Things of Value
Our area was just a few miles from the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history. We were on “evacuation alert (疏散警报)”. If we got the   1  to evacuate, we would have to leave immediately.
We   2  suitcases with some clothes and set them by the door. We didn’t  3 these things were valuable, but time was. We moved the computers, with which I wrote for newspapers and made a   4 . We took family pictures off the   5  and packed them in boxes. These were truly valuable and could not be replaced.
Then we took a hard look at all that   6 . There was a lamp that belonged to my great grandmother. It was a   7  to my family. And there was the piano my wife   8  to play when she was a little girl. Not of great   9  in itself, but another family connection. It was impractical to move everything from our home and store them for an indefinite (无限的) time. Some important items would have to stay behind.
The thought of   10  something passed down from our families saddened me deeply,   11  I’d never been much attached to things. It’s about what they   12  —family and love. They each had a(n)   13  to tell, and some of them spoke in the   14  of our parents and grandparents.
The fire   15  reached our home. We were lucky. And though I felt grateful that all was   16 , I also realized just how fortunate I had been   17 . I saw just how rich my life had been.
Someone  18 said, “There are people so poor that the only thing they have is money.” And now I  19  I was indeed rich. I was rich in family, rich in memories, rich in everything that really  20 to me. I am wealthier than I ever believed possible.
It took a fire to teach me, I wonder if there is any other kind of wealth worth seeking.

                             
C
Several years ago, I read a book Your Money or Your Life, written by Joe Domingguez and Vicki Robin. The major theme of the book is the idea that if you want to cut your spending, you’ll have to begin by stopping trying to impress other people.
The authors divide people into two groups : people whose opinions you care about, and people whose opinions you don’t care about one way or another. It’s easy to stop caring about people whose opinions you don’t care about. Who cares what they think ? As long as you’re not doing something truly immoral —— something that might potentially create a negative reputation for you —— it doesn’t matter what they think.
But shouldn’t you impress other people whose opinions you do care about ? Anyway, they are people you want to meet : customers, friends and family.
The answer is that you don’t need to impress those people with expensive, shiny things. The relationship you’ve built with them —— or you’re going to build with them —— is based on you, not on the material items. They’ll either like you for you or they won’t.
To put it simply, take care of the basics. Keep yourself clean. Keep your weight under control. Wear reasonable clothing. Work on your communication skills. If you have them covered, you don’t need to invest time and money in impressing other people.
Coming to this realization is incredibly valuable. It drops your clothing budget. It drops your automobile budget. It drops your electronics budget. It drops your housing budget. You don’t need a shiny car, an iPhone, or a ＄50 haircut.
Yes , you may actually still want one or two of these things, but the impetus(动力) comes from what your personal values are, not what other people around you seem to value or what marketing messages you receive.
For some people, it seems impossible. Their social cues come from advertising-laden media and from friends who also get their cues from advertising-laden media.They believe they need a slick cellphone and ＄100 casual clothes. Their self-worth revolves around that little burst they get from impressing others.
People should learn to break through that situation. In short, don’t play socially by the tiring old rules that revolve around needing to impress people. Instead, spend your time on things that bring real value to you and give real value to others.
46. Which of the following behaviours is “immoral”according to the second paragraph ?
A.  Caring about other people’s opinion.
B.  Dropping your clothing budget.
C.  Copying existing works.
D.  Obeying the traffic rule.
47. To build relationship with others, you should pay attention to the following EXEPT _______.
A.  dressing casually
B.  learning about weight control
C.  improving communication skills
D.  being a tidy person
48. As for people we care about, what does the author advise us to do ?
A.  To impress them in a proper way.
B.  To buy them special gifts.
C.  To spare more time to be with them.
D.  To impress them with shiny things.
49. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?
A.  An iPhone is totally unnecessary in our life.
B.  Your family members’ opinions are always worth caring about.
C.  Learning how to impress others helps people save money.
D.  You should always be aware of what other people around you seem to value.
50. What is the best title for the passage ?
A.  Whose opinions do you care about ?
B.  Two different groups of people.
C.  My favorite book : Your Money or Your Life
D.  Stop trying to impress other people.

