D
Once when I was facing a decision that involved high risk, I went to a friend. He looked at me for a moment, and then wrote a sentence containing the best advice I’ve ever had: Be bold and brave — and mighty (强大的) forces will come to your aid.
Those words made me see clearly that when I had fallen short in the past, it was seldom because I had tried and failed. It was usually because I had let fear of failure stop me from trying at all. On the other hand, whenever I had plunged into deep water, forced by courage or circumstance, I had always been able to swim until I got my feet on the ground again.
Boldness means a decision to bite off more than you can eat. And there is nothing mysterious about the mighty forces. They are potential powers we possess: energy, skill, sound judgment, creative ideas — even physical strength greater than most of us realize.
Admittedly, those mighty forces are spiritual ones. But they are more important than physical ones. A college classmate of mine, Tim, was an excellent football player, even though he weighed much less than the average player. “In one game I suddenly found myself confronting a huge player, who had nothing but me between him and our goal line,” said Tim. “I was so frightened that I closed my eyes and desperately threw myself at that guy like a bullet（子弹） — and stopped him cold.”
Boldness — a willingness to extend yourself to the extreme—is not one that can be acquired overnight. But it can be taught to children and developed in adults. Confidence builds up. Surely, there will be setbacks (挫折) and disappointments in life; boldness in itself is no guarantee of success. But the person who tries to do something and fails is a lot better off than the person who tries to do nothing and succeeds.
So, always try to live a little bit beyond your abilities—and you’ll find your abilities are greater than you ever dreamed.Why was the author sometimes unable to reach his goal in the past?
| A．He faced huge risks. |
| B．He lacked mighty forces. |
| C．Fear prevented him from trying. |
| D．Failure blocked his way to success. |
What is the implied meaning of the underlined part?
| A．Swallow more than you can digest. |
| B．Act slightly above your abilities. |
| C．Develop more mysterious powers. |
| D．Learn to make creative decisions. |
What was especially important for Tim’s successful defense in the football game?
| A．His physical strength. |
| B．His basic skill. |
| C．His real fear. |
| D．His spiritual force. |
What can be learned from Paragraph 5?
| A．Confidence grows more rapidly in adults. |
| B．Trying without success is meaningless. |
| C．Repeated failure creates a better life. |
| D．Boldness can be gained little by little. |
What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To encourage people to be courageous. |
| B．To advise people to build up physical power. |
| C．To tell people the ways to guarantee success. |
| D．To recommend people to develop more abilities. |
One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem - inability to read.
In the library, I found my way into the "Children's Room." I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.
There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical（相同的） to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.
Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.
My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.
I never told my mother about my "miraculous" (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.
| 1． |
The author's mother told him to borrow a book in order to.
|
| 2． |
The book caught the author's eye because.
|
| 3． |
Why could the author manage to read the book through?
|
| 4． |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
|
| 5． |
Which one could be the best title of the passage?
|
B
Nothing could stop Dad. After he was put on disability for a bad back, he bought a small farm in the country, just enough to grow food for the family. He planted vegetables, fruit trees and even kept bees for honey.
And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). The Smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.
As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜).Dad pulled out a pressure cooker and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour. the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad's pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.
Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!
Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn’t look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn’t offend the nose so much, either. I took a taste. It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible and we drank up every last drop of soup.Why did Dad clean Old Man Mocolgin’s chicken house regularly?
| A．To earn some money for the family. |
| B．To collect manure for his crops. |
| C．To get rid of the terrible smell. |
| D．To set a good example to us. |
What can we infer about Dad’s stew?
| A．It is popular among the neighbors. |
| B．It contains honey and vegetables. |
| C．It looks very wonderful. |
| D．It tastes quite delicious. |
What does the underlined word “offend” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．To attract | B．To upset |
| C．To air | D．To shut |
What can we learn about Dad form the text?
| A．He is an experienced cook. |
| B．He is a troublesome father. |
| C．He has a positive attitude to life. |
| D．He suffers a lot from his disability. |
D
Parents who help their children with homework may actually be bringing down their school grades. Other forms of prenatal involvement, including volunteering at school and observing a child's class, also fail to help, according to the most recent study on the topic.
The findings challenge a key principle of modern parenting(养育子女) where schools except them to act as partners in their children's education. Previous generations concentrated on getting children to school on time, fed, dressed and ready to learn.
