Paparazzi, or "paps", are photographers who take pictures of famous people when they are not at the center of public attention. Paps are different from professional photographers or journalists because they never take ordinary photos.

The goal for paparazzi is to get pictures that no one else will get and then sell the pictures to the buyer who offers the most money —normally a small newspaper, magazine or website.

There is no law against paparazzi taking pictures in public places. However, there are laws that protect certain individuals. For example, child protection laws stop improper (不合适的) pictures of anyone under 16 from being published.

There is also no law that stops paparazzi from following celebrities (名人) and taking their pictures either. However, if paps are secretly following them and taking pictures of their faces, they could get into trouble.

Most paparazzi hang out on streets and hot spots for celebrities, waiting for the opportunity to take a picture of a star. Many stay on the streets until the early hours of the morning when celebrities are leaving nightclubs and looking a little worse for wear. However, some have other ways to make sure they get pictures. Many paps are in contact with "informers" who know the locations of celebrities at any given time. They then pass the information on to paparazzi. An informer could be anyone —from a restaurant waiter to a salesman.

Most of the time, paparazzi get a bad reputation for following celebrities. But sometimes stars or their managers will contact paps themselves and tell them exactly where and when they will go.

What a love-hate relationship between paparazzi and celebrities!

1.Which of the following things paparazzi might do would be against the law?

A.Taking pictures of famous people in public places.

B.Getting unsuitable pictures of a 10-year-old actress published.

C.Following a famous woman singer secretly and taking her pictures.

D.Hanging out at the places where celebrities often appear.

2.In order to earn big money a pap has to ________.

A.get the only first-hand pictures

B.sell the pictures to a big newspaper

C.make friends with famous people

D.know the locations of celebrities

3.The fifth paragraph mainly tells us ________.

A.how paparazzi get the pictures

B.how dangerous paparazzi’s job is

C.how much paparazzi pay for the pictures

D.how paparazzi contact informers

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A.Paparazzi always take pictures when famous people are tired.

B.Stars hate paparazzi and don’t want to be followed.

C.Paparazzi and famous people rely on each other sometimes.

D.Informers might get paparazzi into trouble.

 

Goals are the guides all through our life. We all have goals that we are moving towards and making a great effort to achieve. This is a good thing. Or can it be bad? How many of us never reach our goals and yet we have tried so hard and really thought about nothing else? I believe the mistake most of us make is that we do not focus on our present situation.

Let me explain. Most of us see our present situation as a stepping stone that we use simply as a means of reaching our final destination. We don’t take time to truly appreciate where we are today and all the great things we already have in our lives. We should focus our attention on the journey and not on the destination, or we will miss the beautiful scenery along the way.

Let’s use our job as an example. Now most of us want a promotion. We have plans to become the manager or general manager in our companies. Unfortunately, most of us will never reach the goal, but will watch others achieve our goal instead.

What we should be doing is focusing on the job we are currently in now. Forget where we want to get to and just focus on the present. You see, what we can control is our performance in our current job. We can decide to be the best we possibly can in our current job. Now this may mean further education to have the skills we currently do not have. It may mean working harder to produce better results than our colleagues. It could simply be a change of attitude, such as stopping complaining and becoming a more devoted and supportive employee. By doing our current job to the best of our abilities, we in fact give ourselves the best chance of promotion.

So the best thing for all of us to do to achieve our goals is to just focus on what we have and where we are now. Do the best and be the best we possibly can in our current situations, and we will give ourselves the very best chance of reaching our goals in the future. We have heard the old sayings and they are true: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”, “Patience is a virtue”, and so on.

Have patience, have appreciation of what we already have, and take time to help ourselves be the very best we can. Do these things and we will all reach our goals, but more importantly, we will enjoy our life every day.

Title

Focus on the present

Theme

To (76) ______ our goals, we should focus on what we have and where we are now.

 

Common (77)______

﹡We do not focus on our present situation.

﹡Most of us see our present situation as a stepping stone to our final destination.

﹡We do not spend the time truly (78)______ where we are today and what we already have in our lives.

(79)______—our job

﹡(80)______ the thought of getting promoted. What we should do is (81)______ our best to do our current job.

﹡To be the best in our current job, we should get further education, work harder than (82)______, stop complaining and (83)______ ourselves to our job.

Conclusion

If we are (84)______, grateful for what we have, and take time to help ourselves be the very best we can, we can not only (85)______ in the future, but also enjoy our life every day.

 

Making an apology is not the same as making amends. Sometimes we apologize just because it’s the easiest thing to do. What’s actually important is to identify where we go wrong, take full responsibility for our mistakes and , if possible, try to make up for them.

