A young executive was traveling down a neighborhood street．He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something．As his car passed，no children appeared．Instead，a brick smashed into his door! He slammed on the brakes(make his car stop)．The angry driver then jumped out of the car, caught the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car，shouting，“What was that all about and who are you?”
The young boy was apologetic．“Please，Mister．．．Please，I’m sorry…I didn’t know what else to do．I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”
With tears dripping down his face，the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car．“It’s my brother，”he said．“He fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up．”
Now sobbing(crying silently)，the boy asked the executive，“Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me．’’
Moved beyond words，the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat．He hurriedly lifted the boy back into the wheelchair，then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed(a light touch) at the fresh scrapes and cuts．A quick look told him everything was going to be okay．“Thank you and may God bless you．”the grateful child told the stranger．Shaken up for words，the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair—bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home．
God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts．Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen，he has to throw a brick at us．Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!
【小题1】The executive slowed down because______.        .

A．he saw a boy throw a brick to his car

B．he saw a boy rush out from between cars

C．he was afraid some boys suddenly rushed out

D．a brick smashed into his door

【小题2】The boy threw the brick to the car in order to_________.

A．disturb the driver on purpose

B．destroy the car of the stranger

C．ask someone to drive him home

D．stop someone to help him

【小题3】Knowing the reason why the boy threw the brick at his car the executive must feel       .

A．sympathized and excited

B．regretful and sympathized

C．ashamed and regretful

D．angry and regretful

【小题4】After the boy’s brother fell off his wheelchair,        .

A．the boy threw bricks at several cars

B．the boy tried to stop several cars

C．the boy’s brother was hurt seriously

D．the boy’s brother wanted to stop a car

【小题5】From the last paragraph we can learn that        .

A．you shouldn’t drive so fast that someone throws at you

B．it is common to throw a brick at a car running too fast

C．you can’t go through your life without a brick throwing at you

D．you should pay more attention to others and help them

How many times have you got upset because someone wasn't doing his job，because your child isn't behaving？How many times have you been irritated (恼怒的) when you've planned something carefully and things didn't go as you'd hoped?
This kind of anger and irritation happens to all of us—it’s part of the human experiences.
One thing that irritates me is when people talk during a movie，or cut me off in traffic. Actually, I have a lot of these little annoyances—don't we all？And it isn’t always easy to find peace when you’ve become upset or irritated.
Let me tell you a little secret to finding peace of mind: see the glass as already broken .
See, the cause of our stress, anger and irritation is that things don't go the way we like, the way we expect them to. Think of how many times this has been true for you. And so the solution is simple：expect things to go wrong, expect things to be different than we hoped or planned，expect the unexpected to happen. And accept it.
One quick example: on our recent trip to Japan, I told my kids to expect things to go wrong—they always do on a trip. I told them, “See it as part of the adventure.”
And this worked like a charm. When we inevitably(不可避免地) took the wrong train on a foreign­language subway system, or when it rained on the day we went to Disney Sea, or when we took three trains and walked 10 blocks only to find the National Children's Castle closed on Mondays...they said, “It's part of the adventure！” And it was all OK—we didn't get too bothered.
So when the nice glass you bought inevitably falls and breaks some day, you might get upset. But things will be different, if you see the glass as already broken, from the day you get it. You know it'll break some day, so from the beginning, see it as already broken. Be a time­traveler, or someone with time­traveling vision, and see the future of this glass, from this moment until it inevitably breaks. And when it breaks, you won't be upset or sad—because it was already broken, from the day you got it. And you’ll realize that every moment you have with it is precious.
【小题1】The author’s children could enjoy their trip to Japan because________.

A．everything went smoothly

B．they had a lot of adventures

C．they had expected things to go wrong

D．they could soon get used to the customs there

【小题2】The author would probably agree that________.

A．we should control our anger and irritation

B．we must get well prepared for the future

C．optimism can help us overcome our anger and irritation

D．anger and irritation is a natural part of our life

【小题3】The purpose of the author is to________.

