What’s in a name? Well, apparently, our general happiness. Psychologists say that what we are called has a direct connection with our well-being (幸福).
Those called Judy and Joshua are the happiest, while Lynn or Ben is likely to be the unhappiest, according to research. Psychologist Dr David Holmes found that this might due to the association(联想)that others made with the name. Hearing the name Judy may make them think of actress Judi Dench or TV presenter Judy Finnigan, people who are seen as good natured and happy. On the other hand, people think Paulines are unhappy because of the character Pauline Fowler from the TV programme East Enders. The research claims that this association influences the person with the name and so their personality becomes shaped to fit it. Dr David Holmes said, "This also has some relation with the original meaning of the name. For example, the original meaning of Judy is 'praised’."
Certain names also work well in certain aspects of life. In the workplace Richard and Judy are happiest, while those called Ruth and Carly are happiest in relationships. At the other end of the scale the unhappiest workers are Stuart and Liz, with the unhappiest in relationships being Frank and Harriet.
Dr Holmes said, "The relation we have with certain names, particularly important namesakes(同名者), also shapes how we see ourselves and so may have an effect on our confidence. Names are like product brands in having a powerful effect on attitudes and should therefore be chosen with care."
"Other names are connected with being brave, outgoing or serious. Therefore, many celebrities change their names to ones which reflect these characteristics. This, in turn, influences parents when they choose names for their babies," said Dr Holmes, "however, names connected with ordinary people are seldom chosen for their babies".
Which of the following is NOT a reason why Judy is a good name?
| A．The association people make with it. |
B．Its original meaning. |
C．The high number of famous people who are called Judy. |
D．The personalities of famous Judys. |
According to the passage, which of the following names are better?
| A．Ruth and Joshua. | B．Pauline and Frank. | C．Richard and Stuart. | D．Joshua and Ben. |
The reason why names should be chosen carefully is that___________.
| A．good names can make us succeed. |
B．names can affect how we see ourselves |
C．names can tell us what we should do |
D．good names can show others who we are |
The author may continue the passage with__________.
| A．names and product brands | B．famous people’s names |
C．parents ‘choices of baby names | D．names and personality |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．How to choose a good name for babies. |
B．How to achieve success by changing a good name. |
C．The relation between names and success. |
D．The relation between names and happiness. |
Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members don’t know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas．
It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends. Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone. This communication is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can discuss something. These things are difficult to tell their family members.
However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them. Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends. Have you ever thought of the following questions?
Who chooses your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?
Your answers are welcome.Many teenagers think that ____ can understand them better.
| A．friends | B．brothers | C．sisters | D．parents |
When teenagers have something difficult to tell their parents, they usually____
| A．stay alone at home | B．fight with their parents |
| C．discuss it with their friends | D．go to their brothers and sisters for help |
The underlined sentence “Your answers are welcome．” means _______．
| A．You are welcome to discuss the questions with us. |
| B．We have got no idea, so your answers are welcome. |
| C．Your answers are always right. |
| D．You can give us all the right answers. |
Which of the following is the writer’s attitude?
| A．Parents should choose friends for their children |
| B．Children should choose everything they like |
| C．Parents should understand their children better |
| D．Teenagers should only go to their friends for help |
Part of the purpose of this passage is to ___.
| A．give information for the parents to make their own judgment. |
| B．give advice to children who want to choose their friends. |
| C．help parents to find better friends for their children. |
| D．get some information from many readers. |
I got tired of living the life that everybody told me I “should” be living , so one day I decided to start living life on my own terms. Frustrated（挫败）with my job, I came home, put on my shoes, and just started running. It felt so good to be free. That first day I ended up running 30 miles without stopping. Yes, I had rediscovered my old passion ( 酷爱的事物) — and it felt so good I set a goal to support myself and my family from my running alone.
