A good friend of mine lives about one hour away. I called her last week and found out that she wasn’t doing well at work, which would make the following year a little more difficult. After hanging up the phone, I decided to offer to help her, but I couldn’t think of what to do. However, opportunities come themselves when you’re not even looking for.
A few days later, some friends and I happened to be eating desserts at a restaurant in her city. As we were looking at the menu, I turned to my friends and asked them if they wanted to join in a game. After explaining the idea, they decided to take 15 minutes to make someone’s day. We ordered an extra dessert, wrote a note, added a smile card and were off. However, there was one problem: I had no idea where she was.
Therefore, it was time to rely on the network. I called up a friend and got him to call her to see what she was doing and found out that she was at work.
We drove to her work place and one of my friends became the delivery(投递)person.He went in to look for my friend, found her, didn’t really answer her questions and walked out, saying he’s simply a delivery person.
He ran out quickly and I bent down as we drove by to make sure she didn’t follow him out. Afterwards, all of us had this huge smile on our faces. We felt as if we had just planned a surprise party or something.
A simple opportunity turned into a moment that many of us can now share.Why is the following year a little more difficult for the author’s friend?
| A．Because she lives too far away from work. |
| B．Because she was out of work. |
| C．Because she didn’t do well at work. |
| D．Because she failed a test. |
In Paragraph 2, the underlined phrases “make someone’s day” probably means “make someone________”.
| A．satisfied | B．busy | C．sad | D．happy |
The author got to know where her friend was by________.
| A．asking her friend herself by phone |
| B．asking another friend to call her |
| C．asking what she was doing directly |
| D．asking her friend herself on the Internet |
When given the dessert, the author’s friend________.
| A．refused the offer | B．knew the entire thing |
| C．asked some questions | D．followed the delivery person out |
The author and her friends might feel________at last.
| A．joyful | B．thankful | C．pitiful | D．fearful |
The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel. The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sports car. Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras. The bride wore a silk wedding dress. She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.
Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station’s competition. The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other. Miss Germaine, 23, is a model. Mr. Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman. They were among the two hundred people who entered for a peculiar “experiment” organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England. Greg and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on radio. They took a lie detector test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities. The competition judges included an astrologer (占星家) who declared that they were suited.
The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening, but not everyone shared their joy. Miss Germaine’s mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and Mr. Cordell’s parents are reported to be less than delighted.
Organizations, including the marriage guidance service relate, have criticized the marriage. As one person put it, “we have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this. Marriage should always be about love.”
The couples are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists. Their other prizes include a year’s free use of a wonderful apartment in the centre of Birmingham, and a car. But will it last?What can we know about the couple from the passage?
| A．The couple know each other before the wedding. |
| B．The bridegroom is a model and the bride is a TV salesman. |
| C．The bride is 4 years older than the bridegroom. |
| D．The couple can use an apartment free for some time as one of the prizes. |
Some experts believe that ______ .
| A．marriage without the couple’s meeting each other first ends up in divorce. |
| B．young people nowadays are too careless about marriage |
| C．taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems |
| D．most young people take marriage seriously except this couple |
The goal of the competition was_______.
| A．to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other |
| B．to win a free honeymoon |
| C．to win a year’s free use of a wonderful apartment |
| D．to make the radio station famous |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Two Strangers and a Wedding | B．A Wedding Based on Love |
| C．A Short-lived Marriage | D．A Well-Matched Couple |
Theplenary（全体）sessionsoftheNationalPeople's Congress(NPC)andtheNationalCommitteeofthe ChinesePeople'sPoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC)(政协) popularlyknownasthe"twosessions"， arekickingoffthisweek.Whatwillbethebigtalking points?Wehavecompiledsomeofhottopics.
Jobs
The number of jobs forecast to be created this year will be revealed at the annual session. In the past two years, despite an economic slowdown, the number of newly created jobs has increased steadily. China is promoting employment through encouraging business start-ups, cutting red tape and delegating power to lower-level governments.
Military
China's military expenditure (军费) will definitely become one of the most discussed topics during the two sessions in Western and domestic media. The question China faces is how to build and manage a stronger army in new conditions.
Pollution
"We will resolutely declare war against pollution as we declared war against poverty," said Premier Li Keqiang at the parliamentary sessions last year. A poll has showed that pollution-control and environmental protection remains one of the biggest areas of public concern ahead of the two sessions.
