People say teenagers are no good. They make too much noise in shopping malls; they drive recklessly up
and down America's main streets; they carry chips on their shoulders as big as the Sears Tower. And at least
some of the time those things are true. But we shouldn't forget that there are hard moments in the life of a
teenager too. 　　
     I watched such a moment not long ago at a woman's funeral (葬礼). I didn't expect the event to affect me.
Through much of the ceremony, in fact, I remained unmoved. 　　
     Then her teenage grandson stepped forward. With his very first deep breath, every heart in that church
was achingly reminded of something we had all forgotten. Softly he began:"I want to share a few values that
Nana taught me. She never failed to see light in any situation. When our family dog would literally attract her,
what would Nana say? 'Oh, what beautiful markings that dog has.' That was Nana. 　　
     "She was a strong woman who often lived in the shadow of my grandpa, who was a successful
businessman in this city. But she was the one behind the scenes who provided the strength and support for
Grandpa's career," he said, with a voice now trembling."That was Nana's way." 　　
     Through a muffled sob, he continued. "Whenever she did anything worth recognition, you'd have to hear
about it from a different source, because she was never one to brag." 　　
     Finally, in a voice breaking free of sorrow, he looked up and said, "Nana taught me courage. She put up
an incredible fight to the end, when she died peacefully, which is how she lived her life. That was Nana's
way, and I hope I can carry on in the same manner." 　　
     There are no hearts as sensitive as those of teenagers, because everything is happening to them for the
first time. The trouble with teenagers is that they haven't learned to be controlled. 　　
     When that boy rose to speak about the woman who surely had been his truest ally and dearest friend, his
honest voice dragged each of us out into the open where we could no longer hide in the calm ritual. He
exposed us to the truth about this very real woman who believed in a boy who probably tried the patience of
many adults. He reminded us that his grandmother was more than another dot on the chart of life and death. 　　
     All over again we felt those powerful losses crisscrossing our own hearts, and we knew that when you
say good-bye to a beloved grandparent, you say good-bye to something happy, something young in yourself.
And that something never really returns, and the pain never really goes away.

    Paula Radcliffe, chasing (角逐) a third London marathon title (冠军), says she has
become a stronger person after her terrible experience at the 2004 Athens Games.
    Radcliffe, who failed to complete the Olympic marathon and the 10,000m last August,
said:"Athens made me a stronger person and it made me care about criticism (批评)."
    "In the past I wanted to please everyone, but now I am going to listen even more to
the people around me."
    She didn't care about criticism made at the weekend by Liz McColgan, who felt Radcliffe
should have rested and let her body recover after her failure in Athens.
    "Liz is someone I look up to but she hasn't spoken to me since last year and if she
really cared for me, I'm sure she would have contacted (联系) me."
    Instead Radcliffe won the New York City marathon just 11 weeks after Athens.
    "In New York I wasn't in my best state but I did know I was good enough to win the
race."
    Radcliffe insisted her only goal in Sunday's race would be winning a third title and
not chasing world records.
    However, Radcliffe has not ruled out (排除) in the future chasing her "final" world
record time and questioned sayings that marathon runners have the ability in their career
to produce only four or five world-class times.
    "I don't think that-although I can't put a number on it," said Radcliffe. "That changes
from person to person."
    Radcliffe is sure she can better her winning London 2003 performance some point in the
future. Following a successful three-month training period in the United States, the
31-year-old will chase a third title on Sunday after her first victory in 2002 and again
12 months later.
    Radcliffe clocked a time 2:18:56 in her first 42.2-kilometre race three years ago.
    Afterwards she set a "mixed course" mark of 2:17:18 five months later in Chicago before
lowering that to a time of 2:15:25 in the 2003 London event.

1. Radcliffe's failure in Athens made her _____.

A. develop respect for Liz
B. love people around her more
C. rest for five months
D. face criticism bravely

2. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Radcliffe broke the world record in the New York City marathon.
B. Radcliffe didn't fully recover before the New York City marathon.
C. Radcliffe won her first marathon title in the 2004 Athens Games.
D. Radcliffe had a 3-month training before the New York City marathon.

