Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.

I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.

1.Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?

A. Start the car the moment everyone is seated.

B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.

C. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.

D. Move an object out of the way before it traps someone.

2.The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to ________.

A. keep her appointment with the eye doctor

B. meet her father who was already an old man

C. join in the holiday celebration of the company

D. finish her work before the deadline approached

3.The underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ________.

A. avoidedB. lackedC. abandonedD. took

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Emotional Well-being

B. The Two Saddest Words

C. The Most Useful Rule

D. The Peace of Mind

Finding the Real You

Psychometric testing—personality testing—has been very popular nowadays as studies show their results to be three times more accurate in predicting your job performance. These tests are now included in almost all graduate recruitment (招聘) and are widely used in the selection of managers.

The most popular of these personality tests is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). It is based on the theory that we are born with a tendency to one personality type which stays more or less fixed throughout life. You answer 88 questions and are then given your “type”, such as Outgoing or Quiet, Feeling or Thinking.

Critics of personality testing raise doubts about “social engineering”. Psychologist Dr. Colin Gill warns that the “popular” personality traits (特性) have their disadvantages. “People who are extremely open to new experiences can be butterflies, going from one idea to the next without mastering any of them.” However, the psychometric test is here to stay, which may be why a whole sub-industry on cheating personality tests has sprung up. “It’s possible to cheat,” admits Gill, “but having to pretend to be the person you are at work will be tiring and unhappy and probably short-lived.”

So can we change our personality? “Your basic personalities fixed by the time you’re 21,”says Gill, “but it can be affected by motivation and intelligence. If you didn’t have the personality type to be a doctor but desperately wanted to be one and were intelligent enough to master the skills, you could still go ahead. But trying to go too much against type for too long requires much energy and is actually to be suffered for long. I think it’s why we’re seeing this trend for downshifting—too many people trying to fit into a type that they aren’t really suited for.”

Our interest in personality now exists in every part of our lives. If you ask an expert for advice on anything, you’ll probably be quizzed about your personality. But if personality tests have any value to us, perhaps it is to free us from the idea that all of us are full of potential, and remind us of what we are. As they say in one test when they ask for your age: pick the one you are, not the one you wish you were.

1.The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on the belief that ________.

A. certain personality traits are common

B. personality is largely decided from birth

C. some personality types are better than others

D. personality traits are various from time to time

2.According to Dr. Gill, what is the problem with personality tests?

A. Employers often find the results unclear.

B. They may have a negative effect on takers.

C. People can easily lie about their true abilities.

D. The results could be opposite to what employers want.

3.What’s Dr. Gill’s view about changing our personality?

A. It’s worthwhile trying in your adult life.

B. It’s easy if you have great motivation.

C. It’s difficult before the age of 21.

D. It’s unlikely because it requires much energy.

4.What final conclusion does the author reach about the value of personality tests?

A. They are not really worth doing.

B. They may encourage greater realism.

C. They are of doubtful value to employers.

D. They can strengthen the idea we have of our abilities.

Everybody should have some level of first aid ability, because accidents and medical emergencies can happen anywhere at any time. St John First Aid courses give you the knowledge and confidence to provide effective first aid whenever it’s needed.

First Aid Level 1

Ideal(理想的) for anyone who wants to learn basic first aid or needs to renew their first aid qualification. Courses can be held at St John or your workplace.

Fee: $162(includes GST)

Duration(持续时间): Eight hours

First Aid Level 2

Includes all course content from First Aid Level One, plus an additional half day. Ideal for special first aiders, health and safety managers and anyone who needs a first aid qualification.

Fee: $235(includes GST)

Duration: 12 hours

Pre-Hospital Emergency Care (PHEC)

Advanced training for first aiders who already hold unit standards 6400 and 6402. Ideal for people who require advanced first aid skills or a pre-hospital emergency care (PHEC) qualification for their work.

Fee: $635(includes GST)

Duration: Three days

Child First Aid

Ideal for parents, grandparents and other family caregivers. A recognized qualification for childcare workers.

Fee: $65(includes GST)

Duration: Four hours

Outdoor First Aid

First aid response for accidents and medical emergencies in the wilderness. For groups of eight or more.

Duration: One to two days depending on experience

Sports First Aid

First aid response for common sporting injuries and medical emergencies. Includes ACC injury prevention advice.

Duration: Eight hours.

1.If you want to learn basic first aid at St John, you must ________.

A. know a little about first aid

B. take the course at your workplace

C. have a first aid qualification

D. spend eight hours on the course

2.Pre-Hospital Emergency Care teaches people ________.

A. special first aid skills

B. advanced first aid skills

C. first aid in childcare

D. injury prevention advice

3.The main purpose of the text is to ________.

A. introduce the courses about first aid

B. teach people knowledge of first aid

C. change people’s attitude to first aid

D. let people renew their first aid qualification

It's hard to avoid looking like a fool on April Fool's Day. On April 1 each year, people play tricks on each other. These tricks are usually silly rather than mean. Classmates sometimes tie each other's shoelaces to their chairs.Teachers might hand out an impossibly difficult surprise test that scares students before they realize it's only a joke. Newspapers announce fake(假的) contests (such as "Win an elephant!") and report on fake stories (like "UFO" lands in New York City).

Forget gifts, songs and special foods—those are for the other holidays of the year. On April Fool's Day, the only tradition is to laugh (and maybe to cause a little bit of trouble).

One April Fool's Day, when I was in high school, a group of students in my class played a very clever and funny trick on the teachers. They bought some chickens and set them free in our school cafeteria. The chickens ran all round the school, in and out of classrooms and under our feet. Feathers were flying everywhere.

Teachers began running after the chickens, trying to catch them. Finally, they caught four of them. But the chickens were wearing numbered tags (商标) around their necks, and the teachers discovered that they had only caught chickens No.1, 2, 3, and 5.Where was chicken No.4? The teachers looked and looked. They couldn't find another chicken. After a few hours, they realized that the students had played another joke on them: There were only four chickens in the first place! They've been tricked by the numbers on the chickens.

It's been a long time since I was in high school, but that April Fool's Day remains one of my favorite memories from those years.

1.What can we infer from the first paragraph on April Fool's Day?

A. Everyone is hard to avoid being fooled on April Fool's Day.

B. Students play jokes on teachers on April Fool's Day.

C. Teachers play tricks on students on April Fool's Day.

D. Newspapers often cheat people.

2.Why did students set chickens free?

A. They wanted to let chickens free.

B. They wanted to let chickens run all round the school.

C. They wanted to see feathers flying.

D. They wanted to play a trick on teachers.

3.How many jokes did the students play on teachers?

A. One.B. Two.C. Three.D. Four.

4.What's the title of the passage?

A. An unforgettable April Fool's Day

B. April Fool's Day

C. The origin of April Fool's Day

D. What do people do on April Fool's Day?

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