My students often tell me that they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork.

My reply is often a brief “You have as much time as the president.” I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.

Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was, “That’s irrelevant (无关的). What’s important is the quality of your work.” Since then I have had time to think carefully about the “hard worker” dodge (诀窍), and I have come to some conclusions — all relevant to the problem of how much time we have.

If you analyze the matter, you can identify two parts of the problem: There is, of course, the matter of “time”, which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the problem of “work” during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it’s not how hard one works but the quality of the product that’s important.

That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office: “Don’t work harder. Work smarter.” There is a lot of sense in that idea.

If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “study habits”.

Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies.

1..

 From the passage, we know that the author is probably ______ .

   A. a poet   B. an educator   C. a novelist   D. an engineer

2..

 We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that we students still _____ .

   A. have enough time                     B. can meet the president

C. get everything done well               D. should accept the explanation

3..

 Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   A. The author’s students make good use of their time to do all their homework.

   B. The author tried to tell the professor that he/she (author) had done a good job.

C. You can’t improve the quality of the work if you can’t get more time.

D. You’ll try to improve your skills in reading and writing if you’re a clever student.

4..

 What’s the passage mainly about?

   A. Students don’t have enough time.       B. Don’t work harder; work smarter.

   C. No one can get more time.             D. Read better and write better.

 

What makes a person a scientist? Does he have ways or tools of learning that are different from those of others? The answer is “no”. It is not the tools a scientist uses but how he uses these tools that makes him a scientist. You will probably agree that knowing how to use a power is important to a carpenter. You will probably agree, too, that knowing how to investigate(调查),how to discover information, is important to everyone. The scientist, however, goes one step further, he must be sure that he has a reasonable answer to his questions and that his answer can be confirmed by other persons. He also works to fit the answers he gets to many questions into a large set of ideas about how the world works.

The scientist’s knowledge must be exact. There is no room for half right or right just half the time. He must be as nearly right as the conditions permit. What works under one set of conditions at one time must work under the same conditions at other times. If the conditions are different, any changes the scientist observes in a demonstration must be explained by the changes in the conditions. This is one reason that investigations are important in science. Albert Einstein, who developed the theory of relativity, arrived at this theory through mathematics. The accuracy of his mathematics was later tested through investigations. Einstein’s ideas were shown to be correct. A scientist uses many tools for measurements. Then the measurements are used to make mathematical calculations that may test his investigations.

What makes a scientist according to the passage?

A.  The tools he uses.              B.  His ways of learning.

C.   The way he uses his tools.     D.  The various tools he use

“The scientist, however, goes one step further,” the author says this to show       。

the importance of information    

B. the importance of thinking

C. the difference between scientists and ordinary people

D. the difference between carpenters and people with other jobs.

A sound scientific theory should be one that       .

A. does not only work under one set of conditions at one time, but also works under the same conditions at other times

B. leaves no room for improvement

C. does not allow any change even under different conditions

D. can be used for many purposes

What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Scientists are different from ordinary people.

B. The theory of relativity.

C. Exactness is the core（核心）of science.

D. Exactness and way of using tools are the keys to the making of a scientist.

Recently, a professor of philosophy in the United States has written a book called Money and the Meaning of Life．He has discovered that how we deal with money in our day-to-day 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 our relation with others often become clearly defined when money enters the picture．You might have wonderful friendship with somebody and you think that you are very good friends．But you’ll know him only when you ask to lend you some money．If he does, it brings something to the relationship that seems stranger 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 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．
Answer: The most surprising thing is why people give me so much respect．I’m nothing．I don’t know much．All I am is rich．
People just have an idea of making more and more money, but what is it for? How much do I need for any given purposes in my life? In this 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 modern world, but expecting money to give happiness may be missing the meaning of life．
【小题1】According to the first paragraph, people haven’t realized __________．

A．how important money is in their day-to-day life

B．how one spends money shows what is important to him

C．that money is more important than their philosophy of life

D．that their understanding of life is more important than money

【小题2】What can we learn about the millionaire from his answer in the interview is that         .