Kaith Robinson, the author of the study, said, "I really don't know if the public is ready for this but there are some ways parents can be involved in their kids' education that leads to declines in their academic performance. One of the things that was consistently negative was parents' help with homework." Robinson suggested that may be because parents themselves struggle to understand the task." They may either not remember the material their kids are studying now, or in some cases never learnt it themselves, but they're still offering advice."
Robinson assessed parental involvement performance and found one of the most damaging things a parent could do was to punish their children for poor marks. In general, about 20% of parental involvement was positive, about 45% negative and the rest statistically insignificant.
Common sense suggests it was a good thing for parents to get involved because "children with good academic success do have involved parents ", admitted Robinson. But he argued that this did not prove parental involvement was the root cause of that success." A big surprise was that Asian-American parents whose kids are doing so well in school hardly involved. They took a more reasonable approach, conveying to their children how success at school could improve their lives."The underlined expression "parental involvement " in Paragraph 1 probably means .
| A．parents' expectation on children's health |
| B．parents' participation in children's education |
| C．parents' control over children's life |
| D．parents' plan for children's future |
What is the major finding of Robinson's study ?
| A．Modern parents raise children in a more scientific way. |
| B．Punishing kids for bad marks is mentally damaging. |
| C．Parental involvement is not so beneficial as expected. |
| D．Parents are not able to help with children’s homework. |
The example of Asian-American parents implies that parents should .
| A．help children realize the importance of schooling |
| B．set a specific life goal for their children |
| C．spend more time improving their own lives |
| D．take a more active part in school management |
When the dog named Judy spotted the first sheep in her life, she did what comes naturally. The four-year-old dog set off racing after the sheep across several fields and, being a city animal, lost both her sheep and her sense of direction. Then she ran along the edge of cliff( 悬崖) and fell 100 feet, bouncing off a rock into the sea.
Her owner Mike Holden panicked and celled the coastguard of Cornwall, who turned up in seconds . Six volunteers slid down the cliff with the help of a rope but gave up all hope of finding her alive after a 90-minute search.
Three days later, a hurricane hit the coast near Cornwall. Mr. Holden returned home from his holiday upset and convinced his pet was dead. He comforted himself with the thought she had died in the most beautiful part of the country.
For the next two weeks, the Holdens were heartbroken . Then, one day, the phone rang and Steve Tregear, the coastguard of Cornwall, asked Holder if he would like his dog bark.
A birdwatcher, armed with a telescope, found the pet sitting desperately on a rock. While he sounded the alarm, a student from Leeds climbed down the cliff to collect Judy.
The dog had initially been knocked unconscious(失去知觉的)but had survived by drinking water from a fresh scream at the base of the cliff. She may have fed on the body of a sheep which had also fallen over the edge. "The dog was very thin and hungry," Steve Tregear said , "It was a very dog. She survived because of a plentiful supply of fresh water," he added.
It was ,as Mr. Holden admitted, "a minor miracle(奇迹)".
| 1． |
The dog Jody fell down the cliff when she was
|
| 2． |
Who spotted Judy after the accident?
|
| 3． |
What can we infer from the text?
|
| 4． |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
|
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
A
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| A．＄50 | B．＄100 | C．＄150 | D．＄350 |
If you want to share a story of your pets with the readers, you need to submit it to .
| A．Anecdotes and Jokes | B．Smart Animals |
| C．Power of Love | D．My Story |
A story showing people’s generosity should be emailed to the editor at .
| A．juliet@sws.com | B．susan@sws.com |
| C．Audrey@sws.com | D．nanjc@sws.com |
An inspiring story sent to the magazine should .
| A．describe strange behavior |
| B．contain less than 800 words |
| C．be real and original |
| D．be published before |
C
Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It’s very likely that you’ll want to have volunteers to help with the organization’s activities. To do so, it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work.
Let’s begin with the question of why people volunteer. Researchers have identified several factors that motivate people to get involved. For example, people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness, to expand their range of experiences, and to strengthen social relationships. If volunteer positions do not meet these needs, people may not wish to participate. To select volunteers, you may need to understand the motivations of the people you wish to attract.
People also volunteer because they are required to do so. To increase levels of community service, some schools have launched compulsory volunteer programs. Unfortunately, these programs can shift people’s wish of participation from an internal factor (e.g., “I volunteer because it’s important to me”) to an external factor (e.g., “I volunteer because I’m required to do so”). When that happens, people become less likely to volunteer in the future. People must be sensitive to this possibility when they make volunteer activities a must.
Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? To answer this question, researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time. For instance, one study followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year. One of the most important factors that influenced their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. Although this result may not surprise you, it leads to important practical advice. The researchers note that attention should be given to “training methods that would prepare volunteers for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problem they do experience”.
Another study of 302 volunteers at hospitals in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to which people view “volunteer” as an important social role. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. Participants indicated the degree to which the social role mattered by responding to statements such as “Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am.” Consistent with the researchers’ expectations, they found a positive correlation (正相关) between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued to volunteer. These results, once again, lead to concrete advice: “Once an individual begins volunteering, continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity.... Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity”.People volunteer mainly out of ______ .
| A．academic requirements | B．social expectations |
| C．financial rewards | D．internal needs |
What can we learn from the Florida study?
| A．Follow-up studies should last for one year. |
| B．Volunteers should get mentally prepared. |
| C．Strategy training is a must in research. |
| D．Volunteers are provided with concrete advice. |
What is most likely to motivate volunteers to continue their work?
| A．Individual differences in role identity. |
| B．Publicly identifiable volunteer T-shirts. |
| C．Role identity as a volunteer. |
| D．Practical advice from researchers. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How to Get People to Volunteer |
| B．How to Study Volunteer Behaviors |
| C．How to Keep Volunteers’ Interest |
| D．How to Organize Volunteer Activities |
C
Have your parents ever inspected your room to see if you cleaned it properly? Imagine having your entire houses, garage, and yard inspected at any time -- with no warning. Inspections were a regular part of lighthouse (灯塔) living, and a keeper's reputation depended on results. A few times each year, an inspector arrived to look over the entire light station. The inspections were supposed to be a surprise, but keeper sometimes had advance notice.
Once lighthouses had telephones, keepers would call each other to warn that the inspector was approaching. After boats began flying special flags noting the inspector aboard, the keeper's family made it a game to see who could notice the boat first. As soon as someone spotted the boat, everyone would do last-minute tidying and change into fancy clothes. The keeper then scurried to put on his dress uniform and cap. Children of keepers remember inspectors wearing white gloves to run their fingers over door frames and windowsills looking for dust.
Despite the serious nature of inspections, they resulted in some funny moments. Betty Byrnes remembered when her mother did not have time to wash all the dishes before an inspection. At the time, people did not have dishwashers in their homes. In an effort to clean up quickly, Mrs. Byrnes tossed all the dishes into a big bread pan, covered them with a cloth and stuck them in the oven. If the inspector opened the oven door, it would look like bread was baking. he never did.
One day, Glenn Furst's mother put oil on the kitchen floor just before the inspector entered their house. Like floor wax, the oil made the floors shiny and helped protect the wood. This time, though, she used a little too much oil. When the inspector extended his hand to greet Glenn's mother, he slipped on the freshly oiled surface. "He came across that floor waving his arms like a young bird attempting its first flight," Glenn late wrote. After he steadied himself, he shook Glenn's mother's hand, and the inspection continued as though nothing had happened.What does Paragraph I tell us about the inspection at the light station?
| A．It was carried out once a year. |
| B．It was often announced in advance. |
| C．It was important for the keeper's fame. |
| D．It was focused on the garage and yard. |
The family began making preparations immediately after ______.
| A．one of the members saw the boat |
| B．a warning call reached the lighthouse |
| C．the keeper put on the dress uniform and cap |
| D．the inspector flew special flags in the distance |
Mrs. Byrnes put the dishes in the oven because this would ______.
| A．result in some fun |
| B．speed up washing them |
| C．make her home look tidy |
| D．be a demand from the inspector |
If the inspector had opened the oven door, he would have seen _______.
| A．an empty pan |
| B．many clean dishes |
| C．pieces of baked bread |
| D．a cloth covering something |
The inspector waved his arms ______.
| A．to try his best to keep steady |
| B．to show his satisfaction with the floor |
| C．to extend a warm greeting to Glenn's mother |
| D．to express his intention to continue the inspection |
Across the planet there are millions of people who engage in some type of meditation, the practice of concentrating and clearing the mind to bring the body into a state of peace, at least a semi-regular basis. For some, particularly among practitioners of Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, this is part and parcel of their religious practice.
For others, particularly in Western cultures, meditation tends to be a response to stress. With the world economy approaching meltdown and people worried about their job or their ability to keep their home, it’s a way for people to attain a state of peace of mind and well-being. For those interested in taking up the practice, instruction in meditation for beginners can be found in literally thousands of sources.
