I went on line to check if my pay was in my bank account（账户）. To my amazement I discovered that not only had I been paid, but a company I’d never worked for had also paid me! I know I would have been beside myself (情绪失控) if my own salary was not in my account, so I tried to get the money back to the right person. Easier said than done.
The bank couldn’t help as it “wasn’t a bank problem.” The human-resource department at the company that paid me was unable to help as I didn’t have enough details. I rang the bank again. Thankfully I had a sympathetic call operator who gave me a name, so I again rang the company “Daniel” worked for.
I expected the bank would contact me to arrange to take the money from my account and repay Daniel. I heard nothing for a month and the money remained in my account when Daniel called, explaining he’d tried to get back his money but had been unsuccessful as neither the bank nor his company felt it was their error. He had rung to ask if I could speak to the bank, but after chatting for a few minutes we realized we could probably fix this problem ourselves.
We decided I would take the money from my account and he would pick it up from me. Due to my busy job I was unable to meet Daniel personally but he left me a lovely bottle of wine in exchange for what was rightfully his. I never had any intention of keeping Daniel’s pay but red tape（繁琐手续）made it difficult to do the right thing. It all came down to two people being able to do what a huge bank and a large company couldn’t do — admit a mistake has occurred and fix it.What was the attitude of the author towards the extra money in his bank account?
| A．He didn’t know what to do with it. | B．He felt lucky to get it. |
| C．He thought of keeping it for himself. | D．He wanted to return it to the right person. |
How was the problem solved in the end?
| A．The author and Daniel solved the problem themselves. |
| B．It cost Daniel a lovely bottle of wine to get back his money. |
| C．The author gave the money back to the company. |
| D．The call operator offered to solve their problem. |
From the passage we can infer that _________.
| A．the bank could solve the problem soon and easily with the red tape |
| B．some large organizations usually have troublesome official rules |
| C．Daniel didn’t know the error until he contacted the author |
| D．it was easy for a company to have a mistake which had occurred fixed |
I had an experience once which taught me something about the ways people made a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I officiated(主持) at two funerals for two elderly women. Both died a natural death. At the first home, the son of the deceased(已故) woman said, “If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son said, “If only I had not insisted her going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride was more than she could take. It is my fault.”
When things don’t turn out as we would like them to, we tend to assume that had we done things differently, the story would have had a happier ending. Any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course, for example, keeping mother at home, would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
There seem to be elements involved in our readiness to feel guilty. The first lies in our belief that the world makes sense——there is a reason for everything that happens.
The second is the thought that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood. A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and calls the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely abandon that childish thought that our wishes cause things to happen. What is true about the two deceased elderly women?
| A．They died from accidents. |
| B．They both died of old age. |
| C．They died due to lack of care by family members. |
| D．They weren’t accustomed to the change in life. |
People feel guilty for the death of their loved ones because______.
| A．they cannot find a better way to express their sorrow |
| B．they don’t know that natural course of events |
| C．they believe that it is their fault |
| D．they don’t know things often turn out in the opposite direction |
People have believed since early childhood that .
| A． everybody is at their command |
| B． life and death is an unsolved mystery |
| C． every story should have a happy ending |
| D． their wishes are the cause of everything that happens |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A． Two sons blamed themselves for their mother's death. |
| B． Things don't always go well as we expect. |
| C． Two factors account for guilty sense. |
| D．Baby's wishes lead everything to happen. |
Fortunately, I've been able to avoid the traffic jam brought by presidential visits because ! don't have to commute anywhere. Barack Obama visited Los Angeles recently which paralyzed large sections of a city and you could almost hear the collective pain of unhappy commuters.
I am among the l0 percent of people in the US that regularly work from home. You could include Obama among them, although I suspect his working area in the White House is better-equipped than my small space on to the back of the garage. He also probably doesn't have a problem with three little kids interrupting his phone calls or bursting into his office at inappropriate moments.
Every day there they are, knocking on my window and peering inside, as if looking at an animal in a zoo. Once, a telephone interview I was doing with the former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was interrupted by my older son, then three years old, and completely naked "Ahaaar!" he shouted to my face. "What was that?" said Schwarzenegger. I stammered(结巴地说出) something about the joys of children and silently managed to shoo the boy out of the room without putting down the phone.
