While I was having dinner with a well-known author and lecturer, our conversation drifted to money．“I have enough money,” he told me casually．“I don’t need any more money．”
“Of course you can say that,” I thought to myself．“You get fifteen thousand dollars for a lecture．”
Then I caught my thought process, and pondered（仔细考虑）more deeply on his statement．Is he satisfied because he has a lot of money, or does he have a lot of money because he chooses to be satisfied?
I know people with more money than this man, and they still don’t have enough．And I know people with very little money, and they always have enough．So is enoughness something that happens to us when we reach a certain level, or is it an experience we can choose and celebrate at any time?
My friends Adrian and Carey live in a humble cottage in the rainforest．They have quite a modest income, no telephone, and they walk around naked most of the time．I think they are the happiest people I know．They wake up with the sun, love each other very much, and welcome guests with a full and open heart．They appreciate every moment of their lives, have no distraction games going, and are not waiting for the big break around the corner．When I am with them, the predominant（主要的）feeling I have is, “It’s all right here—why would anyone want anything more?”
Ram Dass used to say, “There are three kinds of people in the world: those who say, ‘Too much!’; those who say, ‘Not enough!’; and those who say, “Ah, just right!’”; Since “too much” of one thing implies “not enough” of another, there are really only two approaches to life: lack or contentment．
1．From the first paragraph, we can infer that the lecturer ___________．
A．was living a happy life B．was careless about his money
C．was satisfied with his life D．was rich enough to live a happy life
2．We learn from the underlined part that ____________．
A．it’s money that is of importance B．it’s not money but the attitude that matters
C．we don’t have to have much money D．we won’t have enough money in life
3．What does the author think of Adrian and Carey’s life?
A．They have no guests．
B．They have all they want．
C．They live a very hard life．
D．They live a very happy life．
4．Which of the following best suits the passage?
A．Nothing is better than a contented mind．
B．Where there is a will, there is a way．
C．Practice makes perfect．
D．Better late than never．
Streit was an experienced safecracker who never used force —either against people or safes (保险箱). He was a real artist of his trade and it took him only 19 minutes to open the most difficult safe he had ever encountered. In about 10 years, helped by his brother Stefan and two friends, he took about $330,000 —from the safes of 28 banks in Austria. On his last job, early in 1999, he left the safe door open and $80,000 behind. With the money ws a note, "We don’t need all that much."
A witness (目击者) recognized his car and Streit was caught by the police. Then he was sent to Austria’s Stein Prison to serve a six-year sentence. He boasted (吹嘘) at his trial that he would continue breaking the law, "I am a thief and I shall use every opportunity." Despite the warn-ing, prison officials moved Streit to the prison’s blacksmith (铁匠) shop. One day during the week before Christmas, Streit disappeared. Searchers found all his doors were well locked. Streit had managed to make a set of keys and let himself out.
Not to freedom, though. After crossing into Bavaria, Streit attracted the suspicion (怀疑) of German customs police on purpose and got himself arrested. "I want to be in a German prison,"he explained to the surprised police. "As German courts give much milder (温和的) sentences for crimes like mine and will reduce the time I would otherwise have served in Stein Prison."
In prison, Streit persuaded his keepers to let him make a Christmas Eve telephone call to his former keeper, Karl Schreiner of Stein Prison. "I’m sorry if I caused trouble. I didn’t want to embarrass anybody by escaping. Conditions weren’t that bad. In fact the food was better than it is here."
The underlined word "safecracker" in the first paragraph means "_________".
| A．prisoner | B．criminal | C．stealer | D．Robber |
What’s the correct order of the following events?
a. Streit was caught by German customs police.
b. Streit left a note in the bank.
c. Streit was sent to Stein Prison.
d. Streit worked in a blacksmith shop.
e. Streit escaped from prison.
| A．d-b-a-c-e | B．b-a-c-d-e | C．b-c-d-e-a | D．d-b-c-e-a |
What helped Streit escape from prison?
| A．His living alone in prison. |
B．His good relations with the prison officials. |
C．His cooperation with other prisoners. |
D．His working in the blacksmith shop. |
Streit was finally caught because _______.
