One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream and listen to the singing of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees. I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their original position after the wind had died down.
When I think about the bamboo trees’ ability to bounce back or return to its original position, the word “resilience” comes to my mind. When used in reference to a person, this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other negative situation that stretches the limits of a person’s emotions.
Have you ever felt like you are about to lose control of your emotions? Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.
During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health.You felt emotionally
tired, mentally exhausted and you most likely bored unpleasant physical symptoms.
Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend, but don’t break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you.
A measure of hope will take you through the unpleasant moments. Will hope for a better tomorrow or a better situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be. The unpleasant moment may be easier to deal with if the end result is worth having.
If the situation gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo trees, bend, but don’t break!What does the underlined word “resilience” mean in Paragraph 2?
| A．The ability to overcome any difficulty. |
| B．The quality of hoping for a better tomorrow. |
| C．The quality of being brave at the breaking point. |
| D．The ability to recover easily and quickly from unpleasant or damaging events. |
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Life is like a bamboo tree that never breaks. |
| B．Whatever difficulties we may meet with in our life, we can bend, but can never break. |
| C．Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. |
| D．If you get over your breaking point, you can survive to live longer and more happily than others. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The author was an idle child when he was living near the river. |
| B．We should try our best not to let our bad times get the best of us. |
| C．Our being likely to lose control of our emotions is common in our life. |
| D．We should always believe things may not be as bad as they seem to be. |
Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
| A．Bend, but don’t break. | B． My wonderful childhood. |
| C．The bamboo trees. | D． Love the bamboo trees and your life. |
Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into actions. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are out main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register（收款机）with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash (现金), had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.
I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.
Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Change it to me, ” was all he said.
What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits_________ .
| A．hoped to have the food first and pay later |
| B．promised to obey the store rules |
| C．forgot to take any money with him |
| D．could not afford anything more expensive |
Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?
| A．kind and lucky | B．friendly and helpful |
| C．poor and lonely | D．hurt and disappointed |
The writer acted upon the store rules because_________ .
| A．he felt no pity for the old gentleman |
| B．he considered the old man dishonest |
| C．he expected someone else to pay for the old man |
| D．he wanted to keep his present job |
What does the writer learn from his experience?
| A．Wealth is more important than anything else |
| B．Experience is better gained through practice |
| C．Obeying the rules means more than compassion. |
| D．Helping others is easier said than done |
A meteor(陨星) that exploded over Russia’s Ural mountains and sent burning to earth has set off a rush to find fragments of the space rock which hunters hope could fetch thousands of dollars a piece.
Friday’s explosion and following shockwave shattered windows, injured almost 1200 people and caused about $33 million worth of damage, said local authorities.
It also started a “meteorite rush” around the industrial city of Chelyabinsk,where groups of people have started combing through the snow and ice.
“The price is hard to say yet… The fewer meteorites that are discovered, the higher their price is.” Said Dmitry Kachkalin, a member of the Russian Society of Amateur Meteorite Lovers.
Meteorites are parts of a meteor that have fallen to earth.
Scientists at the Urals Federal University were the first to announce a significant find-53 small, stony, black objects around Lake Chebarkul, near Chelyabinsk, which tests confirmed were small meteorites.
The fragments were only 0.5 to 1 cm across but the scientists said larger pieces may have crashed into the lake, where a crater in the ice about eight metres wide opened up after Friday’s explosion.
“We just completed tests and confirm that the pieces of matter found by our experts around Lake Chebarkul are really meteorites.” said Viktor Grokhovsky, a scientist with the Urals Federal University and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Many other people were in the area just hoping to find a meteorite after what was described by scientists as a once-in-a-century event.
Residents of a village near Chelyabinsk searched the snowy streets, collecting stones they hoped prove to be the real thing. But not all were ready to sell.
“I will keep it. Why sell it? I didn’t have a rich lifestyle before, so why start now?” a woman in a woollen hat and winter jacket, clutching a small black pebble(小圆石), told state television.
The Internet was filled quickly with advertisements from eager hunters hoping to sell what they said were meteorites - some for as little as 1,000 roubles ($33.18).
One seller of a large, silver-hued rock wrote in an advertisement:” Selling an unusual rock. It may be a piece of meteorite. It may be a bit of a UFO. It may be a piece of a rocket!”According to the passage, lots of people rushed to find meteorites for_____.
| A．fun | B．money |
| C．research | D．fame |
The underlined phrase in the third paragraphmeans ______.
| A．striking hard |
| B．enjoying the happiness of |
| C．searching carefully |
| D．making a place tidy and clean |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．The price of meteorites will be very high without doubt. |
| B．A meteor exploded over Russia’s Ural mountains on Friday. |
| C．All meteorites hunters want to sell what they found and become rich. |
| D．People from all across Russia have rushed to Ural mountains to find meteorites. |
Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
| A．How to identity a meteorite |
| B．To sell or to keep your meteorite |
| C．Meteorite rush around Chelyabinsk |
| D．Meteor explosion caused great damage |
While most people consider that laughter is one of the nature’s great treatments for a whole range of mental and physical diseases, it is still a serious scientific subject that researchers are trying to figure out.
