I am sure we’ve all come across inspiring quotes that made us nod in agreement or made us think, “Wow, that’s good quote”．But we end up going back to procrastinating (拖延) on whatever it was we were procrastinating on．So are these inspirational quotes even worth reading? Well, that depends.
Quotes, books, articles, audio programs… all of these things are just tools and they’re only effective when you use them．I don’t know about you but most quotes I read don’t do anything for me．However, every now and then, I will come across one that will positively affect me in some way such as reminding me to be grateful, getting me to work out extra hard at the gym without being pressed by my wife, or never give up when things get tough.
From my experience, reading quotes is more effective when you’re actually trying to motivate yourself rather than just reading them for the sake of reading them．The second you feel the urge to take action, you’d better immediately get up off your chair and take action.
These quotes aren’t for everyone．If you have read tons of them and have never been motivated or had a positive change in the way you look at life or how you treat others, or these quotes don’t help you to insist on doing something when you feel like giving up on it, then it’s probably not worth your time reading more of them．If you have done something a bunch of times and it’s not giving you the results you want, don’t keep doing it．Try something else.
Now if you’ve found some value in reading these quotes in the past, continue to make them more effective by letting them guide your life.
I’ll end this text with one of my favorite quotes, which reminds me to constantly examine my habits．“We are what we repeatedly do．Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”---- Aristotle
1.What attitude does the author have towards most quotes he has read?
A．Negative
B．grateful
C．Doubtful
D．Interested
2.What does the author’s wife expect him to do?
A．To be grateful for life．
B．To exercise at the gym
C．To do extra work at home
D．To read more inspiring quotes
3.For whom will the quotes be effective according to the author?
A．those who read them carefully
B．Those who lack practical tools in life
C．Those who have no one to turn to for help
D．Those who take immediate action after reading them
4.What is the purpose of the passage?
A．to persuade people not to waste time on quotes.
B．to explain how to make inspiring quotes effective.
C．to encourage people to read more inspiring quotes.
D．to give people advice on how to choose useful quote.
The new high-speed railway line between Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur self-governing region, and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, has cut train travel time by half to less than 12 hours.
The dramatic improvement will benefit many families planning reunions for Spring Festival.
"For the first time, I feel home is not that far away after all," said Liang Shaofu as he boarded a high-speed train in Urumqi with six members of his family.
The 35-year-old left Lanzhou to set up a dry fruit business in Xinjiang eight years ago, and he has now settled in Urumqi.
The 1,776-km line, which passes through Qinghai province and is the country's first high-speed railway to be built in a high-altitude region, came into service on Dec 26.
"We normally drive home for Spring Festival to avoid the difficulties of buying seven train tickets for the whole family during the peak season," Liang said．"Driving can be very tiring and dangerous sometimes, so one year we even decided not to go back to Lanzhou simply to avoid the trip.
More than 600,000 passengers traveled on the line during its first month, and the Urumqi Railway Bureau said the introduction of high-speed services will ease transport pressure during the Spring Festival peak season.
The existing usual railway line could no longer support Xinjiang's development．All passenger trains will gradually shift to the new link, leaving the old one to be used for goods．As a result, Xinjiang's annual goods ability could reach 200 million metric tons from the current 70 million.
The line passes through areas that experience high winds, and it also crosses parts of the deserted Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the bone-dry sands of the Gobi Desert.
The project could help China to promote its high-speed railway technology abroad, said Ma Xizhang, director of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway project's management department in Xinjiang.
1.How long did it take to go from Urumqi to Lanzhou by the usual train before?
A．about 12 hours.
B．About 6 hours．
C．About 18 hours．
D．About 24 hours.
2.What’s the main advantage of the new high-speed railway?
A．It takes more time to go to Urumqi to Lanzhou.
B．It will be more convenient for people all over the country to Xinjiang.
C．All the people in Lanzhou can return home on festivals.
D．It helps to improve Xinjiang’s development.
3.From the passage we can learn _______.
A．Xinjiang’s annual goods ability can increase nearly four times
B．the new railway technology may help more railway lines to be built abroad
C．the high-speed railway lines can’t be built across the bone-dry sands
D．the old railway lines can only carry goods now
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．The new high-speed railway line is good for all people to go home．
B．The new high-speed railway line benefits businessmen to carry goods.
C．Taking the new train is safer than driving home from Urumqi to Lanzhou.
D．Businessmen seldom went home for Spring Festival before.
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中,选出最佳选项。
From the jagged (锯齿状的) peaks of the Himalayas to the powerful Yangtze River that flows into the Pacific, China’s vast terrain (地带) and varied climate make it the sixth most biologically diverse nation on the planet.
Since 1998, The Nature Conservancy has been working in China’s northwest Yunnan Province to protect some of the amazing natural and cultural diversity unique to this country for its future generations．In cooperation with Chinese local and state government agencies, the Conservancy established the Yunnan Great Rivers Project, which protects an area about the size of West Virginia.
