About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college in New York, I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while I was working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was seated on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and the trunk of the human body. She was wearing a little white dress with the patterns of red roses and yellow dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼示意). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the most beautiful, largest smile I have ever seen
All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. I immediately felt full of hope and confidence. She took me, a poor, unhappy college student, into her world, a world of smiles, love and warmth.               
That was ten years ago, but I still remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.

1. 1.

   What was the writer a decade ago?

   1. A.
      A worker working in a university.
   2. B.
      A teacher teaching in a college.
   3. C.
      A clerk working in a museum.
   4. D.
      A university student who had not yet taken a degree.
2. 2.

   What does the underlined world “handicap” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

   1. A.
      Life difficulty.
   2. B.
      Troublesome problem.
   3. C.
      Failure in work.
   4. D.
      Physical disability.
3. 3.

   How did the writer probably feel before meeting the disabled girl?

   1. A.
      She felt full of hope.
   2. B.
      She was filled with confidence.
   3. C.
      She felt unhappy because of poverty.
   4. D.
      She felt life was beautiful.
4. 4.

   Which of the following title suits this passage best?

   1. A.
      A Disabled Girl.
   2. B.
      A Disabled Girl’s Smile.
   3. C.
      Full of Hope.
   4. D.
      Full of Confidence.

There was a huge battle between the warriors(武士)of Greece and the people of Troy. Prince Paris from Troy had stolen away the Greek queen; Helen. The Greek warriors set sail for Troy to fight for their queen.  

The battle outside Troy lasted for ten years. The men were fed up and wanted to return to their homes. Athene, goddess of war gave Ulysses the idea for a plan to end the war. They built a big wooden horse which they put in the middle of their encampment（营地）. Next they pretended to give up their camp. In reality many soldiers hid inside the wooden horse.

Once they thought the camp had been abandoned the Trojans went out to check. They needed to know if the war was really over. They walked through the abandoned encampment and eventually found the wooden horse. They could not decide what it was. Some wanted to take it  into the city, others thought that it was a gift to Zeus and feared touching or moving it in case they upset Zeus.  

Some Trojans decided to take it back into the city. They called a large group of troops, attached ropes and pulled it into the city.

A huge celebration started. The city was free from war for the first time in nine years. Everybody feasted, drank and danced until eventually the merriment（欢闹）was over and they all went to sleep.

This was the moment that the wooden horse opened a big flap（盖口）hidden underneath. Out crept Ulysses and all of his men. They killed the sleeping troops, rescued Queen Helen, met up with the rest of their army and set sail for home.

The story of the return journey is told in The Odyssey, a collection of poems piecing together the bits of the story from the many different places where the story took place.

Greece and the people of Troy were at war because________________.

A. they have different views and beliefs

B. Prince Paris from Troy wanted to control Greek

C. they were war-like countries

D. the Greek warriors fought against Troy for their queen stolen away

What does the underlined phrase “(be)fed up” probably mean?

A. very bored   B. very happy  C. very sad   D. very interested

Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?

A. The battle outside Troy lasted for ten years.

B. It was Ulysses that thought up the idea for a plan to end the war

C. The Trojans fell into a trap set by Ulysses and all of his men

D. The Greek warriors saved Queen Helen and head home successfully

What can we learn from the story?

A. Keep a clear brain or you’ll be cheated by something pretending

B. Failure is a common thing in the war

C. strategy(策略) is not an important factor in the war.

D. Victory cannot be gained by cheat and pretence.

Which of the followings can serve as the best title for the passage?

A. The Trojan Horse    B. A Smart Plan  C. The Trojan War  D. Rescuing Queen Helen

TV’s Harmfulness

       Yes, but what did we use to do before there was television? How often we hear statements like this! Television hasn’t been with us all that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into our homes,  we never fond it difficult to occupy our spare time. We used to enjoy civilized pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements to theatres, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events. We even used to read books and listen to music and broadcast talks occasionally. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the goggle box. We rush home or gulp down our meals to be in time for this or that programme. We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do – anything, providing it doesn’t interfere with the programme. The monster demands and obtains absolute silence and attention. If any member of the family dares to open his mouth during a programme, he is quickly silenced.

       Whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly（电视）. Food is left uneaten, homework undone and sleep is lost. The telly is a universal pacifier. It is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living-room and turning on the set. It doesn’t matter that the children will watch rubbishy commercials or spectacles of sadism and violence – so long as they are quiet.

