“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity,” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’s probably worth listening to.
Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’re a Chinese, you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump(树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.
A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’s not about going to a temple to burn some incense(香) hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’s practical advice you can follow each day.
Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups; those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper,” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.
It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”, in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.
I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners, my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman’s studies I think not.
As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem.
Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’s point?
| A．Make the best of a bad job. |
| B．Rome was not built in a day. |
| C．All is not gold that glitters. |
| D．A good heart conquers ill fortune. |
What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?
| A．She became famous through her family background. |
| B．She is a British talk show host. |
| C．She became successful by her own effort. |
| D．She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks in her life. |
The writer quoted the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show __________.
| A．man can conquer nature |
| B．luck is in your own hand |
| C．bad luck can turn into good |
| D．you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you |
Struggling in the US? Move to China!
I graduated from the university with a degree of civil engineering. It is a good field but my heart was not in it. I wanted to be an actor or work in the entertainment industry…living a creative life. My choice of civil engineering was really a mistake but I realized too late. As soon as I graduated, I moved straight to Los Angeles—the home of the film and television industry!
For three years, I tried to get a job in that field. I often worked as an extra in movies and TV shows—standing in the background while actors are in the foreground. This was fun for a while, but I wanted a real acting job, where I was speaking! Sadly, in Los Angeles, there is too much competition. Every race and age is represented: old, young, black, white, Asian and thousands of blondish-red haired Midwestern types like me. Being an extra couldn’t make enough money for me to live in Los Angeles. I had to do something else for money.
After three years of trying, I gave up my dream of being an actor and started a different career. I then tried network-marketing, but in the end, that failed. Seven years after graduating college, I was still in debt, still searching for a satisfactory life. I decided to go back to civil engineering.
However, I was starting to get very disappointed with my life. Why is life not like what I expected? I expected to have made a lot of money, gotten married, with a house and nice cars, kids, time freedom, etc. Millions of people lead lives with their dreams shelved, existing but not really living. I want my life to be different, more satisfactory, more alive. America was not providing that for me…
In addition, America was too expensive—always worrying about money was a headache. I wanted a life filled with adventure, romance, friendships, successes, and dreams realized.
…
I decided to move to China.
69．How can we describe the writer’s attitude toward life?
A．Practical B．Passive C．Disappointed D．Positive
70．What does the underlined sentence mean?
A．A lot of people are living but they are not enjoying their life.
B．A lot of people are living with dreams though their life is not that enjoyable.
C．A lot of people give up their dreams and yet are living a good life.
D．A lot of people don’t have dreams, nor do they want to live either.
71．What did the writer do before he finally decided to move to China?
A．Engineer→extra→marketing→engineer
B．Extra→marketing→engineer
C．Engineer→extra→marketing
D．Extra→engineer→marketing
72．What can we infer from the passage?
A．Life is easier in the US.
B．Life in China is not easy.
C．There is always somewhere in the world where you can enjoy life.
D．More Americans will move to China.
Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut.” Joanna noted.
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. ”She used to cuddle up with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which.”
Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “ In fact, parents are first on the list.” Said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years.” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”
Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.
65．“The door to his room is always shut” suggests that the son________.
A．is always busy with his studies
B．doesn’t want to be disturbed
C．keeps himself away from his parents
D．begins to dislike his parents
66．What troubles Tina and Mark most is that_______
A．their daughter isn’t as lovely as before
B．they can’t read their daughter’s mind exactly
C．they don’t know what to say to their daughter
D．their daughter talks with them only when she needs help
67．Which of the following best explains ”the wall of silence” in the last paragraph?
A．Teenagers talk a lot with their friends.
B．Teenagers do not want to understand their parents.
C．Teenagers do not talk much with their parents.
D．Teenagers talk little about their own lives.
68．What can be learned from the passage?
A．Parents are unhappy with their growing children.
B．Parents have suitable ways to talk with their teenagers.
C．Parents should be patient with their silent teenagers.
D．Parent should try to understand their teenagers.
“Lately, I have been feeling very stressed and easily lose my temper at people around me,” said Susan Huang. Her troubles are typical of someone her age, according to a survey by the Chinese Academy of Science’s Psychology Institute. In 2000, the institute’s researchers began surveying close to 8,000 people nationwide. People were studied in relation to the pressures they felt during periods of transition.
The results of the survey were released last week, and they make for the interesting reading. For example, people used to take for granted that the older they were, the more pressure they felt.
But, surprisingly, the results have shown that young people in their twenties are the most stressed. This is because young people are forming their values at a time when Chinese society is undergoing great changes, explained Chen Long, a member of the survey team.
