题目内容

More People Are Leaving the Rat Race for the Simple Life

Time is more precious than money for an increasing number of people who are choosing to live more with less—and liking it

Kay and Charles Giddens, two lawyers, sold their home to start a B&B hotel.Four years later, the couple dishes out banana pancake breakfast, cleans toilets and serves homemade chocolate chip cookies to guests in a B&B hotel surrounded by trees on a hill known for colorful sunsets.

“Do I miss the freeways? Do I miss the traffic? Do I miss the stress? No,” says Ms.Giddens, “This is a phenomenon that’s fairly widespread. A lot of people are reevaluating their lives and figuring out what they want to do.If their base is being damaged, what’s the payoff?”

Simple living ranges from cutting down on weeknight activities to sharing housing, living closer to work, avoiding shopping malls, borrowing books from the library instead of buying them, and taking a cut in pay to work at a more pleasurable job.

Vicki Robin, a writer, lives on a budget equal to a fifth of what she used to make.“You become conscious about where your money is going and how valuable it is,” Ms.Robin says, “You tend not to use things up.You cook at home rather than eat out…”

Janet Luhrs, a lawyer, quit her job after giving birth and leaving her daughter with a nanny for two weeks.“It was not the way I wanted to raise my kids,” she says, “Simplicity is not just about saving money; it’s about me sitting down every night with my kids to a candlelit dinner with classical music.”

Mrs.Luhrs now edits a magazine, Simple Living, which publishes tips on how to buy recycled furniture and shoes, organize potluck dinners instead of expensive receptions, and generally how to consume less.

“It’s not about poverty,” Mrs.Luhrs explains, “It’s about conscious living and creating the life you want.The less stuff you buy, the less money goes out of the door, and the less money you have to earn.”

1.Kay and Charles Giddens sold their home to ______.

A. pay off the debt

B. start a private hotel

C. cut down expenses

D. buy living necessities

2.Simple living includes ______.

A. building a home library

B. living in the countryside

C. enjoying a colorful night life

D. sharing housing with others

3.It can be learned from the passage that now Janet Luhrs ______.

A. spends more time with her kids

B. has an interest in classical music

C. works as a reporter of a magazine

D. helps people buy recycled clothes

4.How does the author develop the passage?

A. By using figures.

B. By asking questions.

C. By giving examples.

D. By making comparisons.

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完形填空

阅读下面的短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

The girl from Tennessee was standing on the stage of a drama summer camp. It was a beautiful day, but the girl didn’t feel ________ . Since she was six, Reese had wanted to be a ________. All summer long she had been acting, ________ and singing. Despite three years of ________ , at the end of the camp her coaches told her to ________ about singing. She took their words to ________ . After all, why shouldn’t she ________ the professionals (专业人士)? But back at home, her parents ________ her to never give up. So she worked hard at every ________ and was accepted by the Acting Department of Stanford University. At age 19, she got a ________ in a low-budget movie called Freeway.

She ________, “If you aren’t so attractive, play to your strengths. If you’re going to ________ it in this business, focus on what you’re good at. ________ yourself.”

And then came the offer —________ the wife of country star Johnny Cash. The singing role she had ________ dreamed of. All of a sudden the old fears were back. She was so ________ on the stage, and she would go backstage after a singing scene and ________ . But she didn’t give up on the movie or herself. ________, she spent six months taking singing lessons. And the hard work built up her ________ .

Last March, Reese walked up on another ________ and accepted the Oscar as Best Actress for her heartbreaking and heartwarming singing role as June Carter Cash in the movie Walk the Line.

1.A. good B. content C. anxious D. calm

2.A. teacher B. director C. doctor D. singer

3.A. writing B. travelling C. dancing D. racing

4.A. experiments B. lessons C. imagination D. observation

5.A. forget B. worry C. care D. think

6.A. practice B. heart C. memory D. sight

7.A. appreciate B. serve C. understand D. believe

8.A. allowed B. helped C. encouraged D. persuaded

9.A. program B. project C. career D. subject

10.A. position B. challenge C. part D. prize

11.A. guessed B. reported C. suggested D. decided

12.A. make B. keep C. enjoy D. follow

13.A. Save B. Show C. Comfort D. Reward

14.A. playing B. protecting C. supporting D. convincing

15.A. almost B. never C. always D. recently

16.A. nervous B. serious C. friendly D. negative

17.A. interview B. shake C. complain D. promise

18.A. Simple B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. Again

19.A. patience B. business C. confidence D. force

20.A. street B. stage C. road D. Bank

阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项中(A、B、C和D),选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P.T.Barnum. Mr.Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show.He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.

He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb.He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads.To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.

During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people.He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall.Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money.By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich.He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.

Fortunately for Tom, Mr.Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well.One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher.Tom was able to win her love, and they married.

The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town.They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests.Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage.The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut.

Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war.Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored "Tom Thumb" weddings.In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.

