The day before the deadline for this article,I had no clue what I was going to write about. I took my problem to the editor-in-chief, and.he said to me:“Don’t worry; you’re creative. ”

I’m not sure where the editor-in-chief reached the conclusion that I was “creative”. Maybe it was through the poems I wrote. Personally, I simply enjoy writing because it’s fun. There’s also the fact that I can’t draw or do anything else creatively, I’m equally sure that there are people in the boat on the other side who can make things look excellent, but can’t write a poem.

At this point you probably want to ask me what poetry and art have to do with engineering.  For one, it makes you a more rounded person, making you a better engineer. More importantly, as an engineer, you will be faced with many problems every day. There are some that can be solved by consulting a textbook, but more often than not, you will need that thing in your brain to put together things in a completely original combination to solve the problem at hand.

Think of the wonderful things that creative engineers have done. Civil engineers have made the road more long-lasting so we don’t have to close them for repairs as often. Coming up with a new innovation (创新) is similar to writing a good poem. It’s not some-thing you plan to do. The critical moment comes unexpectedly in the middle of nowhere. You don’t think about what you’re doing, you simply do. After some mad struggling you take a look at the end product and say to yourself, “This is a masterpiece. ” This is perhaps the greatest personal satisfaction one can

experience.

So all you engineers out there get out and do something creative. I don’t care if it’s writing a poem or a computer program, just be natural and do something creative.

66. This passage mainly deals with        .

A. the creativity of engineers                             B.the power of editor-in-chief

C. engineering in general                                  D. a way of thinking

67. In the author’s opinion, writing poems can        .

A.show one is creative                                      B. make him happy

C. bring him in lots of money                                   D. have an effect on one’s mental health

68. According to the author, art can help an engineer to        .

A.find the solutions to problems                        B. learn to write poetry

C. be courageous in face of challenges                D. get along well with others

69. Coming up with a new innovation is similar to writing a good poem in that both are      .

A. logically developed                                      B. strictly planned

C.experience- based                                          D. naturally creative

70. The greatest personal satisfaction of an engineer comes from      .

A.planning his work successfully                       B. building things quickly

C. finishing his work innovatively                      D.writing good poems naturally

 

On a cold evening I was waiting for a taxi in New York. About 5 minutes later, I was picked up by a driver, and he said how horrible some people were. I knew there was a part of me that wanted to be silent, but I had to listen out of kindness.

The man told me that he had just come from JFK Airport without a customer. Over the course of that taxi ride, what started as anger changed slowly and he mentioned that he had read an article which said that the happiest people are the ones that give, so he hoped he’d have more chance to give in his life. I was really starting to enjoy being with this man.

As we arrived at the place where I wanted to go, I paid my money by credit card. I pulled out an extra $20 and said, “Sir, since we’ve been talking about giving this whole time, I want to share that feeling with you. I’ve already paid my money, but here’s an extra little bit. You can tell the next passenger in this taxi that their ride is a gift from another.”

I thought I was pretty cool at this point. But he turned toward me, tears in his eyes, and he said, “Sir, I have a better idea. You give that $20 to a homeless person around here and I will give the next passenger a free ride myself.”

It was a great honor meeting that man and learning the lesson of how everyone gives and adds joy to another with their generosity.

According to the text, when the author got in the taxi, the taxi driver was________.

A. angry            B. nervous      C. worried      D. regretful

The author gave the driver an extra $20 in order to_________.

A. help him to get out of trouble       B. know what he was really like

C. experience the joy of giving     D. learn how to get along with others

What can be inferred from the taxi driver’s words in Paragraph 4?

A. A driver should be willing to help. 

B. People should understand each other.

C. The driver was deeply moved.    

D. One needs to keep an optimistic attitude (乐观态度).

What would be the best title for the text?

A. A cold evening in New York       B. Learning from a taxi driver

C. A gift to a generous stranger        D. Always being a happy person

A man named Smith was sitting on his roof during a flood, and the water was up to his feet. Before long a fellow in a canoe passed and shouted, "Can I give you a lift to higher ground?"

"No, thanks," said Smith. "I have faith （信任）in God and he will save me."

Soon the water rose to Smith’s waist.（腰，腰部） At this point a motor boat pulled up and someone called out, "Can I give you a lift to higher ground?"

"No, thanks, I have faith in God and he will save me."

Later a helicopter flew by, and Smith was now standing on the roof with water up to his neck. "Grab the rope, "shouted the pilot. "I’ll pull you up."

"No, thanks," said Smith. "I have faith in God and he will save me. "But after hours of struggling with water, poor exhausted Smith drowned and went to his reward. As he arrived at the Pearly Gates, Smith met God and complained about this. "Tell me, God, "he said, "I had such faith in you to save me and you let me drown. What happened?"

To which God replied, "What do you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter."

1..When the pilot asked Smith to grab the rope, ______.    

