When in doubt, cut that out! Yeah, yeah, doubting Thomas may have had a point in his day, and life may not be what you want it to be, but if you constantly doubt yourself, how can you accomplish anything?

Where is your confidence? What possible good can come from taking the negative aspect of any situation and growing it into acceptance?

The purpose of achievement is to attain a goal. So, if you set your goals and strive to get there, it should be assumed that you are moving toward your goals no matter what you are doing, right?

When watching a football game, one of those great high school starter games, set to determine who starts when the real game begin. I noticed the coach called “defense” only when the team was “protecting” their goal. As long as the team was fighting for more ground they played “offense”. Along the same lines, I've heard the phrase, “A strong defense requires a good offense.” Simply put, if you concentrate more on gaining ground than on protecting your goal, your accomplishments will be greater. Time spent protecting your goal is wasted time, when you could be working toward attaining your goal rather than preventing others from reaching their goal.

In business, if you waste your time focusing on what the competition is doing rather than working toward meeting your goals, you don't get very far.

Focus your attention on where you're going. Don't waste time worrying about where the competition is. You will gain ground while they are watching you. Smile as you reach your destination.

6. The writer of the passage intends to tell us________.

A. a common rule in a football game

B. how to beat your competitors

C. to overcome our doubt and achieve our goals

D. how to deal with our doubt in life

7. The author's purpose of mentioning Thomas in the first paragraph is to________.

A. show that famous people can change our life

B. tell us that successful people never doubt themselves

C. ask us to learn from successful people

D. tell us it's quite natural for people to doubt themselves

8. The author suggests that in business we should________.

A. avoid too much competition

B. seek as much cooperation as possible

C. focus on our own goals

D. know our competitors as well as ourselves

9. What did the author learn from watching a football game?

A. Slow and steady win the race.

B. A good offense is the best defense.

C. Teamwork leads to success.

D. A miss is as good as a mile.

10. The passage is intended for________.

A. football players         B. coaches

C. businessmen           D. common readers

Jimmy was a twenty-year-old man. His father was a teacher and taught physics in a middle school and his mother worked in a shop. They lived a happy life until his parents died one night when suddenly an earthquake broke out. Luckily his sister took him to see their aunt in the city and they did not stay at home. Everything was destroyed in the earthquake and the two children got into trouble. Thanks to their aunt who was not rich enough, they grew up but they lived a hard life. His sister was so sad that she became a nun(修女). After he finished middle school, he was introduced to and owner of a hotel and began to work there.
One day the young man fell to ground while he was cleaning a window on the second floor. One of his legs was broken and he had to be in hospital. He said to the nurse, “I’m a poor man, madam. Arrange a third-class ward(病房) for me, please.”
“Can’t anybody help you?”
“No, madam,” answered Jimmy. “I have only a sister. She’s a nun and she’s poor, too.”
“I don’t think so,” the nurse said angrily. “Nuns usually marry God. And God is the richest in the world, you know!”
“Well, then,” Jimmy said with a smile. “Please arrange a first-class ward for me and post the bill to my brother-in-law.”
1.  Jimmy’s parents died           .
A. in an accident   B. in a war   C. in an earthquake   D. from a disease
2.  Jimmy and his sister escaped from the earthquake because          .
A. they played outside        B. they were in a safe place
C. their parents saved them    D. the aunt saved them
3.  The sister and brother lived a hard life because         .
A. they lost all                    B. they were too young
C. they were hurt in the earthquake    D. they had to look after themselves
4.  Which of the following is TRUE?
A. The nurse would arrange a third-class ward for Jimmy.
B. Jimmy’s sister became a nun because of her illness.
C. The nurse would post Jimmy’s bill to God.
D. Jimmy had a rich brother-in-law.

Americans have contributed (做贡献) to many art forms, and jazz, a type of music, is one of the art forms started in the United States. Black Americans, who sang and played the music of their homeland, created jazz.

Jazz is a mixture of the music of Africa, the work songs the slaves sang, and religious(宗教) music. Improvisation (即兴表演) is an important part of jazz. This is why a jazz song sounds a little different each time it is played.

Jazz bands formed in the late 1800s. They played in bars and clubs in many towns and cities of the South, especially New Orleans. New Orleans is an international seaport, and people from all over the world come to New Orleans to hear jazz.

Jazz became more and more popular. By the 1920s, jazz was popular all over the United States. By the 1940s, you could hear jazz not only in clubs and bars, but in concert halls as well. Today, people from all over the world play jazz. Jazz musicians from the United States, Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe meet and share their music at festivals on every continent. In this way, jazz continues to grow and change.

What can be the best title of the passage?

     A. American Art Forms           B. The Development of Jazz

     C. The Music of Black Americans   D. The Birthplace of Jazz

From the text we can learn that ______.

     A. New Orleans is the place where jazz was very popular

     B. the American people are all jazz lovers

     C. jazz is merrily sung by black people when working

     D. jazz may become less popular as time goes on

 It took about______ years to make jazz popular in the United States.

     A. 200       B. 120      C. 80     D. 40

None of the underwater workers has been harmed by the great fish. ________, most fish were so friendly that they played with the instruments.

---Do you think our basketball team played very well yesterday?
---______.

1. A.
   They were not nervous at all
2. B.
   They couldn’t have done better
3. C.
   They played naturally
4. D.
   They were still young