Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.
After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn't wash her window. It really looks terrible.”
One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside. Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!
Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.
That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?
Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?”
Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly. The writer couldn't see everything clearly through the window because .
| A．the woman's window was dirty | B．the writer's window was dirty |
| C．the woman lived nearby | D．the writer was near-sighted |
Finishing the cleaning, the writer was surprised that .
| A．the woman was sitting by her window | B．the woman's window was clean |
| C．the woman did cleaning in the afternoon | D．the woman's window was still terrible |
“…it dawned on me” probably means “ ”.
| A．I began to understand it | B．it cheered me up |
| C．I knew it grew light | D．it began to get dark |
It’s clear that .
| A．the writer had never met the woman before | B．the writer often washed the window |
| C．they both worked as cleaners | D．they lived in a small town |
From the passage, we can learn .
| A．one shouldn't criticize others very often |
| B．one should often make his windows clean |
| C．one must judge himself before he judges others |
| D．one must look at others through his dirty windows |
The days of elderly women doing nothing but cooking huge meals on holidays are gone．Enter the Red Hat Society －a group holding the belief that old ladies should have fun．
“My grandmothers didn’t do anything but keep house and serve everybody．They were programmed to do that,” said Emily Cornett, head of a chapter of the 7-year-old Red Hat Society．
While men have long spent their time fishing and playing golf, women have sometimes seemed to become unnoticed as they age．But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers(生育高峰期出生的人), and the same people who refused their parents’ way of being young are now trying a new way of growing old．
If you take into consideration feminism(女权主义), a bit of spare money, and better health for most elderly, the Red Hat Society looks almost inevitable(必然的)．In this society, women over 50 wear red hats and purple(紫色的) clothes, while the women under 50 wear pink hats and light purple clothing．
“The organization took the idea from a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins: “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple．With a red hat which doesn’t go,” said Ellen Cooper, who founded the Red Hat Society in 1998．When the ladies started to wear the red hats, they attracted lots of attention．
“The point of this is that we need a rest from always doing something for someone else,” Cooper saiD．“Women feel so ashamed and sorry when they do something for themselves．” This is why chapters are discouraged from raising money or doing anything useful．“We’re a ladies’ play group．It couldn’t be more simple,” added Cooper’s assistant Joe Heywood．The underlined word “chapter” in paragraph 2 means __________．
| A．one branch of an organization | B．a written agreement of a club |
| C．one part of a collection of poems | D．a period in a society’s history |
From the text , we know that the “baby boomers” are a group of people who ．
| A．have gradually become more noticeable |
| B．are worried about getting old too quickly |
| C．are enjoying a good life with plenty of money to spend |
| D．tried living a different life from their parents when they were young |
It could be inferred from the text that members of the Red Hat Society are ．
| A．interested in raising money for social work |
| B．programmers who can plan well for their future |
| C．believers in equality between men and women |
| D．good at cooking big meals and taking care of others |
Who set up the Red Hat Society ?
| A．Emily Cornett． | B．Ellen Cooper． | C．Jenny Joseph． | D．Joe Heywood． |
It all starts with a tree．In fact, it starts with several trees．Since the first modern guitars were made in northern Spain over 150 years ago, crafts persons have known the wood to be used is important in making a guitar.
Every guitar is made of several different kinds of wood．Each piece is carefully chosen and then cut to fit the part of the guitar for which it is designed．The most important part of a guitar is the soundboard--the piece of wood with a large hole that lies under the strings(弦,线)．Guitar makers are careful to make the soundboard just the right shape and thickness．Then they fix stripes（长条）of wood across the inside in a special pattern, which helps strengthen the soundboard and improves the tone of the guitar.
Wood for the curvy (弯曲的) sides of the guitar must be soaked (浸湿) in water and bent over a hot iron pipe．When all the pieces of the guitar are ready, they are carefully stuck together with glue．Special woodworking tools are used to shape and smooth the neck of the guitar．The craftsperson must make sure that the neck is perfectly centered over the soundboard.
Then it is time to use varnish(亮光漆)．This brings out the beauty of the wood．Varnish also improves the sound of the guitar but too much varnish makes the guitar sound flat and dull.
Finally guitar strings are attached and tightened to make just the right musical tones．Then it’s time to play a song．(273 words)The best title for this passage may be _____.
| A．How to Make a Guitar | B．What a Guitar Is Made of |
| C．How to Play the Guitar | D．Where to Find the Best Guitar |
In order to make the soundboard strong, _____.
| A．people tie strings to the top of it |
| B．stripes are stuck across the inside of wood |
| C．a large hole is made in it |
| D．several pieces of wood are glued together |
Which of the following doesn’t affect the sound of a guitar?
| A．Soundboard | B．strings | C．neck | D．color |
What will happen to the guitar if too much varnish is used to the wood?
| A．The beauty of the wood can’t be seen clearly. |
| B．The sound of the guitar will be flat and dull. |
| C．The tone of the guitar will be improved |
| D．A guitar will become thin |
A friend and I were standing in line at the grocery store the other day, and I was telling her how lazy my children were．I had come in from work that morning, and like most times, my house was wrecked.
