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. |
It was 3:00 a.m. Rain beat against the windows. Tamsen Bell’s cellphone began to ring so she jumped out of bed quickly for she knew that someone was in trouble, and it was up to her and the other members of the Marin Search and Rescue Team to help. The team has a motto: “Any time, any place, any weather.” Bell, 18, joined the search-and-rescue team when she was 14 years old, the youngest age at which a person can join. “I remember the first search I ever went on,” Bell says. “I was very nervous.” Thanks to the strict training program, Bell now is no longer nervous and a lot more confident.
When Bell was 16 years old, she took a lead role in a tough search-and-rescue action that she says changed her life. While hiking, a 60-year-old woman fell off a cliff and landed on a mountain ledge(岩石架). Bell slid down in a seated position to get to where the injured woman lay. The situation was very dangerous and she had to make a quick decision which could have endangered the woman’s life. Bell helped to lift the woman onto a litter(担架), and her teammates then pulled the litter up the mountain using ropes. The rescue took more than eight hours , the longest in the history of the team.
Afterwards, Bell said she realized that she could keep cool in stressful situations. The experience inspired her to devote her life to helping others. She remains a search-and-rescue member and plans to study nursing in college.
“Search-and-rescue work may be tough, but it is rewarding. The best part is the support, and the common feeling that everyone on the team wants to make people’s lives better.” Said Bell.
1. According to the passage, we know that Bell ______.
A. was the youngest member in the team
B. plays a leading role in every task
C. majored in nursing in college
D. learned a lot through the training program
2. Why does Bell say that the tough action changed her life?
A. She learnt to make quick decisions when in danger.
B. She learnt to transport the injured to safety through a litter.
C. The experience inspired her to devote herself to helping others
D. The experience made her realize that she could calm down even in danger.
3. Which of the following is TURE about Bell’s tough task?
A. It was the toughest task in the history of the team.
B. Bell slid down the cliff seated in a litter.
C. It’s the first task Bell took part in after the training program.
D. Bell played a very important role in the action.
4. The passage is mainly about_______.
A. a tough task Bell carried out
B. Bell’s job as a young search-and-rescue member
C. how people keep cool in dangerous situations
D. what search-and-rescue tasks are
BEIJIG—The two-day visit to Washington has been heavy for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as he attempts to improve ties with Washington and promote his international image ahead of the upcoming G-20 economic summit in London.
Special Relationship
Brown had been praising the “ special relationship” between Britain and the United States before he traveled to Washington. “There is no international partnership in recent history that has served the world better than the special relationship between Britain and the United States,” Brown said in an article in The Sunday Times of London. Su
ch enthusiasm was quickly responded by Barak Obama, the new leader of the world’s largest economy. “The special relationship between the United States and Great Britain is one that is not just important to me, it is important to the American people,” told reporters after meeting with Brown.
Brown was the first European leader to meet Obama at the White House, and this might help the British leader make his image smooth among countrymen in a turbulent(动荡)time and put him in a bette
r position to appear side by side with Obama at the April G-20 summit that will consider the international economic crisis.
Global New Deal
The talks between Brown and Obama were expected to focus mainly on measures to jump-start international economic growth in the most serious downturn in decades. Brown will first promote his “goal new deal” with Obama before taking the G-20 talks. The prime minister, who is chairing the G-20 gathering, has said he would push for deep adjustable changes and joint efforts from all of the world’s major economies, developed and developing, to correct financial rules and inspire the global economy.
However, as pointed out by many analysts, there is the potential for bitterness between Britain and the United States. That’s because no small number of Britons believe themselves to be victims of a crisis which they say was set off by the United States. Meanwhile, analysts say it was unrealistic to expect another honeymoon for British-US ties as Obama seems to have attached more importance to the Pacific region than to Europe.