One of the most popular styles of mediation in the West, with classes offered in most major cities, is called Transcendental Meditation. TM, as it is known among its practitioners, first came to worldwide attention when the Beatles began practicing it in 1967. For direct, guided, personal instruction in meditation for the beginner, TM may be the hallmark.
Part of the confusion about how to practice meditation effectively is due to the fact that there are literally hundreds of techniques championed by various groups and individuals. As a general principle, it might be said that all meditation techniques seek to have the practitioner attain a state of consciousness that is different to our ordinary state of awareness. They attempt to train people to clear their minds and achieve a sense of inner peace. It sounds simple enough, but of the huge number of people experiment with meditation, very few are able to maintain its practice over the long haul. In most cases, this is due to frustration over the inability to experience any dramatic, instantly recognizable effects.
This is quite a sad state of affairs, that so few these days are willing or equipped to persist in something that doesn’t provide immediate life-changing results. It reflects a culture in which demands for discipline and sustained effort are considered unnecessary or even unfair. It is no surprise therefore that many people abandon their efforts at meditation before they have a chance to bear fruit.
But for anyone who does decide to take up this worthwhile practice, please remember: You must clear your mind, relax and “take it as it comes”. Maintain the practice with a sense of discipline and devotion, and eventually benefits of inner peace and calm will be yours.The underlined part “part and parcel of” in paragraph 1 is nearest in meaning to ________.
| A．closely associated with | B．very different to |
| C．usually sent from | D．an important element of |
The goal of meditation is ________.
| A．to clear the mind | B．to practice a religion |
| C．to develop a technique | D．to carry out an experiment |
What can we infer about meditation from the passage?
| A．It has two main types. |
| B．It is practiced by many famous artists. |
| C．Its benefits are not immediately obvious. |
| D．Most people find it a very good way to relax. |
According to the writer, what has attracted many Western people to meditation practices in recent years?
| A．Their improved understanding of foreign culture. |
| B．The need to fill in their growing free time. |
| C．Increasing employment instability. |
| D．Migration from countries in which meditation is traditional. |
Who is the probable audience for this article?
| A．Experienced meditation practitioners. |
| B．People interested in starting to learn meditation. |
| C．Buddhists and Hindus. |
| D．People who are very religious. |
My trip with my sister and my daughter to Manhattan wedding gown(长袍，长外衣) shop, cannot be understood without further focusing on Marina, my 14-year-old daughter Ive asked to try on dresses.
This was the girl I took to Kleinfeld, the fancy store featured on the television program Say Yes to the Dress. As the trip approached, I asked Marina if she was excited. Sure, Mom. shed say, shrugging. Marina was more excited about getting a tattoo(文身) on her ankle to represent my fight with ALS(肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化症) than trying on $ 10,000 wedding gowns.
My sister, Stephanie, had arranged for a car with a wheelchair lift to drive us from the hotel to Kleinfeld. The car driver wheeled me in.
At Kleinfeld with flower arrangements ten feet high, I felt like rolling into a dream. “Wow!” I said. I was wearing a new black outfit. Marina wore jean shorts, a sleeveless(无袖的) shirt, and sneakers. She stood with her hands crossed over her chest, like this was the last place on the planet she wanted to be. The kind Kleinfeld ladies pointed out rooms like tour guides, naming the designers one by one on display: Alita Grham, Pnina Tornai… With Marina walking beside me, Stephanie pushed my chair up and down rows and rows of dresses that made Princess Diana’s dress look modest.
Marina didn’t say a word. We turned a corner into the storage room, where hundreds of dresses hung in plastic protector sleeves. Marina and I were overwhelmed.
“Want to try one on ?” I said, touching Marina’s hand.
“OK,” Marina said in her sharp, unsure voice.
“Tell them the style you’d like.”
Marina stood silent. I felt bad for bringing her, for forcing such an adult experience on a child.
Marina picked an A-line dress. Or, more precisely, the ladies of Kleinfeld picked it for her. Marina was too shocked to do more than nod. As she took the gown into the dressing room, I tried not to think of my little girl on her wedding day or of her as a baby in my arms. I tried not to think of her with her own baby in her arms one day.
I tried not to think of Marina right now, embarrassed by her mother’s plans, by things she could not and should not yet understand.
I am leaving money in my will for Marina’s wedding dress. Stephanie has promised to bring her back to Kleinfeld to purchase it.
