1 . Most people would describe a dollar millionaire as rich, yet many millionaires would disagree. They do not compare themselves with teachers or shop assistants but with the other parents at their children's private schools. To count the number of rich people in the world, however, an arbitrary cut-off point is needed, and $1 million is as good as any. Capgemini defines anyone with investable property of $ l million or more as a “high-net-worth individual”. By this measure the planet has about 10 million millionaires. According to Capgemini and Merrill Lynch, a bank Credit Suisse, another bank, uses a less strict definition: a millionaire is anyone whose net assets exceed $1 million. That includes everything: a home, an art collection, even the value of an as-yet-inaccessible pension. The Credit Suisse "Global Wealth Report" estimates that there were 24.2 million such people in 2015, about 0.5% of the world's adult population. By this measure, there are more millionaires than there are Australians. They control $69.2 trillion in property, more than a third of the global total.
How did these people grow rich? Mostly through their own efforts. Only 16% inherited their stash. The most common way to get rich is to start a business: nearly half (47%) of the world's wealthy people are entrepreneurs.
You do not have to be a genius to build a million-dollar business, but it helps if you are intelligent and extremely hard-working. In their book “The Millionaire Next Door”, Thomas Stanley observed that a typical American millionaire is surprisingly ordinary. He does not live in the fanciest part of town — why waste money that you can invest? And his tastes are so plain that you can barely tell him apart from his neighbours. He buys $40 shoes, and his car of choice is a Ford.
Another 23% of the world's millionaires got rich through paid work, estimates Capgemini. A few vault easily over the million-dollar bar. Gregory Maffei, the boss of Liberty Media, earned $87,095.882 in 2010. The median pay for chief executives at the 456 largest publicly quoted firms in America was $7.23 million, according to the Hay Group, a consultancy. But the vast majority are skilled professionals or managers who have been careful with their money. An dentist in America makes about $200,000 a year. He may leave medical school heavily in debt, but after a lifetime of earning, saving and investing he can probably amass $1 million.
1. Those with a million dollars don't consider themselves rich because________.| A．they are too greedy for money to be satisfied | B．they know many who are more wealthy |
| C．they tend to compare themselves with richer people | D．they care more about their roles as parents |
| A．They like collecting works of art and investment |
| B．They account for one third of the total population |
| C．Many of them made great fortune overnight |
| D．Many of them became rich by trade |
| A．be wise in money matters | B．build up good relationship |
| C．learn from others | D．become skilled professionals |
| A．The Definition of Millionaire | B．What Makes a Millionaire |
| C．American Millionaire | D．Everyone Can Be a Millionaire |
2 . When their daughter Morey started kindergarten, the Belanger family were worried because their 6-year-old daughter is deaf. Rather than send her to a special school for deaf children, Morey's parents decided to give her a traditional school experience and send her to Dayton Consolidated School.
They worried if their daughter would be able to make friends. They also had concerns as how her classmates would treat her and whether her teachers would be able to help her learn effectively. But then the school had a response they never expected-teaching all students and staff sign language. That way, everyone could communicate with Morey on a personal level.
“I absolutely feel like it makes her feel welcomed.” said Morey's mom, “I think all the kids feel excited that they know another language and it's fun. It makes me happy to see her supported, loved and accepted. Morey is excited to go to school every day. She's made really good friends.”
Not only did they learn sign language, but they also put up sign language posters in the hall and equipped a special hearing system. Additionally, they provided extra training so that teachers could become more familiar with the language. “Morey, without even knowing it, has taught us so much” says headmaster Kimberly Sampietro. “She's brought a culture to our building that we didn't have before. Morey helps the whole class to learn the alphabet. The kids look up to her. They want her around, and they want to partner with her.”
Morey's hearing loss is a result of a condition that's so rare that it's never been named. However, thanks to the hard work and goodwill of her classmates and teachers, she can communicate with them on her terms.
