Becoming a Minimalist ( 极简主义者 )
I have too many things. My bedroom is often in a mess. I have shelves with dirty books I never read and CDs I don't listen to. My drawers are filled with clothes I never wear. I was getting upset ( 心烦意乱的 ) that I never had any space in my bedroom. Then I read about minimalist. Minimalist suggests that you only keep the most necessary and important things and get rid of ( 处理掉 ) everything else. After reading about minimalism, I felt encouraged to solve my problem.
I started clearing out a lot of the things which I didn't use. I collected bags of clothes to give to charity ( 慈善机构 ). I sold some of the CDs and books online. Although I knew that I would never need these things again, I still found it very difficult to get rid of them. My brain tried to stop me from letting them go. I said to myself "I might need that in the future!" or "Won't I be sad if I lose that?" But the thing was, I knew I couldn't keep everything.
After getting lots of things out of my room, I actually became quite excited to see the tidy room with some fresh space. And a tidy room also makes me have a clear mind! The main idea behind minimalism is to cut down what you own and really value the things you have. It's not easy to be a minimalist. We are often told that it is better to have more things. Advertisements try to make us believe that we will only be happy by spending more money buying more things. Of course, I'm not a perfect minimalist - I've only just started. I still own a lot of things which I don't really need, but I think this was a good start. In the future, I will be more mindful of what I buy. And I will continue to make an effort to get rid of what I don't need.
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。
67. Is the writer's bedroom often in a mess?
__________________________
68. When did the writer feel encouraged to solve the problem?
__________________________
69. How did the writer get rid of some of the CDs and books?
__________________________
70. What is the main idea behind minimalism?
__________________________
71. Why is it not easy to be a minimalist?
__________________________
I’m Alfred. I was born with a problem in my backbone and mobility(行走能力) was a big challenge for me, but thanks to my teachers and friends, my school life was excellent.
My friends and I used to sit together and have lots of fun. Whenever we got a free period, we used to start shouting or play games. I took part in all competitions, such as poetry writing, story writing, painting and all activities on Teachers’ Day or somebody’s birthday and had much fun.
My English teacher was very tall. The moment she entered the class, we would all sit quietly and open the books. She would encourage me by giving me important assignments and also morning news to read during the assembly. She would come down and listen to my English debate(辩论), which made me take part in all debate competitions.
The same was true of my biology and science teacher. She was very nice and sweet. She would always give me extra information on the biology project. I could not go to the lab for experiments, so she would bring the lab down and help me with the biology and science experiments and would give me excellent marks.
My friends made me monitor and the naughty boys listened to me. My friends used to help me with my notes when I was absent(缺席的). My teachers always gave me important project work and I felt proud when they patted me on the back after I finished it quickly and correctly. I was never shouted at or made fun of or scolded(批评) by any of my friends and teachers.
Today I often see the terrible punishments given to students on TVs. I feel very sad.
I really want to express my love and thanks to all my wonderful teachers and friends, without them my school life would not have been so excellent and unforgettable.Alfred’s problem in his backbone _______.
| A．made him have fewer friends than others |
| B．prevented him from enjoying an excellent school life |
| C．made him feel down all the time in his life |
| D．made it impossible for him to move freely |
How many Alfred’s teachers are mentioned in the passage?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
Alfred tried to do the following EXCEPT _______.
| A．playing games during a free period with his friends |
| B．taking part in all competitions and all activities |
| C．going to the school lab to do the experiments |
| D．completing his project work quickly and correctly |
The underlined part “patted me on the back” is the closest in meaning to “_____”.
| A．scolded and hit me | B．encouraged and praised me |
| C．touched my backbone | D．made me calm down |
By writing the passage, Alfred aims to ________.
| A．tell us how lucky he is |
| B．express his thanks to his teachers and friends |
| C．get understanding and care from more people |
| D．show us his great school achievements |
I shook hands with my father in the truck, and for a long time he looked straight ahead and didn’t say a word. But I knew he was going to say a little to me. “I can’t tell you anything,” he finally said. “I never went to college, and none of your brothers went to college. I can’t say don’t do this or do that, because everything is different and I don’t know what is going to come up. I can’t help much with money, either, but I think things will work out.”
He gave me a new chequebook（支票本）. “If things get pushing, write a small check. But when you write one, send me a letter and let me know how much it is. There are some things we can always sell.” In four years all the checks I wrote were less than one thousand dollars. My part-time jobs such as reading to the blind students and sitting with the teachers’ kids filled in the financial gaps.
“You know what you want to be, and they’ll tell you what to take,” my father went on. “When you get a job, be sure it’s honest, and work hard.” I knew that soon I would be alone in the big town, and I would miss the cool wind and the life where your thinking was done for you.
Then my dad reached down beside his seat and took out the old, broken Bible that he had read many times, the one he used when he wanted to look something up in a friendly quarrel with one of the neighbours. I knew he would miss it. I knew, though, that I must take it.
He didn’t say “Read this every morning.” He just said, “This can help you if you read it.”
