Like most people, I was brought up to look upon life as a process of getting. It was not until in my late thirties that I made this important discovery: giving-away makes life so much more exciting. You need not worry if you lack money.
This is how I experimented with giving-away. If an idea for improving the window display of a neighborhood store flashes to me, I step in and make the suggestion to the storekeeper. One discovery I made about giving-away is that it is almost impossible to give away anything in this world without getting something back, though the return often comes in all unexpected form.
One Sunday morning, the local post office delivered an important special delivery letter to my home, though it was addressed to me at my office. I wrote the postmaster a note of appreciation. More than a year later I needed a post-office box for a new business I was starting. I was told at the window that there were no boxes left, and that my name would have to go on a long waiting list. As I was about to leave, the postmaster appeared in the doorway. He had overheard(无意中听到)our conversation. "Wasn’t it you that wrote us that letter a year ago about delivering a special delivery to your home?" I said yes. "Well, you certainly are going to have a box in this post office if we have to make one for you. You don’t know what a letter like that means to us. We usually get nothing but complaints."
1.From the passage, we understand that _____.
A. the author did not understand the importance of giving until he was in late thirties
B. the author was like most people who were mostly receivers rather than givers
C. the author received the same education as most people during his childhood
D. the author liked most people as they looked upon life as a process of getting
2.According to the author, _____.
A. giving means you will lack money
B. the excitement of giving can bring you money
C. you don’t have to be rich in order to give
D. when you give away money, you will be rich
3.The author would make the suggestion to the storekeeper _____.
A. in writing B. in person
C. in the window display D. about the neighborhood
4.When the author needed a post-office box, _____.
A. he had put his name on a waiting list
B. he wrote the postmaster a note of appreciation
C. many people had applied for post-office boxes before him
D. he asked the postmaster to make one for him
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored(发起) "Tom Thumb" weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
1.The underlined words "Talk of the town" means________.
A. it was in the newspaper
B. it was the most popular topic
C. people spread bad rumors about it
D. it was discussed in a city meeting
2.What does the author think about Tom's wedding?
A.Tom and Lavinia were stupid.
B. People gave it too much of their attention.
C. It was funny and ridiculous.
D. It helped people cheer up in a dark time.
3.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A. Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine.
B. People are always disappointed during war time.
C. Entertainment can serve an important purpose.
D. People should be married when they are small children.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Coffee is one of the most popular drinks throughout the world today. In fact, according to some estimates, over 30% of all adults in the world drink coffee at least once a day on the average. Coffee contains a kind of drug called caffeine. Caffeine is a chemical that stimulates (刺激) the nerves of the body. Drinking coffee tends to make people a little bit more awake―at least for a short time―because of this stimulating effect on the nervous system. A cup of coffee has, on the average, about 3% caffeine in it.
One story of the discovery of the coffee plant relates to this effect of caffeine. According to the story, coffee was discovered in East Africa. The story says that coffee was first found by a goat farmer named Kaldi. This was about the year 850. Kaldi was leading his animals through the mountains and the goats were stopping repeatedly to eat the plants near the path. Suddenly, some of the goats started jumping up and down in a very strange way. Kaldi figured out that the goats were acting this way because of the plants they were eating. Kaldi himself tried eating some of the green beans (豆荚) that the goats had been eating. He, too, felt the stimulating effect of the beans. Kaldi wanted to prove what had happened, so he picked some of the beans and took them back to the village, where he told his story.
The green bean got the name "Kaffa" and later "coffee" because the beans were discovered in a place called Kaffa in Africa. Then for years, people used to eat a few of the green Kaffa beans when they were in the mountains and needed extra energy to do their work. It was later found that the coffee beans could be picked and then dried until they turned brown, and then they could be stored. If the beans were dried and stored, they could be used at any time.
1.What is the purpose of drinking coffee?
A. To become more awake. B. To become more healthy.
C. To become more happy. D. To become more clever.
2.How did the goats react after eating the plants?
A. They fell asleep.
B. They could not find their way home.
C. They started jumping up and down.
D. They wanted to eat more.
3.Why did the green bean get the name "Kaffa"?
A. Because Kaldi loved his home village very much.
B. Because Kaldi's goats loved the green bean very much.
C. Because the beans were discovered in a place by this name.
D. Because the beans could be picked and dried.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Why was Bastille important to the citizens of Paris? The building of the Bastille had been started in 1370 under Charles V. By the seventeenth century, it had stopped to be important for defense. Cardinal Richelieu turned it into a prison. It was not an ordinary prison to punish common crimes. Its huge doors closed only on enemies of the King. The Bastille's workings were secret. Prisoners were taken to it in closed vehicles. Soldiers on guard duty had to stand with their faces to the wall. No talking was allowed. Worst of all, a prisoner never knew if he would be there a day, a week, a year, or forever. Only the King's letter could set him free.
Over the years, the number of arrests by King's letter had become fewer. By the time of its fall, most of the prisoners were writers who had written against the corruptions(贪污腐败)of the government. Voltaire, the famous French writer, spent a year there in 1717-1718, and another 12 days in 1726.
For those who believed in free speech and free thinking, the Bastille stood for everything evil. The day it was captured, only seven prisoners were found inside. Still, the Bastille was hated by the people. It was a symbol of the King's complete power.
1.The Bastille had been a prison ______.
A. since the time of Charles V
B. since the time of Cardinal Richelieu
C. before the seventeenth century
D. since 1370
2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?
