“Keep your eyes on the ball.” That is good advice when you are on the playing field, and good advice for everyday life. “Keep your mind on what’s important,” is the way I’d put it. But people are funny. They think too much about the details.
I had a secretary once. She was very hardworking. I ran a school and people used to call up to enroll(登记) for courses. Berry used to get angry at the phone. “If they keep on ringing, I’ll never get my typing done!” she’d shout.
People just don’t see the big picture. One evening, after leaving work, I was sitting next to a man on the train. I was feeling tired. My eyes fell on the paper he had spread out in front of him. You know how you feel to read over someone’s shoulder?
I read the page and leaned back. I guessed I was waiting for him to turn it. After a while, I realized—he wasn’t turning the page. He just kept on reading.
Now if you knew the page he was reading, you’d know that there weren’t many words on the page to read anyway. The layout（版面） was mostly pictures. So I turned to the man and said,” You know, you really read very slowly.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. “Well,” I told him, “I read the page in about a minute, and you have taken about ten. And you are still reading. You know,” I went on “If you learned to read faster, you could get more reading done.” He remained silent for a minute or two. “If I read too fast, my paper wouldn’t last me to my station.”The writer wasn’t satisfied with his secretary because ___.
| A．she didn’t put first thing first |
| B．she was too busy |
| C．she was easy to get angry |
| D．she couldn’t finish her work on time |
The man read newspaper in order to___.
| A． take in information | B． enjoy pictures |
| C． save time | D． kill time |
The writer thinks that people seem to need a sense of ___.
| A．what to read first | B．how to read fast |
| C．what is important | D．what is funny |
John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew，but whose face he didn’t，the girl with the rose．Thirteen months ago，in a Florida library he took a book off the shell and found himself interested in the notes in the margin(页边)．The soft handwriting showed a thoughtful soul and insightful(有洞察力的)mind．
In front of the book，he discovered the name，Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he got her address．He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to keep in touch．
During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail．A romance started．John requested a photograph，but she refused．She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like．Later they agreed on their first meeting—7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York．
“You’ll recognize me,” she wrote，“by the red rose I’ll be wearing my coat.” So at 7：00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose．
A girl in a green suit was coming toward him，her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers．Almost uncontrollably he came to her，and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell—a woman well past 40．The girl was walking quickly away．
He did not hesitate(犹豫)，saying，“I’m John，and you must be Miss Maynell．I am so glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?”
The woman smiled, “I don’t know what this is about，son，” she answered，“but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat．And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner，I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street．She said it was some kind of test!”
It’s not difficult to admire Miss Maynell’s wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive.
【改编】John was attracted by Miss Hollis Maynell because ________.
| A．John considered her as one of her old friends |
| B．she took excellent notes with a soft handwriting |
| C．John held the opinion that she was a considerate and thinking lady |
| D．she was very charming with a slim figure and blue eyes |
【改编】The reason why John uncontrollably went up to the young girl in the green suit was that ___
| A．he knew it was Miss Hollis Maynell. |
| B．she was the very lady he was waiting for. |
| C．he was attracted by her beautiful appearance. |
| D．John didn’t want to run into Miss Hollis Maynell |
【改编】What’s the main idea of the story?
| A．The wisdom is shown in one’s action. |
| B．Love can be encountered by chance if you like. |
| C．You should never judge a book by its cover. |
| D．A unselfish heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. |
Here's a hotel worth writing something about: a company in Poland plans to build tourist accommodation under the sea. The structure can be dragged to a suitable location and placed on supports on the sea bed. The ‘Water Discus’ will be made up of an underwater disc containing 22 bedrooms with sea views, connected by lift and stairs to a disc above the surface containing other hotel facilities.
Project manager Robert Bursiewicz says: “Nowadays it's possible to build submarines ('潜艇) which go deeper than 500m below the sea surface, so building an underwater hotel is not a problem. ”
In fact, they don't plan to have the hotel very deep. Water acts like a filter (过滤器) for sunlight, and below 15m most colors, apart from blue, are washed out. And we all want to see colorful marine life, don't we?
