I will never forget what my old headmaster told me. Normally when you are only 15 years of age you do not remember most of the things that are preached by your teachers. But, this particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of this story.
It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and he was addressing the students on important things in life and about committing ourselves to what is important to us.
This is how the story went:
An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.
His house was filthy, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled horrible. The neighbours could not stand the smell any more, so they summoned the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.
The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.
He said nothing at all. he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.
Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing, commitment(专心，敬业). We should remain true to our course, although it may mean committing ourselves to things that people around us would normally disapprove. Just keep it in mind that commitment attracts wealth. Why did the headmaster tell us the story?
| A．To enjoy ourselves. |
| B．To teach us how to make money. |
| C．To tell us the importance of commitment. |
| D．To tell us not to look down upon beggars. |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The old man made a living by begging. |
| B．The old man was excited to be a millionaire. |
| C．The old man became a millionaire by begging every weekday. |
| D．The old man planned to become a millionaire. |
Why did the police officers clean the old man’s house?
| A．Because the old man hired them to. |
| B．Because they wanted to know how much money the old man had begged. |
| C．Because the old man wanted to live comfortably. |
| D．Because the neighbours could not stand the smell coming out of the old man’s house. |
“Avoid the rush hour” must be the slogan of large cities all over the world. Wherever you look, there are people, people, people. The trains which leave or arrive every few minutes are packed. The streets are so crowded; there is hardly room to move on the pavements. It takes ages for a bus to get to you because the traffic on the roads has almost come to a standstill. Even when a bus does at last arrive, it’s so full, and it can’t take any more passengers. The smallest unexpected event can bring about conditions of complete chaos. The strange thing is not that people stand these conditions, but that they actually choose them in preference to anything else. 
Large modern cites are too big to control. People living there are forced by their environment to take a wholly unnatural way of life. They lost touch with the land and rhythm of nature. It is possible to live in such an air-conditioned existence in a large city that you can hardly tell the season. A few flowers in a public park may remind you that it is spring or summer. All the simple, good things of life like sunshine and fresh air are hard to find. Even the distinction between days and nights is lost.
The funny thing about it all is that you pay dearly to live in a city. The demand for accommodation is so great that it is often impossible for ordinary people to buy a house of their own. The cost of living is also very high. Just about everything you buy is likely to be more expensive than it would be in the country. Besides, the crime rate in most cities is very high. If you think about it, they’re not really fit to live in at all. Can anyone really doubt that the country is what man was born for and where he truly belongs? According to the writer, .
| A．there is a slogan in every large city all over the world |
| B．the rush hour traffic is terrible in large cities of the world |
| C．one should try to avoid the traffic wherever he is |
| D．rush hour exists in large cities but not in small ones |
It is unusual that .
| A．people can stand the conditions in the city |
| B．people are used to living in a city |
| C．people know little about the problems of a city |
| D．people still choose to live in a city |
City people can hardly tell the seasons because .
| A．there in no such thing as changes of seasons |
| B．seasons change only in public parks now |
| C．they live unnaturally without contact with nature |
| D．the temperature changes little between seasons |
The reason for things to be more expensive in a city than elsewhere is that .
| A．city people have to pay higher to live in a city |
| B．there is a greater demand for things in a city |
| C．things are better in a city than elsewhere |
| D．people in a city are much more wealthy |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．It’s crazy to choose to live in a large city. |
| B．City life can be very disagreeable. |
| C．Country life is better than city life. |
| D．Conditions of cities should be changed. |
These days, many young people in Ho Chi Minh City(胡志明市), Vietnam, are taking gymnastics, dancing or yoga classes after work. Actually, there are many why young people are taking exercise classes and going to the gym, instead of shopping and entertaining friends work.
Nguyen Thu Nguyet, a white-collar worker, says, “Five o’clock is the time when everyone is in the street. If I to go home at that time, I’ll get in traffic. So rather than being in a traffic jam, in smoke and dust, I go to a gym near my office for about an hour. ”Tran Minh Tue, a staff member of a company, also says, “I’ve found dancing is a good way to the non-stop drinking. More , I’m in better health and my stomach has gotten smaller. ”
At present, traffic jams in Ho Chi Minh City are very . The government is installing(安装)water pipes, and many blockhouses(木屋)are built for their workers to work in. That the traffic problem. Authorities say that this year, another
57 km road will be up and more blockhouses will be built, the total dug-out road length to 200 km. At the same time, traffic jams can serious air pollution, people’s health and the city’s investment environment, not to mention(提到) the city’s future development.
If more people rush hour by exercising or taking classes the rush hour, traffic jams may be . This is a clever that can also help people improve their health and meet others with similar .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“Just ate chicken feet for lunch. ”These were the words I wrote on my blog yesterday. By the next day there were hundreds of comments from my friends. They included “OH MY GOD! That is so disgusting(令人厌恶的)! ”, “What were they like? ” and “Why can’t you eat sandwiches like everyone else? ”
To Chinese people, chicken feet are a normal snack. To my friends in Britain, the thought of eating a chicken’s feet is weird(不可思议的). As weird, in fact, as eating a bullfrog(牛蛙), scorpion(蝎子), snake, or turtle.
But if there are two things I love more than anything else in life, they are trying new things and food.
I arrived in Beijing five months ago. Since then, I’ve searched for the “weirdest” foods so I can try them, then treat my friends to some “virtual eating”on my blog.
One weekend, I went to Wangfujing, Beijing’s “snack street”. The trip gave me tons of blog materials.