I trained hard every day. Since I wanted to be the best I could be, I knew I would have to set some clear goals for myself. A couple of my goals were: run a 135-mile ultra-marathon(超级马拉松) across Death Valley, win the Badwater Ultra-Marathon, and run a marathon to the South Pole.
I had no idea how I was going to achieve these goals, but they certainly encouraged me to work hard. Today, I am really grateful to say that I have achieved all of them. Shortly after completing these goals, I set another goal: to run fifty marathons, in fifty states, in fifty days. Nobody had done anything like this before. To be honest, I was not quite sure if I could. But there was only one way to find out…so I just started training and preparing to give it my best try.
I completed that goal one year ago, and it felt great! But for me, life is not all about achieving goals. Sure, it feels good to succeed, but the greatest reward for me was learning more about myself and what I was able to do.
Only by stepping out into the unknown and stretching(使倾注全力) ourselves can we really discover what our true potential(潜能) is。Why did the author decide to become a runner?
| A．He was out of work. |
| B．He wanted to treat his illness. |
| C．He wanted to live his dreams. |
| D．He suddenly found running interesting. |
Which played an important role in the author’s success?
| A．Setting goals | B．Learning from others. |
| C．Being honest | D．Keeping on reading . |
According to Paragraph 3, before achieving the goals the author felt _____________
| A．very grateful | B．not quite confident |
| C．quite afraid | D．not very satisfied |
What does the underlined part “that goal” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．Win the Badwater Ultra-Marathon. |
| B．Run a marathon to the South Pole. |
| C．Run fifty marathons, in fifty states, in fifty days. |
| D．Run a 135-mile ultra-marathon across Death Valley. |
The author probably agrees that____________.
| A．life means achieving goals |
| B．success is the greatest reward |
| C．sports help develop our potential |
| D．everyone may have great potential. |
My name is Chelsea Chowderhead. A chowder is a kind of soup. I was laughed at because of my last name as soon as I started school. So when my family moved to South Carolina, I asked my dad if I could change my name.
“You shouldn’t change who you are. Let people get to know you first and your name later. When you meet someone new, ask them a good question, something you’re really interested in. Once people start talking about themselves, they don’t judge(评价) you.”
Two days later I headed to my new school for the first day of class. At lunch, I noticed that there were twin brothers who were talking to each other. I remembered my dad’s advice, so I decided to try.
I noticed that their lunchboxes were identical. “What’s it like being a twin?” I asked.
They looked surprised. Then one said, “No one has ever asked us that!”
“Most of the time it’s good,” the other said. “When you’re a twin you always have someone to talk to and have lunch with.”
In no time we were laughing and talking. Then one of the brothers said, “I’m Nicholas, and this is my brother, Nathaniel. What’s your name?”
I took a deep breath and said, “I’m Chelsea Chowderhead.”
“Chowder? Like the soup?” asked Nathaniel.
“Yes,” I replied, looking down.
“Hey, cool! Do you want to come over after school and play basketball with us?” Nathaniel asked. I nodded.
And that is how I became friends with the twin brothers.Why did the writer want to change his name?
| A．People made fun of it. |
| B．He wanted to make more friends. |
| C．It was hard to remember. |
| D．He wanted to be cool in the new school. |
The writer’s father advised him to ____________.
| A．move to a new class | B．say hello to others |
| C．share his interests | D．ask good questions |
The underlined word “identical” in Paragraph 4 probably means _____________.
| A．same | B．beautiful | C．big | D．full |
When the twin brothers asked his name, the writer felt ________________.
| A．surprised | B．angry | C．nervous | D．proud |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．One can order a chowder in some restaurants. |
| B．The twins said hello to the writer first. |
| C．The twins also didn’t like the writer’s name. |
| D．At last the writer changed his name. |
Once a young man was in deep love with a girl. This man folded 1,000 pieces of paper cranes (纸鹤) as a gift to his girl. Although he was a small branch manager in a company, and his __1__ didn’t seem too bright, they were very __2__ together until one day, his girl told him she was going to Paris and would never come back. She also told him that she couldn’t see any future for both of them, “so let’s go our own __3__ from now on…” The young man was __4__, but he agreed.
