Finding true happiness is a universal aspiration (渴望). We all want it, but can we all have it? Genuine happiness is written all over our faces when we are truly contented, and, likewise, a forced smile does nothing to hide underlying sadness.
Believing that everyone can create their own lasting joy, Matthieu Richard has been declared the Happiest Man in the World. Richard earned his “happiest man” status after a series of laboratory tests in 2004. Richard has shared his thoughts on happiness with a worldwide audience. As an experienced speaker, he has explained his insights into happiness to everyone, from students to corporate groups. Looking inwards to find joy rather than relying on outer conditions, he believes, is the way to achieve well-being.
“It’s quite clear that the outer conditions are not enough. The way we interpret those outer conditions in our inner experience is what determines either a sense of well-being or misery. We love to go jogging for fitness and we do all kinds of things to remain beautiful, yet we spend surprisingly little time taking care of what matters most: the way our minds function. It’s the essential thing that determines the quality of our experience.” Besides this, Richard stresses that it is not what’s happening around us that makes us unhappy, but rather the way we choose to react to it.
The pursuit of happiness is becoming a modern obsession（痴迷）. As life becomes more complex, our ability to process our reactions to various outside influences comes under strain. “Genuine happiness” he says, “doesn’t mean pleasant feelings one after the other. It’s more like a series of qualities that we can develop as skills — like openness, genuine love, compassion, inner strength and inner peace.” Richard has been declared the Happiest Man in the World _______.
| A．because he has shared his thoughts on happiness with a worldwide audience |
| B．after he has explained his insights into happiness to everyone |
| C．after a series of laboratory tests |
| D．because he tries his best to achieve happiness and well-being |
According to Richard, what is the best way to achieve well-being?
| A．Interpreting those outer conditions in our inner experience. |
| B．Looking inwards to find joy rather than relying on outer conditions. |
| C．Spending little time taking care of what matters most. |
| D．Reacting to various outside influences in the modern world. |
What determines the quality of our experience?
| A．The way our minds react to outer conditions. |
| B．Insights into happiness that we hold. |
| C．The constant pursuit of happiness in our life. |
| D．Those outer conditions affecting our happiness. |
How can we pursuit happiness?
| A．Go jogging for happiness. |
| B．Do everything to remain beautiful. |
| C．Make sure that our minds are functioning normally. |
| D．Develop necessary qualities. |
Imagine a world 400 years a
go where children were used as chimney sweeps．The pay was low, it was a dirty trade and there was little reward for the men who did the job and even less for children.
Medway’s annual Sweeps Festival recreates the joy and laughter enjoyed by the chimney sweeps at their traditional holiday: the one time of the year the sweeps could leave the soot（烟灰） behind and have some fun．The sweeps’ holiday was traditionally held on 1 May each year．Locally, they used to mark the occasion by staging a procession through the streets of Rochester.
Their fun continued with the Jack-in-the-Green ceremony, a seven-foot character that they used to waken at dawn on Blue Bell Hill, Chatham．The Jack-in-the-Green would walk with the chimney sweeps in their parade．When the Climbing Boys’ Act 1868 made it illegal to employ young boys to carry out the trade, the traditional procession gradually began to fade．The final May celebration was held in the early 1900s.
The 
modern day Rochester Sweeps Festival is a colorful mix of music, dancing and entertainment with more than 60 Morris sides and entertainers celebrating throughout the three-day festival．The festival was revived in 1981 by local businessman Gordon Newton, a keen historian．He decided it was time to bring it back and over the years he has helped develop the festival into what it is today—an excellent performance of traditional Britain.
Gordon researched the Sweeps’ tradition and organized a small parade, involving local Morris teams．In time, Medway Council took over organization of the festival but Gordon remained actively involved．Today he is festival producer and plays melodeon（簧风琴） for several Morris teams．Doug Hudson is the festival’s music director, a role he has held for many years．Through Gordon’s vision and hard work, Doug’s musical ability and the council’s help, the Rochester Sweeps Festival has become the largest May Day celebration of its kind in the country.According to the writer, chimney sweeps ____________.
| A．were highly respected | B．were well rewarded |
| C．led a hard life in the past | D．worked in good conditions |
Medway’s Sweeps Festival ____________.
| A．has been organized by the Jack-in-the-Green |
| B．dated back to the May celebration in the early 1900s |
| C．is held to honor those chimney sweeps every other year |
| D．has become a time for chimney sweeps to enjoy themselves |
The underlined word “revive” in the 4th paragraph most probably means ___________.
| A．realize | B．review | C．recreate | D．recognize |
It can be inferred from the passage that ____________.
| A．the festival has never been supported by the local government |
| B．The festival is a good way to see British folk customs in action |
| C．youngsters has been forbidden to be chimney sweeps since 1981 |
| D．the modern festival lasts five days celebrating the coming of spring |
What is the passage mainly concerned about?
| A．Sweeps Festival history | B．Medway’s traditional holidays |
| C．Climbing Boys’ Act 1868 | D．a procession in Rochester |
Laws that would have ensured pupils from five to 16 received a full financial education got lost in the ‘wash up’．An application is calling on the next government to bring it back.