“I chose a stick with three live, wriggling scorpions on it, ”I wrote. “And it was pretty good. The scorpion was warm and crispy. The legs did have a tendency to get stuck between one’s teeth, however. What’s more, I am sure scorpion stung(蜇伤)me twice with its tail in revenge. ”
Next came snake: “A bit like a cross between fish and chicken, with a slightly rubbery texture(弹性口感)and meaty taste. ”
Some people were actually angry when I ate turtle soup—especially when I posted pictures showing the poor little guy’s head staring sadly up at us from the bowl. “I am never speaking to you again, ”wrote one former friend.
Still, I will continue my culinary quest(美食征程).
Next on my list is starfish, though I feel I should have some vegetables too—algae, maybe.
So what am I eating, tonight, you may ask. Pizza. Well, a girl’s gotta have a break sometimes. According to the passage, which of the following “weirdest” foods is the one the author hasn’t tried?
| A．Chicken feet. | B．Bullfrog. |
| C．Scorpion. | D．Chicken head. |
What does the author like most in life?
| A．Trying new things and food. |
| B．Traveling. |
| C．Walking. |
| D．Shopping. |
Where did the author get her blog material?
| A．From her friends. |
| B．From Wangfujing, Beijing’s “snack street”. |
| C．From shopping. |
| D．From the Internet. |
What is the author’s friends’ attitude towards her trying “weird” foods?
| A．They are satisfied. |
| B．They are happy. |
| C．They are surprised and even angry. |
| D．They are sorry. |
What can we learn from the passage about the author?
| A．The author likes eating. |
| B．The author enjoys traveling. |
| C．The author is fond of shopping. |
| D．The author is interested in Chinese food. |
My dad was never the kind to offer many words of love or encouragement. But we knew he loved us. He just had his own way of showing it. 
When I was a teen, we were seasonal campers(野营者)at a family campground almost an hour outside the city where we lived. Each family had their own campsite with water and electric, and you basically parked your camper there from May to October. Most “seasonals” visited them every weekend during those months, with the occasional week-long stay. There were plenty of other kids who camped seasonally each weekend, and they came to be some of my closest friends. Of course, many of them were boys.
We kids paired up(结对)with our little boyfriends or girlfriends, and we’d hold hands as we walked around the campground. We’d play ping-pong, have some snacks, and sing songs. Most weekends were pretty similar, but the couples would change. You’d see so-and-so with a different so-and-so than they were with the weekend before. You know how it is when you’re a teen—a three-week relationship is a really long time.
So, needless to say, my teen years were spent with quite a few different boys. But every single one of them had something in common. They’d all received the Evil Eye.
The Evil Eye was a magical sort of thing. One simple look from my dad, and the boy immediately knew not to mess with me. It was as if he could send his warnings through invisible laser(激光)beams that shot directly from his eyes to the boys’ brains.
“You will not put your hands on my daughter. You will not kiss my daughter. You will not even whisper sweet things into my daughter’s ear. ”
I remember one night in particular walking with a boy around the campground after dark. We came from one direction, and my dad from the other. The boy and my dad locked eyes for a brief second, then the boy dropped my hand like a hot potato and turned away, giving me a quick “See you later. ”
Yes, that’s the Evil Eye: best way ever to keep wandering teen boys’ hands away from your daughter. The Evil Eye in the passage implies that .
| A．Dad gets angry easily |
| B．Dad’s eyes are evil |
| C．Dad’s eyes are ugly-looking |
| D．Dad’s eyes are protective to his daughter |
The underlined words “mess with” in Paragraph 5 most probably mean“ ”.
| A．cause trouble for | B．make untidy |
| C．get married to | D．talk to |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．As teenagers, we went camping every weekend. |
| B．We made lots of friends during the seasonal camping. |
| C．We had regular boyfriends or girlfriends and enjoyed ourselves. |
| D．The boy dropped my hand and turned away because he loved the Evil Eye. |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author .
| A．is a teenage girl who loves her father |
| B．is a teenage boy who hates his father |
| C．is now an adult who has come to understand her father’s love |
| D．used to be a naughty boy who changed girlfriends now and then |
Scientists are making new studies of color and its effects on our health. They have known for a long time that the color of a room or the color of the light in it can affect our feelings and emotions. Many prisons and hospitals have at least one room that is painted pink. Officials have found that light and color can produce physical changes in our bodies.
Professor Falfan worked with a group of 9 disabled children at school in Albert. Two of the children were blind. The other seven had normal sight. The scientists changed the color of the school room, and then looked for changes in blood pressure, heart beat and breathing rate. The effects of color changes were the same for the blind children as for those with normal sight. Their blood pressure dropped from about 120 to 100. Similar changes were reported in heart-beat and the breathing. The children were also calmer and less excited. Then the colors of the room were returned to orange and white. Blood pressure, heart-beat and breathing rate went up and the children became excited again.
Professor Falfan said different colors produce different levels of light energy. He said the differences seem to affect chemicals in the brain that carry messages from nerve to nerve and from nerve to muscle. Light and color can affect .
| A．only one’s feelings and emotions |
| B．one’s energy |
| C．one’s mental changes |
| D．one’s heart-beat, brain activities, blood pressure, feelings and emotions |
The color of pink had a calming effect, that is to say, the color affects .
| A．the chemicals in the brain |
| B．the eyes |
| C．the skin |
| D．the muscle |
According to the text, orange and white are colors which can make people .
A. calm B. active C. sick D. blind
13. The colors in the school room mentioned in the passage were changed from .
A. orange to white
B. orange to dark blue
C. orange and white to pink or some other colors
D. gray to more colorsAfter reading the passage we can conclude that .
| A．blind people can be affected by colors, too |
| B．one’s heart will beat faster in a colorful room than in a white room |
| C．the chemicals in the brain change with feelings and emotions |
| D．if one’s blood pressure drops, his breathing will get slower and slower |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号