Everyone knows that the Frenchmen are romantic, the Italians are fashionable and the Germans are serious. Are these just stereotypes or is there really such a thing as national character? And if there is, can it affect how a nation succeed or fail?
At least one group of people is certain that it can. A recent survey of the top 500 entrepreneurs in the UK found that 70% felt that their efforts were not appreciated by the British public. Britain is hostile to success, they said. It has a culture of jealousy. As a result, the survey said, entrepreneurs were “unloved, unwanted and misunderstood.” Jealousy is sometimes known as the “green – eyed monster” and the UK is its home.
Scientists at Warwich University in the UK recently tested this idea. They gathered a group of people together and gave each an imaginary amount of money. Some were given a little, others a great deal. Those given a little were given the chance to destroy the large amount of money given to others – but at the cost of losing their own. Two thirds of the people tested agreed to do this.
This seems to prove that the entrepreneurs were right to complain. But there is also conflicting evidence. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently reported that the UK is now the world’s fourth largest economy. That is not bad for people who are supposed to hate success. People in the UK also work longer hours than anyone else in Europe. So the British people are not lazy, either.
“It is not really success that the British dislike,” says Carey Cooper, a professor of management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. “It’s people using their success in a way that seems proud or unfair or which separates them from their roots.”
Perhaps it is the entrepreneurs who are the problem. They set out to do things in their way. They work long hours. By their own efforts they become millionaires. But instead of being happy they complain that nobody loves them. It hardly seems worth following their example. If they were more friendly, people would like them more. And more people want to be like them.
1.Most entrepreneurs surveyed believe that .
|
A．the British people hate success |
|
B．the British people are hardworking |
|
C．love of success is Britain’s national character |
|
D．they are considered as “green – eyed monsters” |
2.What does the result of the Warwich University’s test show.
|
A．Two thirds of the people tested didn’t love money. |
|
B．Most people would rather fail than see others succeed. |
|
C．An imaginary amount of money does not attract people. |
|
D．Most people are willing to enjoy success with others. |
3.The writer of the passage seems to suggest that .
|
A．jealousy is Britain’s national character |
|
B．British entrepreneurs are not fairly treated |
|
C．the scientists at Warwich University did a successful test |
|
D．the entrepreneurs in the UK do not behave properly |
4.The best title for this article can be .
|
A．Be More Modest and We Will Love You More |
|
B．Proud Entrepreneurs |
|
C．The Frenchmen are Romantic While The British are Hostile |
|
D．Only Pains but No Gains |
Your name made you do it, though unconsciously, suggests new research that finds your name can negatively make you achieve less. Psychologists at Yale and the University of California, San Diego studying the unconscious influence of names say a preference for our own names and initials — the “name-letter effect” — can have some negative consequences.
Students whose names begin with C or D get lower grades than those whose names begin with A or B; major league baseball players whose first or last names began with K (the strikeout-signifying letter) are significantly more likely to strike out.
Assistant professors Leif Nelson of UCSD and Joseph Simmons of Yale have conducted five studies over five years using information from thousands of individuals.
“The conscious process is baseball players want to get a hit and students want to get A's,” Nelson says. “So if you get a change in performance consistent with the name-letter effect, it clearly shows there must be some unconscious desire operating in the other direction.”
The researchers' work supports a series of studies published since 2002 that have found the “name-letter effect” causes people to make life choices based on names that resemble their own. Those studies by Brett Pelham, an associate professor at SUNY University, have found that people are disproportionately（不定比例地）likely to live in states or cities resembling their names, have careers that resemble their names and even marry those whose surnames begin with the same letter as their own.
The twist, Pelham says, is that he has believed the name-letter effect would apply only to positive outcomes. Nelson and Simmons, he says, are “showing it applies more so to negative things than positive things.”
The researchers say the effect is definitely more than coincidence but is small nevertheless. “I know plenty of Chrises and Davids who have done very well in school,” Simmons says.
