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When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Doctor Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard, but was always very kind.

When Doctor Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. His house sat on ten acres, and his life’s goal was to make it a forest. He had some interesting theories about planting trees. He hardly watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Once I asked why and he told me that watering plants spoiled them because it made them grow weaker. He said you had to make things tough for the trees so that only the strongest could survive. He talked about how watering trees made them develop shallow roots and how, if they were not watered, trees would grow deep roots in search of water. So, instead of watering his trees every morning, he’d beat them with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.

Doctor Gibbs died a couple of years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I’d watched him plant some twenty five years ago. They were all tall, big and robust since they have deep roots now.

I planted a couple of trees myself a few years ago. Two years of attending these trees meant they grew up weak. Whenever a cold wind blew, their branches trembled. Adversity(逆境) seemed to benefit Doctor Gibb’s trees in ways comfort and ease never could.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I often pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to meet with hardship. There’s always a cold wind blowing somewhere. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won’t be torn apart.

1.With the trees planted, Doctor Gibbs __________

A. kept watering them every morning

B. paid little attention to them

C. talked to them to get their attention

D. beat them to make them grow deep roots

2.The underlined word “robust” in para.3 probably means _________?

A. strange B. deep C. strong D. old

3. Which of the following will be the author’s prayer on the days ahead?

A. Have an easy life, without too much to worry about.

B. Meet people like Dr. Gibbs in the future.

C. Have good luck, encountering less hardship in their life.

D. Be able to stand the rain and wind in their lives.

4.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. Growing roots

B. Doctor Gibbs and his trees

C. Prayers for my sons

D. Watering trees

Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice.Gifts are easy—they’re given after all.Choice can be hard.

I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago.I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year.I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast,and the idea of building all online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old,and I’d been married for a year.I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t and I wasn’t sure what to expect.MacKenzie told me I should go for it.As a young boy,I’d been a garage inventor.I’d always wanted to be all inventor,and she wanted me to follow my passion.

I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired.I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet.He took me on a long walk in Central Park,listened carefully to me,and finally said,“That sounds like a really good idea,but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.”That 1ogic made some sense to me,and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision.Seen in that light,it really was a difficult choice,but finally,I decided I had to give it a shot.I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.

After much consideration ,I took the less safe path to follow my passion ,and I’m proud of that choice.For all of us,in the end,we are our choice.

1.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?

A. His dream of being an inventor.

B. The support of his wife.

C. The greatly increasing usage of the Internet.

D. Millions of exciting titles,

2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him.

B. He would be very excited if he tried it out.

C. Be would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try.

D. The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him.

3.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Cleverness and Kindness B. The Starting of Amazon

C. Following My Passion D. We Are What We Choose

4.We can know from the passage that_______.

A. the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author

B. the author wanted someone else to try the idea

C. the author might not regret if he failed the idea

D. the author might go back to his boss if he failed

Exploit your parking space

An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to £200 or £300 a week. Put an advertisement for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.

Rent(出租)a room

Spare room Not only will a lodger(房客)earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax on the first £4500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.

Make money during special events

Don’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money. Grashpadder can advertise your space

Live on set

Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.

Use your roof

You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment (around £14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.

1.If you earn £5000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on______.

A. £800 B. £500 C. £4500 D. £5000

2.If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.

A. sign an agreement with the government

B. pay around £14,000 for the equipment

C. sell the roof to some energy companies

D. keep the roof unchanged for within 25 years

3.For whom the text most probably written?

A. Lodgers. B. Advertisers.

C. House owners. D. Online companies

From the health point of view we are living in a marvelous age. We are immunized (免疫) from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once deadly illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and medical treatment. It is almost certain that one day cures will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased enormously. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the unbelievable slaughter (屠杀) of men, women and children on the roads. Man vs the motor-car! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.

It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel (方向盘), his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man’s very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-year-olds and absolutely selfish. All their hidden disappointments and regrets seem to be brought by the act of driving.

The surprising thing is that society smiles so kindly on the motorist and seems to forgive his behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost impossible to live in because of heavy traffic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is ruined by road networks; and the mass annual slaughter becomes nothing more than a statistic, to be conveniently forgotten.

It is high time a world system of laws were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. As for driving, the laws of some countries are not strict and even the strictest are not strict enough. Here are a few examples of some the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through strict annual tests for safety. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can affect a person’s driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Maximum and minimum speed limits should be introduced on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications (规范) for manufacturers, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned. These measures may sound inordinately severe. But surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars.

1.The main idea of this passage is_________.

A. Traffic accidents are mainly caused by motorists.

B. Thousands of people the world over are killed each year.

C. The laws of some countries about driving are not too strict.

D. Only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents.

2.What does the author think of society toward motorists?

A. Society laughs at the motorists.

B. Huge car parks are built in the cities and towns.

C. Victims of accidents are nothing.

D. Society forgives their rude driving.

3.Why does the author say: “his car becomes the extension of his personality?”

A. Driving can show his real self.

B. Driving can show the other part of his personality.

C. Driving can bring out his character.

D. His car can express his temper.

4. The attitude of the author is_________.

A. ironical B. critical

C. appealing D. favorable

语法填空,阅读下面材料,在空白处填入合适的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

1. we all know, life is full of dreams and having a good dream is of great importance in our daily life. 2. a good dream, people can’t make progress and countries can’t develop. And I hold the strong belief 3. everyone, whether he is old or young, poor or rich, junior or senior, does have a good dream! After all, dreaming is certainly a positive part of our life, and 4. (wish) for good things, however, costs nothing!

What’s more, it is important to fly our dreams, especially for those 5. are senior high school students. It is high time for them to fly their dreams. If they can’t let out dreams fly, the dream would just be 6. dream, not reality!

Therefore, 7. is no wonder that so many people have a dream since their childhood. With a nice dream, China succeeded in hosting the 29th Olympic Games in 2008; with a nice dream, Hong Kong 8. (return) to the motherland peacefully in 1997; with a nice dream, Yuan Long Ping rids the world of hunger; with a nice dream, Michael Jordon becomes the most popular basketball star; with a nice dream I can stand on this stage to compete in the final English speech contest. And with an aim of achieving success, I must do the best!

So my good friends, if you want to realize your dream, please do not be afraid in face of difficulties or give up in face of failure 9. lose your dream in face of pains. You must keep going forward 10. (brave)! Just fly your dream highly above the sky!

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