But this isn't the first hotel to offer underwater views from the bedrooms. The two-bedroom Jules' Undersea Lodge, off the coast of Florida, has been taking in guests 10m beneath the surface since 1986.
The company that operates the hotel also runs a diving course for beginners to help get guests down and into the hotel. It is accessible only through an opening at the bottom.
And you'll find all the usual facilities in the room, according to Teresa McKirma, Jules's chief financial officer. It has a television, air conditioning and Wi-Fi. But for the staff, simple things like cleaning and making beds can be challenging, since the lodge is in sea water.
"It actually takes quite a lot of work to get anything down there," she says. "We have to put everything in waterproof boxes and attach weights to them to counter their buoyancy (浮力). "
The hotel has suitably sized waterproof boxes so that pizzas can be delivered by divers to guests who order them for their evening meal. And after a meal, if you can't sleep because of the excitement of the experience, you don't have to count sheep. You'll fall asleep quicker if you count fish.According to the passage, the new hotel will ______.
| A．contain three discs |
| B．come into use soon |
| C．have a movable structure |
| D．be built 500m beneath the surface |
【改编】Why won't they intend to have the hotel very deep in the water?
| A．They lack advanced technology. |
| B．They lack advanced technology. |
| C．They reject to enjoy colorful life. |
| D．Most colors are washed out below 15m. |
According to Teresa McKirma, ______.
| A．entertainment is impossible in the hotel |
| B．the staff's work is difficult to finish |
| C．it's easy to get things down there |
| D．the built hotel is badly equipped |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．Passengers can't enjoy their meals. |
| B．Passengers will feel fed up with the views. |
| C．Passengers have no choice but to count fish. |
| D．Passengers may get excited about the experience. |
What should you think about when trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to know the subjects you do well in at school. On the other hand, you may not have any specially strong subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. A knowledge of history is not required for most jobs but if history is one of your good subjects you will have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs.
Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at metalwork or cookery and look for a job where you can improve these skills. If you have had a part-time job on Saturdays or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside in a part-time job.
Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle tools; perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is better to face any weakness than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not be apologetic about it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work.【改编】what can we infer from the first paragraph ? ________.
| A．we should reflect on how to find our career |
| B．the better you are at school subjects, the more helpful they are in your career. |
| C．mastering each subject well is an ability in many jobs. |
| D．learning better at school shows strength in your job |
【改编】From the passage we can conclude that if a student’s school performance is not good, he will _____.
| A．fail in his future work |
| B．be hopeful to find a appropriate job |
| C．regret not having worked harder at school |
| D．have a chance of a new beginning in his future work |
All the subjects may have direct value for job hunting except _________.
| A．mathematics | B．English |
| C．history | D．technical drawing |
The passage mainly discusses ___________.
| A．The relationship between school performance and career |
| B．how to get a job |
| C．How to show strengths in your work |
| D．working experience and knowledge at school |
For many centuries，countless scholars have asked the question：What is beauty? As designers update the latest fashions and artists create their masterpieces, what is considered beautiful changes at an alarming pace. Fifty years ago, the full-figured American actress Marilyn Monroe was a symbol of the American aesthetic(美学的)value；today, many Hollywood actresses different in appearance from Marilyn’s have taken her place. However，aesthetic values not only differ from generation to generation，but do so along cultural lines as well. Often, what is considered hating one civilization is just the aesthetic appeal in another. Thus it is difficult to give an absolute definition(定义)of beauty.
As fundamental(基础的)physicists，my colleagues and I like to believe that we are involved in a search for a beauty that affects definition. The beauty that we search for is not what is set up through the work of people and subject to the tastes, but rather what has been laid down by nature Physics allows its students to look past outer appearances，into a deeper beauty. As a human being, I am attracted by the visual appeal of a wave crashing on the beach. As a physicist, however I am able to see the deeper beauty of the physical laws that govern such a phenomenon.