1.The underlined words "talk of the town" means________.

A. it was in the newspaper

B. it was the most popular topic

C. people spread bad rumors about it

D. it was discussed in a city meeting

2.What does the author think about Tom's wedding?

A. Tom and Lavinia were stupid.

B. People gave it too much of their attention.

C. It was funny and ridiculous.

D. It helped people cheer up in a dark time.

3.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine.

B. People are always disappointed during war time.

C. Entertainment can serve an important purpose.

D. People should be married when they are small children.

Directions:Read the following three passages.Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements.For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D.Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

Death is a serious theme worthy of great poets.For example, John Keats’s ‘When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be’ and John Donne’s ‘Death, Be Not Proud’ both discuss death in reflective ways.However, the imagery(意象) in these poems shows that while Keats believes that death can only destroy, Donne believes that death can be overcome.
Keats is afraid of death, because to him death means the loss of those things that make his life worth living: ‘On the shore/ of the wide world I stand alone, and think/ Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.’ Earlier in the poem, Keats says that he hopes this ‘Love’ will be a ‘high romance’ with a ‘fair creature.’ He also says that he hopes the ‘Fame’ he seeks will be the result of the ‘high piled books’ produced by his ‘crowded brain.’ In other words, Keats’s fear is that death is a ‘nothingness’ that will arrive before he can finish his life’s work or find his true love.
Donne has a different attitude toward death, and so the imagery in his poem is different, too.To Donne, death should ‘be not proud,’ because it is not ‘mighty and dreadful.’ Unlike Keats, Donne sees death as weak and merely a ‘slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men.’ He also says that death is like ‘rest and sleep’.Donne believes that we will all wake from the sleep of death to everlasting life, just as we wake from our normal sleep to our everyday lives.In fact, Donne believes that it is death itself that will die: ‘One short sleep past, we wake forever,/ And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.’
Keats and Donne both know that death is a prat of life, and both poets use powerful imagery to talk about that difficult theme.The differences in this imagery show two very different attitudes toward the subject, one of which is much more positive than the other.Which poet to believe is up to the reader to decide.
Not surprisingly, the readers’ own experiences may play a part in the way they respond to these poets’ approaches.Like the two poets and their beliefs, contemporary readers also may be divided on the subject.This may explain why Keats’s and Donne’s poetry remains fascinating years after their won deaths.
1.According to the passage, ________ makes Keats’s life worth living.
A. expressing his grand passion for poetry
B. walking on the shore with a pretty lady
C. defeating nothingness with his true love
D. pursuing the fame of being a romantic poet
2.In Donne’s poems he believes that death is ________ .
A. generally powerful and terrible
B. only a ceaseless sleep
C. merely the loss of work and love
D. hardly worth the fear
3.Contemporary readers may view the two poets’ serious subject differently because ________.
A. they are attracted to the two poets’ everlasting opposite beliefs
B. they are divided naturally by their positive or negative personalities
C. their own life experiences affect the understandings of the poems
D. their preferences for the poets’ strong imageries are various
4.Which of the following best describes the main writing style of the passage?
A. Analysis.
B. Argument.
C. Comparison.
D. Reasoning.

Do you know a child who has used first aid to save a life or help an injured person?

St.John Ambulance is seeking young people who have acted quickly, calmly and effectively at a real emergency for its annual Young First Aider of the Year awards.

The awards are open to all those under 18, and the closing date for nomination (提名) is April 30, 2016.The winners will be invited to attend a special ceremony in June, 2016.

“St.John Ambulance believes it is essential for young people to learn first aid so that they can help anyone who is injured,” said Sandra Stocker, director of St.John Ambulance Awards Committee.“The Young First Aider of the Year is a wonderful way to celebrate their bravery and quick-thinking.”

Nomination for the Young First Aider of the Year is now open.Please complete and return the nomination forms as soon as possible and certainly no later than April 30, 2016.The committee will decide which of the nominees will receive the Young First Aider of the Year awards by considering the actions of the nominees along with their ages and other factors.You should send any evidence you have with the nomination form, showing the nominees’ actions.

Examples of evidence could include:

◆ Newspaper clippings (剪报) of the incident.

◆ Police incident record numbers.

Once a nomination form is received, the nominee or nominator may be approached for further details of the incident.For further information please get in touch with Sandra Stocker by email or on 020-73244082 or 020-732440813.

Find out who our winners will be for 2016.

1.What does the passage intend to tell the readers?

A. Young people should learn first aid to help the injured.

B. Learning first aid can help young people win an award.

C. The injured are encouraged to act quickly and calmly.

D. St.John Ambulance makes profit by training first aiders.

2.If you suggest someone for the awards, you should ______.

A. attend the awards ceremony

B. make a speech introducing yourself

C. provide the details of the incident

D. have a good knowledge about first aid

3.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Demand for First Aiders

B. Importance of First Aid

C. St.John Ambulance Awards

D. Young First Aider of the Year

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