Recently, a  professor of philosophy in the United States has written a book called MoneyandtheMeaningofLife. He has discovered that how we deal with money in our day­to­day life has more meaning than we usually think. One of the exercises he asked his students to do is to keep a record of every penny they spend for a week. From the way they spend their money, they can see what they really value in life.

He says that our relation with others often becomes clearly defined when money enters the picture. You might have wonderful friendship with somebody and you think that you have a very good friend. But you will know him only when you ask him to lend you some money. If he does, it brings something to the relationship that seems stronger than ever before. Or it can suddenly weaken the relationship if he doesn't. This person may say that he has a certain feeling, but if it is not carried out in the money world, there is something less real about it.

Since money is so important to us, we consider those who possess a lot of it to be very important. The author interviewed some millionaires in researching his book.

Question: What is the most surprising thing you have discovered about being rich?

Answer: The most surprising thing is why people give me so much respect. I am nothing. I do not know much. All I am is rich.

People just have an idea of making more and more money, but what is it for? In his book, the professor uncovered an important need in modern society: to bring back the idea that money is an instrument rather than the end. Money plays an important role in the material world, but expecting money to give happiness may be missing the meaning of life.

1.The author seems to believe that asking your friend to lend you some money ________.

2.What can we learn about the millionaire from his answer in the interview?

3.What does the American professor of philosophy want to explain in his book?

4.Which of the following might the author disagree with?

A recent survey shows that the alarming rate of child suicide(自杀) in Hong Kong, raising levels of stress and anxiety among young people, increasing conflicts between children and teachers, and children’s complaints that their parents do not understand their problems—all point to a drop in “emotional quotient” (EQ) (情商), the ability to handle relationships.
EQ is defined as the ability to deal with oneself and others effectively. High EQ, psychologists say, is easy to spot. Some of the greatest humanitarian (人道主义的) leaders have high EQ, along with successful managers and inspirational and respected teachers. The problem is not how to spot high EQ but to improve on low EQ, so society as a whole can benefit.
In the United States, declining EQ among young people is seen as one of the factors behind rising young people’s crime because youths fail to understand others’ feelings—one of the key components of EQ. While the situation in Hong Kong is not so bad, there are warning signs that the levels of anxiety among youth may become critical. Declining EQ among Hong Kong teenagers has been acknowledged by several studies including a key study by the education concern group, the Learning-Teacher Association, which found a high degree of anxiety among students over the future and also that young people lacked confidence in dealing with problems. Parents and teachers will also need to develop their own EQ skills in order to deal with them effectively.
Daniel Goleman cites a number of basic elements of high EQ: first, awareness of your feelings as you experience them which is very important to making good decisions in life; second, feeling or awareness of what others are feeling. “90% of emotional information is expressed non-verbally and people vary in their ability to pick it up,” Dr. Goleman says in his book.
Dr. Goleman argues that without high EQ even highly-educated, highly-intelligent people will not find success in life. Or those with low EQ, even though they may be brilliant, tend to lack feeling and impulse control. They fail easily, and they are easily intolerant and often aggressive in interpersonal relations. Some educational psychologists believe work on EQ may be important in Hong Kong with its high rate of suicide among school children. EQ test may be able to help predict those most at risk, and those least able to deal with their own emotions or unable to deal with others, including parents and teachers.
【小题1】According to the passage, children in Hong Kong commit suicide at an alarming rate as a result of _______.

People who have lost the ability to understand or use words due to brain damage are called aphasics(失语症患者).Such patients can be extremely good at something else.From the changing expressions on speakers’ faces and the tones of their voices,they can tell lies from truths.

Doctors studying the human brain have given a number of examples of this amazing power of aphasics.Some have even compared this power to that of a dog with an ability to find out the drugs hidden in the baggage.

Recently,scientists carried out tests to see if all that was said about aphasics was true.THEY STUDIED A MIXED GROUP OF PEOPLE.Some were normal;others were aphasics.It was proved that the aphasics were far ahead of the normal people in recognizing false speeches—in most cases,the normal people were fooled by words,but the aphasics were not.

Some years ago,Dr.Oliver Sacks wrote in his book about his experiences with aphasics.He mentioned a particular case in a hospital.Some aphasics were watching the president giving a speech on TV.Since the president had been an actor earlier,making a good speech was no problem for him.He was trying to put his feelings into every word of his speech.

But his way of speaking had the opposite effect on the patients.They didn’t seem to believe him.Instead,they burst into laughter.The aphasics knew that the president did not mean a word of what he was saying.He was lying!

