Jobs and work do much more than most of us realize to provide happiness and contentment.We're all used to thinking that work provides the material things of life—the goods and services that make our modern civilization possible.But we are much less conscious of the degree to which work provides the more important psychological wellbeing that can make the difference between a full and an empty life.
Historically,work has been associated with slavery and sin (罪恶)and punishment.And in our own day we are used to bearing traditional complaints.Against this background,it may well come as a surprise to learn that not only psychologists but other behavioral scientists have come to accept the positive contribution of work to the individual's happiness and sense of personal achievement.Work is more than a necessity for most human beings;it is the focus of their lives,the source of their identity and creativity.
Rather than a punishment of a burden,work is the opportunity to realize one's potential.And the opposite is true,too.For large numbers of people,the absence of work is harmful to their health.Retirement often brings many problems surrounding the “What do I do with myself?”question,even though there may be no financial cares.Large numbers of people regularly get headaches and other illnesses on weekends when they don't have their jobs to go to,and must take care of themselves.It has been observed that unemployment,quite apart from financial pressures,brings enormous psychological troubles and that many individuals'conditions become worse rapidly when jobless.
But why?Why should work be such a significant source of human satisfaction?A good share of the answer rests in the kind of pride that is stimulated by the job,by the activity of accomplishing.
1.Which of the following statements can NOT be learned from the passage?
A.People feel happier and more content than they realize when working.
B.Work is likely to provide you with the chance of achieving your potential.
C.Happiness can only be gained through working.
D.A lot of people will suffer physically and psychologically without work.
2.Traditionally,people are used to believing ________.
A.work is related to negative aspects
B.happiness has nothing to do with work
C.identity and creativity depend on work
D.work is not only a necessity for humans but the focus of their lives
3.What would the author probably discuss in the following paragraph?
A.What the proper way to balance work and life is.
B.How work brings people pride in accomplishment.
C.Which is more important:the material things of life or psychological wellbeing.
D.How people overcome the problems arising from retirement.
4.Which best describes the author's attitude towards work in the passage?
A.Doubtful. B.Concerned.
C.Approving. D.Neutral.
When 19yearold Sophia Giorgi said she was thinking of volunteering to help the MakeAWish Foundation(基金会), nobody understood what she was talking about. But Sophia knew just how important MakeAWish could be because this special organization had helped to make a dream come true for one of her best friends. We were interested in finding out more, so we went along to meet Sophia and listen to what she had to say.
Sophia told us that MakeAWish is a worldwide organization that started in the United States in 1980. “It's a charity(慈善机构) that helps children who have got very serious illnesses. MakeAWish helps children feel happy even though they are sick, by making their wishes and dreams come true,” Sophia explained.
We asked Sophia how MakeAWish had first started. She said it had all begun with a very sick young boy called Chris, who had been dreaming for a long time of becoming a policeman. Sophia said lots of people had wanted to find a way to make Chris's dream come true—so, with everybody's help, Chris, only seven years old at the time, had been a “policeman” for a day. “When people saw how delighted Chris was when his dream came true, they decided to try and help other sick children too, and that was the beginning of MakeAWish,” explained Sophia.
Sophia also told us the Foundation tries to give children and their families a special, happy time. A MakeAWish volunteer visits the families and asks the children what they would wish for if they could have anything in the world. Sophia said the volunteers were important because they were the ones who helped to make the wishes come true. They do this either by providing things that are necessary, or by raising money or helping out in whatever way they can.
1.Sophia found out about MakeAWish because her best friend had ________.
A.benefited from it B.volunteered to help it
C.dreamed about it D.told the author about it
2.According to Sophia, MakeAWish ________.
A.is an international charity
B.was understood by nobody at first
C.raises money for very poor families
D.started by drawing the interest of the public
3.What is said about Chris in Paragraph 3?
A.He has been a policeman since he was seven.
B.He gave people the idea of starting MakeAWish.
C.He wanted people to help make his dream come true.
D.He was the first child MakeAWish helped after it had been set up.
4.Which of the following is true about MakeAWish volunteers?
A.They are important for making wishes come true.
B.They try to help children get over their illnesses.
C.They visit sick children to make them feel special.
D.They provide what is necessary to make MakeAWish popular.
When I entered Berkeley College, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a straight A student, I believed I could ____ tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he ____ in class.
When I took the first exam, I was ____ to find a 77, Cplus, on my test paper, ____ English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained ____.
I decided to try harder, although I didn't know what that ____ because study had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I ____ with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn't change his ____.
One more test before the final exam. One more ____ to improve my grades. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time, ____ the meaning of the word “thorough”. But my ____ did no good and everything ____ as before.
The last hurdle(障碍) was the final. No matter what ____ I got, it wouldn't cancel Cpluses. I might as well kiss the ____ goodbye.
I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even ____ myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once not to ____ much about the result of the test.
A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into Professor Jayne's office. He ____ to be expecting me. “If I had given you the Apluses you ____, you wouldn't have continued to work as hard.”
I stared at him, ____ that his analysis and strategy(策略) were correct. I had worked my head ____, as I had never done before.
I was speechless when my course grade arrived:Aplus. It was the only Aplus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I've always remembered Professor Jayne's lesson:you alone must set your own standard of excellence.