“Laughter is social.” says Robert R. Provine, author of the book “Laughter: A Scientific Investigation”, who has been studying laughter for decades. “Almost all people laugh ‘ha-ha-ha’ basically the same way. Whether you speak Mandarin, French or English, everyone will understand laughter. There is a pattern generator(发生器) in our brain that produces this sound.
Laughing is also a good way of communicating. Babies laugh long before they speak. No one teaches them how to laugh. They just do it. People may laugh at a prank(恶作剧) on April Fools’ day. But surprisingly, only 10 to 15 percent of laughter is the result of someone making a joke. Laughter is mostly about social responses rather than reaction to a joke. Deaf people laugh without hearing and people on cell phones laugh without seeing, which shows that laughter isn’t dependent on a single sense but on social interactions.
And laughter is not just a human thing. Chimps tickle(挠痒) each other and even laugh when another chimp pretends to tickle them.
Jaak Panksepp studies rats that laugh when he tickles them. It turns out rats love to be tickled. They return again and again to the hands of researchers tickling them, Panksepp’s video shows.
By studying rats, scientists can figure out what’s going on in the brain during laughter. It has been found that laughter in rats produces a chemical that acts as an antidepressant(抗抑郁药) and anxiety-reducer. Scientists think the same thing probably happens in humans, too. This would give doctors a new chemical target in the brain in their effort to develop drugs that fight depression and anxiety in people.
Even so, laughter itself has not been proved to be the best medicine, experts said. “No study has shown that laughter produces a direct health benefit,” Provine said, “largely because it’s hard to separate laughter from just feeling good.” Why does the writer say “laughter is mostly about social responses rather than reaction to a joke”?
| A．because people can communicate with each other by laughing. |
| B．because laughter is the same sound in all the human’s languages. |
| C．because laughter is considered a basic language all people can learn. |
| D．because everyone can understand the meaning of the word laughter. |
From the last two paragraphs we know that______.
| A．laughter has no direct connection with good feelings |
| B．laughing every day can cure people of many diseases |
| C．the medical functions of laughter are still under experiment |
| D．scientists have learned what is happening in a human brain when he laughs |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Laughter depends on many senses. |
| B．Laughter is a social response shared by all creatures. |
| C．If you speak different languages, you will laugh differently. |
| D．A new medicine has been developed based on the laughter research. |
Chinese International School
Application Form
Before an applicant can be invited to take part in an assessment, an application form should be returned to the Admissions Office, and the application fee of HK$1,000 cannot be returned. For overseas applicants wishing to pay in currencies other than HK dollars, the fee is US$145. Checks are also good for payment to “Chinese International School”.
The application should include:
※ Applicant’ academic report from the last school year.
※ A recent passport-sized photo (attached to the application form).
※ A copy of the applicant’s Hong Kong ID card or a passport showing a valid Hong Kong visa.
※ A company letter confirming the application.
Please note that the application fee is non-returnable. Applicants who would like to re-apply for another academic year are asked to submit a new application and application fee.
Acceptance
Applicants will be informed of their acceptance status in writing by postal mail. Initial(最初的) offers for Reception will be sent out from late March once all assessments have been completed.
Some applicants who have been assessed may be held on a reserve list. Acceptances may also be made on a conditional basis among the applicants on the reserve list.
Applicants who have been assessed but who have not been admitted are welcome to reapply for the next academic year. Please note that such applicants will be asked to submit a new application and application fee.
Confirmation of Acceptance and Enrollment(录取)
Once an applicant has been admitted, the applicant family will be asked to confirm acceptance and hold the student’s place with immediate payment of the required fees for the Nomination Right (HK$ 500), plus the sum of HK$ 7,500 as the first tuition payment.
In addition, enrollment will not be considered complete until the following have been received, normally one month before the start of the new school year:
•Physical examination results
•Tuition (first month)According to the passage, if the applicants reapply for an academic year, ______.
| A．the application fee can be reduced to a half |
| B．applicants on a reserve list needn’t be assessed |
| C．a new application and application fee are to be required |
| D．the initial application form should be returned to the Admissions Office |
How will the applicants possibly be informed of the acceptance status?
| A．By fax. | B．By regular mail |
| C．By telephone. | D．By e-mail. |
If an applicant has been admitted, the applicant family ______.
| A．will be asked to submit a new application |
| B．will receive physical Examination results |
| C．will be asked to only pay the first month fee |
| D．will be asked to confirm acceptance and pay the fees |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Applicants held on a reserve list will not be admitted. |
| B．Once applicants are refused, they can’t apply for it again. |
| C．The applicants should show a Hong Kong visa or a Hong Kong ID card. |
| D．Applicants don’t have to get a company letter to confirm their application. |
Last week I was riding my special motorbike and then 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 offered 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 worked in a convenience store. |
| C．He often helped people who were in trouble. |
| D．He usually drove too fast. |
According to the passage, the girl _______.
| A．used to be a completely healthy person |
| B．was not allowed to do some fierce sports |
| C．was unwilling to communicate with a stranger |
| D．usually felt sad about life due to her disability |
What did the author’s gift refer to according to the girl’s father?
| A．The motorbike. | B．The wheelchair. |
| C．The ride. | D．The blessing. |
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