A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone else or ourselves— the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.

We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”

Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clerk will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh (刻薄的) and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.

Words possess power because of their lasting effects. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it true? Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.

Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem (自尊) and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.

1.The main idea of the first paragraph is that _________.

A.words have a lasting effect on us

B.inspiring words give us confidence

C.negative words may let us down

D.not sticks and stones but words will hurt us

2.There is no need for us to feel embarrassed when we talk to ourselves because _________.

A.almost everybody has the habit of talking to themselves

B.talking to ourselves always gives us courage

C.we can benefit from talking to ourselves

D.it does no harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone

3.The underlined part in the third paragraph means that we should also timely ________.

A.remind ourselves

B.praise ourselves

C.make ourselves relaxed

D.give ourselves amusement

4.The author would probably hold the view that _________.

A.encouraging words are sure to lead to kind offers

B.negative words may motivate us to make more progress

C.people tend to remember friendly words

D.it is better to think twice before talking to others

5.In which column of the newspaper can you most likely read this passage?

A.News.

B.Advice column.

C.Health.

D.Language.

 

RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY

When I arrived in Hamburg Germany, my colleague who worked there arranged a welcome party for me in a  36 . We noticed a few customers including several old ladies, were having their meal. When a dish is  37 , the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would  38 every bit of the food on their plates.

As I was hungry, my local colleague  39 much food for me. Since there were other things to do, we did not  40 much time dining. When we planned to leave, there was still about one third of  41 food left. When we were leaving the restaurant, we  42 someone calling us. When the old ladies spoke to us in English, we understood that they were  43 about us wasting so much food.

“We  44 for our food; it is none of your  45 how much food we left behind”, my colleague told the old ladies. They got angry, and one of them  46 made a call to someone. After a while, an officer in  47 arrived. Upon knowing what had happened, he issued us a 50-euro  48 . The officer told us in a stern(严厉的)voice: “order  49 you can consume. Money is yours,   50 the resources belong to the society. You have no  51 for wasting them.” Our face turned red. We all agreed with him in our  52 . My colleague took out a 50-euro note and repeatedly  53 to the officer.

My colleague copied the fine ticket and gave a copy to each of us as a souvenir. We all  54 it to remind us that we should never be  55 .

1.

A.restaurant

B.company

C.family

D.bank

 

2.

A.cooked

B.served

C.gathered

D.missed

 

3.

A.desert

B.refuse

C.oppose

D.finish

 

4.

A.kept

B.sold

C.ordered

D.made

 

5.

A.save

B.spend

C.divide

D.find

 

6.

A.undiscovered

B.undeveloped

C.unconsumed

D.undetermined

 

7.

A.appointed

B.knew

C.realized

D.heard

 

8.

A.curious

B.unhappy

C.nervous

D.optimistic

 

9.

A.paid

B.asked

C.applied

D.accounted

 

10.

A.matter

B.mind

C.question

D.business

 

11.

A.immediately

B.passively

C.excitedly

D.regularly

 

12.

A.rags

B.uniform

C.fashion

D.dream

 

13.

A.award

B.food

C.fine

D.souvenir

 

14.

A.how

B.it

C.that

D.what

 

15.

A.but

B.and

C.or

D.so

 

16.

A.ability

B.problem

C.reason

D.power

 

17.

A.words

B.hearts

C.faces

D.ears

 

18.

A.apologized

B.accused

C.admitted

D.approved

 

19.

A.stuck

B.broke

C.kept

D.threw

 

20.

A.hopeful

B.grateful

C.merciful

D.wasteful

 

The other day, I happened to meet someone I hadn’t seen for many years. I couldn’t believe the change in him. In fact, he didn’t even seem like the    36   person.

When I first knew Bill , back in   37 , he was one of the most carefree(无忧无虑)people I had ever    38  . He was always ready to have a party. He thought    39  of going out for beer at three o’clock in the morning or driving 15 miles to see an old   40   he really liked. Bill and I were in the same class in college, and    41   was never dull when he was    42  . With him there was one wild    43   after another. Sometimes I wonder how we    44   to study for our exams.

Last week I was in Houston on business and I ran into Bill in the bar at the hotel.   45  , I wasn’t even sure it was    46  . Was this short-haired businessman really the same person? I wasn’t really sure until I came near him but it indeed was Bill. Now he works for a bank. He   47    most of the evening about his job, his new car and his house. How he had changed! Back when we were in college, the    48   thing Bill cared about were possessions(财富). Now they seemed to be his main    49  . Although I have changed quite a bit myself, somehow I never    50   Bill changing so much. My image of him   51    the one I had formed     52  the time when we were college students together.

I suppose it’s   53    to expect people to remain the same, especially    54   I have changed so much myself. But I must say that I enjoyed the old Bill much more than the new Bill. Maybe he    55   the same way about me.

1.

A.proper

B.usual

C.same

D.right

 

2.