Many doctors see aphasics as people who are not completely normal because they lack the ability to understand words.However,according to Dr.Sacks,they are more gifted than normal people.Normal people may get carried away by words.Aphasics seem to understand human expressions better,though they cannot understand words.

1.What is so surprising about aphasics?

2.How did the scientists study aphasics?

3.What do we learn from this text?

Chaplin, one of the greatest and funniest actors, was born in London in 1889. When a poor boy, he was often seen waiting outside the London theatres, hoping to get work in show business. He could sing and dance, and above all, he knew how to make people laugh. But he couldn’t get work and therefore wandered about the city streets.
Charlie Chaplin first acted when he was five. He broke into show business because his mother, a music-hall performer, lost her voice during the performance and had to leave the stage, and Charlie went on and sang a well-known song. Halfway through the song, a shower of money poured onto the stage. Charlie stopped singing and told audiences he would pick the money first and then finish the song. The audiences laughed. This was the first of millions of laughs in Charlie Chaplin’s fabulous(神话) career.
Twenty years later the same Chaplin became the greatest and best loved comedian in the world. His dream came true in the world. His dream came true in the end. Chaplin became world-famous and almost a king in the world of the film.
Even people who don’t understand English can enjoy Chaplin’s films because they are mostly silent. The equipment for adding sound to films had not yet been developed. The development of films with sound became a problem for Chaplin, as he was uncertain about making films with dialogues. Instead, he coninued to make films without dialogue, but he added music, which he wrote himself. It isn’t what he says that makes us laugh. His comedy doesn’t depend on words. It depends on little actions which mean the same thing to people the world over.
Chaplin lived most of his life in America and the last years in Switzerland, where he was buried at Christmas 1977, at the age of eighty-eight. There was sadness all over the world at the news of his death.
In his book, Chaplin tells us how to succeed in life. He says, “You have to believe in yourself. That’s the secret.”
【小题1】Chaplin is regarded as king of comedy mainly because______.

In 1982, Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He got into a life boat, but his supplies were???? . His chances of surviving were small.?????? when three fishermen found him 76 days later, he was alive —much?????? than he was when he started, but alive.

His?????? of how he survived is fascinating. His cleverness —how he?????? to catch fish, how he evaporated (蒸发) sea water to ????? fresh water—is very interesting.

But the thing that ?????? my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, and there seemed no ???? in continuing the struggle. He was starved and?????? worn-out. Giving up would have seemed the only possible choice.

When people?????? these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in ????? desperate circumstances?????? in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the courage to carry on?????? difficulties.

“I tell myself I can????? it,” wrote Callahan in his book. “Compared to what others have been through, I’m fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over, ???? up courage…”

I wrote that down after I read it. It?????? me as something important. And I’ve told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed?????? off or when my problems seemed too terrible. And every time I’ve said it, I have always come back to my ???? .

The truth is, our circumstances are only bad?????? to something better. But others have been through the much worse, that is, in comparison with what others have been through, you’re fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over again, and it will help you??????? through the rough situations with a little more courage.

1.A．full????????????? B．rich????????????? C．few????????????? D．enough

2.A．And????????????? B．Yet????????????? C．Still????????????? D．Thus

3.A．thinner????????????? B．stronger????????????? C．worse????????????? D．healthier

4.A．attitude????????????? B．assumption????????????? C．instruction????????????? D．account

5.A．assisted????????????? B．tended????????????? C．managed????????????? D．intended

6.A．make????????????? B．absorb????????????? C．select????????????? D．replace

7.A．attacked????????????? B．caught????????????? C．froze????????????? D．cheated

8.A．operation????????????? B．taste????????????? C．message????????????? D．point

9.A．firmly????????????? B．completely????????????? C．hardly????????????? D．generally

10.A．deal????????????? B．defend????????????? C．survive????????????? D．observe

11.A．similarly????????????? B．differently????????????? C．gradually????????????? D．commonly

12.A．pull????????????? B．take????????????? C．break????????????? D．give

13.A．for the lack of????????????? B．in the face of????????????? C．in exchange for????????????? D．as a result of

14.A．handle????????????? B．carry????????????? C．follow????????????? D．inspect

15.A．rolling????????????? B．using????????????? C．building????????????? D．making

16.A．defeated????????????? B．recommended????????????? C．introduced????????????? D．struck

17.A．far????????????? B．long????????????? C．ever????????????? D．even

18.A．feelings????????????? B．senses????????????? C．ideas????????????? D．influences

19.A．related????????????? B．measured????????????? C．contributed????????????? D．compared

20.A．see????????????? B．cut????????????? C．get????????????? D．think