Yesterday I started the Year of Giving, my first day of a year-long journey into exploring the act of giving and the meaning of charity. I chose December 15 as the starting date, which marked three years since my mother died from heart disease. She was one of the most generous people that I have ever known. She always thought of others first and certainly serves as an inspiration to me.
I had a rather busy day yesterday, ironic (具有讽刺意义的) for someone who is unemployed right now. In the morning I went to the gym, and unsuccessfully got the phone call from the unemployment office for some job searching. Before I knew it, it was noon. I grabbed a quick lunch and rushed down to a meeting. On my way to Connecticut, I wondered if I would see someone that I would feel forced to give my first $ 10 to. I was running late and decided to do it afterwards.
After the meeting I had about half an hour to find the first person of my Year of Giving! I decided to check out DuPont Circle. I had met a guy there named Jerry once and thought he would willing accept my $ 10. He wasn’t there, but I did see a man sitting by himself who looked really lonely, so I approached him. Now I had to figure out what I was going to say, I think I said something like, “Hi, can I sit down here?” “I would like to know if I could give you $ 10?” He asked me to repeat what I had said, I did, then he looked at me funny, got up and left.
I then started walking south where I spotted a man standing by the bus stop on Connecticut Ave. He appeared to be in his 60s. I don’t know what drew me to him, but I thought I would make my second attempt. I was a bit nervous and asked him which bus came by that stop. Then I explained that I was starting a year-long project to give $ 10 to someone every day and that I wanted to give my $ 10 for today to him. The gentleman, I later found out that his name was Ed, responded without hesitation that he could not accept my offer and that there were many people more deserving the money than him. This was exactly one of the things that I hoped would happen. People would think of others before themselves.
1.The author set the starting date on December 15 to ____.
A. help the charity B. remember his mother
C. make an explosion D. fulfill a wish if his mum
2. In the author’s first attempt to give away the money, ____.
A. he was considered ridiculous
B. he hesitated for a long time
C. he was forced to donate the money
D. he had no time to take action
3.In the author’s second attempt, the gentleman refused his offer because ____.
A. he didn’t need other’s help
B. he thought more for others
C. he didn’t care about money
D. he wanted to get more money
4.We can refer that the author was inspired by ____.
A. true friendship B. his own kindness
C. generous donations D. human’s good nature
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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This catalogue offers a wide selection of over 500 books in every issue, including mysteries, adventures, biographies, cookbooks, sports, and many more. Our catalogue also contains interviews with your favorite authors, reviews of newly published novels, and a teen top-ten list for both fiction and nonfiction.
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1.If you join the Evergreen Teen Book Club, you can __________.
A. buy books at cost price
B. get one free book for a cash purchase of 3 books
C. receive a gift after each order
D. expect 3 free books each month
2.If Lily wants to get free delivery, she should __________.
A. accumulate 6 bonus points
B. order at least 3 books
C. purchase the catalogue
D. join the club before June 30th
3.The purpose of the text is to get more people to __________.
A. collect books for the club
B. read different kinds of books
C. join the club and order books
D. learn from famous writers
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
While you may think that being smart and talented would logically make someone successful in running a business, unfortunately, this is often not the case.
This problem starts back in school when the stressful “group projects” are first assigned .The smartest don’t want to risk their grade in the class by dividing the work equally and hoping that an average student does his part well. They just take over and do the whole project themselves.
And thus begins the smart-people work cycle. The smartest people do just about everything better than most everyone else until it comes to running a business. They are not better. A smart person who can’t stand someone else doing a job badly does everything himself. Then, he is stuck with the one-man band “job-business” and ends up not being able to grow. However, it is quite interesting and strange that some “slackers” ( a person who is lazy and avoids work) are better suited to be a business leader than the “smart” people.
Smart and talented people often have a gift for the unusual, complicated or different. They don’t like to follow the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid), which is required to make a business succeed. Maybe you think the global presence of McDonald’s complex, but in reality, in the company, every single task is broken down into easy-to-follow steps and everything has been standardized. These successful companies have just a few smart enough people to run the majority of the tasks in a way that can’t be screwed up by their average employees. So, being smart or talented isn’t going to help you unless you can use those smarts to figure out a way to simplify those tasks that will make a business successful.
Another issue with the smart people starting businesses is that they often have the most to lose. The smarter you are, the more options you have available to you. You will be able to make a lot of money in various fields and have room in your career to become promoted. This means that when you start a business, you have a lot more to risk than those who are not equally smart. This is often referred to as the “golden handcuffs” dilemma.
So, don’t be surprised when the person “MOST Likely to Succeed” from high school ends up as an employee and it is one average student that finds success in his or her own business.
1.In group work, smart students often take over the whole project because they believe ____.
