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People aren’t walking any more---if they can figure out a way to avoid it.
I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn’t in any hurry, either. I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.
It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune, for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced –and beat—a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty.
Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrahams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercise. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise--- the most familiar and natural of all.
It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world. He cannot learn in a car.
The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don’t dare to approach nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat. To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
I say that the green of forests is the mind’s best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.
1.What is the national sickness?
A. Walking too much
B. Traveling too much
C. Driving cars too much
D. Climbing stairs too much.
2.What was life like when the author was young?
A. People usually went around on foot.
B. people often walked 25 miles a day.
C. People used to climb the Statue of Liberty.
D. people considered a ten-hour walk as a hardship.
3.The author mentions Henry Thoreau to prove that________.
A. middle-aged people like getting back to nature
B. walking in nature helps enrich one’s mind
C. people need regular exercise to keep fit
D. going on foot prevents heart disease
4.What is compared to “a steel river” in Paragraph 6?
A. A queue of cars B. A ray of traffic light
C. A flash of lightning D. A stream of people
5.What is the author’s intention of writing this passage?
A. To tell people to reflect more on life.
B. To recommend people to give up driving
C. To advise people to do outdoor activities
D. To encourage people to return to walking
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Most employers say that they wish to employ the right person for the right job. A recent report by Britain’s Independent Institute of Manpower Studies, however, disagrees with this. The report states that most employers wish to avoid employing the wrong person. Rather than looking for the right person, they are looking for applicants to turn down.
The report also suggests that in Britain and in many other parts of the world the selection methods used to pick out the right person for the job certainly do not match up to those used to judge a piece of new equipment. Employers used three main selection methods: interviewing, checking resume or application forms and examining references. Most of the employers asked in this survey stated that these selection methods were used more for weeding out unsuitable applicants rather than for finding suitable ones.
Interviews were considered to be more reliable than either resume checks or references from past employers. Research, however, proves otherwise. Interviewers’ decisions are often strongly influenced by their earlier judgment of the written application. Also different employers view facts differently. One may consider applicants who have frequently changed jobs as people with broad and useful experience. Another will see such applicants as unreliable and unlikely to stay for long in the new job.
Some employers place great importance on academic qualifications whereas the link between this and success in management is not necessarily strong. Some employers use handwriting as a standard. The report states that there is little evidence to support the value of the letter for judging working ability. References, also, are sometimes unreliable as they are not very important while checks on credit and security records and applicants’ political opinions are often the opposite.
The report is more favorable towards trainability tests and those which test personality and personal and mental skills. The report concludes by suggesting that interviewing could become more reliable if the questions were arranged in a careful, organized system and focused on the needs of the employing organization.
1.According to the passage, when most employers want to hire workers, .
A. they will try to find suitable people
B. they will look for the right applicants
C. the wrong applicants are to be turned down
D. to turn down the wrong people is what they say they aim to do
2.It is implied that .
A. to evaluate a right person is more difficult than to evaluate equipment
B. employers are more successful in selecting the right equipment than the right persons
C. criteria will be set up according to the real situation of the applicants
D. resumes means application forms
3.Most of the recruiters (招聘人员) .
A. consult the applicants
B. can find suitable people
C. prefer resumes or references
D. use different ways to sort out the unsuitable applicants
4.Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Employers get different conclusions from the facts.
B. Changing jobs frequently will reduce the chance to be recruited.
C. Academic qualifications will guarantee the applicant managing ability.
D. Handwriting is a valid way to evaluate an applicant.
5.It can be inferred from the passage that successful employees will be those who .
A. have outstanding references
B. are strong in emotional quotient
C. take interviewing seriously
D. have strong political leanings
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A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment.
The outlines were: in a commonplace(普通的) environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we enjoy beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected situation?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
1.Few people stopped to listen to Joshua Bell playing because____________.
A. people were in a hurry
B. they were not interested in music
C. it was too cold in the subway
D. the performance was not good enough
2.When children stopped to look at the violinist, their parents ____________.
A. would give him some money
B. would stop to enjoy the music
C. would applaud for the performance
D. would urge them to continue walking
3.Which of the following is true about Joshua Bell’s performance?
A. Nobody gave him money
B. Nobody recognized him.
C. Nobody appreciated it
D. Nobody organized it
4.Joshua Bell played in the metro station in order to ____________.
A. make more money
B. practice his skills in playing music
C. made an advertisement for his concert
D. find out people’s reaction under such a circumstance
5.The purpose of the passage is to _________.
A. set us to think about our life
B. show us how to play music
C. tell us the importance of music
D. report a subway performance
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Sometimes people come into your life and they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be-----a roommate, a neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover or even a complete stranger------but when you lock eyes with them, you know at the very moment they will affect your life in some profound(深刻的) way.
Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection(反思中), you find that without overcoming those obstacles(障碍), you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart. Every thing happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck. Illness, injury, lost moments of true greatness, and pure stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you want to become. Even the bad experience can be learned from. In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones. If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things. If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.
_________________________________. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and listen to what they say. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.
1.From the first paragraph, we can know that ______________.
A. we are bound to be affected by your friends
B. we should love everyone we meet in the life
C. it’s impossible for us to know in advance who can help us
D. we can’t become who we want to be without others’ help
2.The author may agree that ____________.
A. sometimes things may happen because of luck
B. with tests in life, we shape our personalities
C. we shouldn’t let other people affect us
D. life with those small tests can be dull
3.If someone betrays you and hurts you, you should _________.
A. just let it go
B. forgive them and learn from the lesson
C. teach them how to love
D. give them a lesson
4.Which sentence in the following is probably the beginning of Paragraph 4?
A. Make every day count.
B. Walk your own road.
C. Listen to others modestly.
D. Keep optimistic whatever happens.
5.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. How to face obstacles
B. Love those around you
C. Learn to forget and forgive
D. Create your own life
