Why do people drink too much, eat too much, smoke cigarettes or take drugs? What’s to blame for all the bad behavior? Most people would say that, while these self-destructive (自我毁灭的) acts can have many root causes, they all have one obvious thing in common: they are all examples of failures of self-control, lacking the will power to resist them.

    According to a recent study, however, if you really think about it, something about that simple answer doesn’t quite make sense. In fact, it turns out that sometimes it’s having will power that really gets you into trouble.

    Think back to the time you took your very first sip (啜饮) of beer. Disgusting, wasn’t it? When my father gave me my first taste of beer as a teenager, I wondered why anyone would voluntarily drink it. And smoking? No one enjoys their first cigarette — it tastes awful. So even though smoking, and drinking alcohol or coffee, can become temptation (诱惑) you need will power to resist, they never, ever start out that way.

    Just getting past those first horrible experiences actually requires a lot of self-control. Ironically (讽刺的是), only those who can control themselves well, rather than give in to them, can ever come to someday develop a “taste” for Budweiser beer, Marlboro cigarettes, or dark-roasted Starbucks coffee. We do it for social acceptance. We force ourselves to consume alcohol, cigarettes, coffee and even illegal drugs, in order to seem experienced, grown-up, and cool.

    These bad habits aren’t self-control failures — far from it. They are voluntary choices, and they are in fact self-control successes. Self-control is simply a tool to be put to some use, helpful or harmful. To live happy and productive lives, we need to develop not only our self-control, but also the wisdom to make good decisions about when and where to apply it.

1.What do most people think causes bad behavior?

   A. Being forced by others.                  

B. Not having enough will power.

   C. Enjoying their first experiences.            

D. Following the examples of their friends.

2.The author mentions his experience in the third paragraph to prove ____.

   A. will power helps develop bad habits sometimes

   B. drinking beer is harmful to the health of teenagers

   C. self-control should be developed when one is young

   D. everyone can be challenged by different temptations

3.In the last paragraph, the author stresses that ____.

   A. without self-control, no one can succeed     

   B. bad habits don’t always lead to bad results

   C. applying self-control correctly is important

   D. people can develop wisdom from bad behavior

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

   A. My First Sip of Beer                     

B. Do You Have Will Power ?

   C. Will Power Benefits Us                   

D. Dark Side of Self-control

 

 

Successful people in international business understand the cultures of other countries and learn to change their practices in different cultures. They understand the importance of avoiding business decisions based on misconceptions—mistaken ideas. 

One cause of misconceptions is ethnocentrism, the belief that one’s own culture’s way of doing things is better than the way of other cultures. It’s ethnocentrism that leads to failure in international business. To avoid ethnocentrism, it’s necessary to study the different elements（组成部分）of culture: language, values and attitudes, and customs and manners. 

Language

A knowledge of the local language can help international business people in four ways. First, people can communicate directly. Second, people are usually more open in their communication with someone who speaks their language. Third, an understanding of the language allows people to infer meanings that are not said directly. Finally, knowing the language helps people to understand the culture better. 

Values are people’s basic beliefs about the difference between right and wrong, good and bad . An attitude is a way of thinking or acting. Values and attitudes influence international business. For example, many people in the United States believe that chocolate from Switzerland is better than chocolate from other countries, and they buy a lot of it. 

Customs and manners

Customs are common social practices. Manners are ways of acting that the society believes are polite. For example, in the United States, it is the custom to have salad （色拉） before the main course at dinner, not after. It’s not acceptable to talk with food in mouth at table. Failure to understand the customs and manners of other countries will bring difficulty selling their products. Orange juice as a breakfast drink of an American company in France doesn’t sell well because the French don’t usually drink juice with breakfast.   

1. A knowledge of the local language allows international business people _________. 

A. to communicate without outside help

B. to be more open with their customers

C. to express their thoughts indirectly

D. to have a better idea of their own culture

2. The act of many people buying chocolate of Switzerland shows the role of ________. 

A. attitudes        B. values           C. manners          D. customs

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

A. Misconceptions in Business               B. Basic Beliefs in Business

C. International Business Culture             D. Successful International Business

4. The author’s purpose of writing this article is to tell people ___________.       

A. how to take a right attitude in business

B. how to act politely and properly in business

C. how to use a local language in business

D. how to avoid misunderstandings in business

 

If you want to learn anything at school, you need to listen to your teachers. Unfortunately, millions of kids can’t hear what their teachers are saying. And it’s not because these students are goofing off. Often, it’s the room’s fault. Building architecture and building design can create echo(回声)-filled classrooms that make hearing difficult.

Children with hearing impairments（损伤）suffer most from noisy classrooms. They sometimes can’t hear questions that other students ask in class. Compared with kids with healthy hearing, they have a harder time picking up new vocabulary words by hearing them in talking.

Even kids with normal hearing have a harder time in the classroom when there’s too much noise. Younger children in particular have trouble separating important sounds – like a teacher’s voice – from background noise. Kids with learning disabilities and speech impediments（障碍）and kids for whom English is a second language also have a harder time learning in noisy situations.

In recent years, scientists who study sound have been asking schools to reduce background noise, which may include loud air-conditioners and pipes. They’re also targeting outdoor noises, such as highway traffic. Noise reduction is a big deal. Why? Because quieter classrooms might make you smarter by letting you hear your lessons better.

“It’s so obvious that we should have quiet rooms that allow for access to the lesson,” says Dan Ostergren, a hearing scientist. “Sometimes it surprises me that we spend so much time discussing this topic. I just want to go. Why is this hard for anyone to grasp?”