A．tell us his own experience in life

B．advise us how to find peace of mind

C．tell us a happy trip he took with his children

D．ask us to see things from both sides

【小题4】By the underlined part (in Para.3), the author tells us to________.

A．get ready for the worst result of things

B．enjoy the process of things

C．expect little from life

D．find the relationship between cause and effect

【小题5】We can learn from the passage that the author________.

A．often gets angry in his life

B．can adjust his state of mind accordingly

C．always expects others to act in his way

D．always suffers from his anger and irritation

Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course." she said.
"Can we write him a letter?"
She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."
My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked.
"No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.
"Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.
She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.
"Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."
The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.
Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, dart up, and finally transcend this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditary. I prayed to be a balloon.
【小题1】When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother _________.

A．felt it hard to answer	B．thought her a creative girl
C．believed it easy to do so	D．found it easy to lie

【小题2】When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she _________.

A．jumped with joy

B．became excited

C．started writing immediately

D．was worried that it couldn't be delivered

【小题3】In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?

A．An incurable disease

B．An unforgettable memory.

C．The hard time her father had.

D．The failures her father experienced.

When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy—love, marriage, birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated(复杂的) .
My definition of happiness is "the capacity for enjoyment". The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our "right" to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.
Happiness isn't about what happens to us--it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.
【小题1】As people grow older, they ______.

A．feel it harder to experience happiness

B．associate their happiness less with others

C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness

D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness

【小题2】What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?

A．She cares little about her own health

B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling

C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life.

D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework

【小题3】What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?

A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness

B．Psychologists’ opinion is well proved by Grandma's case.

C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings

D．Grandma's happiness came from modest expectations of life,

【小题4】 People who equal happiness with wealth and success ______.

A．consider pressure something blocking their way

B．stress their right to happiness too much

C．are at a loss to make correct choices

D．are more likely to be happy

【小题5】What can be concluded from the passage?

A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative.

B．Each man is the master of his own fate.

C．Success leads to happiness.

D．Happy is he who is content.

One day a man found a cocoon（茧）of a butterfly in the forest. He sat there for several hours and watched the butterfly. Suddenly a small opening appeared, and the butterfly made its great effort to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the butterfly could come out easily. But to his surprise, the butterfly got a heavy body and very small wings when it came out of the cocoon.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that the body would grow smaller at any moment and the wings would become larger and be able to fly. But neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling（爬）around with a heavy body and small wings. It was never able to fly.
The man was in his kindness, but he did not understand the nature rules. Before the butterfly came out of the cocoon, fluid（流体）from its body must be forced into its wings, and then it would be ready for flying. It must have a hard struggle to get through the small opening to get its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any difficulties, it would make us fail. We would not be as strong as we could have been; we could never fly.
【小题1】What was the butterfly doing at the beginning of the story?

A．It was trying to make a cocoon for itself.

B．It was struggling to get out of its cocoon.

C．It was flying among the trees in the forest.

D．It was crawling around quietly on the ground.

【小题2】 What do you think of the man?

A．Patient but cruel.

B．Careful and wise.

C．Kind but unwise.

D．Brave and funny.

【小题3】What does the last paragraph tell us?

A．Struggles are sometimes necessary in our life.

B．Nothing is difficult if we put our heart into it.

C．Every good deed will come back with a good result.

D．The greatest happiness in the world is to help others.

【小题4】What is the best title for the story?

A．The love for the cocoon.	B．The joy of helping each other.
C．The lesson of the cocoon.	D．The expectation for the butterfly.

