“Image is everything.” An entire industry has been built upon the assumption that image is everything, but when it comes down to it, an appealing image is not enough. If there is no substance（事实）behind the image, the product, service or person will fail eventually.

First of all, one should consider how important image is in the selling of products and services. Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection. Public concept of that product or service is certainly managed by the images created by the advertising agencies．But if the product or service does not live up to the image that was created, the customer will be very dissatisfied and possibly ask for their money back. For example, the Arthur Andersen accounting firm had spent decades building up an image of trustworthiness. But the recent scandal (丑闻) showed that behind that image, it cheated in business practices. Despite the previous positive image, the firm is being accused of criminal actions and it will probably not survive as a business unit. Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to the downfall of the world famous accounting firm.

Similarly, personal advisers can build up a public image for politicians and movie stars. Putting out positive news releases, making sure that only the best photographs are published, and ensuring that the person is seen in all the right places can build up a very positive image in the view of the general commons. But once again, history is filled with examples of both politicians and movie stars that fell from grace like the story of the Hollywood actor giving in to the pressures of fame and fortune. With people, just as with products and services, image is certainly important, but without positive substance behind the image, failure is close.

To summarize, it is clear that an appealing image is extremely important to success, whether that image is related to selling a product or service or to the “selling” of a person. But image is only half of the equation. What lies behind that image is every bit as important as the image itself —— the person or product must deliver on that image or there is little chance for long-term success.

1.The downfall of the Arthour Andersen accounting firm is due to ___________.

A. its dishonesty in business      B. its previous images

C. its bad management                  D. its poor service

2.Why did some famous people fall from grace?

A. Their images were not well built up.

B. They failed to live up to their images.

C. They felt much pressure from the public.

D. They paid little attention to fame and fortune.

3.The structure of the passage is ___________.

A: Argument     P: Point     C: Conclusion

4.The author tries to argue that ___________.

A. image creates everything

B. image is the key to success.

C. truth is unlikely ever to be equaled

D. truth and image are equally important

Football is, I believe, the most popular game in England: one has only to go to the important matches to see this. Rich and poor, young and old, one can see them all there, shouting for one side or the other.

To a stranger, one of the most surprising things about football in England is the great knowledge of the game which even the smallest boy seems to have. He can tell you the names of the players in most of the important teams. He will tell you who he expects will win such a match, and his opinion is usually as good as that of men three or four times his age.

Most schools in England take football seriously-much more seriously than nearly all European schools, where lessons are all very important and games are left for the children themselves. In England it is believed that education is not only a matter filling a boy’s mind with facts in the classroom: education also means the training of character; and one of the best ways of training character is by means of games, especially team games; where a boy or girl has to learn to work with others for his or her team, instead of working for oneself alone. The school therefore plans games and matches for its students. Football is a good team game. It is good both for the body and the mind. That’s why it is every school’s game in England.

In passage 1, by “this” the author means ________.

people often go to football games.     

 B．people, rich and poor, young and old, play football

C．football is the most popular game in England

D．people usually shout at each other in a football match

In England, a boy’s opinion of a match is often ________.

three or four times better than that of adults     B．more than that of adults

C．as good as that of adults              D．worth considering three or four times than adults

In England, education means_______.

filling a boy’s mind with stories       B．more than the teaching of knowledge

C．the teaching of knowledge only        D．training character by means of football games

Every American family has its own traditions on Thanksgiving Day, and mine is no different. Once the national holiday arrives, my mom rises early to make the meal. She puts a turkey in the oven, chops carrots and bakes pies. I’m sorry to say that the men in the family – my dad, my younger brother and myself – rarely pitch in to help. Our job is to wash the mountain of dirty dishes after the meal is over.

Around 2 pm every Thanksgiving Day, family members seat themselves around the kitchen table. Plates of turkey, vegetables, salad, rolls and pies cover it. At this point, we can hardly keep ourselves from drooling (流口水) all over our fancy clothes, but it’s not yet time to eat.

First, we must bow our heads, close our eyes and say a prayer of thanks aloud to God for giving us everything we have. Under normal circumstances, I would have no problem making a list of things I am thankful for. I grew up in a loving family. My parents, who aren’t wealthy, took out loans to help me pay for university.

But, the funny thing is, every time I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and try to say a prayer of thanks, my mind usually goes blank. I think it has something to do with my growling (咕咕叫) stomach and all of that food sitting right there under my nose.

