Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud. As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked!
Yet I did nothing for the attack. It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing. And I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain. For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused. I wasn't sure what to do. After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying.
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake , even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.
Since then, I've used that butterfly’s courage as an inspiration and to remind myself that good things are worth fighting for.The writer changed his direction while walking down a path because he want__________.
| A．To get close to a butterfly. | B．To escape a sudden attack. |
| C．To look over the bad situation. | D．To avoid getting his shoes dirty. |
What made the man feel funny?
| A．Making the attacker pause. | B．Being stepped on by his mate. |
| C．Discovering the angry butterfly. | D．Being attacked by a butterfly. |
Which of the following words can best describe the butterfly?
A. careless B. amusing D. aggressive D. courageousFrom this experience the man learned_____.
| A．how he should deal with attacks |
| B．how to deal with challenges in his life |
| C．people should protect butterflies |
| D．people should show sympathy to the weak |
“It's really cool to have a dad who flies fighter jets,”thought 11-year-old Casey as she was watching him fly overhead.
Living on an Air Force base was not as bad as some people might think. Casey rather enjoyed being around friends who had something in common with each other. They had their own school, bowling area, and movie theatre. She especially loved it when her dad would come home each day and greet her with a new joke and tickles.
Today was different, though. When her dad walked into the room, he looked sad for some reason. He just kissed her on the forehead and told her mum that he needed to talk to her. Casey knew something was wrong.
When her mum and dad came out of the other room, mum was crying. Dad sat down and began to explain that he has been called to go to Iraq to help with the war effort. Casey was so surprised that she couldn't speak for a moment. She began to feel tears in her eyes. How could she live without her dad for a whole year?
Soon, the day came. Her dad was leaving. As Casey and her mom watched him climb up the steps to his cockpit, the tears began to flow and it felt like they would never end. It was hard for Casey to believe that she wouldn't be seeing her dad for so long. They depended on him for so many things. Who would fix the broken window? Who would greet her with jokes and tickles at the end of the day? And then the thought hit her, “ What if he doesn’t make it home?” Casey began to sob more than ever.According to the story, one thing Casey enjoyed on the base was that ___________.
| A．there was a friendly girl of her age living next door |
| B．she could travel around in her father’s jet |
| C．her friends had something in common with her |
| D．her dad was going to fight abroad |
Casey knew something was wrong from all the following EXCERT___________.
| A．her dad’s sad look |
| B．her dad’s joke |
| C．her dad’s simple kissing |
| D．her parents’ talking without her |
What does the underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．Wars. | B．Days. | C．Difficulties | D．Tears |
What can we know from the story?
| A．Casey’s dad volunteered to help with the war. |
| B．Casey’s parents didn’t let her know the truth. |
| C．Casey’s dad amused her in the morning usually. |
| D．Children living on the base could see movies in their theater. |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．Casey was worried that hey couldn’t live without her father. |
| B．Casey saw her father off at the airport. |
| C．Casey’s dad looked sad. |
| D．Casey’s father left home. |
Beauty has always been regarded as something admirable. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal consultants (顾问) give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive persons. But in the executive circle (政界), beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive thing for a man’s rise, it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to be the reasons for their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck. All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives.
Why are attractive woman not thought to be able? An attractive woman is thought to be more feminine (女性的) and an attractive man more masculine (男性的) than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally masculine position appears to lack the "masculine" qualities required.
This is true even in politics. Anne Bowman recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates (候选人). She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked lo rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the woman who had been ranked most attractive always received the fewest votes.In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness _____.
| A．strengthens the feminine qualities required |
| B．makes women look more honest and capable |
| C．is of great importance to women |
| D．often enables women to succeed quickly |
Bowman’s experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness _____.
| A．turns out to be an obstacle to men |
| B．affects men and women alike |
| C．has as little effect on men as on women |
| D．is more of an obstacle than a benefit to women |
It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often _____.
| A．practical | B．old-fashioned | C．prejudiced (偏见的) | D．serious |
The author writes this passage to _____.
| A．discuss the negative aspects of being attractive |
| B．give advice to job-seekers who are attractive |
| C．demand equal rights for women |
| D．emphasize the importance of appearance |
As the world watched the twin towers of the World Trade Center come under attack, a common phrase was repeated:” It looks like a movie.”