I shouldn't complain. I no longer have to stand having someone's armpit(腋窝) being pressed into my face on a crowded train and home status means ! should be a more productive worker although working from home could also lead to "avoiding duties from home". I would argue that a bigger problem is going nuts: Staring at the same walls every day and not going anywhere can do strange things to a person.
I realized I had to get out of the house at least once a day to avoid turning into an unshaven and unshoweredrecluse(隐士) who was still in his pyjamas at dinner time. I would work for an hour or so in a local coffee shop but, like most routine, this became boring because I would constantly see the same faces: Screenwriters poring over screenplays, elderly women heading to the yoga studio next door and hordes of overweight middle-aged male cycling by.
And yet here I am several years later, still working from home consciously and, I'm happy to report, not sitting at my desk in my pyjamas. Not since last Tuesday, anyway.The author may agree that __
| A．it's a bad decision to work from home |
| B．presidential visits bring inconvenience to the locals |
| C．if a person wants to be more productive, he must work from home |
| D．the former California governor was angry at the interruption during the interview |
The incident of three-year-old son is described to prove that___
| A．working from home has some drawbacks |
| B．working from home is a pleasant experience |
| C．Barack Obama has better working conditions than the author |
| D．it's unfortunate for the author to have a naughty boy |
The reason why the author goes to the coffee shop is that __
| A．he wants to get familiar with the people around |
| B．he doesn't like working in his pyjamas at home |
| C．he becomes bored with being a commuter |
| D．he needs some changes to get relaxation |
The whole passage suggests that __
| A．the author has to work from home |
| B．any routine definitely means boredom |
| C．the author is a humorous person |
| D．working from home contributes to avoiding duties |
While Andrew was getting ready for work one Friday morning, he announced to his wife that he had finally decided to ask his boss for a salary raise. All day Andrew felt nervous and anxious as he thought about the upcoming showdown. What if Mr. Larchmont refused to grant his request? Andrew had worked so hard in the last 18 months and landed some great accounts for Braer and Hopkins Advertising Agency. Of course, he deserved a wage increase.
The thought of walking into Larchmont’s office left Andrew weak in the knees. Late in the afternoon he was finally courageous enough to approach his superior. To his delight and surprise, the ever frugal Harvey Larchmont agreed to give Andrew a raise!
Andrew arrived home that evening—despite breaking all city and state speed limits—to a beautiful table set with their best china, and candles lit. His wife, Tina, had prepared a delicate meal including his favorite dishes. Immediately he figured someone from the office had tipped her off!
Next to his plate Andrew found a beautiful lettered note. It was from his wife. It read: “Congratulations, my love! I knew you’d get the raise! I prepared this dinner to show just how much I love you. I am so proud of your accomplishments!” He read it and stopped to reflect on how sensitive and caring Tina was.
After dinner, Andrew was on his way to the kitchen to get dessert when he observed that a second card had slipped out of Tina’s pocket onto the floor. He bent forward to pick it up. It read: “Don’t worry about not getting the raise! You do deserve one! You are a wonderful provider and I prepared this dinner to show you just how much I love you even though you did not get the increase.”
Suddenly tears swelled in Andrew’s eyes. Total acceptance! Tina’s support for him was not conditional upon his success at work.
The fear of rejection is often softened and we can undergo almost any setback or rejection when we know someone loves us regardless of our success or failure. What was Andrew’s plan that Friday?
| A．To request a wage increase from his boss. |
| B．To land some great accounts for the company. |
| C．To celebrate his success with his wife at home. |
| D．To get a job in the Braer and Hopkins Advertising Agency. |
The underlined word “frugal” in Paragraph 2 most probably means “_________”.
| A．wasteful | B．simple | C．economical | D．effective |
Why did Tina prepare a grand dinner for Andrew that day?
| A．She was confident of his getting a pay raise. |
| B．She meant to show her support whatever the result would be. |
| C．She believed that her husband was the best in his company. |
| D．She wanted to express her gratitude for his devotion to the family. |
We can conclude from the text that ______.
| A．many fears turn out to be unfounded |
| B．work hard and you will be rewarded |
| C．we should never be afraid to ask for what is due to us |
| D．unconditional love brings courage and strength |
I work in a busy Emergency Room( E. R. ) . This weekend, I had a patient who was very nervousand paranoid.
