Your parents always tell you that a good education is the key to a bright future. The promise you made to finish your schooling has been completed. Another few years in some college classroom just doesn’t sound too attractive; so what are your choices? Let’s see, Choice One—You can live with your parents and do nothing. Or Choice Two—You could get yourself a job. Of course, there are other choices, but for this little discussion, we’ll just suppose that they aren’t related (有关的).
OK, so Choice Two is obviously going to be more effective. You will finally enter the real world. Well, hopefully high school helped to give you some kind of an idea of what type of job you would like to enter. If not, then it would be a good idea to speak with an expert working in the field you may be interested in before you jump into a job that you won’t like. Gaining knowledge can be good by helping you find the job that you will enjoy doing. Another reason to get some valued things before working. Internships (见习) or volunteering are usually a good place to start.
If you are ready to begin a job after high school, you will save money from college cost and happily making a living in your chosen jobs. From another point of view, jumping into the workforce (劳动力) is sometimes the only way to see for yourself if you are ready to work a 40-hour week yet. If you decide that full time work is not what you are ready for, then this may advise that you should go back to a university and get a certificate.
Two different
| Two different choices |
◆ The first one is that you do nothing, just live with your parents. ◆ The second one is that you could go out to |
| The starting a job |
◆ Speaking with other people for advice about the job you may show some interest in. ◆ Getting knowledge can be good to help you find a(n) ◆ Internships or volunteering are a good |
| The advantages to begin a job after high school |
◆ One is that you will not ◆ Another is that jumping into the workforce is sometimes the only way to help you make sure if you are really ready to work. |
Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches along the highway I travel daily to work.
There are some particular blue flowers that have always caught my eye. I’ve noticed that they bloom only in the morning hours and the afternoon sun is too warm for them. Every day for about two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.
This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the kitchen window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I’ve often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look great in that bed alongside other wildflowers. Every day I drove past the flowers thinking, “I’ll stop on my way home and dig them.” “Gee, I don’t want to get my good clothes dirty…” Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband even gave me a folding shovel（铲子）one year in my car to be used for that expressed purpose.
One day on my way home from work, I was shocked to see that the highway department had destroyed the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, “Way to go, you waited too long. You should have done it when you first saw them blooming this spring.” A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister has a terminal brain tumor（肿瘤）. She is 20 years older than me and unfortunately, because of age and distance, we haven’t been as close as we all would have liked. I couldn’t help but see the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the relationship between my sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful memories that will bloom every year for us.
And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I’ll stop and transplant them to my wildflower garden. Why did those flowers the writer saw only bloom in the morning?
| A．Because it was hot in the afternoon. |
| B．Because someone picked them away. |
| C．Because someone took them into houses. |
| D．Because the writer passed them in the morning. |
Which of the following statements is right according to the passage?
| A．The writer’s sister died of lung tumor. |
| B．The writer was regretful when she heard her sister’s death. |
| C．The writer planned to dig the flowers to give them to her husband. |
| D．The writer’s husband planned to plant some flowers in the garden. |
The writer wrote the passage to tell us ________.
| A．to enjoy what we have now |
| B．to value now and not to lose chances |
| C．to protect the beautiful flowers we see |
| D．to love those who are your close relatives |
“Teenager” means a person from 13 to 19 years old. Although they’re young, they have to make many important choices by themselves. Often teachers and parents cannot handle them because they don’t understand and know teenagers, especially their wishes, problems or different moods in a short time. They need to think about questions like these: Should we go to college? What kind of job do I want? However, other people also influence their choices. Who influences teenagers?
It depends on the kind of choice. When teenagers buy things, friends are the most important influence. This is especially true for clothes and music. TV shows, advertisements and parents also influence teenagers. In more serious things, parents are probably the most important influence. Some teenagers say it’s best to regard both parents and friends as influences. James, a seventeen-year-old boy says he’s “just a crazy man”. He also says, “Parents are really important because they can tell you what’s right and wrong.”
But teenagers also feel they need to make choices—to make their own mistakes. As one teenager girl said, “If our parents don’t let us make our own choices, maybe in the future we don’t know how to do it.” And they feel friends can often be a big help, especially because friends sometimes know more about their situation than their parents. Why do teenagers sometimes have to make their own choices?
Because the teachers want them to do it.
Because their parents want them to do it.
Because teenagers like to make choices by themselves.
Because teachers and parents don’t understand them well. Who influences most to the teenagers when they buy music?
| A．Their teachers. | B．Theirs parents. | C．Their friends. | D．Movie stars. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
Everybody needs to make choices.
Teenagers need to make choices by themselves.
Teenagers know more about TV shows and music.
