“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity,” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’re a Chinese, you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump(树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’s not about going to a temple to burn some incense(香) hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups; those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper,” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”, in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners, my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman’s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

1.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’s point?

  A. Make the best of a bad job.

B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.

D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

2.What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

  A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She is a British talk show host.

C. She became successful by her own effort.

D. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks in her life.

3.The writer quoted the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show __________.

  A. man can conquer nature

B. luck is in your own hand

C. bad luck can turn into good

D. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

 

Nearly 600,000 Americans lost their jobs this past month, pushing the nation’s unemployment rate (失业率) to 7.6 percent. But not all of those fired workers are sitting at home, reading the job advertisements and waiting for the phone to ring. Thousands of people are returning to school, making public colleges and universities among the few bright places in the disappointing US economy.

At a time when many Americans have had their work hours cut or have even lost their jobs, Sherian Huddleston is working overtime. She works at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) where she oversees (监督) the enrollment (注册) of new students. The university’s population grew by 800 students this term —an increase of 4 percent over last spring’s enrollment. Huddleston says seeing the enrollment rise in a failing economy is not unexpected. "When people are out of work," she points out, "they will ask 'What else can I do?’ or 'What other careers can I follow?’ They will often return to school if they have not completed a degree before."

Older returning students aren’t the only ones increasing the enrollment at MTSU. Huddleston says she’s also seeing an increase in student transfers (转移). "Students who went out of state, or even within the state, to more expensive schools are transferring to public schools to make use of the lower cost of going to school here," she explains.

1.Which is the best title for the passage?

A．The Falling American Economy

B．College Enrollment up in a Down Economy

C．Colleges Have More Students Than Before

D．Going to College Is No Longer Difficult

2.According to the passage, many students return to school ______.

A．to make more money                    B．to read job advertisements

C．to complete a degree                    D．to ask their schoolmates for help

3.Many students are transferring to public schools mainly because ______.

A．public schools provide better education

B．public schools offer better jobs to their students

C．they don’t want to be influenced by the falling economy

D．the cost of public schools is lower and they can save money

4.Which of the following is TRUE about Sherian Huddleston?

A．She is working more hours than before because of the worsening economy.

B．She is a student of Middle Tennessee State University.

C．She disagrees with those who are returning to school.

D．She is surprised to see the enrollment go up.

 

 

A.  Weather is to blame

B.  Divided opinions

C.  Inheriting（遗传） characteristics

D.  Home of the redheads

E.  Greater sensitivity to pain

F.  Gene mutation（基因变异）

 

1.

Britain may be the most red-headed country in the world. About 1 to 2 percent of the world’s population has red hair, but in the UK the numbers are much higher, with 13 percent of Scots, 10 percent of the Irish, and 6 percent of people in England having red hair, according to the BBC.

2. 

Scientists have tried to explain why some people have red hair for some time and now they may have found an answer: the dull weather in Britain. The human body needs vitamin D from sunshine, but unfortunately people living in Britain do not have enough of it because of its maritime climate. In fact, Britain gets even more cloud than countries in the far north of Europe. In Sweden, for example, the average daily hours of sunshine is 5.4 . In Scotland it is only 3.1 hours.

3.

To deal with this, the DNA of people living in these areas has changed slightly; scientists call this a mutation. Originally, the coloring on our body is a mixture of two kinds of melanin – black melanin is suppressed while only red / yellow melanin is made. The result is red hair, light skin color, freckles and a greater sensitivity to sunlight.

4.

However, what’ s more interesting is that the redhead DNA mutation is recessive, which means it is hidden and can often skip generations without showing. At least 1.6 million Scots carry a redhead gene mutation, and most are unaware that they do. This is why a person who does not have red hair can still produce red-haired children if he or she is a carrier of this special DNA.

5.

The research on red hair, like many areas of science, is contradictory(不一致). In 2002 researchers showed that redheads are more sensitive to pain, and need more anesthetic during surgery than people with blonde or dark hair. However, in 2005 scientists found that a MCRIR mutation gives redheads a higher tolerance for pain. Research into these aspects of red hair genetics continues. Redheads should though be more careful about their exposure to sunlight as they are at an increased risk of contracting skin cancer. If you are a redhead, the advice is not to stay out of the sun, but to be careful about how much exposure you get, and to cover yourself with a high factor sunscreen.

 

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity，” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’ s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’ re a Chinese，you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’ s not about going to a temple to burn some incense (香) in hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’ s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups：those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper，” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not  spot  the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”， in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners，my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence(巧合)? After reading about Professor Wiseman’ s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational (理性)thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential （潜在）problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

1.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’ s point?

A. Make the best of a bad job.

B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.

D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

2.What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks （挫折）in her life.

C. She is a British talk show host.

D. She became successful by her own effort.

3.The writer quoted（引用） the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show________.

A. luck is in your own hand

B. bad luck can turn into good

C. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

D. man can conquer nature

4.From the experiment Wiseman drew the conclusion that________.

A. lucky people are quick-minded

B. unlucky people are slow to read

C. lucky people often have an open mind

D. unlucky people are more creative

5.The underlined word “spot” is the closest in meaning to“________”．

A. discover         B. mark   C. make               D. receive

 

完成句子 (共10小题；每小题l分，共10分)

1. 她是被宠坏了，但又能怎么样呢？她毕竟还是个孩子。

She is quite __________ but what can you do ? _____ ________ she is a child.

2. 他喜欢开玩笑，因此在同学中很有人缘。

He likes to _________ _______, so he is very _______ __________ his classmates.

3. 他躲在门后， 直到脚步声逐渐消失。

He ___________  ____________ the door until the footsteps had ________  ___________ .

4. 不要以貌取人，而应该看他（她）讲话和做事的方式。

Don’t judge a person by his or her _______, but look at ______ _____ he or she speaks or acts.

5. 我一直在看笔记， 这样一来我就不会忘记我要说的话。

I kept ___________  ____________ my notes ________ ______ I wouldn’t forget what I wanted to say.

6. 没有人知道这样的风俗是何时形成的。

No one knows when such a custom first __________  __________  ___________.

7. 如果你能开车顺便带我一下， 我会表示感激。 我的车在回家的路上坏了。

I’d appreciate ______ if you can give me a lift. My car ______ ______ on the way back home.

8.  中国的新年在一月底和二月底之间， 取决于阴历。

The date of the Chinese New Year falls somewhere between late January and late February, _______ _________ the __________ calendar.

9.万圣节已经变成了开联欢的日子， 孩子们装扮成巫婆做各种特别的游戏。

Halloween has become a time for parties, ________ children __________ _________ _________ witches and play all kinds of special games.

10. 游客们说他们从来没有梦想到有这么美的风景。

The visitors said that they had never ________ _________ _________ _________ such a beautiful scenery.