I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “ full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.

At the first home, the son of the deceased(已故的)woman said to me, “ If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “ If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today.That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”

You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course—keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation—would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?

There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens that leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.

The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens , especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believe that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.

A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him , and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.

1. What is said about the two deceased elderly women?

A. They lived out a natural life.

B. They died of exhaustion after the long plane ride.

C. They weren’t used to the change in weather.

D. They died due to lack of care by family members.

2. The author had to conduct the two women’s funerals probably because ______.

A. he wanted to comfort the two families

B. he was an official from the community

C. he had great pity for the deceased

D. he was minister of the local church

3. People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because _____.

A. they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow

B. they believe that they were responsible

C. they had neglected the natural course of events

D. they didn’t know things often turn in the opposite direction

4. According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that_____.

A. everything in the world is predetermined

B. the world can be explained in different ways

C. there is an explanation for everything in the world

D. we have to be sensible in order to understand the world

5. What’s the idea of the passage?

A. Life and death is an unsolved mystery.

B. Every story should have a happy ending.

C. Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault.

D. In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away.

 

I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say .Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁)calls on the two families on the same afternoon.

At the first home, the son of the deceased woman said to me, ”If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died. ”At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today .That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate ,was more than she could take．It’s my fault that she’s dead.”

You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course------keeping mother at home, putting off the operation----would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?

There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.

The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.

A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needｓ,and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to his tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him，and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we don not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.

1.The author had to conduct the two women’s funerals probably because_______.

A．he was minister of the local church

B．he wanted to comfort the two families

C．he was an official of the community

D．he had great pity for the deceased

2.People feel guilty for the death of their loved ones because________.

A．they can’t find a better way of express their sorrow

B．they have neglected the natural course of events

C．they believe that they were the reason

D．the don’t know things often turn in the opposite direction

3.According to the main passage, the underlined part in Paragraph 4 probably means that________.

A．everything in the world is predetermined

B．there’s an explanation for everything in the world

C．the world can be interpreted in different ways

D．we have to be sensible in order to understand the world

4.What’s the main idea of the message?

A .Life and death is an unsolved mystery.

B. Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault.

C Every story should have a happy ending.

D. In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away.

 

Culture is one of the most challenging elements of the international marketplace. This system of learned behavior patterns characteristic of the members of a given society is constantly shaped by a set of dynamic variables(变量): language, religion, values and attitudes, manners and customs, aesthetics, technology, education, and social institutions. To deal with this system, an international manager needs both factual and interpretive knowledge of culture. To some extent, the factual knowledge can be learned; its interpretation comes only through experience.   

    The most complicated problems in dealing with the cultural environment lie in the fact that one cannot learn culture—one has to live it. Two schools of thought exist in the business world on how to deal with cultural differences. One is that business is business the world around, following the model of Pepsi and McDonald’s. In some cases, globalization is a fact of life; however, cultural differences are still far from disappearing.   

    The other school suggests that companies must adjust business approaches to individual cultures. Setting up policies and procedures in each country has been compared to an organ transplant; the critical question centers around acceptance or rejection. The major challenge to the international manager is to make sure that rejection is not a result of cultural myopia(近视) or even blindness.   

    Fortune examined the international performance of a dozen large companies that earn 20 percent or more of their revenue overseas. The internationally successful companies all share an important quality: patience. They have not rushed into situations but rather built their operations carefully by following the most basic business principles. These principles are to know your rivals, know your audience, and know your customer.   

1.According to the passage, which of the following is true?   

A. Business diversity is not necessary.

B. All international managers can learn culture.  

C. Most people do not know foreign culture well.  

D. Views differ on how to treat culture in business world.   

2.According to the author, the model of Pepsi                .   

    A. is different from the model of McDonald’s .

    B. reflect the idea that business is business.  

    C. has converged cultural differences .

    D. shows the reverse of globalization .

3.The two schools of thought               .   

    A. both think dealing with cultural environment is the most complicated problem in business   

    B. both admit the existence of cultural diversity in business world.  

    C. both advocate that different policies be set up in different countries.   

D.both propose that companies should tailor business approaches to individual cultures.

4.This article is supposed to be most useful for those                 .   

    A. who have connections to more than one type of culture

    B. who are interested in researching the topic of cultural diversity  

    C. who want to run business in other countries   

    D. who want to travel abroad 

 

I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.

At the first home, the son of the deceased（亡故的）woman said to me, “If only I sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died. ”At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”

You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?

There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.

The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.

A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to his tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.

The author had to conduct the two women’s funerals probably because____.

A. he was minister of the local church       B. he wanted to comfort the two families 

C. he was an official from the community    D. he had great pity for the deceased   

People feel guilty for the death of their loved ones because ____.

A. they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow.

B. they had neglected the natural course of events

C. they believed that they were responsible

D. they didn’t know things often turn in the opposite direction

According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that _____

A. everything in the world is predetermined

B. there’s an explanation for everything in the world

C. the world can be interpreted in different ways

D. we have to be sensible in order to understand the world

What’s the idea of the message?

A. Life and death is an unsolved mystery

B. Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault

C. Every story should have a happy ending

D. In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away

  Water goes around and around Earth in a never ending journey called the water cycle（循环）. The sun heats up lakes, oceans, and other wet places on Earth. When the water gets warm enough, it changes into vapour. Plants also give off lots of water vapour. Some of this water vapour cools off high in the sky and becomes clouds. Then it falls back to Earth in a new place as rain or snow. This cycle happens over and over again.

 The ground can absorb water like a sponge (海绵). If you could see this groundwater, it wouldn’t look like a lake or river. The groundwater is mixed in with the rocks and sand that lie in layers(层) below Earth’s surface.

 Groundwater moves along slowly. How slowly? Maybe 1.5 kilometres in one century. Some of this water has been underground for thousands of years. And once groundwater is pumped out of the ground from a deep well（井） by people, it may take hundreds of years for another water to take its place.

In which order does water go around Earth?

   a .Fall down as rain or snow.  b. Heated up by the sun on lakes, oceans and other wet places.

   c. Cool off high in the sky.     d.  Form clouds.     e.  Change into vapour.

   A. dacbe                B. becda           C. caebd          D. bceda

The groundwater seems to________.

   A. be just on the ground        B. be pure water like that in a lake or river

   C. exist in rocks and sand       D. flow along like rivers or streams

The underlined word “pumped” in the passage can be replaced by________.

   A. run                       B. pushed            C. drawn             D. picked

What conclusion（结论） can we draw from the passage?

   A. Groundwater can be quickly replaced by other water once pumped out.

   B. Groundwater is very valuable.

   C. Groundwater has nothing to do with human beings.        

   D. Groundwater travel in an unknown way.