Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mum, you must come and see the daffodils （水仙花）before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Lake Arrowhead. “I will go next Tuesday,” I promised, a little unwillingly, on her third call.
The next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible （看不见的）in the cloud and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see!”
My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this weather all the time, Mum. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read “Daffodil Garden”.
We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most beautiful sight! There were five acres of flowers! “But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “That’s her home,” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio （庭院）, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.
The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs （鳞茎）,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”
I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than fifty years before, had begun -- one bulb at a time -- to bring the beauty and joy to the mountain top.The author didn’t go to see the daffodils at first because _________.
| A．she was not interested in them |
| B．they were growing on the mountain top |
| C．the weather was not good enough |
| D．it was not easy for her to drive there |
What do we know about the woman living in the A-frame house?
| A．She must be out of mind. |
| B．She acted as a gardener there. |
| C．It took her great determination to grow the daffodils. |
| D．She was poor and made her living by selling daffodils. |
What could the author probably learn from this experience?
| A．Nothing is too difficult if you put your heart into it. |
| B．We must put the interests of others above our own. |
| C．We can change the world by growing flowers. |
| D．It’s never too late to learn. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．An Unforgettable Experience. | B．Beautiful Daffodils. |
| C．One Bulb at a Time. | D．I Love Daffodils. |
We’ve reached a strange－some would say unusual－point.While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO)，more people now die from being overweight，or say，from being extremely fat，than from being underweight.It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.
Worse，nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight.What’s going on?
We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems.The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by publichealth campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.
In the 1970s，Finland，for example，had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause.Not any more.A publichealth campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.
Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005，and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body.That has become a sort of fashion.No wonder it ranks as the world’s most bodyconscious country.
We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter.By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise.More than half of us admit we lack willpower.
Others blame good food.They say：it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat.Still others lay the blame on the Americans，complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much Americanstyle fast food.
Some also blame their parents－their genes.But unfortunately，the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape，or rather slim.
It’s a similar story around the world，although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight.Parents are eager to see their kids shape up.Do as I say－not as I do.What is the“strange”point mentioned in the first sentence?
| A．The good life is a greater risk than the bad life. |
| B．Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world. |
| C．WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety. |
| D．Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts. |
Why does the author think that people have no excuse for being overweight?
| A．A lot of effective diet pills are available. |
| B．Body image has nothing to do with good food. |
| C．They have been made fully aware of its dangers. |
| D．There are too many overweight people in the world. |
．The example of Finland is used to illustrate________.
| A．the cause of heart disease |
| B．the fashion of body shaping |
| C．the effectiveness of a campaign |
| D．the history of a bodyconscious country |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Actions or Excuses? |
| B．Overweight or Underweight? |
| C．WHO in a Dilemma |
| D．No Longer Dying of Hunger |
In my living room，there is a plaque (匾) that advises me to“Bloom (开花) where you are planted.” It reminds me of Dorothy.I got to know Dorothy in the early 1980s，when I was teaching Early Childhood Development through a program with Union College in Barbourville，Kentucky.The job responsibilities required occasional visits to the classroom of each teacher in the program.Dorothy stands out in my memory as one who“bloomed”in her remote area.
Dorothy taught in a school in Harlan County，Kentucky，Appalachian Mountain area.To get to her school from the town of Harlan，I followed a road winding around the mountain.In the eightmile journey，I crossed the same railroad track five times，giving the possibility of getting caught by the same train five times.Rather than feeling excited by this drive through the mountains，I found it depressing.The poverty level was shocking and the small shabby houses gave me the greatest feeling of hopelessness.
From the moment of my arrival at the little school，all gloom (忧郁) disappeared.Upon arriving at Dorothy’s classroom.I was greeted with smiling faces and treated like a queen.The children had been prepared to show me their latest projects.Dorothy told me with a big smile that they were serving poke greens salad and cornbread for“dinner”(lunch)．In case you don’t know，poke greens are a weedtype plant that grows wild，especially on poor ground.
Dorothy never ran out of reports of exciting activities of her students.Her enthusiasm never cooled down.When it came time to sit for the testing and interviewing required to receive her Child Development Associate Certification，Dorothy was ready.She came to the assessment and passed in all areas.Afterward，she invited me to the oneandonly steak house in the area to celebrate her victory，as if she had received her Ph.D.degree.After the meal，she placed a little box containing an old pen in my hand.She said it was a family heirloom (传家宝)，but to me it is a treasured symbol of appreciation and pride that cannot be matched with things.“Early Childhood Development”in Paragraph 1 refers to________.
| A．a program directed by Dorothy |
| B．a course given by the author |
| C．an activity held by the students |
| D．an organization sponsored by Union college |
In the journey，the author was most disappointed at seeing________.
| A．the long track |
| B．the poor houses |
| C．the same train |
| D．the winding road |
Upon arriving at the classroom，the author was cheered up by________.
| A．a warm welcome |
| B．the sight of poke greens |
| C．Dorothy’s latest projects |
| D．a big dinner made for her |
What can we know about Dorothy from the last paragraph?
