I didn’t think I had a passion(激情). I would sit in front of the TV all day, thinking about nothing but the next show. It was not long ago that I first learned how important having a passion is to life.
That day I went with my mum to drive my sister to the gym. I was bored. Then, as my mum stopped at a red light, someone on the side of the road caught my eye（吸引我的世界）. It was a man dressed in rags (衣衫褴褛). He was homeless. That didn’t interest me, for I had seen many like him before.
But in some ways he was different. This man was not sitting down with a sad expression(表情). He had a radio in his hand and was dancing happily to the music. The radio seemed to be the most precious(珍贵)thing he had.
“Mum, why does that man have a radio even thought（尽管） he’s homeless?” I asked.
“He bought it,” she replied. I was still unable to understand.
“But if he’s homeless, why doesn’t he use the money to buy food or clothes? He wasted it on something he doesn’t need.”
“Well, Sarah, sometimes food and clothes aren’t the most important things. We need happiness, too.”
The man must care too much about music to buy a radio instead of food clothes. I soon realized（意识到）that happiness is the key to life. Without it, there’s nothing to look forward to.
Since then I’ve never gone a day without thinking of what’s truly important. A home, a meal, clothes—these things are only part of the picture. What’s often forgotten is that we all need a pleasure, a light in a dark day. We all need a passion.
【小题1】How would Sarah spend her days long ago?

A．She watched TV all day.

B．She used to read a lot.

C．She did nothing but thinking.

D．She was always sleeping.

【小题2】Who caught Sarah’s eye when her mum stopped the car at a red light?

A．A man dressed in rags.

B．A man dressed in new clothes.

C．A man sitting down with a sad expression.

D．A man singing happily to the music.

【小题3】 Why was the man different?

A．He wore new clothes.

B．He was sitting with a sad expression.

C．He was homeless.

D．He lived an active life though he was very poor.

【小题4】What did Sarah do after she understood the fact?

A．She thought all day without doing anything.

B．She bought a radio just like the man’s.

C．She had a passion with everything from then on.

D．She always danced to the music on the radio.

【小题5】 What can we learn from the passage?

A．Sometimes food and clothes are the most important things in our life.

B．Happiness is the key to life and it is what we are looking forward to.

C．Music is more important than food or clothes.

D．Money is the most important thing for a person.

A good way to pass an exam is to work hard every day in the year．You may fail in an exam if you are lazy for most of the year and then work hard only a few days before the exam．

Do not remember only grammar when you are learning English．Try to read stories in English and speak in English as often as you can．A few days before the exam you should go to bed early．Do not study late at night．Before you start the exam，read carefully over the exam paper．Try to understand the exact meaning of each question before you pick up your pen to write．When you have at last finished your exam，read your answers again． Correct the mistakes if there are any and make sure you have not missed anything out．

1.If you want to do well in an exam，you must_____．

A. work hard every day in the year      

B. study hard a few days before the exam

C. get up early a few days before the exam       

D. keep doing your homework day and night

2.It is_______ to go to bed late at night before the exam．

A. useful                    B. not helpful                      C. important              D. difficult

3.If you want to learn English well，you must_______．

A. try to read as many English stories as you can      

B. learn grammar well

C. try to speak in English as much as possible             

D. both A，B and C

 

Close contacts between Japan and the rest of the world were created in the twentieth century. In the last forty years, business contacts between Japan and the West have become very important. Many foreign companies now have offices in Japan and Japanese businessmen do business around the world. Differences between Japanese and Western ways of doing business, however, often bewilder foreign businessmen and make doing business in Japan difficult for foreigners.
The American businessman, for example, wants to start talking business immediately. He does not want to wait. The Japanese businessman, on the other hand, likes to arrive at decisions after giving them serious thought. Another thing foreign businessmen have difficulty in understanding is when a Japanese means “Yes” or “No”. This is because of cultural differences between Japanese and Western society(社会), Which make it difficult for a Japanese to say “No” directly.
In the USA, it is easy to say “No” to something one does not want to do. But in Japan, it is very difficult to say “No”. To refuse an invitation or a request(请求) with “No” is felt to be impolite. It is thought to be selfish and unfriendly. So instead of saying “No” directly, the Japanese have developed many ways to avoid(避免) saying “No”. These can help them avoid hurting other people’s feelings. However, this often makes their ways of doing business rather difficult for foreigners to understand and follow.
【小题1】What often makes foreigners feel difficult to do business in Japan?

