Have you ever had a day when everything seemed to go wrong, and nothing seemed to go right? Not too long ago I was having one of those days.I was discouraged, tired, and plain sad. My focus was on me.After all, no one else was experiencing the same trials I was.
I expressed my upset state to my mother, hoping for some pity.Instead, she said, “I heard Jamie was having a difficult day too.Why don't you make her some cookies and take them to her this afternoon?”
I didn't really want to, but decided that I didn't want to go back to my other problems just yet.I made the cookies and arranged them on a little plate.Then I made a card with a sunflower on it and wrote a small note of empathy(共鸣）.
That afternoon I dropped by my friend's house.I went to the door and rang the bell. Soon, Jamie came to the door and looked at me in surprise for the unexpected visit. Before she could say anything I rushed, “I heard you were having a hard day and decided to bring you something. I hope your day goes better.” The look that came over Jamie's face was one that I could never put into words.It was as if a darkened sky was suddenly lit with the golden rays of the sun；it was as if in that small act, her day was brightened.
I got back into the car and for some amazing reason. I felt a lot better myself. That day I experienced the truth that James Barrie attempted to describe, “Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”
1. The author made cookies and arranged them on a plate______.

A．so as to show off his skills

B．to stop thinking about his own worries

C．not to let his mother feel down

D．not to show his sadness to others

2. How did Jamie feel when seeing the author's coming?

A．She lit up very soon.B She was surprised and scared.	B．he couldn't express herself.
C．She poured out all her worries.

3. What do you think of the author's mother?

A．Sympathetic.	B．Willing.
C．Instructional.	D．Selfish.

BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have advantages and disadvantages.
GOOD NEWS
Free museums. No charge for outstanding collections of art and antiquities(文物).
Pop music. Britain is the only country to compare with the US on this score.
Black cabs. London taxi drivers know where they are going even if there are never
enough of them at weekends or night.
Choice of food. Visitors can find everything from Ethiopian to Swedish restaurants.
Fashion. Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.
BAD NEWS
Poor service. “It’s part of the image of the place.People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.
Poor public transport. Trains and buses are promised to defeat the keenest tourists, although the overcrowded London tube is inexplicably (难以理解的) popular.
Rain. Still in the number one complaint.
No air-conditioning. So that even splendidly hot summers become as unbearable as the downpours.
Overpriced hotels. The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.
Licensing hours. Alcohol (酒) is in short supply after 11 p.m. even in “24-hour cities”.
4. What do tourists complain most?

A．Poor service.	B．Poor public transport.
C．Rain.	D．Overpriced hotels.

5. What do we learn about pop music in Britain and the US through this passage?

A．Pop music in Britain is better than that in the US.

B．Pop music in Britain is as good as that in the US.

C．Pop music in Britain is worse than that in the US.

D．Pop music in Britain is quite different from that in the US.

6. When are people not able to get alcohol?

A．At 12: 00 p.m.	B．At 10: 00 p.m.
C．At 11: 00 p.m.	D．At 9: 00 p.m.

7. Which of the following is True according to the passage?

A．You have to pay to visit the museums

B．It’s very cheap to travel by taxi there.

C．You cannot find Chinese food there

D．The public transport is poor there.

Alibaba started taking the lead in China by connecting big Chinese manufacturers (制造商) with big buyers across the world. Its business-to-business site, Alibaba.com allowed business to buy almost everything. Alibaba’s advantage wasn’t hard to judge: size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its market attracts 231 million active buyers, 8 million sellers, 11.3 billion orders a year — and Alibaba is just the middleman. It encourages people to use its markets — not charging small sellers a percentage of the sale.
If you want a quick look into the influence of Alibaba on daily Chinese life, take my experience. I moved to Beijing a year ago and quickly got tired of visiting small stores across the crowded, polluted city of 20 million people in search of new electronics, bathroom furnishings, and anything else my wife wanted. “You’re looking for what exactly? Why not try it? ” my Chinese teacher asked me one day. With that, my wonderful new relationship with Alibaba began.
Alibaba’s original business-to-business model now is second to consumer buying. Chinese retail (零售) buying makes up 80% of Alibaba’s profit, and leading that group is Taobao, with 800 million items for sale and the most unbelievable selection of things you’ll ever find. TMall.com is Alibaba’s other big site, where you can find brand name goods from Nike and Unilever near the lowest prices.
What I have a hard time explaining to friends and family back in the U.S. is how China has gone beyond traditional shopping — big-box retailers especially —in favor of online purchases on Taobao and a few other sites. In smaller towns than Beijing, where big retailers have not yet traveled, shopping online is shopping, and shopping is Taobao.
I have a list of some of my recent purchases on Taobao for a sense of how wide the marketplace is. Almost everything arrived a day or two after ordering with free shipping. I’m not even a big buyer, because I need friends to help me search the Chinese-language site. When I was searching my purchase history on my Chinese teacher’s iPad, which helps me buy goods, I looked through with great difficulty about 10 of her purchases for every one of mine.
8. Alibaba’s advantage mainly lies in          .

A．its low price

B．its big size

C．its not charging small sellers

D．its business-to-business service

9. What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage?

A．Alibaba will continue to develop.

B．Alibaba stands out as the best online site.

C．Alibaba acts as a bridge between the buyers and sellers.

D．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites.

10. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao.

B．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover.

C．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites.

D．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail.

11. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Shopping online in China is TaoBao.

B．How the author purchases online in China.

C．Shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping.

D．Alibaba influences people’s daily purchase in China.

Though problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn’t mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or the other, you’ll have to stand up and say, “Problem, I don’t want you in my life.”
Of course, we’ve been fighting troubles ever since we were born. Problems with friends, parents, girl friends, husbands, and children---- the list goes on. Apart from these, the inner conflicts within ourselves work, too. These keep adding to our problems. Problems come in different shapes and colors and feelings.
But good news is that problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.
Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help. But the truth is that when you talk about it, you are setting free the negative energy that’s been gathering within you. Talking helps you move on and let go.
Write your problems. Having a personal diary can also be of huge help if you don’t want a real person to talk with. When you write down your problems, you are setting free all your tension from your system. You can try throwing away the paper in which you wrote your problems. By doing this, imagine yourself throwing away the problems from your life.
Don’t lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don’t lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family…, you should still have faith. With faith and hope, you can rebuild everything you lose.
Your problems aren’t the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there is another one million people whose problems are huger than yours. Tell yourself: when they can deal with them, why can’t I? Your problems might just seem big and worse, but in reality they can be removed.
Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.
12. According to the passage, the first paragraph is trying to ______.

A．upset the readers.	B．encourage the readers.
C．laugh at the readers.	D．please the readers.

13. What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?

A．There are different kinds of problems.

B．Problems are too difficult to deal with.

C．We have to fight problems in the whole life.

D．We have more and more problems.

14. According to the passage, when you talk your problems to others,________.

A．you will be completely understood by others.

B．you can find a way out from others.

C．you will create another problem

D．you can live on easily.

15. Throwing away the paper with your problems means________.

A．you have solved your problems.

B．you don’t need anyone to talk with.

C．you are throwing away your problems

D．you’ll have no problems any longer.