I was riding my special motorbike this past weekend and stopped at a convenience store. As I was getting my wheelchair off the back, a man watched me from his car and I noticed a wheelchair in his back seat. We spoke for a moment and I asked him about the wheelchair. He answered that it was for his daughter. “Well, do you think she would like to go for a ride on my motorbike with me?” I asked. He seemed shocked that a total stranger would ask him this. He thought about it for a second and said, “OK, as long as I can follow you.”
He introduced me to Amy and he sat her on my back seat. Her father followed me for a few miles and she talked non-stop about what she wanted for Christmas.
As we came back to the convenience store, she said, “This ride is the best Christmas present I could ever receive. I have been in a wheelchair my whole life and didn’t know I could do this.” I told her about some of the other things I do (ski, travel the world by myself, etc.). As her father was taking her off my bike, she turned to him and said, “Oh Daddy, I’m going to be OK. Mr. Bryant does all kinds of things, and I will too.” Her father turned away as a tear of joy rolled down his cheek. He hugged me and said, “I was sitting here praying for a gift for Amy that would encourage her. She often felt that her life was dull compared to other children. God answered my prayer just now. Now I pray that God will bless you for your gift to Amy today.” I believed what he said. Being kind and thoughtful to others, we can be an answer to prayer.How did the father feel at first when the author invited his daughter for a ride?
| A．He felt surprised because he didn’t know the author. |
| B．He was happy because his daughter could gain excitement. |
| C．He was moved because the author was willing to help his daughter. |
| D．He felt nervous because he was worried about his daughter’s safety. |
What can we know about the author?
| A．He was a disabled man. |
| B．He usually drove too fast. |
| C．He worked in a convenience store. |
| D．He often helped people who were in trouble. |
According to the passage, the girl _______.
| A．used to be a completely healthy person |
| B．was not allowed to do some fierce sports |
| C．usually felt sad about life due to her disability |
| D．was unwilling to communicate with a stranger |
What did the author’s gift refer to according to the girl’s father?
| A．The motorbike. | B．The wheelchair. | C．The blessing. | D．The ride. |
In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried an individual, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solution without the individual knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly , to the great delight of the worried individual. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.
This concept is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But , in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.
Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.
You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money , but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.
People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.
The underlined word “pay it forward” means ____________________.
| A．to repay someone who has helped you |
| B．to pay someone else who needs help |
| C．to help someone who has helped you |
| D．to help someone else who needs help |
What does the writer suggest with the example of “your elderly grandmother”?
| A．We should learn to respect our grandparents. |
| B．We should work hard to get a good education. |
| C．We should also lend a hand to other people in need of help. |
| D．We should never forget to repay people for their help. |
From the passage we know_________________.
| A．everybody needs help |
| B．more children need help than elderly people |
| C．it costs a lot of money to “pay it forward” |
| D．nowadays many people help others without being repaid |
By writing the passage, the author wishes people in the world to be _____________.
| A．unselfish | B．mysterious | C．honest | D．unforgettable |
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 don’t really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech – “ I have a dream”, you may notice that he stumble（结巴）his words twice during the speech．Most likely, however, you don’t remember．Why? Because you were fixing your attention on is 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 express the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly．Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speakers’ 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 don’t 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 to 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 |
It is a matter of common observation that although incomes keep going up over the years，people never seem to become much better off! Prices are rising continuously．The condition is termed(称作) one kind 0f inflation, the money supply is becoming inflated so that each unit of it becomes less valuable．People have got used in recent years to higher and higher rates of inflation．
What could be bought ten years ago for one dollar now costs well over two dollars. It seems that this rate of inflation is tending to rise rather than to fall．If in the real world our money incomes go up at the same rate as prices，one might think that inflation does not matter．But it does when money is losing value，it lacks one of the qualities of a good money---stability (稳定) of value．It is no longer acceptable as a store of value；and it becomes an unsuitable standard of deferred(延期) payments．Nobody wants to hold a wasting possession，so people try to get rid of money as quickly as possible. Inflation therefore stimulates people spending，and prevents people from saving.
