On Christmas morning, I went to the Cockhedge Mall. People there were all busy buying their last minute requirements. I needed to buy a birthday card for my son-in-law whose birthday is the 29th of December. Picking up a few more things as well as my card I went to join the line for the express checkout which was for people who only had a few items in a basket and not a trolley （小推车） load. This line was next to the Customer Service desk.
Seemingly waiting quite a long time, I was jogged out of my thoughts by a voice behind me making comments on the things I bought.
It was so funny when I realized that she was describing the contents of my basket. The owner of the voice was a very pretty young lady. I said to her that I was going to buy a box of Christmas cookies but the only ones left were not to my liking. The lady told me that just opposite Cockhedge in Superdrug they had lots of cookies. I said, “I’m not going to do it now . I had enough of shops and I’m going home. ”
The assistant from the Customer Service came across at this time saying “If there is anyone in the line with a few items in their basket, none of which needed to be weighed, I will check out what they buy at the desk.” Because I had the things which needed to be weighed, the young lady accepted the offer and walked away waving goodbye.
At last my turn came at the checkout. I was walking away when I met my new friend once again who handed me a beautiful box of Christmas cookies. With a big hug she said “Hope you have a lovely Christmas.” She had been into Superdrug to buy me the cookies while I was still queuing in Cockhedge.
What a generosity to a stranger! I was so surprised you could have knocked me down with a feather. My Good Samaritan would never know what a joyful Christmas day I had with my family. Telling them this story, as we ate around the table, kept everyone spellbound.The underlined word “spellbound” in the last paragraph probably means _______ .
| A．interested | B．disappointed |
| C．astonished | D．frightened |
Which of the following could be the best title of the story?
| A．A Piece of Lucky Feather |
| B．A Surprise Christmas Gift |
| C．The Boring Shopping Experience |
| D．The Unforgettable Big Hug |
How does the writer feel about the pretty young lady?
| A．Worried. | B．Satisfied. |
| C．Grateful. | D．Proud. |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Nobody is sure what will happen the next moment. |
| B．A simple action can bring other people happiness. |
| C．Being patient will decrease the waiting time. |
| D．Life without hope and faith is a dull thing. |
What is a lifestyle and how is that different from a life? A lifestyle is about brand names and buying identity or fame. Lifestyle gives a false sense of peace and acceptability that comes from others recognizing what you’ve bought into (as well as bought). If your car, clothes, and home are expensive, you’re sophisticated(世故的) and stylish. If you have the right kind of job or go to the right social gatherings, then you receive the insincere approval of others. This means that your self-esteem(自尊) is always at the mercy of others, with no appreciation of you as an individual.
A life, on the other hand, is very different. A life is what you lead when you know what matters most to you. It is very simple and comes from being connected to what you know is important and being willing to put that first, no matter what others may think. When you create a life vs. a lifestyle, your self-esteem comes from what’s inside you, not what others think about you.
Lifestyle is expensive financially and personally, because it costs a great deal to keep up appearances and do what you think is socially acceptable. A life is not expensive. Rather than using personal or financial resources, a life generates energy and staying power. It’s about liberating yourself from the mindless consumption that society expects. It is about making the choices that are in line with your values, instead of using up your bank account or energy for no heart-driven reason.
How can you make the change? Understand the difference between a life and a lifestyle. Analyze your current lifestyle to see what is costing you in money, time, stress, and energy to maintain it. Let go and make room for what is really important to you, what supports you and brings you joy. Remember who you are from within, not what you own!Which of the following examples best explains “what is life about”?
| A．We work long hours in a job that we do not enjoy. |
| B．We focus on what we wear, or what kind of car we drive. |
| C．We find out what our true beliefs and values are and choose to live by these. |
| D．We think that how others see us is more important than what we think of ourselves. |
What method does the author use to explain his opinion in the third paragraph?
| A．Making comparison. |
| B．Giving an example. |
| C．Giving a definition. |
| D．Giving a reason. |
To make the change, we need to______________________.
| A．be directed from within |
| B．be directed from outside |
| C．be driven by social values |
| D．be driven by others’ opinions |
What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To describe what life is. |
| B．To introduce what lifestyle is. |
| C．To promote life instead of lifestyle. |
| D．To tell the differences between life and lifestyle. |
Researchers claimed that waitresses who wear red get up to 26 percent extra in tips than they would wearing other colors. However, the team finds that the sexes tip very differently—with the bigger tips coming only from male customers.