Eventually, though, we all finish our short prayers and dig in. To be sure, the day includes other highlights – visiting with family and watching football. But usually around 6 pm we are all ourselves stuffed like turkeys and thankful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in.

1.The purpose of the text is to ________.

A. tell what the family do for Thanksgiving Day

B. tell how the family spends Thanksgiving Day

C. introduce foods served on Thanksgiving Day

D. introduce the American Thanksgiving Day

2.On Thanksgiving Day the author’s family do the following except ________.

A. watching a movie                   B. making visits

C. having a big meal                   D. watching football

3.Why does the author’s mind usually “go blank” when saying a prayer of thanks?

A. He is too thankful to say a word.

B. His mind is on the food before him.

C. He feels too excited to speak.

D. He is shy to speak in public.

4.The underlined phrase “dig in” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”.

A. chat with others                   B. make a hole

C. mix things up                     D. start eating

5.What can we conclude from the text?

A. On Thanksgiving Day, men do nothing but eat.

B. The author is a middle school student.

C. The author’s family is not rich, but it’s a loving one.

D. Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday of December.

“Image is everything.” An entire industry has been built upon the precondition that image is everything, but when it comes down to it, an appealing image is not enough. If there is no substance(物质) behind the image, the product, service or person will fail at length.

First of all, one should consider how important image is in the selling of products and services. Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection. Public concept of that product or service is certainly managed by the images created by the advertising agencies. But if the product or service does not live up to the image that was created, the customer will be very dissatisfied and possibly ask for their money back. For example, the Arthur Andersen accounting firm had spent decades building up an image of trustworthiness. But the recent scandal (丑闻) showed that behind that image, it had dishonest business practices. Despite the previous positive image, the firm is being accused of criminal actions and it will probably not survive as a business unit. Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to the downfall of the world famous accounting firm.
Similarly, personal consultants can build up a public image for politicians and movie stars. Putting out positive news releases, making sure that only the best photographs are published, and ensuring that the person is seen in all the right places can build up a very positive image in the view of the general commons. But once again, history is filled with examples of both politicians and movie stars that fell from grace(体面) like the story of the Hollywood actor giving in to the pressures of fame and fortune. With people, just as with products and services, image is certainly important, but without positive substance behind the image, failure is close.
To summarize, it is clear that an appealing image is extremely important to success, whether that image is related to selling a product or service or to the “selling” of a person. But image is only half of the equation. What lies behind that image is every bit as important as the image itself —— the person or product must deliver on that image or there is little chance for long-term success.
72.The downfall of the Arthour Andersen accounting firm is due to ________.
A. its dishonesty in business                      B. its previous images
C. its bad management                               D. its poor service
73.Why did some famous people fall from grace?
A. Their images were not well built up
B. They failed to live up to their images.
C. They felt much pressure from the public
D. They paid little attention to fame and fortune.
74.The structure of the passage is ________.
A: Argument                       B: Point                       C: Conclusion
75.The author tries to argue that _________.
A. image creates everything                     
B. image is the key to success
C. truth is unlikely ever to be equalled
D. truth and image are equally important

A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self made man—the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts,usually beginning by working with his hands.While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common labourer or even the skilled factory worker,he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or labourer of some sort.

This attitude toward manual(体力的) labour is now still seen in many aspects of American life.One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously(豪华地)furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel,expensive hobbies,and college education for the children;yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself,will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward,furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery.On the contrary,the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes.A professional man may talk about washing the car,digging in his flowerbeds,painting the house.His wife may even help with these things,just as he often helps her with the dishwashing.The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living,or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.

1.From paragraph 1,we can know that in America_________.

A.people tend to have a high opinion of the self?made man        

B.people can always rise to the top through their own efforts        

C.college professors win great respect from common workers        

D.people feel painful to mention their fathers as labourers        

According to the passage,the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because_________.

A.servants in America are hard to get

B.she takes pride in what she can do herself        

C.she can hardly afford servants

D.it is easy to prepare a meal with canned food        

3.The expression“wait on table” in the second paragraph means“_________”.

A.work in a furniture shop

B.keep accounts for a bar

C.wait to lay the table

D.serve customers in a restaurant

4.Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?        

A.A Respectable Self made Family          B.American Attitude toward Manual Labour

C.Characteristics of American Culture    D.The Development of Manual Labour