Teachers and parents should help teenagers as much as possible.
Reading is a good habit, but the problem is there’s too much to read these days and too little time to read every word of it. There are hundreds of skills to help you read more in less time. Here are two skills that I think are especially good.
Preview — if it’s long and hard. Previewing is especially useful for getting a general idea of heavy reading like long magazine articles and business reports.
Here’s how to preview.
Read the first two paragraphs and the last two paragraphs carefully.
Then read only the first sentence of the other paragraphs.
Previewing doesn’t give you all the details. It keeps you from spending time on things you don’t really want － or need － or read.
Skim － if it’s short and simple. Skimming is a good way to get a general idea of light reading like popular magazines or the sports and entertainment of your daily paper.
Here’s how to skim.
Get your eyes to move fast. Sweep them across each line.
Pick up only a few key words in each line.
Everybody skims differently. You and I may not pick up the same words when we skim the same piece, but we’ll get a similar idea of what it’s all about. How many skills does the writer introduce to help us in reading?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
What should you do if you read a long article according to the writer?
| A．Read every word of it. | B．Read all the details. |
| C．Pick up a few key words in each line. | |
| D．Read the first and the last two paragraphs carefully. |
If you read a simple article, which reading skill is better to get the general idea?
| A．Previewing. | B．Skimming. | C．Reading. | D．Sweeping. |
Our spiritual intelligence quotient, SQ (精神智商)helps us understand ourselves and live fuller, happier lives.
While we’re all born with SQ, most of us even don’t know that we have it. Luckily, you don’t have to sign up for classes to learn how to enhance(加强) your SQ. Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding:
Sit Quietly. The step of developing SQ begins in solitude （独处） and silence. To tune in to its whisper, you have to keep away from your busy, noisy, complicated life and make yourself do nothing at all. At home, for example, shut the door of your bedroom, take a few deep breaths and let them out very, very slowly.
Step Outside. For many people, nature makes their spirit free. Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset. Follow the flight of a bird; watch clouds floating overhead.
Find An Activity You Enjoy. It’s important to find a hobby that helps you tune in to your spirit. Garden, walk or jog, arrange flowers, listen to music that touches your soul.
Ask Questions Of Yourself. Some people use their thoughtful time to focus on scriptures (经文). Others ask open-ended (无确定答案的) questions, such as “What am I feeling? What are my choices?” But don’t expect an answer to arrive through some super-natural form of e-mail. Later that day you’ll suddenly find yourself thinking about a problem from a perspective (角度) you never considered before.
Trust Your Spirit. While most of us rely on gut feelings (直觉) to warn us of danger, SQ usually nudges （渐渐推动） us, not away from, but toward some action that will lead to a greater good. To enhance your SQ, you should first _______________.
| A．stand loneliness and silence |
| B．make your life simpler and less busy |
| C．give up the daily things in your life |
| D．listen more to your whisper |
The underlined phrase “tune in to your spirit” in the fifth paragraph probably means ________________.
| A．get your spirit relaxed | B．keep up your spirit |
| C．listen to your spirit | D．change your spirit |
What will happen after people ask questions of themselves?
| A．People will lead to a greater good. |
| B．People will think about a problem in a different way. |
| C．People will expect answers through e-mails. |
| D．People will keep away from their busy life. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Advantages and disadvantages of SQ |
| B．The relationship between your SQ and you |
| C．What SQ is and in what ways it can be improved |
| D．What SQ is and in what ways you can make your life easier |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon. They don’t feel hurt. If the same two people meet again, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand .Friendships between us develop more slowly but may become lifelong feelings, extending（延伸）deeply into both families.
There is another difficult point for us to understand. Although Americans treat friends warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to them if it requires a great deal of time. But in China, we are usually generous with our time. We, as hosts, will appear at an airport even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take a day off from our work to act as guides to our friends. It is opposite in America. Americans cannot manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily plans. They will probably expect the visitors to get themselves from the airport to the hotels. And they expect the visitors will phone them from there. Once the visitors arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real.
For Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to restaurants, except for business matters. Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. So accept their hospitality（好客）at home and enjoy your visit in America! The underlined phrase "pick up" in Paragraph 1may mean "_________________".
| A．put down | B．give up | C．pay no attention to | D．continue |
From the passage, we can know_________________.
| A．Americans are always generous with their time. |
| B．Americans don’t feel hurt if their friendships disappear soon. |
| C．Chinese friendships develop more slowly but will never disappear. |
| D．Chinese friendships develop faster than American friendships. |
This passage is most probably written for __________________.
| A．American students | B．Chinese students |
| C．Chinese visitors to America | D．American visitors to China |
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