China is a land of bicycles. At least it was back in 1992 when I traveled the country. Back then everyone seemed to be riding a bicycle. Millions of them, all black. Cars were rare. Yet since my arrival in Beijing last year, I’ve found the opposite is true. There are millions of cars. However, people still use their bicycles to get around. For many, it’s the easiest and cheapest way to travel today. Bicycles also come in different colors----silver, green, red, blue, yellow, whatever you want.
It’s fun watching people biking. They rush quickly through crossroads, move skillfully through traffic, and ride even on sidewalks(人行道). Bicycles allow people the freedom to move about that cars just can’t provide.
Eager to be part of this aspect of Chinese culture, I decided to buy a bicycle. Great weather accompanied my great buy. I immediately jumped up on my bicycle seat and started home.
My first ride home was orderly (守秩序的). To be safe, I stayed with a “pack” of bikers while cars on the streets came running swiftly out of nowhere at times. I didn’t want to get hit. So I took the ride carefully.
Crossing the streets was the biggest problem. It was a lot like crossing a major highway back in the United States. The streets here were wide, so crossing took time, skill and a little bit of luck.
I finally made it home. The feeling on the bicycle was amazing. The air hitting my face and going through my hair was wonderful. I was sitting on top of the world as I passed by places and people. Biking made me feel alive.
1.According to the author, why are bicycles still popular in China today?
A. Because they are traditional and safe.
B. Because they are convenient and inexpensive.
C. Because they are colorful and available.
D. Because they are fast and environment friendly.
2.The 
author decided to buy a bicycle because he intended ______________.
A. to ride it for fun
B. to use it for transport
C. to experience local skills
D. to improve his riding skills
3.How did the author feel about his street crossing?
A. It was boring. B. It was difficult.
C. It was lively. D. It was wonderful.
4.Which of the following best describes the author’s biking experience?
A. The author enjoyed showing off his biking skills.
B. The author was annoyed by the air while riding.
C. The author was praised by the other bikers.
D. The author took great pleasure in biking.
Albert Einstein said: “Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving”.请按下列要求写一篇100-120词的短文。
内容：
1. 针对该名言的观点谈谈你的看法和理解。
2. 并以自己或他人的经历说明理由。
下面短文中有10处语言错误，请在有错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写上该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（﹨）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写上修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I’m quite familiar your situation. As computers become increasingly popular, some student can’t help play online games or chatting. It was not only a problem of wasting time, but a seriously problem which does harm to their health. What you should do first is to find out what make them addicted with computer games. Lack of love from parents? Poor test scores?Then having a heart-to-heart talk with them. Secondly, you should help them build up their confidence and make them interesting in studies. Thirdly, to find something else for them to do instead of playing computer games. Your efforts will surely make a difference and help change their lives.
A. Take Action.
B. Expect Nothing.
C. Bear Responsibility.
D.Stop Seeking Excitement.
E. Chase an idea of happiness.
F. Stop Chasing and Start Living.
Five Ways To Stay Happy No Matter What Happens
Most people have no control over their emotional well-being. They feel happy when good things happen and depressed when things go wrong. Their lives are roller coaster rides: sometimes up, sometimes way down. But what if you could be happy no matter what happens? You’d stay calm when your car breaks down and your boss shouts at you. You’d stop feeling lonely when there’s no one to talk to on a rainy day. You’d never lose sleep over a relationship that isn’t working out. If being in command of your emotional state sounds good, take charge of your life with these 5 easy tips.
1._____________Many people feel they need something – more money, new clothes, better relationships – to make them happy. They think: “If only I had that other thing, I would be complete”. Instead of enjoying life, they chase a vague idea of happiness. But even when you get everything that’s supposed to make you happy, life will have ups and downs. Today your car breaks down; tomorrow you pull your calf muscle. If you look hard enough, you’ll always find reasons to be miserable. So stop chasing; start living. Wanting more is fine, but don’t forget to relax and enjoy life for what it is – in the present.
2._____________We often blame other people, circumstances and even objects for our problems. “I’m this way because my dad didn’t love me enough”; “I hate my stupid car for breaking down all the time.” But life is full of different people and situations: some are good and some are bad. Unless you bear responsibility for your life, you’ll always be at the mercy of those circumstances. Instead of blaming others for what’s wrong in your life, focus on what you can do to make things better. Never sulk and try not to feel sorry for yourself too often. It’s your responsibility to make yourself happy: nobody else’s.
