【推荐1】“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 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 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.”

1. 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

2. The man read newspaper in order to___.

A．take in information	B．enjoy pictures
C．save time	D．kill time

3. 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

【推荐2】One day I got in a taxi, and we left for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly，a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver stopped his car at once. The tire made a very loud noise, and at the very last moment our car stopped just one inch from the back of the other car.

I was frightened. But then I couldn’t believe what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, turned his head and started yelling at us. I couldn’t believe it! But my taxi driver just smiled at the guy. So I asked,“Why did you just do that? This guy almost sent us to hospital.”

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, “The Law of the Rubbish Truck.” He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of rubbish, full of anger. As their rubbish piles up, they look for a place to throw it away and sometimes they’ll throw it at you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their rubbish and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.

Successful people never let rubbish trucks change their moods. Life is too short to wake up in the. morning with regrets, so love those who love you and pray for those who don’t.

1. Which of the following is NOT true according to the first paragraph?

A．The writer went to the airport by taxi that day.

B．The taxi driver stopped his car in time.

C．The black car jumped out and crashed into the taxi.

D．A car accident nearly happened on the writer’s way to the airport.

2. The underlined word ‘yelling’ in the second paragraph means ______ in Chinese.

A．道歉

B．傻笑

C．吼叫

D．告别

3. From the passage, we can tell that the taxi driver is ______.

A．silly and dishonest	B．wise and friendly
C．helpful but nervous	D．modest but impatient

4. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．Fight with people like rubbish trucks.

B．Make friends with people like rubbish trucks.

C．Have a quarrel with people like rubbish trucks.

D．Don’t let rubbish trucks change our moods.

【推荐3】The following diaries were written by an Australian boy named Tony. He was on holiday with his family in South Asia.

27 December, 2007 This morning I read an email about a boy in hospital looking for his father and I finally thought of a way to help. I took my camera to the hospital and took photos of the boy. Now I’m going to set up a website on my dad’s computer, upload the photos and add his name and information of the hospital. Hopefully it will help!

2 January, 2008 At the end of the trip, I learned that the boy found his father! His Swedish uncle saw the email on my webpage and arranged the meeting. Is it my website that has made such a success? But at least I’ve done something. We’re returning home tomorrow but I will remember the experience and tell my friends: No matter what we are. We can think of a way to help others.

1. Tony thought of the way to ______.

A．forget the experience	B．take photos of the travelers
C．set up a website for the hospital	D．help the boy find his father

2. ______ saw the email and photos on the webpage and arranged the meeting.

A．The boy’s uncle

B．Tony

C．Tony’s father

D．The doctor

3. Tony was more likely to be ______ in South Asia.

A．living

B．studying

C．shopping

D．traveling

4. It can be learned from the diaries that ______.

A．people are willing to set up websites

B．Tony’s father worked in the hospital there

C．people can do something to help each other

D．Tony went there to look for his family members

【推荐1】I have heard having a good sense of humour often helps in breaking the ice. Also people remember you because of your humour. But I think I don’t have a very good sense of humour. Could you suggest how to build on this?

—Radha Karnik

This is a great question that is unfortunately difficult to answer. I can only give you my views on this topic, which may or may not be correct. I know that my sense of humour developed over time.

When I was younger I was not funny at all; now I can easily make people laugh. At the same time, sometimes I say things that I think are very funny but others do not. Improving humour, I believe, is an ongoing process.

Now, there are various forms of humour and everyone has their own style. Overall, I believe being fluent in a language is very important for being funny. The way we play around with words adds the “funny” tag to a normal sentence.

Also, seeing irony(讽刺) is very important. I think humour is often the link between two unrelated things.

In my experience, laughing frequently and appreciating other people’s jokes are very important. Within these, finding humor in everyday normal situations is the key.

I often notice what is going on around me and say funny things in my head and laugh to myself. That serves almost as practice for when I am in a group. I watch comedy shows and movies and I am sure that has some effect on helping me improve my sense of humour.

And last, having confidence that you are funny is important. There will always be someone funnier than you, which is fine. Just work on building your own style.

Remember, if you are trying to be funny in order to break the ice at a business function, be careful.

In those situations, humour has to be mild and politically correct.

Yours,

Brad

1. What’s RAdha Karnik’s problem?

A．He doesn’t have friends.	B．He doesn’t know the functions of humour.
C．He doesn’t understand others’ humour.	D．He doesn’t have a good sense of humour.

2. By telling his own experience, Brad tried to make Radha Karnik believe that ________.

A．laughter is the best medicine	B．laughter and humour go hand in hand
C．a sense of humour can be developed	D．a sense of humour helps imipress others

3. Which of the following would Brad agree with?

A．Everyone knows how to appreciate others’ jokes.

B．Everyone has their own style of humour.

C．Everyone is as funny as others.

D．Everyone needs to laugh to themselves each day.

【推荐3】I was headed out the door the other day with my two sons.We were going to drive to the local grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends that we had run out of during the week.I shut the door quickly because my dogs were already barking at being left behind in the house.We headed down the hill but when I reached into my pocket for the car keys,they weren't there.Shaking my head,I walked back up the hill and saw my keys still dangling from the hook（挂钩）where I always hang them.

This,of course,isn't the only time I have forgotten something recently.In fact,it seems to be happening more and more.There isn't a week that goes by that I don't forget something and then remember it later in the day or misplace something and have to go looking for it.The medical professionals all reassure（使……安心）me that this is a normal part of getting older.They say not to worry about it and to take it with a smile.I am doing my best to do so.

I think I will be alright with my forgetful mind too as long as I can keep remembering the important things in life.I don't mind misplacing my keys as long as I can remember that God loves me.I don't mind forgetting what I came into a room for as long as I can remember what I am in this life for.I don't mind being a bit absent-minded as long as I am being loving-hearted.

May you always remember the important things in life: You were created in love.You were created to love.You are called to kindness and made for joy.You can make a difference in this world with every choice you make.

1. What do the underlined words refer to ?

A．Small household items.	B．Food for dogs.
C．The car keys.	D．Clothes for children.

2. What can we learn about the author?

A．He has accepted the doctors' advice.

B．He seldom forgets to put things in place.

C．He doesn't like to be troubled by his dogs.

D．He is sure to recover from his forgetful mind.

3. If the author misplaced his keys again,he       .

A．would get mad

B．would turn to God

C．wouldn't care about it

D．wouldn't forget to smile

4. The author's purpose of writing this passage is       .

A．to tell us it is normal to get old

B．to describe an unforgettable story

C．to encourage us to love and help others

D．to remind us to value the important things