Recently I failed an exam. However, 1.I came out of my teacher's office, I told myself, “Smile! It's not so serious.”
I smiled a big smile and it 2.(work) a little, really.
Everyone gets 3.(frustrate) sometimes. I used to be always influenced by pressure and I was often in low spirits. But one day I came 4.a sentence in the Bible, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself, let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.” It suddenly struck me，“5.(worry) about a problem doesn't help. Why not just 6.(give) a big smile and face up to the trouble？”
Now every time I want to cry, I remind myself that7.(laugh) is better than tears and anger. I 8.(convince) that there's something magical about a smile. A smile helps me recover confidence and gives me the courage to move on.
Remember, whenever you're faced with a setback, whenever you've been treated9.fair), all it takes is determination and you can feel happy again. Smile at life, 10.it will shine on you.
I’m proud of myself for this kindness I did last night I did it ________ and did the right thing. However, I was unwilling to _______, because by sharing 1 am also sharing the ________ and more self-centered side of myself.
It was last night and I ________ my shift at work. It was late and I wanted to go straight home. On my way out of the door I ________ a fellow staff member and colleague. She doesn’t have a ________ and usually either catches a taxi home or _______ for an hour waiting for _______ staff member and friend of here to finish work.
In the past I’ve ________ to drive her home as she ________ on my side of town. But last night I really did not want to. I wanted to ________ straight home, alone. And I did not have to make “small talk”.
So I tried to ________ her, walking past her, heading down, and stealing out (偷溜) to the _______ without letting her see me and _______ without offering her a lift.
Yet, something in myself was stopping me. Something in myself made me ________ her and put myself in her shoes. She had young ________ who she wanted to go home to attend to and, she could go home right now _______ I took her, not an hour later when the other staff member and friend of hers who was taking her. So I offered.She_______. And of course, she was extremely ________.
Well, I learned a great ________ last night about not being so self-centered and selfish!
1.A. nervously B. proudly C. exactly D. carefully
2.A. share B. remark C. do D. consider
3.A. pleasure B. respect C. honour D. selfish
4.A. changed B. kept C. finished D. missed
5.A. noticed B. greeted C. followed D. helped
6.A. home B. choice C. friend D. car
7.A. hangs around B. hides away C. watches over D. calms down
8.A. each B. another C. either D. that
9.A. hated B. happened C. offered D. refused
10.A. works B. lives C. plays D. remains
11.A. fly B. ride C. drive D. walk
12.A. remind B. avoid C. attract D. please
13.A. workroom B. office C. playground D. park
14.A. therefore B. even C. however D. instead
15.A. rely on B. spy on C. look at D. point at
16.A. neighbors B. pets C. children D. friends
17.A. since B. although C. as D. if
18.A. accepted B. hesitated C. approached D. urged
19.A. reliable B. upset C. generous D. grateful
20.A. gift B. lesson C. treasure D. method
May the first is an important date in the college admission process in the United States．This is the last day for high school seniors to accept or reject offers of admission in the fall．But according to a recent report, there is a great change．Acceptance rates at the top colleges this year were lower than ever．1. .
These days, college applicants are applying to more colleges because online and common applications make the process easier．2..On the other hand, deciding students for top colleges to accept can be difficult because it takes much time．Students may not like being put on waiting lists．Also, common colleges work more to get the students they accept to accept them．Some colleges hold visiting days that offer a chance to attend classes and stay overnight．Some universities send gifts．3. .
For many families, the most important thing colleges can do is show them the money, especially this year; the weak economy makes parents nervous．4.. The recent problems that spread from the housing market to credit markets have even affected student’s loans．So lately, top schools have to spare lots of money to increase their financial aid for students．5.. The Education Department expects the number of high school graduates to start to go down．This will happen as the last of the children of the baby boom generation finishes high school．The number is not expected to start rising again until 2019．
A．What contributes to it?
B．Besides, top colleges are facing changes in the population．
C．But a mistake can be costly if it happens．
D．It can mean several acceptances to choose from．
E．They have international students who know English．
F．But top colleges ignore them．
G．They cannot afford college as planned．
A recent study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore(NUS)has found a clear link between the color of a taxi and its accident rate. An analysis of 36 months of detailed taxi, driver and accident data from two fleets of yellow and blue taxis in Singapore suggested that yellow taxis have fewer accidents than blue taxis. The higher visibility (能见度)of yellow makes it easier for drivers to avoid getting into accidents with yellow taxis, leading to a lower accident rate.
The study was led by Prof Ho. To test whether there was a causal relationship between the color of a taxi and the number of accidents the taxi had, the research team analysed data collected by the largest taxi company in Singapore. The researchers found that yellow taxis have about 6.1 fewer accidents per 1,000 taxis per month.
The researchers also studied the economic effect of changing the color of the entire fleet of taxis to yellow. The Singapore taxi company involved in the study owns about 16,700 taxis in a ratio(比例) of one yellow to three blue taxis. If a commercial decision is made to switch from blue to yellow taxis, 76.6 fewer accidents would occur per month or 917 fewer accidents per year. Assuming an average repair cost of $1,000 per car and a downtime of six days, switching the color of all taxis to yellow could produce an annual savings of $2 million.
“We are eager to continue to validate(证实) the findings of our study by looking at the use of yellow in other types of public transport, such as school buses. For instance, we hope to compare the accident rates of yellow school buses against other colors to find out if yellow is indeed a safer color for school buses. Besides, we are also interested to look at private-hire vehicles and do a comparison of the accident rates of vehicles that are of different colors,” explained Prof Ho.