A. the work is not divided equally
B. they can perform better than others
C. the group projects are too stressful
D. average students are unwilling to participate
2.McDonald’s is used as an example to prove that ____.
A. a business calls for smart people’s talent
B. average employees can perform complex tasks
C. smart people are important for a successful business
D. simplified tasks are required for the success of a business
3.The underlined expression in Paragraph 5 refers to the situation where smart people ____.
A. have fewer options in a company
B. risk more when starting business
C. are unwilling to put money to a business
D. can have a good income in many different fields
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Potentials for Success
B. Bases for Business
C. The Ordinary Achieve Bigger Success?
D. Talent Means Successful Business?
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
We know that hugs make us feel easy inside. And this feeling, it turns out, could actually ward off stress and protect r the immune (免疫) system, according to a new research from Carnegie Mellon University.
It’s a well-known fact that stress can weaken the immune system. In this study, the researchers sought to determine whether hugs----like social support more broadly ----could protect individuals from the increased sensitivity to illness brought on by the particular stress that come with interpersonal conflict.
“We know that people experiencing ongoing conflicts with others are less able to fight off cold viruses. We also know that people who report having social support are partly protected from the effects of stress on psychological states, such as depression and anxiety, “the study’s lead author, psychologist Dr. Sheldon Cohen , said in a statement. “We tested whether awareness of social support is equally effective in protecting us from sensitivity to infection caused by stress and also whether receiving hugs might partially account for those feeling of support and thus protect a person against infection.”
In the experiment , over 400 healthy adults filled out a questionnaire about their perceived (感知) social support and also participated in a nightly phone interview for two weeks . They were asked the frequency they engaged in interpersonal conflicts and received bugs that day.
Then, the researchers exposed the participants to a common cold virus, and monitored them to assess signs of infection. They found that both perceived social support and more frequent hugs reduced the risk of infection associated with experiencing interpersonal conflict. Regardless of whether or not they experienced social conflicts, infected participants with greater perceived social support and more frequent hugs had less severe illness symptoms.
“This suggests that being hugged by a trusted person may act as an effective means of conveying support and that increasing the frequency of hugs might be an effective means of reducing the effects of stress,” Cohen said. “The apparent protective effect of hugs may result from the physical contact itself or hugging being a behavioral indicator of support and closeness. Either way, those who receive more hugs are somewhat more protected from infection.”
If you need any more reason to go wrap your arms around someone special, consider this: hugs also lower blood pressure, reduce fearsome around death and dying, improve heart health and decrease feeling of loneliness.
1.In Paragraph 1, the underlined words “ward off “can be replaced by ____.
A. produce B. increase
C. prevent D. support
2.Dr. Sheldon Cohen’s experiment shows that ____.
A. hugs can hide serious illness symptoms
B. social conflicts can monitor signs of infection
C. social support can reduce the risk of having a cold
D. depression and anxiety result from less social support
3.The passage aims to convey that ____.
A. hugs can have protective effects
B. social support can sure diseases
C. interpersonal conflicts cause infections
D. stress can weaken our immune system
4.The passage is most likely to be found in ____.
A. a social science magazine
B. a commercial brochure
C. a medical report
D. an academic essay
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Travel tips that are no longer true
We all love an inside trip, but some of the classic tips for travelers no longer hold true. 1.
1. Book a plane ticket far in advance to save money.
This myth may have been true back in the 1960s, when flights were less common than they are today. Back then, the demand for a flight would naturally increase as the date approached, there being few other options. 2. According to recent studies, the best time to buy a domestic ticket was between six and seven weeks before.
2. 3.
Don’t ignore the benefits of going straight to the hotel to negotiate (商谈) a good deal on a room. Many hotel chains offer rate guarantees and encourage customers to book directly. Hotels also frequently have discounts or some offers that third-party websites don’t know. Apart from this, hotels give the upgrades, not the booking agents.
3. Avoid street food.
4. If this means standing up at a cheap street stall (摊位), then follow the crowd. Don’t sit down at a restaurant and spend four times more, on the simple assumption that it’s the only safe option. Can you see what’s going on in the kitchen?
4. Carry your money in a special pocket or pouch.
This is the fastest way to stand out from locals — who will have their money in a wallet or purse. Only take what you need when you leave your hotel room. 5.
A. When in Rome, do what the Romans do.
B. And make sure to put your wallet in a front pocket.
C. This is only true if you are buying products that are heavily taxed.
D. Let yourself relax in a warm room for one or two people in single beds.
E. Check the updates on these tall tales (说大话) to save cash and add experience to your trip.
F. These days, many alternatives for the most popular routes mean that demand stays steady.
G. The best hotel prices are on travel websites.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Centuries ago, a group of people left India. No one really knows . Over time, they journeyed west to Europe, where most have ever since. These people called themselves the Roma. Europeans, thinking they came from Egypt, called them “gypsies.” Many people think of gypsies as groups of people. They are associated with colorful clothing, fortune telling and music. But this is not the real of Roma culture.