3._____________We live in a world of endless excitement. Between movies, video games and the internet, something exciting is always going on. Sometimes, this makes us feel bored and restless when we run out of stuff to do. If you want to be happy, overcome this addiction. Develop the ability to enjoy life in its entirety – even when the excitement stops. Appreciate the sky you see on your way to work each day. Cherish each moment you spend with the people you love. Save every bite of food you get to eat. Enjoying every experience will give you many new reasons to be happy.
4._____________It is the logical consequence of bearing responsibility for your life. When you want to lose weight – start jogging. Someone’s being rude to you? Tell them to stop. If you’re unhappy with your job, start looking for a new one. Get behind the steering wheel of your own life! This site has plenty of advice that will help you take action the smart way. Educate yourself and commit to find happiness no matter what it takes. With enough hard work and dedication, you really can create the life you want.
5._____________We expect others to treat us better than we treat them. We work out a few times and stress because we don’t instantly look like models. We want to live like rockstars, ignoring the fact that only a few people reach that level of success. In short, we tend to have unreasonable expectations. The difference between what we feel entitled(给……权利) to and what we actually get is the source of much misery. Accept life in its entirety; stop thinking in terms of what should be and accept what is. When you live without entitlement, every good thing becomes a wonderful surprise. Even better, expecting nothing means never being disappointed.
At the end of the day, bad things will happen to you. You will have highs, lows and lots of mediums in your life. You’re only human, just like everybody else. But follow the 5 tips in this post and you’ll be well on your way to staying happy – no matter what happens.
Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.
~Thomas Fuller
My father was always an enthusiastic gardener. I think his Irish blood called to the earth in much the same way his own grandfather had. One of my earliest memories is standing barefoot in the freshly tilled soil, my hands blackened from digging in the ground, still a bit cold from the turning. As a small child, the garden was an amazing fairyland, full of possibility. As a teenager, though, it was often a source of conflict between the old man and me.
As a child, I loved following Dad around in the garden. I remember Daddy pushing the tiller ahead in perfectly straight lines. His gardening gloves, banana yellow, would grip the handles of the old tiller; the roar of the machine was pleasantly deafening. After a while, he would stop and pull the gloves off to wipe his brow. Daddy loved growing all sorts of things: yellow and green onions, watermelons almost as big as me, rows and rows of yellow corn, and our favorite -- ruby red tomatoes.
As I grew into a teenager, I didn't get so excited about gardening with Daddy. Instead of the magical land of possibility, it had turned into some kind of medieval(中世纪的) prison. It was one more thing on a list of demands that I imagined no one else in the world had to deal with.
Dad would say, "Tina, come help me plant the garden today. It's a beautiful morning to be outdoors."
"Aww, Dad, I was going to the movies with my friends," I would replied.
"Tina, I could sure use a hand weeding the garden today," he would remark.
"Today? Sorry, Dad, I already made plans," I would stubbornly say, digging in my heels. "Why do we have to have a garden, anyway? It's stupid. You can buy carrots for a quarter at the grocery store," I would point out. He would just smile knowingly. I usually got my way, and didn't have to help out if I really didn't want to. After all, I had better things to do with my time.
As Dad grew older, his passion for gardening never declined. After all the kids were grown and had started families of their own, Dad turned to gardening like never before. His garden took up most of his backyard, which was quite a stretch. Even when he was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer, he still put out his garden. Still, he planted the zucchini and yellow squash, the juicy cucumbers, the spicy jalapenos, and of course, the tender tomato plants. Sometimes, I would come over to visit. He would share the rewards of his garden with me, as we would walk together through the carefully weeded rows.
But then, something changed. The cancer, bit by bit, invaded his body and stole his livelihood, his independence, his humor. Unfortunately, the doctor had run out of treatments. Hospice(临终关怀) is a whole other ballgame. Somebody has to be with the family member twenty-four hours a day. I found myself in all kinds of uncomfortable situations with Dad, and more than once I felt his anger at his helplessness. Little by little, I had to do the things he used to do. Soon I was cutting his grass, paying his bills, putting his pills in a cup, and adjusting his oxygen. These things he resisted, but I knew things were definitely changing when I began caring for the garden.
Though I had heard the words of the doctor as well, what really convinced me that Dad was dying was the state of his garden that year. That year, he only planted tomatoes. Too tired to weed them, he simply tied them with twine to the fence and let them be. So I would come over and water them occasionally, and pluck out the weeds.
Five years ago, Dad planted his last little patch of tomatoes. For the first few years after he died, I couldn't even bear to look at anyone's garden without having strong memories pour over me like cold water from a bucket. Three years ago, though, something changed, and I decided to plant my own garden. I decided I would start out with just a few tomatoes. That morning, I got out the old tiller and it roared to life, almost as if it had been waiting. After breaking up a fair amount of soil, something caught the corner of my eye and I had to smile. It was my eight-year-old son Nathan, standing barefoot in the freshly tilled soil, his hands blackened from digging in the earth.
