Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy – they’re given after all. Choices 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 2,300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an 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 an 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 logic 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 not to 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 choices.

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

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

3.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

4.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

D

Experts estimate that one out of every five fish sold was caught illegally. It threatens(威胁) food security and hurts the environment. Officials are using new observational technology to fight illegal fishing.

“Thank you for taking the time to join us here in Harwell (UK) in the Operations Center to what we call ‘Project Eyes on the Seas.’” says Tony Long, who leads the Ending Illegal Fishing program for Pew Charitable Trusts. The group created Project Eyes on the Seas. Large three-dimensional images of a globe can be seen on a video.

“It looks different from what you might expect because this globe only shows you the boats that are coming into this system from a live automated information system or AIS.”

The screen shows 120,000 fishing boats have AIS. They are required to have the technology. But those who are fishing illegally often turn it off. The technology does not tell observers when that happens. Project Eyes on the Seas combines satellite information with secret government records on every ship’s past activities.

Mr. Long says that permits researchers to understand exactly where the fishing boats are operating. The Pew team gives the information it gathers to port officials to help them decide if they should take action against a ship. Tony Long says he would like to be able to provide port officials all over the world with clear lists. They would inform the officials about ships to inspect, ships to bar from entrance, and ships to permit entrance for trade activities.

The Pacific island nation of Palau was an early user of the technology. Palau has one of the richest fishing areas in the world. Last year, it announced a plan to ban commercial fishing in a 630,000 square kilometer area. K.B. Sakuma is a special adviser to the president of Palau. He says Palau is trying to deal with a recent increase in illegal, unsupervised(无人监管的)and unreported fishing.

“And it’s come to a head in the last year or two. From our southern island in the evening you can see on the horizon just dotted lights of these illegal fishermen that come into our waters, fill their ships with our fish, our resources, our food security...”

1.According to the estimation, what is the percentage of illegal fishing?

A. 1% B. 5% C. 23.5% D.20%

2.The information is collected by the Pew team so as to ________.

A. leave written records for the country only

B. help fishermen to catch more fish on the Seas

C. prevent all of the fishing practices on the Seas

D. assist port officials in deciding whether to ban a ship from fishing

3.What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A. The clear lists.

B. The investigators.

C. The fishing boats.

D. The Project Eyes.

4.Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A. The issue is urgent.

B. The problem begins to appear.

C. The number of fishermen is increasing.

D. The head of the fishermen is coming.

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. When the fishermen turn off the AIS, the inspector will know the situation.

B. The special adviser to the president of Palau leads the Ending Illegal Fishing

program.

C. The new technology contributes to solving the problem of illegal fishing.

D. Commercial fishing is permitted in Palau.

Aristotle once wrote that “happiness is a state of activity”. In other words, whether you are Seeking life-long satisfaction or a few moments of good cheer, you’ve got to move forward. We’ve interviewed the experts and found five steps to take toward a sunny mood(心情):

Over a 30-year period, University of Illinois researchers asked nearly 120,000 people how income, education, political participation, volunteer activities and close relationships affected their happiness. Reported Newsweek’s Sharon Begley on the findings, “The highest levels of happiness are found with the most stable and satisfying relationships.”

Singing aloud, talking to a stranger, raising your hand: all may increase a feeling of happiness, according to a study from Wake Forest University. Participants(参与者)followed the development of their moods for two weeks and reported feeling happier when they were more outgoing and less happy when reserved or withdrawn.

The editors of forbes.com gave $5 or $20 to 46 strangers by chance. Half the group was told to spend the money on themselves, while the other half was told to spend it on others. Those who’d shared the wealth felt much happier at the end of the day than those who’d spent it on themselves. There was no difference in happiness between those who spent $5 or $20, suggesting that it’s not how much money you spend, but how you spend it, that inspires the spirit.

Studies from the Positive Psychology Center showed that discouraged people who wrote down three good things that happened to them each day for six months reported an improved attitude.

Drinking water really can help keep you cheerful. A small 2012 study from the University of Connecticut suggested that even slight dehydration(脱水) affected the moods of its female participants.

Title

1._____for Happiness

Introduction

You will move2.______in the course of finding happiness.

The findings of3._____

Some4..______toward happiness

•Value your relationships

•The5._____happiness lies in the most stable and satisfying relationships

•6._____

yourself

•You can gain happiness by singing aloud or talking to others.

•Spend money on others

•Your spirit will be inspired by7.____the wealth.

•8._____on the positive

•You attitude would be improved when you fix your attention on good things.

•Drink water

•If a woman takes in enough water,her9.____of happiness may remain.

Conclusion

Happiness can be found if all10._____have been done.

Welcome to Adventureland!

Everyone loves Adventureland !The Parks and Exhibitions were built for you to explore(探索),enjoy,and admire their wonders.Every visit will be an unforgettable experience.You will go away enriched,longing to come back.What are you going to do this time?

The Travel Pavilion

Explore places you have never been to before,and experience different ways of life.Visit the Amazon jungle(丛林)village,the Turkish market,the Tai floating market,the Berber mountain house and others.Talk to the people there who will tell you about their lives,and things they make.You can try making a carpet,making nets,fishing…

The Future Tower

This exhibition shows how progress will touch our lives.It allows us to look into the future and explore the cities of the next century and the way we’ll be living then.Spend some time in our space station and climb into our simulator(模拟装置)for the Journey to Mars!

The Nature Park

This is not really one park but several.In the Safari Park you can drive among African animals in one of our Range Cruisers:see lions,giraffes,elephants in the wild.Move on to the Ocean Park to watch the dolphins and whales.And then there is still the Aviary to see…

The Pyramid

This is the center of Adventureland.Run out of film,need some postcards and stamps?For all these things and many more,visit our underground shopping center.Come here for information and ideas too.

1.The Travel Pavilion is built to help visitors _______.

A.realize the importance of travelling

B.become familiar with mountain countries

C.learn how to make things such as fishing nets

D.learn something about different places in the world

2.If you are interested in knowing about what people’s life will be,you may visit

_______.

A.the Travel Pavilion

B.the Future Tower

C.the Safari Park

D.the Pyramid

3.If you want to get a toy lion to take home,where will you most likely go?

A.The Pyramid.

B.The Nature Park.

C.The Future Tower.

D.The Travel Pavilion.

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