Did it help? I went to college without being a burden（负担） on the family. I had been able to make money since then.What is the writer’s main purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To tell readers his life story. |
| B．To tell people what kind of person his father was. |
| C．To let people know how poor he was. |
| D．To tell readers what present he got from his father. |
Why didn’t the father ask his son not to do this or do that?
| A．Because he had never been to college and he didn’t know what was going to come up. |
| B．Because he was born in a poor family. |
| C．Because he was a man of few words. |
| D．Because he didn’t want to be much too strict with his son. |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．How to live happily. |
| B．How to stand on one’s own feet. |
| C．What a good father should do. |
| D．What self-confidence is. |
The underlined phrase “financial gaps” means “________” in Chinese.
| A．闲暇 | B．学费 | C．经济不足 | D．精神空虚 |
What kind of book did the Bible seem to be to the writer’s father?
| A．It was a book which told you how to get on well with others. |
| B．There were many good examples for you to copy in it. |
| C．It was a book that told you how to get a good job and a good future. |
| D．It was a good book that could help you when you were in trouble. |
The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is very popular with people.
| MOCA Hours |
|
| Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday |
11 a.m.~6 p.m. |
| Thursday |
11 a.m.~9 a.m. |
The museum is closed to the public on Monday, in addition to the special dates.
| MOCA Holiday Hours 2015 |
| New Year’s Day—Thursday, 1/1 Thanksgiving—Thursday, 11/26 Christmas Day—Friday, 12/25 |
| Admission (入场费) |
|
| General Admission |
$10 |
| Seniors (65+ w / ID) and Students (w / school ID) |
$5 |
| Children under 12 in groups less than 10 |
free |
| MOCA Members |
free |
| First Thursday of the month (starting Jan 1, 2015) |
free |
If Tom wants to visit the MOCA on Friday, he can visit it at ________.
| A．6:00 in the morning | B．9:00 in the morning |
| C．11:00 in the morning | D．9:00 in the evening |
If Mr Green wants to visit the MOCA with his wife and an eight-year-old son, he will
spend ________.
| A．$10 | B．$15 | C．$20 | D．$25 |
Thanksgiving is on ________ 2015.
| A．January 1st | B．November 26th |
| C．December 25th | D．December 26th |
Which is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．People can’t visit the museum on Monday. |
| B．Christmas Day in 2015 is on Friday. |
| C．David is a MOCA member, so he needn’t spend money visiting the museum. |
| D．Mr Green went to visit it on New Year’s Day in 2015, and he paid ten dollars. |
The passage may be ________.
| A．an advertisement | B．a stor |
| C．a novel | D．a report |
任务型阅读 (共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分)
For hundreds of years, scientists have been trying to answer what things have an effect on people’s emotions (情感). How you feel is controlled by many things. Your emotions can be affected by your personality, the actions of others and the events around you. Perhaps you don’t know your emotions can be influenced by the weather as well.
People often say they feel good when the sun is shining and sad when it is cloudy. In fact, sunlight makes us feel good. When sunlight hits our skins, our bodies produce a vitamin. Vitamins are chemical substances (化学物质) which we all need to stay healthy. Sunlight helps our bodies produce vitamin D. Vitamin D helps our bodies make a special chemical substance. This special chemical substance affects our brains(大脑) and makes us feel happy. For example, there are long, dark winters of little sunlight in Sweden and Norway, so many people in these countries often feel sad. Without much sunlight, their bodies produce less vitamin D. Without enough vitamin D, their bodies make less of this special chemical substance which makes them feel good. To help the people in these countries feel better, special “ sunrooms” with artificial(人造的) lights have been built. People can go there and get “sunlight” for an hour or two!
The weather can also affect people’s emotions in other ways. Hot weather can make people angry because people feel uncomfortable when it is hot. In the same way, rain can make people angry because being wet can be unpleasant. As you can see, the weather can have an effect on the chemical substances which control our brains. Through these ways, the weather can influence our emotions. Sadly , while the weather can change us, we can hardly change the weather.
The influences people’s emotions
What influen ces people’s emotions? Your , the actions of others, the events
you and the weather
are our emotions influenced by the weather ?
Our bodies produce a chemical substance when sunlight hits our skins. Then it makes us feel .
Hot weather
It can make people feel uncomfortable when it is hot.
weather
Being wet can be so unpleasant that we feel angry.
The weather can influence our emotions
it influences the chemical substances that control our brains.
The weather can change us, but we can do to change the weather.
Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendships don’t last very long. To have a friend, you must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules: be honest; be generous; be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust each other. If you don’t tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest, you may lose your friend’s trust. Good friends always speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You don’t have to give your lunch money or your clothes, your hobbies or your interests. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very useful to a f riend. They tell your friend what is important to you. By sharing them, you help your friend know you better.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand. You must try to put yourself in your friend’s place so you can understand the problem better.
No two friendships look the same exactly. But all true friendships have three things in common. If you plan to keep your friendships, you must practice honesty, generosity and understanding.
Some friendships don’t last very long because .
| A．they don’t know friendship is something serious |
| B．there are too many people who want to make friends |
| C．those who give others friendships receive friendships from ot hers |
| D．those who never give others friendships receive no friendship from others |
According to the passage, honesty is .
| A．something to share |
| B．the base (基础) of a friendship |
| C．as important as money |
| D．more important than anything else |
What does the word “them” refer to in the third paragraph?
| A．your ideas and feelings. |
| B．your hobbies and interests. |
| C．your lunch money. |
| D．your clothes. |
The best title of this passage is .
| A．How to Be a Friend |
| B．Honesty Is the Best Habit |
| C．Three Important Points in Life |
| D．A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed |
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