I used to have a friend that was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the news that he might only live up to six months was a great shock to him, his family, and his friends．However, in spite of the serious illness, he was initially determined to look into all available treatments that might cure or extend his life．I think that when you find yourself in such situations, you tend to look up every possible way for hope of saving your life．
With months going on and his health grew worse, I noticed an unexpected change in attitude that came over him．He had also been a happy person with a cheerful personality, but rather than give in to discouragement and self-pity, he took comfort in God and humanity．His talks focused on others rather than himself, and he spoke of the afterlife as something he was prepared for, believing that his concerned ancestors, including his mother and father, were there waiting for him．
In the last few months, weeks, and days of his life, he was kindly cared for by family, friends, his loving wife, who looked after both his physical and emotional needs, and workers from a local hospice （安养院） came to the home to regulate his medication and provide any other needed support．He didn't complain about his fate, and he willingly allowed others to serve him．Indeed, one might think why God allows death and suffering in our world, but for me, such experiences taught me to value family more and kindness for others．You often can't learn these important attributes in the lap of luxury, and perhaps, such an experience is the greatest and final gift the illness can give those left behind．Which word can best describe the man's initial reaction as soon as he was diagnosed with cancer?
| A．Astonished． | B．Annoyed |
| C．Terrified． | D．Confused． |
What did the man do after he first learned of his illness?
| A．He was operated on immediately． |
| B．He researched cancer treatments． |
| C．He retired from his job． |
| D．He felt sad, doing nothing． |
What was the man's main source of comfort after several months with the disease?
| A．His family and friends． |
| B．The care from others． |
| C．His doctors’ encouragement． |
| D．His belief in humanity． |
When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. Ore of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games, Brownie, in return. loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them we always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl！” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet, she went everywhere with us .People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she’d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull pm her hair. she never barked(吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us. What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?
| A．Look at them sadly. |
| B．Keep them company. |
| C．Play games with them. |
| D．Touch them gently. |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie__________.
| A．world eat anything when hungry |
| B．felt sorry for her mistake |
| C．loved playing hide-and-seek |
| D．disliked the author’s dad |
Why does the author say that Brownie was more than just a family pet?
| A．She was treated as a member of the family. |
| B．She played games with anyone she liked. |
| C．She was loved by everybody she met. |
| D．She went everywhere with the family. |
Some people got frightened by Brownie when she__________.
| A．smiled |
| B．barked |
| C．rushed to them |
| D．tried to be funny |
Which of the following best describes Brownie?
| A．Shy |
| B．Polite |
| C．Brave |
| D．Caring |
I used to live selfishly, I should admit. But one moment changed me.
I was on my lunch break and had the office to get something to eat . On the way, I
a busker(街头艺人)，with a hat in front of him. I had some
in my pocket, but I would not give them to him, thinking to myself he would
use the money to feed his addiction to drugs or alcohol. He
like that type-young and ragged.
what was I going to spend the money on? Only to feed my addiction to Coca-Cola or chocolate! I then
I had no right to place myself above
just because he was busking.
I and dropped all the coins into his
, and he smiled at me, I watched for a while. As
as it sounds, I expected something more to come from that moment—a feeling of
or satisfaction, for example. But nothing happened
, I walked off. “It proved to be a waste of
,”I thought.
On my way home at the end of the , I saw the busker again and he was
. I watched him pick up the hat and walk
a cafe counter. There he poured the
contents into a tin collecting
an earthquake fund-raising(募捐) event. He was busking for charity(慈善)！
Now I donate any I have to charity tins and enjoy the feeling of giving.
A. left B. cleaned
C. prepared D. searched
A. led B. chose
C. saw D. fooled
A. chocolates B. coins
C. tins D. drugs
A. almost B. only
C. rather D. still
A. acted B. looked
C. sounded D. smelt
A. Though B. For
C. Therefore D. But
A. declared B. realized
C. expected D. guessed
A. it B. all
C. him D. them
A. waited B. followed
C. stopped D. arrived
A. rag B. hat
C. pocket D. counter
A. selfish B. awkward
C. innocent D. special
A. happiness B. sadness
C. love D. hate
A. Disappointedly B. Unfortunately
C. Coincidentally D. Comfortably
A. words B. effort
C. space D. money
A. moment B. day
C. break D. event
A. walking around B. passing by
C. packing up D. running off
A. around B. in
C. behind D. to
A. chief B. basic
C. actual D. total
A. by B. for
C. on D. with
A. work B. time
C. energy D. change
Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp
Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit—and that can be a very annoying thing. Read on for some techniques worth trying.
1.
People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study. Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.
2. Go for a walk.
Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain.
3. Learn something new.
Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time. Or go dancing with your friends.
| A．Focus on the future. |
| B．This can be especially harmful to the aged. |
| C．It should be something like learning gardening. |
| D．So take a few minutes each day to do some reading. |
E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life-changing events.
F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.
G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue , encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. |
| D．Having more material than is needed. |
According to the text, recycling ______.
| A．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| B．means burning packaging for energy |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
Open Letter to an Editor
I had an interesting conversation with a reporter recently---one who works for you. In fact, he's one of your best reporters. He wants to leave.
Your reporter gave me a copy of his resume (简历) and photocopies of six stories that he wrote for you. The headlines showed you played them proudly. With great enthusiasm, he talked about how he finds issues (问题), approaches them, and writes about them, which tells me he is one of your best. I'm sure you would hate to lose him. Surprisingly, your reporter is not unhappy. In fact, he told me he really likes his job. He has a great assignment (分工), and said you run a great paper. It would be easy for you to keep him, he said. He knows that the paper values him. He appreciates the responsibility you've given him, takes ownership of his profession, and enjoys his freedom.
So why is he looking for a way out?
He talked to me because he wants his editors to demand so much more of him. He wants to be pushed, challenged, coached to new heights.
The reporter believes that good stories spring from good questions, but his editors usually ask how long the story will be, when it will be in, where it can play, and what the budget is.
He longs for conversations with an editor who will help him turn his good ideas into great ones. He wants someone to get excited about what he's doing and to help him turn his story idea upside down and inside out, exploring the best ways to report it. He wants to be more valuable for your paper. That's what you want for him, too, isn't it?
So your reporter has set me thinking.
Our best hope in keeping our best reporters, copy editors, photographers, artists---everyone--is to work harder to make sure they get the help they are demanding to reach their potential. If we can't do it, they'll find someone who can.What does the writer think of the reporter?
| A．Optimistic. |
| B．Imaginative. |
| C．Ambitious. |
| D．Proud. |
What does the reporter want most from his editors in their talks?
| A．Finding the news value of his stories. |
| B．Giving him financial support. |
| C．Helping him to find issues. |
| D．Improving his good ideas. |
Who probably wrote the letter?
| A．An editor. |
| B．An artist. |
| C．A reporter. |
| D．A reader. |
The letter aims to remind editors that they should __
| A．keep their best reporters at all costs |
| B．give more freedom to their reporters |
| C．be aware of their reporters' professional development |
| D．appreciate their reporters' working styles and attitudes |
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