“I believe children nowadays are just out for what they can get．They can never help keep our house clean.” I said, feeling unhappy.
“Do you know how happy you are?” a woman behind us asked．“I would love to go home and find my house a mess．I wouldn’t mind my floor being dirty．Nor would I mind the dirty clothes being piled high．I wouldn’t even mind anyone talking about my dirty home．I would love it．I would love to kick my way through the house just to get to my kids and be able to hug them, kiss them and tell them how much I love them．You see, my two children were killed in an accident． My house stays clean; my clothes stay put up; the dishes are done.”
“There are no fingerprints on my walls．There are no sounds of arguing, either．So you see, you are very lucky．I would give anything to be going through what you are now! How I’d love to be able to hold my kids, wipe away their tears and share their dreams! I wouldn’t care how my house looked．I would be happy just to have them.”
Now if you come into my house and see a big mess, you can think bad thoughts if you want, but I feel greatly blessed.(268 words)The writer was complaining about her children to her friend because they ____.
| A．would go out without permission | B．couldn’t keep the house clean |
| C．made her look dirty and bad | D．were too lazy to hug or kiss her |
My house was wrecked in the first paragraph means my house _____.
| A．was very dirty | B．was broken into |
| C．needed to be painted | D．looked beautiful |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Children shouldn’t be left home alone. |
| B．A mother lost her children in an accident. |
| C．People should be thankful for what life gives. |
| D．A mother complained about the mess at her house. |
Have fun with Stamp collecting..．Join the Collectors Club today!If you enjoy learning all about stamps, then the Royal Mail’s Collectors Club is for you．Join the club and discover the fascinating world of stamps．There are over 70,000 members and it is one of the biggest clubs of its kind in the country.
Become a member today and you will receive lots of wonderful stamp collecting goodies...
●A Starter pack...
And every two months...
●Collectors Club magazine
●Collectors Corner supplement
And every year...
●A new Stamp Calendar
●A set of Album Pages
Join today!
It won’t cost you much to experience the fun of stamp collecting.
Collectors Club Starter Pack
1.100 used stamps and hinges
2.The Collectors Club Guide to Collecting
3.The latest Collectors Club magazine (packed with news and views about stamps, quizzes and competitions, all in colour)
4.Album pages
5.Badge and stickers
6.Membership card
7.Royal Mail Stamp Calendar.
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View a Flash presentation about our club (3.51MB)Which of the following is NOT included in a starter pack?
| A．One hundred used stamps and hinges and album pages. |
| B．The Collectors Club Guide to Collecting and badge and stickers. |
| C．The latest Collectors Club magazine and membership card. |
| D．Royal Mail Stamp Calendar and Collectors Corner supplement. |
This advertisement is written for people who want to_______.
| A．make money through collecting stamps |
| B．develop stamp collection as a hobby |
| C．get something free from the club |
| D．find out where the club is located |
From the advertisement we can learn_____.
| A．Collectors Club is among the biggest clubs in this country |
| B．how much you must pay to become a member of the club |
| C．today is the last day for stamp collectors to join the club |
| D．members may receive a set of album pages every month |
Where is this advertisement most probably found?
| A．In a newspaper. | B．On a web page. |
| C．In a magazine. | D．On a TV program. |
A new study has found that the best way to make yourself feel happier is to think of something good that happened to you the day before.
Volunteers who were asked to remember a pleasant event from past 24 hours began to feel happier right away．Other activities such as saying “Thank you” and smiling also made volunteers feel happier, but not as much.
Professor Richard Wiseman of Hertfordshire University planned the study．He got 26,000 people to go online to try out a few different activities to make them feel happier．They were told to be nice, remember a pleasant event from the day before, give thanks or smile for 15 seconds twice a day．The volunteers did these activities for one week.
The result showed that thinking about one good thing that had happened the day before worked the best for making people happier.（146 words）The text may probably be taken from _____.
| A．a personal anecdote(轶事) | B．sports news |
| C．a history novel | D．brief news |
Volunteers who _____ began to feel happier right away.
| A．thought of something good that happened the day before |
| B．were asked to remember a pleasant event from the past 24 hours |
| C．did other activities like saying “thank you” and smiling |
| D．went online to try out a few different activities |
From the text we know that Richard Wiseman is a(an) _____.
| A．worker | B．artist | C．professor | D．director |
The best title may probably be _____.
| A．Thinking about yesterday’s happiness to be happy today |
| B．Making a study to make people happier and younger |
| C．Letting out a secret to live a longer life |
| D．Doing experiments to make people happier |
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