                          
C
In the early days of human history, people lived by hunting wild animals, or gathering wild grains and plants for food. Then, some people learned to grow crops and raise animals for food. They were the first farmers.
Since the sixteenth century, the word farm has meant agricultural land. But a much older meaning of the word farm is linked to economics. The word farm comes from the Latin word, firma, which means an unchanging payment.
Experts say the earliest meaning of the English word farm was a yearly payment made as a tax or rent.
Farmers in early England did not own their land. They paid every year to use agricultural lands.
Beans are a popular farm crop. But beans are used to describe something of very little value in the expression, not worth a hill of beans. The expression is often used today. You could say, for example, that a bad idea is not worth a hill of beans.
Language expert Charles Earle Funk said the expression was first used almost seven hundred years ago. He said Robert of Gloucester described a message from the King of Germany to King John of England as altogether not worth a bean.
49. In the early days of human history, how did people live?
A. By raising animals.                                      B. By hunting wild animals.
C. By growing crops.                                   D. By selling plants.
50. What is the much older meaning of “farm” linked to?
A. Agriculture.              B. Industry.           C. Economics.   D. Changing payment.
51. What does the expression “not worth a hill of beans” mean?
A. Very important.        B. Very valuable.           C. Not valuable.     D. Not expensive.
52. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Since the sixteenth century, the word farm has meant agricultural land.
B. The word farm comes from the Latin word.
C. Farmers in early England owned their land.
D. The expression “not worth a hill of beans” was first used almost seven hundred years ago.

C

Education is not an end but a means to an end．In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them．Our purpose is to fit them for life．

In some modern countries, it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation．But we have already seen that free education for all is not enough; we find in some countries a far larger number of people with university degrees．They refuse to do what they think “low” work and, in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries．But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of professor．We can live without education, but we die if we have no food．If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases．

In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we must be educated in certain ways．Firstly each of us can do whatever work suited to our brains and ability．Secondly, we should realize that all jobs are necessary to society．It is very bad to be shamed of one’s work．Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society．

1.What would be the best title for the text?

A．The Means of Education．                B．The System of Education．

C．The Value of Education．                 D．The Type of Education．

2.From the second paragraph of the passage we know that ________．

A．work with hands is low work because it is dirty and shameful．

B．the work of the completely uneducated is the most important．

C．education is no more important than food in order to live．

D．we shouldn’t think of work with hands as low work．

3.What kind of educational system is valuable to society?

A．A large number of people can go to university．

B．Everyone can solve all the problems of society．

C．All the people can get free education．

D．Everyone must be educated differently to fit them for society．

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Our society needs all kinds of jobs．

B．Free education for all is enough．

C．A farmer is more important than a professor．

D．People with university degrees shouldn’t do low work．

Things of Value

Our area was just a few miles from the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history. We were on “evacuation alert (疏散警报)”. If we got the   1  to evacuate, we would have to leave immediately.

We   2  suitcases with some clothes and set them by the door. We didn’t  3 these things were valuable, but time was. We moved the computers, with which I wrote for newspapers and made a   4 . We took family pictures off the   5  and packed them in boxes. These were truly valuable and could not be replaced.

Then we took a hard look at all that   6 . There was a lamp that belonged to my great grandmother. It was a   7  to my family. And there was the piano my wife   8  to play when she was a little girl. Not of great   9  in itself, but another family connection. It was impractical to move everything from our home and store them for an indefinite (无限的) time. Some important items would have to stay behind.

The thought of   10  something passed down from our families saddened me deeply,   11  I’d never been much attached to things. It’s about what they   12  —family and love. They each had a(n)   13  to tell, and some of them spoke in the   14  of our parents and grandparents.

The fire   15  reached our home. We were lucky. And though I felt grateful that all was   16 , I also realized just how fortunate I had been   17 . I saw just how rich my life had been.

Someone  18 said, “There are people so poor that the only thing they have is money.” And now I  19  I was indeed rich. I was rich in family, rich in memories, rich in everything that really  20 to me. I am wealthier than I ever believed possible.

It took a fire to teach me, I wonder if there is any other kind of wealth worth seeking.

1.                A．answer         B．task            C．chance   D．call

2.                A．packed         B．bought         C．searched D．sold

3.                A．worry          B．think           C．care D．doubt

4.                A．mark           B．sign            C．living D．plan

5.                A．albums         B．ceilings         C．windows  D．walls

6.                A．left            B．remained       C．burnt D．unmoved

7.                A．connection      B．present         C．symbol   D．treasure

8.                A．forgot          B．agreed         C．learned   D．refused

9.                A．quality         B．taste           C．sense    D．value

10.               A．knocking out     B．leaving behind   C．giving away D．picking out

11.               A．even though     B．unless          C．but   D．or

12.               A．contained       B．included        C．represented    D．gathered

13.               A．idea           B．lie             C．right  D．story

14.               A．sounds         B．speeds         C．voices D．feelings

15.               A．once          B．never          C．seldom    D．finally

16.               A．spared         B．returned       C．stopped   D．found

17.               A．at last          B．in return        C．in another way  D．at most

18.               A．curiously       B．accidentally     C．coldly D．wisely

19.               A．knew          B．promised       C．announced D．thanked

20.               A．affects         B．matters         C．helps D．desires