For a long time, being happy was considered something that just happened, and there was nothing special about it. Now we know it is something that we can work at.

You are happy if you get along well with others. To make people like you better, you should be unselfish, not wanting everything from your friends. Another way is to look for good points, not bad ones in other people. It is surprising how successful this can be.

You don’t have to be spineless (没有骨气的) in order to be popular. In fact, you will be liked and respected if you are not afraid to stand up for your rights. But do it politely and pleasantly. It is one way to develop a good character if you are friendly and polite to your group, to other people and to strangers and especially to those who do not look important or do not interest you.

    Second, you must learn not to be unhappy when you make mistakes. You can not expect to be perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. No one is to be blamed (责备) unless he refuses to learn from them. Many young people become discouraged when they know in themselves qualities that they do not like — selfishness, laziness, and other unpleasant qualities. Just remember that we all have some of these faults and have to fight against them.

    At the same time, it is important to remember that, while you are probably no worse than others, the best way to be happy is to think yourself above other people. When something is wrong, it is good sense to try to make it right. Perhaps you don’t like a teacher or a classmate. Try to see why, and look at yourself, too, to be sure that you are not doing anything to make that person dislike you. Some day, things may turn out all right and then you will have to learn to get along the best with the situation, without thinking too much about it. Worrying never helps in a situation you can’t change.

Which of the following is suggested in the passage?

   A. Draw attention of our friends.

   B. Ask for the best share of everything.

   C. Look for faults that are shared among people.

   D. Pay more attention to other people’s strong points.

According to the passage, if we want to be popular, we should ______.

   A. be polite and friendly

   B. give up some rights

   C. never argue with other people

   D. be ready to change our character

One should be blamed if he or she ______.

   A. is not better than others

   B. is selfish and lazy

   C. does not draw a lesson from his or her mistakes

   D. has some unpleasant qualities

The writer will possibly agree with the following EXCEPT that ______.

   A. no one is perfect

   B. every person has their own advantages over others

   C. getting worried helps to change the situation for the better

   D. self-examination is necessary if something is wrong

The author writes the passage in order to ______.

   A. teach you how to make yourself perfect

   B. show you how to be happy

   C. tell you how to act when in trouble

   D. teach you how to be popular among your friends

.

For a long time, being happy was considered something that just happened, and there was nothing special about it. Now we know it is something that we can work at.

You are happy if you get along well with others. To make people like you better, you should be unselfish, not wanting everything from your friends. Another way is to look for good points, not bad ones in other people. It is surprising how successful this can be.

You don’t have to be spineless (没有骨气的) in order to be popular. In fact, you will be liked and respected if you are not afraid to stand up for your rights. But do it politely and pleasantly. It is one way to develop a good character if you are friendly and polite to your group, to other people and to strangers and especially to those who do not look important or do not interest you.

    Second, you must learn not to be unhappy when you make mistakes. You can not expect to be perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. No one is to be blamed (责备) unless he refuses to learn from them. Many young people become discouraged when they know in themselves qualities that they do not like — selfishness, laziness, and other unpleasant qualities. Just remember that we all have some of these faults and have to fight against them.

    At the same time, it is important to remember that, while you are probably no worse than others, the best way to be happy is to think yourself above other people. When something is wrong, it is good sense to try to make it right. Perhaps you don’t like a teacher or a classmate. Try to see why, and look at yourself, too, to be sure that you are not doing anything to make that person dislike you. Some day, things may turn out all right and then you will have to learn to get along the best with the situation, without thinking too much about it. Worrying never helps in a situation you can’t change.

67. Which of the following is suggested in the passage?

   A. Draw attention of our friends.

   B. Ask for the best share of everything.

   C. Look for faults that are shared among people.

   D. Pay more attention to other people’s strong points.

68. According to the passage, if we want to be popular, we should ______.

   A. be polite and friendly

   B. give up some rights

   C. never argue with other people

   D. be ready to change our character

69. One should be blamed if he or she ______.

   A. is not better than others

   B. is selfish and lazy

   C. does not draw a lesson from his or her mistakes

   D. has some unpleasant qualities

70. The writer will possibly agree with the following EXCEPT that ______.

   A. no one is perfect

   B. every person has their own advantages over others

   C. getting worried helps to change the situation for the better

   D. self-examination is necessary if something is wrong

71. The author writes the passage in order to ______.

   A. teach you how to make yourself perfect

   B. show you how to be happy

   C. tell you how to act when in trouble

   D. teach you how to be popular among your friends

Ridgewood is a small, quiet town 20 miles from Manhattan. It is a typical suburban town, perfect for raising children away from the fast pace of the city. However, some Ridgewood kids feel as upset as if they were on the city’s busy streets. In addition to hours of homework, Ridgewood’s children are occupied with afterschool activities — from swimming to piano to religious classes.

Out of desperation one day, the town decided to schedule another activity. This one was called “Ridgewood Family Night — Ready, Set, Relax!” Instead of schedules filled with sports, music, or overtime at the office, some of the town’s 25,000 residents decided to take the night off and stay home. For a few months before Family Night, a committee of volunteers worked hard to spread the word. Younger students took “Save the Date for Me” leaflets home to their parents. The mayor issued a statement, and schools and clubs agreed to cancel homework and meetings so families could relax and be together.