A. Anyone who did something wrong could find himself suddenly in the Bastille.
B. The Bastille was only for those who were opposed to the King.
C. Things done in the Bastille were hardly known to people outside.
D. Voltaire was twice put in the Bastille.
3.At the time of its fall, the Bastille housed ______.
A. a large number of prisoners
B. a lot of writers who had been against the government
C. some dozens of people who believed in free speech and free thinking
D. only a few prisoners
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The King could put people in, or let them go out, as he wanted.
B. Over the years the number of prisoners in the Bastille was getting more and more.
C. All prisoners in the Bastille had to stay there for life.
D. At the time it was captured, there were so few prisoners in it that it meant little to the people.
5.This passage mainly ______.
A. tells how the prisoners were controlled by the King
B. tells how little was known about the Bastille
C. shows the inner workings of the Bastille
D. gives a brief history of the Bastille
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为
选项。
1.They provide him wood and other products; they give him shade;and they help to prevent drought and floods.
2. In his eagerness to draw quick profit from the trees, he has cut them down in large numbers.
Two thousand years ago, a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships, with which to gain itself an empire. It gained the empire but, without its trees, its soil became bare and poor. When the empire fell to pieces, the country found itself faced by floods and starvation.
Even where a government realizes the importance of a plentiful supply of trees, it is difficult sometimes to make the people realize this. 3. So unless the government has a good system of control, or can educate the people, the forests slowly disappear.
4. The results are even more serious: for where there are trees, their roots break the soil up, allowing the rain to sink in, and also hold the soil. 5. But where there are no trees, the rainfalls on hard ground and flows away on the surface, and this causes floods and the rain carries away the rich topsoil in which crops grow. When all the topsoil is gone, nothing remains but worthless desert．
A. This does not only mean that there will be fewer trees.
B. However, a lot of trees are being cut down.
C. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important.
D. This prevents the soil from being washed away.
E. If there were no more trees, something terrible would happen.
F. Trees are useful to man in three very important ways.
G. They cut down the trees but are too careless to plant and look after new trees.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Old age may not sound _1._______ (excite).But recent findings provide good news for older people and for people_2._______ (worry) about getting older.
The findings came from _____3.___ survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States.The Gallup Organization questioned __4._____ by telephone in 2008.At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, ____5.____(sad) and worry.They also asked about mental or emotional stress.The research team found that levels of stress were ____6._____ (high) among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. Stress levels dropped ______7.__ (sharp) after people reached their fifties.
Happiness ___8._____ highest among the youngest adults and those__9.______ their early seventies.The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. __10.______ , woman at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Three months before graduating from university, my son started to hunt for a job. the financial crisis, fewer companies would like to new staff. My son targeted a company that was 43 to hire only one person there were more than twenty people filling their resumes（简历）.
After the interview, there would only be three who could enter the final round, which would later one person to be employed. Everything seemed to go quite and my son passed the first round and entered the final round in a week.
On the day of the final interview, my son and other two arrived at the interview place on time, the test. Unexpectedly, the interview was unbelievably . The interviewer only said to them," All of you are very super. Please go home and wait for our . We will tell you the in three days. Good luck to all of you!" On the morning of the third day, my son received a text from the company shortly after breakfast that he was not employed. We all felt very .
In nightfall that day, my son suddenly told me on the phone,"Dad, I have been employed!" Greatly surprised, I could not wait to ask him,"What's the whole ?"My son told me that he received another text saying that he was employed. Actually the first text sent to my son was also of the test in the interview. Three men received the same text this morning and only my son's was "Thank you" while the others said "Goodbye".
Only then did I know that my son's "hope" in that way.That is,when you feel disappointed, do not to say "thank you" to the one who disappoints you.Saying "thank you" shows respect for others' work and shows your grand . Therefore, while under the same condition, you will get the upper hand in terms of compared with others!
1.A. Owing to B. As to C. Instead of D. Contrary to
2.A. promote B.train C. discover D. employ
3.A. encouraged B. allowed C. intended D. supposed
4.A. since B. while C. as D. if
5.A. meet B. attract C. represent D. decide
6.A. smoothly B. slowly C. secretly D. silently
7.A. members B. staff C. candidates D. friends
8.A. watching over B. waiting for C. thinking about D. looking into
9.A. simple B. formal C. funny D. strange
10.A. notice B. information C. order D. return
11.A. mark B. choice C. result D. idea
12.A. annoyed B. puzzled C. disappointed D. shocked
13.A. excitedly B. doubtfully C. calmly D. worriedly
14.A. cause B. matter C. conclusion D. interview
15.A. middle B. ending C. part D. course
16.A. way B. reply C. problem D. question
17.A. changed B. grew C. developed D. came
18.A. expect B. forget C. dislike D. regret
19.A. generosity B. curiosity C. dignity D. personality
20.A. abilities B. strengths C. challenges D. opportunities
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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作文。文中共
有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。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(Λ)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
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。
My friend Sally is very outgoing girl in my class. She had many hobbies, such as writing poems, playing the pingpong and painting. Her favorable subject is art. She became interested in it when she was very young. Her dream is to study aboard. But now she is trying to improve her English and learn more about west culture as well. She will never give up once she makes up her mind. She believes in one day she will be able to improving the friendship between China and the rest of the world. I hope my dream will come true.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
请以How to Keep Psychologically Healthy? 为题，根据以下提示，写一篇120词左右的短文。1、心理健康问题往往是导致疾病的原因
2、分析人们产生心理健康问题的原因(可从压力过大、缺乏人际交往能力等方面加以分析)
3、你认为人们应如何保持心理健康
参考词汇： 心理咨询师psychological consultant
难度: 中等查看答案及解析