1.Why do yellow taxis result in fewer accidents?
A. Because yellow can be seen more easily.
B. Because yellow signals a warning of danger.
C. Because drivers tend to be more careful in yellow taxis.
D. Because people act more quickly in yellow surroundings.
2.What’s Prof Ho’s study based on?
A. Physical risks taxi passengers experience.
B. The economic effect of changing taxi color.
C. Data from Singapore’s largest taxi company.
D. Personal reports from taxi drivers worldwide.
3.What do Prof Ho’s words in the last paragraph suggest?
A. School buses should be painted yellow.
B. Their findings are worth popularizing.
C. Yellow should be widely used in public transport.
D. Their study will be furthered.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A. Caution: yellow taxis ahead
B. Safer to ride in yellow taxis
C. Why are yellow taxis preferred?
D. How can colors help prevent accidents?
Dubai(迪拜)is one of the economically richest places in the world. With its numerous malls, hotels, and beautiful beaches, Dubai has always been a popular holiday destination. This city was visited by around 5 million tourists each year. The government wanted to increase this number to 15 million. However, Dubai has only 45 miles of coastline, which is nowhere enough for so many people. To solve this problem, an island that looked like a palm tree was built in 2006, and named the Palm Jumeirah.
The plan for the island was extraordinary. It was to host several hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, and homes. Although the initial plan was to build the island from concrete(水泥), a decision was taken to create it from sand and gravel(砾石), so as to give it a natural look.
To make sure that this project was a success, the best engineers from across the world were employed. Engineers from Holland formed the majority in this group. To begin with, the engineers calculated the strength of storms at sea, and also the expected amount of rise in water levels due to global warming. And then they found that, the proposed location for the island was neither very wide nor deep.
One of the difficulties the engineers came across was to put sand on the sea bed to create the breakwater(防浪堤).Finding the right sand for the project was also a daunting task, as the sand from Dubai’s deserts was too fine. Instead, sand from the sea was used, as it was coarser(粗糙). Once the breakwater was built, construction of the island began.
The Palm Island are really impressive in terms of engineering. However, these projects are so large that they may have changed the ecology of the region. Also, an immense amount of money and resources go into maintaining the islands, which is a major concern at the moment. Only time will tell if building the Palm Islands was actually a good decision.
1.What does Paragraph 1 mainly show us?
A. Beautiful attractions of Dubai.
B. The geographical features of Dubai.
C. The purposes of building the Palm Jumeirah,
D. The difficulty in developing the tourism industry.
2.Why were some changes made to the initial plan for the project?
A. To reduce the building cost. B. To get the islands completed sooner.
C. To get the building materials more easily. D. To make the island look more natural,
3.What does the underlined word"daunting" in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. meaningless B. difficult C. Impossible D. necessary
4.According to the last paragraph, how is the construction of the Palm Islands?
A. Profitable. B. Surprising. C. Worrying. D. Unbelievable.
If you want to convince the boss you deserve a pay rise or promotion, the solution could be simple — eat the same food as they do. Psychologists have discovered managers are much more likely to instantly trust us if we choose the same dishes as them.
During experiments, discussions over wages and work conditions were much more successful if both sides chose to snack on the same treats. And shoppers were much more likely to buy a product advertised on TV by someone eating a similar food to them at the time.
The reason is thought to be so-called similarity attraction theory — where people tend to like others who have similar tastes or habits to themselves. But this is believed to be one of the first studies highlighting the role of food in this relationship. Researchers at Chicago University in the US conducted a series of experiments to examine food’s role in earning trust.
In a test, participants were told to watch TV — where someone pretending to be a member of the public praised a certain product. The volunteers were given Kit Kat bars to nibble (咬), while the TV people ate either a Kit Kat or grapes as they talked.
The results showed viewers were much more likely to express an interest in buying the product if the TV showed the other person eating a Kit Kat too.
The researchers added, “Although similarity in food consumption is not a sign of whether two people will get along, we find consumers treat this as such. They feel more trusting of those who consume as they do. It means people can immediately begin to feel friendship and develop a bond, leading to smoother transactions (交易) from the start.”
Harley Street psychologist Dr. Lucy Atcheson said it was already known that wearing similar clothes could instantly create trust. But this was the first report that food had the same effect. She said, “This is really interesting. It makes sense as people feel they have common ground and can trust the other person. That means negotiations are more likely to be successful.”
1.According to the passage, customers are likely to buy a product from a dealer who ______.
A. reduces the price of his products
B. advertises his products on TV
C. has the same taste as them
D. pays attention to the quality of his products
2.The experiments conducted by researchers at Chicago University show that ____.
A. bosses like employees that have the same taste as them
B. food plays an important role in earning people’s trust
C. people who have similar tastes to their boss’s earn more
D. people have less interest in buying products advertised on TV
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The effect of wearing similar clothes hasn’t been proved by researchers.
B. People are more likely to make friends with those wearing the same clothes as them.
C. People who eat similar food are more likely to trust each other.
D. People will get along with each other if they like to eat similar things.
4.Which of the following sayings can be an example of the similarity attraction theory?
A. Honesty is the best policy. B. All good things come to an end.
C. Where there is a will, there is a way. D. Birds of a feather flock together.
