-
I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.
And it did. On arriving at the beach cottage, I kissed Evelyn meeting me at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed”, she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “I don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…that checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”
It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”
1.From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ______.
A．with his family B．with Evelyn C．alone D．with his children
2.During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because ______.
A．he was determined to be a good husband
B．he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm
C．she looked lovely in her new clothes
D．the doctor said his wife was seriously ill
3.The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What does “one thing” refer to?
A．He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.
B．She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.
C．He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.
D．He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
-
Shyness is the cause of much unhappiness for a great many people. Shy people are anxious and self-conscious; that is, they are over concerned with their own appearance and actions. Worrisome thoughts are constantly occurring in their minds: what kind of impression am I making? Do they like me? Do I sound stupid? Am I wearing unattractive clothes?
It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must affect people unfavorably. Adperson’s self concept is reflected in the way he or she behaves and the way a person behaves affects other people's reactions. In general, the way people think about themselves has a deep effect on all areas of their lives. Shy people ,have low self-esteem(自尊), are likely to be passive and easily influenced by others. They need reassurance（再保证，放心） that they are doing “the right thing”. Shy people are very sensitive to criticism. It makes them feel inferior(自卑).They also find it difficult to be pleased by praises because they believe they are unworthy of praise . A shy person may respond to a praise with a statement like this one:” You’re just saying that to make me feel good .I know it's not true.” It is clear that, while self-awareness is a healthy quality, overdoing it is harmful. Can shyness be completely got rid of ,or at least reduced? Fortunately, people can overcome shyness with determination. It is important for people to accept their weaknesses as well as their strengths, for example, not fair for them to label themselves inferior because they have to be realistic. Living on the impossible leads to absence of inferiority. Each one of us has his or her own characteristics. We are interested in our own personal ways. The better we understand ourselves. the easier it becomes to live up to our chances for a rich and fulfilling life.
1.The first paragraph is mainly about ________.
A．the thoughts of shy people
B．the cause of shyness
C．the effect of shyness on people
D．the questions in the minds of shy people
2.According to the wirter, self-awareness is _________.
A．harmful to people B．a weak point of shy people
C．the cause of unhappiness D．a good characteristic
3.What is the shy people's reaction to praise?
A．They are pleased by it B．They feel it is not true
C．They are very sensitive to it D．They feel they are worthy of it
4.We can learn from the passage that shyness can _________.
A．help us to live up to our full development
B．enable us to understand ourselves better
C．block our chances for a successful life
D．have nothing to do with lack of self esteem
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
-
President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to a very important truth today — that business organizations have more prestige (威望) in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions still possess this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the idea of competition than other organizations in society. Since competition is seen as the main source of progress and development by most Americans, competitive business organizations are respected. Competition is not only good in itself; it is the means by which other basic American values, such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the individual freedom by making sure that there is no monopoly (垄断) of power. Compared with one and all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for benefit. If one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to the competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Since there are many businesses competing for the customers’ dollars, they cannot afford to treat them unfairly and the customers would lose nothing.A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it gives more support for freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people while business leaders are not. Many Americans believe that competition is as important, or even more important, as democracy in protecting freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the idea of equal opportunities. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to any person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American choice of the higher social position which is not based on one’s family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equal opportunities.
1.Which of the following is discussed as the main topic in the passage?
A．Competition in America’s business. B．Freedom in America’s business.
C．Americans’ different values. D．Business against government.
2.Americans believe that they can realize their personal values ______.
A．when given equal opportunities
B．through doing business
C．by protecting their individual freedom
D．by means of competition
3.Who can benefit from business competition?
A．Businessmen who compete.
B．Customers of those businesses.
C．People with the idea of equality and freedom.
D．Both business organizations and government.
4.It could be inferred from the passage that the author believes ______.
A．business in other countries are not as competitive as those in the USA
B．business problems are very important to the American government
C．the competition in business plays a very important role in America
D．American business is the most powerful one in the whole world
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
-
Section One
The city is an accumulation of human civilization. Just as the American social philosopher Lewis Mumford put it, it is a special system which, fine and compact, has been designed to preserve the fruits of human civilization. Many Western languages have developed their versions of the term “civilization” from the same Latin word “civitas”(meaning “city” ), and it is by no means a coincidence. The city has played a significant role in the perfection of order in human society.
Section Two
The emblem(会徽), showing the image of three people ― you, me, him/her holding hands together, symbolizes the big family of mankind. Inspired by the shape of the Chinese character “世” (meaning the world), the design conveys the organizers' wish to host an Expo which is of global scale and which shows the various urban cultures of the world.
Section Three
Created from the inspiration of Chinese character “人”, the design roots deeply in Chinese culture. It tells the world the eternal core (永恒的核心) and theme of Shanghai World Expo will be always human. The mascot “Haibao” will become the messenger for the theme of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China “Better City, Better Life”.
The basic structure of the Chinese character “人” in which each stroke supports each other also shows the concept that the beautiful life should depends on mutual-help（互相帮助）. If the human are willing to support one another, the harmony among human, nature, and society will be available. Such an urban life will be nice.
Haibao’s confident smile is expressing his sincere greeting from China ― “World Expo 2010 Shanghai China welcomes you!”
1.The underlined word “it” in Section One refers to ______.
A．the civilization B．the philosopher C．the word D．the city
2.Which correctly matches the sections with the pictures they describe?
Pictures
A. Section One Section Two Section Three
B. Section Two Section Three Section One
C. Section Three Section Two Section One
D. Section Three Section One Section Two
3.In Section Three, the second paragraph explains how the creation is connected with the _____ of the Chinese word “人”.
A．story B．meaning C．shape D．usage
4.The underlined word “stroke” in the second paragraph of Section Three means ______.
A．one of the ideas a word has
B．a line made by a writing tool
C．a member of a family or the society
D．a person who has met with trouble
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。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Each year there is an increasing number of cars on roads and streets as millions of new cars and trucks are produced. One out of every six Americans works at putting together the parts of cars, driving trucks, building roads or filling cars and trucks with gas. 1
Most Americans would find it hard to imagine what life would look like without cars. 2 . The polluted air becomes poisonous and dangerous to health.
3 . That’s what several of the large car factories have been trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow.
Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something else. 4 . Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a practical model that pleases man.
To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, we’ll have to make some changes in the way many of us live. Americans, for example, have to cut down on the number of their total cars. They are encouraged to travel and go to work by bicycle. Bicycling is thought to help the air clean. But this change does not come easily. A large number of workers may find themselves without jobs if a car factory closes down. 5 .
Although cars have led us to a better life, they have also brought us new problems.
A．Thus the problem of air pollution would become less important than that of unemployment.
B．Americans know cars very well.
C．However, some have realized the serious problems of the air pollution that is caused by cars.
D．One way to get rid of the polluted air is to build a car that does not pollute.
E. However, the number of vehicles has continued to increase in recent years.
F. Americans won’t live without cars!
G. Inventors are now working on steam cars as well as electric cars.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析