Did you know?
●China contains 10% of the world’s total species.
●At least 15% of China’s mammal species and 8% of its bird species are found nowhere else on Earth.
●Nearly 15,000 plant species are native to Yunnan Province.
●Yunnan is home to 75% of Tibetan medicinal herbs and 30 endangered species.
What is the Nature Conservancy trying to do?
Education for Sustainability (可持续性)
The Nature Conservancy recognizes that environmental education is an important element of working closely with local communities to achieve sustainable conservation results．In response, the Conservancy launched a new program called Education for Sustainability which tests means of teaching and learning that combine conservation goals, social justice, and appropriate development and participation in a vision and mission for personal and social change.
Promoting Green Tourism
Tourism is both an environmental threat and an economic opportunity, with the potential to provide extremely needed income to northwest Yunnan．The Conservancy is working with local communities, government agencies, and tourism ,enterprises(企业) to develop strategies for “green” tourism which will limit the footprint of mass tourism while generating income for local people．In addition to combining tourism development and management at our five action sites, we assisted with regional marketing efforts to promote eco-tourism opportunities.
1.Among the most biologically diverse nations on the planet, China ranks _______.
A．tenth
B．sixth
C．fifteenth
D．eighth
2.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?
A．The Nature Conservancy has been working in China’s
B．The Nature Conservancy cooperated agencies in the Yunnan Great Rivers Project．
C．Nearly 10% of the world’s plant species are native to Yunnan Province.
D．For the moment the Nature Conservancy is devoting itself to education for sustainability as well as eco-tourism.
3.To develop strategies for eco-tourism, the Nature Conservancy is working with the following EXCEPT _________.
A．West Virginia
B．local communities
C．government agencies
D．tourism enterprises
4.Which of the following best shows the author’s attitude towards tourism?
A．We should greatly promote tourism as it has no disadvantages.
B．Tourism is extremely helpful to people in Yunnan.
C．Tourism does no good to our environment.
D．Tourism is an opportunity for the economy as well as threat to the environment.
阅读填空（共1小题）
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Last Monday, my father would be on a 1. (busy)trip for five days. Having gotten my promise of being great at home and taking care of my mother, he rest assured and put his luggage into the trunk of his car. __2.___(see) my father’s driving away, my mother and I waved our hands and said goodbye to him. For a moment, I began to miss my father, _3.__(wish) that he would be safe and well the next days I thought everything would go well, as this was not the first time that my father _4._(be)away for several days. Yet, —_5.__(fortunate), my mother caught a cold the next morning. Looking at her pale face, I __6.__(experience) high levels of anxiety. However, I told myself that I had to calm down and look after my mum, _7.____I promised to my dad. The moment I got my mum to sleep, I put cold towel on her forehead, found pills in the medicine box, and made some noodles for her. Luckily, she woke up and felt __8.__(good), after taking the pills and the noodles. __9.__her fever was gone relieved and satisfied me a lot. In the next four days, I was taking her body temperature twice a day, ensuring that she was completely well. To our delight, my dad went back home safely and healthily on Saturday. On hearing __10._I had done to my mum, he, as well as my mum, beamed at me and gave me a big thumb. Hearing their praises and seeing bright smiles on their faces, I really felt overjoyed and thrilled. Conceivably, taking care of my parents was, indeed and definitely, my mission and obligation。
信息匹配（共1小题）
根据短文内容，选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，有两处多余选项。
1.__ One of the best things you can possibly do is to start you own club. It’s great fun especially if you are the sort of person who feels there’s never anything to do during the school holidays.
The first thing you need to come up with is an idea for your club. 2.___Pets, clothes, pop music or dancing groups, sports, making things? the list is endless.
Next you need some friends to be in your club with you. 3.__ All you need is three or four other people who are interested in the same thing as you.
4.____You should all sit down somewhere together with lots of pieces of paper and write down every name you can think up.That’ll keep you busy for ages.
At your first meeting you should make up a rule book. And the first rule should be no grown-ups or little/big brothers or sisters! The best clubs are always secret!
Now you have just about everything you need, except membership cards. these are very important and again you can speed a lot of time making them. 5.__ Why not leave some space for a photo of yourself?That will make the membership card really look like it.
So there you are, get clubbing! Once you get started you’ll think of loads of more interesting things to do!
A．that’s easy.
B．enjoy your own club!
C．invite a designer to join you.
D．what are you interest in?
E．some vacation is just around the corner.
F．then you need to pick a name for your club.
G．use a bright thick pen to make a special design.
书面表达（共1小题）
请你根据以下要点，拟一则有关家教的招聘启事。
1．家教老师(英语)必须是一位男性，年龄在30岁左右；
2．必须具有教师经历，且有耐心和信心；
3．工作时间是每周星期六、日，每天8小时，待遇丰厚；
4．联系电话是8101688。
1．标题已为你写好；
2．可适当发挥；
词数:100左右.
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