A well-dressed man came to a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, because she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl? ” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I got it from my mother, and my mother from hers. But I really need the money. ”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
| A．he loved his wife deeply |
| B．his business had been successful |
| C．he was anxious to get it |
| D．he wanted to make the jeweler believe him |
He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.
| A．exactly the same size as the black one |
| B．exactly as big and nice as the black one |
| C．exactly as expensive as the black one |
| D．exactly the same quality as the black one |
Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.
| A．to see the perfect pearl |
| B．to sell their own pearl at a high price |
| C．to get in touch with the rich man |
| D．to help the rich man’s wife |
The little old lady was probably________.
| A．the man’s partner |
| B．short of money |
| C．unwilling to sell the pearl |
| D．the man’s wife |
The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
| A．his wife had found another perfect pearl already |
| B．he happened to be out at that time |
| C．he got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money |
| D．he was angry with the jeweler for waiting too long |
On the first day of class, Mr Whiteson gave us a lecture about a creature (生物) called cattytiger, a kind of cat-like animal that completely disappeared during the Ice Age. He passed round a skull (头骨) as he talked, and we all felt interested and took notes while listening. Later, we had a test about that.
When he returned my paper, I was very, very surprised. There was a very large cross through each of my answers. And so it was with everyone else’s in our class. What had happened? Everyone was wondering and couldn’t wait to get the answer.
Very simple, Mr Whiteson explained. He had made up all that story about the cattytiger. There had never been such an animal. So why none of us noticed that and how could we expect good marks for the incorrect answers?
Needless to say, we got very angry. What kind of teacher was this?
We should have guessed it out, Mr Whiteson said. After all, at the very moment he was passing around the cattytiger skull (in fact, a cat’s), hadn’t he been telling us that it completely disappeared during the Ice Age? Clearly he was telling a lie. But we just kept busy making notes and none used his head. We should learn something from this. Teachers and textbooks are not always correct.We failed in the test because we didn’t .
| A．think carefully |
| B．show interest in what Mr Whiteson said |
| C．listen to the teacher carefully |
| D．take notes while listening |
We got angry because .
| A．Mr Whiteson didn’t tell us the truth about cattytiger |
| B．there was no cattytiger |
| C．we didn’t know why he played the joke on us |
| D．we failed in the test |
Mr Whiteson gave us a special lesson .
| A．to show his special way of teaching |
| B．to help us learn our lessons better |
| C．to play a joke on us |
| D．so that we would no longer believe him |
Mr Whiteson meant that .
| A．teachers couldn’t make any mistakes |
| B．textbooks might be wrong sometimes |
| C．we shouldn’t believe our teachers because sometimes they might tell lies |
| D．we should speak up if we thought our teacher or the textbook was wrong |
HONG KONG — Hong Kong Disneyland is too crowded, a senior Chinese tourism official said today, hinting that another Disney Park is necessary to accommodate demand from China’s huge population.
The comments by Shao Qiwei, director of China’s State Administration of Tourism, came a day after Shanghai’s mayor Han Zheng said the city was preparing to build China’s second Disney theme park.
“China has a very large population. We now have 1.3 billion people. The market is very large. As far as I know, Hong Kong Disneyland is now very crowded,” said Shao, whose comments were broadcast on Hong Kong’s Cable TV.
The Hong Kong theme park, which opened in September, was widely criticized in January when it turned away（不准…入内） hundreds of Lunar New Year holiday makers from mainland China because the park was full. Chaos(混乱) erupted when angry crowds tried to force their way into the park.
The embarrassing incident prompted a public apology from Hong Kong Disneyland Managing Director Bill Ernest and a dressing down from Hong Kong’s leader Donald Tsang. Authorities are carefully studying the issue of overcrowding in preparation for the possible building of the Disney park in Shanghai, Shao said.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that no agreement has been reached on the park in Shanghai, quoting senior vice president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Leslie Goodman. Hong Kong Disneyland is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the local government, which shouldered the bulk of the park’s construction fees.Why is it necessary to build a Disney park in Shanghai?
| A．Hong Kong Disneyland is too small and very crowded. |
| B．Hong Kong Disneyland can’t meet the need of the large population. |
| C．Hong Kong Disney Park was criticized by tourists. |
| D．Hong Kong Disneyland is far from the mainland. |
Hundreds of visitors from Mainland China got angry because ________.
