Mom was right! If you say thank you, for even the smallest gift or slightest show of kindness, you’ll feel happy.

    Gratitude, says Robert A. Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California, is an important element of happiness. In his recent book, Thanks!, Emmons uses the first major study on gratitude to prove mom’s point.

    As one of the leading scholars of the positive psychology movement, he admits gratitude may be difficult to express. He advises you to begin by admitting that life is good and full of events and elements that make daily existence a wonder. Second, recognize that the source of life’s goodness is more than just you. That source may be your mom, a friend, partner, child, colleague at work or play.

    Gratitude is always other-directed, notes Emmons. You can be pleased or angry with yourself and feel guilty about doing something wrong, but you can never be grateful to or for yourself.

    Expressing gratitude shouldn’t be a reaction; it should be a state of mind. To feel grateful when life is a breeze and you have more than you need is easy. To feel grateful in time of crisis—anger, hatred and bitterness—is easier. Also, too many people are aware of life’s blessings only after these are lost.

    It’s crisis and chaos—danger, disease, disability and death—that bring many individuals to realize just how dependent they are on others. Yet it’s the way each of us begins life and ends it. It’s too bad that so many people waste those decades in between laboring under the illusion(幻觉) they are self-sufficient, says Emmons.

    The abundance of voices expressing gratitude from his studies of individuals with chronic health problems is many. But Emmons goes beyond his “groundbreaking” science to make his case for gratitude by including the inspirational writings of philosophers, novelists and saints, as well as the beliefs of various religious and their respective scripture(经文). Taken together, these observations are summed up quite nicely by famous humanist Albert Schweitzer, who said the secret of life is “giving thanks for everything”.

    To enable and embrace gratitude, Emmons encourages the readers of Thanks! to keep a gratitude diary. He even provides easy-to-follow directions on how to practise and develop gratitude.

    I’m not a reader or advocate of self-help books, but I am thankful for the reference I found in a newspaper article to the research Emmons was conducting on gratitude involving organ donors and recipients. The chance discovery led me to this book.

    Mom implied that kindness seems to find its way back to the giver because life really is all about giving, receiving and repaying. So I’ll pay attention to her professional advice and say: Thank you, professor Emmons.

1.. What is the text mainly discussed?

A. There are many ways of being thankful.

B. Gratitude is important to happiness.

C. Mom is great for her being thankful.     

D. Being thankful will keep you fit.

2.. The author mentions Robert A. Emmons’ book Thanks! in order to prove that __________.

A. Professor Emmons supports mom’s study on psychology.  

B. mom is as great a psychologist as Professor Emmons.

C. Professor Emmons is a famous psychologist.

D. mom is right about her viewpoint on gratitude.

3.. It will be easier for you to feel grateful when___________.

A. you live a comfortable life    

B. you receive gifts on your birthday

C. you get help during your hard times

D. you are congratulated on your success

4. What is the opinion of Professor Emmons?

A. It is enough to thank others orally

B. Whether you are thankful is always up to you

C. Remember to be thankful anytime and anywhere

D. It is easier to be thankful for yourself than for others.

5. In the writer’s opinion, Emmon’s book Thanks! On gratitude is________.

A. one-side   B. reasonable  C. puzzling  D. helpful

 

旅行难道只能让人们享受美景放松心情吗？不，它还可以很有效果的降低犯罪率，这一点你相信吗？来看这篇文章吧

 Americans think that travel is good for you, some even think it can help one of the country's worst problems-crime (犯罪).     

 Crime worries a lot of people. Every year, the number of crimes goes up and up. And many criminals (罪犯)are young. They often come from sad homes, with only one parent or no parents at all.

There are many young criminals in prison. But prison doesn't change them. Six or seven in ten will go back to crime when they come out of prison.

One man, Bob Burton, thought of a new idea. In the old days, young men had to live a difficult life on the road. They learned to be strong and brave, and to help theft friends ill time of danger. This helped them to grow into men. So Bob Burton started" Vision Quest".

He takes young criminals on a long, long journey with horses and wagons(马车), 3,000 miles through seven states. They are on the road for more than a year.

The young people on Vision Quest all have bad problems. Most of them have already spent time in prison. This is their last chance. 

It's hard work on the road. The work starts before the sun comes up. The boys and girls have to feed the horses. Some of them have never loved anyone before. But they can love their horse. That love can help them to a new life.

 Not all the young people on Vision Quest will leave crime behind them. Three or four in ten will one day_____________. Bob Burton is right. Travel can be good for you. Even today. Americans still say, " Go west, young man."

1.What’s the main idea of the passage?    