When he regained his __5__, he worked hard day and night, just to make something out of himself. Finally with all the _6__ work, this man set up his own __7__.
One rainy day, while this man was __8__, he saw an elderly couple sharing an umbrella in the rain, walking to somewhere. He __9__ that they were his ex-girlfriend’s (前女友)parents, so he drove slowly beside the couple, wanting them to find him in his expensive car and to know that he had his own company, car, etc.
To the man’s surprise, the couple were walking towards a cemetery (墓地). He got out of his car and followed them. And there he saw his ex-girlfriend —a photograph of her __10__ as sweetly as ever at him from her tombstone, and those precious paper cranes in a glass bottle! He walked over and asked the couple why this had happened. They explained that __11__ she did not leave for France at all. She fell ill with cancer. In her heart, she had believed that he would __12_ some day. She didn’t want her __13__ to be his barrier(障碍). Therefore, she chose to leave him. She asked her __14__ to put his paper cranes beside her, because if the day comes when fate brings him to her again he can take some of those back with him.
The man just cried __15__. He was heartbroken once again.
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Ron Meyer is the president and COO（首席运营官） of Universal Studios．As one of the most successful business leaders in Hollywood, he heads up Universal Pictures and Universal Parks & Resorts．He's the guy who oversees the production of Multimillion-dollar extravaganzas（作品） like King Kong and Cinderella Man．
Meyer’s story sounds like the plot of one of his motion pictures．He grew up in a modest home where there was little income．It was a big deal to go to a restaurant．At 15, he quit high school and spent his time hanging out with the neighborhood toughs（流氓）．He was then a kid quick with his fists who seemed to get into fights somewhat regularly．At one point, he was separated from others with an infectious disease, having no TV and nothing to do．His mother sent him two books．One was The Amboy Dukes, a novel about kids in street gangs．The other was The Flesh Peddlers, about a guy in the talent agency（星探公司）who lived a successful life．“I realized,” he says, “that I was no longer that silly kid I had been, and I wanted to change my life．”
Meyer took any job he could get．He worked as a busboy and short-order cook．He cleaned offices and sold shoes．That attitude made an impression on people．One day he received a call from Paul Kohner, a successful agent who represented stars like John Huston, Charles Bronson and Lana Turner．Their messenger and driver had quit, and they knew Ron was willing to take whatever job they offered. He started the job the next day．
Meyer was lucky to work with a good boss―and he had the brains to make the most of that experience．In nearly six years of driving for Kohner, Meyer became his right-hand man and learned a lot．By the 1970s, Meyer had built many relationships in the business．In 1975, the fate presented an opportunity and he started his own operation Creative Artists Agency, which became a huge success, representing Hollywood legends like Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise．
Twenty years later, Meyer was appointed to run Universal Studios, a position far beyond his youthful dream．But once he saw success was possible, he was driven to achieve it．Today, colleagues regularly owe his success―and theirs―to his humility and perseverance．It’s a level of success that takes determination, personality and intelligence, whether it comes from a college education or from the street．What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How a bitter childhood contributes to one’s success． |
| B．It’s important to choose a right career to achieve one’s life goal． |
| C．A talent agency helps a person to become famous． |
| D．It’s people’s determination, intelligence and personality that decide their success． |
What does the author mean by saying “he had the brains to make the most of that experience”?
| A．He benefited a good deal from the experience． |
| B．He smartly took the opportunity to learn from the experience． |
| C．That experience made him ever smarter than ever before． |
| D．He used his brains to impress his boss． |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．A talent agency is to oversee the production of movies． |
| B．Ron Meyer did far more successfully than Raul Kohner． |
| C．Relationship is the most important thing in the film industry． |
| D．Meyer had never thought of being as successful as today． |
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