There’s a body of water in Israel that is actually below sea level. Water constantly runs into it, but, because of the law of gravity (万有引力定律)，nothing can flow out of it. Do you know the name of this famous lake? It’s called the Dead Sea. It’s called this because no living thing could live there. The water is almost dead, compared to what happens with “living water”.
When you think of the term “living water”, the image that comes to mind is a rushing river that is flowing. It’s filled with life and movement. It doesn’t just “receive”, but is also “giving” simultaneously.
Many of us believe that we need to receive more of something in order to be happy. Whether what we desire is money or something else, we think we need more of it in order to be fulfilled.
As a result, we begin to operate in fear and therefore don’t give anything because we’re afraid that we won’t have enough. The result? Like the Dead Sea, we become lifeless. Life is meant to flow. when a pool stops flowing, it becomes stagnant(停滞的). Stagnant water breeds disease and death. It can’t breathe. It can’t receive any more. If nothing is flowing out, there’s no room for anything else to come in.
The solution? Give. As you give, you’ll receive. It’s a universal law. You see it at work everywhere. we’ve somehow been deceived （ 欺骗 ）into believing that if we don’t give, we’ll have more. Or we’re afraid that if we do give, we won’t have anything left. On one hand, this seems to make sense. But it doesn’t work. Because when we don’t give, we shut off the flow of what’s coming in.
【小题1】What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The development of the Dead Sea

B．The special character of the Dead Sea

C．The position of the Dead Sea

D．The present situation of the Dead Sea

【小题2】According to the passage, people wouldn’t like to give because________.

A．they are really poor in fact	B．they don’t know how to give
C．they don’t know who to give	D．they are still not satisfied

【小题3】According to the passage, if you refuse to give, you will___________.

A．be like a pool with stagnant water

B．have enough space for what you’ll receive

C．need something more to be satisfied

D．do everything according to the law

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

A．Give and you’ll receive	B．The secret of the Dead sea
C．A universal law	D．come in and come out

Many people tend to complain about not having good friends in their lives. Sadly， they seem to think that their own company is not enough to make them happy. Nothing could be further from the truth though. In order to get along with others， the first thing you need to do is learn to get along with yourself. Only in this way will you succeed in developing healthy， solid relationships with others.
Listen to your inner voice. Remember that inner voice that keeps whispering to you what you really want and need as well as what you do not really want and need. It is about time you started listening to it. In order to get to know yourself in depth， it is important to learn and accept what you want and what you do not want.
Learn to enjoy your own company. You will be surprised to find out how many things you can do by yourself and actually have fun in the process. Reading romantic novels， poetry or science fiction is only a few of the things that you can do by yourself， which not only can offer you hours of enjoyment， but also the chance to get to know yourself better.
Satisfy yourself. Pay special attention to your personal hygiene(卫生). Do your hair and nails often and experiment with new styles. Follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly to stay in good shape. No matter how busy your daily schedule is， always find at least an hour per day for yourself， when you can either relax doing absolutely nothing， or doing something that you enjoy.
Learn to respect your own boundaries. Find out what your boundaries are and learn to respect them. You are the only one who knows what you can and what you cannot accept；no one else can point that out to you， or force you to compromise(妥协).
【小题1】If you want to have a good relationship with others， you should first 　　　　.

A．get into the habit of living alone

B．make many friends in society

C．always tell the truth

D．learn to be your own best friend

【小题2】What is the purpose of listening to your inner voice？

A．To keep a good state of mind.

B．To know more about yourself.

C．To enjoy the time by yourself.

D．To form a relationship with others.

【小题3】In order to please yourself， the writer gives some suggestions EXCEPT 　　　　.

A．eating healthily

B．exercise regularly

C．experimenting with new hair style

D．keeping on struggling

【小题4】The underlined word “boundaries” nearly means “　　　　”.

A．weaknesses

B．aims

C．ambitions

D．limits

【小题5】 What is the structure of the passage？

Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis, cricket--- anything with a round ball, I was useless,” he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15^th  birthday that changed him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set up his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength. At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon.
The following year he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of adventure in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway’s cold-water exploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, then decided that this would be his future.
In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition(探险) towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite（冻疮）, ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his supply-loaded sled（雪橇） up and over rocky ice. www.zxxk.com
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.
Next October, Saunders, 27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2900-kilometer journey that has never been completed on skis.
【小题1】What change happened to Saunders after he was 15 years old?

A．He became good at most sports.	B．He made friends with a runner.
C．He joined a sports team.	D．He began to build up his body.

【小题2】The underlined word “exploits” (paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to ______.

