Sometimes just when we need the power of miracles to change our beliefs， they materialize in the places we’d least expect. They can come to us as a drastic alteration in our physical reality or as a simple synchronicity in our lives. Sometimes they’re big and can’t be missed Other times they’re so subtle that if we aren’t aware， we may miss them altogether. They can come from the lips of a stranger we suddenly and mysteriously encounter at just the right instant. If we listen carefully, we’ll always hear the right words，at the right time， to dazzle us into a realization of something that we may have failed to notice only moments before.
On a cold January afternoon in 1989，I was hiking up the trail that leads to the top of Egypt’s Mt. Horeb. I’d spent the day at St. Catherine’s Monastery and wanted to get to the peak by sunset to see the valley below. As I was winding up the narrow path，I’d occasionally see other hikers who were coming down from a day on the mountain. While they would generally pass with simply a nod or a greeting in another language，there was one man that day who did neither.
I saw him coming from the last switchback on the trail that led to the backside of the mountain. As he got closer，I could see that he was dressed differently from the other hikers I’d seen. Rather than the high-tech fabrics and styles that had been the norm，this man was wearing traditional Egyptian clothing. He wore a tattered， rust-colored galabia and obviously old and thick-soled sandals that were covered in dust. What made his appearance so odd，though，was that the man didn’t even appear to be Egyptian！ He was a small-framed Asian man, had very little hair，and was wearing round，wire-rimmed glasses.
As we neared one another，I was the first to speak.“Hello，”I said，stopping on the trail for a moment to catch my breath. Not a sound came from the man as he walked closer. I thought that maybe he hadn’t heard me or the wind had carried my voice away from him in another direction. Suddenly he stopped directly in front of me on the high side of the trail， looked up from the ground， and spoke a single sentence to me in English，“Sometimes you don’t know what you have lost until you’ve lost it.”As I took in what I had just heard，he simply stepped around me and continued his descent down the trail.
That moment in my life was a small miracle. The reason is less about what the man said and more about the timing and the context. The year was 1989，and the Cold War was drawing to a close. What the man on the trail couldn’t have known is that it was during my Egyptian pilgrimage， and specifically during my hike to the top of Moses’s mountain，that I’d set the time aside to make decisions that would affect my career in the defense industry，my friends，my family，and，ultimately，my life.
I had to ask myself what the chances were of an Asian man dressed in an Egyptian galabia coming down from the top of this historic mountain just when I was walking up，stopping before me，and offering his wisdom，seemingly from out of nowhere. My answer to my own question was easy： the odds were slim to none！ In an encounter that lasted less than two minutes on a mountain halfway around the world from my home， a total stranger had brought clarity， and the hint of a warning， regarding the huge changes that I would make within a matter of days. In my way of thinking，that’s a miracle.
I suspect that we all experience small miracles in our lives every day. Sometimes we have the wisdom and the courage to recognize them for what they are. In the moments when we don’t，that’s okay as well. It seems that our miracles have a way of coming back to us again and again. And each time they do，they become a little less subtle ，until we can’t possibly miss the message that they bring to our lives！
The key is that they’re everywhere and occur every day for different reasons， in response to the different needs that we may have in the moment. Our job may be less about questioning the extraordinary things that happen in our daily lives and more about accepting the gifts they bring.
1.Why did the author make a pilgrimage to Mt. Horeb in Egypt?
A.He was in search of a miracle in his life.
B.It was a holy place for a religious person to head for.
C.He intended to make arrangements for his life in the future.
D.He waited patiently in expectation of meeting a wise person.
2.What does the underlined part “my own question” refer to in Paragraph 6?
A.For what reason did the man stop before me?
B.Why did the Asian man go to the mountain?
C.What change would I make within a matter of days?
D.What was the probability that others told us the right words?
3.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “subtle” in Paragraph 7?
A.Apparent. B.Delicate.
C.Precise. D.Sufficient.
4.The author viewed the encounter with the Asian man as a miracle in his life in that .
A.the Asian man’s appearance had a deciding effect on his future life
B.his words were in perfect response to the need he had at that moment
C.what the Asian man said was abundant in the philosophy of life
D.the Asian man impressed on him the worth of what he had possessed
5.What might be the best title for the passage?
A.Can you recognize a miracle?
B.Is a miracle significant to us?
C.When might a miracle occur?
D.Why do we need a miracle?
When the residents of Buenos Aires want to change the pesos they do not trust into the dollars they do, they go to an office that acts as a front for thriving illegal exchange market.