1.Which word best describes the author’s feeling about gardening as a teenager?
A. uninterested B. satisfied
C. doubtful D. indifferent
2. The author’s father______.
A. devoted a lot in gardening in order to cut down the daily expenses
B. was quite angry at his daughter’s absence of gardening
C. was not as enthusiastic as before about gardening after his children’s growth
D. was probably an Irishman or had Irish blood lineage
3.What makes the author realize the approach of her father’s death is______.
A. what the doctor told her
B. when some one had to be with her father always
C. the state of his garden that year
D. his anger when he felt helpless
4.What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. It was unbearable to see other peoples’ gardens were poorly managed.
B. It was unbearable to see other peoples’ gardens were well managed.
C. Memories of Dad rushed to me the moment I saw other peoples’ gardens.
D. The idea of gardening made me feel like being in a bucket with cold water.
5. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. dad preferred tomatoes a lot because of its wonderful taste
B. dad refused all things I did because I didn’t love gardening
C. the desertion of Dad’s garden resulted from his laziness
D. the author restarted gardening with a new understanding of it
6.The best title of the passage is ______.
A. Gardening benefits health
B. Dad’s tomatoes
C. Bridge the father-and-daughter gap
D. My love of gardening
Your money or your time?
A friend once invited me to spend a cold winter’s day picking up rubbish in a park. It was a community-service event organized by a charitable organization(慈善组织) she was involved with. I immediately told her I was not interested.
“It just makes no sense,” I explained. “Why would I spend three hours of my time picking up rubbish?” I argued that if the goal was neighborhood beautification, then I would rather donate three-hours’ worth of my labor income. The organization could then hire several people in need of a job. The rubbish gets picked up, we provide jobs, and I do not have to spend three hours in the cold. “Where can I make a donation?”
My friend sighed, said something in a low voice about it seeming like a good way to meet men, and then shuffled off to ask someone else.
When we feel inspired to do good, many of us choose to give time instead of money. Given how precious our time is– limited by demands of work, family and friends–setting some of it aside to clean parks or deliver meals seems like a valuable donation. But is this the most efficient way to give?
The economist in me is inclined to say no. As I explained to my friend, what my time is worth may be far more valuable to most charities than my actual labor. The money could go towards hiring people with limited employment opportunities, or to help cover more pressing needs facing the charity, such as rent or staff salaries. My hours of labor, on the other hand, serve the charity in only one way, and can only be provided by me.
Volunteer labor becomes more valuable if it involves a special skill. For example, if a talented doctor donates a few hours of his time to a free clinic, this may serve the charity better than a $1,000 donation. Unfortunately, I can think of few local charities that would benefit from the unique skills of an economist.
I recently explained this to a professional who regularly donates his time to a local soup kitchen. But he argued that “just throwing money at a cause” is potentially irresponsible and enables disengagement. Donating time may be a greater personal sacrifice, but it also gives him a stronger connection with the cause. He has created a bond not only with the other volunteers, but also with the people he feeds, and the result is an enriching sense of community. He also believes, as a member of the same minority group of many of the people he serves, that he provides them with a positive role model. He recognizes the value in the social interaction volunteering provides.
Of course charities benefit from both kinds of donations. They need some people to just hand over cash, but they also develop successfully by being an important part of the community. Whether it is better to give money or time depends on your goals as a donor. If the objective is simply to provide food for the hungry or to clean a park, then money is more valuable. However, if you hope to also engage with your community–not only with your peers, but also with less fortunate people whom you might not otherwise meet –no amount of money can make up for your time spent.
1. In the first 3 paragraphs, the author uses the case to .
A. describe a scene B. lead in a topic
C. make a comparisonD. offer an argument
2.The author believes there are some efficient ways to donate EXCEPT.
A. picking up rubbish in the community
B. offering service in a free clinic as a doctor
C. donating money to deal with the charity rent
D. helping cover the needs of charity staff salaries
3.By “The economist in me is inclined to say no”(Paragraph 5), the author means that he .
A. is willing to serve the charity
B. aims to say no to the economist
C. tends to reject giving time instead of money
D. is longing to share his efficient way to give with his friend
4. In the professional’s opinion (Paragraph 7), donating time is .
A. one-sidedB. debatable
C. meaninglessD. reasonable
5.Which of the following does the author finally agree with?
A. It is donors’ participation that really matters.
B. Cash or labor is determined by a donor’s aims.
C. Time is much more valuable than one’s actual labor.
D. It is not responsible for donors to just donate money to the charities.
