A little girl lived in a small, shabby house on a hill. She enjoyed playing in her small ________ as she was growing up. She was able to see over the garden and across a valley (山谷) to a wonderful house high on a hill—a house that had golden ________.

Although she loved her own family, she dreamed all day about ________ wonderful and exciting it must be to live in that golden house.

She eventually (终于) ________ an age, where she could play outside of her garden. She asked her mother if she could go for a bike ride outside the gate of her home. Her mother finally ________ her to go. The little girl rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house.

As she leaned her ________ against the gatepost, she focused on the path that led to the house and then looked at the house itself. However, she felt a bit ________. All the windows were actually plain (普通的) and rather dirty.

She was so sad that she didn’t try to go any further. Heartbroken, she got on her bike again. As she ________, she saw a sight that amazed her. She could see a small house on ________ side of the valley. Its windows glistened (闪耀) as the sun shone on her little home.

She realized that she had been living in her own ________ house all along. Everything she dreamed of was right there in front of her eyes!

1.A.house B.park C.room D.garden

2.A.windows B.keys C.roofs D.doors

3.A.why B.what C.how D.whether

4.A.reached B.got C.arrived D.became

5.A.drove B.allowed C.led D.organized

6.A.bike B.car C.dream D.window

7.A.happy B.disappointed C.excited D.afraid

8.A.lifted up B.looked up C.turned up D.dressed up

9.A.another B.other C.the other D.others

10.A.shabby B.warm C.small D.golden

The way we spend our time can be divided into three "bottles". These are the Necessary Tasks Bottle, the Voluntary Tasks Bottle and the Happiness Bottle.

Every day, we spend time filling the Necessary Tasks Bottle with useful things, like making money, doing housework, buying food and paying bills. We then fill another bottle with Voluntary Tasks. These are things that we do for others, we may not enjoy, but we do them anyway This bottle gets filled with tasks like taking children to activities, cooking family meals, and washing clothes for family members, Those bottles are very important if we don't fill them each day.

However, we often forget to fill the third bottle-the Happiness Bottle. This is the bottle that we fill with activities that make us happy. Is your Happiness Bottle sometimes empty at the end of the day? Between doing all the Necessary and Voluntary Tasks, time flies by, and before we know it. it is time for bed. We all have days like that.

This is why each day we have to make an effort(努力) to fill our Happiness Bottle. Most days, I fill mine by going to the dancing class. And I always leave classes more happily than when I enter. This week, I had the pleasure of taking part in a guitar practice in my neighborhood. We show our musical talent and practice music for charity(慈善) It was a time of fun, friendship and music-making. At the end of the evening, my Happiness Bottle was filled to top.

The challenge(挑战)for each of us is to not let the day go by without filling our Happiness Bottle. That takes some planning. Many of us probably need to pencil happiness activities into our schedule(日程表) Or, we will fill our schedule with those Necessary and Voluntary Tasks.

This week. Think about how your time is being spent. Are you doing enough activities that bring joy to your life? Or are the Necessary and Voluntary Tasks using up all your time? At the end of the day. Hopefully we've done all we can to make sure that our Happiness Bottle is filled.

1.Which activity belongs to(属于) a Necessary Task according to the passage?

A.Having fun with your good friend

B.Preparing a big dinner for your family.

C.Going to work although it is raining heavily.

D.Sending your son to a piano lesson on Sunday.

2.People can fill the Happiness Bottle by________.

A.planning our schedule without any Voluntary Tasks

B.spending time on activities that make us happy

C.using up all the time to find happiness.

D.doing more things for other people

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A.People often fill the Happiness Bottle at bedtime.

B.People are happy to fill the Voluntary Tasks Bottle each day

C.It is necessary for people to plan happiness activities on the schedule.

D.It is OK if we don't fill the Necessary Tasks or Voluntary Tasks Bottle.

4.What is the writer's main purpose in writing this passage?

A.To describe what the Happiness Bottle is like

B.To introduce ways to fill the Harness bottle

C.To share the experience of filling the Happiness Bottle

D.To tell people to spend time filling the Happiness Bottle

We like to believe that before we make a decision, most of the time, we take time to consider all the facts carefully. However, Experts believe that only 5% of our decisions are based on a rational (理性的)thought process. So, what influences our decision-making process?

We often leave decision-making to our instincts(本能).Scientists have found out that if we had the choice, we like to avoid pain rather than get something. In fact, we're twice as happy when we try to avoid a bad situation than when we experience a good one. This is why when companies send ads, they use phrases like "How to avoid...", "Don't miss out!", etc.

There are also physical reasons that affect our decision-making. Psychologist (心理学家)John Bargh carried on an experiment where people were asked what they thought of a fictional person, while holding a cold or a hot cup of coffee. Those holding the hot cup believed the person to be warmer and more sociable than those holding the cold cup. So, when temperatures rise, the more likely we are to believe in strangers.

Stress is another thing which affects our decisions. Different situations are more or less stressful for different people. Researchers have found, though, that women are more conservative (保守的)about decisions when stressed, while men are to make riskier choices.

It may come as a surprise but every day from the minute we get up, we have to make countless decisions, like what to wear, what coffee to have and so on. Each choice makes our brain a little bit more tired, and this affects our decision-making. That's why important people, like presidents wearing the same three suits all the time, want to limit the small choices and spend more brain power (力量)on the bigger ones.

1.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

A. B. C. D.

2.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A.Every day we have to make lots of big decisions.

B.People sometimes judge a person by what he wears.

C.What people wear influences their decision making.

D.Making fewer decisions helps to save brain power.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A.We make most of the decisions after our careful thinking.

B.People are likely to be happier to avoid something bad.

C.As the temperature is low, we are likely to believe others

D.People usually have risky decisions under heavy pressure.

4.The purpose of the passage is to__________.

A.tell us what influences decision-making B.advise people to make rational decisions

C.warn people not to make risky decisions D.show disadvantages of rational decisions

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网