A．She was invited to a celebration at a restaurant.
B．She got a pen as a gift from the author.
C．She passed the required assessment.
D．She received her Ph.D.degree.What does the author mainly intend to tell us?
| A．Whatever you do，you must do it carefully. |
| B．Whoever you are，you deserve equal treatment. |
| C．However poor you are，you have the right to education. |
| D．Wherever you are，you can accomplish your achievement. |
Going green seems to be a fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days.Whether that is good or bad，we can’t really say，but for the two of us，going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22,2011，we decided to go green every single day for an entire year.This meant doing 365 different green things，and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things.Rather than recycle and reduce our energy，we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year，Our Green Year started.My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment.We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year，we completely changed our lifestyles.We now shop at organic(有机的)stores.We consume less meat，choosing green food.We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need.We have given away half of what we owned through websites.Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice，with no chemical cleaners.We make our own butter，enjoying the smell of homemade fresh bread.In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year.We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others.We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going Green |
| B．Protecting the Planet |
| C．Keeping OpenMinded |
| D．Celebrating Our Green Year |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because________.
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignored others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their homemade food. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green project. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family，and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck.I’m not going to say luck，talent，and circumstances don’t come into play because they do.Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence，and that’s just the reality of how life is.
However，to succeed in life，one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical.And，in addition to that，in order to get really good at something，one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practising.To become great at certain things，it’ll require even more time，time that most people won’t put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love.If you don’t enjoy what you do，it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success，you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost.It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent，but thinking that way does you no good，and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.
Whatever you do，if you want to become great at it，you need to work day in and day out，almost to the point of addiction，and over a long period of time.If you’re not willing to put in the time and work，don’t expect to receive any rewards.Consistent，hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want，but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about________.
| A．the reasons for success |
| B．the meaning of success |
| C．the standards of success |
| D．the importance of success |
In Paragraph 2，the underlined word that refers to________.
| A．being good at something |
| B．setting a practical goal |
| C．putting in more time |
| D．succeeding in life |
Successful people suggest doing what one loves because________.
| A．work makes one feel pain |
| B．one tends to enjoy his work |
| C．one gives up his work easily |
| D．it takes a lot of time to succeed |
What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
| A．Successful people like to show their great skills. |
| B．People sometimes succeed without luck or talent. |
| C．People need to achieve success at the cost of life. |
| D．It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success. |
What is the main theme of the passage?
| A．Having a goal is vital to success. |
| B．Being good is different from being great. |
| C．One cannot succeed without time and practice. |
| D．Luck，talent and family help to achieve success. |
We’ve considered several ways of paying to cut in line：hiring line standers，buying tickets from scalpers (票贩子)，or purchasing linecutting privileges directly from，say，an airline or an amusement park.Each of these deals replaces the morals of the queue (waiting your turn) with the morals of the market (paying a price for faster service)．
Markets and queues—paying and waiting—are two different ways of allocating things，and each is appropriate to different activities.The morals of the queue，“First come，first served，”have an egalitarian(平等主义的) appeal.They tell us to ignore privilege，power，and deep pockets.
The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops.But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions.If I put my house up for sale，I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along，simply because it’s the first.Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities，properly governed by different standards.
Sometimes standards change，and it is unclear which principle should apply.Think of the recorded message you hear，played over and over，as you wait on hold when calling your bank：“Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received.”This is essential for the morals of the queue.It’s as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness.
But don’t take the recorded message too seriously.Today，some people’s calls are answered faster than others.Call center technology enables companies to“score”incomings calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places.You might call this telephonic queue jumping.
Of course，markets and queues are not the only ways of allocating things.Some goods we distribute by merit，others by need，still others by chance.However，the tendency of markets to replace queues，and other nonmarket ways of allocating goods is so common in modern life that we scarcely notice it anymore.It is striking that most of the paid queuejumping schemes we’ve considered—at airports and amusement parks，in call centers，doctors’offices，and national parks—are recent developments，scarcely imaginable three decades ago.The disappearance of the queues in these places may seem an unusual concern，but these are not the only places that markets have entered.According to the author，which of the following seems governed by the principle“First come，first served”？
| A．Taking buses. |
| B．Buying houses. |
| C．Flying with an airline. |
| D．Visiting amusement parks. |
The example of the recorded message in Paragraphs 4 and 5 illustrates________.
| A．the necessity of patience in queuing |
| B．the advantage of modern technology |
| C．the uncertainty of allocation principle |
| D．the fairness of telephonic services |
The passage is meant to________.
| A．justify paying for faster services |
| B．discuss the morals of allocating things |
| C．analyze the reason for standing in line |
| D．criticize the behavior of queue jumping |
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