   A. Smith pulled the pilot up　　　　　                   B. Smith did so

   C. Smith didn’t do so　　　　　　　　                   D. Smith didn’t hear him

2.At last, poor exhausted Smith drowned and ______.

   A. went to his reward　　　　　　　　 B. passed away

   C. went to heaven　　　　　　　　　   D. all of the above

3..What do we know about Smith? __      ____.

   A. He was a lazy man                                     B. He was a lucky man who believed in God

   C. He was a poor man                                     D. He was a silly man who believed in God

4.What do you think of this passage? This passage is very ______.

   A. moving　　　　  B. humorous　　　  C. depressing　　　 D. surprising

5.The best title of this passage is" ______" .

A. What Do You Want from Me?　　　 B. How Do You Believe in God?

C. How God Loved Smith!　　　　　　 D. Smith Obeyed God’s Order

 

My father’s reaction to the bank building at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York city was immediate and definite: “You won’t catch me putting my money in there!” he declared, “Not in that glass box!”

　  Of course, my father is a gentleman of the old school, a member of the generation to whom a good deal of modern architecture is upsetting, but I am convinced that his negative response was not so much to the architecture as to a violation of his concept of the nature of money. In his generation money was thought of as a real commodity (实物) that could be carried, or stolen.

　　Consequently, to attract the custom of a sensible man, a bank had to have heavy walls, barred windows, and bronze doors, to affirm the fact, however untrue, that money would be safe inside. If a building’s design made it appear impenetrable（难以渗透的), the institution was necessarily reliable, and the meaning of the heavy wall as an architecture symbol reflected people’s prevailing attitude toward money.

　　But the attitude toward money has, of course, changed. Excepting pocket money, cash of any kind is now rarely used; money as a tangible commodity has largely been replaced by credit. A deficit (赤字) economy, accompanied by huge expansion, has led us to think of money as product of the creative imagination. The banker no longer offers us a safe: he offers us a service in which the most valuable element is the creativity for the invention of large numbers. It is in no way surprising, in view of this change in attitude, that we are witnessing the disappearance of the heavy-walled bank.

　　Just as the older bank emphasized its strength, this bank by its architecture boasts of imaginative powers. From this point of view it is hard to say where architecture ends and human assertion (人们的说法) begins.

36. 1.The main idea of this passage is that________.

A．money is not as valuable as it was in the past

B．changes have taken place in both the appearance and the concept of banks

C．the architectural style of the older bank is superior to that of the modern bank

D．prejudice makes the older generation think that the modern bank is unreliable

37. 2.How do the older generation and the younger one think about money respectively?

A．The former thinks more of money than the latter.

B．The younger generation values money more than the older generation.

C．Both generations rely on the imaginative power of bankers to make money.

D．To the former money is a real commodity but to the latter be a means to produce more money.

38. 3.The words “tangible commodity” (Line 2, Para. 4) refer to something ______.

A．that can be replaceable	B．that is usable
C．that can be touched	D．that can be reproduced

39. 4.According to this passage, a modern banker should be _______.

A．ambitious and friendly	B．reliable and powerful
C．sensible and impenetrable	D．imaginative and creative

40. 5.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s attitude towards the new trend in banking is _______.

A．cautious

B．regretful

C．positive

D．hostile

 

On a cold evening I was waiting for a taxi in New York. About 5 minutes later, I was picked up by a driver, and he said how terrible some people were. I knew there was a part of me that wanted to be silent, but I had to listen out of kindness.
The man told me that he had just come from JFK Airport without a customer. During the taxi ride, what started as anger changed slowly and he mentioned that he had read an article which said that the happiest people are the ones that give, so he hoped he’d have more chance to give in his life. I was really starting to enjoy being with this man.
As we arrived at the place where I wanted to go, I paid my money by credit card. I pulled out an extra $20 and said, “Sir, since we’ve been talking about giving this whole time, I want to share that feeling with you. I’ve already paid my money, but here’s an extra little bit. You can tell the next passenger in this taxi that their ride is a gift from another.”
I thought I was pretty cool at this point, but he turned toward me, tears in his eyes, and said, “Sir, I have a better idea. You give that $20 to a homeless person around here and I will give the next passenger a free ride myself.
It was a great honor meeting that man and learning the lesson of how everyone gives and adds joy to another with their generosity.
【小题1】According to the text, when the author got in the taxi, the driver was    .

A．angry

B．nervous

C．worried

D．regretful

【小题2】The author gave the driver an extra $20 in order to    _.

A．help him to get out of trouble

B．know what he was really like

C．experience the joy of giving

D．learn how to get along with others.

【小题3】What can be inferred (推断) from the taxi driver’s words in Paragraph 4?

A．A driver should be willing to help.

B．People should understand each other.

C．The driver was deeply moved.

D．One needs to keep an optimistic attitude (乐观态度).

【小题4】What would be the best title for the text?

A．A cold evening in New York

B．A lesson learned from a taxi driver

C．A gift to a generous stranger

D．Always being a happy person