The other day I heard a few local musicians talking:
“I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can’t even understand a bit of music.”
“I’m never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us.”
But, one younger musician said, “There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also looking to book a few summer festivals this year.”
I’ve heard that you are the average of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative, they’re rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame (责怪) others, and you play the role of victim (受害者), chances are you will start to as well. So it’s time to take a look at the people you call “friends”.
This is an easy exercise: Make a list of the people who you hang out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard (标准) for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you’re looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．How to make friendship last for ever |
| C．You are who your friends are |
| D．Friends are the most important in one’s success |
The underlined sentence “they’re rubbing off on you” in Paragraph 6 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead | B．they’ll influence you |
| C．they’ll cover your shortcomings | D．they’ll help you achieve your goal |
The musicians’ words at the beginning are written mainly to show ______.
| A．the musicians’ living conditions are quite poor |
| B．people have poor taste in music |
| C．people have different attitudes towards the same thing |
| D．young people have greater chances of succeeding |
By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can ______.
| A．improve a lot in making more friends |
| B．come to the right way of making friends |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．arrange the time with your friends properly |
It is commonly believed among many Chinese that Westerners who take “Yes’，and “No” by their facial expressions are more straightforward than Chinese. Normally Westerners don * t have to adopt Chinese ways like sweeping the floor or constantly checking the clock to indicate to a guest that it’ s time to leave. They don’ t have to hesitate in saying “No” when they are not able to, or don’ t want to, offer help to a friend in need. There is no embarrass
ment attached to this behavior. But it is too simple to conclude that Westerners are more direct speakers than the Chinese.
There are many occasions when the way Westerners express themselves makes Chinese look more straightforward and honest. When I was a fresh international student，the director of our program once asked students in an e-mail what we thought about a young professor. I simply said ’ “She seems to know a lot but doesn* t know how to teach. ” And the director replied with “Thank you for being honest. ”
Only years later when I better understood the new culture，I realized why I had gone too far. If that question were asked now，the reply would have three paragraphs devoted to the qualities of the professor before the last line came out — ” There are some gaps in her teaching method. ” Still tough, but at least it wouldn't be considered rude.
Indeed, the reserved social norms and the deeply - rooted “face issue" make honest speaking risky in China ； Americans have their own ways of being polite. This results partly from political correctness. It also results from several generations of people who have been told they have done well even when they have failed. It may not be unfair to suggest that many Americans are oversensitive and obsessed with a perfect self image.
So，the next time you hear about indirect Chinese，it would be worth challenging the source and pointing out that the cultural comparisons are much more complex. But maybe you should do it in a roundabout way，to be polite.The passage mainly aims to •
| A． tell us something about culture distinctions |
| B． remind us of the conflicts between cultures |
| C． ask us to take positive attitudes to Chinese cultures |
| D． keep us informed of the various communications |
According to the passage, the young professor lacked .
| A． confidence in her job | |
| B． teaching experience | |
| C． interaction with her students m |
D．responsibility for her students |
The underlined words “obsessed with" (para.4) probably means .
| A．satisfied with | B．proud of | C．addicted to | D．stuck in |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A． the writer has a good knowledge of American culture |
| B． Americans are much more straightforward than Chinese |
| C． the new professor was very angry with the writer' s comments |
| D． different culture backgrounds make cultures comparison complicated |
A little old couple walked slowly into McDonald ’ s on one cold winter evening. It seemed that
they didn' t come to the right place with the young families and young couples eating that night.
The little old man walked right up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation and then paid f
or their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray. There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip at the drink and then set the cup down between them.
As the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the crowd began to get restless. You could tell what they were thinking, “That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them. ”
As the man began to eat his French fries, one young man stood and came over to the old couple ’ s table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. The old man replied that they were just fine. They were used to sharing everything.
As the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin，the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food.
After being politely refused again，he finally asked a question of the little old lady，" Ma ’ am, why aren' t you eating? You said that you share everything. What is it that you are waiting for?"
She answered, "The teeth.,’ According to the 1st paragraph, the old couple .
| A． enjoyed the scene outside the McDonald' s |
| B． didn, t look suitable for the surroundings |
| C． loved being with young families and couples |
| D． liked the food in McDonald' s |
The little old man cut the plain hamburger in half because .
| A． he couldn' t finish eating it with one bite |
| B． he was very careful with his food |
| C． he ordered more than he could consume |
| D． he wanted to share it with his wife |
The young man who offered to buy the old couple food was .
| A．impolite | B．stubborn | C．sympathetic | D．doubtful |
From the old lady' s answer, we know that .