| A．his car was recognized by someone |
B．he left a note in the bank safe |
C．he was recognized by customs police |
D．he made a phone call to his former keeper |
Streit preferred to serve his time in Germany because _______.
| A．he hated working in the blacksmith shop in the Austrian prison |
B．the life of prisoners in Germany was better than those in Austria’s |
C．he wouldn’t have to stay that long in a German prison |
D．he could escape more easily from a German prison |
Four decades ago a group of college students visited the mountains of Borneo to examine moth (蛾) populations. Now a team of British scientists, including a member of the original trip, has returned to the same sites to repeat the survey. They have found that, due to rising temperatures, the insects now live 68 meters higher.
Global warming is forcing tropical (热带的) species uphill to escape the rising temperatures at a rate of nearly 2 meters a year, the new study from Borneo suggests.
Since this was the only chance to repeat the original survey, the scientist did everything they could to do it exactly the same way, going at the same time of year, in July and August, using photographs to find the exact original sites of the moth traps.
"While this is the first study of insects, a few other studies of tropical species are starting to appear," said Thomas. "If you look across all those studies, you’ll find the same results, and it’s extremely difficult to think of any other explanation for them."
While some species might survive by finding places on the mountains with temperatures similar to those of their original habitats, others may run out of habitat on the rocky peaks, warns the study.
In a paper in the journal Naturein 2004, Thomas and 13 other experts analyzed the habitats of 1,100 species on five continents, and estimated that on average one quarter were at risk of extinction.
Last year a paper published in the Public Library of Science in the US warned that the risk of extinction in the tropics was becoming more and more serious. The authors, Jana and Steven Vamosi, estimated that 20-45% of tropical species were at risk of extinction.
| A．6.8 meters higher | B．19 meters higher |
| C．34 meters higher | D．68 meters higher |
| A．There’ll be too little space. |
| B．The temperature will be much too low. |
| C．They will be at greater risk of extinction. |
| D．They’ll find it hard to adapt to the environment. |
| A．this survey of moths has been carried out many times |
| B．some scientists have put forward other explanations for the results |
| C．scientists tried to repeat the original survey |
| D．20-45% of tropical species were estimated to be at risk of extinction in 2004 |
| A．Climate change forcing moths higher. |
| B．Protecting moths from extinction. |
| C．How to research tropical moths. |
| D．How to study moths living on mountains. |
Books which give instructions on how to do things are very popular in the United States today. Thousands of these "How to" books are available; in fact, there are about four thousand books with titles that begin with the words "How to" One book may tell you how to earn more money, another may tell you how to save or spend it, and another may explain how to give your money away. Many "How to" books give advice on careers (职业). They tell you how to choose a career and how to succeed at it. If you fail, however, you can buy a book called “How to Turn Failure into Success”. If you would like to become very rich, you can buy the book “How to Make a Million”. If you never make any money at all, you may need a book called "How to" Live on Nothing? One of the most popular types of books is one that helps you with personal problems. If you want to have a better love of life, you can read "How to" Succeed at Love Every Minute of Your Life.? If you are tired of books on happiness, you may prefer a book called "How to". Make Yourself miserable?
Many of these books help people use their time better. Some people want books which will give them useful information about sports, hobbies, and travel. Other people use their free time to make repairs and improvements on their homes. They prefer books which give step by step instruction on how to repair things like plumbing (卫生管道工程) and electrical wiring, or on how to redecorate (重新装饰) or enlarge a house.
Why have "How to" books become so popular? Probably because life has become so complex. Today people have far more free time to use, more choices to make, and more problems to solve. "How to" books help people deal with modern life.
| A．tell people to love their life |
| B．earn money |
| C．give people some good advice on how to do something they want to do |
| D．say something about America |
| A．buy a book on "How to" Make a Million? |
| B．read a book on how to choose a career and how to succeed at it |
| C．beg bosses or managers for it |
| D．use his free time to look for it |
| A．＂How to" Turn Failure into Success？ |
| B．"How to" Make a Million? |
| C．"How to" Succeed at Love Every Minute of Your Life? |
| D．"How to" Make Yourself Miserable? |
| A．“How to" Books in America |
| B．"How to" Books Are Ordinary in America |
| C．Thousands of "How to" Books |
| D．Books with Title That Begin with the Words "How to" |
In 1986, when Monty Reed was a member of the Army Rangers (黑鹰突击 队), he had an accident. "It was a night jump, and we were jumping low," he recalls. "We were training. Somebody got too close to my parachute (降落伞)."The parachute below blocked Reed’s air and his parachute failed to open. Reed crashed a hundred feet to the ground, breaking his back in five places.