A．journeys

B．adventures

C．researches

D．operations

【小题3】Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Saunders?
a. He ran his first marathon.       b. He skied alone in the North Pole.
c. He rode his bike in a forest.      d. He planned an adventure to the South Pole.

A．a c d b

B．c d a b

C．c a b d

D．a c b d

【小题4】 What does the story mainly tell us abut Saunders?

A．He is a success in sports.	B．He is the best British skier.
C．He is Ridgway’s best student. `	D．He is a good instructor at school.

I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.
I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows (誓约)mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends. And they are good to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today.
So here’s what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a desire of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted.
It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours and our minutes. It is so easy to exist instead of to live. I learned to live many years ago. Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my choice, it would never have been changed at all. And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all.
I learned to love the journey, not the destination, I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and totally. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned.
By telling them this: Read in the backyard with the sun on your face, Learn to be happy, And think of life as a deadly illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.
【小题1】The best title of this passage probably is______ .

A．Love your friends	B．Live a real life
C．Don’t waste time	D．Be a good mother and wife

【小题2】. How did the author form her view of life?

A．Through social experience.

B．By learning from her friends.

C．Through an unfortunate experience.

D．From her children and husband.

【小题3】. What’s the author’s attitude toward work?

A．Do it well to serve others

B．Earn enough money to make life better

C．Try your best to get higher position and pay

D．Don’t let it affect your real life.

Every athlete，from Tiger Woods(a golf player)to a high school quarterback(橄榄球赛中指挥反攻的四分卫)，uses a form of self-hypnosis(自我催眠)to move their game to the next level Use the Olympics to 1earn how to use the amazing power of your subconscious(潜在意识)to do the same with your sport.
Here are some examples of how to best use the power of the mind:
During the 2004 Olympics，one of the swimmers told of how she would fall asleep each night with the picture of a clock in her mind. It was the timer’s clock she would see at the end of her Olympic swim and it always had her world-record-breaking time on it.
In his pre-shot routine, Tiger Woods never varies the number of practice swings or intensity of his concentration．The pre-shot routine is always the same so that the stroke will always be the same.
Michael Phelps，American Swimming Gold Medalist, always stretches out his back and arms by swinging both arms three times before his event. Not 2，not 4: always 3. He is anchoring(固定)in his winning state of mind and state of body as well as stretching．
In athletics, an anchor is a gesture or series of gestures that put you into the frame-of mind(and body)you want to be in to win．Repetition is what makes it work .That means practice，practice，practice ---- with your body as well as your mind.
Begin right now creating a ritual(固定程序)before you exercise．Visualize yourself doing whatever you do faster, longer, higher—whatever adverb works best for your particular activity. Then begin to mentally practice it. See or imagine yourself-----with your ideal body ---- doing your activity better, faster, longer, etc. Using both the power of your brain and the activity of your body, soon you will be better and fitter as you use the Olympics to help you create a happier and healthier you.
【小题1】From the third paragraph, we know_______.

A．the swimmer has already broken the world record once

B．the swimmer was using her mind power to build up confidence

C．the swimmer was too nervous to go to sleep before the Games

D．the swimmer has a problem in counting

【小题2】 The example of Tiger Woods shows that             .

A．golf players always do the same pre—shots before events

B．Tiger Woods attaches great importance to mind power

C．Tiger Woods doesn’t want to give away his skills before events

D．golf players never change their habits

【小题3】Why does Michael Phelps always take the same warming-up activities before his events?

A．Because back and arms are the most important parts for a swimmer.

B．Because this is the best stretching for any swimmer.

C．Because this is the best way to adjust his state

D．Because he wants to confuse his opponents (对手).

【小题4】From the sixth paragraph，we know that______.

A．an anchor is the state of mind and body you want to win

B．you can make an anchor work by constant practice

C．the anchor is mainly related to the practice of the body in athletics

D．an anchor can make sure that you will do well in sports

【小题5】 What’s the purpose of the text?

A．To introduce some interesting habits of several famous athletes．

B．To remind us to take warming-up activities before taking exercise.

C．To encourage us to learn the warming-up exercise from successful athletes.

D．To advise us to learn to use the power of the mind.