Hidden in our subconsciousness (潜意识) is a perfect mental picture. We see ourselves on a long trip that goes across the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we think in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle feeding on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, or row upon row of corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw（拼图玩具） puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles(通道), condemning the minutes for loitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry. “When I’m 38.” “When I buy a new 450SL Mercdes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I have paid off the loan!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! ”
Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
“Relish(appreciate) the moment” is a good motto, actually it isn’t the burdens of today that drive man mad. It is the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. Then the station will come soon enough.
1.Why does the author describe the mental picture?
A．To lead us into a perfect world.
B．To let people enjoy the scenery.
C．To introduce an actual trip of his.
D．To compare it to our life’s journey.
2.How do people feel when they’re on their trip?
A．Puzzled. B．Happy. C．Relaxed. D．Impatient.
3.What does the author mean by “Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today” in Line 2 Paragraph 5?
A．Regret and fear are responsible for the loss of today.
B．We must be careful of the two thieves: regret and fear.
C．regret and fear stop us from enjoying our present life.
D．We’re frequently challenged by the two : regret and fear.
4.Why does the author write the passage?
A．To teach us a good lesson.
B．To tell us the right attitude to life.
C．To advice us to forget our worries.
D．To stop us wandering along the aisles.
American actress Marisa Tomei won an Academy Award for her work in the 1992 movie My Cousin Vinny. People laughed when they saw her film character telling a boyfriend that they need to get married. Why marriage? Because her biological clock is ticking and she wants a baby.
“Well I hate to bring it up because I know you got enough pressure on you already. But…we agreed to get married as soon as you won your first case(law case). Meanwhile, ten years later…my niece…the daughter of my sister is getting married. My biological clock is ticking like this (stomp, stomp, stomp). And the way this case is going…I ain’t never getting married.”
“Lisa, I don’t need this. I swear to God I don’t need this right now.”
Using it this way, a biological clock means the time in a woman’s life when she is able to bear children. In the not-so-distant past, most people thought that when a woman reached her 40s it was too late for her to have children. The time on her biological clock had run out.
Well, that has changed. These days some women are resetting their biological clocks. They are giving themselves more time to have children.
Make no mistake. Being a “Single Mother by Choice” is very different from younger women who find themselves pregnant, perhaps not by choice.
Generally speaking, single mothers by choice are older and well educated. They are usually financially secure and successful in their careers. So, they have the money. What they may not have is a partner.
This is the place in life where writer Kerry Reichs found herself several years ago. She says she did not plan to become a single mother. She says she just did not find the right partner.
“Well, I think I had a set of standards for the partner I was looking for and I didn’t meet anyone that fit those standards. And, at 39 I found myself single, without children and I wanted them very much. So, I made the difficult decision that I could do this on my own.
1. According to the passage, what is a biological clock?
A. It’s a clock made of biological matters.
B. It refers to a women’s certain life period.
C. It records when women need to bear children.
D. It refers to a woman in her 40s.
2. According to the passage, in the past, when a woman reached her 40s, ________.
A. she can’t get married.
B. she might not be able to have children.
C. her biological clock will need to be reset.
D. her status of being a single mother is difficult.
3.What does “Single Mother by Choice” mean?
A. It means single mothers have a choice.
B. It means single mothers are pregnant by chance.
C. It means single women in their late 30s or early 40s decided to have children.
D. It means women want to make a choice.
4. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Choosing to be a single mother.
B. A woman’s biological clock.
C. Getting married by force.
D. Single women wanting marriage.
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Seven ways to find out what you really want in life
Be good to yourself
You can’t pinpoint(准确指出) exactly what you want in life .You’re constantly sacrificing your time and dreams for other people. 1. Ask yourself: if you weren’t tied down by your job, family, or anything else, then what would you be doing right now?
Regret nothing
To be good to yourself is not selfish. It’s your life. It’s time for you to live it exactly the way you want to. If you constantly regret things you did or didn’t do in the past, then you won’t be able to move forward. 2.
Figure out what you need
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what you need. Sit down and think about what you need most. The freedom to express yourself? Love? Financial security? Something else? If it helps, you can make a list. Also think about the kind of legacy(遗产) you want to leave behind.
3.