United States
Xi Jinping is scheduled to pay a State visit to the United States in September. Last year, China and the United States reached consensus in aspects including visa arrangements, trade and military trust. The two sides also released the landmark China U.S. Joint Announcement on Climate Change. Reporters will try to get some hints on how China and the United States will rise above their differences.How many hot topics will be discussed at the “two sessions”? .
| A．4 | B．5 | C．More than 4 | D．Less than five |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．In the past two years, the number of newly-created jobs has decreased because of economic slowdown. |
| B．As for military, China focuses on how to build and manage a stronger army in new conditions. |
| C．Xi Jinping paid a State visit to the United States in September last year. |
| D．According to Premier Li Keqiang, declaring war against pollution is more important than declaring war against poverty. |
What does the underlined word “compile” mean? It means “ ”.
| A．choose | B．discuss | C．raise | D．collect |
第一节 阅读下列短文 ，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C 和 D ）中 ，选出最佳选项,并在题卡上将该项涂黑。(共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分)
A.
A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain,plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best foryourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position insociety are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."
God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee!
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.What did a group of graduates talk about when they visited their old professor?
| A．How to make the most delicious coffee. |
| B．How to choose the coffee cup. |
| C．The complaints about stress in work and life. |
| D．How to free themselves from stress of work and life. |
What is the function of the more expensive cup from the passage?
| A．It makes the coffee taste better. |
| B．In some cases it hides what we drink. |
| C．It shows people’s wealth. |
| D．It shows people’s status. |
The purpose of this writing is ____________.
| A．about how to complain about stress in work and life |
| B．to enjoy the present life and get happiness from it |
| C．to enjoy the coffee with expensive cups |
| D．to prove the power of the God |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．God’s Coffee. | B．Drink Coffee. |
| C．Coffee and Work | D．Coffee Cups |
We regularly hear how important consumer spending is for the economy. The story goes like this: the more consumers spend, the more money circulates in the economy, which contributes to healthy job growth and profits. Keynes, a British economist, went as far as to say that individuals saving their money may actually be hurting the economy. Sounds troubling, doesn’t it?
Fear not. You aren’t actually hurting anyone else by saving money. Strong economic growth only comes from the place: savings. Not consumption. In fact, economic activity should not be mistaken for economic growth. For example, somebody takes their money, walks into a store, and purchases goods. The store increases its revenue.
But what happens to all of those goods and services that people have chosen not to consume by saving their money? Simple: other people are allowed to consume them. Think of it this way: when you lend out your savings, you are actually saying, “Here, I am not going to consume right now, so why don’t you?” Banks simply play the middleman: they collect lots of people's savings and then lend out lots of funds.
It takes an unbelievable amount of goods and services to construct a building. It takes food, shelter, and entertainment for all of the workers, as well. Without savings, it is quite impossible to finance such a construction. The coordination between savings and consumption is a necessary basis for sound economic growth. This coordination is also why consumer lending (say, to borrow a big sum of money to buy a car) is not productive, in a strict sense. It doesn't increase the net (净的) amount of wealth of an economy. Those savings could have been used to construct, say, factory equipment.
None of this means consumption and spending are “bad” things. They simply do not make us wealthier. After all, the final goal of production and savings is to consume. But to say that consumption is the engine of economic growth is to put the cart before the horse. Or, to rephrase: the consumption of wealth can never make you wealthier. Happier, perhaps. Wealthier, no.What is the author’s attitude towards Keynes’ theory?
| A．Approving. | B．Reserved. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Critical. |
The underlined word “revenue” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “_______”.
| A．cost | B．reputation |
| C．income | D．interest |
According to the author, which chart could show the effect of savings on economy?
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The Saving Behavior of the Economy |
| B．Consumption: a Key Concept in Economy |
| C．Consumer Spending and Economic Growth |
| D．The Truth about Savings and Consumption |
Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper - a little bird called a honey guide.
The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees' nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.
Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?
| A．It's small in size. |
| B．It's hidden in trees. |
| C．It's covered with wax. |
| D．It's hard to recognize. |
The honey guide is special in the way .
| A．it gets its food |
| B．it goes to church |
| C．it sings in the forest |
| D．it reaches into bees' nests |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Wild Bees |
| B．Wax and Honey |
| C．Beekeeping in Africa |
| D．Honey-Lover's Helper |
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