I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year - round sun．You may think People , such an attractive, fun - filled place are happier than others．If so you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness．
Many intelligent people still think fun equals happiness．The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common．Fun is what we experience during an act．Happiness is what we experience after an act．It is a deep, long-lasting emotion．
Going to an amusement park or a ball game, watching a movie or television are fun activities that help us relax, temporally forget our problems and maybe even laugh．But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends．
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun．They have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells "happiness" But in memoir（回忆录） after memoir, they expose Ac unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages and loneliness．
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying．If he is honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment．For commitment is in fact quite painful．The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement．Man-iage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features．
Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness．They can dine out whenever they want and sleep as late as they want．Couples with babies are lucky to get a whole night' s sleep．I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children．
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to．It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can truly increase our happiness．It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless．And it frees us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and famous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all．
1.What is the passage mainly about?
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A．Fun and happiness． |
B．Success and satisfaction． |
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C．Marriage and commitment． |
D．Entertainment and responsibility． |
2.The author probably agrees that ____．
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A．fun creates long - lasting satisfaction |
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B．long - standing fun may lead to happiness |
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C．fun is short-lived while happiness is long-lasting |
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D．fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness |
3.What does the author think of marriage?
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A．It ends in pain． |
B．It means commitment． |
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C．It affords greater fun． |
D．It leads to raising children． |
4.If one gets the real meaning of happiness, he ____．
A．will start a business B won' t place too much value on money
C．will seek for freedom D．won't devote himself to his family
Thanks a Million, Dad
I was born disabled．A difficult birth, feet first, my head stuck．By my first birthday, I couldn't stand or walk．
When I was three, the doctor told dad I had cerebral palsy （脑瘫）．A loss of oxygen to my brain had destroyed brain signals to the right side of my body．
But no son of my dad' s was going to be disabled．Every morning before breakfast and every evening before bed, my dad placed me on the bedroom floor to exercise my right leg．The muscles were shrunk and twisted together．Back and forth up and down, my dad pushed and pulled the muscles into shape．
But my dad' s exercise of passion didn't stop there．For my 13th birthday, he threw me a special party．When everybody was gone, he brought me to open a large box, it was a-set of boxing gloves．We put them on．My dad kept on beating me mercilessly．Each time I tried to get up, leather kissed my nose, eyes and jaw．I "begged him to stop．He said he beat me to get me ready for the tough world．
That same year, I was the only kid in my neighbourhood that wasn't picked for Little League．Two weeks later．Dad started the Shedd Park Minor League, and every kid played．Dad coached us and made me a pitcher （棒球投手）．
The power of my dad' s love guaranteed I walked and more．In high school, I became a football star．
In 1997, a brain surgeon in San Jose told me I didn’t t have cerebral palsy after all．He explained how and where the doctor' s forceps （镊子） at birth had damaged my brain．
My dad never knew the whole truth since he passed away years ago．But all that counts is the bottom line．After all his madness, on this Father' s Day, like every Father' s Day, I' m no longer disabled．
1.What caused the author' s disability?
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A．A failed operation． |
B．The doctor's forceps． |
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C．An accident in a game． |
D．Shrunken and twisted muscles． |
2.What do we learn from the passage?
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A．The author has a talent for boxing． |
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B．The author achieved a lot thanks to his father' s love． |
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C．The author became a baseball star with the help of his father． |
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D．The author doesn't think his father should be so strict with him． |
3.Paragraph 3 suggests that the author' s father____．
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A．wouldn't give up hope easily |
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B．believed his son was a normal child |
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C．blamed the doctors for his son' s disability |
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D．couldn't accept the truth that his son was disabled |
4.The author wrote the passage to ____．
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A．remember his father |
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B．encourage disabled children |
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C．show the difficulty the disabled face |
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D．give advice to the parents of disabled children |
Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers．He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry．The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products．
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday．
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit．Every now and then he still smokes in secret．
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time．Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes．Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No．” Obama said at a news conference．
“I don' t do it in front of my lads．I don 't do it in front of my family．I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said．
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important．The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up．What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said．
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases．
1.The new law makes life difficult for ．
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A．Obama |
B．tobacco industry |
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C．White House |
D．US Food and Drug Administration |
2.What do we know about Obama?
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A．He no longer smokes． |
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B．He still smokes as usual． |
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C．He began to smoke at eighteen． |
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D．He is trying hard to give up smoking． |
3.According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about ．
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A．children |
B．officials |
C．his family |
D．businessmen |
I grew up poor – living with six brothers, my father and a wonderful mother．We had 26 money and few worldly goods, but plenty of love and attention．I was 27 and energetic．I understood that no matter how poor a person was, they could 28 afford a dream．
My dream was to be a 29 ．When I was sixteen, I could crush a baseball, throw a ninety – mile – per – hour fastball．I was also 30 : my high – school coach was Ollie Jarvis, who 31 me the difference between having a dream and showing strong belief．One particular 32 with him changed my life forever．
It was a summer and a friend recommended me for a summer 33 ．This meant a chance for my first income – cash for a new bike and new clothes, and the 34 of savings for a house for my mother．The opportunity was attracting, and I wanted to 35 at it．
Then I realized I would have to 36 summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell Coach Jarvis I wouldn’t be playing．I was 37 about this．
When I told Coach Jarvis, he was as 38 as I expected him to be．“You have your whole life to work,” he said．“Your 39 days are limited．You can’t afford to waste them．”
I stood before him with my head 40 , trying to think of how to explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth 41 his disappointment in me．
“How much are you going to make at this job?” he demanded．
“$ 3．25 an hour,” I replied．
“Well, is $ 3．25 an hour the price of a 42 ?” he asked．
That 43 laid bare for me the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal．I devoted myself to 44 that summer, and within the year I was offered a $ 20,000 contract．I signed with the Denver Broncos in 1984 for $ 1．7 million, and bought my mother the 45 of my dreams．
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There’s a feeling in me __________ we’ll never know what a UFO is – not ever.
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A．of which |
B．which |
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C．that |
D．what |
After the Arab states won independence, great emphasis was laid on expanding education, with girls as well as boys ______ to go to school.
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A．to be encouraged |
B．been encouraged |
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C．being encouraged |
D．be encouraged |
