For some people,simply being able to live their life with the least misery and sufferings is considered a success. Think of the peace of mind of the poor shepherd who tends his sheep, enjoys his simple life with his family in the beauty of nature, and who is respected because he does a good job of achieving the goals expected of him and accepted by his family and his society. On the other hand, it seems that even though some people appear to be rich in material possessions, many of them seem to be miserable and consider themselves unsuccessful when judged by their own standards of success. Because not all ventures can be successful, one should not set unrealistic goals for achieving success, but if one has self-confidence it would be unfortunate to set one's goals at too low a level of achievement.
A wise man once said to a young man who was experiencing frustration(挫折)with his own professional success, “You do not have to set your goal to reach the moon in order to have success in traveling. Sometimes one can be very successful merely by taking a walk in the park or riding the subway downtown,” The man added, "You have not really failed and spoiled your chances for success until you have been unsuccessful at something you really like,and to which you have given your best effort. ”
1. According to the first paragraph, what is implied as basic in achieving success?
A.Ability and goals. | B.Goals and determination. |
C.Ability and environment. | D.Goals and environment. |
A.they haven't reached their own standards |
B.their life is busy and miserable |
C.they set their goals at too low a level |
D.they are not rich in material possessions |
A.success means achieving great goals |
B.success comes from great goal setting |
C.success has nothing to do with the distance of your travel |
D.success means efforts and favorites pay off |
A.to talk about how to achieve success |
B.to give us a clear definition of what success is |
C.to state what our life goal is |
D.to discuss the importance of goals |
Celestine Thompson left Mississippi when she was 14 years old and eventually settled in New York,where she spent more than 30 years of her life,according to WLOX 13News. After surviving a fire in 1992,Thompson was in a coma(昏迷)for two years and has since experienced memory loss. The 90-year-old found it difficult to recall details about her family.
But later she remembered the name of her nephew Clarence Woodway. Then another woman who knows Thompson in Mississippi was able to track Woodway down and help reunite Thompson with her large family.
“In our minds,my brother and I were talking that she wasn’t here anymore,because we hadn’t heard from her for a very long time,”Donald Davis,another one of Thompson’s nephews,told the media.“You know,we were overjoyed when we found out that we had gotten in contact with her.”
A few of Thompson’s relatives visited her in New York,and then arranged a larger reunion which was held this past Saturday in Gulfport,Mississippi,the Associated Press reported.
Thompson now lives in Greensboro,Alabama,with a caretaker,and,although she is yet to meet them all,she has regained quite a sizeable family of 23 nieces and nephews,64 grand nieces and nephews,66 great-grand nieces and nephews and 34 great-great-grand nieces and nephews,according to the Associated Press.
1. What can we know about Thompson?
A.She suffered memory loss and forgot everything about herself. |
B.She lives with a caretaker and her relatives in Alabama at present. |
C.She’s lost contact with her family since she left her hometown |
D.She had a larger reunion with her family members in Mississippi. |
A.A woman who knows her. |
B.People from WLOX 13 News. |
C.The Associated Press. |
D.The caretaker she's living with. |
A."Three. | B.Four. | C.Five. | D.Six. |
A.Great hopes make a great woman. |
B.Time and tide wait for no man. |
C.Life wonders can really take place. |
D.Misfortune will tell what fortune is. |
The days of his
He looked towards the sky and cried
The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his
And his youth did return, for all this was only a
Those who still linger on the
A.brought | B.passed | C.paid | D.took |
A.youth | B.age | C.work | D.future |
A.happy | B.serious | C.dangerous | D.terrible |
A.placed | B.smiled | C.covered | D.put |
A.painfully | B.carefully | C.faithfully | D.terribly |
A.mother | B.father | C.sister | D.brother |
A.talk | B.write | C.advise | D.choose |
A.sisters’ | B.parents’ | C.teachers’ | D.brothers’ |
A.jobs | B.talks | C.tears | D.clothes |
A.story | B.dream | C.chance | D.joke |
A.entrance | B.building | C.street | D.way |
A.teeth | B.hands | C.heads | D.feet |
According to a study, people participating in meaningful activities were happier and felt that their lives had more purpose than people who only engaged in pleasure-seeking behaviors.