In truth，since Albert Einstein put forward the idea that there might be one main physical theory that governs the universe，aesthetics have become a driving force in modern physics. Einstein and other later physicists have discovered that：Nature, as its most fundamental level，is beautifully constructed. The extraordinary simplicity (朴素)of the laws that govern the universe is really breathtaking. As Einstein said, it would seem more likely that we should find ourselves living in a “chaotic (无秩序曲)world，in no way graspable（能理解的） through thinking”. Yet we are now closer than ever to a full understanding of the universe’s beautiful clockwork. As new discoveries and technologies allow us to examine the physical world on deeper and deeper levels，we find that the beauty itself becomes much deeper.
【改编】The reference to “Marilyn Monroe” in Paragraph 2 mainly serves to___________.
| A．compare traditional concept of the East with the West |
| B．express there is no fixed definition of aesthetics |
| C．set an example of today’s beauty standards |
| D．discuss her abilities as an actress |
When appreciating a wave crashing on the beach，a physicist sees the beauty of_____.
| A．the visual attraction |
| B．the powerful sounds |
| C．the physical laws behind |
| D．the lovely creatures |
Why are Albert Einstein’s words mentioned in Paragraph 3?
| A．To detail the functions of physical laws. |
| B．To highlight the range of Einstein’s influence. |
| C．To show that Einstein doubted the beauty of physics. |
| D．To stress the very simplicity of the laws of the universe. |
【改编】what does the passage mainly talk about ?___________.
| A．a special way of seeing beauty |
| B．the influence of physics |
| C．the awareness of cross-culture |
| D．the traditional ideas on value |
Rocky Lyons was five years old when his mother, Kelly, was driving along the country road with him. He was asleep on the front seat of their truck, with his feet resting on her lap. As his mom drove carefully down the winding country road, she turned onto a narrow bridge. The truck hit a rock and slid off the road. She tried to bring it back up onto the road by pressing hard on the gas pedal and turning the steering wheel to the left. But Rocky’s foot got caught between her leg and the steering wheel and she lost control of the truck.
The truck fell into a 20-foot ravine（峡谷）. When it hit bottom, Rocky woke up. “What happened, Mama?” he asked. “Our wheels are pointing toward the sky. ”Kelly was seriously wounded and blinded by blood. “I’ll get you out, Mama,” announced Rocky, who had surprisingly escaped injury. He climbed out from under Kelly, slid through the open window and tried to yank（用力拉）his mother out. But she didn’t move.
“Just let me sleep,” begged Kelly, who was out of consciousness. Rocky insisted, “Mom, you can’t go to sleep.”
Rocky managed to push Kelly out of the truck and told her he’d climb up to the road and stop a car to get help. Fearing that no one would be able to see her little boy in the dark, Kelly refused to let him go alone. Instead they slowly moved up to the road. The pain was so great that Kelly wanted to give up, but Rocky wouldn’t let her.
Rocky kept repeating the inspirational phrase, “I know you can, I know you can.” When they finally reached the road, Rocky broke into tears seeing his mother’s torn face clearly for the first time. Waving his arms and shouting, “Please stop!” the boy stopped a truck. His mother was sent to hospital.
It took 8 hours to rebuild Kelly’s face. She looks quite different today---“I used to have a straight long nose, thin lips and high cheekbones; now I’ve got a flat cheeks and much bigger lips”--- but she has few scars and has recovered from her injuries.
Rocky’s heroics were big news. Everyone was surprised at this little boy’s power. “It’s not like I wanted it to happen,” The boy explained. “ I just did what anyone would have done. ” “If it weren’t for Rocky, I’d have died,” said his mother.【改编】According to the content of the text,both Rocky and Kelly _________ .
| A．knew little of what happened to them |
| B．had no time to search their way |
| C．suffered a truck accident |
| D．were lost on a country road |
【改编】When he came to her senses, Rocky ___________ .
| A．was stuck against the door of the truck |
| B．found his mother had fallen asleep |
| C．was scared by his mother’s blood |
| D．found the car had disappeared |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．A Boy and His Mother |
| B．How to Behave Well？ |
| C．I Think I Can |
| D．Nothing is Lost |
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