Your Money to Charities
C. Spending Money on Others Makes One Happier
D. Bonus and Pro-social Spending
At first glance, there is little in Horton to attract people. The other nearby towns have much more to offer: Bradfield has its river and historic buildings, while Newtown has shops and entertainment. The buildings of Horton look dirty and unloved. For shops, there is a small supermarket, a few bargain shops, a bakery which, strangely, does not sell bread and a florist which has one stand of sad-looking flowers. Even so, Horton has several advantages over its neighbouring towns.
Firstly, it has a country park. Four thousand years ago, this was an important fort. There are no historic remains here now, but there are wonderful views over the countryside. On sunny weekends you can often see kids out with their parents, kicking balls or flying kites.
There aren’t many job opportunities in Horton, and the roads to nearby cities aren’t really fast, but there are excellent rail links. You can be in London in an hour and a half, and other cities are less than an hour away. That means that parents can earn a good salary and still get home in time to spend the evenings with their families. Houses in Horton aren’t pretty, but they’re functional and cheap. The streets are quiet and safe, and there are plenty of parks and playgrounds. It has a library, three primary schools and a secondary school, St. Mark’s. It is friendly and offers a wide range of subjects and activities to children of all abilities and backgrounds. The town also has a swimming and a sports centre, and the community halls hold regular clubs and events for people of all ages.
1.What is the writer’s main purpose?
A. To explain what tourists can do in Horton.
B. To explain why Horton is a good place to live in.
C. To explain why Horton is not as pleasant as other towns.
D. To describe the history of Horton.
2.Which part of Horton does the writer find disappointing?
A. the shops B. country park
C. transport links D. the schools
3.Which of the following is NOT the advantage of Horton?
A. plenty of parks and playgrounds
B. historical buildings
C. the quiet and safe streets
D. functional and cheap houses
4.What advantages does Horton bring to workers?
A. There are plenty of jobs available in the town.
B. You can drive to nearby cities in a short time.
C. You can get to several cities quickly by train.
D. Working conditions are better here than in other towns.
After having worked in the University of Maryland for three years, I got a job offer from another university---Lynn University. I left my letter of offer on my present boss's desk, turned around, and closed the door quietly. I was expecting a call from my boss saying congratulations, which would show her approval of my leaving.
In the afternoon, my boss called me, saying, "Can we meet tomorrow? "That was a good signal. The next day, I met with my boss. She said, 'Nicholas, we want you. What do you want?" I said, "Boss, I deserve a significant pay raise this year due to my outstanding performance. I think I need a 10% pay raise next year as a condition for me to stay here." My boss said, "No problem.''
When I left her office, I called Lynn University and told them that I was going to get a 10% pay raise. They had to give me 10% more than their original pay offer in order for me to accept the job. The new boss told me that he was willing to give me more, but I would feel very bad working at this university with such a high pay. I would win a battle, but I would lose a war. He said, "The problem is that your colleague will earn less than you, so you will feel guilty(内疚)and uncomfortable. But, I can still give you 5% more than the original offer."
I delivered this massage to my present boss, and she told me that she would give me another 5% pay raise if I promised to refuse this new job offer. On top of that, she would strongly support my early promotion（晋升)from assistant professor to associate professor. According to the university policy, you must take at least 6 years to get promoted. That was my third year of employment at this university. After refusing the new job offer, I finally enjoyed both a pay raise and early promotion.
1.In paragraph 2, what does Nicholas mean by "That was a good signal"?
A. His boss would approve his leaving the University of Maryland.
B. He would leave his present job and work for Lynn University.
C. His boss would talk with him about a possible pay offer.
D. His friends would congratulate him on getting a new job offer.
2.Why did the new boss agree to another 5% raise when Nicholas asked for 10% the next day?
A .He did not have the right to make such a big pay offer.
B. he did not want Nicholas to earn more than he did.
C. Nicholas was not experienced enough to get such a raise.
D. Nicholas would not feel good for earning too much more than others.
3.How much pay raise did the author finally get as a result of refusing the new job offer?
A. 5% B. 10% C. 15% D. 20%
4.In the text, the author mainly tells his experience of________.
A. earning a pay raise
B. refusing a job offer
C. applying for a new position
D. making decisions in the workplace
Have you ever heard the saying “All roads lead to Rome”? At one time, this was pretty much true. During the Roman Empire, lots of roads were built in order to move armies, send messages by courier (信使), and make trade easier.
The network of Roman roads was begun in 312 BC. It was demanded that the roads be built strong so that they would not fall down. Roman soldiers, supervised (监督) by engineers, laid down the roads in a special pattern of layers. There were all together 4 layers, which was made of different materials, such as sand, rocks, stones and so on.
Also, Roman roads were cambered(拱形). This means that they were built higher in the middle than on the edges, allowing rainwater to run off, which prevented flooding. We use the same technique in building roads today. The Romans also laid out roads over hills when necessary, setting them down in a zigzag (之字形的)pattern to make the road rise gradually.
All Roman roads had milestones (里程碑), placed every thousand paces (a Roman mile). The milestones told when the road was built, who was emperor at the time, the road’s destination, how far the traveler was from the destination, and how many miles had been traveled since the beginning of the road. This information was a great help to travelers.
Because of their excellence in construction, it really is no surprise that many parts of Roman road still exist today. These roadways are one of the most impressive achievements of the Roman Empire.
1.The following description about Roman roads is true EXCEPT _____.
A. Roman roads were built by the Roman soldiers directed by the engineers
B. Roman roads could prevent flooding using the technique we don’t use today
C. Roman roads had milestones that were placed every Roman mile
D .Roman roads still exist today as an impressive achievement of Roman Empire
2.What information can you find on the milestones?
A. The builders of the road.
B. The materials used in building roads.
C. The distance from one city.
D. The time spent in building roads.
3.The passage mainly ______.
A. explains the saying “All roads lead to Rome”
B. praises ancient Romans for their great achievements
C. shows how great the Roman Empire was
D. introduces the construction of the Roman roads
阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
How early must a student begin preparing for an international education? Lisa Jain, the representative of The College Board in India showed her idea here clearly.
Many students who want to study abroad believe they need to start planning for it only in Grade12. What they don’t realize is the amount of time, thought, and effort it requires. That is why a student should begin the ground work in Grade 10 in order to gain a clear understanding of what the college application process requires and to be prepared to deal with the pressures that will follow.
Focus on school grades and marks. It is important to try your best to perform well in academics throughout high school and not just in Grade 12.
Start gaining experience. Get involved in a small number of activities over a long period of time, such as a sport, the arts, writing, research, community work, etc, through which you create impact in the activity, climb to a leadership position, grow as a person and develop skills. Picking something in Grade 12 and claiming it’s your passion won’t work.
Begin research. Which country do you want to apply to colleges in? What do you want to study at college? Researching early and start reflecting on what you’d enjoy learning will make the college and major selection process less overwhelming in Grade 12.
All your efforts in Grade 10-11 will help ease your burden in Grade 12. If you do everything at the right time, you will find the process enjoyable and realize there is hardly a reason to stress. Just remember: The early birds catch the worms!
【写作内容】
1. 用约30个词概括上文的主要内容。
2. 用约120个词就“The early birds catch the worms.”谈谈你的想法，内容包括：
（1）你如何理解“The early birds catch the worms.”这一谚语？
（2）以你或他人的经历说明一切成功源于凡事早做规划，充足准备。
（3）如何才能成为“the early birds”？
【写作要求】
1. 作文中可以使用亲身经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文的句子。
2. 作文中不得出现真实姓名和学校名称。
【评分标准】
概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。