As the couriers carry their bundles of pesos around Buenos Aires, they pass grand buildings like the Teatro Colon, an opera house that opened in 1908, and the Retiro railway station, completed in 1915. In the 43 years leading up to 1914, GDP had grown at an annual rate of 6%, the fastest recorded in the world. In 1914 half of Buenos Aires’s population was foreign-born. Its income per head was 92% of the average of 16 rich economies.
It never got better than this. Its income per head is now 43% of those same 16 rich economies; it trails Chile and Uruguay in its own backyard.
The country’s dramatic decline has long puzzled economists. “If a guy has been hit 700,000 shots it’s hard to work out which one of them killed him,” says Rafael di Tella. But three deep-lying explanations help to throw light on the country’s decline. Firstly, Argentina may have been rich 100 years ago but it was not modern. The second theory stresses the role of trade policy. Thirdly, when it needed to change, Argentina lacked the institutions to create successful policies.
Argentina was rich in 1914 because of commodities; its industrial base was only weakly developed. The landowners who made Argentina rich were not so bothered about educating it: cheap labor was what counted.
Without a good education system, Argentina struggled to create competitive industries. It had benefited from technology in its Belle Epoque period, but Argentina mainly consumed technology from abroad rather than inventing its own.
Argentina had become rich by making a triple bet on agriculture, open market and Britain, its biggest trading partner. If that bet turned sour, it would require a severe adjustment. The First World War delivered the initial blow to trade. Next came the Depression, which crushed the open trading system on which Argentina depended. Dependence on Britain, another country in decline, backfired( 失 败 ) as Argentina’s favored export market signed preferential deals with Commonwealth countries.
After the Second World War, when the rich world began its slow return to free trade with the negotiation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1947, Argentina had become a more closed economy. An institution to control foreign trade was created in 1946; the share of trade as a percentage of GDP continued to fall. High food prices meant big profits for farmers but empty stomachs for ordinary Argentines. Open borders increased farmers’ taking but sharpened competition from abroad for domestic industry. Heavy export taxes on crops allow the state to top up its decreasing foreign-exchange reserves; limits on wheat exports create surpluses(过剩) that drive down local prices. But they also dissuade farmers from planting more land, enabling other countries to steal market shares.
1.Grand buildings are mentioned in the second paragraph to show ________.
A.Argentines were talented B.Argentina was once a rich country
C.Argentines miss the past of Argentina D.Argentina has a suitable infrastructure
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Argentina is richer than Uruguay.
B.Argentina was once attractive to immigrants.
C.Britain is playing a leading role in the development of Argentina.
D.Argentina is not serious about its agriculture and open markets.
3.The underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph implies that ________.
A.the decline of Argentina welcomes an analysis from authorities
B.it is hard to explain the reasons for Argentina’s decline
C.it takes time to explain the reasons for Argentina’s decline
D.Argentina has declined for many reasons
4.What is the root of the problem of Argentina’s trade policy?
A.Argentina depends heavily on foreign technology.
B.Many world events caused Argentina to break down.
C.Argentina failed in adjusting itself appropriately.
D.The conflicts between classes needed to be solved.
At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence; but at this age the likelihood of death is least. Earlier, we were infants and young children, and consequently more vulnerable; later, we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigor and resistance which, though imperceptible at first, will finally become so steep that we can live no longer, however well we look after ourselves, and however well society, and our doctors, look after us.
This decline in vigor with the passing of time is called ageing. It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way, that if we escape wars, accidents and disease we shall eventually "die of old age", and that this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person, so that there are heavy odds in favor of our dying between the ages of sixty-five and eighty. Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer—on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and robust we are.
Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it. We are so familiar with the fact that man ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigor with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. They have also assumed that all animals, and probably other organisms such as trees, or even the universe itself, must in the nature of things "wear out".
Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do, if given the chance to live long enough; and mechanical systems like a wound watch, or the sun, do in fact an out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics (热力学) (whether the whole universe does so is a moot point at present). But these are not analogous to what happens when man ages. A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself—it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction. We could,at one time, repair ourselves—well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents. Between twelve and eighty years we gradually lose this power; an illness which at twelve would knock us over, at eighty can knock us out, and into our grave. If we could stay as vigorous as we are at twelve, it would take about 700 years for half of us to die, and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.
1.Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A.Our first twelve years represent the peak of human development.
B.People usually are unhappy when reminded of ageing.
C.Normally only a few of us can live to the eighties and nineties.
D.People are usually less likely to die at twelve years old.
2.The word "it" in the last sentence of Paragraph Two refers to .
A.remaining alive until 65.
B.remaining alive after 80.
C.dying before 65 or after 80.
