Human wants seem endless. When a starving man gets a meal, he begins to think about an overcoat; when a manager gets a new sports car, he dreams of country clubs and pleasure boats dance into view.
The many wants of mankind might be regarded as making up several levels. When there is money enough to satisfy one level of wants, another level appears.
The first and most basic level of wants is food. Once this want is satisfied, a second level of wants appears: clothing and some sort of shelter. By the end of World War II these wants were satisfied for a great majority of Americans. Then a third level appeared. It included such items as cars and new houses.
By 1957 or 1958 this third level of wants was fairly well satisfied. Then in the late 1950s a fourth level of wants appeared: the “life-enriching” level. While the other levels mean physical satisfaction—the feeding, comfort, safety and transportation of the human body—this level means mental needs for recognition, achievement and happiness. It includes a variety of goods and services many of which could be called “luxury” items. Among them are vacation trips, the best medical care and entertainment. Also included here are fancy foods and the latest styles in clothing.
On the fourth level, a greater percentage of consumers spending goes to services, while on the first three levels more is spent on goods. Will consumers raise their sights to a fifth level of wants as their income increases, or will they continue to demand luxuries and personal services on the fourth level?
A fifth level probably would be wants that can be achieved by community action. Consumers may be spending more on taxes and crime. After filling our stomachs, our garages, and our minds, we now may seek to ensure the health and safety to enjoy more fully the good things on the first three levels.According to the passage, man will begin to think about such needs as housing and clothing only when _______
| A．he has saved up enough money |
| B．he has grown dissatisfied with his simple shelter |
| C．he has satisfied his hunger |
| D．he has learned to build houses |
It can be inferred from the passage that by the end of World War II most Americans ______
| A．were very rich |
| B．were very poor |
| C．Had the good things on the first three levels |
| D．didn’t own cars |
Which of the following is NOT related to “physical satisfaction”?
| A．A successful career | B．A comfortable house |
| C．A good service | D．A family car |
The author thinks that a fifth level______
| A．would be a little better than the fourth level |
| B．may be a lot more desirable than the first four |
| C．can be the last and most satisfying level |
| D．will come true if the government takes actions |
At the time, I would go out in the evening with my parents. But this time I had borrowed a bicycle from a friend of mine. I didn’t know why, but once I was on my own bicycle, a kind of free feeling flooded through me. The faster I rode, the faster I wanted to go! Far ahead, I rode as if my life depended on it, head down, hands grasping the handbars. I meant to get to Jinghai Bar as fast as I could...
Oh! My hands! Don’t come any closer... Don’t touch me! That poor doctor just couldn’t get my gloves off. Each time he took a step towards me, I broke into painful shouting. Much later, I discovered that I had crashed heavily with another bicycle, and I hadn’t spoken one word of sense for at least three hours! After some time, my mother arrived at the hospital, her face as white as a sheet, and gave me a hug, only then did the doctor begin to stitch(缝合) my head wound, not only did he merrily cut off a long lock of my hair, but used no anaesthetic(麻药) either! Later， I seemed to hear faraway voices saying that my right hand was broken. I almost burst into tears. How would I ever play the piano again?On her way to Jinghai, the writer felt _______.
| A．nervous | B．comfortable |
| C．light-hearted | D．upset |
Why did the writer ride a bicycle to Jinghai Bar that evening?
| A．Because she wanted to attend a party on time. |
| B．Because she wanted to meet her friend who was waiting for her there. |
| C．Because she just wanted, to join some of her friends and drink some wine. |
| D．We are not quite sure about what she was really going there for. |
What did the writer think of the doctor?
| A．Friendly. | B．Cruel. |
| C．Hardworking. | D．Kind. |
One thing is sure, that is, before she was wounded she _______.
| A．often went to Jinghai Bar with her friends |
| B．liked playing the piano |
| C．didn’t like any doctors at all |
| D．would burst into tears when she was in trouble |
My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field — except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.The writer’s first job was _______.
| A．to stand down the fairway at a golf course |
| B．to watch over the sugar-cane plantation |
| C．to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields |
| D．to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them |
The word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.
| A．difficult | B．boring |
| C．interesting | D．unusual |
_______ gave the writer serf-esteem.
| A．Having a family of eight people |
| B．Owning his own golf course |
| C．Bringing money back home to help the family |
| D．Helping his father with the work on the plantation |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．He wanted to be a successful golfer. |
| B．He wanted to run a golf course near his house. |
| C．He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation. |
| D．He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick. |
We spent a day in the country, picking wild flowers. With the car full of flowers we were going home. On our way back my wife noticed a cupboard (柜厨) outside a furniture shop. It was tall and narrow. “Buy it, ” my wife said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof rack. I’ve always wanted one like that.”
What could I do? Ten minutes later I was ￡20 poorer; and the cupboard was tied on the roof rack. It was six feet long and eighteen inches square, quite heavy too.
In the gathering darkness I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed unusually polite that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.
After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake, I wonder?” In fact a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously as they passed. But then, with great kindness, they led us through the rush-hour traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me.
“Right, sir, ” he said. “Do you need any more help?”
I was a bit puzzled. “Thanks, officer, ” I said. “You have been very kind. I live just on the road.”
He was staring at our car, first at the flowers, then at the cupboard. “Well, well, ” he said, laughing. “It’s a cupboard you’ve got there! We thought it was something else.”
