I have a close friend who has a good family tradition, that is, each year after Thanksgiving dinner, all of the people sit around in the living room and each person takes a few minutes and gives thanks for what really matters and what has added value to their life over the last year. This is something I valued and followed. I have thought about a lot in the last year, and I finally came up with two things.

The first one is the healthiness of my daughter. She’s as healthy as she can be, and her weight and height are in good condition and she has no illnesses or genetic diseases. I am so thankful for having this wonderful baby in my life, and thankful that she has the gift of good health.

Secondly, I am thankful for the discovery of the value of writing in my life. A year ago, my website. The simple Dollar was only a few weeks old and was far from popular, but on Thanksgiving Day Last year it had about three score readers who ordered it in advance. The process of writing was bringing me enjoyment, but I hadn’t yet realized that I could be successful in it and attract many readers. This past year showed me a lot and I am deeply thankful for it.

After thinking for a while, I began to realize that it was a very powerful and wonderful positive exercise. You spend time reflecting deeply on the positive things in your life, and you often realize that even when things are bad, you do have a lot to be thankful for because there is lots of good in your life, and it can shine a bright light even in a dark spot in your life.

What is the good family tradition of the author’s friend’s?

       A．Learning from the past and planning for the future.

       B．Taking about the things that are most worth appreciation.

       C．Learning from the strong points of other family members.

       D．Having Thanks giving dinner together with family members.

The author is thankful for all the following thins EXCEPT      .

       A．her success with writing  B．the enjoyment in writing

       C．the healthiness of her daughter       D．the founding of a magazine

How many people had ordered The simple Dollar by Thanksgiving Day last year?

       A．About 30. B．About 20. C．About 60. D．About 40.

What’s the purpose of this passage? It tells us that people should         .

       A．hold a positive attitude    B．reflect on their mistakes

       C．have low expectations of life   D．neglect their disadvantages

Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing. Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits. When you think of forgiveness, you probably don’t think of it as being a health or medical problem. Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can change your well-being.

When cartoon book characters like the Incredible Hulk get angry, they change colours and often

gain special power. In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous. That’s why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, says holding on to anger and hatred can harm your physical and mental health. Two new studies seem to show the same idea.

The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression. They also have fewer headaches, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping.

So it doesn’t matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or other things. Learning to let it go is important. Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help. Or just ask yourself if it’s worth hurting yourself by staying angry with someone else.

Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it’s OK. Instead, it’s a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past.

The author of the passage tries to make his viewpoint clear _______.

   A. by raising his own examples       

B. based on his own experience

   C. by mentioning some studies                                                                             D. by mentioning some typical patients

The example of the cartoon book characters is taken in the passage to_______.

   A. support the viewpoint that anger and hatred harm physical and mental health.

   B. introduce a famous expert.

   C. let the reader know the different colours of cartoon faces.

   D. show how to control one’s temper.

The underlined phrase “holding on to” in this passage possibly means“_______”.

   A. removing      B. keeping up      C. getting rid of    D. learning about

The best title for this passage is probably _______.

   A. Forgiveness                      B. Forgiveness Is Good for Health

C. A Secret to Keeping Health          D. Anger Is Bad for Health

There are many types of reports.A report is simply an account of something that has happened.The commonest are news reports.We get them in newspapers，over radio and on television.Sometimes cinemas also show us newsreels.

The main purpose of a newspaper is to provide news.If you examine a newspaper closely，you will find that there are all types of news:accidents，floods，fires，wars，fashions(服装)，sports，books，etc.The news covers everything that happens to people and their surroundings.Sometimes there are news items which are very amusing.

A news report is usually very short，except when it is about something very important，but it contains(包含) a lot of information.It is also written in short paragraphs.The first paragraph is in fact a summary(总结) of the news item.It gives all the necessary information，what，when，where，how and why.The other paragraphs give full details of the subject.There may also be interviews with people.The words actually spoken by them are within inverted commas(引号).

Often there are photographs to go with the news to make it more interesting.

The easiest way to get today’s news is_________.

A.to go to the cinema                                B.to watch a color TV

C.to read today’s newspapers                      D.to listen to the music over radio

Newspapers sell well mainly because_________.