1. What concerned the Belangers when Morey started kindergarten?| A．That they would have to separate from her | B．That they could hardly afford her education |
| C．Whether she could lead a normal school life. | D．Whether she could receive special training. |
| A．To equip them with one more practical skill. | B．To develop closer student-teacher relationships. |
| C．Out of concern for their teaching effectiveness. | D．Out of concern for a student with special needs. |
| A．Inspiring and considerate | B．Dull but worthwhile |
| C．Useful but complex | D．Shocking and contradictory |
| A．Morey is good at teaching others. |
| B．Morey isn't the only one who benefits. |
| C．Morey has become a symbol of the kindergarten. |
| D．Morey hasn't brought any changes to the kindergarten. |
3 . “Don’t tell anyone”. We hear these words when someone tells a secret to us. But it can be hard to keep a secret. We often tend to “spill the beans”, even if we regret it later.
According to Asim Shah, professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, US, keeping a secret may well “become a burden”. This is because people often have an “obsessive and anxious urge to share it with someone”.
An earlier study, led by Anita E. Kelly, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted (受委托的) with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.
But with secrets so often getting out, why do people share them at all?Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other. “Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either gaining or losing the trust of someone,” according to Shah.
He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out (泄露). But this doesn’t mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret.
Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you’d better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn’t give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone’s secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn’t so secret anymore.
1. What does underlined words “spill the beans” mean?| A．Cut up beans. | B．Burst into laughter. |
| C．Let out the secret. | D．Keep the words. |
| A．It can help promote friendships between people. | B．It can result in mental and physical problems. |
| C．It can result in a sense of distrust between friends. | D．It can harm relationships between friends. |
| A．It’s not a good idea to share your secrets with others. |
| B．It’s better to share your secrets with quiet people. |
| C．Quiet people suffer less stress from keeping secrets. |
| D．Talkative people are unlikely to keep secrets. |
| A．Buy the person a gift as an apology. |
| B．Stay away from the person. |
| C．Exchange a new secret with the person. |
| D．Tell the affected person what happened. |
4 . If you're planning to go on a diet, or if you suffer from serious conditions like diabetes (糖尿病), knowing exactly what and how much you're eating is essential. In this day and age, we have calorie and nutritional calculators even on our smartphones, but they act only as guides, whereas Panasonic's revolutionary new device, CaloRieco, actually analyzes the food on your plate and provides accurate information about in just a few seconds.
You've probably used calorie calculators before, and you know that they only offer general information. For example, a calculator will tell you the average number of calories in a hamburger, but it can't tell you exactly how many calories are in the hamburger. The same goes for nutrients like protein or fats. And this is what makes the new CaloRieco so special.
Displayed at a recent tech show, CaloRieco is a high tech device that uses light reflection technology to determine the nutritional values of almost any food and also provide accurate calorie estimates. All you have to do is put your plate in the box-shaped device and wait between 10 and 20 seconds for it to analyze all the food on there.
Once it's done analyzing the various ingredients in your meal, CaloRieco displays the number of calories, as well as the nutritional content on an LED display. According to Panasonic, the device is able to recognize the vast majority of foods, except soups and very dark dishes.
CaloRieco can also connect to your smartphone via an app, and send all the data about analyzed foods to your handheld, so you can access it whenever you need.
Panasonic said that its outstanding invention is aimed at dieters and diabetes sufferers, both of which make up a sizable market. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a bit longer to get your hands on your very own CaloRieco, as the device presented at the show is just a prototype (样品) which needs to be improved. It's scheduled to hit the market sometime in the next few years, but the price remains a mystery.
1. What is special about CaloRieco?| A．It is a high-tech device working as a guide. |
| B．It makes use of light reflection technology. |
| C．It only offers general information of food. |
| D．It can present the exact data of analyzed food. |
| A．It needs a long time to analyze the food. |
| B．It can count the calories of all kinds of food. |
| C．It can display the food data on the smartphone directly. |
| D．It may be well received among dieters and diabetes sufferers. |
| A．Smartphone. | B．App. | C．Data. | D．Food. |
| A．It's perfect. | B．It's promising. | C．It's costly. | D．It's portable. |
5 . Opera is an art form that celebrates the human voice. No other art form creates excitement and moves the heart in the way that opera does, especially when performed by a great singer. Opera is an important part of the Western classical music tradition. It uses music, words, and actions to bring a dramatic story to life. Opera started in Italy at the end of the 16th century and later became popular throughout Europe. Over the years, it has responded to various musicals. In recent decades, much wider audiences have been introduced to opera through modern recording technology. Some singers have become celebrities thanks to performing on radio, on TV, and in the cinema.