“No pure white!” I said to Stephanie. “Ivory. Not too much tulle(薄纱). Think lace.”
“Think royalty when picking a dress,” I advised Steph as we waited outside the dressing room. “Think Princes Kate. Elegant. Think long sleeves. They make dresses more formal.”
Marina came out, sleeveless, flared(下摆宽大的). She looked like a 14-year-old girl in the middle of a giant cupcake.
“I don’t like the loose gown.” she said.
That’s my girl!
“How about trying on one with long sleeves?” I asked her.
The ladies brought out a dress with long lace sleeves, an Empire collar, a ruched(有褶饰的) fitted waist, and a long, smooth silk skirt.
Marina disappeared into the dressing room. When the door opened, she looked a foot taller and a decade older. I could clearly see the beautiful woman she will be one day. I simply stared.
What do you do when you glimpse a moment you will not live to see?
I dipped my head. Breathe, I told myself. I looked up. I smiled. Marina smiled back.
I worked my tongue into position to speak. “I like it,” I said.
In that dress, Marina stood straight, shining brightly, and tall.
“You are beautiful,” I whispered, my tongue barely cooperating. I don’t know if she heard me. We took some photos. And moved on. A memory made.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The mother made the payment for the wedding gown for her daughter on the spot. |
| B．The mother was disabled and unable to move around without a wheelchair. |
| C．The daughter well understood why she was asked to try on wedding gowns. |
| D．The mother thought pure white is more suitable for her daughter on the wedding. |
According to the story, we can conclude that Marina ________.
| A．finally picked out her favorite wedding gown herself after careful selection |
| B．amazingly grew taller and older after wearing her new wedding gown |
| C．was a different girl who liked marking pictures on skin to show her uniqueness |
| D．was more concerned about her mother than trying on new wedding gowns |
The underlined sentence in Para.4 means ________.
| A．she was more satisfied with her own clothes than wedding gowns |
| B．she was too excited to say anything seeing so many wedding gowns |
| C．she was quite nervous and uneasy in a place intended for adults |
| D．she was amazed to see so many wedding gowns on display |
By saying “I tried not to think of my little girl on her wedding day or …”, the author probably felt ________.
| A．heartbroken | B．disappointed |
| C．embarrassed | D．ashamed |
What is the main purpose for mother taking her 14-year-old daughter to the wedding dress shop?
| A．To take memorable photos of her daughter who wears the wedding gown. |
| B．To buy her daughter the most beautiful wedding gown for her wedding day. |
| C．To fulfill her desire to see what her daughter will be like in her wedding gown. |
| D．To choose the most suitable wedding gown as the last gift for her daughter. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Mother’s Final Wish |
| B．A Particular Wedding Dress Shop |
| C．An Embarrassing Plan |
| D．Daughter’s Wedding |
My children are perfect. All four of them. Perfect and beautiful and clever. I bet yours are, too. Except, of course, they are not. In reality, my children and yours are likely to be reasonably average in terms of looks, behavior, intelligence and charm. That’s why it is called average. Your belief in your child being special is more probably a biological thing than a fact.
A loved one, particularly a loved child, is edited as we observe them. Other people’s children are spoiled; ours are spirited. Theirs are naughty; ours are confident.
This is all natural and even touching when not taken too far. However, it is one thing feeding this idea to ourselves but feeding it to our children may be a little less desirable. We have the idea that — unlike my parents’ generation — we should build our children’s self-respect as high as we can. Therefore, their random scribble (胡写乱画) is up there with Picasso, their C-minus is an unfortunate oversight on the part of the teacher, and the fact that no one wants to be friends with them is because they are particularly clever or sensitive.
Children see through this kind of thing very quickly and ignore their parents’ praises as a matter of course. As they grow up, they sense that the wider world judges them differently. This leads to a – hopefully gentle – cynicism (猜忌) about anything their parents tell them about their achievements. Perhaps that is OK — but I’m not sure if it is good for them to have the parental praise so overlooked.
If parents were a little harsher sometimes, this could have two positive effects — first, when praise came, it would be more likely to be believed and, second, it would fit in rather more accurately with the picture of reality that the child is forming in their heads.
A lot of pressure is put on children who are told they are beautiful, special and perfect. Because then, where is there to go? Only downwards. They become too much aware of their status in your eyes, and a danger must be that they fear failing you. To be over-praised by your parents is the counter side of being criticized all the time. Both can have negative consequences.