You can fly only by pushing back against something you don’t want. Figure out what upsets you, and be specific about it. Don’t just say that you hate your office job. Pinpoint exactly why you hate it. Could it be your strict boss? Your workload? Your meaningless job title? Or all of the above?
Determine what makes you truly happy
There’s no life to waste if you’re happy with living it. Think about what makes you happy. Being around children? Is it traveling? Owning a successful business? Financial freedom? 4.
Let people around you know what you’re trying to achieve
Don’t keep your goals and desires to yourself. Voice it all out! If you tell people what you’re trying to accomplish, they will most likely support you and give you new ideas. Sometimes mother does know best!
Stay positive
Life doesn’t always go how you want it. Don’t feel discouraged as your plans stray(偏离). Take control. Instead of being anxious, try your best to advance with the changes. You will get there someday. 5. You’re just taking a little detour.
A. Don’t live in the past but live in the present!
B. Sometimes a positive attitude is all you need to keep going.
C. Determine what really
bothers you.
D. Once you pinpoint the one thing that makes you happy the most, you’ll have a pretty clear idea of what you should struggle hard to get in your life.
E. Yo
u have to put yourself first, because if you don’t, then no one else will.
F. Determine what you are going to do next.
G. You should think of things positively.
Thick 
dust rose and a large building collapsed. This was the scene in Zhu Zhou，Hunan Province on May 17. Nine people were killed and 16 injured.
Things were similar in the Sichuan earthquake. Thousands of people were buried in the ruins and lost their lives. What if we could have warned them?
People are always racking their wits to find a way of preventing buildings’ collapse. Better materials and technology help，but they are not a solution.
Just like humans，a building has its own life cycle from “birth” to “death”．If we know when a building is going to collapse，we can repair it in advance or get out of it before it falls. Now，scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks. The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes or bridge supports. The research was led by Nancy Sottos，a professor at the university’s Beckman Institute，and Douglas Davis，a graduate research assistant.
The secret behind the color—changing material 
is a type of molecule (分子)．A molecule is a group of atoms held together by chemical bonds. Imagine you and your friends standing in a circle，holding hands. Each person stands for one atom，your hands represent the bonds，and the entire circle represents a molecule. If one person lets go of his or her hands，the molecule changes color. The research team put the molecule into a soft material. When the researchers stretched the material，it turned bright red for a few seconds before it broke into two pieces. When they repeatedly stretched and relaxed the material，without breaking it，it only turned a little red.
The major problem is that light can get rid of the red color. When the team shone bright light on the molecule，the broken bond was fixed，and the color disappeared. Scientists have yet to do more research before the color—changing molecules can be used outside the lab.
1.What does the passage mainly introduce?
A. The collapse of a large building in Zhu Zhou, Hunan Province.
B. A type of molecule that can be put into a soft material
C. A material that turns red before it breaks.
D. A way of preventing building from collapsing.
2.The underlined words “racking their wits” in the third paragraph mean ________.
A. suffering a lot B. collecting beyond imagination
C. losing a lot D. thinking very hard
3.Which of the following is a WRONG statement?
A. Thousands of people died from the collapse of buildings in the Sichuan earthquake because they hadn’t been warned.
B. There is no building that will never collapse.
C. A new material has been applied to buildings to warn people of collapse.
D. A color—changing material can turn red before it breaks.
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A. The color—changing molecules are certain to be used outside the lab.
B. There will be less collapse with the help of the color—changing material.
C. The bright light may make the material’s warning system useless.
D. The problem caused by bright light will be solved by scientists soon.
The U.S. government is facing an increasing bother. Wild pigs, at their worst, can damage crops, spread diseases, attack humans and kill farm animals. And things are getting worse: a study shows that they are likely to double in number over the next 3 years. Why is it so hard to control wild pigs?
Introduced to America in the 16th century, and related to the wild pigs found in Europe, wild pigs can be found in 75% of all states. No single law exists to control them and regulations differ bet
ween states: while in Missouri they can only be shot if met by chance, in Texas hunting is actively encouraged; a “pork chopper” law allows Texan hunters to shoot wild pigs from helicopters, and some people in Louisiana have even built their own pig—hunting drone(无人机). As well as being popular with hunters, wild pigs are cheaper for game raisers to breed(饲养)than deer. In Michigan and Pennsylvania suggested bans on the private breeding of pigs for hunting have caused quarrels between game raisers and wildlife officials.