       There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Every day, television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of the programmes are so bad: it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain high standards as well. When millions watch the same programmes, the whole world becomes a village, and society is reduced to the conditions which obtain in preliterate communities. We become utterly dependent on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.

       Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become content with second-hand experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world. We get so lazy, we choose to spend a fine day in semi-darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself. Television may be s splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. We only become aware how totally irrelevant television is to real living when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilization. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the hypnotic tyranny of King Telly.

What is the biggest harm of TV?

A It deprives people of communication with the real world.

B People become lazy.

C People become dependent on second-hand experience.

D TV consumes a large part of one’s life.

In what way can people forget TV?

A Far away from civilization.  B To a mountain.  C By the sea.  D In quiet natural surroundings.

What does a mother usually do to keep her children quiet?

A Let them watch the set.       B Put them in the living room.

C Let them watch the rubbish.   D Let them alone.

What does the first sentence in the first paragraph mean?

A We found it difficult to occupy our spare time.      B We become addicted to TV.

C What we used to do is different from now.         D We used to enjoy civilized pleasures.

    The round-the-clock(24小时不断的)availability that cell phone have brought to people’s lives may be taking a toll on family life，a new study suggests．The study，which followed more than 1，300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone throughout the study period were more likely to report negative “spillover’’ between work and home life—and，in turn, less satisfaction with their family life.

    Spillover essentially(本质上)means that the line between work and home begins to become unclear．Work life may invade home life when a．parent is taking job—related calIs at home，for instance--or family issues may start to take up work time．For example，a child may call mom at work，telling her "microwave exploded” explained Noelle Chesley，an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and the author of the study. The problem with cell phones seems to be that they are allowing for ever more spillover between work and home．    ‘

    This may be especially true for working women，the study found. Among men，consistent use of mobile phones seemed to allow more work issues to creep (潜入)into family time．But for women，the spillover tended to go in both directions being “connected” meant that work cut into home time，and family issues came：into work life． 

    Cell phones seem to be opening more lines for stressful exchanges among family

members．But there may be ways to control the spillover，according to Chesley．Empoyers, she said，could look at their policies on contacting employees after hours to make sure their expectations are “reasonable”．For their part，employees could decide that cell phones go off during family time, Chesley said. 

What does the underlined phrase “taking a toll on’’probably mean in Paragraph 1?

   A. Explaining.   B. Protecting.   C. Extending       D. Damaging.

What is the purpose of offering the example “microwave exploded” in Paragraph 2?

  A．To show the microwave is of poor quality.

  B．To indicate how dependent the child is.

  C．To indicate family issues affect work hours.

  D．To show work time creeps into family life

As a result of negative“spillover”，people will feel _____.

  A．1ess satisfied with their family life．

  B．1ess satisfied with their work．

C．angry with their troublesome children·

  D．unwilling to get married at an early age．

 What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among competing interests. Your roommate’s need to study for an exam may take priority (优先) over pizza. Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic/inter??est may have other choices.

In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our points of view. When we persuade, we want to influence how others believe and behave. We may not always prevail — other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situ??ation, and the merit of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position receives the attention it deserves.

Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome interruption into their lives. Just the opposite, we believe that persuasion is unavoidable — to live is to persuade. Persuasion may be ethical (合乎道义的) or unethical, selfless or selfish, inspiring or degrad??ing. Persuaders may enlighten our mind or prey on our vulnerability. Ethical persuasion, however, calls on sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now must make. Therefore, the most basic part of edu??cation is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to encourage and practice the other.

Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is necessary to society. The right to persuade and be persuaded is the bedrock of the American political system, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution (美国宪法).

. according to the passage, persuasion means ________.

A. changing others’ points of view

B. exercising power over other people

C. getting other people to consider your point of view

D. getting people to agree with you and do what you want

. The underlined word in the second paragraph “prevail” means________.

A. win           B. fail                C. speak              D. listen

. The passage states that some people object to persuasion because they think it is ________.

A. a danger to society                B. difficult to do well

C. unwelcome behavior              D. never successful

. The passage mainly discusses ________.

A. how people persuade

B. why people persuade

C. that persuasion is both good and bad

D. that persuasion is important and it is all around us