Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper - a little bird called a honey guide.

The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees' nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.

Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.

1.Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?

A. It's small in size.

B. It's hidden in trees.

C. It's covered with wax.

D. It's hard to recognize.

2.The honey guide is special in the way .

A. it gets its food

B. it goes to church

C. it sings in the forest

D. it reaches into bees' nests

3.What can be the best title for the text?

A. Wild Bees

B. Wax and Honey

C. Beekeeping in Africa

D. Honey-Lover's Helper

We regularly hear how important consumer spending is for the economy. The story goes like this: the more consumers spend, the more money circulates in the economy, which contributes to healthy job growth and profits. Keynes, a British economist, went as far as to say that individuals saving their money may actually be hurting the economy. Sounds troubling, doesn’t it?

Fear not. You aren’t actually hurting anyone else by saving money. Strong economic growth only comes from the place: savings. Not consumption. In fact, economic activity should not be mistaken for economic growth. For example, somebody takes their money, walks into a store, and purchases goods. The store increases its revenue.

But what happens to all of those goods and services that people have chosen not to consume by saving their money? Simple: other people are allowed to consume them. Think of it this way: when you lend out your savings, you are actually saying, “Here, I am not going to consume right now, so why don’t you?” Banks simply play the middleman: they collect lots of people's savings and then lend out lots of funds.

It takes an unbelievable amount of goods and services to construct a building. It takes food, shelter, and entertainment for all of the workers, as well. Without savings, it is quite impossible to finance such a construction. The coordination between savings and consumption is a necessary basis for sound economic growth. This coordination is also why consumer lending (say, to borrow a big sum of money to buy a car) is not productive, in a strict sense. It doesn't increase the net (净的) amount of wealth of an economy. Those savings could have been used to construct, say, factory equipment.

None of this means consumption and spending are “bad” things. They simply do not make us wealthier. After all, the final goal of production and savings is to consume. But to say that consumption is the engine of economic growth is to put the cart before the horse. Or, to rephrase: the consumption of wealth can never make you wealthier. Happier, perhaps. Wealthier, no.

1.What is the author’s attitude towards Keynes’ theory?

A. Approving. B. Reserved.

C. Uncertain. D. Critical.

2. The underlined word “revenue” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “_______”.

A. cost B. reputation

C. income D. interest

3. According to the author, which chart could show the effect of savings on economy?

4.What would be the best title for this passage?

A. The Saving Behavior of the Economy

B. Consumption: a Key Concept in Economy

C. Consumer Spending and Economic Growth

D. The Truth about Savings and Consumption

When we’re young children, many of us seem to have little trouble making new friends. 1. . As adults, we tend to become more guarded with new people and have less time to devote to friendships. Consequently, most of us find it much harder to make new friends. If you’ve never experienced a close friendship, even as a child, you may find it even harder. But we all need and want good friends, even those of us who may sometimes pretend otherwise.

The need for friends is instinctual (本能的). Our survival used to depend on having friends to hunt and find food with, to help us build shelter and keep our families safe. 2. They add meaning to life. They help you enjoy the good times and overcome the difficult ones. While strong relationships with friends can be a huge source of fun and pleasure, they are also important for your physical and emotional health.

Good friends can:

● 3.

Even if it’s just having someone to share your problems with, friends can help you cope with serious illness, the loss of a job or loved one, the breakup of a relationship, or any other challenge in life.

● Help you to reach your goals.

Whether you’re trying to get fit, give up smoking, or otherwise improve your life, encouragement from a friend can really boost your willpower. 4.

● Improve your mood.

Happiness can be infectious. 5.

● Reduce stress and depression.

Having an active social life can benefit your immune system and help reduce isolation, a major factor for depression.

A. Friendships take time to form and even more time to deepen.

B. Provide support when you're going through tough times.

C. But as we age, friendships grow and develop differently.

D. Spending time with positive friends can be happy.

E. Yet they are less important nowadays.

F. It also increases your chances of success.

G. Today,good friends are just as important.

When hard times came, the depression settled over my soul. The park bench was __ __ as I sat down to read beneath an old willow tree. A young boy out of breath__ __ me, all tired from play. He stood right before me with his head tilted (倾斜的) down, saying in great ____ ____, “Look what I found!”

In his hand was a flower, and what a ___ ___ sight, with its petals (花瓣) all worn — not enough rain, or too little light. __ ___ him to take his flower and go off to play, I ____ ___ a small smile and then shifted away. But instead of ____ ___, he sat next to my ___ ____ and placed the flower to his nose and declared with surprise, “It surely smells pretty and it's beautiful, too. That's why I __ ____ it; here, it's for you.”