A．he does not feel that he is well -educated

B．he does not consider himself to be very successful

C．he does not think that he is a very important person

D．he does not think being rich deserves so much attention

【小题3】What does the American professor of philosophy want to explain in his book?

A．Money is a means．	B．Money is everything．
C．Money is an end．	D．Money is unimportant．

【小题4】Which of the following might the author disagree?

A．Money is important in modern society．

B．Wealth will surely bring the owner happiness．

C．The meaning of life doesn’t completely lie in money．

D．Happiness is not necessarily the result of wealth．

This site contains 100 original short stories about life in America. These stories are written for ESL(English as a second language ) learners who are, at least, high beginners. We want to help ESL students learn English as quickly and effortlessly as possible. Learning should be interesting, not boring. We hope that learners will find that these stories are of some help to improve their English.

The stories have interesting topics and are easy to understand. Each story comes with an audio narrative so that learners can listen as they read. The audio requires downloading the free Real Player. Each story contains a search for pictures, definitions, and pronunciation.“ Following each story are four sets of exercises, and each containing 10 items.

Exercise A is “Yes / No Questions”. The learner is asked questions like, “Does Sara have children?” The learner can then type in, “Yes, she does.” Then the learner can check whether it’s the right answer or not.

Exercise B is “Wh-Questions”. The learner is asked questions like, “Where does Sara live?” The learner can then type in, “She lives in Pasadena.” Then the learner can check his answer.

Exercise C is “Ask Questions”. The learner is given an answer like, “They have two children.” The learner must then type in a question like, “How many children do they have?”The learner can then check to see whether he is correct or not. Exercise D is “Dictation”. The learner listens to a sentence. Most of the sentences duplicate  the sentences in the stories. The learner types the dictation and then checks to see whether he is correct or not.

Work on the site is in progress. Help us make it better as the years go by. We welcome all comments, suggestions, complaints, new ideas, and questions. Click here to send us emails.

1.Where does this passage come from?

A．A newspaper.

B．A magazine.

C．A website.

D．A research report.

2.The main purpose of this passage is to _____.

A．tell English learners how to do exercises

B．ask the readers to help them improve the site

C．give a brief introduction of an English learning site

D．teach you how to download English articles

3.All of the following statements are correct EXCEPT _______.

A．the learners can listen to a story while reading it

B．there are pictures, definitions, and pronunciation, as well as exercises followed

C．new ideas and suggestions are welcomed

D．the stories are suitable for learners of different levels

4.If you want to improve your listening ability, you may mainly do some practice in _____.

A．Exercise A

B．Exercise B

C．Exercise C

D．Exercise D

 

第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题,每题2分,共40分)

第一节：（共15小题,每题2分,共30分）

阅读下面四篇短文，从四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

Recently, a professor of philosophy in the United States has written a book called Money and the Meaning of Life. He has discovered that how we deal with money in our day-to-day life has more meaning than we usually think. One of the exercises he asked his students to do is to keep 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 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 are 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 abotrt being rich, because you are a self-made man?

Answer: The most surprising thing is how 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? How much do I need for any given purposes in my life? 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 bring happiness may be missing the meaning of life.

56. The author seems to believe that asking your friend to lend you some money_______.

A. is a good way to test your friendship     B. will do harm to your friendship

C. will strengthen your friendship           D. is a good way to break off your friendship

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

A. He does not feel that he is well educated.

B. He does not think that he is a very important person.

C. He doesn’t think that being rich is worth so much attention.

D. He does not consider himself to be very successful

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

A. Money is an end.         B. Money is a means.

C. Money is everything.      D. Money is unimportant.

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

A. Money is important in modern society.

B. The meaning of life does not completely lie in money.

C. Wealth will surely bring the owner happiness.

D. Happiness is not necessarily the result of wealth.