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I had the meanest mother in the whole world．While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast．When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich．As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids' also．But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings．My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．
My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times．She had to know who our friends were and where we were going．We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath everyday．
The worst is yet to come．We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning．We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends．So while they slept --- my mother actually had the nerve to break the Child Labor Law．She made us work．We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things．I believe she lay awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us．
Through the years, things didn't improve a bit．We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school．Our marks in school had to be up to par．Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing．My mother, being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks．With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out．
My mother was a complete failure as a mother．Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education．None of us have ever been arrested or divorced．Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country．She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults．Using this as a background, I am now trying to raise my three children．I am filled with pride when my children call me mean．Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the whole world．
1.What can we infer from the passage?
A．The author is not happy to have such a mean mother．
B．The author's mother broke the Child Labor Law to make money．
C．The author's mother failed to educate her children to be honest adults．
D．The author is strict with her children．
2.Why couldn’t the author eat candy for breakfast?
A．Because she preferred cereal, eggs or toast to candy．
B．Because her mother couldn’t afford for candy．
C．Because her mother thought it not good to eat candy for breakfast．
D．Because her mother had to give candy to the author’s sister and two brothers．
3.The author’s mother made her children work because _________ ．
A．she had trouble falling into sleep．
B．she could not keep such a big family without her children’s help．
C．she was teaching her children to live by themselves．
D．she had no time to do the housework．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Tight-lipped elders used to say, "It's not what you want in this world, but what you get．"
Psychology teaches that you do get what you want if you know what you want and want the right things．
You can make a mental blueprint of a desire as you would make a blueprint of a house, and each of us is continually making these blueprints in the general routine of everyday living．If we intend to have friends to dinner, we plan the menu, make a shopping list, decide which food to cook first, and such planning is an essential for any type of meal to be served．
Similarly, If you want to find a job, take a sheet of paper, and write a brief account of yourself．In making a blueprint for a job, begin with yourself, for when you know exactly what you have to offer, you can intelligently plan where to sell your services．
This account of yourself is actually a general description of your working life and should include education, experience and references．Such an account is valuable．It can be referred to in filling out standard application blanks and is extremely helpful in personal interviews．While talking to you, your could-be employer is deciding whether your education, your experience, and other qualifications will pay him to employ you and your abilities must be displayed in an orderly and reasonably connected manner．
When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something tangible to sell．Then you are ready to look for a job．Get all the possible information about your could-be job．Make inquiries about the details concerning the job and the firm．Keep your eyes and ears open, and use your own judgment．Spend a certain amount of time each day seeking the position you wish for, and keep in mind: Obtaining a job is your job now．
1.What do the elders mean when they say, “It’s not what you want in this world, but what you get．”?
A．You’ll certainly get what you want．
B．It’s no use dreaming．
C．You should be dissatisfied with what you have．
D．It’s essential to set a goal for yourself．
2.A blueprint made before inviting a friend to dinner is used in this passage as ________．
A．an illustration of how to write an application for a job
B．an indication of how to obtain a good job
C．a guideline for job description
D．a principle for job evaluation
3.According to the passage, one must write an account of himself before starting to find a job because ________．
A．that is the first step to please the employer
B．that is the requirement of the employer
C．it enables him to know when to sell his services
D．it makes him become clearly aware of himself
4.When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something______．
A．specific to offer B．imaginary to provide
C．precious to supply D．desirable to present
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Throw out the bottles and boxes of drugs in your house．A new theory suggests that medicine could be bad for your health．This new theory argues that healing （the process of becoming healthy and strong again） is at our fingertips：we can be healthy by doing Reiki on a regular basis．Supporters of medical treatment argue that medicine should be trusted since it is effective and scientifically proven．They say that there is no need for spiritual methods such as Reiki, Yoga，Tai Chi．These waste our time，something that is quite precious in our material world．There is medicine that can kill our pain and x-rays that show us our broken bones．We must admit that these methods are very effective in the examples that they provide．However, there are some “everyday complaints”such as back pains，headaches，which are treated currently with medicine．When you have a headache，you take an Aspirin；when you cannot sleep，you take Xanax without thinking of the side effects of these．When you use these pills for a long period，you become dependent on them；you cannot sleep without them．We pay huge amounts of money but never get better．How about a safer and more economical way of healing?When doing Reiki to yourself，you do not need anything except your energy so it is very economical．Also，there are no side effects and it is scientifically explained．
They also claim that serious illnesses such as HIV／AIDS and cancer cannot be treated without drugs．They think so because these patients spend the rest of their lives in the hospital taking medicine．How can Reiki make these people healthy again? It is very unfortunate that these patients have to live in the hospital losing their hair and weight because of the side effects of the medicine they take．Actually，instead of drugs which are expensive and have many side effects，you can use your energy to overcome the hardships of life，find an emotional balance，leave the stress of everyday life and let go of the everyday worries．
Some people may still hold that in our material world，everything depends on time．How
would it be possible to find time to do Reiki?In fact，Reiki does not require more than 15 minutes of our time．It is less time consuming than medicine if we think of all the time we spend taking medicine for some complaints and taking some more for the side effects as well．
1.The author's attitude towards Reiki is________．
A．uninterested B．serious
C．positive D．doubtful
2.Which statement does the passage lead you to believe?
A．Reiki will soon become the most popular exercise around the world．
B．Reiki is an effective treatment but not scientifically explained．
C．Reiki can make people less dependent on drugs．
D．Reiki is a kind of cheap drug but works well．
3.How many advantages of Reiki are mentioned in the last two paragraphs?
A．One． B．Three． C．Five． D．Seven．
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A．A New Way of Treating Illness．
B．Health and Healing at Your Fingers．
C．The Advantages and Disadvantages of Reiki．
D．The Advantages and Disadvantages of Medicine．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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If you still know little about the “IMF”, it’s time you started to read about it, for it has been a hot issue of the whole world．
The International Monetary Fund （IMF） is one of the international financial（金融的） institutions, which works for global growth and economic stability．It provides policy advice and financing to members in economic difficulties and also works with developing nations to help them achieve economic stability and reduce poverty．The“ IMF” currently has a near-global membership of 185 countries．
To become a member, a country must apply for it and then be accepted by a majority of the existing members．On joining, each member of the IMF is assigned a quota（配额）, based broadly on its relative size in the world economy．The IMF’s membership agreed in May 2008 on a rebalancing of its quota system to reflect the changing global economic realities, especially the increased weight of major emerging markets （新兴市场） in the global economy, such as China, India and Russia．
The following diagram gives more information about major international financial institutions．
1.The main cause of the IMF’s decision to make changes in its quota system is ______．
A．the shortage of resources B．global growth and economic stability
C．the changing economic situations D．the need to accept new members
2.The main purpose of the IMF is to ______．
A．prevent the member countries from getting into wars
B．collect money from rich countries to help poor ones
C．provide assistance to its member countries when necessary
D．make sure the world economy develops in a healthy way
3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．The quota an IMF member country gets depends on the size of the country．
B．India together with China is proposing an increase in emergency funds．
C．The more money a member contributes to the IMF, the more say it has in it．
D．The International Development Association is meant to support developed countries．
4.From the diagram we can see the present IMF is most probably under the control of _______．
A．the US B．Russia C．Japan D．any EU member state
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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