What does inflation mean?
| A．People’s money becomes more valuable |
| B．The problem of employment will be solved． |
| C．It’s easier for people to find better paying jobs． |
| D．Money keeps losing its value． |
From the passage．we can know inflation __________.
| A．seldom happens | B．is very common at present |
| C．is a must | D．has become less in recent years |
According to the passage，if incomes and prices rise together ______
| A．the business will become better | B．money will hold its value |
| C．inflation won’t be a problem | D．inflation will remain to be a problem |
In a period of inflation，people are likely to ______ ．
| A．put much money on the stock market(股市) |
| B．stop spending money |
| C．hold on to money as a dependable possession |
| D．spend money as soon as possible |
Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation（感觉） of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.
Psychologists have known that one person’s perception（感知） of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.
Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.
To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses（假设）, handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form: The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.
“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh.
According to Paragraph 1, a person’s emotion may be affected by ______.
| A．the visitors to his office | B．the psychology lessons he has |
| C．his physical feeling of coldness | D．the things he has bought online |
The author mentions Harlow’s experiment to show that ______.
| A．adults should develop social skills | B．babies need warm physical contact |
| C．caregivers should be healthy adults | D．monkeys have social relationships |
In Bargh’s experiment, the students were asked to ______.
| A．evaluate someone’s personality | B．write down their hypotheses |
| C．fill out a personal information form | |
| D．hold coffee and cold drink alternatively |
We can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences |
| B．feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide |
| C．physical temperature affects how we see others |
| D．capable persons are often cold to others |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Drinking for Better Social Relationships |
| B．Experiments of Personality Evaluation |
| C．Developing Better Drinking Habits |
| D．Physical Sensations and Emotions |
Negative （消极的）self talk and negative energy can affect you m many ways and cause you additional stress. Because of this，developing more Positive self talk’s an important way to reduce stress in your life. You can help yourself maintain a positive frame of mind 一which will help with positive self talk一by surrounding yourself with positive energy in your life. You can get that by adding some elements to your life.
Listening to music that not only has a soothing melody，but an uplifting message，can be great for developing positive self talk. Have you ever had a song “stuck in your head” for a few hours or days，the lyrics repeating themselves in your mind?’’ If those lyrics were positive and inspirational，that would be a good thing. It’s a much better mental soundtrack to have than a running stream of complaints，criticisms of self-limiting thoughts，or even songs that had more depressing or sad lyrics.
Books on strength, personal power, enlightenment, or self help can be good resources to help you change your outlook and the things you say to yourself. Rather than bringing habitual self-defeating thoughts，you can find yourself thinking of new can-do concepts when times get tough.
One of the most important ways you can get and keep positive energy in your life is with the company you keep. Do your friends uplift you，or bring you down? Are they critical，or complementary? Ideal friendships provide support when you’re down, fun when you’re up，wisdom when you’re lost，and positive regard. Good friends can inspire you to reach greater heights，and see your strengths even when you don’t always. Pay attention to how your friends make you feel，and if they’re less than supportive，start putting your energy and time toward people who are better suited to be your friend.
In addition，positive affirmations （肯定） can certainly change your self talk from negative to positive. Now，why not begin working positive affirmations into your life in some creative ways?
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Reducing stress by surrounding yourself with positive energy. |
| B．Adding some elements to your life. |
| C．Getting positive energy from the company you keep. |
| D．Changing your self talk with positive affirmation. |
How many ways does the author suggest to maintain a positive frame of mind?
| A．3. | B．4. | C．5. | D．6. |
If you have something “stuck in your head”。 you probably ________.
| A．keep singing the same song for a long time |
| B．keep thinking of this thing all the time |
| C．regard the lyrics of a song as positive |
| D．are developing positive self-talk |
According to the passage，your best company should be those who __________.
| A．uplift you or bring you down | B．provide fun when you’re down |
| C．encourage you to do things even better | D．are less than supportive |
What will probably be talked about in the following paragraph?
| A．How negative self talk influences a person. |
| B．How positive self talk reduces stress in one’s life. |
| C．Some great ways of making great friends. |
| D．Some creative ways of practicing affirmation. |
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