When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, “Well, it’s so-and-so’s mistake.” or “I know I’m late, but it’s not my mistake; the bus was late.” It is probably not your mistake, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop paying attention to whom to blame and start paying attention to how to improve the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming(克服) problems. For example, if you were late because the bus was late, maybe you need to leave home early. Or, you might call a taxi or call friends for help when in need. For another example, if your workmate causes you problems on the job for short of responsibility(责任心) or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or leave this person with some simple jobs. You should accept that the person is not reliable(可靠的) and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your workmate fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges(挑战) and chances to develop their own talents. So, stop paying attention to “whose mistake it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.
1.According to the passage, winners .
A. have responsible and able workmates
B. meet with fewer difficulties in their lives
C. blame themselves rather than others
D. deal with problems rather than blame others
2.When your workmate brings about a problem, you should .
A. blame him for his lack of responsibility
B. find a better way to overcome the problem
C. tell him to find the cause of the problem
D. ask a more able workmate for help
3.When problems happen, winners take them as .
A. excuses for their mistakes
B. dif
ficulties to greater power
C. chances for self-development
D. challenges to their workmates
4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage？
A. A Winner’s Secret B. A Winner’s Problem
C. A Winner’s ChanceD. A Winner’s Achievement
My parents quarreled a lot, and I was really worried about it. I didn’t know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house. Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was packing up my things when suddenly the power (电) went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the
power came back on.
I was really disappointed(失望的) because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored(恢复). He was quite happy and said.
“Great chance.”
“What is?” I asked.
“To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a one-to-one little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we’re going to do with ourselves and the situation we are in now.”
“But we can’t do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I was.
And that is how the most amazing friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feelings and fears of life from how fast things change to how they someti
mes don’t change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be.
Suddenly, the lights all came back on. “Well,” he said, “I guess that means you’ll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!”
1.Why was Grandpa happy to see the writer?
A. Because he felt quite lonely.
B. Because he could discuss the problem with him.
C. Because he was afraid of darkness.
D. Because he had not seen him for a long time.
2.In which order(顺序) did the story happen?
a. The lights came back on.
b. The writer went to his grandpa’s room and stayed with him.
c. The power in the neighbourhood suddenly went out.
d. The writer worried about the parents’ disagreement and wanted to leave his home.
e. The writer had a talk with his grandpa and started the most amazing friendship between them.
A. d-b-e-c-a B. a-b-e-c-d C. c-d-b-e-a D. d-c-b-e-a
3.What can be inferred(推断) from the story?
A. The lights would go out again.
B. The writer wanted to leave very much.
C. They would have more chats.
D. It would no longer be dark.
People often said Thomas Edison was the greatest genius(天才) of his age. There are only a few men in all of history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be pleased only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such a thing as genius,” Edison said. He thought what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a thinker as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. He tried to understand them, and then he tried to learn what he could usefully do with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people would do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking could give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand why anyone could not be interested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what idea he had about life. “Work,” he answered, “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.
1.What is genius according to Thomas Edison?
A. Hard thinking. B. Hard work. C. Useful ideas.D. Useful inventions.
2.How did Edison always deal with the secrets of nature after exploring them?
A. To write down what he had learned.
B. To carry out a new experiment.
C. To make them useful in life.
D. To share them with others.
3.What does the last sentence in the passage mean?
A. Edison was born to be a great inventor.
B. Edison was able to live another 100 years.
C. Edison was ready to make his 100th invention.
D. Life was too short for Edison to work for human beings.
More and more people think it necessary to study in an English-speaking country and it didn’t take long at all for me to decide to come and study in UK.
I have been used to school life since I came here two months ago, and I am starting to enjoy most of my time in here. School starts at 9 o’clock every morning, and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have long days, in which we have 9 lessons and school finishes at 4 o’clock. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we have shor
t days, in which we have only 6 lessons and finish at 1 o’clock. After lessons, we have 2 hours of activity time, when you can choose from a number of activities, including many sports, such as rugby(英式橄榄球) , football, basketball and tennis.
As a boarder(寄宿者), the quality of food is something I consider very important, and Merchiston has not let me down. The school kitchens are run by a professional company, and the quality of food is excellent, and they are always trying to make the diet healthy. One of the obvious advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school, which means we don’t have to pull ourselves out of b
ed as early as the day pupils!
1.How many lessons do the students have every week in this school?
A. 15 B. 45 C. 27 D. 18
2.The passage mainly tells us about __________________.
A. the writer’s school life in the UK as a boarder
B. the writer’s opinion of the school life in the UK
C. the differences in school life between China and the UK
D. the boarder life in a British middle school
3.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined phrase “ let me down” in the passage?
A. made me blue B. cheered me up
C. encouraged me D. made me surprised
Sometimes it is impossible to deliver（投递）all the mail that arrives at the post office. Perhaps there is an mailing address and there is no return address. The post office cannot just the mail, so it becomes “dead mail”. Dead mail is to one of the U.S. Post Service’s in Atlanta, New York, and San Francisco. Seventy-five mil
lion pieces of mail can be put in these offices in one year.
There the workers of the dead mail offices have ways to deal with all of these pieces of dead mail. First of all, they look for that can help them deliver the mail; they open packages, expecting that something will show where the package came from or is going to. Dead mail will also be listed on a so that people can call in and check to see if a missing thing is there on the screen. However, all of this mail cannot simply be forever; there is just too much of it. When a lot of dead mail comes together, the dead mail offices hold public auctions (拍卖). Every three months, some people who are are invited to the offices with objects found in dead mail packages and they are sold to the bidder (出价者).
1.A. impatientB. importantC. unclearD. inactive
2.A. turn offB. eat upC. sell outD. throw away
3.A. sentB. returnedC. lentD. sold
4.A. noB. variousC. sillyD. cruel
5.A. peopleB. timeC. cluesD. books
6.A. funnyB. insideC. uselessD. outside
7.A. phoneB. mirrorC. TV setD. computer
8.A. storedB. putC. boughtD. borrowed
9.A. boredB. interestedC. worriedD. satisfied
10.A. cheapestB. cleverestC. highestD. easiest
— I am going to spend my holiday in the countryside.
— ________. The air there is fresh and the views are attractive as well.
A. Sounds wonderful B. Of course C. Let me see D. Well done