The flower before me was dying or dead. But I knew I must____ ____ it, or he might never leave. So I reached for the flower, and ____ ____,“Just what I need.” But instead of placing the flower in my hand, he ___ ____ it mid­air without reason. It was then that I ____ ____ for the very first time the boy was ____ ___.

I heard my voice shake, tears shone like the sun ____ ____ I thanked him for picking the very best one. He smiled, and then ran off to play, __ ___ of the effect he'd had on my day.

I sat there and ____ ____ how he managed to see a self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree. How did he know of my____ ____?Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true ___ ____.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see, the problem was not connected with the world; the problem was me. And for all of those times I myself had been blind, I vowed (发誓) to see __ __, and appreciate every second that's mine.

1.A. faded B. unoccupied C. worn D. untidy

2.A. overlooked B. approached C. understood D. stopped

3.A. excitement B. sorrow C. trouble D. panic

4.A. unique B. rough C. bothering D. pitiful

5.A. Expecting B. Demanding C. Persuading D. Inviting

6.A. played B. adjusted C. forced D. delivered

7.A. declining B. accepting C. refusing D. quitting

8.A. side B. way C. shoulder D. direction

9.A. spotted B. pulled C. sold D. picked

10.A. bring B. fetch C. take D. smell

11.A. shouted B. whispered C. listened D. replied

12.A. seized B. held C. caught D. grasped

13.A. convinced B. explored C. noticed D. refused

14.A. strange B. blind C. deaf D. unimaginable

15.A. once B. after C. as D. since

16.A. unaware B. ashamed C. regretful D. regardless

17.A. doubted B. felt C. found D. wondered

18.A. embarrassment B. adventure C. discouragement D. effort

19.A. sense B. sight C. hearing D. ability

20.A. beauty B. comfort C. fantasy D. love

第一节 阅读下列短文 ,从每题所给的四个选项 (A 、B 、C 和 D )中 ,选出最佳选项,并在题卡上将该项涂黑。(共15小题,每小题2分,满分30分)

A.

A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.

1.What did a group of graduates talk about when they visited their old professor?

A. How to make the most delicious coffee.

B. How to choose the coffee cup.

C. The complaints about stress in work and life.

D. How to free themselves from stress of work and life.

2.What is the function of the more expensive cup from the passage?

A. It makes the coffee taste better.

B. In some cases it hides what we drink.

C. It shows people’s wealth.

D. It shows people’s status.

3.The purpose of this writing is ____________.

A. about how to complain about stress in work and life

B. to enjoy the present life and get happiness from it

C. to enjoy the coffee with expensive cups

D. to prove the power of the God

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

A. God’s Coffee. B. Drink Coffee.

C. Coffee and Work D. Coffee Cups

The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel. The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sports car. Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras. The bride wore a silk wedding dress. She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.

Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station’s competition. The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other. Miss Germaine, 23, is a model. Mr. Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman. They were among the two hundred people who entered for a peculiar “experiment” organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England. Greg and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on radio. They took a lie detector test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities. The competition judges included an astrologer (占星家) who declared that they were suited.

The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening, but not everyone shared their joy. Miss Germaine’s mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and Mr. Cordell’s parents are reported to be less than delighted.

Organizations, including the marriage guidance service relate, have criticized the marriage. As one person put it, “we have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this. Marriage should always be about love.”

The couples are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists. Their other prizes include a year’s free use of a wonderful apartment in the centre of Birmingham, and a car. But will it last?

1.What can we know about the couple from the passage?

A. The couple know each other before the wedding.

B. The bridegroom is a model and the bride is a TV salesman.

C. The bride is 4 years older than the bridegroom.

D. The couple can use an apartment free for some time as one of the prizes.

2. Some experts believe that ______ .

A. marriage without the couple’s meeting each other first ends up in divorce.

B. young people nowadays are too careless about marriage

C. taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems

D. most young people take marriage seriously except this couple

3. The goal of the competition was_______.

A. to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other

B. to win a free honeymoon

C. to win a year’s free use of a wonderful apartment

D. to make the radio station famous

4. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A. Two Strangers and a Wedding B. A Wedding Based on Love

C. A Short-lived Marriage D. A Well-Matched Couple

 0  130783  130791  130797  130801  130807  130809  130813  130819  130821  130827  130833  130837  130839  130843  130849  130851  130857  130861  130863  130867  130869  130873  130875  130877  130878  130879  130881  130882  130883  130885  130887  130891  130893  130897  130899  130903  130909  130911  130917  130921  130923  130927  130933  130939  130941  130947  130951  130953  130959  130963  130969  130977  151629 

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