No matter what color they wear, female diners will give the same kind of amounts for service every time. Yet men, whether they realize it or not, add anything between 15 and 26 percent more to a waitress in red than they would if it was the same waitress wearing a different color.
The test was simple. Take 11 waitresses in five restaurants over a six-week period and ask them to wear the same kind of T-shirt every day but change the colors. Previous research has suggested waitresses could earn more if they acted charmingly or wore more make-up than their colleagues. But this study, by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, only changed the color of the T-shirt. Every other aspect from make-up to behavior remained the same.
When wearing either black, white, green, blue or yellow T-shirts, the size of the tips from both male and female customers was almost identical. But when they wore red, the size of the tips went up by between 15 and 26 percent from male customers, yet stayed the same from female ones.
A total of 272 restaurant customers were studied by researchers Nicolas Gueguen and Celine Jacob for the international journal of the tourism industry.
Even as a T-shirt, it shows just how much the color red is thought, by men, to increase the physical and sexual attractiveness of woman, said the researchers.
The researchers wrote: As red color has no negative effect on women customers, it could be in their interest to wear clothes at work.The underlined word “identical” in Para. 4 probably means____________________.
| A．different | B．similar | C．the same | D．close |
According to the passage, in the research by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research waitresses could earn more by _________________.
| A．wearing red T-shirts |
| B．putting on attractive make-up |
| C．changing the color of T-shirts |
| D．behaving themselves |
Which of the following is right according to the passage?
| A．Bright color can increase the physical and sexual attractiveness of women. |
| B．Waitresses in red make no difference to female customers. |
| C．Make-up makes no difference to man customers. |
| D．Whether male customers tips more or not depends on service. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．People tip differently if waitresses wear different make-up. |
| B．Waitresses who wear red get more tips than they would wearing other colors. |
| C．Male customers are more interested in the red color. |
| D．Red color has no negative effect on female customers. |
Like many languages spoken by people, Ayapaneco is dying. Only two people in the world still speak it, and they won't talk to each other.
Spoken in Mexico for centuries, Ayapaneco is one of 68 surviving languages in the mainly Spanish-speaking nation. The two speakers are Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez. Though they live only 500 meters from each other in the village, the two men seldom talk to each other. Daniel, an American expert, who is working to make a dictionary of Ayapaneco, says the two men “don’t have a lot in common,” and that Segovia can be “active” while Velasquez tends to mind his own business and stay at home.
While Segovia still speaks to his wife and son in Ayapaneco, neither of them can manage more than a few words. Velasquez hardly speaks his native tongue any more. Daniel is working to preserve the language in dictionary form before its last surviving speakers pass away. According to Daniel, Ayapaneco and the other languages began dying out with the introduction of public Spanish education in the mid-20th century. For decades, local children weren’t allowed to speak anything else. Many people to cities, starting in the 1970s, also helped the dying out of native languages.
Ayapaneco is the name given to the language; Segovia and Velazquez call it “Nuumte Oote”, which means “true voice”. Neither man, however, speaks the same language. The dictionary will contain two versions(版本) of the language when it comes out later this year. Those behind the dictionary aren’t the only ones trying to save Ayapaneco. The National Language Institute plans to hold classes so that Segovia and Velasquez can pass on what they know to children.
It is thought that there are about 6,000 languages spoken on earth and that about half will disappear over the next 100 years. Let’s hope the “true voice” isn’t one of them.Segovia and Velasquez seldom talk to each other in Ayapaneco because they___________________.
| A．both dislike the language |
| B．don’t get along well with each other |
| C．are too busy to talk to each other |
| D．don’t share the same interests |
Which are the main reasons why the language Ayapaneco started dying out?
a. No teacher liked to teach it. b. Local children had to speak Spanish.
c. many villagers went to live in cities. d. The surviving speakers didn’t like to use it.
| A．a, b | B．a, c | C．b, d | D．b, c |
How does the National Language Institute try to save Ayapaneco?
| A．Write a dictionary of Ayapaneco. |
| B．Let Ayapaneco be taught at school. |
| C．Introduce a public Ayapaneco education. |
| D．Ask villagers to speak Ayapaneco. |
From the text we learn that the author____________________.
| A．agrees that it is natural that Ayapaneco should die out |
| B．thinks Daniel’s effort to preserve Ayapaneco won’t work |
| C．thinks highly of Ayapaneco and wants people to learn it |
| D．hopes that Ayapaneco will not die out in the future |
One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by selling goods from door to door found that he had only one dime left. He was hungry so he decided to beg for a meal at the next house.
