We live in a very competitive world. Everybody seems to be competing with someone at some level. Each week we spend hours playing or watching others compete in sporting activities all over the world. We cannot help being impressed by the level of excellence that these people achieve.

In sport and business, competition encourages excellence in performance. Where there is no competition, improvement in performance is less likely. Some level of competition is a have-to in all aspects of life.

The following story makes this point.

As two friends are hiking in the forest they come across a huge, ferocious and obviously hungry bear. Its next meal has just come into sight, and they are it! The first friend calculates that the bear will catch them in 27.3 seconds. At that point, she panics, realizing there is no escape. She faces her friend, with the fear of death in her eyes. To her amazement, she observes that her friend is not scared at all. On the contrary, her friend is quickly but calmly taking off her hiking boots and putting on running shoes. “What do you think you’re doing?” the first hiker says to her companion. “You’ll never be able to run faster than that bear”. “That’s true,” says the companion, “but all I have to do is escape, faster than you.”

We all compete when the motivation is strong enough. However, competition is not the real purpose of life. Fulfilling the measure of our creation can only be achieved individually.

Most of time, we are not in competition with any other person, so we do not have to compare ourselves with others. There is only one person that can fulfill our role and that is us. This means that others cannot beat us to the finish line because there is no race. This is not to say that others do not have a similar role to us, but it is never the same. This is important to understand if we are going to enjoy life. Every human being is unique and cannot be cloned. In this, I am not referring to the body, only to the spirit, soul, or the essence of a person.

1.The first four paragraphs tell us that competition       .

A．is necessary though harmful               B．only exists in sports and business

C．is a fight against oneself                   D．is unavoidable and beneficial

2.Why is the story of two friends told in the passage?

A．To advise friends to be loyal even in competition.

B．To expose the weak side of friendship when tested.

C．To support the author’s own argument on competition.

D．To persuade people to beat others, even friends.

3.From the last two paragraphs we learn that       .

A．there is more to life than just competition

B．we don’t have to compete since we are all different

C．we have to beat others in order to survive

D．competition plays an important role in social development

4.As a whole the passage advises the readers to       .

A．realize we are living in a world of competition

B．face competition in a balanced state of mind

C．have a strong sense of being a possible winner

D．value friendship however fierce competition may be

 

Fear plays no part in this latest problem．“I’m not afraid I'll lose my children．I won't lose my children. We live together, and nothing, nothing,” she repeats, her voice rising when speaking to John's lawyer, “will stop me from being with my children. A law? Yeah, right. Don't disturb me when it comes to my children. You are never going to win. If John wants to see them, I cannot stop him. He's their father????—I want them to see him! However, his visit in his present condition will disturb the children's stable (稳定的) life．”

John, who has spent much of his time in California, recently, has only hired a house for himself in Pennsylvania, according to his lawyer. "If he'd like to stick to a regular life, I'd be more than happy to do that，" Jane says. "The best thing for any child of a divorced (离婚的) parent is a stable life. I want nothing more than for him to set up a stable life for himself, so that he can be part of making our children's lives more stable. "

While matters of money and care won't be settled for weeks, Jane hardly puts her life on hold. Last week the ABC network announced that Jane would return with her own show, Twist of Jane, in which she gives advice to other moms．Jane and her eight children will also return to ABC in a series of Jane Plus 8 specials showing them on various adventures．It’s a rest for Jane, who insists that she needs her new，busy life to provide for her family．“I have to lead such a life, and I’m thankful that I’ve built it to the top where now I can support my children．”she says．

And whether a bellicose(好斗的)dance judge or a bellicose former wife, Jane plans to keep on facing attacks on her. “Some people try to knock me down—only to make me more fierce，more protective，more determined to do better，”she says．“Go ahead, take me on. This will just make me stronger．”

According to Jane in the first paragraph, the law               

A. can’t take her children away from her

B. can’t do anything with the case

C. will best settle the problem

D. will disturb her children

What does “to do that” refer to in the second paragraph?

A. To live with John．

B．To hire a house for John．

C．To allow John to see the children

D．To ask John to set up a regular life.

What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean?

A．Jane’s life is very difficult．

B．Jane continues to live as usual．

C．Jane almost can’t control her lire

D．Jane works very hard to live a happy life．

Which word can best describe Jane?

A. Proud．

B．Fierce．

C．Determined．

D．Independent

The illness of her son is so ______ that she cannot go to sleep at night.

  A. satisfying   B. worrying            C. surprising       D. puzzling

 

Farah was sitting in the kitchen going over the party list with her mother.The exams were over and Farah wanted to invite her friends for a party.