Try giving these four things to others to start your journey to a happier and healthier lifestyle.
1. Your Time
With a busy life, it can be hard to find any time to give away. However, volunteering your time has great benefits, including making new friends and connections, learning new skills and even advancing your career.
According to a paper about the link between health and volunteering, volunteering is connected with lower instances of depression and reduces the risk of dying by 22 percent.
2. Your Attention
Most of us think we’re good listeners, but according to psychologist Paul Donoghue, most people are aware that others don’t listen as well as they could. In addition, they’re not fully aware that they themselves aren’t listening.
When practicing mindfulness meditation(正念禅修), you focus on what you experience in the moment and let your thoughts and emotions pass through without judgment. Did you know that giving someone your undivided attention helps you also? When done well, active listening strengthens your focus-which is a major part of good meditation.
3. Your Compassion
The psychological meaning of compassion is the ability to understand another person’s emotional state. Compassion differs from empathy(移情) in that those who experience compassion not only put themselves in another person’s shoes, but also want to reduce that person’s suffering.
A brain-imaging study showed that the brain’s pleasure centers are equally active when we give money to the poor as when we receive money ourselves.
4. Your Money
According to an experiment, those who spend money on other people are significantly happier than those who spend the same quantity of money on themselves.
Whether or not you can offer other gifts, donating money helps make real change happen. It represents time spent, compassion and careful attention to the needs of others.
1. Who is the happiest according to the study mentioned in Paragraph 2?
A.Bill, who is often invited to play golf by his wealthy uncle. |
B.Tom, who is on the way to be the richest man in the world. |
C.Mike, who is not well-off but often does what he can to those in need. |
D.John, who is a disabled young man but has married a very beautiful girl. |
A.pleasure | B.unhappiness |
C.connection | D.misunderstanding |
A.Time. | B.Money. | C.Attention. | D.Compassion. |
A.To encourage people to help others. |
B.To give the meaning of “happiness”. |
C.To offer a practical way of life. |
D.To show his kindness. |
It says 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults are at risk of permanently damaging their hearing by listening to “too much, too loudly”.
It said audio devices(音频设备), concerts and bars were causing a “serious threat”.
WHO figures show 43 million people aged 12-35 have hearing loss and the number is increasing. In that age group, the WHO said, half of the people in rich and middle-income countries were exposed to unsafe sound levels from personal audio devices. Meanwhile 40% were exposed to damaging levels of sound from clubs and bars.
The proportion of US teenagers with hearing loss went from 3.5% in 1994 to 5.3% in 2006.
“What we’re trying to do is raise awareness of the problem that is not talked about enough, but has the potential to do a lot of damage that can be easily prevented,” said Dr Etienne Krug, the WHO’s director for injury prevention.
The full report argued: “While it is important to keep the volume down, limiting the use of personal audio devices to less than one hour a day would do much to reduce noise exposure.”
Dr Krug said: “That’s a rough recommendation, it is not by the minute, to give an idea to those spending 10 hours a day listening to an mp3-player. But even an hour can be too much if the volume(音量)is too loud.”
1. What might be the main cause of hearing loss according to the passage?
A.Listening to music frequently. |
B.Listening to music at concerts. |
C.Listening to too much and too loud music. |
D.Listening to music from poor audio devices. |
A.3.5%. | B.5.3%. | C.40%. | D.50 %. |
A.Safe noise exposure is based on the limitation to both volume and time. |
B.One hour of exposure to loud music a day will do no damage to hearing. |
C.With proper volume, one can listen to an mp3-player for 10 hours a day. |
D.It will be OK to be exposed to loud noise from personal audio devices. |
A.Away from music |
B.How to enjoy music |
C.Risk of hearing loss |
D.Warning of hearing damage |
Many people would not like the idea of eating insects distasteful, even if it were not disgusting. Not so long ago Brantley-Rios was among them. But for the last month he has been eating insects for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“I’m mainly sticking to three kinds,” he says.