But this time there was no superman to save the people or the famous building. The attack destroyed one of the world's highest skyscrapers and left 5,000 people dead or missing.
Movie fans have become used to such events after years of Hollywood films showing disasters, terrorism and danger. The Empire State Building, the White House, New York City and even the American president himself have all been threatened(威胁) by terrorist attacks in these exciting films. The film” True Lies”, released in 1994, is considered to be a good example of this kind of movie. The special effects, including explosions and missiles, make the action look like a real thing.
“Independence Day” in 1996 took this type of movie one step further by blowing up the White House. This science fiction(科幻) movie is about a war between human beings and aliens from another planet. In the movie, the World Trade Center towers are destroyed.
Violence has become a major part of Hollywood movies. And this is what people enjoy. Soon after the attacks, many famous film companies stopped the planned releases of some of their new movies, especially if their films showed terrorist attacks or plane crashes. “Swordfish” was top of the American box office in June. But the movie's story was frighteningly similar to the Sept. 11 disaster. The film would have been stopped in American and British cinemas after the attack. But it's unlikely that Hollywood will stay quiet for long. It is already waiting for the feeling in America to calm down.What is the main subject of the newspaper article?
| A．The relationship between the Sept. 11 attack and Hollywood films. |
| B．The effect of the Sept. 11 attack and Hollywood films. |
| C．The response Hollywood made to the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．The result of Hollywood films showing violence and disasters. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Hollywood made a lot of money out of the film “Swordfish” in June. |
| B．Hollywood stopped making films showing terrorism and disasters after the Sept. 11 attack. |
| C．“Swordfish” was not allowed to be shown after the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．The World Trade Center was destroyed because no superman came to save I t. |
From this article we know that _____.
| A．Hollywood is a film making center making films of violence and disasters. |
| B．too many Hollywood films showing terrorism and disasters resulted in the Sept. 11 attack. |
| C．people who were used to the Hollywood films were not shocked at the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．in fact, the Sept. 11 attack had nothing to do with Hollywood films. |
Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.
Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference.
Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.
“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways-scientists or actors, for example-may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.
In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires-not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health-rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap (差距). Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income,” says Michalos.
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. “Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen.
In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often. Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make hem happy and let go of those that don’t.
“People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.” According to the passage, the feeling of happiness
| A．is determined partly by genes | B．increases gradually with age |
| C．has little to do with wealth | D．is measured by desires |
Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs ______.
| A．make them feel much better | B．provide chances to make friends |
| C．improve their social position | D．satisfy their professional interests |
Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more__________.
| A．optimistic | B．successful | C．practical | D．emotional |
Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if__________.
| A．the gap between reality and desire is bigger |
| B．they have a stronger desire for friendship |
| C．their income is below their expectation |
| D．the hope for good health is greater |
It is difficult for parents of nearly every family to teach their children to be responsible for housework, but with one of the following suggestions, you really can get your children to help at home.
If you give your children the impression that they can never do anything quite right, then they will regard themselves as unfit or unable persons. Unless children believe they can succeed, they will never become totally independent.
My daughter Carla’s fifth - grade teacher made every child in her class feel special. When students received less than a prefect test score, she would point out what they had mastered and declared firmly they could learn what they had missed.
You can use the same technique when you evaluate （评价）your child’s work at home. Don’t always scold and give lots of praise instead. Talk about what he has done right, not about what he hasn’t done. If your child completes a difficult task（任务）, promise him a Sunday trip or a ball game with Dad.
Learning is a process（过程）of trying and failing and trying and succeeding. If you teach your children not to fear a mistake of failure, they will learn faster and achieve success at last.The whole passage deals with ________.
| A．social education | B．school education |
C．family education | D．pre - school education |
The article gives us a good suggestion about how to evaluate（评价）your child’s work at home. That is to _____.
| A．praise his success | B．promise him a trip |
C．give him a punishment | D．promise him a ball game |
The author advises readers to________.
| A．learn from himself, for he has a good way of teaching |
B．take pride in Carla’s fifth - grade teacher |
C．do as what Carla’s teacher did in educating children |
D．follow Carla’s example because she never fails in the test |
Having read the last paragraph, we can conclude that ________.
| A．pride goes before a fall | B．practice makes perfect |
C．no pains, no gains | D．failure is the mother of success |
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