After looking at his chart, I saw that he was seeking treatment for alcoholism. There is an immediate prejudice against substance abuse in my E. R. One -we do not have a detox(戒酒) facility.The people seeking treatment for addiction are sometimes looked down on as being less worthy of treatment than other serious physical " ailments" .
At first glance, I found out that the man was now somewhere in his mid-thirties, was very weak and had a generally aggressive character. He could not sit still and had a cough. He had not had a drink in four days. His hands were shaking and there was a scared look in his eyes.
He told me that he began drinking about age 11 when his mother supplied him with it. He had tried to quit many times before but had not been able to." So . what's different this time ?"I asked.
"Because I'm starting to be mean to the people I love, but now I don't want to be. I ca:n see that I'm changing into something else. "
That answer helped change my attitude toward him. I could see the pain behind his eyes. Behind the appearance, there was a terrified person whose goodness was being claimed by the alcohol. He was desperate for help, but not so sure that his condition could be changed.
I, thank this man for showing me that the goodness is dressed in all sorts of disguises(伪装) . Sometimes we have to undress it. It's worth doing. My patient was admitted to the hospital for help ,despite us not having a detox facility. What does the underlined word " ailments" me
| A． build | B． energy | C．illness | D． ability |
How long has the man been drinking?
| A．20 years | B． 11 years | C． Over 30 years | D． Over 20 years |
From the passage we know that___ .
| A．The patient was refused mainly for the hospital's lack of equipment |
| B．The patient once didn't want to treat the people he loved kindly |
| C．The patient was strong and brave at first glance |
| D．The patient once succeeded in giving up drinking alcohol |
What conclusion can we draw from the passage?
| A．Where there is a will, there's a way. |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| C． Never judge a book by its cover. |
| D．Good is rewarded with good. |
It has become the modern substitute of glancing at your watch—the furtive(偷偷的)look at a phone screen to check for new messages or have a quick look at Facebook．Researchers have now found why we often feel such a strong urge to glance at our handset．Using your mobile，they say，is easily affected by other people．
A University of Michigan team say people are twice as likely to pull out their phones to check their messages or emails if they’re with someone who has just done the same．It also found that females were more likely to use their mobile than men because it was more ‘consistent’ with the daily lives of women．
The team watched students in dining halls and coffee shops around campus，observing pairs of students sitting at tables for as long as 20 minutes and recorded their cellphone use at 1 0-second intervals．
“What we found most interesting was just how often people were using their mobile phones，” Dr Daniel Kruger， the study’s co-author, said．“Every person we observed used his／her phone at least once while one woman was on hers about half of the time．You may see others checking their incoming messages and be encouraged to check your own．’’
Overall，the students used their cellphones in an average of 24 percent，the researchers found．But they were significantly more likely to use their phones(39．5 percent)when their companion had just done so in the previous 10-second interval than without the social clue，the researchers said，adding that this behavior was often repeated．
Cell phones create an alternative way for one’s attention and may both promote and interrupt ongoing social activities，the researchers wrote．
Kruger believes this pattern could be related to the effects of social acceptance and rejection．If one person in a pair engages in another conversation through their phone，his or her companion may feel rejected．That companion then might be forced to connect with others from outside so as not to feel left out．People’s strong desire to check their messages partly results from ___________．
| A．the modern substitute of their watches |
| B．the new messages of their handsets |
| C．the same behavior of other people |
| D．the update service of Facebook |
Why do women use their phones more frequently?
| A．They want to show off their modern mobiles． |
| B．They are more likely to be influenced by others． |
| C．They try to set a good example for others． |
| D．They desire to meet the demands of society． |
How might one feel when his companion is busy checking messages?
| A．Relaxed． | B．Ashamed． |
| C．Surprised． | D．Ignored． |
The underlined part“this behavior” in Paragraph 5 refers to _______________．
| A．using the cellphones | B．receiving social clues |
| C．joining in activities | D．engaging in conversations |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Social Acceptance And Rejection |
| B．Females Use Mobiles More than Men |
| C．How Do People Check Messages? |
| D．Cellphone Use Is Spreading |
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