3. By saythg "I can't put a number on it," Radcliffe means she's not sure _____.

A. if she has the ability to set a new world record
B. if she can win another race though she has won many tunes
C. how many times a maradion runner can set the world record
D. if she has the ability to produce four or five world-class times

4. According to the text, Radcliffe has won _____ London marathon title(s).

A. one
B. two
C. three
D. four

5. What can we learn from Radcliffe's story?

A. Practice makes perfect. 　　　　　
B. Well begun is half done.
C. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
D. Where there is a will, there is a way.

     When I was a boy every holiday that I had seemed perfect. My parents took me by train or by car to a
hotel by the sea. All day, I seem to remember. I played on the sands with strange exciting children. We make
sandcastles with huge yellow walls, and watched the incoming tide destroy them; we splashed each other in
the water and shrieked with excitement. When the tide went out, we climbed over the slippery rocks and
stared down at the fish and the seaweed in the rock-pools.
     In those far-off days the sun seemed to shine constantly and the water was always warm. Sometimes we
left the beach and walked in the country, exploring ruined houses and dark woods and climbing trees that
overhung streams. There were always sweets in one's pockets or convenient places where one could buy ice-
creams. Each day seemed a life-time.
     Although I am now an adult, my idea of a good holiday is much the same as it was. I still like the sun and
the warm sand and the sound of waves breaking on the beach. I no longer wish to build sandcastles and I
dislike sweets instantly, but I look forward to sitting down to a good meal and a bottle of wine in the evening.
     I think, too, that I prefer spending my holiday abroad. I want to smell different smells; I want to see
different kinds of trees, flowers and birds; and I also want to see people with different colored skins, wearing
different kinds of clothes. Above all, I want to hear a different language spoken and listen to different musical
rhythms from those I am used to.
     But I still need my companions-not, of course, to play on the sands and eat ices with, but to drink with and
talk to on warm moonlit nights.
     Sometimes I wonder what my perfect holiday will be when I am old. All I shall want to do then, I expect,
will be to lie in bed, reading books about children who make sandcastles with huge yellow walls, who watch
the incoming tide, who make themselves sick on too many ices…

1. Where did the author mostly spend his holidays when he was young?

A. In the countryside.
B. On the beach.
C. In the mountains.
D. On the sea.

2. What does the underlined word "shrieked" in Paragraph 1 mean?

A. shouted
B. swam
C. struggled
D. surfed

3. What now interests the author as an adult is _____.

A. to enjoy a nice dinner
B. to spend his holiday sunbathing
C. to chat with someone
D. to experience a foreign culture

4. When the author grows old, he expects that _____.

A. he will read more books about children
B. he will lie in bed without worrying about anything
C. he will bring back wonderful childhood memories from a book
D. he will make sandcastles with his children

      Listen carefully, working people, we would like to tell you something that could save your precious time
and money! Best of all, it is free!
      It's "no".
      What do you ask? We'll say it again:"No".
      Sweet and simple "no".
      Say "no" at your office and see how quickly that pile of work on your desk disappears.
      "Saying 'no' to others means you are saying 'yes' to yourself," said Leslie Charles, a professional speaker
from East Lansing, Michigan.
      "Time is precious. People are spending money buying time. And yet we are willing to give up our time
because we can't say 'no'."
      Susie Watson, a famous writer, said people who always say "yes" need to say "no" without guilt (内疚)
or fear of punishment. "I would rather have someone give me a loving 'no'than an obligated (强制的) 'yes',"
she said.
      Susie Watson says she feels "no" obligation to give an explanation when she says "no" either socially or
professionally. Does she feel guilty about it? "Not at all," said Watson, who is director of advertising and public
relations at Timex Corp in Middlebury, Connecticut. "Most people are afraid of saying 'no'… My advice is to
say 'yes' only if you don't mean 'no'."
      Watson said "no" is the most effective weapon against wasting time. "Every year there are more demands
on your time… Other people are happy to use up your time," Watson said. Time saving appears to be "no'"
greatest friend.
      "No" can be your new friend, a powerful tool to take back your life. "No" may even take you further in
the business world than"yes".
      "No" is power and strength. "No" now seems completely correct."Saying 'no' isn't easy. But finally it's
greatly liberating," Charles said. But, he added, a "no" project needs to be worked on every day because it is
hard to change long-term habit. 
      But, he also warns:"Don't go to extremes. Don't find yourself saying 'no'to everything. In return you
should learn to hear 'no'."

