1 . Over the years, you've probably known a good number of people-some for only a short period and others for a much longer time. If you spend a moment thinking back on the people who have meant the very most to you, selflessness will be the same thing they share. There might have been a person who really believed in you. Someone taught you something important. Someone cared for you in his or her own way. Someone has simply always remained your friend.
Many years ago, I traveled through the beautiful, history-rich country of Greece. With only a small backpack, I stayed at youth hotels, visiting city after city. One day, a shoulder strap on my backpack broke. I didn't speak any Greek and the owner didn't speak any English. I went to the front desk of my hotel and tried to ask him if there might be a shop nearby where I could have it repaired. He was clearly very busy. But he asked someone to watch over the front desk and then signed to me to follow him. We walked together for a few blocks,arriving at a little shoe repair shop. Within ten minutes, my backpack was repaired, and then the hotel owner insisted on paying for it!
I was shocked by this powerful, unexpected kindness. More than any other thing, it's what I recall most often when I think about my trip to Greece. Sometimes, you may not have even realized how much your selflessness toward someone has mattered. As the saying goes, "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."
1. What's wrong with the author's backpack？ ________| A．One of its shoulder straps was broken. | B．It was got dirty by a cleaner. |
| C．One of its pockets was broken. | D．There was a hole in it. |
| A．Mean. | B．Warm-hearted. | C．Clever. | D．Humorous. |
| A．He became a lifelong friend of the hotel owner. | B．He spent all his money in travelling in Greece. |
| C．He picked up Greek while travelling in Greece. | D．He'll never forget the hotel owner's kindness. |
| A．To show his love of travelling. | B．To explore the value of selflessness. |
| C．To give a short introduction to Greece. | D．To introduce a shoe repair shop in Greece. |
2 . Happiness is an abstract （抽象的）concept. When one thinks of a typically happy person, smiling, laughing and cheering are what usually come to mind. However, if people stop smiling or laughing, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are unhappy. Happiness has many different levels, and it is difficult to place the word in one type.
Many people believe as people grow older, they will feel more happiness. However, I just find they are not always so. When my twelve - year - old sister was asked what made her happy, she initially told me that sleeping made her happy, and then she looked at me for a reaction. When I had none, she changed her answer to food, then to fashion, and then finally to family. Each time she glanced at me, she looked for affirmation （肯定）that she had given a “right answer”
My younger cousin, Who is even younger than my sister, gave me an answer that surprised me. It wasn't eating candy or watching TV that made her happy; It was love. Considering the clear differences between my sister and cousin in their answers, I came to see that age didn't always largely contribute to happiness.
When I asked my grandmother what brought her happiness, she immediately answered my family” without hesitation. This is something I expected, as my grandma Is always a family -centered person. This is also consistent （一致的）with her culture, being from Italy and growing up during the 50s, when family values were at its highest point in society.
Asking myself this question, I think carefully about my answers. Sure, my family, friends and pets make me happy, but so do reading, writing and watching movies. This is why I have no answer to my own question.
There is no one single thing that makes me the happiest, because like everybody, my mood depends on many factors. Happiness depends on external factors as well as one's personality and age. This is why I have come to the conclusion that the journey of happiness cannot truly be defined, and that there isn't one thing above all that makes everyone the happiest.
1. What do we know about happiness from Paragraph 1?| A．It is valued by nearly all people* |
| B．It is easy to describe it with words. |
| C．Its highest level is often expressed with laughing. |
| D．It may have nothing to do with one's expressions. |
| A．happiness comes from very small things |
| B．happiness doesn't always depend on age |
| C．little kids can sometimes give us inspiration |
| D．some abstract things can make people happier |
| A．Extreme happiness is hard to achieve. |
| B．Happiness is determined by many factors. |
| C．The happiest people are often open - minded. |
| D．One fs family gives him the most happiness. |
3 . I have a special place in my heart for libraries. I have for as long as I can remember. I was always an enthusiastic reader, sometimes reading up to three books a day as a child. Stories were like air to me and while other kids played ball or went to parties, I lived out adventures through the books I checked out from the library.
My first job was working at the Ukiah Library when I was 16 years old .It was a dream job and I did everything from shelving books to reading to the children for story time.
As I grew older and became a mother, the library took on a new place and an added meaning in my life. I had several children and books were our main source(来源) of entertainment. It was a big deal for us to load up and go to the local library, where my kids could pick out books to read or books they wanted me to read to them.
I always read ,using different voices ,as though I were acting out the stories with my voice and they loved it !It was a special time to bond with my children and it filled them with the wonderment of books .
Now, I see my children taking their children to the library and I love that the excitement of going to the library lives on form generation to generation.
