“Would you tell me which way I should go from here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.
“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
--- from “ Alice in Wonderland ”
My name is David. And I have a brother called Mike.
One day, my brother called me and asked me for some advice. He was trying to decide between two job offers:
Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.
Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry(保险业), where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good).
The second job did not pay as well as the first job (at the beginning), but the pay-off of the second job (in the future) was much greater than the first job. So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.
Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.
Begin with the End in Mind
I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose was to “teach,” but he wanted to make a lot of money first. I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose. I then asked him which job best supported his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supported his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach. He continued on to say, “but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life.” I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money. Things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!
You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well
It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything. I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supported that decision.
Tomorrow Never Comes
My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes. Unless you decide right now to follow your feelings, they will probably never be completed. You only live once, don’t go to the end of your life with one regret.
The Money Will Come
My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. You will always have greater money when you’re doing what you love.
In a word, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.
【小题1】Mike ___________ David one day.

A．visited

B．met

C．made a telephone call to

D．found

【小题2】Mike was trying to ____________.

A．look for a job	B．start a career
C．wok in an office	D．decide between two job offers

【小题3】As for the life’s purpose, Mike ______________.

A．wanted to teach first	B．wanted to make a lot of money first
C．wanted to work in the insurance industry	D．wanted to work 40 hours a day

【小题4】You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well means _____________.

A．you’d better have two horses

B．you can only ride one horse well

C．you can do everything well.

D．you can’t do two things well at the same time

【小题5】The best title of the passage is ______________.

A．How to choose a better job

B．It is more important to begin than to end

C．How to make a better decision

D．Make more money because tomorrow never comes

Marry is eight years old now. This autumn she begins to go to school. She likes her teachers and has some friends. She studies hard and is good at her classes. So we think she’s a good girl.
It’s Sunday today. It’s fine and after breakfast the girl and her parents are going to the zoo. She likes to watch the animals very much. Now they’re standing at the bus stop and waiting for the bus. She sees her friend Jim and his grandpa there.
"Good morning, grandpa!" says the girl. "Are you going to the zoo, too?"
"Yes, we are," says the old man. Then he says to Mary’s father, "You have a polite daughter. How old is she?"
"Eight, grandpa." answers the girl.
"Eight?" the old man says with a smile. "But you’re shorter than my stick!"
"How old is your stick, then?" says the girl.
【小题1】Mary is a ________.

A．teacher

B．student

C．worker

D．soldier

【小题2】 Mary is in Grade _______ now.

A．One

B．Two

C．Three

D．Four

【小题3】We think Mary is a good girl because _________.

A．she’s only eight	B．she has some friends
C．she likes her teacher	D．she’s good at her classes

【小题4】Mary and her parents are going to the zoo by _________.

A．car

B．boat

C．bus

D．bike

【小题5】 Mary’s parents and the girl are going the zoo because _________.

A．they like to watch the animals	B．it’s fine today
C．the zoo is near their house	D．Jim and his grandpa are going there, too

情景交际

根据对话情景选择恰当的选项，其中有两项是多余的。

A. I just like blue and green. B. Would you like to choose one for me? C. Thank you. D. You're a little short, E. It looks so beautiful on you. F. It's a pleasure. G. You're a little fat,

A: Hi, Mary. What a nice dress!

B:   1   I just bought it yesterday.

A:   2   I also want to buy one like yours.

B: But I think it doesn’t suit you.   3   so you’d better try a dark color.

A: I don’t like dark colors.   4   Because blue is the symbol of peace and green is the sign of

spring, youth and energy.

B: Oh, I see. Maybe you can try dark blue or dark green.

A: All right.   5 

B: Yes, I’d love to. Let’s go!

 

Wonder why you can get angry so easily while your friend smiles all the time? It’s probably because you both have different personalities(个性).
Personality is also about how people think, behave, and react (反应) to everything around them from day to day.
So what makes people think and behave in certain ways?
Part of the reason is that people are born like this. A baby gets its blood type, genes (基因) and other physical things when it’s still inside its mother. These things may help decide what the baby will be like.
But one’s personality doesn’t stop here. Family life, school learning and life experiences can also make you the person you are. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible to change your personality. You can always try to make yourself better. Don’t get too worried about your shortcomings (缺点). Just accept them. This is a good way to start making changes.
If you don’t know how to make friends, find out why. Is it because you’re too shy? Tell yourself to smile at people. Start talking to people using warm greetings.
Don’t give yourself a hard time about it all. It’s not easy to change lifelong habits in one night. Keep working at it. One day you’ll see that you can turn over a new leaf and be a new you!
【小题1】Personality is about the following except        .

A．how you behave

B．what you look like

C．how you react to something

D．how you think about something

【小题2】We know that         from the passage.

A．people are born the way they’ll always be

B．a person can try to change his/her personality

C．personality decides what a person looks like

D．blood type decides what a person will be like

【小题3】From the last two paragraphs, we learn that         .

A．a shy person can’t make many friends

B．you can work hard to improve yourself

C．everyone can change him- or herself in life

D．there is no way to change your lifelong habits

1 

Everyone has got two personalities（性格）-the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control your behavior, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their positions. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.

If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don’t like to displease people. So you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t quite sure of yourself.

If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you’re always easily upset. You always stick to your own opinions or judgment, but you don’t raise your hopes too much. You usually live for today not tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.

If you sleep curled up（蜷缩）, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often defensive. You’re shy and you don’t normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You’re easily hurt.

If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well—balanced（平衡的） personality. You know your strengths and weakness. You’re usually careful. You believe in yourself. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often get sad. You always say what you think even if it makes people rather angry

1.You may find the passage in       .

A. a science magazine            B A guide book

C. a sports newspaper            D. a story book

2.When does the sleeping position best show your secret personality?

A. In the daytime              B. At the beginning of sleep

C. At night                   D. During the deep sleep

3.Tina hardly tells her secrets to her friends. She probably goes to sleep       .

A. on curled up     B. on her stomach       C. on her back      D. on her side

4.What does the word “defensive” mean in the passage?

A. 易怒的        B.攻击性的      C.外向的        D. 有戒心的

5.What does the passage tell us?

A.Sleeping on your side is the best way of sleeping

B.Changing positions will cause sleeping problems.

C.Sleeping positions show people’s secret personalities.

D.Enough sleep makes people look better and healthier.