1.A.take B.discuss C.cover D.get
2.A.sought B.presented C.exchanged D.obtained
3.A.shocked B.worried C.scared D.anxious
4.A.but B.so C.for D.or
5.A.unchanged B.unpleasant C.unfriendly D.unmoved
6.A.reflected B.meant C.improved D.affected
7.A.quarreled B.reasoned C.bargained D.concerned
8.A.attitude B.mind C.plan D.view
9.A.choice B.step C.chance D.measure
10.A.memorized B.considered C.accepted D.learned
11.A.ambition B.confidence C.efforts D.methods
12.A.stayed B.went C.worked D.changed
13.A.grade B.answer C.lesson D.comment
14.A.scholarship B.course C.degree D.subject
15.A.helped B.favored C.treated D.relaxed
16.A.care B.ask C.cheat D.produce
17.A.happened B.proved C.pretended D.seemed
18.A.valued B.imagined C.expected D.welcomed
19.A.remembering B.guessing C.supposing D.realizing
20.A.out B.over C.on D.off
They can be seen more frequently than ever before on college campuses, wearing flannel(法兰绒) and thickframed glasses while listening to music. One might find them playing unusual musical instruments, shopping at secondhand stores or expressing themselves in other unique ways.
They call themselves hipsters. Being “hip” used to mean following the latest fashion. But gradually the word has become a sign of “being cool, unique and unusual”.
Hipsters value independent thinking, progressive politics, an appreciation of creativity and intelligence. Hipsters take pains and pride in not being mainstream. However, their culture has become quite trendy. This irony(讽刺) is central to their culture and offers an interesting conflict.
“I do take things in the mainstream with a positive attitude,” says Ben Polson, a college student at Brown University. “But sometimes I also question what determines popularity, especially regarding music.” Polson represents many hipsters.
When lessknown bands become popular, they often lose their former fan base in exchange for a new one. There is a famous hipster saying that goes, “I used to like that band before it got popular,” Polson quoted.
According to Polson, bands' music changes when they go mainstream. They become less experimental, doing things just to save popularity and fans. The original elements that we were drawn to slowly disappear for the sake of popularity.
Many young adults have started to view hipsters' outlook as cool and they are adopting hipsters' antimainstream culture mind to themselves. This has led to specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster consumers. But on the other hand, some such stores, including clothing labels Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, have gained mainstream popularity. This has seemingly made the antimainstream culture become weaker.
“A lot of people that are selfdefined hipsters aren't really hipsters. They're just trying to act as hipsters to seem cooler,” says Amanda Leopold, a college student from Oberlin College, US. Although Leopold has many unusual tastes and seems quite individualist, she refuses to classify herself as a hipster.
1.In the passage, hipsters refer to people ________.
A.who are fans of pop music
B.who study in different colleges
C.who appear cool and unusual
D.who try to attract others
2.According to the author, ________.
A.hipsters are the pioneers of the mainstream
B.hipsters are unhappy with the mainstream
C.hipsters' culture exists mainly in music field
D.hipsters' culture can also become popular
3.What is the main idea of the seventh paragraph?
A.Urban Outfitters and American Apparel are famous clothing labels.
B.Hipster consumers have more specialized brands, stores and music.
C.Antimainstream culture can gain mainstream popularity.
D.The culture of hipsters is becoming more and more terrible.
4.When describing hipsters, the author speaks ________.
A.in an ironic voice B.in an objective voice
C.in an angry voice D.in a funny voice
We always want what we cannot have. When we're young, we want to stay out late, have romantic relationships, and be ____. However, when we're ____, we want to go back to being young and we ____ the days when we didn't have to worry about complex love affairs, ____ pressure, and money problems.
Young people believe adulthood ____ freedom from parents and schoolwork. When they get older, they feel that ____ is freedom from work pressure and family responsibilities. To ____ this feeling, people say, “The grass is always ____ on the other side of the fence.”
As ____, we like to be like adults but as young adults, we ____ to be young again. We think about staying out late and ____ our own money to spend. Suddenly, they see that love can result in ____ hearts; staying out late makes it hard to get ready for ____ the next morning. They find out that adult life is not as ___ as they thought it would be and suddenly, ____ becomes very scary.
Life is ____. It gives us time to ____ but also requires us to work. The time will come when we must grow up and we will always look back wishing we ___ being young a bit longer. That time will not come back. It is normal to want what we cannot have but the ___ is that to be happy is to appreciate what we have. That is the first step to grow up. ____ life becomes more complex, we will not regret the time we wasted wishing we were adults.
1.A.comfortable B.dependent C.independent D.polite
2.A.older B.defeated C.married D.confident
3.A.like B.forget C.regret D.miss
4.A.study B.job C.age D.health
5.A.creates B.shows C.means D.limits
6.A.childhood B.adulthood C.parenthood D.neighborhood
7.A.reduce B.describe C.experience D.understand
8.A.greener B.thinner C.yellow D.colorful
9.A.researchers B.teenagers C.adults D.elders
10.A.wish B.decide C.return D.stop
11.A.making B.having C.worrying about D.showing off
12.A.healthy B.ambitious C.broken D.excited
13.A.breakfast B.school C.exercise D.work
14.A.rich B.busy C.poor D.easy
15.A.life B.love C.career D.future
16.A.long B.short C.fair D.beautiful
17.A.study B.think C.play D.live
18.A.stopped B.enjoyed C.imagined D.tried
19.A.reason B.result C.dream D.truth
20.A.If B.When C.Unless D.Before
As is known to all, one of the many benefits of ________ adventure travel is teaching children how to cope with ________ unexpected.
A.the; / B./; an C.the; the D./; the