The next morning, Reed could not move. "Doctors said it was likely that I would never walk again." Reed stared out of his hospital window, wondering what the future would be like. It was the saddest moment of his life. "The experts are telling me my body doesn’t work! What am I supposed to do?" he thought.
To distract (转移注意力) himself, he picked up a book: Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. The science-fiction describes a set of man-made muscles that would allow people to carry 2,000 pounds. He thought that if he could build something like that, it might be able to lift him out of his wheelchair. So he began his project and finally succeeded in building a set of robot legs. Several years later, he made an amazing recovery and was able to get up and walk away from his wheelchair. He even jumped out of an airplane again to celebrate.
Reed wanted to do something for others with the second chance that life had given him. He has now perfected the robot legs that can get the injured, the elderly and the paralyzed (瘫痪的) out of their wheelchairs. Now he has started his own company to make the legs. "I’ve seen them compete in marathons and go swimming and mountain climbing," he said. "So never give up!"
| A．his feet hit the ground too hard |
| B．his parachute was under another person’s |
| C．another person’s parachute stopped his from opening |
| D．he was training to jump at night |
| A．create a new kind of wheelchair for himself |
| B．discover how to make man-made muscles |
| C．learn how to jump out of an airplane |
| D．stop himself from thinking about his pain |
| A．He didn’t lose heart in the face of difficulty. |
| B．He is fond of reading science fiction. |
| C．He spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. |
| D．He didn’t believe what the doctors said. |
| A．become a famous writer like Robert Heinlein |
| B．return to the Army Rangers and continue with his jumps |
| C．compete in games and marathons and go swimming |
| D．help more patients in wheelchairs to recover |
The island Fiji has always been around me in my life. My parents met in Fiji when my father was a teacher as a Peace Corps volunteer and my mother a student. They taught me about its people, culture, foods and religious beliefs.
At the age of two, I made my first trip across the Pacific Ocean to Fiji. My mother and I made that trip unexpectedly because my grandma was ill and longed to see her American granddaughter. Although I have few memories of that first trip, I do remember grandma braiding (编辫子)my hair every day. The brush gliding through my hair is a feeling I will treasure forever because she passed away soon. I returned to America when I was five years old. This time I had a brother, Martin, who was two.
I resisted my third trip to Fiji when I was 15, being a teenager who did not want to spend the summer away from friends. It was this trip, however, that made me realize that Fiji is not just a place to visit but a part of who I am. The smells and sounds and sights came back to me, but the best part was getting to know my relatives.
Vishal was one cousin I quickly bonded with. Born two days before me, I had only known him through pictures before. Though raised oceans apart in different cultures, we talked and laughed about everything from American sports to Fijian dancing. I was able to form close ties with all my cousins, and when I talk about them now, it’s as if I have known them my whole life. Spending time with them helped me understand the traditions and values my mother grew up with. Hospitality and care and respect for family members are central values in Fijian culture.
I truly enjoyed learning about my roots during this trip. Fiji is just like a second home, and I will never forget the time I have spent there.
| A．the author’s parents had been classmates before |
| B．the author had lived in Fiji for about five years |
| C．the author had no memories of her grandma |
| D．people value family in Fijian culture |
| A．she didn’t want to separate from her brother |
| B．she didn’t know her cousins there very well |
| C．she didn’t want to separate from her American friends |
| D．her grandma had passed away |
| A．He is younger than the author. |
| B．The author had met him on her first trip to Fiji. |
| C．He and the author had lots of common interests. |
| D．He and the author held different opinions about Fijian culture. |
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