| A．she was not interested in the food | B．the couple suffered a terrible toothache |
| C．the couple did share everything | D．she gave an irrelevant answer |
The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest- and-savanna(大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant’s great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas . In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem. What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Disappearance of African elephants. |
| B．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants. |
| C．The effect of African elephants' search for food. |
| D．The eating habit of African elephants. |
What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
| A．Fixing the time. |
| B．Worsening the state. |
| C．Improving the quality. |
| D．Deciding the conditions. |
What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
| A．They result from the destruction of rain forests. |
| B．They provide food mainly for African elephants. |
| C．They are home to many endangered animals. |
| D．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．The African elephant is the largest animal on earth. |
| B．African elephants have 300 pounds of plants every day. |
| C．The African elephant is in a way the builder of the environment like all the other land animals. |
| D．If the African elephant disappears, the whole ecosystem won’t be affected. |
The passage is developed mainly by .
| A．showing the effect and then explaining the causes |
| B．pointing out similarities and differences |
| C．describing the changes in space order |
| D．giving examples |
C
On May 8, last Thursday morning, the Olympic flame was lit on the top of Mount Qomolangma! It was a historic moment for China exactly three months ahead of the Beijing Games.
Tibetan female climber Cering Wangmo reached the summit with a special extreme-altitude Olympic torch. This event is what China has promised to the world as the high point of the torch relay, the longest and mostchallengingof all time.
Five torchbearers(火炬手) finished the highest relay ever—three of the climbers are Tibetan athletes.
Team members said “Beijing welcomes you!” in Chinese, English and Tibetan, as they stood at the summit celebrating, with the event broadcast on national television.
“I finally fulfilled the last dream of my husband,” said Gyigyi with tears in her eyes. She was the first torchbearer. Her husband lost his life in an attempt to climb all 14 mountains in China more than 8,000 meters three years ago.
“We are on top of the world! One world, one dream,” shouted Nima Cering, at the top of his voice. He said that although he had climbed the peak（峰顶）several times, this was the most significant ascent(登高). “As a Tibetan and a Chinese I pray for the success of Beijing 2008,” he added.
The special torch is different from the one currently touring the Chinese mainland, after an around-the-world relay. Officials organizing the trek up the peak had earlier set an April 26 target to begin the ascent, but high winds and heavy snow had delayed the mission.
The Xinhua News Agency said that the Qomolangma leg of the torch relay represents the Olympic motto, “higher, faster and stronger,” in practice and will promote unity among all 56 ethnic groups in China.It was a historic moment because ______.
| A．some Tibetan torchbearers took part in it |
| B．it was lit three months before the Olympic Games were held |
| C．it was the first time that the Olympic torch had been lit on the top of Mount Qomolangma |
| D．it was the longest attempt in history |
Which is RIGHT according to the whole passage?
| A．All the five torchbearers are men. |
| B．Only the five torchbearers reached the summit. |
| C．Team members said “Beijing welcomes you!” in their native language. |
| D．At least two of the five torchbearers are females. |
What does the word “leg” underlined in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．One part of a journey or race. |
| B．One of the long parts that connect the feet to the rest of the body. |
| C．The leg of an animal, especially the top part, cooked and eaten. |
| D．The part of a pair of trousers that covers the leg. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．One world, one dream |
| B．Torch relay reaches its highest point |
| C．Qomolangma, the highest summit in the world |
| D．A special torch |
Where can you read about this passage?
| A．In the English textbook. |
| B．In the newspaper. |
| C．In the science report. |
| D．On the street wall. |
It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech. At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned. Fortunately, the moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser. When such moments occur, don’t worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that doesn’t really matter .If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech — “ I have a dream”, you may notice that he stumbles（结巴）his words twice during the speech. Most likely, however, you don’t remember. Why? Because you were fixing your attention on his message rather than on his way of speech-making. People care a lot about making mistakes in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition. But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-thought-out speech that expresses the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly. Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker’s attractiveness by making him more human.
As you work on your speech, don’t worry about being imperfect. Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely. The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ______ .
| A．be smarter than you |
| B．notice your mistakes |
| C．do better than you |
| D．know what you are talking about |
You don’t remember obvious mistakes in a speech because ___________.
| A．your attention is on the content |
| B．you don’t fully understand the speech |
| C．you know what the speaker plans to say |
| D．you find the way of speech-making more important |
It can be inferred from the passage that ___________.
| A．giving a speech is like giving a performance |
| B．one or two mistakes in a speech may not be bad |
| C．the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made |
| D．the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be |
What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．How to Be a Perfect Speaker |
| B．How to Make a Perfect Speech |
| C．Don’t Expect a Perfect Speech |
| D．Don’t Expect Mistakes in a Speech |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．If you are careful enough, you can make a perfect speech. |
| B．Speech-making is a kind of performance. |
| C．Listeners are not judges and they pay more attention to the message. |
| D．Martin Luther King is not a good speaker. |
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