At school the children are taught to add up and subtract（减法） but, extraordinarily, are not routinely shown how to open a bank account —let alone how to manage their finances in an increasingly complex and demanding world.
Today the parenting website Mumsnet and the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis have joined forces to launch an online application to make financial education a compulsory element of the school curriculum in England．Children from five to 16 should be taught about everything from pocket money to pensions, they say．And that was exactly the plan preserved in the Children, Schools and Families bill that was shelved by the government in the so-called “wash-up” earlier this month —the rush to legislation before parliament was dismissed．Consumer and parent groups believe financial education has always been one of the most frustrating omissions of the curriculum.
As the Personal Finance Education Group (Pfeg) points out, the good habits of young children do not last long．Over 75% of seven- to 11-year-olds are savers but by the time they get to 17, over half of them are in debt to family and friends．By this age, 26% see a credit card or overdraft（透支） as a way of extending their spending power．Pfeg predicts that these young people will “find it much harder to avoid the serious unexpected dangers that have befallen many of their parents' generation unless they receive good quality financial education while at school.”
The UK has been in the worst financial recession（衰退）f
or generations．It does seem odd that —unless parents step in —young people are left in the dark until they are cruelly introduced to the world of debt when they turn up at university．In a recent poll of over 8,000 people, 97% supported financial education in schools, while 3% said it was a job for parents．The passage is mainly about _____________.
| A．how to manage school lessons |
| B．how to deal with the financial crisis |
| C．teaching young people about money |
| D．teaching students how to study effectively |
It can be inferred from the first two paragraphs that __________.
| A．the author complains about the school education |
| B．pupils should not be taught to add up and subtract |
| C．students have been taught to manage their finances |
| D．laws on financial education have been effectively carried out |
The website and the consumer campaigner joined to _________.
| A．instruct the pupils to donate their pocket money |
B．promote the connection of schools and families |
| C．ask the government to dismiss the parliament |
| D．appeal for the curriculum of financial education |
According to Pfeg, ___________.
| A．it is easy to keep good habits long |
| B．teenagers spend their money as planned |
| C．parents are willing to pay the debt for their kids |
| D．it will be in trouble if the teenagers are left alone |
A poll is mentioned to ___________.
| A．stress the necessity of the curriculum reform |
| B．show the seriousness of the financial recession |
| C．make the readers aware of burden of the parents |
| D．illustrate some people are strongly against the proposal |
Knowing how much her own children loved presents at Christmas, Ann Sutton always tried to seek help for one or two poor families．With a social worker mother, the Sutton children had inherited her commitment to service, and knew never to take their good fortune at Christmas for granted．This year, Kinzie, her seven-year-old daughter was thrilled that Santa Claus would make a special visit to a 22-year-old mother named Ashley who worked in a factory raising her 12-month-old son by herself．
The phone rang on Sunday．A representative from a local organization was calling to say that the aid Ann had requested for Ashley had fallen through．No Santa Claus, no presents, nothing．
Ann saw the cheer vanish from her children’s faces at the news．Without a word, Kinzie ran into her bedroom．She returned, her face set with determination．Opening up her piggy bank, she put all the coins onto the table: $3.30．Everything she had.
“Mom,” she told Ann, “I know it’s not much．But maybe this will buy a present for the baby.”
At a breakfast meeting the next day, Ann told her coworkers about her daughter’s story．To her surprise, staff members began to open their purses and empty their pockets to help Kinzie．By day’s end, the story of Kinzie’s gift had spread beyond Ann’s office．She received a call from an unknown donor．If a seven-year-old could give everything she had, he said, he should at least match her gift 100 to 1．He contributed $300．
On Christmas Eve, Ann drove through the pouring rain to the small trailer where the Ashleys lived．Then she began to unload the gifts from the car, handing them to Ashley one by one．
Ashley was very moved．Reflecting on a little girl’s generosity, Ashley says she’ll one day be able to do something similar for someone else in need．“Kinzie could have used that money for herself, but she gave it away,” Ashley says．“She’s the type of kid I’d like my son to grow up to be.”According to the text, Ann Sutton ______________.
| A．is making lots of money | B．is ready to help others |
| C．is only caring about herself | D．is a hard-working mother |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?
| A．Ashley lived a hard life with her little son. |
| B．The Sutton children took Anne as an example to follow． |
| C．The coworkers of Ann helped Kinzie to realize her wish. |
| D．Ann Sutton tried to ask for help for her own children. |
What can we learn about Kinzie?
