C(2013 •天津) 

When asked about happiness,we usually think of something extraordinary,an absolute delight,which seems to get rarer the older we get.

For kids,happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的) .

In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement,love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.

In adulthood the things that bring deep joy — love,marriage,birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults,happiness is complicated (复杂的) .

My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”. The more we can enjoy what we have,the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends,the freedom to live where we please,and even good health.

I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing,which I love. When the kids and my husband came home,I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.

Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grandmother,who raised 14 children,had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family,and maybe this is what satisfied her.

We,however,with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area,have turned happiness into one more thing weVe got to have. We5re so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success,without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier.

Happiness isn’t about what happens to us it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have,but enjoying what we do possess.

46. As people grow older,they .

   A. feel it harder to experience happiness

   B. associate their happiness less with others

   C. will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness

   D. tend to believe responsibility means happiness

47. What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?

   A. She cares little about her own health.

   B. She enjoys the freedom of travelling.

   C. She is easily pleased by things in daily life.

   D. She prefers getting pleasure from housework.

48. What can be inferred from Paragraph 7 ?

   A. Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness.

   B. Psychologists’ opinion is well proved by Grandma's case.

   C. Grandma often found time for social gatherings.

   D. Grandma?s happiness came from modest expectations of life.

49. People who equal happiness with wealth and success .

   A. consider pressure something blocking their way

   B. stress their right to happiness too much

   C. are at a loss to make correct choices

   D. are more likely to be happy

50. What can be concluded from the passage?

   A. Happiness lies between the positive and the negative.

   B. Each man is the master of his own fate.

   C. Success leads to happiness.

   D. Happy is he who is content.

In the world of communication,we focus a lot on what our customer is saying,which includes understanding their body language and gestures. But we must not forget that it is equally important to pay attention to our own body language and gestures when communicating with others.

In our personal and business lives,careful consideration must be given to whom we are with and where they are from. One thing for sure is that failure to be prepared when dealing with other cultures can be rather embarrassing.

Many years ago,the then President of the United States,Richard Nixon arrived in a foreign country in South America and upon his arrival,stood at the top of the stairs leading to the side door of his Presidential Jet. As he looked over the crowd below him,he had a great smile and proudly raised both hands high in the air,palms (手掌) facing outward and the index finger and the third finger raised,and gave a gesture of the famous “Peace” sign as he had done so often before.

Immediately,the crowd below began to laugh at the President who couldn’t figure out why all of a sudden,he was receiving such a rude welcome.

The reason was that in the country he was visiting,the two-fingered,palms outward aPeacesign,which was acceptable in North America,was an absolutely impolite symbol to the local people.

As you can see,it is really important to know your audience and if travelling to other countries,you need to be aware that some of the most commonly acceptable gestures at home can have a completely different meaning abroad.

In some countries such as France and Italy,it is acceptable to exchange a kiss on one or both cheeks while shaking hands upon entering or exiting a business meeting. In other countries such as Japan,this type of behaviour is considered impolite as Japanese are not a “touch oriented society”.

The Japanese have a respectful custom to bow to each other with the most senior status (身份) person bowing the least and the least status person having to bow first and display the deepest bend from the waist.

51. In Paragraph 1 ,the author mainly asks us to pay attention to .

   A. our words

   B. our body language

   C. our customers’ words

   D. the way of communication

52. Richard Nixon was laughed at because he .

   A. stood at the top of the stairs

   B. looked over the crowd below him

   C. raised both hands high in the air

   D. gave a gesture of the “Peace” sign 53. The author mentions Richard Nixon's story to show that .

   A. the crowd were too rude

   B. Richard Nixon was unfriendly

   C. Richard Nixon loved peace very much

   D. gestures have different meanings in different cultures

54. Which of the following is the gesture Nixon gave?

55. According to the passage,   .

   A. in Japan,senior people needn’t bow to others

   B. Japanese think exchanging a kiss is acceptable

   C. French people can't accept the behaviour of shaking hands

   D. in Japan,the degree of bowing is connected with people's status

III. 阅读理解

Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all,it seems that TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead,people will choose a programme from a “menu” and a computer will send the programme directly to the television. Today,we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometres away. By2050,music,films,programmes,newspapers,and books will come to us in this way.

In many places,agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruits and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore,there could be serious shortages. Some scientists predict that water could be the cause of war if we don't act now.

In the future,cars will run on new,clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed of them and there won’t be any accidents. Today,many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050,the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Space planes will take people halfway around the world in 2 hours. Today,the United States Space Shuttle can go into space and land on earth again. By 2050,space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

Some big companies now prefer to use robots that do not ask for pay rises or go on strike,and work 24 hours a day. By 2050,we will see robots everywhere—in factories,schools,offices,hospitals,shops and homes.

Nowadays,scientists will have discovered how to control genes. Scientists have already produced clones of animals. By 2050,scientists will be able to produce clones of people,and decide how they look,how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things,but should they?

1. By 2050,people will get information mainly by.

   A. watching TV   B. reading newspapers

   C. listening to the radio   D. turning to a website

2. From the second paragraph,we learn that .

   A. the need for water in the future will increase a lot

   B. future wars will lead to an increasing need for water

   C. there can be no agriculture without enough water

   D. the population will decrease for lack of water

3. Which of the following is NOT a reality at the present time?

   A. Scientists have found out how to control genes.

   B. Cars have computers which tell drivers their position.

   C. People can learn about what has happened anywhere on the Internet.

   D. Robots have completely replaced humans in some factories.

4. What will play the biggest part in the quality of future life?

   A. Medicine. B. Technology.

   C. Education. D. Agriculture.

5. The best title for this passage may be .

   A. Computers Will Control the Cars in 2050

   B. What Robots Will Do in 2050

   C. Life in 2050

   D. The Development of Science in 2050 

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