Occasionally he has included different insects. Preparing these he “actually cried”, though he insists they were surprisingly good.
Insects consume fewer resources than animals, like pigs and cows, to produce the same amount of protein(蛋白质), Brantley-Rios says – and more than two billion people worldwide include insects in their regular diet, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
“There’s not really a need to eat insects in America because we have it so nice,” Brantley-Rios says. “We have finer meats and we’re lucky to have that luxury(奢侈), so there’s not much of a pressure to eat insects right now. But what a lot of people are trying to do is make it a little bit more marketable.”
He has ordered insects from farms that usually supply zoos, which need them “to feed certain animals”. He has always made sure the insects have been fed on an organic diet, he says, and only bought species he knows are safe to eat.
He knows that one person eating insects won’t make much difference. To have a real environmental effect, millions would have to follow his example.
1. Why has the US student tried out an “insect diet”?
A.To seek for future vegetables. |
B.To advocate traditional meats. |
C.To make up for the lack of meat. |
D.To explore new forms of protein. |
A.He is tired of meats like pork and beef. |
B.He didn’t like the idea of eating insects. |
C.He had nothing to eat but insects last month. |
D.He advised people to eat insects though disgusted. |
A.was scared | B.was pitiful |
C.was sorry | D.was puzzled |
A.He tests each species before eating it. |
B.He has insects raised on his own farm. |
C.He feeds his insects on an organic diet. |
D.He orders insects for certain zoo animals. |
Many stores have special offers and
There are
A.traveling | B.shopping | C.visiting | D.cooking |
A.prepare | B.check | C.lower | D.raise |
A.shorten | B.enlarge | C.reduce | D.extend |
A.popular | B.outstanding | C.splendid | D.ordinary |
A.many | B.two | C.few | D.no |
A.leaving for | B.leading to | C.coming out | D.sticking to |
A.Prices | B.Interests | C.Losses | D.Benefits |
A.particularly | B.specially | C.obviously | D.eventually |
8 . I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job.I also think my work is important.There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career(职业).
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork.In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer.I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job.Looking after two little girls,It wasn’t too bad at first.But the problems began when I agreed to live in,so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening.We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week,she’d give me time off the next.But unfortunately,it didn’t often work out.I was getting extremely tired and fed up,because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday,I was in the park with the children,and met Megan who used to go to school with me,I told her about my situation.She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification(资格证书)if I wanted to work with children.I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school.She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful.My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part – time course.I had to leave my job with the family,and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I’ve got a full – time job there.I shall always be thankful to Megan.I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career,even if you aren’t top of the class at school.
1. What is the author’s present job?A.Working part – time in a college. |
B.Taking care of children for a family. |
C.Helping children with their schoolwork. |
D.Looking after children at a kindergarten. |
A.was paid for extra work |
B.often worked long hours |
C.got much help from her boss |
D.took a day off every other week |
A.She found a full – time job. |
B.She was fed up with children. |
C.She decided to attend a part – time course. |
D.She needed a rest after working extra hours. |
A.Less successful students can still have a career. |
B.Qualifications are necessary for a career. |
C.Hard work makes an excellent student. |
D.One must choose the job she likes. |
Beneath the surface of a gemstone, on the tiny level of atoms and molecules(分子), lie clues (线索) to its origin. At this year’s meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis, Catherine McManus reported on a technique that uses lasers (激光) to clarify these clues and identify a stone’s homeland. McManus directs scientific research at Materialytics, in Killeen, Texas. The company is developing the technique. “With enough data, we could identify which country, which mining place, even the individual mine a gemstone comes from,” McManus told Science News.