1. The sentence "you are saying 'yes' to yourself" means _____.

A. you can have more time to play with others
B. you needn't care about other's feeling if you are happy
C. you are selfish and treat others rudely
D. you can deal with your business as you have planned

2. When you say "no" to others, you should say it in a _____.

A. secret way　　　
B. polite way
C. proud way　　　　　
D. guilty way

3. In Watson's opinion, people can save much time on condition that _______.

A. they say "no" at a suitable time
B. they say "no" as much as possible
C. they are afraid of saying "no"
D. they make others angry at them

4. If a person says "no" to everything, the result he or she receives may be that he or she _____.

A. enjoys a wonderful life
B. makes a lot of money
C. faces difficulty in life　　
D. forgets to say "yes" in the end

     Nearly everyone is shy in some ways. If shyness is making you uncomfortable, it may be time for a few
lessons in self-confidence. You can build your confidence by following some suggestions from doctors and
psychologists.
     Make a decision not to hold back in conversations. What you have to say is just as important as what other
people say. And don't turn down party invitations just because of your shyness.
     Prepare for yourself for being with others in groups. Make a list of the good qualities you have. Then make
a list of ideas, experiences, and skills you would like to share with other people. I think about what you would
like to say in advance. Then say it.
     If you start feeling self-conscious in a group, take a deep breath and focus your attention on other people,
Remember, you are not alone. Other people are concerned about the impression they are making, too.
     No one ever gets over being shy completely, but most people do learn to live with their shyness. Even
entertainers admit that they often feel shy. They work at fighting their shy feelings so that they can face the
cameras and the public. Just making the effort to control shyness can have many rewards. But perhaps the
best reason to fight shyness is to give other people a chance to know about you.

1. The main purpose of the article is to _____.

A. explain how shyness developed.
B. recommend ways of dealing with shyness
C. persuade readers that shyness is natural.
D. prove that shyness can be overcome

2. Which of these can you conclude from reading the article?

A. Shy people never have any fun.
B. Entertainers choose their work to fight shyness.
C. The attempt to overcome shyness is always successful.
D. The attempt to overcome shyness is always rewarding.

3. Who probably gives the suggestion for fighting shyness?

A. The author of the article
B. Shy men and women
C. Doctors and psychologists
D. Popular entertainers

     Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers said, "Barbara, be enthusiastic!
Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience." How right they were!
     "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the paste
that helps you hang on there when the going gets tough. It is the inner voice that whispers,"I can do it!"
when others shout,"No, you can't!" It took years and years for the early work of Barbara Mc Clintock,
a geneticist (遗传学家) who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted. Yet she
didn't let up on (放松) her experiments. Work was such a deep pleasure for her that she never thought
of stopping.
     We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder and it is this childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic
people such youthful air, whatever their age. At 90, cellist (大提琴家) Pablo Casals would start his day by
playing Bach. As the music flowed through his fingers, his bent shoulders would straighten and joy would
reappear in his eyes. As author and poet Samuel once wrote,"Years make the skin old, but to give up
enthusiasm makes the soul old."
     Enthusiastic people also love what they do, regardless of money, title or power. Patricia Mcllrath, retired
director of the Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City, was once asked where she got her enthusiasm.
She replied,"My father, a lawyer, long ago told me, I never made a penny until I stopped working for money."
      If we cannot do what we love as a fulltime career, we can do it as a hobby. Elizabeth Layton of
Wellsville, Kan, was 68 before she began to draw. This activity ended her sadness that had troubled her for
at least 30 years, and the quality of her work led one critic to say,"I am persuaded to call Layton a genius."
     We can't afford to waste tears on "might-have-beens". We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go
after "what-can-be". We need to live each moment whole-heartedly, with all our senses-finding pleasure in
the sweet smell of a backyard garden, the simple picture of a six-year-old, and the beauty of a rainbow.

