阅读理解
How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病) . Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it—the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believe in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success—you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool.”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
| A．Difficulties influenced his career. |
| B．Specialists offered him medical advice. |
| C．Training helped him defeat his disease. |
| D．He overcame the shadow of illness to win. |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
| A．Her achievements | B．Her daily happenings |
| C．Her training schedule | D．Her sports career |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to?
| A．Ways that help one to focus. |
| B．Activities that turn one’s attention away. |
| C．Words that help one to feel less tense. |
| D．Habits that make it hard for one to relax. |
According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?
| A．Hard work. | B．Devotion |
| C．Courage | D．Self-confidence |
You’re standing in the dairy section at the grocery store, searching for your favorite brand. Suddenly, you catch a smell of chocolate cookies. You forget about dairy and head for the bakery (烘烤食品) section. Guess what? You just walked into an odor (气味) trap (陷阱)! The odor was cooked up by scientists in a lab.
For years, scientists have been studying the special powers of smell. They found that more than our other senses, smell changes our mood and helps us remember things.
So companies have begun spending thousands of dollars to scent (使充满香味) entire stores. Artificial (人造的) scents are being used to lead customers by the nose. These smells help to get people inside and put them in the mood to buy. They even make customers remember the store later, so they’ll come back for more. Also, many companies have smartly made use of product smells. A company added lemon fragrance to its dish cleaner. They wanted people to think the soap contained “natural” cleaners. It worked!
New uses for smells are being created every day. One bank, for example, gives customers coupons (优惠券) advertising car loans (贷款). To get people to take out a loan, bank officials hope to coat these coupons with the fresh leather smell of a new car. In Australia, telephone offices are putting sweat odor on unpaid bills. Since some people sweat when they’re scared, this smell might remind them of when they were frightened. And they’ll pay the bills right away!
What lies ahead for our noses? Smell scientists are working on some pretty far-out ideas. Would you believe TV sets that produce smells? Or how about scent diets? Certain food smells will fool your stomach into thinking it’s full. Alarm clocks will scent your bedroom with a strong pleasant smell designed to wake you up. Scientists are even working on ways to keep garbage from smelling. Researchers expect scents to help students make more sense of what they’re learning.
And just think. Someday soon, even your homework may smell nice!How do sales methods affect customers in the stores?
| A．They change customers’ preferences. |
| B．They persuade customers to use credit cards. |
| C．They make customers avoid bad and unsafe products. |
| D．They influence customers to make unplanned purchases. |
Why do telephone offices put sweat odor on unpaid bills?
| A．Because the sweat odor is a reminder of terrifying experience. |
| B．Because the sweat odor can change people’s attitude. |
| C．Because most people don’t think much of sweating. |
| D．Because many people dislike paying bills. |
What does the author mean by saying “Someday soon, even your homework may smell nice!”?
| A．Students would benefit more from smell research. |
| B．Students would be more willing to do homework. |
| C．Smell research would develop beyond our imagination. |
| D．Smell research would make great differences to our life. |
Why does the author write this passage?
| A．To encourage the store owners to use smells. |
| B．To expose wrong practices by smell scientists. |
| C．To inform the readers of an interesting subject. |
| D．To blame the advertisers that use smells to sell. |
It’s really true what people say about English politeness: it’s everywhere. When squeezing (挤过去) past someone in a narrow passage, people say “sorry”. When getting off a bus, English passengers say “thank you” rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable, and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles, and here are some more polite ways of interacting (交往) with people in UK.
People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and shop assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposite to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.
Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize (批评) others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers emphasized several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted.What is the author’s attitude towards English politeness?
| A．He thinks it is unnecessary. | B．He thinks little of it. |
| C．He appreciates it very much. | D．He thinks it goes too far. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．German men never treat a woman to dinner. |
| B．The author think it’s unnecessary to say “thank you” to the bus driver. |
| C．In Germany, employers often say “thank you” to employees for their job. |
| D．Germans think it is unnecessary to thank workers because payment is enough. |
We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men ______.
| A．like to fight with each other |
| B．treat women in a polite way |
| C．are as generous as English men |
| D．are unwilling to spend money for women |
The author develops the text through the method of ______.
| A．making comparisons | B．telling stories |
| C．giving reasons | D．giving examples |
Whether they’re project documents, trade journals, blogs, business books or ebooks, most of us read regularly as part of our jobs, and to develop our skills and knowledge.
But do you ever read what should be a useful document, yet fail to gain any helpful information from it? Or, re-read something several times to get a full understanding of the content? If so, look at the following strategies (策略) that will help you read more effectively.
●Think About What You Want to Know
Before you start reading anything, ask yourself why you’re reading it. Are you reading with a purpose, or just for pleasure? What do you want to know after you’ve read it? Once you know your purpose, you can examine the resource (资源) to see whether it’s going to help you.
Ask yourself whether the resource meets your needs, and try to work out if it will give you the right amount of knowledge. If you think that the resource isn’t consummate, don’t waste time reading it.
●Know How Deeply to Study the Material
Where you only need the shallowest knowledge of a subject, you can skim material. Here you read only chapter headings, introductions, and summaries.
If you need a moderate (中等的) level of information on a subject, then you can scan the text. This is when you read the chapter introductions and summaries in detail. You can then speed read the contents of the chapters, picking out and understanding key words and concepts.