However, in recent years, opera has been facing serious challenges. One current challenge to opera is economic. The shortage of money raises the broader question of how much should be paid to support opera singers and other artists. Society seems to accept the large salaries paid to business managers and the multi-million-dollar contracts given to sports athletes. But what about opera singers? Somehow, people have the idea that artists can be creative only if they suffer in poverty, but this is unrealistic. If artists, including opera singers, lack the support they need, valuable talent is wasted.
Not only the shortage of money, but also the way money is managed in the opera world has led to hardships. Principal (主要的)singers are generally paid performance fees once they complete a show. They typically receive nothing during the many weeks of rehearsal (排练) before a show starts.
Another problem faced by opera is how to meet the demands of audiences who are influenced by popular entertainment. Pop singers are often judged as much on the basis of how they look as how they sound. These demands may be unrealistic and possibly harmful. Opera singers simply cannot make a sound big enough to fill a large theater or concert hall without a microphone if their body weight is too low. Emphasizing physical appearance over singing ability may cause audiences to miss out on the human voice at its best.
There are no easy solutions to opera's problems and there are many different opinions about the value of opera. However, every year many young people register for music courses with hopes and dreams of developing their talents in this special art form. The fact that opera has survived many obstacles and continues to attract the rising generation shows that it remains a respected art form full of value.
1. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Opera singers' life stories are dramatic. |
| B．Opera will soon appear on TV and in films |
| C．Opera fans thank celebrities for performing. |
| D．Opera develops by adapting to new conditions. |
| A．Opera singers are financially insecure. |
| B．Opera singers waste their valuable talent. |
| C．Opera singers get paid before the show. |
| D．Opera singers perform better if they are poor. |
| A．Popular culture has had a positive influence on opera. |
| B．Audiences know best how opera should be performed. |
| C．Microphones should be used to make opera more enjoyable. |
| D．Opera singers' voices should be valued more than their looks. |
| A．The Economic Challenge to Opera | B．Opera Faced with the Difficulties |
| C．Opera as Part of Popular Culture | D．The Historical Context of Opera |
6 . When I arrived in London, I couldn't speak a word of English. Not even "hello". I was 18. I'd been working for my dad's restaurant in Milan and I wanted a new experience. My friend from home lived in London and he used to tell me how incredible it was. I was really bored, so I took my luggage and left.
I was so lost when I arrived at Stansted. To me, English sounded like Chinese. I only arrived with a few hundred pounds. I lived with my friend in East London for a while. I couldn't find a job for a month. Finally I found a waiter role in a restaurant. At the time, I had nothing else going on in my life. I used to get up, go to work, and sleep. It was no difference every day. Then one day on my lunch break, I saw a Gymbox. When I took a look in, there was an amazing Muay Thai (泰拳) class. I used to do boxing when I was 15 but I wasn't that serious about it. There and then I joined the gym and signed up for the Thai boxing team.
I fell in love with it. I never missed a session (一场) . I started training a lot and the head coach said to me one day, "Do you want to fight?" I knew that's what I wanted to do. He put me in competitions and I won my first nine amateur games. After watching me progress, he offered to help me fight professionally. However, at one point I had a motorcycle crash and was out for 18 months. This year I've fought in Milan and London. I'd say I'm about 12 fights away from becoming a winner
Sometimes I can't believe how far I've come from that day I arrived in England. I think everything that's happened has been because I'm committed. But anyone could do it. If you put in 100%, you'll get there. I'm just happy because I did a positive thing with my life. It feels good.
1. What had the writer done before he came to London?| A．He had worked in a restaurant. | B．He had been a professional coach. |
| C．He had worked in a small company. | D．He had done nothing but travel around. |
| A．Exciting. | B．Scary. | C．Satisfying. | D．Dull. |
| A．Joining the boxing team. | B．Losing the competition in Milan. |
| C．Suffering from a motorcycle crash. | D．Being the head coach of the team. |
| A．Life is not all roses. | B．Difficulties make him stronger. |
| C．Failure is the mother of success. | D．Devotion makes him successful. |
7 . Sleep, considered a luxury by many, is essential for a person’s health and happiness. Researchers have found that inadequate sleep and tiredness increase a person’s risk of developing severe medical conditions, such as obesity, high blood sugar levels, and heart disease. Now, a new study has found that getting enough sleep is also the key to improving academic performance.