“Farah，aren’t you going to invite Hafsa？”her mother asked.Hafsa had been her best friend since childhood.

“Mother，you know I am now a part of Purple Girls Club and we have some rules about people we can be friends with，”Farah answered.

“Really？And what are the rules？”her mother asked.

“Well，only very pretty girls can be part of our group.And Hafsa is so...you know...dark.”

“I cannot believe it，”her mother said angrily. 

As Farah left the kitchen，her father called  her from the living room.

Farah went to her father and paled when she saw the exam report in his hands.“Farah，what has happened to your grades？You have failed in Mathematics，”her father said.

Farah had no answer.The truth was that the activities of Purple Girls Club left her with very little time for studies.

“Farah，it says that you can take part in supplementary exams(补考).If your grades don’t improve then，I’ll cancel(取消) your trip to Spain.”

Farah went to her room and called Gina，the leader of Purple Girls Club， “Gina，can you help me to complete my notes before the exams？”

Gina laughed.“Exams？Who cares about exams？”

One by one，she called her friends in the club but no one seemed to care or wanted to help.

Farah knew Hafsa would help her.Farah also knew Hafsa had been hurt by her，but Hafsa said，“If you need any help，just let me know.We can study together till your exams.”

Next Monday，as two friends entered the school together，Gina called out.

“Farah，you know our rules.You cannot be friends with those who do not belong to our club.”

“Gina，I have a new rule about friendship，”Farah replied.

1.After Farah became a member of Purple Girls  Club，she chose a friend according to a person’s________.

A．looks        B．usual activities      C．grades        D．favorite colors

2.Farah became pale after going to her father because________.

A．he didn’t allow her to go to Spain

B．she didn’t do well in her exams

C．she had to leave Purple Girls Club

D．he asked her to improve her grades

3.Which word can best describe Hafsa?

A．Silly.         B．Beautiful.          C．Rude.        D．Kind.

4.What lesson can we learn from the passage?

A．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

B．A perfect friend will never be found.

C．Be slow in choosing a friend.

D．Friendship can be developed easily.

 

A severely handicapped teenager who cannot walk,talk or hold a paintbrush has won a place at Oxford to study fine art.

Hero Joy Nightingale,16,who communicates through hand movements,is to be given assistants to paint and sculpt on her behalf.Her mother Pauline Reid “translated for” her daughter during interviews for the place at Magdalen College.

The teenager is the most severely handicapped student ever to be granted a place at Oxford.She suffers from “locked-in syndrome”,a profound apraxia caused by brain damage that renders her body useless and her voice mute.

She is unlikely ever to be able to walk,feed or care for herself but,thanks to the efforts of her mother,she can communicate.When Hero was four,Pauline devised a complicated system of hand gestures that equate to the alphabet.

A spokesperson for Oxford said,“The university welcomes applications from students with disabilities.In cases where students are profoundly disabled,there may be many issues that need to be carefully addressed before an individual can take up a place,such as establishing how the student can best be taught and examined.”

Hero,who suffers almost daily epileptic fits and has a hole in her heart,has not attended school since she was six.She has been taught at home by her mother and father,the pro-vice chancellor of Kent University.

Peter Giles,her art tutor until last year,said she has a genuine talent for art.“She is ferociously gifted.We would sit together and her mother would grab her daughter’s hand and then we would begin work,”he said.

Together,they built several modern sculptures from plaster and metal.“The instructions would take a while to decipher.But eventually,they would come,and eventually make sense.”

Hero’s classes will be held at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art.

Hero communicates with others _________.

A.through common hand movements

B.by typing words on computer

C.through a complicated system of hand gestures devised by her mother

D.by drawing pictures on a board

According to the passage,how does Hero paint or sculpt?

A.She instructs her assistants to paint or sculpt through hand movements.

B.She gives instructions,and her mother paints or sculpts following her instructions.

C.She paints or sculpts with her own hands.

D.She gives instructions,her mother “translates” them,and her assistants paint or sculpt according to the “translations”.

From the story we can infer _________.

A.Oxford welcomes any handicapped student who is good at fine art

B.Hero has not attended school since she was six

C.Hero is gifted in fine art

D.Hero is a strong-minded girl who loves life very much

Which of the following is NOT true?

A.Hero is the most seriously handicapped student ever to be admitted to Oxford.

B.Oxford will admit a disabled student without any requirements.

C.Hero has been taught by her parents at home for10 years.

D.Hero is not able to walk,talk or hold a paintbrush.