Only when you need full knowledge of a subject is it worth studying the text in detail (细节). Here it’s best to skim the material first to get an overview of the subject. This gives you an understanding of its structure, into which you can then fit the detail gained from a full reading of the material. Why should we know our purpose before reading?
| A．Because we can develop our skills and knowledge. |
| B．Because we can get a full understanding of the content. |
| C．Because we can avoid re-reading something several times. |
| D．Because we can check it out whether the material will be helpful. |
What does the underlined word “consummate” in the 5th paragraph mean?
| A．Legal. | B．Natural. | C．Perfect. | D．Formal. |
According to the depth to study the material, how many reading strategies are mentioned?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
The best title for this passage should be ______.
| A．Reading Strategies |
| B．Think About What You Want to Know |
| C．Know How Deeply to Study the Material |
| D．How to Develop our Skills and Knowledge |
Come for the Latest Movies
It’s summer movie time again. And heroes are ready to try their strength and magic on the silver screen. Check out our list of four films that look most promising to young audiences.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Release Date: June 4
Story: It’s the summer before Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A shadow is hanging over Hogwarts. A dangerous murderer, Sirius Black, has escaped the Wizards’ Prison. And he broke out to fulfill one task to kill Harry Potter.
Around the World in 80 Days
Release Date: June 16
Story: This version of the classic novel set in 1872 focuses on Passepartout (Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan), a Chinese thief who seeks refuge with a strange London adventurer, Phileas Fogg. Passepartout uses his martial arts skills to defend Fogg from danger as he travels around the world in 80 days to win a bet.
Spider-Man 2
Release Date: June 30
Story: Peter Parker is still coming to terms with his dual identity as the crime superhero Spider-Man. He wants to reveal his secret identity to Mary Jane, meanwhile, his Aunt May has fallen on hard times. A new villain (坏人), Dr Otto Octavius, has appeared to cause more troubles.
King Arthur
Release Date: July 7
Story: King Arthur is presented as a clever ruler who manages to unite all the knights (骑士) in Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire. Under the guidance of Merlin and the beautiful, brave Guinevere, Arthur will struggle to realize his dreams.To enjoy the performance of Jackie Chan, you can go to the cinema on ______.
| A．June 4 | B．June 16 | C．June 30 | D．July 7 |
In Spider-Man 2, Aunt May’s trouble is caused by ______.
| A．Peter Parker | B．Mary Jane |
| C．Dr Otto Octavius | D．Spider Man |
Which of the following films is set in ancient Britain?
| A．King Arthur. | B．Spider-Man 2. |
| C．Around the World in 80 Days. | D．Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. |
In which part of a website are you most likely to find the passage?
| A．Travel. | B．Entertainment. | C．News. | D．Comments. |
She was dancing. My lame grandmother was dancing. I stood in the living room doorway, looking at her beautiful movements, absolutely shocked. She was the pet of the dancing world. And then she’d had her accident and it was all over. I had read that in an old newspaper article.
‘‘So… Your leg? I mean, how did your leg heal (恢复健全)?”
“To tell you the truth — my legs have been well all my life,” she sighed.
“But I don’t understand!” I said, “Your dancing career (事业)… You pretended all these years?”
‘‘Very much so, and for a very good reason.”
She thought for a while and then continued. “We were talking about engagement (订婚) when your grandfather had to go to war. I was so afraid of losing him that the only way I could stay normal was to dance. I put all my energy and time into practicing and I became very good. Critics praised me, the public loved me, but all I could feel was the ache in my heart, not knowing whether the love of my life would ever return. Then one day a letter came. There were only three sentences: ‘I have lost my leg. I am no longer a whole man and now give you back your freedom. It is best you forget about me.’’’
“I made my decision there and then. I traveled away from the city. When I returned I had bought myself a stick. I told everyone I had been in a car crash and that my leg would never completely heal again. My dancing days were over. No one doubted the story — I had learned to limp (一瘸一拐地走) convincingly before I returned home. And I made sure the first person to hear of my accident was a reporter I knew well. Then I traveled to the hospital. They had pushed your grandfather outside in his wheelchair. I took a deep breath, leaned on my stick and limped to him.”
“I showed him newspaper articles of my accident. ‘There is a whole life waiting for us out there! But I am not going to carry you. You are going to walk yourself.’”
“I limped a few steps toward him and showed him what I’d taken out of my pocket. ‘Now show me you are still a man.’ I said. He bent to take his stick from the ground and struggled out of that wheelchair. He managed it on his own and walked to me and never sat in a wheelchair again in his life.”
“What did you show him?” I had to know. Grandma looked at me and smiled. “Two engagement rings, of course. I had bought them the day after he left for the war and I was not going to waste them on any other man.”What does the underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refer to?
| A．Her accident. | B．Her pet. | C．Her leg. | D．Her dancing career. |
Which is the correct order of the following events according to the passage?
a. Grandfather lost his leg in the war.
b. Grandmother bought two engagement rings.
c. Grandfather was inspired to stand up on his own.
d. Grandmother pretended she was lame.
e. Grandmother became an excellent dancer.
f. Grandfather had to go to war.
| A．e-f-b-a-d-c | B．f-e-a-c-b-d |
| C．f-b-e-a-d-c | D．e-b-f-a-c-d |
Which of the following words can best describe grandmother?
| A．Thoughtful and determined. | B．Unselfish but stubborn. |
| C．Courageous but unreliable. | D．Sensitive and dishonest. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．The love of a disabled couple. | B．The grandmother’s unconditional love. |
| C．The meaning of an engagement. | D．The grandfather’s brave story. |
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