Some people remember the things by writing notes to themselves. Then they leave the notes in obvious(明显的) places, such as on the table or on the floor in the middle of the living room. I don’t think I like to write notes to myself. Most of the time I lose them or forget to look at them until it’s too late. I prefer to use an alarm clock to tell me what I should do. I have ten alarm clocks in my house. They could tell me about things. For example, if I have to make a telephone call at a certain time, I’ll set an alarm clock to go off a few minutes early and put the clock by the telephone. Or if I want to watch a certain television program, I’ll set an alarm clock at the right time and put the clock on top of the TV set. I can remember almost anything if I use my clocks. However, sometimes an alarm clock goes off and I don’t know what it means. I always remember setting it, but I do not know why I set it. If the clock is by the telephone, I know I may have set it to tell me to call someone, but I can’t be sure. I might have set it to tell myself that somebody was to call me at a certain time.
【小题1】 Some people like to write notes to themselves so that they can _______.

A lady in an old cotton dress and her husband, dressed in an old suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked into the president of Harvard’s outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such country people had no business at Harvard. She frowned(皱眉). “We want to see the president,” the man said softly. “He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary said coldly. “We’ll wait,” the lady replied.

For hours, the secretary didn’t talk to them, hoping that the couple would finally become tired and go away. They didn’t. And the secretary finally decided to disturb the president. “Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave,” she told him. He frowned too. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time to spend with them.

The president walked toward them unwillingly. The lady told him, “We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard, and was very happy here. But he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to set up a memorial(纪念碑) to him somewhere on campus. ” The president was so surprised that he shouted sharply, “We can’t put up a statue(塑像) for every person who attended Harvard and died. This place would look like a cemetery (墓地).

“Oh, no” the lady explained, “We don’t want to build a statue. We thought we would give a building to Harvard.” The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at their plain clothes, and said with surprise, “A building! Do you have any idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.”

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly. “Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?” Her husband nodded. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they set up the university with their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

1.What did the old couple go to Harvard for?

A．They wanted to see their son.

B．They had an important meeting

C．They went to Harvard just to start a university

D．They wanted to meet the president of Harvard.

2.Why didn’t the president come out to meet the couple?

A．He was really busy at that time.

B．The secretary didn’t allow the couple to meet the president.

C．He was important and didn’t have time for unimportant people.

D．He had an important friend to meet and had to spend some time together.

3.From the passage, we can know ______.

A．the old couple were in fact rich people

B．the secretary was afraid of the old couple

C．the old couple’s son was killed in Harvard

D．the president of Harvard was kind and patient to anyone

4.The best title of the passage is “______”.

A．A Statue or A Building                    B．How Stanford University Was Built

C．A Visit to Harvard University               D．A Strange Old Couple

When we see a cigarette box, we’ll see “ Smoking is harmful to your health” on it. Children are not    36  to smoke by their parents or teachers. But in many countries  37 is becoming a bigger problem for young people. Most smokers   38  in their teens or earlier.
Some students think smoking is very cool, and they can see many people smoking around them. They want to have a   39 .
“If young people start smoking early, they will probably get addicted （上瘾的）to nicotine（尼古丁）. And it will be very hard to  40   later on,” said a professor. A study shows smoking is a problem for many Chinese teens.  41    can we do to make them stop smoking?
Some people think we can make a law. Teenagers under 18 are not allowed to smoke,   42   they should be fined. Parents should give up smoking. They can set an example （树立榜样）43   their children.
“Every year about four million people die of smoking. And if people  44   smoking, the number will increase （增加）10 million a year from now on,” said the World Health Organization. So we must learn and tell others about the  45  of smoking.

In 2013, China chose “中国梦,”which means “Chinese dream,” as the Character of the Year to symbolize the overall feeling of the past 366 days. It’s easy to see why the word “dream” would be chosen as so many Chinese dreams have been recently realized: space exploration, a China-made aircraft carrier and a Nobel Prize-winning author.

Finishing national dreams makes us proud, but realizing personal dreams makes us worthy in our own eyes. Though the media would try to convince you, there is no set of “approved” dreams that we should all go after. Some may strive for money, fame and power, but others have more humble dreams that are just as important: learn English, study abroad, achieve inner peace, and be of service to humanity. It’s normal for people to create lofty New Year’s resolutions and just as normal to start strong and give up a few weeks later on our goals. How do we make sure that we achieve our dreams? Make your resolutions SMART and they’ll come true.
S — specific, detailed goals are easier to accomplish.
M— measurable goals enable you to complete a fixed amount of something.
A— achievable goals are possible, not ones that would take magic or miracles to accomplish.
R— relevant goals are meaningful to you.
T— time bound goals have an ending date. They’re not infinite. You know when you’re done.
Trip Bethel, a local college professor suggests that all goals should be positive and future-focused. “You can’t make a goal about being perfect. You’ll always disappoint yourself. But you can make a goal about perfecting your process. Then, you’re always on the way to a better life.”
Trip says many people write endless lists, but he just writes his resolutions once. He states them simply on a piece of paper and then puts the paper away for a year. “Often, when I look at the paper a year later, I’ve accomplished everything, or gotten close. There is something about writing things down that makes goals real and the opportunities to achieve them will come into your life.”
【小题1】In 2013, China chose “__________” as the Character of the Year?

Let’s face it: homework can be almost as frustrating (沮丧) for parents as it is for kids. Getting kids to do their homework can be a challenge, and when they do sit down to study, a lot of other problems can appear.
Doing homework may not be as fun as playing video games or chatting with friends, but it shouldn’t be something that kids hate. Your children’s assignments (任务) should help them build a skill or learn something new.
You can help by being a homework monitor, stepping in to answer questions or offer encouragement. This gives you a chance to see what they are learning and how well they understand the material. It helps you understand their learning style and shows you care about their education.
Many kids refuse to study by asking why they have to learn things they’ll never use in real life. If your son or daughter shows little interest in their assignments, you can make them seem more important by pointing out ways you use them in daily life.
If parents feel that their kids are overloaded (超负荷), they can talk about it with the teachers. If you think it takes your child too long to finish homework, try to make a decision whether the problem lies in having too much work or managing time poorly.
If your child complains of boredom while doing homework, give him or her the following suggestions:
Get help from friends: if your children are bored with an assignment, let them call a friend for help or invite a friend over to work on it with them.
Add physical activity: set mini-goals for homework and allow time for relaxing, jumping around, or a snack after each goal is completed. For a kid who can’t sit still, find active ways to study.
Turn the tables: let your children teach you a lesson. Let them give you a test on the things they have just learned.