It is important to give your children the freedom to be flawed (缺点) — to know that it’s OK to be imperfect, and that, in fact, we often love people for their flaws — perfect people (whom we can only imagine, as they do not exist) are easy to respect, but hard to love.
Now I am nearly 60, my main insight is that I am much less special than I once believed. This knowledge has actually been helpful in leading a more well-balanced life.
I certainly wouldn’t like to go back to attitudes that my parents, particularly my father, held, that to praise the child was to “spoil them” or make them bigheaded. However, the history of families is like the history of everything else — the story of overreactions. We praise our children to the skies, partly because we think it makes them feel good, but also because it makes us feel good. And perhaps it is more the latter than the former.
Too much love can be as big a burden as a shortage of it. My advice is to limit your praise. Then every piece of praise will count, rather than being just ignored.In some parents’ eyes, who is to blame for their children’s poor grades at school?
| A．Picasso. | B．The children |
| C．The teacher. | D．The children’s friends. |
One possible consequence of parents’ over-praising is that _______.
| A．the children will therefore become more confident |
| B．the children will not take their praise seriously |
| C．the children will doubt the way the world judges them |
| D．the children will understand no one can be perfect |
According to the passage, some children feel pressure because _______.
| A．they are often told they are unique and perfect |
| B．the society judges them differently from their parents |
| C．they are worried that they may let their parents down |
| D．they have no freedom to express how they really feel |
The word “harsher” (Paragraph 5) is closest in meaning to ________.
| A．severer | B．gentler | C．weaker | D．rougher |
Which of the following will the writer most probably agree with?
| A．Children’s self-respect shouldn’t be parents’ major concern. |
| B．The easiest way to spoil a child is to praise him or her. |
| C．Perfect people deserve our respect but not our love. |
| D．Parents should praise their children but not too much. |
Which best describes the writer’s tone in the passage?
| A．Concerned. | B．Approving. |
| C．Enthusiastic. | D．Pessimistic. |
Can you be too beautiful? It is hardly a problem that most of us have to bother — as much as we might like to dream that it were the case.
Yet the blessings and curses of beauty have been a long-standing interest in psychology. Do those blessed with shiny faces and an attractive body live in a cloud of appreciation — or does it sometimes pay to be ordinary?
Combing through decades of findings, social psychologists Lisa Slattery Walker and Tonya Frevert at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte havereviewed all the evidence to dateand their conclusions are not what you might expect.
At the most basic level, beauty might be thought to carry a kind of halo(光环) around it; we see that someone has one good quality, and by association, our deep mind may assume that they have other good ones too.
Even in the courts, a pleasing appearance can work its magic. Attractive criminals are likely to get less strict sentences, or to escape punishment entirely; attractive plaintiffs(原告), meanwhile, are more likely to win their case and get bigger financial settlements. “It’s an effect seen everywhere,” says Walker.
But if beauty pays in most circumstances, there are still situations where it can have opposite results. While attractive men may be considered better leaders, for instance, hidden sexist prejudices(偏见) can work against attractive women, making them less likely to be hired for high-level jobs that require power. And as you might expect, good-looking people of both sexes run into envy — one study found that if you are interviewed by someone of the same sex, they may be less likely to employ you if they judge that you are more attractive than they are.
More worryingly, being beautiful or handsome could harm your medical care. We tend to link good looks to health, meaning that illnesses are often taken less seriously when they affect the good-looking. When treating people for pain, for instance, doctors tend to take less care over the more attractive people.
And the bubble of beauty can be a somewhat lonely place. One study in 1975, for instance, found that people tend to move further away from a beautiful woman on the pathway — perhaps as a mark of respect, but still making interaction more distant. “Attractiveness can convey more power over visible space — but that in turn can make others feel they can’t approach that person,” says Frevert. Interestingly, the online dating website OKCupid recently reported that people with the most beautiful pictures are less likely to find dates than those with less perfect pictures.