My wife began to laugh. The truth hit me like a stone between the eyes. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a cupboard, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.In fact the husband _______ the cupboard.
| A．would like very much to buy | B．badly wanted |
| C．was glad to have bought | D．would rather not buy |
Other drivers thought they were _______.
| A．carrying a cupboard to the church |
| B．sending flowers to the church |
| C．carrying nothing but a piece of furniture |
| D．going to attend a funeral(葬礼) at the church |
The police will be more polite to those who are _______.
| A．driving in gathering darkness |
| B．in great sorrow (悲痛) |
| C．driving with wild glowers in the car |
| D．carrying furniture |
What did the husband think of this matter?
| A．It was very strange. | B．He felt ashamed of it. |
| C．He took great pride in it. | D．He was puzzled at it. |
Did you see American figure skater, Jeremy Abbott, crash to the ice during the short program at the Sochi Olympics, rolling into the wall, clutching his side in pain. Ten seconds later, he got up and continued his skate—despite the pain, embarrassment and fear. All I could think was: this kid’s got courage. In business we have a word for it—resilience, the ability to gain strengths and confidence from overcoming unpleasant events.
However, opposite examples appeared in Sochi Olympics as well. For them, failure is someone else’s fault, because they do not accept personal responsibility. Therefore, they have to pay a high price for this attitude. After years of studying failure, I have learned one thing: modesty and open-mindedness in the face of mistakes is the single best thing you can do to improve results. Everyone fails, but not everyone recovers from failure. The key is to learn from it rather than get beaten by it.
The good news is that each of us has the potential to live a resilient life on and off the job. It may be difficult, but that just makes it all the more powerful and important. If you believe the above paragraph to be true, then you’re probably more resilient than you think you are. It takes confidence to be resilient but that too much confidence is a killer is so true of leadership. For example, Ron Johnson, the ill-fated CEO of JC Penney, was so stubborn that he completely missed all sorts of signals from employees and customers and instead listened to all those who agreed with him, which failed his strategy. Bouncing back from failure requires that you recognize something has gone wrong, and you were the one who made it happen.
The challenge of resilience is not just about our work. When parents help their kids deal with every challenging situation, they are doing an unhelpful action to their children. Parents want to protect their kids from failure, but doing so takes away the opportunity from them to practice not
just a life skill but an essential work skill. When self-esteem becomes more important than results, we are accidentallytraining young people to become less adaptable, not more.
Resilience is not just about getting up off the floor, but also being ready for whatever comes next, even when you don’t know what it is. Failures and setbacks are no longer unusual events, but regular features of a dynamic, competitive and highly demanding work environment. Getting up to finish your skate is no longer optional. The example of Jeremy Abbott shows that one should ______.
| A．recover from failure |
| B．stick to his own viewpoint |
| C．take others’ opinions to heart |
| D．challenge difficulties bravely |
According to the author, what can best build up resilience?
| A．Being positive and powerful. |
| B．Being competitive and helpful. |
| C．Being modest and open-minded. |
| D．Being confident and responsible. |
Which of the following examples shows us resilience?
| A．A teacher offers students timely help and care. |
| B．A determined athlete practices skating hard every day. |
| C．A confident leader persuades his staff to follow his plan. |
| D．A student has got a low grade but continues to work hard. |
Which might be the best title for the passage?
| A．An Example of Resilience: Ron Johnson |
| B．Resilience: A Lesson from Sochi |
| C．Optional Challenges of Resilience |
| D．Resilience in Family Education |
Sixteen-year-old Karlos Dearman’s future is looking much brighter than he might previously have imagined. “I love bikes, but I’ve never thought I’d end up with working with them,” he says. “This program has changed my life.”
Karlos is learning to refurbish (翻新) old bicycles in the workshop (车间) of ReCycle Bikes, an independent non-profit bike project in Sheffield. It provides training chances for young people aged 14 to 16 with the help of the local government, particularly those struggling in mainstream education or rejected from school.
“It’s about engaging young people with education and youth training by teaching them work and life skills,” explains Des Pearce, workshop training manager. “These young people have so much potential, but often don’t realize it.”
Founded in 2001, ReCycle Bikes repairs bicycles donated by the public, which are sold for ￡20 after refurbished. Abandoned bikes supplied by the government make sure a steady flow of bikes, but a recently formed partnership with Sheffield University should improve the further development.
“The student population presents a large and ready market,” says Pearce. “So we approached the university last year and offered to host bike sales on the campus (校园) . They thought it was a great idea, and agreed to provide us with more support. This means we can train young people to repair extra 500 bikes over three years.”
Having set up ReCycle Bikes on his own, Pearce now has the staff and resources to track the profession development of those who have passed through his workshop. “But we are planning exit interviews with the young people to make sure what they plan to do, and these will allow us to check on their progress,” says Pearce.
That most of the teenagers enjoy the work is, according to Pearce, easily explained. “Most kids have ridden a bike and know how to oil a chain or mend a flat tyre. As low-cost transport, cycling gives the young and old a sense of freedom and independence, and the effect on their well-being is big. Add to that a growing concern for the environment, and it’s no surprise that bike sales are on the increase.” From the passage, we know ReCycle Bikes ______.
| A. is a popular brand of bikes |
| B. provides training chances for young people |
| C. is a training project offered by the government |
| D. aims at making money by selling refurbished bicycles |
How did ReCycle Bikes run at the beginning?
| A. By working together with Sheffield University. |
| B. By selling bicycles supplied by the government. |
| C. By getting money from teenagers aged between 14 and 16. |
| D. By repairing bicycles donated by the public and selling them. |
ReCycle Bikes has formed a partnership with Sheffield University because _____.
| A. students at Sheffield University can be their potential customers |
| B. Sheffield University donates a lot of money to ReCycle Bikes |
| C. teenagers at ReCycle Bikes can study at Sheffield University |
| D. Sheffield University offers to host bike sales on the campus |
According to Pearce, why do most of the teenagers enjoy the work?
| A. They’d like to change their lives. |
| B. They want to learn how to repair bikes. |
| C. They don’t have enough money to buy cars. |
| D. They are familiar with bikes and interested in them. |
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