Wild pigs' double nature—considered pests by farmers, but valued by hunters—makes it hard to pass laws to control them. Two other factors also contribute. Nearly 70% of land in America is privately owned. And it is difficult for lawmakers to force breeding and 
hunting laws on private landowners. Secondly, it is hard to define a wild pig.
In some states, laws are being introduced to redefine the term “wild animal” to keep out wild pigs. This is good news for those raising pigs for hunting, but less are to those who consider them pests whose number should be limited. Meanwhile, discussions continue over how to deal with this problem.
1.People are not permitted to hunt wild pigs freely in ________.
A. Texas B. Michigan
C. Missouri D. Louisiana
2.Why do the game raisers prefer raising wild pigs to deer?
A. It's difficult to raise deer.
B. Wild pigs are in large numbers.
C. Deer are not popular with hunters.
D. They can benefit more from wild pigs.
3.Which is NOT the reason for the difficulty in controlling wild pigs?
A. The difficulty of passing effective laws.
B. The high percentage of land owned privately.
C. The farmers' unwillingness to shoot wild pigs.
D. The popularity of raising wild pigs in many states.
4.What is the best title of the text?
A. Why are wild pigs so hard to control?
B. Are wild pigs pests or wild animals?
C. Wild pi
gs—an increasing danger in the US.
D. How to deal with the problem of wild pigs?
The tough economy is bringing new shoppers to the secondhand market. Plato’s Closet in Chaelotte, NC is a private company, which mainly buys and sells used clothes. While Charlotte has outstanding secondhand stores offering high-end and graceful brands for women, most of their stock applies to adults. Plato’s closet targets teens and those in their 20s. Plato’s Closet , with stores in Matthews and the university area, sells clothes and accessories(装饰品) that are currently popular at about one third the retail prices(零售价).
The two hottest brands, for buying and selling, are Hollister an
d Abercrombie &Fitch. Even though the offerings tend to be suitable for young people, there are a variety of shoppers at Plato’s Closet of varying ages. Women in their 30s, 40s, and older could easily find a purse, jacket or piece of jewelry they like.
If you are selling
Unlike higher-end resale stores which usually work on consignment(寄售),Plato’s Closet buys on the spot.
Items can be gently used, but must be in very good condition.
Clothes should be less than two years old and styles should be the same as those still being sold at the shopping center.
There is no negotiation; prices are set company-wide. If what you sell amounts to $30 or less, they’ll give you cash. More than that, you’ll get a Visa cash card.
Secondhand success
Don’t get discouraged if you can’t find something on your first trip. Resale shops are always getting new lists of goods and change their styles with each season.
Be sure to check each piece carefully before buying.
Price comparison
Jackets: New York & Company black blazer, $12; retail: $37
Pants: Express Editor-style pants, $12; retail: $69.90.
Shoes: Nine West black peep-toe pumps, $12; retail: $89.
Jewelry: Necklaces, $3-$5; retail: $18-$30.
1.What is the difference between Plato’s Closet and other resale shops?
A. They offer service for people of different ages.
B. The offerings in Plato’s Closet are more expensive.
C. Plato’s Closet only offers high-end brands for women.
D. Plato’s Closet also sells books to customers.
2.Which of the following about Plato’s Closet is NOT true?
A. Hollister and Abercrombie &Fitch are the two hottest brands in Plato’s Closet.
B. Women in their fifties can’t find proper clothes and accessories in Plato’s Closet.
C. Goods in Plato’s Closet are sold at 67 percent off retail prices or so.
D. Plato’s Closet targets teens and those in their 20s.
3.In Plato’s Closet, which of the following is not accepted?
A. Items you sell must be in very good condition.
B. You can negotiate with buyers about prices of goods.
C. The clothes you sell should be less than two years old.
D. You can sell your goods on the spot instead of on consignment.
4.If you buy a pair of Express Editor-style pants in Plato’s Closet, you can save _______.
A. 57.9 dollars B. 15 dollars
C. 77 dollars D. 25 dollars.