As a novelist, I’ve found a new relationship with libraries. I encourage readers to go to their local library when they can’t afford to purchase a book. I see libraries as a safe haven(避风港) for readers and writers, a bridge that helps put together a reader with a book. Libraries, in their own way, help fight book piracy(盗版行为) and 1 think all writers should support libraries in a significant way when they can. Encourage readers to use the library. Share library announcements on your social media. Frequent them and talk about them when you can.
1. Which word best describes the author’s relationship with books as a child?| A．Cooperative. | B．Uneasy. | C．Inseparable. | D．Casual. |
| A．Pleasure from working in the library. |
| B．Joy of reading passed on in the family. |
| C．Wonderment from acting out the stories. |
| D．A closer bond developed with the readers. |
| A．Sponsor book fairs. | B．Write for social media. |
| C．Support libraries. | D．Purchase her novels. |
| A．Reading: A Source of Knowledge |
| B．My Idea about writing |
| C．Library: A Haven for the Young |
| D．My Love of the Library |
4 . Fifteen years ago, I took a summer vacation in Lecce in southern Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic(全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.
Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.
Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, my camera scanning the sun and reviewing the shot I would eventually take, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so pleased in her observation. I didn’t want to mess with that.
Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway. And now when I look at it, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.
This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who “ruined” it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured(捕捉) and frozen on some stranger’s bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don’t even know has been immortalized(使……永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.
Perhaps we all live in each others’ spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us.
That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.
1. What happened when the author was about to take a photo?| A．A woman blocked her view. | B．Her camera stopped working. |
| C．Someone asked her to leave. | D．A friend approached from behind. |
| A．losing her patience | B．enjoying herself |
| C．waiting for the sunset | D．thinking about her past |
| A．The rich color of the landscape. | B．The perfect positioning of the camera. |
| C．The soft sunlight that summer day. | D．The woman’s existence in the photo. |
5 . It was an autumn day, and 1 was standing in the kitchen, hanging my head over the counter and trying to figure out how many calories were in a bowl of homemade yogurt and fruit. And I felt annoyed.
I was 16, and my best friend and I had gone to our first Weight Watchers meeting. It was the trend in the mid-1980s，and even though I was an athlete, like many teen girls, I didn't necessarily like what I saw in the mirror. But after a week or so of recording every meal and snack and calculating the calories, I had had enough. I went back to my routine of chowing whatever I wanted, running and skiing, and let that be that. And it's still pretty much what I do; as long as the workouts are regular and the food is whole and balanced, my body's set point hasn't varied for years.
The weight loss trend of three decades ago−full of scales and counting calories−has fallen away. Now fasting is popular. The ways to keep fit vary: on the 5:2 diet a person eats for five days and fasts for two days each week, while the 18:6 refers 10 fasting for 18 hours and then eating within a six-hour window each day.
In this issue, Associate Editor Mark Barna tries to understand the science behind the fasting plans. Researchers have found that animals like monkeys age more slowly after years of eating less, and in the lab in humans, they saw improvements in a number of signs that indicate risk of some hard to cure diseases. The hope for healthy weight loss isn’t over yet, but at least now the calculators don’t have to be out at every meal.
1. What made the author annoyed?| A．Her body was not as strong as an athlete’s. |
| B．There were too many calories in the yogurt and fruit. |
| C．The Weight Watches meeting was not necessary for her. |
| D．She had to work out the calories in every meal and snack. |
| A．Eating. | B．Doing | C．Cooking. | D．Choosing. |
| A．They limit the calories they take in. |
| B．They lose weight only. |
| C．They fast daily or weekly. |
| D．They eat enough every day. |
| A．People grow more slowly if they eat less. |
| B．People are healthier if they eat less. |
| C．People have stopped losing weight now. |
| D．People calculate their food for every meal. |
6 . In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh(法老) treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.
Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, “Oh boy, bad day for a picnic.” The weatherman says “it’s going to rain.” I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile!
Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile, “Oh that bus left five minutes ago.” Dreams of head-cutting!
It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.
Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter mainly told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.
Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warming. Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, “Oh, that’s all right. I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners, when they bear bad news, deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded(被轰炸的)person is sure to have.
1. In Paragraph 1, the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to .| A．make a comparison | B．introduce a topic |
| C．describe a scene | D．offer an argument |
| A．friendly | B．warm-hearted |
| C．not considerate | D．not helpful |
| A．was mad at the sales agent |
| B．was reminded of the cruel pharaoh |
| C．wished that the sales agent would have had dreams |
| D．dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night |
| A．Delivering bad news properly is important in communication |
| B．Helping others sincerely is the key to business success |
| C．Receiving bad news requires great courage |
| D．Learning ancient traditions can be useful |