Some gemstones, including many diamonds, come from war-torn countries. Sales of those “blood minerals” may encourage violent civil wars where innocent people are injured or killed. In an effort to reduce the trade in blood minerals, the U.S. government passed law in July 2010 that requires companies that sell gemstones to determine the origins of their stones.
To figure out where gemstones come from, McManus and her team focus a powerful laser on a small sample of the gemstone. The technique is called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Just as heat can turn ice into water or water into steam, energy from the laser changes the state of matter of the stone. The laser changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma, a gas state of matter in which tiny particles(微粒)called electrons separate from atoms.
The plasma, which is superhot, produces a light pattern. (The science of analyzing this kind of light pattern is called spectroscopy.) Different elements(元素)produce different patterns, but McManus and her team say that gemstones from the same area produce similar patterns. Materialytics has already collected patterns from thousands of gemstones, including more than 200 from diamonds. They can compare the light pattern from an unknown gemstone to patterns they do know and look for a match. The light pattern acts like a signature, telling the researchers the origin of the gemstone.
In a small test, the laser technique correctly identified the origins of 95 out of every 100 diamonds. For gemstones like emeralds and rubies, the technique proved successful for 98 out of every 100 stones. The scientists need to collect and analyze more samples, including those from war-torn countries, before the tool is ready for commercial use.
Scientists like Barbara Dutrow, a mineralogist from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, find the technique exciting. “This is a basic new tool that could provide a better fingerprint of a material from a particular locality,” she told Science News.
1. We learn from Paragraph 1 that __________________.A.an emerald and a ruby are names of diamonds. |
B.it’s not difficult to tell where the gem was mined. |
C.appearances help to identify the origin of gemstones. |
D.diamonds from different places may appear the same. |
A.To look for more gemstones. |
B.To encourage violent civil wars. |
C.To reduce the trade in blood minerals. |
D.To develop the economy. |
A.Heat can turn ice into water or water into steam. |
B.Gemstones from the same area produce similar light patterns. |
C.Laser can changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma. |
D.Materialytics has already collected patterns from thousands of gemstones. |
A.It is ready for commercial use. |
B.People can use the new tool to find more gemstones. |
C.It can significantly reduce the gemstones trade in blood minerals. |
D.It will bring about a revolutionary change in identifying the origin of minerals. |
A.tell us how to identify the origin of diamonds. |
B.introduce a laser technique in identifying a stone’s origin |
C.prove identifying the origin of gemstones are difficult |
D.attract our attention to reducing trade in blood minerals |
A recent report says we spend an average of two hours and 40 minutes each day looking at a smart phone. That doesn’t mean making calls, but playing phone games and browsing the Web.
Nowadays we always find people checking emails in a restaurant, taking a picture of the food when it arrives, or checking a message during a conversation instead of traditional communication. It’s no secret that our lives are being affected by our smart phones obsession.
However, this phenomenon has never been presented so vividly as in the short YouTube film I Forgot My Phone. Despite only being online for a few days, it's already been viewed more than 10.5 million times. Whether it will be screened in the cinema remains to be seen.
Ironically, YouTube’s data show that the site gets a billion views per day from mobile devices, so a lot of those people watched it on their phones.
The short film, written by and starring actress Charlene Deguzman, shows groups of people in various social situations, the majority of whom are absorbed in their phones instead of the world around them. To a certain extent, we all do it.
1. People prefer a smart phone to a common one, because the latter only can help us ______.
A.check emails | B.send messages | C.find the destination | D.watch a video |
A.devotion | B.contribution | C.addiction | D.emotion |
A.People spend as average of two hours and 40 minutes each day using smart phones. |
B.The film hasn’t been put on in the cinema. |
C.The film is written by an actor named Charlene Deguzman. |
D.The film has already been viewed more than 105 million times in the first few days. |
A.encouraged | B.depressed | C.proud | D.satisfied |