1. The passage mainly shows us ____.

A. enthusiasm leads to everything
B. enthusiasm helps us to succeed to a greater degree
C. enthusiasm makes us experience more life
D. we can do nothing without enthusiasm

2. From the example of the Nobel Prize winner Barbara Mc Clitock, we may find ____.

A. enthusiasm can encourage us in difficult times
B. enthusiastic people always get a deep pleasure from work
C. you can't make any achievement if you have no enthusiasm
D. enthusiastic people are sure to gain great fame in the end

3. The underlined sentence in Paragraph Three suggests ____.

A. time and tide wait for no man
B. we grow old as time goes on
C. people feel young with enthusiasm
D. our soul becomes old with enthusiasm

4. The main idea of the last paragraph is ____.

A. we should try heart and soul to win what we want
B. enthusiasm can give us pleasure, though we have to sweat
C. we have not enough money to buy what we need
D. enthusiasm with sweat is what we need

     There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally
viewed personal growth as an external (外在的) result or a product that can easily be identified and measured.
The worker who gets a rise, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language-all
these examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.
     By contrast (对照), the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since it is a
journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but the
attitudes, feelings people have, and their caution or courage, as they meet with new experiences and unexpected
difficulties. In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world,
new ideas to try, new challenges to accept.
     In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to face the unknown,
and to accept the possibility that they may "fail" at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being
is necessary for our ability to grow. Do we see ourselves as quick and curious? If so, we tend to take more
chances and be more open to unfamiliar experiences. Do we think we're shy and indecisive? Then our sense
of fear can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and we think we are slow to adapt change or that we're not
smart enough to deal with a new challenge. Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all.
     These feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and
grow. If we protect ourselves too much, then we stop growing. We become trapped inside a shell of our
own making.

1. A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when_____ .

A. he has given up his smoking habit
B. he has made great efforts in his work
C. he is interested in making anything new
D. he has tried to determine where he is on his journey

2. Which of the following can be viewed as the process of personal growing?

A. Our manager was always willing to accept new challenges.
B. Jane won the first prize in the speech competition.
C. Jerry picked up French during his stay in Paris.
D. Father's salary rose from 5, 000 to 7,000.

2. In the author's eye, one who views personal growth as a process would ______.

A. succeed in climbing up the social ladder
B. judge his ability to grow from his own achievements
C. face difficulties and take up challenges
D. aim high and reach his goal each time

3.When the author says "a new way of being" (para.3), he is referring to _____.

A. a new approach to experiencing the world
B. a new way of taking risks
C. a new method of finding ourselves
D. a new system of adapting to change

4. For personal growth, the author is in favor of all the following except ____.

A. being curious about more changes
B. being quick in self-adaptation
C. having an open mind to new experiences
D. staying away from failures and challenges

    When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who possess
wings of their own and who will fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate
(照亮) me and train me up for love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing
hours, too good not to share.
    When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and "too serious" about
our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable
social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would
sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say:"Let's start with a train whistle
today." We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories that grew out
of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we, too,
were changing into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped.
    When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend. He was in despair (失望) and I was
in despair. But our friendship was based on the idea in each of us that we would be sorry
later if we did not explore this great city because we had felt bad at the time. We met
every Sunday for five weeks and found many excellent things. We walked until our despairs
disappeared and then we parted. We gave London to each other.
    For almost four years I have had remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine.
We write long letters in which we often discover our strangest selves.Each of us appears,
sometimes in a funny way, in the other's dreams.She and I agree that, at certain times, we
seem to be parts of the same mind. In my most interesting moments, I often think:"Yes, I
must tell…." We have never met.
    It is such comforting companions I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is
worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist (心理学家), who will only
fill up the healing (愈合的) silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would
rather be my own best friend.

1. In the eighth grade, what the author did before developing proper social behavior was
   to _____.

A. become serious about her study
B. go to her friend's house regularly
C. learn from her classmates at school
D. share poems and stories with her friend

2. In Paragraph 3, "We gave London to each other" probably means _____.

A. our exploration of London was a memorable gift to both of us
B. we were unwilling to tear ourselves away from London
C. our unpleasant feeling about London disappeared
D. we parted with each other in London

3. According to Paragraph 4, the author and her friend _____.

A. call each other regularly
B. have similar personalities
C. enjoy writing to each other
D. dream of meeting each other