Ultimately, Frevert points out that focusing too much on your appearance can itself be harmful if it creates stress and anxiety — even for those already blessed with good looks. “If you are crazy about attractiveness, it may affect your experience and interactions,” she says. It’s an outdated saying, but no amount of beauty can make up for a bad personality. As the writer Dorothy Parker put it so elegantly: “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.”From paragraph 1, we can learn that _______.
| A．some may be bothered by their unattractive appearance |
| B．most people are not afraid of being too beautiful |
| C．we might always dream about being bothered by others |
| D．being too beautiful can be a problem bothering everyone |
Which is the benefit for beautiful people?
| A．An attractive plaintiff has more chances to get away with punishment. |
| B．Women with pleasing appearance will always be considered as better leaders. |
| C．Good-looking people are often regarded as having many good qualities. |
| D．Beautiful criminals are more likely to persuade the judge and win the case. |
What can be inferred from OKCupid’s finding?
| A．People with perfect pictures will find dates sooner or later. |
| B．Less attractive women are lonely because of their appearances. |
| C．We may feel more excited to approach those with attractive appearances. |
| D．Don’t use perfect pictures when trying to find dates online. |
The writer mentioned the underlined sentence in the last paragraph to _______.
| A．persuade us to pay more attention to our looks from now on |
| B．suggest that beauty can help make a better personality |
| C．encourage us to focus more on improving our personality |
| D．ask ugly people to have more confidence in their personality |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Negative Sides of Beauty | B．Sexist Prejudice |
| C．Blessed with Beauty | D．Beauty vs Ugliness |
January 1 — January 31
You are charming and intelligent．You are actually quite ambitious．You like to go to parties and chat with your friends．On the other hand, you are friendly, but you are also a very private person．
February 1 — February 28
You are determined and hard working．You are born under the sign of loyalty and evenness （公平）．You like parties and enjoy a lot of friends．On the other hand, you are quite famous for your courage．You really like to explore and you are an adventurer．
March 1 — March 31
You are very loyal, independent, and open-minded．You are a born leader, and when you set a goal, you go to it．You adore challenges and competitions．You are most likely to be the one who calls out, "Let's go!" you are always in a circle of friends．You love animals．You are like a roller coaster．
April I—April 30
You are artistic, well-mannered, intelligent, and diplomatic．You are usually sweet and kind, of course．You are sometimes famous for your artistic sense and good taste．You love throwing grand parties．Vacations and routines are very important to you．You are also fairly popular．
Mayl — May 31
You are talented, sincere, and most of all, enthusiastic．You are the master of ceremonies． You shine in the crowd．When you walk into a room, heads turn, and you hear whispers and gasps．You have a strong will to defeat any challenge in your way．You have a hunger for fashion．
June 1 — June 30
You are very elegant, wise, and compassionate(有同情心的)．You are very attractive and people are attracted to you．Your friends rely on you for advice．You will be someone like Jacqueline Onassis．You are also very lucky in many ways．
Julyl — July 31
You are mostly agreeable, energetic, and popular．You like to try new things wherever you go．You know how to dress and you always look your best．You are talented and you love sports． You are always one step ahead of anyone else．You adore freedom and independence．
August 1 — August 31
You are empathetic, easygoing, and compliant．You can get along with almost everyone． Many people admire you for your talent and creativity．On the other hand, you are sensitive and compassionate．You always like to dream．You enjoy peace and quiet at night．
September 1 — September 30
You are individualistic, sociable, and very entertaining．You are capable of anything．You have an excellent memory．You like long, friendly conversations with your closest friends．You turn boring things into the life of the party．
October 1 — October 31
You are thoughtful, intelligent, and the class comedian．You are also very popular, and nice around friends．You love to save the best for last．You are amusing and very fun to be around with．You love to spend hours each day reading and studying for final exams, when the school year has just started．You almost never turn on your friends．
November 1 — November 30
You are unselfish, knowledgeable, and friendly．You are loyal to your friends and family． You can see the difference between right and wrong．You are very honest and you speak out when you feel something has gone wrong．You are the person who likes trendy clothes．
December 1 —December 31
You are smart, optimistic, and willing to help others．You are like a rare diamond．You are intentionally the nicest while you are with friends．You are also very affectionate．You are too good to be true．Your friends trust in you easily．You are also popular in the "Being Nice" way．People born in the months of_______ are usually very fashionable．
| A．May, July and November |
| B．May, July and October |
| C．July, October, and November |
| D．April, May and October |
If you are born in March, the sentence "You are like a roller coaster" is probably linked with which of the following characteristics?
| A．Being loyal． |
| B．Being open-minded． |
| C．Loving animals． |
| D．Adoring challenges and competitions． |
Who is the combination of very different characteristics?
| A．A person born during April 1 — April 30． |
| B．A person born during August 1 — August 31． |
| C．A person born during January 1 — January 31． |
| D．A person born during February 1 — February 31． |
Which of the following is most likely to have the combination of very different characteristics?
| A．July — having an excellent memory． |
| B．October — loving to save the best for last． |
| C．September — enjoying peace and quiet at night． |
| D．August @ being always one step ahead of anyone else． |
Facing fear is one of the most important things you can do. Some people have a fear of failure and others a fear of success. It may seem strange but neither one is a good fear. You might think the fear of failure could be a good thing but it’s not, particularly if the fear of failure keeps you from accomplishing anything.
