The other day I heard a few local musicians talking, "I hate all the pianos in this town and I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They cannot even understand rhythm (韵律).""Nobody wants to pay musicians anything. I’m sick of all the people who want you to play without paying you.” One younger musician said, "There are a couple of clubs who want me to play for a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also planning to join in several summer festivals this year." I really liked what the younger musician said so I made friends with him.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative (消极的), they’re all rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who are always complaining(抱怨) or blaming (责备) others, it is possible that you will start doing the same as well. If you spend lots of time with people who don’t support your dreams, it is time to take a look at the people you call "friends".
There is an easy exercise you can try. Make a list of the people who you often stay with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard. The choice is always yours to make. Of course, this exercise is entirely different from making friends only for the good of oneself. We really should try to help and spend time with those who are working towards a goal or dream.
【小题1】The musicians’ conversation at the beginning is to show that ______.

A．musicians’ living conditions are not good

B．people in that town have poor taste in music

C．different people have different attitudes

D．young people are more likely to succeed

【小题2】 The underlined part "they’re rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 2 means ______.

A．they’ll push you ahead	B．they’ll have an influence on you
C．they’ll keep you from moving on	D．they’ll help you realize your dreams

【小题3】Why did the author want to make friends with the younger musician?

A．He is more active than the others.

B．He can earn more than the others.

C．He has more things to do than the others.

D．His attitude is more positive than the others.

【小题4】By doing the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 3, you can ______.

A．make the right kind of friends

B．improve your ability to make friends

C．develop a better relationship with your friends

D．make some new friends with the same interests as you

【小题5】We can get the following information from the passage EXCEPT ______.

A．the younger musician is a positive person and would be a good friend

B．one will start complaining if one spends too much time with negative people

C．the exercise can help you keep close to really helpful friends

D．one should avoid making friends with people who have lots of difficulties

Tom, Eric, Tess and Ann are talking about in what way they would like their schools improved. Read the following descriptions (A, B, C and D) and match them with the four opinions.
【小题1】Tom: I’d like somewhere to sit and read and enjoy myself.
【小题2】Eric: I hope our school can be more comfortable and convenient.
【小题3】Tess: I really prefer to have a place to do some exercise after class.
【小题4】Ann: I think our school should buy more equipment like computers.

A What I’d most like to have is a little café, where we students can rest and do some reading. At the moment people have to stand in the passage, or even outside and there’s nowhere to buy a drink or something, or read the paper, so people don’t stay in school for long after the lessons finish. I think it would be completely different if they had somewhere to enjoy themselves.	B Our school is big with nice modern buildings and everything, but there is one thing I would really love ---- a gym. We’re right in the middle of a big city and the traffic is very busy, so I find it very difficult to get out to the gym at lunchtime. A gym would be good for the school. If more people went to the gym and did some exercise, they’d probably work better.
C Our school is just uncomfortable in every way. For example, the chairs are really uncomfortable, so the next thing I’d like to do is get some comfortable chairs of good quality. Oh, and the worst thing is that we’re on the fifth and sixth floors of our building, so I’d love to have some lifts put in. Just one little lift would make our lives so much easier.	D Our school has a nice building, and is in a nice part of the city. Unfortunately we haven’t got much equipment, so I’d really like to have a computer room with the Internet available. I think students can learn a lot this way. And I’d like to have VCD sub every classroom instead of tapes. VCDs are so much more interesting for learning a language, I think.

 

Name: Julia Rosetti
Email: n1950215@droid.fit.qut.edu.au
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Drugs: No
Alcohol: No
Sports/ Activities: I used to do a lot of ballet and stage work, my ambition was to be a professional dancer before I got sick. Nowadays I love to read, and other stuff like that, as well as spending a lot of time with my family and friends.
Grades: I finished high school last year, and I haven’t started college because I’ve been sick. But I got subject prizes in three subjects and high as in the rest.
Favorite Subject: I loved Music, English, History and Biology. Hard to pick a favorite – they’re all so different.
Volunteer Work: It all depends on what you call “volunteer”. Nothing really official, but I spend a lot of my time working and playing with really sick kids, and they come to me for advice a lot.
What My Future Goals Are: I’d either like to go on to do stage work, or work with kids with serious illnesses. I haven’t decided which, yet.
What I do in My Spare Time: Talk to my friends and my family. Hang around with my hospital friends. Watch TV. Go to the movies when I can. I love going on picnics and other outdoorsy stuff.
How I’d Change the World: No question. Cure cancer. Eradicate it forever.
Largest Problem: Sometimes, I think it’s having too many choices, and having too many expectations and others having too many expectations of you. And all the implications (牵连) of this.
Why Would I Make a Good Counselor (顾问): I really want to help other people. I’ve made that my life’s ambition, to help as many people as I can.
Qualifications: I spend a lot of time doing this sort of stuff “unofficially” – I am the Discussion Manager on a discussion list for seriously ill young people. People also write to me because of my homepage, often wanting advice, which I try to give them.
【小题1】What can we infer about Julia Rosetti?

A．She is ill now with a cancer.

B．She has had an operation.

C．She is curing people of cancer.

D．She is working in a hospital.

【小题2】The underlined word “eradicate” most probably means _____.

A．get out of

B．put an end of

C．break up

D．set aside

【小题3】The underlined word “you” stands for _____.