| A．She was afraid that Santa Claus would visit the Ashleys. |
| B．She should get some presents from her mother at Christmas． |
| C．She devoted all her coins to buying a present for the baby. |
| D．She was cheerful when hearing the aid had fallen through. |
Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
| A．It rained heavily on Christmas Eve. |
| B．Ann handed gifts to Ashley one by one. |
| C．Ashley hoped she would help someone else in need. |
| D．A good deed can influence many people’s behavior. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．A Young Girl’s Gift | B．A Mother’s Love |
| C．A Story of Young Girl | D．An Unknown Donor |
E
LOS ANGELES, the US
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled Michael Jackson,s father can
receive some medical records related to his superstar son,s death．
The judge will review the records first before making them accessible to Joe Jackson,s
lawyer，Brian Oxman．Beckloff said the man can only receive records on or after June 25一
the day Michael Jackson died．
VANCOUVER，CANADA
World number one Zhou Yang overcame three South Korean players to win the women,s
short track speed skating 1,500 meters final at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games．
The l8-year-old made perfect debut(首次亮相)as she set an Olympic record of a winning time
of 2 minutes and l6,993 seconds among other seven skaters．
China has never won the women,s l,500 meters in the Olympics before，and this time Zhou,s
performance gave China its third gold medal in Vancouver．
BElJING，CHINA
China,s first compulsory,(强制性的)safety regulation on primary school buses，which re-
quires every seat to have a seat belt，will take effect on July l to help ensure safer transporta-
tion for the country,s 100 million students．
Each primary school bus must also be equipped with a“black box，”0r a recording monitor，
to record speed，travel time and distance．Also，the bus must be staffed by teachers who will
ensure student safety．
In addition，the new rule states that the color of the school buses should be yellow，and each bus must have at least two emergency exits．
Texas，the US
A software engineer who crashed his plane into a Texas building housing a United States
tax agency office，killing himself and at least one worker，apparently left behind an angry anti-government manifesto(宣言) detailing his financial difficulties and tax problems．
The pilot took off from an airport in Georgetown．about 48 km from Austin．He flew low
over the Austin skyline before plowing into the building．
57．We can learn from the first news that_________．
A．all Michael Jackson,s medical records can be accessed
B．Mitchell Beckloff will not go over the record first
C．medical records before June 25 won,t be received
D．Joe Jackson,s lawyer will not get any records
58．The new school bus safety rules include all the followings EXCEPT_____________.
A．the driver,s experience B．the equipment of the bus
C．the color of the bus D．emergency exits
59．It seems the software engineer crashed into the US tax office mainly because of___________.
A．unhappy marriage B．mental disease
C．heavy work pressure D．financial and tax problems
60．We can infer from the news that____________.
A．Joe Jackson will be the first to receive the medical records
B．Zhou Yang once broke the Olympic records in the same event
C．the tax agency office is somewhere inside the building in Texas
D．the software engineer flew high over skyline before crashing into the building
D
We all accept that sports should stress skill over luck，and fairness over privilege(特权)．
They should be accessible to many and fun to watch．In the end，a sport,s champion should re-
present shared values and served as a role model．
But with today,s advances in technology，the power of sports equipment makers offers great
opportunity for the athletes who have access to the latest technology.
In 2008,108 world records were broken in the sport of swimming．The average number of
world records set in swimming in all past Olympic years is about 22．The average number of
world records set in a non-Olympic year is about 5．Now there are no“old”world records．
Suit technology has been the most widely recognized difference．The sharkskin suit and the
“paper”suits were all made public by suit manufactures before the Olympic．
As records continue to be broken，the Internet message boards for the swimming community
have taken a darker view of suit technology．“Time is meaningless”is one quote．I tend to agree．Some of the times I see being posted today are simply legends(传奇)．
Am I against suit technology?Not really．But 2008 marked an unbelievable change in the
sport of swimming．People are saying，“Bigger，faster，stronger at any cost!”，wanting no limits on technology，either suits or drugs．I am not one of those people．
I am a guy that recognized the sport of swimming being as simple as man vs．water．It used
to be the swimmer in the suit，not the suit on the swimmer．How times have changed．
53．According to the first paragraph，it is a common belief that________.
A．only a few people have chances to take part in sports
B．the latest suit technology should not be used in sports
C．sports should be interesting for people to watch
D．luck plays an important role in Olympic Games
54．It can be learned from the passage that_______.
A．the author is against the latest technology in sports
B．the athletes have become more skilled than before
C．some records are hard to break without technology
D．advanced suits and drugs can be used in Olympics
55．What does“Time is meaningless”mean in the swimming community?
A．Breaking records in swimming is too easy for most athelets．
B．It,s technology rather than skill that counts in some records．
C．Many athletes break records by luck and taking drugs．
D．Some rules aren,t obeyed when Olympic records are broken．
56．What,s the author,s opinion of the present sports?
A．Latest technology should be encouraged in compitition among athelets．
B．Time should be measured in a different way in modern Olympic Games．
C．All of the athletes should wear the same suits to ensure fairness．
D. Competition in skill should come first instead of that in equipment。
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