For myself, I have a huge fear of failure but I am good at facing that fear and overcoming it. I don’t let my fear of failure cause me to delay(延误) my decision or get me off the track. I use the fear to make sure I’m doing my absolute best at all times because I know if I don’t do my best I will fail. That frightens me. I’m not afraid of trying at all.
I started a business when I was married to my first wife. The business became successful and I was getting ready to make some huge money. However, my wife just wanted us to stay small because she was comfortable there. She feared what success might bring and did every little thing she could to make sure we didn’t grow any bigger. I’m sure you can see the problem. I had a fear of failure and she had an even bigger fear of success. Finally I couldn’t stand any more of her fear and we got a divorce.
Facing fear and overcoming fear is very important. People even have a fear of fear. I’m sure that it is normal. People fear change more than anything else and fight that change with fear. They fear what they don’t know or understand. They fear anything new to them. But we need to keep in mind that the world is changing all the time and that change is inevitable (不可避免的). You can live a life free of fear by learning to face your fears.From the first paragraph, we can learn that the fear of failure________.
| A．is better than the fear of success |
| B．is a good thing to most of us |
| C．is more common than the fear of success |
| D．may stop us from getting successful |
It can be inferred that when the writer’s small business became successful, _____.
| A．he feared to grow bigger |
| B．he feared to lose his money |
| C．something went wrong with their marriage |
| D．he was as comfortable as his wife |
What’s the writer’s purpose of telling his own experience with his first wife?
| A．To explain two kinds of fears. |
| B．To tell his problem in his early career. |
| C．To explain the bad effects of different fears. |
| D．To show the fear of failure is a good thing. |
People who have a fear of fear___________.
| A．often fail to understand something new to them |
| B．just want to live an unchangeable life |
| C．believe that change is inevitable |
| D．fear that they can’t change |
If we are to help students develop reading skills in a foreign language, it is important to understand what is involved in the reading process itself. If we have a clear idea of how “good readers” read, either in their own or a foreign language, this will enable us to decide whether particular reading techniques are likely to help learners or not.
In considering the reading process, it is important to distinguish between two quite separate activities: reading for meaning (or “silent reading”) and reading aloud. Reading for meaning is the activity we normally engage in when we read books, newspapers, road signs, etc.; it is what you are doing as you read this text. It involves looking at sentences and understanding the message they convey, in other words “making sense” of a written text. It doesn’t normally involve saying the words we read, not even silently inside our heads.
Reading aloud is a completely different activity; its purpose is not just to understand a text but to convey the information to someone else. It is not an activity we engage in very often outside the classroom; common examples are reading out parts of a newspaper article to a friend, or reading a notice to other people who can’t see it. Obviously, reading aloud involves looking at a text, understanding it and also saying it. Because our attention is divided between reading and speaking, it is a much more difficult activity than reading silently; we often stumble and make mistakes when reading aloud in our own language, and reading aloud in a foreign language is even more difficult.
When we read for meaning, we do not need to read every letter or every word, nor even every word in each sentence. This is because, if the text makes sense, we can guess much of what it says as we read it.The passage is mainly about ____________.
| A．reading skills | B．silent reading |
| C．reading processes | D．reading aloud |
The underlined word “stumble” in Paragraph 3 means ____________.
| A．step over something and fall |
| B．repeat something or pause for too long |
| C．walk with heavy movements |
| D．speak in a fluent and confident way |
We can infer from the passage that the author will continue to ____________.
| A．discuss in detail how to read aloud |
| B．introduce some more reading activities |
| C．tell how good readers read in their own language |
| D．explain why we needn’t say the words when reading for meaning |
We can conclude that ____________.
| A．reading silently is easier than reading aloud |
| B．to understand a sentence, you have to read all the words in it |
| C．silent reading involves looking at a text and saying the words silently to yourself |
| D．there’s no difference between reading in one’s own language and in a foreign one |
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