Jeffrey Gross, the university science professor who led the research, was not trying to find the relationship between sleep and grades when he handed out smart watches to the 100 students in his chemistry class. Instead, the professor hoped the wrist-worn devices (装置), which track a person’s physical activity, would show a connection between exercise and academic achievement.
While Gross’s data showed no relationship between these two factors (因素), the study found something surprising. As the researchers were analyzing their data, they noticed that there was a straight-line relationship between the average amount of sleep a student got and their results in the course’s 11 quizzes, three midterm tests, and the final exam.
Even more interesting, it was not enough for students to just head to bed early the night before a test. Instead, it’s the sleep you get during the days when learning is happening that matters most.
The time students went to bed each night was similarly important. Those who went to bed in early hours of the morning performed poorly, even if the total sleep time was the same as a higher- performing student. “When you go to bed matters,” Gross says, “If you go to bed at 10, or 12, or 1 at night, and sleep for seven hours, your performance is the same. But if you go to bed after 2, your performance starts to go down even if you get the same seven hours. So, quantity isn’t everything. ”
Perhaps the most interesting was the huge effect that small differences in sleep patterns had on the students’ grades. The entire course grades for students averaging six and a half hours of sleep each night were 25% lower than students who averaged just one hour more sleep. Similarly, students who changed their bedtime by even one hour each night had grades that dropped 45% below those with more regular bedtimes.
Who knew getting A’s just required some extra ZZZ’s?
1. Based on his original goals, which best describes Professor Gross’s research findings?| A．Complete. | B．Accidental. |
| C．Convincing. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．University student athletes. | B．Professor Gross’s own students. |
| C．Middle school chemistry students. | D．Volunteers from different universities. |
| A．Making the students wear a special watch. |
| B．Giving the students regular after-class quizzes. |
| C．Using students’ university entrance test results. |
| D．Using the students’ normal test and quiz grades. |
| A．A person who sleeps for a total of 7 hours each night. |
| B．A person who sleeps from 11 p. m. to 6 a. m. each day. |
| C．A person whose normal bedtime changes between 9 p. m. and 12 p. m. |
| D．A person who has a good night’s sleep the night before an important test. |
8 . I have learned something about myself since I moved from Long Island to Florida three years ago. Even though I own a home in Port St. Lucie just minutes from the ocean, every winter an uncontrollable urge(冲动) wells up to fly back to Long Island even as others make their way south. I guess I am a snowbird stuck in reverse(反向).
Dulled by Florida's mild winters, I willingly suffer the cold weather on Long Island, the place I called home for 65 years. I'm like a bird that has lost its sense of timing and direction, my wings moving against routine.
So what makes me fly against the habits of snowbirds? The answer has a lot to do with my unwillingness to give up the things that define(给...下定义) who I am. Once I hear that the temperature on Long Island has fallen into the range of 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, I begin to long for the sight and sound of a wood fire. I also long for the display of colours—first in the fall trees, and then in the lights around homes and at Rockefeller Center. Floridians decorate, too, but can't create the special feel of a New England winter. Moreover, when I return I can celebrate the holidays with people I haven't seen in months. What could be better than sitting with family and friends for a Thanksgiving turkey dinner, or watching neighbours' children excitedly open gifts on Christmas? Even the first snowfall seems special.
While these simple pleasures are not unique to Long Island, they are some of the reasons I comeback. Who says you can't go home? I know I will be ordering a ticket this very night and cured of homesick(思乡病) tomorrow.
1. What does the author think of his life in Florida?| A．Exciting. | B．Relaxing. | C．Painful. | D．Boring. |
| A．He has lost his sense of direction. |
| B．He'd rather go north in winter. |
| C．He hates travelling by plane. |
| D．He likes snow very much. |
| A．describe his hometown's fall scenes. |
| B．show how he loves family gatherings. |
| C．explain why he wants to return to his hometown. |
| D．compare the difference between Florida and Long Island. |
| A．Book a flight. | B．Go to the doctor's. | C．Eat with his family. | D．Check into a hotel. |
9 . At every turn in the Netherlands, the future of sustainable(可持续的) agriculture is taking shape—not in the meeting rooms of big companies but on thousands of modest family farms.
