To err is human. To blame(责备) the other guy is even more human.
Common sense is not all that common.
Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?
These three popular misquotes(戏谑的引语)are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this: “To err is human, to forgive, divine(神圣的).” This saying mirrors an ideal: People should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite – find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity(成熟).
Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large companies, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”
And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary(直接推论)to that: if a good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT based on common sense?

A.A secretary works to a timetable.
B.A company’s next move follows a good plan.
C.A girl goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather.
D.A man tries to manage everything in a large company.
【小题2】What can we infer from the last paragraph according to the writer?
A.A good excuse is the same as honesty.
B.Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas.
C.Unpleasant truth is better than a good excuse.
D.Making a good excuse is sometimes a better idea.
【小题3】What would be the best title for this passage?
A.A Mirror of Human Nature
B.To Blame or to Forgive
C.A Mark of Maturity
D.Truth or Excuse



Look carefully at the back of a California state quarter. A man with a walking stick is pictured there. A bird called a California condor(大秃鹫)is flying overhead. Who is this man, and why is he so important that he is featured(处于显著地位)on the back of a coin?
The man on this quarter is John Muir. Even as a child, Muir loved watching nature. As a young man, he spent much of his life exploring the beauty of the wilderness. He walked more than a thousand miles across the country, through fields and woods. John Muir liked writing about the places he visited, describing their beauty.
Muir also wrote about problems. In order to create more farmland for sheep and cattle, many trees were being cut down. This made Muir unhappy and worried, because he knew that trees were important to forests and to the animals that lived in them.Muir believed that nature should be conserved(保护)instead of being changed by human beings. He wrote articles in magazines and newspapers to spread the word about conserving forests. Soon, others began to listen.
Muir wrote letters to important people, such as President Theodore Roosevelt. The president admired Muir’s love for nature. When Roosevelt came to visit Muir in California. Muir convinced(说服)the president to go camping with him for three nights under the trees so they could talk about conservation. Later, President Roosevelt set aside 148 million acres of land for national forests and established(建立)five national parks. National parks are large areas of land that are protected from development. This means that people cannot build homes or businesses there. One of these parks is Yosemite National Park, the area that is featured on the back of the California quarter.
Though it has been almost one hundred years since John Muir died, people continue his work today. His work as a conservationist helped us to see the beauty of our natural world. John Muir made us understand the importance of protecting our earth and our resources---then, now, and for the future.
【小题1】Why did President Theodore Roosevelt visit John Muir?

A.Because Roosevelt loved watching nature.
B.Because Roosevelt received letters from John Muir.
C.Because Roosevelt admired John Muir’s love for nature.
D.Because Roosevelt was sad about the problems with farmland.
【小题2】Why is John Muir featured on the back of a California state quarter?
A.Because he walked over a thousand miles across the country.
B.Because he helped people understand the importance of protecting the natural world.
C.Because he wrote articles to spread the word about conserving forests.
D.Because he once wrote several letters to President Theodore Roosevelt.
【小题3】What is the writer’s purpose of writing this article?
A.To advise readers to become active conservationists.
B.To make us interested in the story about a great man.
C.To tell us something about an important person in history.
D.To give information about how to conserve the environment.

To err is human. To blame(责备) the other guy is even more human.

Common sense is not all that common.

Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?

These three popular misquotes(戏谑的引语)are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this: “To err is human, to forgive, divine(神圣的).” This saying mirrors an ideal: People should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite – find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity(成熟).

Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large companies, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”

And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary(直接推论)to that: if a good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?

1.Which of the following is NOT based on common sense?

A.A secretary works to a timetable.

B.A company’s next move follows a good plan.

C.A girl goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather.

D.A man tries to manage everything in a large company.

2.What can we infer from the last paragraph according to the writer?

A.A good excuse is the same as honesty.

B.Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas.

C.Unpleasant truth is better than a good excuse.

D.Making a good excuse is sometimes a better idea.

3.What would be the best title for this passage?

A.A Mirror of Human Nature

B.To Blame or to Forgive

C.A Mark of Maturity

D.Truth or Excuse

 

Stress (压力) is everywhere in our everyday life. Not only men have it, but also women and young people.

The most important reasons of stress are:death, diseases, exams, making money, getting married, moving houses, changing jobs, ending friendships and so on .

How do you know whether you have stress? Could you give your answers to the following questions?

 

Yes

No

Do you easily get angry?

 

 

Do you often sleep badly?

 

 

Do you get headaches a lot?

 

 

Do you take sleeping pills?

 

 

Do you find it difficult to relax?

 

 

Do you usually hide your feelings?

 

 

Do you smoke and drink a lot to keep quiet?

 

 

Do you find it difficult to put your heart into something?

 

 

If you answer “Yes” to more than two of these questions, you are one of those people with stress. So what can you do about it?

Doing relaxing exercises, talking with friends and listening to light music are all usual ways of relieving(减轻) stress. However, doctors now say that there are easier ways—people should laugh and smile more often. When you laugh and smile, your body relaxes. They also say that people, especially men, should cry more often, be­cause crying is the natural way of relieving stress.

1.Who has got stress in everyday life?

A. Men and women.          B. Young people.               C. Both A and B.

2.If you have over            problems listed in the table, you are the person with stress.

A. two                                    B. three                    C. eight

3.Which of the followings is NOT the reason of stress?

A.Taking exams.                      B. Taking sleeping pills.             C. Making money.

4.What’s the easier way to relax your body?

A. Talking with friends.       B Doing relaxing exercises.  

C. Laughing, smiling and crying.

5.The main idea of the passage is           .

A.about stress and how to relieve your stress

B. that there are many reasons for having stress

C.that laughing and smiling more can help relieve your stress

 

       When I was seven years old, my family made me an ant farm. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box. Then we waited for the ants to arrive.

After the ants were in the glass farm, they started to make tunnels(地道). I was amazed that each one knew exactly what to do. Each had its own job.

On the fifth day a tragedy(悲剧)happened. I put my face so close to the glass farm that I knocked it over. All the tunnels fell down. Although the ants remained alive after their earthquake, one by one they began to die. I was scared as I watched them give up building their tunnels to carry the bodies to a corner of the farm.

My mother said that the ants were dying of sadness. They simply could not stand that their tunnels were gone.

Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world, but it taught me much more.

Over the years, I came to realize the importance of teamwork. Working together, the ants were able to make an amazing world for themselves. I also learned that they should be admired(钦佩)for their hard work.

But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently: Adversity(逆境)is a natural part of life, and must be accepted. Unlike the ants, we cannot give up when we are sad. We have to realize that if a tunnel is gone, we must build another.

Giving up, I say, is not a good choice.

1. What did the writer’s family do for him when he was seven?

A.They built a farm of ants.

B.They bought a few ants.

C.They caught a lot of ants.

D.They found an ant city.

2.Which statement is WRONG according to the passage?

A.The writer knocked the glass box over because he put his face so close to the glass farm.

B.The ants didn’t die one by one after the tunnels were destroyed.

C.Like people, teamwork is very important for the ants.

D.Giving up isn’t a good way when we meet trouble.

3.Among the following events, which one happened first?

A.All the tunnels fell down.

B.The ants died one by one.

C.The ants got into the glass box.

D.The ants began making tunnels.

4.What did the writer learn from the ant tragedy a few years later?

A.Working together is useless.

B.Teamwork is important.

C.He can’t accept adversity.

D.Working alone is amazing.

5.What is the best title for the passage?

A.Ants Fear Adversity

B.My Family and Ants

C.Giving Up in Adversity

D.Don’t give up anytime

 

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