A.they cost very little

B.they are easy to get

C.they have got pictures to go with the news

D.they provide all sorts of news in them

This passage mainly talks about _________.

A.different types of reports

B.news reports

C.happenings to people and their surroundings

D.the length of a news reports

Bend over, take a deep breath and drink some water! This is just one of hundreds of tips you might get if you have the hiccups （打嗝）．Hiccups are so mysterious．We really don't know why they start and why they stop．

       Everyone has a favorite cure for a case of the hiccups．Some people think that a good scare is necessary to get well．Others eat a teaspoon of sugar．Still others drink a glass of water with a knife in it．

       An American man named Jack O'Leary said he had hiccupped 160 million times over a period of eight years．He tried 60,000 cures, but none of them worked．At last he prayed to Saint Jude, the saint of Hopeless cases, and his hiccupping stopped immediately.

       It took a British plumber eight months to cure his hiccups．People from all over the world wrote him letters with suggestions for getting well．He tried them all, but the hiccups continued．Finally, he drank a "secret" mixture someone had sent him．By that evening his hiccups were gone．

       Why did these cures work for these two men? No one really knows．But people who have studied many cases of hiccups have an idea—hiccups usually go away if you believe in the cure．

How did Jack O'Leary stop his hiccups?

       A．He took a deep breath．       B．He prayed to Saint Jude．

       C．He ate a teaspoon of sugar．        D．He drank a "secret" mixture．

The British plumber spent _ ___in stopping his hiccups．

       A．4 hours  B．2 days      C．8 months D．8 years

       might be the best cure for hiccups according to the passage．

       A．Cold water              B．A spoonful of salt

       C．Special pills             D．What you believe in

From this passage, we can learn ____．

       A．Saint Jude is an expert in curing the hiccups

       B．the reason why the hiccups start and why the hiccups stop

       C．some people think that a good scare is a cure for a case of hiccups

       D．the British plumber drank a "secret" mixture given by an experienced doctor and then became well

What is the main idea of this passage?

       A．Different ways to stop hiccups．    B．What makes hiccups happen．

       C．How to get hiccups．     D．Jack O'Leary's hiccups．

Kong Zi, also called Confucius (551 — 479 B.C.), and Socrates (469 — 399 B.C.) lived only a hundred years apart, and during their lifetimes there was no contact between China and Greece, but it is interesting to look at how the world that each of these great philosophers came from shaped their ideas, and how these ideas in turn, shaped their societies.

       Neither philosopher lived in times of peace, though there were more wars in Greece than in China. The Chinese states were very large and feudal, while the Greek city-states were small and urban. The urban environment in which Socrates lived allowed him to be more radical (激进的) than Confucius. Unlike Confucius, Socrates was not asked by rulers how to govern effectively. Thus, Socrates was able to be more idealistic, focusing on issues like freedom, and knowledge for its own sake. Confucius, on the other hand, advised those in government service, and many of his students went on to government service.

       Confucius suggested the Golden Rule as a principle for the conduct of life: “Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you.” He assumed that all men were equal at birth, though some had more potential than others, and that it was knowledge that set men apart. Socrates focused on the individual, and thought that the greatest purpose of man was to seek wisdom. He believed that some had more potential to develop their reason than others did. Like Confucius, he believed that the superior class should rule the inferior (下层的) classes.

       For Socrates, the family was of no importance, and the community of little concern. For Confucius, however, the family was the centre of society, with family relations considered much more important than political relations.

       Both men are respected much more today than they were in their lifetimes.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?

       A. Socrates and Confucius had much in common.

       B. The societies were influenced by the philosophers’ ideas.

C. Confucius had much influence on Socrates’ ideas.

       D. There were cultural exchanges between China and Greece.

Socrates shared with Confucius the idea that          .

       A. all men were equal when they were born

       B. the purpose of man was to seek freedom and wisdom

C. the lower classes should be ruled by the upper class

       D. people should not ask others to do what they did not want to

What made some people different from others according to Confucius?

       A. Family.                    B. Knowledge.              C. Potential.                 D. Community.

This passage is organized in the pattern of          .

       A. time and events                                            B. cause and effect

C. comparison and contrast                                D. definition and classification