A．Julia Rosetti herself

B．all her friends in her life

C．the person she refers to

D．everyone including herself

【小题4】Which of the following statements is true about Julia Rosetti?

A．She had wanted to become a doctor.

B．She had done very well at college.

C．She often visits hospitals in her spare time.

D．She has her own homepage on the Internet.

Many of us spend a great deal of time and energy trying to prove that we are right and others are wrong. Many people  21   that it’s their job to show others how their positions, statements, and points of view are   22   , and that on doing so, the person they are correcting is going to somehow  _23  it, or at least learn something. Wrong!

Think about it. Have you ever been  _24  by someone and said to him, “Thank you so much for showing me that I’m wrong and you’re right”? Or, has anyone you know ever   25  you when you corrected them, or made yourself “right” at their  26   ? Of course not. The truth is, all of us   27  to be corrected. We all want our position to be   28   and understood by others. Being listened to and heard is one of the greatest  29   of the human heart. And those who learn to  30   are the most loved and respected. Those who are in the   31  of correcting others are often resented(怨恨 ) and   32    .

A wonderful way for becoming more peaceful and loving is to practice   33    others the joy of being right ---give them the glory.   34  correcting. When someone says, “ I really feel it’s important to …”, rather than breaking   35   and saying, “No, it’s more important to… “, simply let it go and allow their statement to  36   . The people in your life will become less defensive and more   37   . They will appreciate you more than you could ever have   38   . You’ll discover the joy of joining in and witnessing other people’s   39   , which is far more rewarding than a battle of egos( 自我 ). Starting today, let others be  “ 40 ”  , most of the time.

1.A. believe          B. doubt          C. prove          D. tell

2.A. unimportant      B. unbelievable  C. incorrect      D. imperfect

3.A. consider         B. appreciate     C. understand   D. refuse

4.A. fooled           B. helped         C. taught         D. corrected

5.A. thanked          B. rewarded       C. cared          D. accepted

6.A. side             B. price          C. expense        D. value

7.A. like             B. hate           C. prefer         D. afford

8.A. admired          B. received       C. realized       D. respected

9.A. shortcomings     B. advantage      C. desires        D. wishes

10.A. talk            B. praise         C. help           D. listen

11.A. habit           B. form           C. position       D. purpose

12.A. punished        B. avoided        C. left           D. laughed

13.A. letting         B. lending        C. allowing       D. owing

14. A. Stop           B. Continue       C. Practise       D. Try

15.A. out             B. up             C. in             D. off

16. A. last           B. send           C. work           D. stand

17.A. helpful         B. loving         C. careful        D. popular

18. A. dreamed        B. requested      C. asked          D. demanded

19.A. sufferings      B. worries        C. progress       D. happiness

20.A. happy     B. right    C. sorry    D. proud

 

Many of us spend a great deal of time and energy trying to prove that we are right and others are wrong. Many people believe that it’s their job to  36 others how their positions, statements and points of view are   37  and that in doing so, the person they are correcting is going to somehow   38  it, or at least learn something. Wrong！

Think about it. Have you ever been   39  by someone and said to him, “Thank you so much for showing me that I’m wrong and you’re right.” Or has anyone you know ever   40  you when you corrected him, or made yourself “right” at his 41  ? Of course not. The truth is, all of us   42 to be corrected. We all want our position to be   43  and understood by others. Being listened to and heard is one of the greatest   44  of the human heart. And those who learn to   45  are the most loved and respected. Those who are in the   46  of correcting others are often hated and   47 .

A wonderful way of becoming more peaceful and loving is to practice  48    others the joy of being right--- give them the glory.   49 correcting. When someone says, “I really feel it’s important to…” rather than   50  and saying, “No, it’s more important to…” , simply let it go and allow his statement to   51 . The people in your life will become less defensive and more   52 . They will appreciate you more than you could ever have   53  possible. You’ll discover the joy of joining in and seeing other people’s  54  , which is far more rewarding than a battle of egos（自我意识）. Starting today, and let others be “  55  ” most of the time.

1.                A．classify         B．show           C．advise    D．persuade

 

2.                A．unbelievable     B．imperfect       C．incorrect D．unimportant

 

3.                A．promote        B．appreciate       C．consider  D．understand

 

4.                A．corrected       B．fooled          C．helped   D．taught

 

5.                A．awarded        B．accepted        C．cared    D．thanked

 

6.                A．effort          B．price           C．expense  D．power

 

7.                A．afford          B．hate           C．like  D．prefer

 

8.                A．respected       B．received        C．admired  D．realized

 

9.                A．advantages      B．appetites        C．shortcomings  D．desires

 

10.               A．adjust          B．benefit         C．listen D．praise

 

11.               A．form           B．habit           C．purpose   D．position

 

12.               A．avoided        B．left            C．punished  D．scolded

 

13.               A．lending         B．owing          C．promising D．allowing

 

14.               A．Consider       B．Practice        C．Stop  D．Continue

 

15.               A．working out     B．jumping in       C．turning up D．putting off

 

16.               A．stand          B．last            C．harm D．work

 

17.               A．careful         B．helpful         C．popular   D．loving

 

18.               A．ordered        B．led            C．dreamed  D．demanded

 

19.               A．worries        B．happiness       C．sufferings  D．success

 

20.               A．right           B．satisfied        C．proud D．excited