A recent case involving Hewlett-Packed, the US computer giant, shows the importance of presenting a sincere apology. The Chinese consumers who had bought notebook computers of certain models, which have been put on Chinese market since 2007, suffered a massive flash screen failures and overheating problems. Through investigation, Chinese AQSIQ(国家质检总局) identified these HP computers had quality problems and HP admitted this. HP made a proposal that they would extend the warranty period of such computers, but this could not satisfied the consumers. What they needed was a thorough description of the truth. HP has “sincerely” apologized. But the consumers remain angry, and say that only a product recall—as HP has done in the past—will prove that the apology is sincere.

Another apology that fell flat on its face was that of Thierry Henry, the famous French footballer. His deliberate handball in November 2009 created the goal which knocked Ireland out of the 2010 World Cup. The incident caused great anger in the football world, and eventually Henry issued and apology. Two days later, he wrote, “I’m not the referee…but if I hurt someone I’m sorry.” Better late than never, perhaps, but even then he passed the blame onto the referee!

Such high-profile cases, which attract a lot of publicity often under the spotlight, but similar incidents occur in our everyday lives. Stress caused by schoolwork and tiredness can sometimes result in outbursts of anger against friends and family. Have you ever lost your temper for minor reasons? After calming down, most people are quick to realize their mistake and apologize. But it’s just as important to identify what caused the error in the first place and take action to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

No one should hold a negative attitude to making a sincere apology. Empty words are easy to say, but they are as useless as they sound. A real show of remorse demands hard work and commitment to put error right. 

46. What does the author intend to tell us in the case of HP?

A. A true apology needs sincere actions.

B. HP should recall all the faulty computers.

C. Good quality makes a good company.

D. A company should apologize and pay for their mistakes.

47. According to the author, when we do anything wrong we firstly __________ .

A. make an apology face to face honestly

B. admit we were wrong and try to make the wrong right

C. take the responsibility for apologizing to others

D. choose the easiest thing to do

48. We can infer from the case of Thierry Henry that ______________ .

A. It’s never too late to say “I’m sorry.”

B. Writing an apology is not a good idea.

C. Henry didn’t identify his fault.

D. The football fans were mad with Henry.

49. Which of the following can best explain the word “commitment” in the last paragraph?

A. decision                B. promise             C. agreement                D. responsibility

50. What’s the best title of this passage?

A. What really puts things right                     

B. Don’t apologize easily

C. Making an apology—no one is out of exception

D. How to judge an apology—sincere enough?

 

 

The choice to adopt and hold gratefulness is the one that is different from those who suffer misfortune and those who enjoy a full life.

My mother died when I was 24. It was a very difficult time in my life - everything seemed to fall apart. I lost my job, and then my utilities were turned off. I had to take cold showers for six months. A neighbor who knew about my situation came to my house and made me an offer. I took care of her children as a job, and I no longer went hungry. I was surprised that someone would trust me-a young woman-with her children. And it was with the very confidence that before long I began taking care of other people's children, too. I have since moved 300 miles from Boise, Idaho. For more than 23 years I have made every effort to reach out to all the kind-hearted people who helped me when I was down and out. Without their trust, I don't know what I would have done. I am very involved in my community and volunteer at the local food bank, and I help out whenever I can. I'd like to owe what I am to whoever has offered me generosity.

If you are grateful for what you already have, the world will work together to give you more to be grateful for. Otherwise, the world will give you more to complain about.

Moreover, the true master learns to be grateful, in advance, for the things that are desired, because, being grateful in advance for some attainment or accomplishment does two very important things: one-it tricks your subconscious(潜意识)into believing that the goal is certain and two…it convinces other people, with whom you must interact to achieve your desires, that you know what you are about, that you are a winner, not a whiner(哀诉者).

65. The underlined "utilities" refers to such things as ______ in the passage.

      A. gas and electricity   supplies                            B. water and gas supplies

      C. shower equipment and water supply             D. heating and TV signals

66. The writer was grateful mainly for ______.

      A. his neighbor's donation                  B. his community           

      C. having got the job                        D. others' trust

67. The writer's personal story in the second paragraph tells us that ______.

      A. to be grateful will get you nowhere but away from home

      B. we need to be grateful to be helpful and useful

      C. a grateful person is most likely to be successful

      D. the fragrance (芳香) stays in the hand that gives the rose

68. The best title for the passage would be ________.

      A. A Thank-You Note to Trusting Neighbor        B. You Are a Winner, Not a Whiner

      C. Gratefulness Brings a Great Fullness to Life D. Be Grateful to Life in Advance

 

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