The tension between a hope for a more relaxed lifestyle and the knowledge that the benchmark for success has been raised in recent years weighs heavily on the minds of the townspeople. Some parents like to recall a different kind of childhood, one without so many scheduled afterschool activities. However, these same parents feel obliged to make sure their children are prepared to survive in today’s high-pressure work environment. They are afraid that any gap in their children’s physical or intellectual development might mean they won’t be admitted to the “right” universities and won’t succeed in a more and more competitive world.

Nevertheless, it seems that Family Night worked, at least to a point. Cars moved easily around Ridgewood’s normally busy downtown streets, and stores and restaurants saw a drop in business. Some families ate supper together for the first time in months.

Initially, there was great hope of taking back their lives. But sadly, few families believe that one night will change their lives. Many are sure that they will fall back into the habit of over-scheduling their children to be overachieving adults.

1.The writer describes Ridgewood as a town where ________.

A. residents take little notice of education

B. children are stressful and over expected

C. parents are concerned about children’s safety

D. children lead a life of relaxed, ordinary rhythms

2.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about the Family Night?

A. Schools assigned no homework.

B. Fewer people ate in the restaurants.

C. The streets were less crowded.

D. People enjoyed meeting each other.

3.According to the passage, the parents in Ridgewood ________.

A. have conflicting desires about what experiences to offer their children

B. are happy with the lifestyle they have chosen for themselves and the children

C. believe that it is their duty to make a change for the stressful life style

D. are worried about their children’s lacking of big ambition

4.We may get the conclusion from the passage that ________.

A. the concept of Family Night will become a regular part of life in Ridgewood

B. Ridgewood people believe the Family Night will change their way of living

C. Family Night is not as popular as people have originally thought

D. schools are worried about students being given too much free time

Jonny Jones was a nice and popular boy, who everyone loved．He was so much fun, so good and so kind to everyone that they treated him wonderfully. But as everything he needed was given to him without asking, Jonny became a weed. He was so spoiled by everyone that he couldn’t stand any hardship.
One day Johnny heard a mother saying to her son “Come on, my boy, get up and stop crying. You are behaving like Johnny Jones.” That made Johnny feel very ashamed. But he was sure that he would prefer to be known as a good boy rather than a fool. Worried, he spoke to his father about all this, though he was afraid that maybe he would be laughed at for having such worries. His father, far from laughing at Johnny, told him that a teacher had taught him a secret trick to turn him into the toughest boy off all. “Eat a candy less, study a minute more, and count to five before crying.” Johnny asked, “Just that? ” “Yes, just that,” said his father, “It’s very simple, but I warn you that it won’t be easy.”
Johnny was happy like a bird, ready to follow the advice. He went to see his mother, and she noticed how happy he was when she offered him candies. “One candy less”, thought Johnny, so he only took one. That afternoon he had another chance to put it into practice by studying one minute more. The result was that he missed the first minute of his favorite program! But having achieved this gave him a great feeling of satisfaction. The same happened when he ran up against the corner of the kitchen table. He only managed to count to four before crying, but that was left deeply in his mother’s memory.
Over the following days Johnny kept using the motto in his life as his father told him. And the more he put this into practice ,the easier it got. Before long he realized that he could also do things that would seem impossible before.
【小题1】The underlined word "weed" in the first paragraph refers to ____．

Jonny Jones was a nice and popular boy, who everyone loved．He was so much fun, so good and so kind to everyone that they treated him wonderfully. But as everything he needed was given to him without asking, Jonny became a weed. He was so spoiled by everyone that he couldn’t stand any hardship.

One day Johnny heard a mother saying to her son “Come on, my boy, get up and stop crying. You are behaving like Johnny Jones.” That made Johnny feel very ashamed. But he was sure that he would prefer to be known as a good boy rather than a fool. Worried, he spoke to his father about all this, though he was afraid that maybe he would be laughed at for having such worries. His father, far from laughing at Johnny, told him that a teacher had taught him a secret trick to turn him into the toughest boy off all. “Eat a candy less, study a minute more, and count to five before crying.” Johnny asked, “Just that? ” “Yes, just that,” said his father, “It’s very simple, but I warn you that it won’t be easy.”

Johnny was happy like a bird, ready to follow the advice. He went to see his mother, and she noticed how happy he was when she offered him candies. “One candy less”, thought Johnny, so he only took one. That afternoon he had another chance to put it into practice by studying one minute more. The result was that he missed the first minute of his favorite program! But having achieved this gave him a great feeling of satisfaction. The same happened when he ran up against the corner of the kitchen table. He only managed to count to four before crying, but that was left deeply in his mother’s memory.

Over the following days Johnny kept using the motto in his life as his father told him. And the more he put this into practice ,the easier it got. Before long he realized that he could also do things that would seem impossible before.

1.The underlined word "weed" in the first paragraph refers to ____．

    A．a person with a strong v/ill

    B．a person with a weak character

    C．a person who isn't popular with everyone

    D．a person who changes his behavior according to the situation

2.What made Jonny Jones decide to change himself?

    A．A mother's words．               B．Others' attitude to him．

    C．His father's advice．            C．His teacher's warning．

3.What is the key point of the advice from Jonny's father?

    A．Eat fewer candies than before．

    B．Count to five before crying．

    C．Talk with parents and follow their advice．

    D．Learn to control oneself and keep using the motto in life．

4.What message does the writer want to convey through the story?

    A．One should be brave to face his mistakes．

    B．Nothing is difficult as long as you set your mind on it．

    C．Spoilinga child too much may result in his selfish behaviors．

    D．A strong will can be developed by small but consistent efforts．