A．Their different ways of doing business.

B．Their different lifestyles.

C．The fact that the Japanese never say “No”.

D．The fact that the Japanese are slow to take action.

【小题2】Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined expression “bewilder foreign businessmen” in Paragraph One?

A．cause foreign businessmen to change their minds.

B．give a feeling of surprise to foreign businessmen.

C．attract foreign businessmen’s attention.

D．make foreign businessmen think wrongly.

【小题3】What fact does the passage lead you to believe?

A．American businessmen do things more slowly than Japanese ones.

B．American businessmen like to say “Yes” and “No”.

C．Americans usually say what they are thinking.

D．Americans do not say what they think or feel clearly.

【小题4】From the passage we can infer(推断) that __________.

A．Japanese businessmen are good at business

B．foreign businessmen should try to know Japanese ways of doing business

C．foreign businessmen must be more polite

D．you must learn from Japanese businessmen if you want to succeed

Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing(令人迷惑的). A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences. They decided that miscommunications(沟通误解)were always possible, even over something as simple as “yes” and “no”.
On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific(太平洋), Lisa thought people weren’t paying any attention to her. The day was hot. She went into a store and asked, “Do you have cold drinks?” The woman there didn’t say anything. Lisa repeated the question. Still the woman said nothing. She later learned that the woman had answered her: She had raised her eyebrows(眉毛)，which in Micronesia means “yes”.
Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant that was famous for its cabbage. She asked the waiter, “Do you have cabbage today?” He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means “no”.
Tom had a similar problem when arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered with many different nods and shakes of the head. He thought some people had not understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing. He soon found out that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways depending on(依据)where they come from. You have to know where a person is from to understand whether they mean “yes” or “no”.
【小题1】The Americans teaching English in other countries found that they      .

A．should go abroad for vacations

B．needed to learn foreign languages

C．should often discuss their experiences

D．had problems with communications

【小题2】People in Micronesia show “yes” by          .

A．nodding heads

B．raising eyebrows

C．shaking heads

D．saying “no”

【小题3】Tom misunderstood（误解） his class at first because           .

A．he did not know much about Indian culture

B．he didn’t explain everything clearly enough

C．some students didn’t understand his questions

D．he didn’t know where the students came from

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage?

A．In Bulgaria, nodding heads means “no”.

B．Jan taught English on a Pacific island.

C．Lisa was trying to buy some cabbage.

D．In India, only shaking heads means “yes”.

【小题5】The passage is mainly about          .

A．body language in foreign restaurants

B．class discussion in India schools

C．miscommunication in different cultures

D．English teaching in other countries

Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members, and in particular, their parents, don’t know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for advice.
It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a circle of friends Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among them on the phone. This communication is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can discuss something difficult to say to their family members.
However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them. Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends. The question of “choice” is an interesting one.
Who chooses your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?
Your answers are welcome.
【小题1】Many teenagers think their ________ know them better than their parents do.

A．friends

B．brothers

C．sisters

D．teachers

【小题2】When teenagers stay alone, their usual way of communication is ________.

A．to go to their friends

B．to talk with their parents

C．to have a discussion with their family by phone

D．to talk with their friends on the phone

【小题3】Which of the following is different in meaning from the sentences “Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their friends?

A．Some parents may even not allow their children to meet their good friends.

B．Some parents may even ask their children to stay away from their good friends.

C．Some parents may even not let their children meet their good friends.

D．Some parents may want their children to meet their good friends at the stop.

【小题4】Which of the following sentences is right according to the passage?

A．Parents should like everything their children enjoy.

B．In all families children can choose everything they like.

C．Parents should try their best to understand their children better.

D．Teenagers can only go to their friends for help.

【小题5】The sentence “Your answers are welcome” means“________”.

A．You are welcome to have a discussion with us.

B．We’ve got no idea, so your answers are welcome.

C．Your answers are always correct.

D．You can give us all the right answers.

【小题6】Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Only Parents Can Decide	B．Parents and Children
C．Teenagers Need Friends	D．A Strange Question