A.childhood

B.the army

C.his thirties

D.college

 

3.

A.considered

B.met

C.supposed

D.expected

 

4.

A.most

B.much

C.nothing

D.none

 

5.

A.movie

B.hospital

C.man

D.country

 

6.

A.learning

B.life

C.work

D.fun

 

7.

A.in

B.out

C.around

D.away

 

8.

A.joke

B.mistake

C.chance

D.adventure

 

9.

A.managed

B.continued

C.decided

D.hoped

 

10.

A.First of all

B.At first

C.Now and then

D.All the time

 

11.

A.that

B.he

C.there

D.us

 

12.

A.thought

B.spent

C.argued

D.talked

 

13.

A.first

B.next

C.last

D.only

 

14.

A.interest

B.event

C.subject

D.problem

 

15.

A.forgot

B.minded

C.imagined

D.liked

 

16.

A.remained

B.reminded

C.suggested

D.became

 

17.

A.since

B.from

C.at

D.till

 

18.

A.unnecessary

B.foolish

C.common

D.unusually

 

19.

A.because

B.that

C.how

D.when

 

20.

A.discovered

B.acted

C.looked

D.felt

 

E

There’s talk today about how as a society we’ve become separated by colors, income, city vs suburb, red state vs blue. But we also divide ourselves with unseen dotted lines. I’m talking about the property lines that isolate us from the people we are physically closest to: our neighbors.

It was a disaster on my street, in a middle-class suburb of Rochester Town, several years ago that got me thinking about this. One night, a neighbor shot and killed his wife and then himself; their two middle-school children ran screaming into the night. Though the couple had lived on our street for seven years, my wife and I hardly knew them. We’d see them jogging together. Sometimes our children would share cars to school with theirs.

Some of the neighbors attended the funeral(葬礼)and called on relatives. Someone laid a single bunch of yellow flowers at the family’s front door, but nothing else was done to mark the loss. Within weeks, the children had moved with their grandparents to another part of the town. The only indication that anything had changed was the “For Sale” sign in front of their house.

A family had disappeared, yet the impact on our neighborhood was slight. How could that be? Did I live in a community or just in a house on a street surrounded by people whose lives were entirely separate? Few of my neighbors, I later learned, knew others on the street more than casually; many didn’t know even the names of those a few doors down.

Why is it that in an age of low long-distance expenses, discount airlines and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door? Maybe my neighbors didn’t mind living this way, but I did. I wanted to get to know the people whose houses I passed each day – not just what they do for a living and how many children they have, but the depth of their experience and what kind of people they are.

What would it take, I wondered, to break through the barriers between us? I thought about childhood sleepovers(在外过夜), and the familiar feeling and deep understanding I used to get from waking up inside a friend’s home. Would my neighbors let me sleep over and write about their lives from inside their own houses?

72. The underlined word “this” in the second paragraph probably refers to the talk about ____.

A. how a society is divided by dotted lines 

B. the property lines separating us from our neighbors

C. the couple’s death                  

D. understanding each other between neighbors

73. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the author’s description?

A. The husband killed himself.

B. The couple had the habit of jogging together.

C. Their children moved to live with grandparents after the couple’s death.

D. The author never knew the couple until they died seven years later.

74. From the last paragraph, we can infer that the author _____ in his childhood.

A. had once slept in the open air outside

B. had slept in his friend’s home more than once

C. had slept at home but woke up to find himself inside his friend’s home

D. used to live in his friend’s home

75. Following the last paragraph, the author will perhaps _____.

A. leave his home and began his writing career

B. sleep in the open air and write about his experiences

C. sleep in his neighbors’ homes and write about their family lives

D. interview his neighbors and write about their houses

 

 One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn’t or couldn’t sleep, I tried everything I could think of: a warm bottle, songs gentle rocking. Nothing would settle him. Guessing that I had a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill of the hours till dawn. To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right down, and his little eyes focused brightly on the tube. Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then tiptoed out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi's forty-fifth birthday.

My wife and I heard none of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room, I found him still watching TV himself.

I found in my baby's behavior a symbol of the new generation. My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them. When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable. And so it is in the schools. We find that our students don't read and they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watch TV. After this experience with the baby, however, I have reached a conclusion: “Let them watch it!” If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight about it? Let them watch it all they want!

1.Why did the author bring a TV set into his son's room?

A. To make his son keep quiet.         B. To spend the night by watching TV programs.

C. In order not to let his son feel lonely.   D. To make his son go to sleep as soon as possible.

2.The baby's reaction to the TV program was _______ for the writer.  

A. unexpected                       B. encouraging              C. exciting                     D. calm

3.From this passage we know that the author is probably           .

A. a doctor                               B. a reporter                  C. an editor                    D. a teacher

4.According to the passage, which is true of the school children?

A. They prefer reading to watching TV.       

B. They like watching TV after school.

C. They would rather watch TV than read books.

D. They like their teachers who teach them reading.

 

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