You can see it vividly on the farm run by Ted Duijvestijn and his brothers. At the Duijvestjns' 36-acre greenhouse near the old city of Delf, visitors wander among the deep green tomato plants, 20 feet tall. Rooted not in soil but in materials made from leaves and stalks, the plants are heavy with tomatoes—15 varieties in all—to suit the taste of the most demanding customers.
Since 2004, the Duijvestijns have declared resource independence on every front. The farm produces all of its own energy and fertilizer and even some of the packaging materials necessary for the crop's distribution and sale. The growing environment is kept at perfect temperatures year-round by geothermal heat(地热) that can be found under at least half of the Netherlands. Only rainwater is used for irrigation. Each kilogram of tomatoes from their plants requires less than 15 kilograms of water, compared with 61 kilograms for plants in open fields. Once each year the entire crop is regrown from seeds, and the old plants are processed to make packaging materials. The few pests that manage to enter the greenhouse are greeted by an army of fierce insects that shows no interest in tomatoes. The nutrition in the soil can be improved by growing plants that work with certain bacteria to produce their own fertilizer. In short. it's an entirely self-contained food system.
“Look at the island of Bali in Indonesia!” Ted explains. “For at least a thousand years, its farmers have raised ducks and fish within the same rice field. It's irrigated by the canal systems sculpted by human hands along mountains. They are our model.”
1. What can we learn about the Duijvestijns' tomatoes?| A．Their color is deep green. | B．There are 15 on each plant. |
| C．They are very tasty. | D．They grow in rich natural soil. |
| A．does not have insects | B．is heated by solar energy |
| C．produces its own chemical fertilizer | D．consumes much less water |
| A．Independent. | B．Reliable. |
| C．Satisfying | D．Separated. |
| A．He is attracted to its canal systems. | B．He will also raise ducks in his farm. |
| C．He wants to see the beautiful island. | D．He appreciates its farming methods. |
10 . If you're British or live in a Commonwealth nation, Christmas doesn't end on December 25.The day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day, and the relaxing holiday is a chance to allow the celebration for one more restful day.
But its name has nothing to do with the sport of boxing, and unlike the popular idea, did not appear from a need to return unwanted gifts or clean up trash produced by Christmas gifting.
There are several theories as to how that charitable tradition became known as "boxing".Some historians link the use of the term to boxes of donations that were laid in churches during the pre-Christmas season of Advent in the early days of Christianity during the second and third centuries A.D.The day after Christmas, the boxes were opened and the money was given away to the poor.
Another possible story for Boxing Day has to do with a tradition that formed in 19th century Victorian England, where servants sacrificed（牺牲）time with their own families to cater to their employers on Christmas.On the day after Christmas, employers would give the servants a rare day off and send them home with leftovers from the family's Christmas feast for their service.
Though the reasons are lost to history, Boxing Day charity eventually fell out of tradition---and was replaced with physical and material pleasures.Today, the holiday is linked with sports, with major football rugby, and cricket matches and horse races taking place on December 26.
December 26 is also a big shopping day throughout the UK and the Commonwealth.The holiday kicks off what is known as " Boxing Week" , during which retailers（零售商）try to move old stock and shoppers compete for one last bargain of the year.In recent years, though, the American tradition of Black Friday---massive sales that take place the day after Thanksgiving each November---has become popular in the United Kingdom and has largely overshadowed Boxing Week.
1. What kind of festival was Boxing Day probably in the beginning?| A．A charitable festival. | B．A religious festival. |
| C．A sports festival. | D．A business festival. |
| A．Take care of. | B．Depend on. |
| C．Put up with. | D．Pick up. |
| A．It has become an online shopping day. |
| B．It has been replaced by Black Friday. |
| C．It only covers popular sports events. |
| D．It has become less important than before. |
| A．When Did Boxing Day Come into Being? | B．Why Did People Celebrate Boxing Day? |
| C．How Is Black Friday Celebrated in the UK? | D．Why Is Black Friday Popular in the UK? |