1.The new research is mainly about the relationship between one’s ______.
|
A．name and unconsciousness |
B．name and characteristics |
|
C．name and success |
D．sports and school achievements |
2.Who may serve as an example to show the “name-letter effect”?
|
A．Miss Smith working as a lawyer. |
B．Charles Brown married to Sue Rogers. |
|
C．Mr. Watt living in Washington |
D．Paula Snow fond of the color white. |
3.Which can be used to explain the underlined word “twist” in the last but one paragraph?
|
A．Difference． |
B．Conclusion． |
|
C．Funny side． |
D．Shared part． |
4.The last paragraph mainly tells us that the “name-letter effect” ______.
|
A．isn’t believed in by many people |
B．doesn’t work with certain names |
|
C．may not really exist |
D．is often too small to show |
Babies are born yogis. Once we were all able to pull our toes up by our ears and laugh about it. Then we aged, got injured, and began carrying stress in our shoulders and back. In short, we lost our balance.
Yoga（瑜伽） is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance. I was seriously out of balance when I started practicing yoga in 1999. I had plantar facilities in both feet, and my doctor had warned me against all the things I loved to do: walking, hiking, and playing tennis. I was desperate for exercise. Yoga became my salvation and even enhanced my other fitness activities. I practice yoga at least twice a week, but I consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga—you love it.
Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one pose to the other. I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat, and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight. “Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone,” says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K.I.S.S. Guide to Yoga. “Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism (新陈代谢), it also helps to regulate weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be removed around the cells.” I do yoga poses throughout the day. After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms. When I need a boost of energy, I do energizing poses. When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative poses.
Yoga becomes part of your mental life. Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist’s chair, and in traffic jams. You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired. If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time “fighting” yourself, trying to force yourself into poses. In yoga, you “surrender” to the pose by letting go of the tension.
Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life. Yoga is practiced by people from all religions; it is not restricted to any religious group. Yoga teaches “right” living in how we deal with ourselves and others. As I work on a difficult pose, I learn patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness. Yoga advocates proper eating, but you don’t have to be a vegetarian to practice yoga.
1.What would be the best title for this passage?
|
A．What’s Yoga? |
B．How I Do Yoga Poses |
|
C．The Benefits of Yoga |
D．The Varieties of Yoga |
2.According to the third paragraph, yoga can help people __________.
|
A．grow taller |
B．lose weight |
|
C．become flexible in thinking |
D．make more friends |
3.People feel tired after yoga because __________.
|
A．they consume energy in practicing yoga |
|
B．they respond well to yoga poses |
|
C．they spend too much time on yoga |
|
D．they force themselves into yoga poses |
4.If this passage continues, what will the writer most probably write about in the next paragraph?
|
A．Yoga as a means to keep fit. |
B．Who may like yoga |
|
C．Popularity of yoga all over the world. |
D．Encouraging people to do yoga. |
You can tell a lot about a person from the clothes they wear, but you can also tell a lot about a person simply from the handbags they carry. It's hard to believe, but you can find out a number of things about a woman's personality just by looking at the type of handbag she carries. Below you will find a number of handbag styles and colors as well as what each specific type of handbag says about the owner.
Styles:
Under-the Shoulder – handbags which are smaller and fit tightly underneath the shoulder indicate class and sophistication. A women working in an upscale office or someone of high status would choose this form of handbag.
Big and Bulky – Big, bulky and oversized bags are casual and are often associated with younger individuals. These are used for individuals who carry a number of things (binders, books etc) and require a lot of space. Down-to-earth, lower-maintenance women would carry this type of handbag.
Designer – Designer handbags often cost an arm and a leg and therefore are usually associated with high-maintenance females. Females who are confident and require top of the line accessories will settle for nothing less than a name-brand designer purse. Guys watch out for these girls, they tend to be a handful.
