Eddie liked music very much when he was at school, but when he went to the university he decided to study medicine instead of music. When he passed his examinations and became a doctor, he had to work in a hospital for some time. There he discovered that a lot of patients were happier and caused less trouble if pleasant music was played to them When Eddie got an office and began to work for himself, he decided to keep his patients happy by having a tape recorder in his waiting-room play beautiful music for them.

But soon after the tape recorder had been put in, Eddie’s nurse heard a woman, who was sitting in the crowded waiting-room one morning, complained, “Here we’re all waiting to see the doctor, and he’s just playing the violin in his office instead of doing his work.”

1.Eddie became a student of medicine at university__________.

A. because he had lost interest in music

B. because he thought medicine was more important than music

C. to find out new use of music in hospital

D. for reasons unknown from this passage

2. Why did Eddie put a tape recorder in his office?

A. He wanted to help patients waiting to see him pass the time easily.

B. He discovered that music was of help to his patients

C. He enjoyed listening to music while he worked

D. He wanted to attract more patients to his office

3. From the passage we can see that__________.

A. the woman thought Eddie was an unusual doctor

B. the woman didn’t understand music

C. the woman did not understand what Eddie meant

D. the woman hated to be kept waiting

This fourth of July I moved into a new house with my wife, Nicole. Nicole and I met through a series of coincidences that would be unlikely without some unbelievable force causing them to happen.

The day Nicole and I met, we talked about the Yankees. In the restaurant where we sat, the first game between the Yanks and Tampa Bay was being shown on television. Nicole was happy I was a baseball fan, and she told me that was an important reason when she considered dating (约会) me. “My dad wouldn’t like me dating anyone who isn’t,” she said.

Nicole’s dad, Ira, used to be a coach for the Yankees. Many years ago, a colleague (同事) of his was leaving and packing up his office. The only thing left unpacked was a photo on the wall. It was a picture of Sparky Lyle, a famous baseball player. Sparky had signed the photo on the bottom.

“You’re not taking that?” Ira asked. “You want it?” his colleague offered. “Sure!” Ira said. He jumped at the chance to have a signed photo from a great player who had helped the team win two World Series.

Ira told me the story after the movers had gone. He then said to me, “Adam, when I first learned who was dating my daughter, that photo came into my mind,” he said. “But by now, I know for sure you’re meant to have it.” He then presented me with a box. I tore it open. Inside was the signed photo of Sparky Lyle which I had lost years ago.

“To Adam, Best Wishes, Sparky Lyle”. It was picked up by Nicole’s dad years before I’d even met her. The perfect gift — a sign only making me believe what I already knew ... I was meant for Nicole and her family all along.

1.What does the underlined word “coincidences” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A. New things.

B. Important things.

C. Things that happened long ago.

D. Things that happened by chance.

2.A big reason why Nicole agreed to be Adam’s girlfriend was that _____.

A. he was able

B. he was a baseball fan

C. he got a new house

D. they had much in common

3.Ira got the photo of Sparky Lyle from _____.

A. Sparky Lyle B. Nicole

C. his colleague D. Adam

4.We can infer from the text that _____.

A. Adam did not like the gift

B. Nicole found the lost picture

C. Adam and Nicole will love each other forever

D. the picture of Sparky Lyle was first owned by Adam

Parents with young ones need to be careful of the Internet activities of their children. 1. But they might not have considered how they’re going to ensure (确保) kids’ safety online. Here are a number of tips to help protect kids’ safety online.

2. A good understanding of technologies such as QQ, e-mail, text messaging, forums (论坛), chat rooms, and social networking sites will all be important for ensuring kids’ safety online.

3. For example, in the beginning you may insist that the Internet only be used while the child is accompanied (陪伴) a parent. This would be useful for guiding your children through their “first-time” experiences on the web and making sure that they develop good online habits.

Keep the computer in a central place to ensure that your kids’ online behavior is being watched. You don’t need to stand over them, but just knowing that you are there will make them less likely to search the web for negative information. 4.

It will be difficult to keep a close watch on what your children are doing online at all times. 5. This will help ensure kids’ safety online. Your Internet security software should include secret passwords, website history, and some methods of taking screen pictures at regular times. It would also be useful to let software be able to watch your child’s behavior on social networking sites.

A. Create a list of acceptable computer behavior.

B. So it’s suitable to set up an Internet control software program.

C. Use your computer safely when you connect it to the Internet.

D. Improve your computer skills if you are not familiar with the Internet.

E. Many parents have children just old enough to start surfing the Internet.

F. This will help protect your kids from negative online information.

G. The Internet also makes it easier to search and apply for jobs and business chances.

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification. It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. He didn’t hate the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects. Knowing this, one year I to reach for something special just for Mike. The came in an unusual way.

Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, attended a wrestling match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church shortly Christmas. These youngsters’ sneakers were in and the shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them , compared to our boys’ gold uniforms and shoes. I was even shocked to find they had no helmets.

Mike, seated beside me, his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing could take their dreams away.” That’s when the idea for his came.

That afternoon, I went to a local sports store and bought some wrestling helmets and and sent them anonymously(匿名地) to the inner-city . On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year.

For each Christmas, I the tradition. The envelope became the most exciting part of our Christmas. It was always the thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their unwrapped (打开的) new toys, would stand with wide-eyed as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to exhibit its .

As the children grew, the toys more practical presents, but the envelope lost its temptation. The story doesn’t end there.

We lost Mike due to cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was in . But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, three more it. Each of our , had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand further with our grandchildren standing around the tree as their fathers take down the envelope with expectation. Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

1.A. decidedB. urgedC. struggledD. declared

2.A. storyB. ChristmasC. inspirationD. affection

3.A. afterB. beforeC. duringD. on

4.A. ruinsB. stylesC. chainsD. rags

5.A. apartB. foreverC. togetherD. around

6.A. noddedB. shookC. wavedD. turned

7.A. wordB. noteC. envelopD. present

8.A. shoesB. shoestringsC. giftsD. sports

9.A. houseB. schoolC. churchD. store

10.A. insideB. outsideC. betweenD. nearby

11.A. refusedB. imaginedC. followedD. missed

12.A. bestB. firstC. worstD. last

13.A. comfortB. patienceC. satisfactionD. expectation

14.A. conceptsB. contentsC. shadowsD. shapes

15.A. gave way toB. keep up withC. get away withD. fit in with

16.A. onceB. neverC. everD. seldom

17.A. angerB. shockC. sadnessD. annoyance

18.A. attendedB. enteredC. placedD. joined

19.A. grandchildrenB. childrenC. friendsD. relatives

20.A. watchingB. singingC. smilingD. crying

Consumers everywhere are faced with the same dilemma: given limited resources, what sorts of purchases are most likely to produce lasting happiness and satisfaction? Recent research has confirmed that experiential purchases tend to produce greater hedonic (享乐的)gains than material purchases.

The reason why experiences improve with time may be because it is possible to think about experiences in a more abstract manner than possessions. For example, if you think back to a fantastic summer from your youth, you might easily remember an abstract sense of warm sunshine and youthful exuberant (生气勃勃), but you're less likely to remember exactly what you did day-by-day.

Material possessions are harder to think about in an abstract sense. The car you bought is still a car, that great new jacket you picked up cheap is still just a jacket. It’s more likely the experience of that summer has taken on a symbolic meaning that can live longer in your memory than a possession.

Purchasing may have a negative impact on happiness because consumers often buy “joyless” material possessions, resulting in comfort but not pleasure. In general, people adapt to experiences more slowly than to material purchase. This can be seen in both negative and positive purchases: hedonic adaptation would result in a positive experience causing more happiness but a negative experience causing less happiness than the comparable material purchase with the same initial happiness level.

Experience, however, seems to be more resistant to these sorts of unfavourable comparisons. It is because of the unique nature of experience. It’s more difficult to make an unfavourable comparison when there is nothing directly comparable. After all, each of our youthful summers is different.

It’s well established that social comparisons can have a huge effect on how we view what might seem like positive events. One striking example is the finding that people prefer to earn $50,000 a year while everyone else earns $25,000, instead of earning $100,000 themselves and having other people earn $200,000.

A similar effect is seen for possessions. When there are so many flat-screen HD TVs to choose from, it's easy to make unfavourable comparisons between our choice and the others available.

1.An abstract sense in the passage refers to awareness of something __________.

A. you cannot think about

B. you can’ t remember well

C. you cannot understand

D. you cannot see or touch

2.If you make an experiential purchase before a material purchase, you may go to__________.

A. a theatre before going to a store

B. an exhibition before going to a park

C. a mall before going to a grocer's

D. a market before going to a restaurant

3.The example of earnings is given to actually indicate__________.

A. how ridiculous people are B. how people feel content

C. how nearsighted people are D. how people hold prejudice

4. It is implied in the passage that, after their material purchases, people might__________.

A. enjoy their ownership of what they have bought

B. pick every fault in the products they have got

C. regret making a wrong decision to buy the items

D. leave what they’ve purchased untouched at home

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