In fact, not all Roma are . Those in Western Europe have historically moved from place to place. But others who in Eastern Europe built homes and stayed in one place. Roma culture among regions. But most speak both the language of the people and their own language, Romany.
For centuries, Roma practiced trades. Some were horse traders or musicians. Others made things out of metal or wood. But today, Roma may be found in any .
Each Roma settlement developed its own style, combining local music with Roma traditions. These styles often sound to the music of the surrounding culture. However, most Roma music some characteristics, including the timing of the notes and the harmonies. Roma music has also affected the music of other . Roma influences have shaped European folk and classical music and even some American styles.
Like people of many cultures, the Roma love to tell . Their conversations often include brief references tales that the entire settlement knows. But they also tell long stories during the evenings or while working. Some stories are funny, others Roma traditions.
Over the years, the Roma have many challenges. Their neighbors did not them and even accused them of being thieves. Today, many face poverty, prejudice and other problems. Nevertheless, the Roma people are proud of their history and their rich culture.
1.A. when B. why C. where D. how
2.A. died B. visited C. left D. lived
3.A. So B. Or C. But D. Then
4.A. wandering B. challenging C. encouraging D. inspiring
5.A. life B. article C. picture D. attitude
6.A. farmers B. travelers C. musicians D. tailors
7.A. begged B. learned C. toured D. settled
8.A. varies B. spreads C. passes D. divides
9.A. Indian B. travelling C. surrounding D. Egyptian
10.A. traditional B. illegal C. international D. fair
11.A. occasion B. profession C. village D. town
12.A. cultural B. social C. agricultural D. musical
13.A. strange B. different C. similar D. natural
14.A. shares B. spares C. speaks D. seeks
15.A. tribes B. cultures C. groups D. religions
16.A. lies B. fortunes C. gossips D. stories
17.A. at B. in C. for D. to
18.A. write down B. get away C. take in D. pass down
19.A. faced B. overcome C. fought D. welcomed
20.A. fear B. help C. accept D. support
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Yesterday, as I approached the front door of our public library, a white-haired gentleman stepped back to hold the door for me. You see, I have to go everywhere these days with a walker, and folks are 1._________ (constant) holding or opening doors for me, so this was not unusual.
However, I told the gentleman that the door had 2._______ automatic opener, and he did not need to stay to hold it open. He said “Here I thought I would have an opportunity to be 3._________ (help).”
At that, I backed up, let the door close, and allowed him to reopen the door, not 4.________ (use) the automatic control this time. His comment then was “Well, now I feel like that I 5._______ (accomplish) something helpful and worthwhile today.”
We never know6._________ someone else is feeling. We seniors seem to feel we can take care of 7.________ at all times. That random act of kindness brightened not only my day, but to my joy and delight, also the day of that white-haired senior citizen. I felt a glow for the rest of the day, and, 8.________ (hope), so did he!
So, gentle readers, never hesitate 9.________ (offer) kindness. You may find to your 10.________ (amaze) that there is more kindness in your community than you ever believe possible.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
短文改错 (共10小题; 每小题1分, 满分10分)
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下文章。句中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加: 在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）, 并在其下写出该加的词。
删除: 把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改: 在错的词下划一横线, 并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意: 1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处, 多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Dear editor,
I’m sorry to occupy your precious time, and I really want to tell you anything about the problem of some people keeping too many pets nowadays. I take the problem more and more seriously for the following reason. First of all, as it is known to people, pets make so much noise that trouble residents a lot. What’s more, it is widely accepted that animal waste pollutes the environment, where makes people quite uncomfortable. Many owners like taking their pets to public place where they may frighten children or even bite people. The mostly important is that pets can spread some diseases and this has attracted much attention. Take all these factors into consideration, I sincerely hope that I can get help from you and expect the media do something for this.
Yours truly,
Wang Lin
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定你是李华，你收到了英国朋友Mark的电子邮件，咨询你校暑期为外国学生举办汉语夏令营活动的相关事情，请通过电子邮件向Mark介绍本次活动。活动安排如下：
| 时间 | 2015年7月10-30日 |
| 活动内容 | 1. 学习日常汉语，了解汉字 2. 举办晚会，了解中国历史和传统文化如节日等 3. 参观博物馆和长城 |
注意：1.字数100-120
2.可适当增加细节，使行文连贯
3. 开头不计入总词数
难度: 中等查看答案及解析