Cigar Box Purses – A women who carries a cigar box purse likes to be unique and stand out from the crowd. These women have minds of their own and cannot be told what to do. They are comfortable in their own skin and tend to be very independent.
Leather with Buckles and Zippers – women who choose leather purses with lots of buckles and zippers are leashing out their wild sides. These women tend to act before they think and are always ready for a good time. The extra buckles and zippers tend to signify a "bad girl" image.
Colors:
Bright Colors – Bright colored handbags like pink, purple, bright blue and green indicate that the woman is fun, friendly and approachable. Women who are out-going and sociable will tend to choose these colors. This is the type of woman who will strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.
Black and Brown – women who choose black or brown handbags tend to be more formal in manners and are often mistaken as being snobby or restricted. These types of handbags are often associated with down-to-earth women, who are shy at first, but open up after a while. They tend to exude a shy confidence, which is sometimes mistaken as someone who thinks she's better than others.
The style and color of your handbag says a lot about you. Choose your handbag very carefully and remember you can choose more than one style. You may feel like being reserved one day and the center of attention another…it's natural to want different things in life.
1. Who is likely to start a conversation with a complete stranger according to the passage?
|
A．A woman with her handbag carried under the shoulder. |
|
B．A woman carrying an oversized handbag. |
|
C．A woman carrying a bright colored handbag. |
|
D．A woman who chooses a black or brown handbag. |
2.Women who choose leather purses with lots of buckles and zippers probably ______.
|
A．make careful decisions |
B．enjoy having fun |
|
C．act in bad manners |
D．become bad girls |
3.A woman who carries a cigar box purse likes to ______.
|
A．follow others’ steps |
B．live a simple life |
C．act to their own mind |
D．work with |
There was a time when I thought my dad didn’t know a thing about being a good father. I couldn’t 31 him ever saying the words “I love you.” It seems to me his only purpose in life was to say “__32_ ” to anywhere I wanted to go and anything I wanted to do, including getting a 33 . Some parents bought their kids cars when they got their driver’s licenses. Not my dad ---- he said that I’d have to get a job and buy my own.
So that is what I did. I got a job at a very nice restaurant and 34 every penny I could and 35 I had enough to buy my car, I did! The day I brought that car home, my dad was the first one I wanted to 36 to. “Look, dad, a car of my own. If you ever want a ride, I’ll only 37 you five dollars.” I offered with a smile.
“I see,” was all he said.
One day, there was something wrong with my father’s truck. So he needed a 38 to work. . The sun wasn’t even up when we left the house, 39 it was already getting warm out. It was going to be a(n) 40 day. As I dropped my dad off, I 41 him, dressed in his work clothes, getting his 42 from the trunk of my car. Watching his sun-weathered face, and even from a distance I could tell there were 43 lines than I ever remembered being there before. I realized how hard my dad works for the family. My father is a cement finisher. In that instant, it 44 to me that he actually got down on his hands and knees to sweat over hot concrete to make a living for his family. And he did this day in and day out, 45 hot it got. Never, not once, had I heard him 46 about it. To him we were “worth” it. And never once did he “charge” us for it.
When he closed the trunk, his tools set off to the side, he walked over to my window to 47 me five dollars. I rolled down the window and said “Good-bye, dad. Keep your five dollars. It’s my 48. Don’t work too hard. I love you.” His 49 met mine, then glanced away in the direction of his waiting tools, he 50 his throat and said, “Oh, and… me, too.”
|
1. |
|
|
2. |
|
|
3. |
|
|
4. |
|
|
5. |
|
|
6. |
|
|
7. |
|
|
8. |
|
|
9. |
|
|
10. |
|
|
11. |
|
|
12. |
|
|
13. |
|
|
14. |
|
|
15. |
|
|
16. |
|
|
17. |
|
|
18. |
|
|
19. |
|
|
20. |
|
---Let me help you cross the street.
--- ________ ! I’m not that old.
|
A．Take your time |
B．No way |
C．Come on |
D．Go ahead |