D.dying between 65 and 80.
3.What do the examples of watch show?
A.Normally people are quite familiar with the ageing process.
B.All animals and other organisms undergo the ageing process.
C.The law of thermodynamics functions in the ageing process.
D.Human's ageing process is different from that of mechanisms.
OPENINGS AND PREVIEWS
Animals Out of Paper
Yolo！Productions and the Great Griffon present the play by Rajiv Joseph, in which an origami(折纸术) artist invites a teenage talent and his teacher into her studio. Merri Milwe directs. In previews. Opens Feb. 12. (West Park Presbyterian Church, 165 W. 86th St. 212-868-4444.)
The Audience
Helen Mirren stars in the play by Peter Morgan, about Queen Elizabeth II of the UK and her private meetings with twelve Prime Ministers in the course of sixty years. Stephen Daldry directs. Also starring Dylan Baker and Judith Ivey. Previews begin Feb. 14.(Schoenfeld, 236 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200.)
Hamilton
Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote this musical about Alexander Hamilton, in which the birth of America is presented as an immigrant story. Thomas Kail directs. In previews. Opens Feb. 17.(Public, 425 Lafayette St. 212-967-7555.)
On the Twentieth Century
Kristin Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher star in the musical comedy by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, about a Broadway producer who tries to win a movie star’s love during a cross-country train journey. Scott Ellis directs, for Roundabout Theatre Company. Previews begin Feb. 12.(American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St. 212-719-1300.)
1.What is the play by Rajiv Joseph probably about?
A.A type of art. B.A teenager’s studio.
C.A great teacher. D.A group of animals.
2.Who is the director of The Audience?
A.Helen Mirren. B.Peter Morgan.
C.Dylan Baker. D.Stephen Daldry.
3.Which play will you go to if you are interested in American history?
A.Animals Out of Paper. B.The Audience.
C.Hamilton. D.On the Twentieth Century.
I walked with my friend to the newsstand the other night, and he bought a paper, thanking the newspaper seller politely. The seller didn’t even ________ it.
“A dull fellow, isn’t he?” I commented.
“Oh, he is that way every night,” shrugged my friend.
“Then why do you continue to be so ________ to him?” I asked.
“Why not?” inquired my friend. “Why should I let him ________ how I am going to act?”
As I thought about this incident later, it occurred to me that the ________ word was “ACT”. My friend acts toward people, but most of us react toward people.
He has a sense of inner balance which is ________ in most of us; he knows who he is, what he stands for, how he should ________ . He refuses to return impoliteness for impoliteness, ________ then he would no longer control himself.
When we are instructed in the Bible to return good for evil, we look on this as a(n) ________ command. But it is also a psychological prescription for our emotional health.
Nobody is ________ than the forever reactor. His center of emotional gravity is not rooted ________ himself, where it belongs, but in the world outside him. His spiritual ________ is always being raised or lowered by the ________ climate around him, and he is a mere creature under the control of these ________ .
Praise gives him a feeling of excitement, which is ________ , because it doesn’t last and it doesn’t come from self approval. Criticism ________ him more than it should, because it ________ his lack of confidence. Being ignored hurt him, and the least suspicion of unpopularity in an place brings him __________ .
A peace of spirit can’t be achieved until we become the ________ of our own actions and attitudes. To let another determine our feelings is to give up ________ over our own personalities, which are essentially all we ________ . The only true possession is self-possession.
1.A.sense B.catch C.repeat D.acknowledge
2.A.helpful B.polite C.generous D.gentle
3.A.decide B.know C.choose D.show
4.A.necessary B.useful C.important D.common
5.A.growing B.lying C.filling D.lacking
6.A.behave B.reply C.live D.react
7.A.and B.for C.but D.while
8.A.cultural B.natural C.emotional D.moral
9.A.unluckier B.unhappier C.stronger D.brighter
10.A.within B.without C.upon D.below
11.A.decision B.attitude C.temperature D.manners
12.A.social B.political C.physical D.economic
13.A.facts B.details C.elements D.instructions
14.A.effective B.false C.different D.meaningful
15.A.surprise B.excites C.disappoints D.encourages
16.A.starts B.ends C.confirms D.cures
17.A.influences B.comfort C.pleasure D.bitterness
18.A.masters B.reporters C.admirers D.inventors
19.A.advantage B.improvement C.interest D.control
20.A.appreciated B.possess C.learn D.expect
－What about inviting Tracy to host the party?
－Good idea! She is very quick in mind. Oh, _______, here she comes.
A. don’t pull my leg B. a little bird told me
C. speak of the devil D. it’s a piece of cake