                                                                         

2.Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

The criminals are very unfortunate ,because they have single parent or they are orphans

                                                                         

3.Please fill in the blank in the passage with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.(within ten words)    

                                                                          

4.What do you think of the meaning of the travel to the young men in the old days according to the passage?(within 30 words)

                                                                           

5.Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.

                                                                          

  

Aggressive pedestrians are in fact as dangerous as careless drivers. They cause traffic accidents, injury and death.
These dangerous walkers can be seen in any big city all over the world. About 69% of last year’s pedestrian deaths in the US occurred in urban areas. They cross streets ignoring “DON’T WALK” signals, suddenly appear without warning from behind parked vehicles, walk slowly at crossroads with cell phones attached to heads, blocking traffic.
These pedestrians and drivers share a common disregard for the rules of the road, both for selfish reasons. The drivers believe in the power of their machines. If their machines can go faster, they believe they have the right to go faster. If their machines are bigger, they believe they have the right to push smaller vehicles aside. Aggressive pedestrians, on the other hand, believe in the primacy(首位) of the individual, the idea that they are first in any environment, under any circumstances, even when they are on foot in a roaring tide of steel and rubber.
Last year, an estimated 5,220 pedestrians died in traffic accidents. Some 69,000 pedestrians were injured. On average, that worked out to one pedestrian killed in a traffic crash every 101 minutes, and one injured every eight minutes.
The good news is that the accident rate is dropping. For example, the number of pedestrians killed last year was 24 percent less than the number killed in traffic accidents a decade earlier. The bad news is that the basic causes of pedestrian deaths remain pretty much the same----disregard for traffic signals, inattention and crossing roads under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol, in fact, was involved in 46 percent of the traffic accidents that resulted in pedestrian deaths. Of those, 31 percent of the pedestrians were found to be drunk.
The bottom line is that the pedestrians must do more to protect their lives as well as the lives of other road users. They can start by obeying traffic signals, using marked cross-walks and calling a cab when they’ve had too much to drink.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about _____.

A．how aggressive pedestrians cause traffic accidents

B．why so many Americans were killed on roads last year

C．what the traffic rules of the road about pedestrians were

D．who are to blame for pedestrian deaths, drunk drivers or the aggressive pedestrians

【小题2】What is the pedestrians’ selfish reason for traffic jams?

A．They know all drivers are skilled and with great care.

B．They believe individuals are always first.

C．They think traffic rules have nothing to do with them.

D．They guess all vehicles will slow down at crossroads.

【小题3】 What was NOT the basic cause of pedestrian deaths in the US a decade ago?

A．Disregard for traffic signals	B．Paying no attention to surroundings.
C．Crossing roads drunk.	D．Overspeeding driving.

【小题4】What word can best describe the author’s attitude to the traffic accidents caused by pedestrians?

A．Excited.

B．Cold.

C．Concerned

D．Unconnected.

 根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中，选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。

    Is the customer always right?  1.  Shopping is very much a part of a country’s culture, and

attitudes to shopping and consumers vary from country to country just as much as climate or taste

in food.

Recent economic hardship has given the consumers increased power in Europe because shopkeepers fight to win their share of reduced disposable（可支配的）income．This has meant failing prices，plenty of special offers and a re-examination of what customer service really means． 2. In restaurants in the south of the USA，for example，waiters compliment．（恭维）you on your clothes，ask about your day，compliment you on your wisdom of your order and then return every ten minutes to refill your glass and make sure that everything is to your satisfaction．

Anyone who has waited 30 minutes to be served in fl restaurant may possibly dream of such customer service． 3. a fact，different nationalities expect different types of service．As a friend of mine once told me，"By the end of evening I had spent as much time talking to the waiter as to my wife．"

A Chinese-American friend loves telling people about how her Chinese mother shops for clothes．First of all she waits until they are on sale． 4.And later she finds some small fault with the product and demands a further reduction．She never buys anything at the regular price．Could you imagine trying such ways in department stores in other countries?

Attitudes to service are，of course，affected by employers’ attitudes to their workers．As American waiters heavily depend on tips，they have to provide more service．But is this fair? 5. It might not be a case of"Is the customer always right ?"but a case of” How much service is it fair to expect?"

A．People often point to America as an example of good customer service．

B．It is a question of expectations．

C．Do we think it is fair to ask shop assistants to work late evenings or on Sundays?

D．Then she asks for a discount until she gets an even better price．

E．The answer，it seems，depends on which country you are in．

F．The way we shop shows the way we get along with other people．

G．However，do Europeans really want US style service?

 

 

Even if they are on sale, these refrigerators are equal in price to, if not more expensive than, _____ at the other store.

A. anyone    B. the others    C. that    D. the ones