However, he became nervous when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied, “Mother has taught me never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” As Haward Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but it also increased his faith in God and the human race. He was about to give up and quit before this point.
Years later, the young woman became seriously ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where specialists could be called in to study her rare disease. Dr. Haward Kelly, now famous was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately, he rose and went down through the hospital hall into her room.
Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room and determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to her case.
After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the bill to him for approval. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to her room. She was afraid to open it because she was positive that it would take the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words,
“Paid in full with one glass of milk.”
(Signed) Dr. Haward Kelly
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as she prayed silently, “Thank You, God. Your love has spread through human hearts and hands.”After finishing the milk, the boy ______________.
| A．felt angry because what he was really hungry |
| B．regretted that he didn’t ask for any food |
| C．felt more hungry than ever before |
| D．had a stronger faith in God and the human race |
The underlined word “baffled” in Para. 4 probably means_______.
| A．puzzled | B．excited | C．amazed | D．encouraged |
What did the local doctors finally do when the young woman became seriously ill?
| A．They looked on indifferently. |
| B．They asked for Dr. Howard Kelly’s help. |
| C．They sent her to a hospital with specialists. |
| D．They believed that his faith in God would cure her. |
Which of the following statement is RIGHT according to the passage?
| A．The young woman knew that Dr. Howard Kelly would help her and save her life. |
| B．The doctor walked away the moment he heard the name of the town she came from. |
| C．The doctor saved the woman’s life and paid off the bill. |
| D．We shouldn’t ask for help because one day we will pay a lot for it. |
When I was growing up in the suburbs of New York, our first local Earth Day was organized around a drive to a town field where families were urged to empty items from their basements （地下室）for recycling rather than dropping them in the dustbin. It was an eye opening idea for a kid in 1970.
But as an environmental reporter, I'm bored of the large amount of deals and promotions that arrive by email or in my office or home mailbox on Earth Day. Like Valentine's Day, Earth Day has become a huge marketing opportunity—a way to promote consumption.
In fact, Earth Day is such a good sales opportunity that some shops, like Target, have expanded Earth Day into Earth Month.
There isn't time to give you a variety of the Earth Day shopping opportunities I was informed of this past week. They included deals on buying bottled water and earth-friendly wipes.
My award for the silliest promotion: a plan to gift 25 of the most environmentally conscious stars with unique, useful and “green” products and services, including skin care products, cheese-cake and artwork. My guess is most of the stuff will end up in celebrities' garbage.
Is buying and selling a good way to celebrate and protect the environment? I would argue that Earth Day might be an occasion to consider giving up purchases or habits that are environmentally questionable or that we could happily do without. How about not buying bottled water, but refilling a water bottle? How about not buying foods—even “organic” foods—that are packed in non-recyclable plastic?
Don't get me wrong. The company of Bridgestone is celebrating Earth Day by promising to repurpose a spent tire（利用废旧轮胎）for every tire that it sells. Verizon will plant a tree for each cell phone you trade in. Some coffee stores will even refill reusable cups at no charge. Target is giving out free reusable carrier bags without requiring a purchase.
But few shopkeepers are taking the next step－charging a fee at the cash register for disposable plastic bags, a common practice in Europe－to encourage customers to use those new reusable carriers.
Earth Day is transient（短暂的）. If you only showed love on Valentine's Day, would that really mean anything at all?The author's first local Earth Day was celebrated by ___________.
| A．driving to the town field |
| B．emptying waste for recycling |
| C．looking for good ideas for reuse |
| D．clearing items from their basements |
Why do some people expand Earth Day into Earth Month?
| A．Because many activities are organized for the day. |
| B．Because they intend to make many sales strategies. |
| C．Because they want to have more selling opportunities. |
| D．Because they have to deal with too much waste. |
According to the author, it's environmentally friendly to .
| A．buy packed organic foods |
| B．offer stars green products |
| C．refill water bottles |
| D．ask for free plastic bags |
It could be inferred from the text that Bridgestone and Verizon .
| A．are likely to misunderstand the author |
| B．have a good way to celebrate Earth Day |
| C．are devoted to making money on Earth Day |
| D．make wrong promotion plans on Earth Day |
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