1 Brown paid the two-day visit to Washington in order to _______.
A. improve the ties with the US and his image
B. make Obama’s international image better
C. congratulate Obama on coming into power
D. prepare for the coming G-20 economic summit
2. The April G-20 summit will mainly focus on how ________.
A. to solve the international energy crisis
B. to solve the international economic crisis
C. to relax current international tension
D. to achieve the double-win goal lately
3. According to many analysts, there is the potential for bitterness between the UK and the US because___________.
A. Obama is less friendly to Brown than Brown to Obama
B. Obama hasn’t visited the UK yet as a new president
C. Obama seems to have attached more importance to Europe than to the Pacific region
D. many Britons believe themselves to be the victims of a crisis caused by the US
4. The underlined part in the last paragraph suggests that___________.
A. Britons expect too much from Obama
B. Britain and USA used to have close relationship
C. the relationship between the two countries will break up
D. Obama and the first lady will not spend their honeymoon in Britain
| The Darwin Myth: The Life and Lies of Charles Darwin By Benjamin Wiker List Price: $ 27.95 Price:$ 18.45 for a club member or when your orders are over $50 You Save: $9.50 (34%) |
Product Description
In the 150 years since the publication of Origin of Species, Charles Darwin has been considered between two extremes--- a great biologist or heretic（持异端学说者）. However, the truth is much more difficult to understand than that. In any case, Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection had the greatest influence in history.
In The Darwin Myth，author Benjamin Wiker offers a full-side analysis of Darwin’s theories as well as the social, scientific, and religious effect of his work. Scientists often cause debates(争论) that will last for generations for their new theory. Still, no scientist has caused more debates than Charles Darwin. To some he is the revolutionary “father” of evolution. To others his theory of evolution unconsciously disagrees with many ideas in modern eugenics.（优生学） In The Darwin Myth: The Life and Lies of Charles Darwin, author Benjamin Wiker will make them clear.
Contents
So who is Charles Darwin? What did he really believe and what did his research really prove? In this book, Benjamin Wiker cuts through the myths. In The Darwin Myth, Wiker tells us:
★
How Darwin set out to create a godless Theory of Evolution
★Why many of his best friends criticized Darwin’s theory, and why he never defended himself;
★Why Darwin’s theory in a certain way supported slavery, an institution he hated;
★How much of what we know about Darwin comes from his autobiography(自传), which the key points are completely misleading.
1. If you buy three copies of The Darwin Myth at a time, how much should you pay?
A. $88.35 B.$55.35 C. $50 D. $27.97
2. According to the passage, what is The Darwin Myth mainly about?
A. An analysis of Darwin’s theory and the debates about him.
B. A brief introduction to Darwin’s life.
C. How Darwin created Theory of Evolution.
D. Why many people criticized Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
3. From the passage, we know that ________.
A. The Darwin Myth is Darwin’s autobiography
B. The debate about Darwin’s theory has been going on since Origin of Species was published.
C. Darwin theory agrees with modern eugenics.
D. Darwin himself supported slavery.
4．We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. Darwin lost many of his best friends because of his theory
B. Darwin’s autobiography has misled many readers.
C. Benjamin Wiker was one of Darwin’s friends who knew him well
D. The Darwin Myth will end the debates about Darwin
第二部分阅读理解(共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分)
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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
For Senior 3 students, choosing which college to attend can be the most exciting and thrilling time in their entire sc
hool lives. This is also true for an American girl named Melanie in the film, College Road Trip, which was released in the US on March 7.
Melanie’s dad, James Porter, is the chief of police for a Chicago suburb. Incredibly worrying about her daughter’s security, he wants Melanie to attend nearby Northwestern University, where she’s already been accepted. But Melanie, 17, really wants to go to George-town in
Washington, D.C., where she’s been wait-listed.
When she gets an unexpected interview, she decides to take a road trip with a few close female friends. Melanie believes it is her first step toward adulthood. But despite the fact that this trip is “ girls only”, James isn’t comfortable with the prospect of his little princess exploring the world without him. He wants to protect her.