| A．the services in the park were not as good as expected |
| B．chaos happened at the entrance to the park |
| C．the park was too crowded |
| D．they were not allowed to go into the park |
The building of a Disney park in Shanghai ________.
| A．remains to be discussed with The Walt Disney Co. |
| B．is financed The Walt Disney Co. |
| C．will be in the charge of the Shanghai government |
| D．has been agreed to by The Walt Disney Co. |
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The purpose of the advertisement is ________.
| A．to help parents with their daily life |
| B．to collect more money for charity |
| C．to attract more subscribers |
| D．to introduce a new product |
Where can we most probably read the ad?
| A．On a website. | B．In the newspaper. |
| C．In a supermarket. | D．In a library. |
A reader subscribed(订阅)Parents® 3 months ago，but now he finds the magazine
dissatisfying. What can he do?
| A．He can cancel without getting his money back. |
| B．He can cancel and get all his money back without answering any questions. |
| C．He can email them to access his bank account to get all his money back. |
| D．He can cancel after answering a series of questions. |
From Parents® magazine，we can get the following things EXCEPT ________.
| A．advice from child experts |
| B．toys developing readertested products |
| C．suggestions on taking care of the children from doctors |
| D．tips on good habits of children's learning English |
“Love your neighbor as yourself" is a saying familiar to most of us. It means that you must have the ability to love and accept yourself in order to form and keep satisfying relationship with others. Self-esteem means accepting yourself for who you really are, and believing that you are indeed a worthwhile person who is deserving of love and respect from others.
Self-esteem is our sense of how good we feel about ourselves. It is based on our judgment of ourselves, not on other people's assessment, but simply on our own. Our self-esteem is not dependent on our talent. Some very ordinary people feel very good about themselves, while other extraordinarily high achievers hold low opinions of themselves.
Self-esteem is the primary key to long-term stress management. Why? The first three sources of stress are: predictable life event, unexpected changes and build-up of daily stresses. These are much easier to handle when we believe in ourselves. A positive, healthy self-esteem gives us the “hardiness” (强健) to deal with the difficulties of life, and to see them as challenges to be met, rather than threats to be feared.
The fourth category of stress is entirely the result of a low self-esteem. It is the category of stress that is most common and tiring over the long run. This kind of stress cannot be overcome, or even changed, until the self-esteem problems that cause it are corrected.
Learning to love yourself for who you are is the key to overcoming stress. Self-esteem comes from the self, and cannot be promoted by others. A person who feels that his self-esteem comes from the approval of those around him or her is bound to self-destruct (自毁). One cannot keep the level of “performance” required to please everyone else, especially if that performance disagrees with who you are and is simply a facade that makes you popular with the world. When the applause is gone, there is nothing left.
Only those who can feel the strength of knowing who they are and those who can feel good about that will survive the stresses of life. Self-esteem is the basis of contentment and positive living.What is the key to overcoming stress according to the passage?
| A．Removing yourself from stressful situation. |
| B．Learning to love yourself for who you are. |
| C．Facing the stress and dealing with it. |
| D．Getting help from friends. |
What does the underlined word "facade" (in Para 5) mean?
| A．A false appearance. | B．A big worry. |
| C．A wrong action. | D．A strange feeling. |
The passage is written to ______.
| A．tell people how to overcome stress |
| B．help people form good relationship with others |
| C．show the importance of feeling good about yourself |
| D．provide the different methods to get a clear view of yourself |
Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic (逻辑) behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”
Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.
Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.What would be the best title for the text?
| A．A Way on How to Write |
| B．Increase Your Brain Power through Writing |
| C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing |
| D．How to Start Your Writing |
If a writer writes something, it means that he or she _______.
| A．has understood it very well |
| B．needs to understand it better |
| C．wants to remember it in his or her mind |
| D．is exercising his or her “explain power” |
The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______.
| A．you are already successful |
| B．you still need to work hard |
| C．writing can help you walk half way |
| D．you have been on the way to success |
What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?
| A．To advise readers to start their writing. |
| B．To explain the importance of writing. |
| C．To persuade readers to become writers. |
| D．To increase readers’ brain power. |
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