How often one hears children wishing they were grown-ups and old people wishing they were young again! Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in their useless regrets.
Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities for them to make a living. If a child has good parents, he is well fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. What's more, life is always giving new things to the child—things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too common for them. But a child has his pains: he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is repeatedly being told not to do something, or being punished for what he has wrongly done.
When a young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society just as he used to break the rules of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society.
1.According to paragraph 2, the writer thinks that ______________.
A. life for a child is fairly easy
B. only children are interested in life
C. a child is always loved whatever he does
D. if much is given to a child, he must do something to pay back
2.A young man ___________ if he expects to live in the way he wants.
A. should lose his heart to his work
B. should try to keep out of trouble
C. should spend most of his time enjoying himself
D. should build up his own position in society for himself
3.The main idea of the passage is that ______________.
A. children's time is the most enjoyable in one's life
B. life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains
C. young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard
D. one can enjoy what each age gives him though there are some pains
“Keep your eyes on the ball.” That is good advice when you are on the playing field, and good advice for everyday life. “Keep your mind on what’s important,” is the way I’d put it. But people are funny. They think too much about the details.
I had a secretary once. She was very hardworking. I ran a school and people used to call up to enroll for courses. Berry used to get angry at the phone. “If they keep on ringing, I’ll never get my typing done!” she’d shout.
People just don’t see the big picture. One evening, after leaving work, I was sitting next to a man on the train. I was feeling tired. My eyes fell on the paper he had spread out in front of him. You know how you feel to read over someone’s shoulder?
I read the page and leaned back. I guessed I was waiting for him to turn it. After a while, I realized—he wasn’t turning the page. He just kept on reading.
Now if you knew the page he was reading, you’d know that there weren’t many words on the page to read anyway. The layout was mostly pictures. So I turned to the man and said,” You know, you really read very slowly.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. “Well,” I told him, “I read the page in about a minute, and you have taken about ten. And you are still reading. You know,” I went on “If you learned to read faster, you could get more reading done.” He remained silent for a minute or two. “If I read too fast, my paper wouldn’t last me to my station.”
1.The writer wasn’t satisfied with his secretary because ___.
A. she didn’t put first thing first
B. she was too busy
C. she was easy to get angry
D. she couldn’t finish her work on time
2.The train rider read newspaper ___.
A. to take in information B. to enjoy pictures
C. to save time D. to kill time
3.The writer thinks that people seem to need a sense of ___.
A. what to read first B. how to read fast
C. what is important D. what is funny
4.The passage is mainly about the writer’s opinion on people’s ___.
A. judgment B. work C. life D. habits
Long ago in a small town, there was a place known as the House of 1,000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit.
When he arrived, he bounced(跳) happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1,000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1,000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, “ This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit often.”
In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1,000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1,000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, “This is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again.”
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see on the faces of the people you meet?
1.Why did the first dog like the house?
A. Because there were 1,000 mirrors in the house.
B. Because he thought he could keep himself warm in the house.
C. Because he liked everything presented to him.
D. Because he felt he was welcome here.
2.The underlined word “ growl” probably means ______.
A. make an unfriendly noise B. smile
C. say hello D. stare
3.The passage tells us ________.
A. we must look at ourselves in a mirror as often as possible
B. we must look at ourselves in a mirror like the first little dog
C. We can see ourselves in the faces of the people we meet
D. we are treated in the same way as other people
4.Which of the following is the most suitable title for the passage?
A. A Small happy Little Dog
B. The House of 1,000 Mirrors
C. The Wonderful Place and the Horrible Place.
D. Two Little Dogs
For the most part, you are probably only exposed to the music that is played on your favorite radio stations and TV shows, music Web sites, or the music that your friends and family members enjoy. While you probably know a lot about your favorite type of music, it can be a rewarding experience to enlarge your horizons (眼界), discovering artists and types of music that you’re not familiar with. Who knows, you might discover you like certain types of music you never even considered.
Have you ever wondered about the history and influences of your favorite types of music? For example, did you know that rock ’n’ roll originated (起源) from the blues, and that the blues began as a form of musical expression for African Americans during slavery(奴隶制度)? Did you know that most hip-hop is heavily influenced by early rhythm blues and jazz?
There are many fun ways to learn about different musical styles and their historical roots. For example, if you like hip-hop, listen to some of your favorite CDs and take note of the samples the performers used to create the songs. There is a possibility that the artist used parts of older songs to create the music. You can go to the library or online to learn more about the artists and listen to more of their music by checking out CDs from the library or downloading songs online for a small fee.
You can learn so much about culture and history just by paying attention to different types of music and what is being expressed in the songs. There are so many different styles of music to learn about, and you owe (欠) it to yourself to make an effort to listen to and learn about them.
1.The main topic of this passage is _______.
A. creating music
B. performing music
C. enjoying your favorite music
D. learning about music
2.What music did African Americans use to express their feelings of being slaves?
A. Rock ’n’ roll. B. The blues.
C. Hip-hop. D. Jazz.
3.How can you learn about culture and history through music?
A. By writing down the names of the music
B. By creating music from older songs yourself.
C. By caring about what is being expressed in music.
D. By keeping a record of fees after downloading songs online.
4. By saying the underlined sentence in the last paragraph, the author probably means that _______.
A. you should try harder to learn about music
B. you should return something to music
C. you should borrow music CDs from others
D. you should buy music CDs yourself
Have you ever seen a movie in which a building was burned down or a bridge was destroyed? Have you seen films in which two trains crashed or a ship into the ocean? If , you may have wondered how these things could happen without the actors and actresses in the film.
The man who knows the is the “special-effects” man. He has one of the most important in the film industry. He may be ordered to a flood or to make a battlefield explode. But he may also be told to create a effect which is much less exciting, just as important to the success of the film.
In a for one movie there was a big glass bowl filled with water in which small fish were swimming. The director of the movie the fish to stop swimming suddenly they seemed to stare at (盯着看) an actor. Then the director wanted the fish to staring and swim. But fish can’t be ordered to do anything. It was quite a .
The special-effects man thought about the problem for a long time. The result was an idea for the fish with a harmless use of electricity. he applied electricity to the fish bowl causing the fish to be absolutely . Then he rapidly reduced the amount of , allowing the fish to be free. Thus he got the humourous effect the wanted.
In other parts of movie making there are also special-effects men who have developed skills in creating certain kinds of effects. Jim White, who has been a special- effects man for thirty-two years, is best known for his with ships and airplanes.
1.A. buried B. sank C. fell D. dropped
2.A. so B. such C. possible D. necessary
3.A. telling B. harming C. protecting D. organizing
4.A. news B. question C. message D. secret
5.A. films B. jobs C. factories D. companies
6.A. prevent B. fight C. pour D. create
7.A. terrible B. peaceful C. funny D. special
8.A. or B. as C. though D. only
9.A. scene B. step C. stage D. room
10.A. ordered B. wanted C. decided D. doubted
11.A. while B. since C. so that D. even if
12.A. return B. continue C. stop D. start
13.A. success B. failure C. problem D. disappointment
14.A. controlling B. operating C. driving D. lighting
15.A. As a result B. Above all C. First D. Immediately
16.A. pure B. interesting C. still D. quiet
17.A. fish B. water C. electricity D. bowl
18.A. actor B. actress C. director D. special-effects man
19.A. fast B. particular C. humorous D. careful
20.A. imagination B. work C. repair D. design
They are studying the of Jazz in America.
A. origins B. arrival C. causes D. custom