1.The underlined part “goofing off” in the first paragraph can be replaced by “     ”.

A．lazy

B．intelligent

C．sleepy

D．foolish

2.Who is most affected by noisy classrooms?

A．Children with learning disabilities.

B．Children with speech impairments.

C．Children with hearing impediments.

D．Children with normal hearing.

3.Why should noise be reduced in classrooms?

A．Quiet classrooms are suitable for kids to have discussions.

B．Quiet classrooms help kids recover from hearig impairments.

C．Kids can’t separate sounds of air-conditioners and pipes.

D．Kids can become smarter after hearing lessons better.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Classroom design	B．Noisy classrooms
C．The sense of hearing	D．Disabled kids

 

Make the most of college

Dear Daughter,

As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write a letter to you to tell you all that is on my mind.

First, I want to tell you how proud we are. Getting into Columbia is a real testament（ 证明）of what a great well-rounded student you are. You should be as proud of yourself as we are.

Your college years will be the most important of your life. It is in college that you will discover what learning is about. This will be the period when you go from teacher-taught to master-inspired, after which you must become self-learner. So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn isn’t extremely impotant for your life, the learning skills you gain will be something you will cherish（怀念） forever.

Follow your passion in college. Take courses you think you will enjoy. Don’t be trapped by what others think or say, but make up your own mind.

Most importantly, make friends and be happy. College friends are often the best in life. Pick a few friends and become really close to them – pick the ones who are sincere and honest to you.  Don’t worry about their hobbies, grades, looks or even personalities.

Start planning early – what would you like to do? Where would you like to live? What would you like to learn? I think your plan to study fashion is good,  and you should decide where you want to be, and get onto the right courses.

Whether it is summer-planning, or coursework planning, or picking a major,  or managing your time, you should take control of your life. I will always be there for you, but the time has come for you to be in the driver’s seat – this is your life, and you need to be in control. Being in control feels great. Try it, and you’ll love it!

College is the four years where you have:

l The greatest amount of free time

l the first chance to be independent

l the most flexibility（灵活性）to change

l the lowest risk for making mistakes

So please treasure your college years – make the best of your free time, become an independent thinker in control of your destiny（命运）, be bold（敢于冒险的） to experiment, learn and grow through your successes and challenges.

May your years at Columbia be the happiest of your life, and may you become just what you dream to be.

Love,

Dad (&Mom)

1.What does the author think college life holds in store for his daughter? ______

A．Uncertainty

B．Pure enjoyment.

C．Successes and challenges.

D．Experimentation with life.

2.What does the author advise his daughter to do in college?______

A．Plan everything.

B．Party with friends in her free time.

C．Ignore what others think or say.

D．Treasure and make the best of her college years.

3.Which of these pieces of advice is given in the article?_____

a. think and live independently

b. learn how to learn

c. choose friends with similar personalities

d. be genuine and sincere

e. try new things

A．abc

B．bce

C．cde

D．abe

4.From the text, we can conclude the father ______.

A．is worried about his daughter

B．is optimistic about his daughter’s future

C．is strict with his daughter

D．is sad that his daughter is leaving home

 

Health experts are calling for action to expand cancer care and control in the developing world. A medical research paper says cancer was once thought of as a problem mostly in the developed world. But now cancer is a leading cause of death and disability in poor countries as well. Experts from Harvard University and other organizations urge the international community to fight cancer aggressively, saying it should be fought in the way HIV/AIDS has been fought in Africa.

Cancer kills more than 7.5 million people a year worldwide. Almost two-thirds are in low-income and middle-income countries.

They discover cancer dills more people in developing countries than AIDS, tuberculosis (肺结核) and malaria (疟疾) combined. But the world spends only 5% of its cancer resources in those countries.

Felicia Knaul from Harvard Medical School was one of the authors of the paper. She was in Mexico when she was found to have breast cancer. She received treatment there and her experience showed her the sharp difference between the rich and the poor in treating breast cancer.

Felicia Knaul says, “And we are seeing how this is attacking young women. It’s the number two cause of death in Mexico for women thirty to fifty-four. All over the developing world, it’s the number one cancer-related death among young women. I think we have to again say that there is much more we could do about it than we are doing about it.”

Professor Knalul met community health workers during her work in developing countries. They were an important part of efforts to reduce deaths from the cancer. They were able to persuade people to get tested to prevent the illness. The experts say cancer care does not have to be costly. For example, patients can be treated with lower-cost drugs.

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

A．Cancer – a leading cause of death in poor countries

B．What should we do in preventing and treating cancer?

C．What makes the first killer in developing countries?

D．Experts urge more efforts to fight cancer in poor countries.

2.Felicia Knaul’s experience in Mexico shows that       .

A．many Mexican women suffer from breast cancer

B．there is not enough medicine for cancer there

C．many Mexican women can’t afford medical care

D．patients with breast cancer are treated differently

3.From what Felicia Knaul says, we can draw the conclusion that       .

A．breast cancer is a great threat to young women

B．people don’t pay enough attention to breast cancer

C．breast cancer is the second killer among women in Mexico

D．effective treatment for breast cancer is available in developing countries

4.Who plays an important part in preventing the cancer in developing countries?

A．The cancer patients.

B．The health experts.

C．Community health workers.

D．Young women.

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The number of cancer cases is decreasing.

B．HIV/AIDS is not being taken seriously in Africa.

C．Over 7.5 million people die of cancer every year.

D．It is very expensive to treat cancer.