Maupassant（居·莫泊桑）was born in 1850 in northern France. His early life was not happy. His parents separated when he was 11. Most of his education came informally from Gustave Flaubert—his mother’s friend and his godfather, a journalist and novelist. Often Flaubert would let him take a walk and then ask him to write 100 lines about what he saw. This type of training developed in Maupassant a sense of observation, which he later put to use in his writing. Flaubert also allowed Maupassant to attend his Sunday gatherings with others in his literary circle
For a few years, Maupassant was connected with the Ministry of Public Instruction. It is interesting to note that Monsieur Loisel, a poor man character in The Necklace, worked there. He also served in the French army during the Franco-Prussian War. His favorite writing subjects were peasants, servants, in the city, and the Francd-Prussian War.
At an early age, Maupassant started writing short stories. In 1880, some of his works were published and he received a wide reputation for Boule de Suif (Ball of Tallow). With this success, he began to work full-time on writing. During the next ten years, he wrote over 300 stories, including six novels, three travel books, and a book of verse. Through them, he earn a lot of money.
His writing was classical and simple, avoiding social comments and dirty details. His works often showed a real world and an accurate knowledge of the subject. Although Maupassant wrote in many forms, he received widest recognition for his short stories. By 1890, Maupassant was suffering from the latter staged of syphilis（梅毒）. He died in 1893 in Paris. Which of the following is TRUE about Gustave Flaubert?
| A．He often went out for a walk with Maupassant. |
| B．He was a journalist and novelist working for church. |
| C．He had a great influence on Maupassant’s writing.. |
| D．He often helped Maupassant with his writing homework. |
From text we know Monsieur Loisel is _______.
| A．a man selling necklaces |
| B．a character in one of Maupassant’s works. |
C．a short story  written by Maupassant |
| D．a friend of Maupassant the Ministry of Public Instruction |
What are the characteristics of Maupassant’s stories?
| A．They have few social comments. |
| B．They are simple and humorous. |
| C．They only focus on the lives of peasants. |
| D．They are full of imagination. |
What can we learn about Maupassant from the text?
| A．Only in his 30s did he begin to write stories. |
| B．He did not received any formal education. |
| C．He spent his last years happily. |
| D．Boule de Suif was his first success. |
I was working with a client who was completely burned out on her career and life and then ready for a career change. As we were talking, she said, “I just wish I had meaningful work. I don’t feel like I am making a difference. I am just wasting my life.” This is the theme I hear most often from clients who have been in the workforce awhile.All of us want to feel like we are making a difference. We want to believe our work means something. The problem comes in defining “meaningful work”. What is it? That answer is different for everyone. For some meaningful work might be helping others organize their office. For others it may mean making a million dollars.
What really matters is how you see it. What is meaningful work to you? Take out a piece of paper and answer these questions. How do you define meaningful work? When do you feel like you are really making a difference? What work have you done so far that feels the most meaningful? Write down whatever comes to mind.
What you want to do is meaningful. It is very easy to start judging yourself as being selfish. Stop! Allow yourself to be honest. The fact is when Picasso painted; he was doing it because he liked to paint. He was not thinking, “Oh, I
hope this brings joy to others’ lives.” He painted because he wanted to. When Beethoven composed, he did it because he loved music. Even scientists searching for a c
ure for cancer are immersed in their work because it fascinates them.
Don’t look down on your work. It is easy to downplay the impor
tance of work that feels meaningful. I remember Tony Robbins told a story of talking with the owner of a major company. The man said to Tony, “I wish I could do what you do because it makes
such adifference in people’s lives”. Tony said, “You have got to be kidding! Look at what adifference you make. You provide work, health insurance and security for thousands ofpeople!” Don’t underestimate the value you provide.
Take a look at what you have written about meaningful work. Do you see any themes? How do you wish to contribute to this world? Whatever you choose, remember that the greatest gift you can give is to find work that makes you feel fulfilled and delighted. Respect your preference because giving your gifts to the world, whatever they look like, is the most meaningful action you can ever take.What does the writer mean by mentioning the famous people?
| A．Famous people are selfish to start work for themselves. |
| B．Doing meaningful work requires our interest in it. |
| C．Interest is the best teacher in learning. |
| D．Honesty makes for the greatest people. |
When you downplay the value of your work, you tend to think it is ______.
| A．quite different | B．very successful | C．not meaningful | D．less important |
According to the passage, what meaningful job does the writer advise us to take?
| A．The one which is popular in society. | B．The one which brings you profits. |
| C．The one which wins you fame. | D．The one which interests you |
The article is intended to ________.
| A．explain what is the most important in changing one’s job |
| B．advise taking an immediate action to find meaningful work |
| C．suggest we should show confidence and talent in work |
| D．tell us the problem that the author’s client met |
There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown. They probably came about just to give children something to do.
In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another. In societies where social roles are strictly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers.This is 
true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world.
What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same. The changes have been mostly in terms of skill, mechanics, and technology. It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their insistence to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the US, China,Japan and among the Arctic peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys reflect their surroundings.Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles.
Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been affected by technological quick development that characterize inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the ox-cart to the automobile is a direct line of ahievement. The progress from a rattle(拨浪鼓) used by a baby in 3000 BC to one used by a baby today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness. Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of times and subject to the limtations of available 
materials. The reason why the toys most boys play with are different from those that girls play with is that_________.
| A．their social roles are strictly determined |
| B．most boys would like to follow their fathers’ professions |
| C．boys like to play with their fathers while girls with their mothers |
| D．they like challenging activities |
Which of the following is the author’s view on the historical development of toys？
A．The making skills in toys has remained essentially uncha nged. |
| B．Toys have remained basically the same all through the centuries. |
| C．The toy industry has witnessed great improvement in technology in recent years. |
| D．Toys are playing an increasingly important role in shaping a child’s character. |
Regarded as a kind of art form, toys________.
| A．follow a direct line of achievement |
| B．also appeal greatly to adults |
| C．are not characterized by technological progress |
| D．reflect the pace of social progress |
The author uses the example of a rattle to show that________.
| A．in toy-making there is a continuity in the use of materials |
| B．even the simplest toys can reflect the progress of technology |
C．it often ta kes a long time to introduce new technology into toy-making |
| D．even a simple toy can mirror the artistic tastes of the time |
In only two decades Asian Am
ericans have become the fastest-growing US minority. As their children began moving up through the nation’s schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was forming. Their achievements are reflected in the nation’s best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character. This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their educations abroad arrived in the US with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English.They are also influenced by the promises of a good job after college. Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively. And the return on the investment in education is more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree.
Most Asian-American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer. An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and it helps. Many researchers also believe the
re is something in Asian culture that causes success, such as ideals that stress family values and emphasize education.
Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial image. Many can remember when Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants were the victims of social separation. Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship. While making great achievements at college, Asian-American students ________.
| A．feel they are mistreated because of limited knowledge of English |
| B．are afraid that their academic successes bear a strong Asian character |
| C．still worry about unfair treatment in academic areas |
| D．generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents |
What are the major factors that determine the success of Asian Americans?
| A．Solid foundation in basic mathematics and Asian culture. |
| B．Hard work and intelligence. |
| C．Hard work and a limited knowledge of English. |
| D．Asian culture and the American educational system. |
Few Asian-American students major in human sciences mainly because_________.
| A．their English is not good enough |
| B．they are afraid they might meet with unfair judgment in these areas |
| C．there is a wide difference between Asian and Western cultures |
| D．they know little about American culture and society |
The author’s tone in this passage is __________.
| A．sympathetic | B．doubtful | C．critical | D．objective |
The small coastal town of Broome, in northwest Australia, is a remote village in the vast countryside.
There are no traffic jams and hardly any roads. There is only the massive Australian wild land, where some houses are 500 miles apart and some driveways are 50 miles long.
There seem to be only two main sources of entertainment out here: the sunset at the beach and Sun Pictures.
Sun Pictures is a very different movie theater：The seats are park benches and deck chairs, but you’re also welcome to sit on the grass.
It is the world’s oldest outdoor movie garden. Sun Pictures was built in 1916 on the other side of the globe from Hollywood. All the big films were shipped here and the lonely country was amazed.
Broome resident Pearl Hamaguchi has never traveled far from home. But in the Sun Pictures chairs, under the deep blue night sky, she has been almost everywhere.
“And we came back excited about Gregory Peck,” she recalled.
This is one of the few places left in the world where you can see two sets of stars at the same time-----one set in the sky, the other in the film.
Each night, dozens of people from around the world line up at the old wooden stand, with no computer in sight, and buy their tickets to the latest films.
Sun Pictures is also a museum, exhibiting projectors(放映机) that date back to the silent films, a portrait gallery of the famous people who never knew about this place---- even though they came here all the time.
Every once in a while, I’m told, you might find a non-ticket holder in your
seat. That’s why it’s always a good idea to shake out your chair to make sure there are no spiders or scorpions.
“We’ve only had a couple of scorpion incidents but no one’s been stung yet,” said Aaron Mestemaker, a tourist visi
ting from Michigan.
Sun Pictures is a holy hall of movie history and a reminder that air conditioning and carpet are no match for grass and fresh air---even when the lizards steal the scene.The first two paragraphs want to show that__________.
| A．living in Broome is inconvenient | B．the life in Broome is boring |
| C．few people like to live in Broome | D．Broome is simple but vast |
Sun Pictures is different from other theaters because _________.
| A．it is the most historical outdoor theater in the world |
| B．the audience can either sit on chairs or on the grass |
| C．it was built by some constructor from Hollywood |
| D．all the films were imported here from Hollywood |
Gregory Peck is most probably the name of_________.
| A．a place | B．a film | C．a movie star | D．a country fellow |
It can be inferred that the tourists in Broome are most attracted by ________.
| A．its peacefulness | B．its beautiful sunset |
| C．the Sun Pictures | D．the gallery of mo vie stars |
Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing. Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits. When you think of forgiveness, you probably don’t think of it as being a health or medical problem. Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can change your well-being.
When cartoon book characters like the Incredible Hulk get angry, they change colours and often gain special power. In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous. That’s why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, says holding on to anger and hatred can harm your physical and mental health. Two new studies seem to show the same idea.
The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression. They also have fewer headaches, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping.
So it doesn’t matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or other things. Learning to let it go is important. Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help. Or just ask yourself if it’s worth hurting yourself by staying angry with someone else.
Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it’s OK. Instead, it’s a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past. The author of the passage tries to make his viewpoint clear ______.
| A．by raising his own examples | B．based on his own experience |
| C．by mentioning some studies | D．by mentioning some typical patients |
The example of the cartoon book characters is taken in the passage to______.
| A．support the viewpoint that anger and hatred harm physical and mental health |
| B．introduce a famous expert |
| C．let the reader know the different colours of cartoon faces |
| D．show how to control one’s temper |
The underlined phrase“holding on to”in this passage possibly means“______”.
| A．removing | B．keeping up | C．getting rid of | D．learning about |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in this passage?
| A．People who are able to forgive feel less stress. |
| B．People who are able to forgive feel less depression. |
| C．People who are able to forgive have fewer problems on sleeping. |
| D．People who are able to forgive feel less tired. |
The best title for this passage is probably _______.
| A．Forgiveness | B．Forgiveness Is Good for Health |
| C．A Secret to Keeping Health | D．Anger Is Bad for Health |
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