James joins the girls and hopes he can convince her to go to Northwestern. While Melanie’s father only has the best of intentions, his presence leads to an endless series of comic encounters(遭遇).
After following their faulty GPS device deep into the backwoods, James and Melanie discover her little brother and his pet pig have been hiding in the spare tire compartment.（隔间）.
What should be a simple tire charge(充气) results in the expensive car rolling down a mountain, forcing them to hike to a nearby hotel. There the pig ruins an outdoor wedding reception after eating an entire bag of coffee beans.
All these disasters add spice to their trip while along the way a father and a daughter finally get the chance to really talk to each other.
The film explores the parent-child relationship in a comic way: The gap between how close James thinks he is to Melanie and how little he actually knows of her plans makes us laugh first and then think.
All parents, whether they have college students or not, can relate to the bittersweet realization that their kids are growing up. Like what Melanie and James have done in the film, we all can find the balance between staying connected and letting go.
1. The main purpose of the passage is to__________.
A. introduce the newly-released film
B. call on parents to learn to balance the relationship with their children
C. tell a story which happened between an American girl and her father
D. explore the difference in parent-child relationship between the west and the east.
2. What does the underlined word “ released” mean?
A. set free B. known C. shown D. developed
3. We can infer from the passage that_______.
A. their car rolled down the mountain, ruining the wedding reception
B. a hotel was destroyed by Melanie’s brother and his pet pig
C. Melanie and her father got to understand each other better after so many encounters
D. the girls had to give up their trip because of the incidents on the way
4. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A. It’s unclear whether Melanie could be accepted by North-western University.
B. Northwestern University isn’t so famous as the university in Washington D.C.
C. There is no hope that Melanie will be accepted by the university in Georgetown.
D. Melanie’s father prefers her to stay not too far away from him.
A woman wears a face mask to protect her from polluted air in Lanzhou, China, in December．
A new study showed air pollution might put people more at risk for heart disease than scientists had thought．Kristin Miller, a doctoral student at the University of Washington, said chances of getting the disease were related to not only which city a woman lived in, but also where in the city．The study found that the effects of air pollution were often larger within cities than between cities．
The new findings make experts suspect that current pollution limits may be inadequate．Scientists examined rates of heart attack, stroke （中风） and other cardiovascular （心脏血管的） events in women with long-term exposure to air pollution．
The study involved women over the age of fifty who had no sign of cardiovascular disease at the start of the research．The study followed the women for as long as nine years to see how they would develop cardiovascular problems．
The researchers also examin
ed levels of fine particles （粒子，微粒） in the air in 36 areas across the country．That information came from the Environmental Protection Agency．The extremely small particles came from industrial smoke and traffic, along with things like wood-burning fireplaces in houses．
In the study, every ten-microgram increase in pollution was linked to a twenty-four percent increase in the risk of a cardiovascular event．But it was related to a seventy-six percent increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease．
But just how do particles in the air damage the cardiovascular system? The particles may cause the lungs to swell and release chemicals from the pollutants into the blood．The chemicals then could damage the heart．
1．The passage mainly talks about______．
A．the effects of pollution on women
B．how to protect women from air pollution
C．how air pollution damages a person’s heart
D．the 
relationship between air pollution and heart diseases
2．The case of the woman wearing a face mask shows ______．
A．people are paying more and more attention to their health
B．the woman is afraid of getting heart disease
C．Lanzhou city is more heavily polluted than other cities
D．air pollution is becoming more and more serious
3．We can learn from the passage that _______．
A．air pollution is more serious than scientists thought
B．the control of air pollution is effective in some cities
C．people throughout a city have the same risk of getting heart diseases
D．air pollution affects women more than men
4．The study implies that ______．
A．air pollution has a bigger effect on older women than younger women
B．small particles in the air mainly come from industrial smoke
C．the rise in air pollution may lead to a higher death rate from cardiovascular disease
D．air pollution has been affecting people for as long as nine years in the city of Lanzhou
粤公网安备 44130202000953号