“Society is changing and neither their parents nor their teachers can teach them enough to know how to cope with it,” Chen said. Some of them get anxious from the overwhelming amount of information in the wired world, Chen added.
Another problem is that the economic reforms have forced people to develop a more competitive attitude. Those surveyors said they felt more pressure from heavier work-loads, increased peer competition, and greater responsibilities.
Medical disputes and business activities increasingly find their way into people’s free time and simply add to their stress, the survey showed.
Then there is the pressure to achieve more also weighing heavily on people. This is particularly true for those with higher education. Those people really want to acquire new knowledge and use their ability to get ahead and get more out of society.
The researchers hope their survey will throw some light on the state of mental health among the Chinese during this period of major economic and political reforms.
61．Which of the following is one of the reasons for the pressures people felt?
A．people are forming their values.
B．Chinese society is not undergoing a period of transition.
C．The economic reforms have forced young people to develop a more competitive attitude.
D．People with higher education really want to achieve more.
62．What does the underlined word “they” refer to?
A．People getting stressed. B．The results of the survey.
C．Periods of transition. D．The researchers.
63．According to Huang, people with pressure are likely to ____.
A．form their values B．achieve more out of society
C．lose their temper D．make for interesting reading
64．The purpose of the author in writing this article is to ____.
A．share the state of people with pressure
B．tell us how to deal better with pressure
C．advise people to develop an active attitude to life
D．attract more attention to people’s mental health
How did Ancient People Tell Time?
Natural ways of keeping time．
In ancient time, people had to use the sun and the moon to tell time. They got up when the sun came up and worked in the fields until the sun went down．
Man-made things
The sand c1ock is made of two glass balls joined by a narrow neck．The
top ball was filled with sand．The sand slowly moved through the neck into the bottom ball．People knew how much time had passed when all the sand had fallen to the bottom ball．
People also made the water clock．They made a small hole near the bottom of a pot．Then they filled the pot with water．Markings inside the pot showed how much time passed as the water dripped(滴)out of the hole．
Nature’s C1ocks in Living Things
Animals’ Body Clock
Animals do not need clocks to know time．They have a way of telling time by their bodies．Birds know when to fly to warmer places before winter．some animals know when to keep more food for the cold winter months．Some fish know when it is time to move up the river and lay eggs．
Plants have their own clocks
Plants also have their own clocks to keep time．Plants know when to open flowers or when to drop their leaves．
The Body Clock in Human Beings
People also have their own body clocks．When we get used to our lives，our body clocks can be very accurate．It can tell us when it is time to wake up．It can also tell us when to eat or to go to sleep.
68．How could an ancient farmer know when to go back home from the field in the daytime?
A．By looking at the stars． B．By looking at the moon．
C．By looking at the sun． D．By feeling whether tired or not．
69．In what way is the sand clock the same as the water clock in telling time?
A．Both of them have a neck． B．Both of them have two glass balls．
C．Both of them can be used only once． D．Both of them give the time by quantity．
70．What is the best title for the whole passage?
A．Man—made clocks B．Nature’s clocks C．Time and clock D．How people keep time
Not long ago, people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old. Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life.
Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment. They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other human beings.
One study shows that babies can learn before they are born. The researchers placed a tape recorder on the stomach of a pregnant woman. Then, they played a recording of a short story. On the day the baby was born, the researchers attempted to find if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while in his mother. They did this by placing a device in the mouth of the newborn baby.
The baby would hear the story if he moved his mouth one way. If the baby moved his mouth the other way, he would hear a different story. The researchers say the baby clearly liked the story he heard before he was born. They say the baby would move his mouth so he could hear the story again and again.
Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children.
Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years. The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children’s activities and did not interfere unnecessarily. They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old. Also, the researchers observed the women for signs of depression.
The children of depressed women did not do as well in tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear.
These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people. The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence development of their children. Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression.
64. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the factor that influences intelligence development in babies?
A. The environment. B. Mother’s sensitivity.
C. Their peers(同龄人) D. Education before birth.
65. What is the purpose of the experiment in which newborn babies heard the stories?
A. To prove that babies can learn before they are born.
B. To prove that babies can learn on the first day they are born.
C. To show mothers can strongly influence intelligence development in their babies.
D. To indicate early education has a deep effect on the babies’ language skills.
66. Which group of children did the worst in tests of language skills?
A. The children of depressed mothers who cared little for their children.
B. The children of women who did not suffer from depression.
C. The children of depressed but caring mothers.
D. Children with high communication abilities.
67. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Scientific findings about how babies develop before birth.
B. Scientific findings about how the environment has an effect on babies’ intelligence.
C. A study shows babies are not able to learn things until they are rice or six months old.
D. Scientific findings about how intelligence develops in babies.
粤公网安备 44130202000953号