More Than I Had Dreamed Of

From the time I was seven, I had a dream of becoming a member of the Student Union. I always ___1___my school leaders for taking responsibility for all of us. So I dreamed of being a leader.

Years flew by, and soon I was able to take part in the elections（选举）, ___2___I would win. But the reality struck that I hadn’t had a chance. I wasn’t pretty. Girls across the school hardly knew me. I just did not have what it took to ___3___a school election. I was ___4___.

As I cried in my room that evening, I ___5___took a deep breath and decided I wouldn’t stop dreaming. I decided that I would ___6___for elections again in my final year at school—and I would win. 

I recognized that my ___7___had a lot of advantages. What strengths did I have? I had good grades, and I was ___8___and helpful. And my biggest ___9___was the faith（信念）I had. I would not allow my ___10___appearance to hold me back from putting my best foot forward. That evening, I ___11___my election plans for the next year.

I realized that girls would have get to know me and recognize that I had the_12_to

speak for them. I love to making friends and I liked being helpful,__13_ decided that

perhaps I could use these qualities to work to my advantange.In order to learn how to

give an election__14_ ,I also took a course on successful public speaking.

The day after election,when the head teacher announced I won the second highest

number of votes,the students___15__.That joy on the faces of all my friends showed me that my success was__16__theirs.

Suddenly, I realized that I had ___17__much more than I had dreamed of. I had made many new friends and had helped people ___18___the way. I had won the ___19___and love of my schoolmates and they knew me as somebody who would stand by them. I was able to put a smile on their faces and ___20___their day.    

1.                A．admired        B．remembered    C．praised   D．believed

2.                A．hoping         B．planning        C．guessing  D．judging

3.                A．have           B．lose            C．hold D．win

4.                A．content        B．upset          C．surprised D．confused

5.                A．gradually       B．immediately     C．suddenly D．personally

6.                A．pay            B．run            C．speak    D．wait

7.                A．competitors     B．teammates      C．coaches  D．schoolmates

8.                A．outspoken      B．curious         C．direct    D．friendly

9.                A．problem        B．strength        C．worry    D．dream

10.               A．young          B．public          C．special    D．ordinary

11.               A．began          B．discussed       C．announced     D．changed

12.               A．support        B．necessity       C．ability D．permission

13.               A．but            B．and            C．so    D．or

14.               A．broadcast       B．speech         C．performance   D．promise

15.               A．nodded        B．gathered       C．cheered   D．argued

16.               A．only           B．still            C．almost    D．also

17.               A．achieved       B．controlled      C．devoted   D．developed

18.               A．by            B．to             C．in    D．along

19.               A．mercy         B．acceptance      C．election   D．fame

20.               A．enrich         B．widen          C．brighten   D．enlarge

I entered high school having read hundreds of books.But I was not a good reader.Merely bookish,I lacked a point of view when I read.Rather,I read in order to get a point of view.I searched books for good expressions and sayings,pieces of information,ideas,themes—anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated.When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a “complicated(复杂的) idea” until he had read at least two thousand books,I heard the words without recognizing either its irony(嘲讽) or its very complicated truth.I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read.Strict with myself,I included only once a title I might have read several times.(How,after all,could one read a book more than once?)And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length.(Could anything shorter be a book?)

There was yet another high school list I made.One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college.The article had a list of the “hundred most important books of Western Civilization.”“More than anything else in my life,”the professor told the reporter with finality,“these books have made me all that I am.”That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore(忽视).I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles.Most books,of course,I hardly understood.While reading Plato’s The Republic,for example,I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about.However,with the special patience and superstition(迷信) of a schoolboy,I looked at every word of the text.And by me time I reached the last word,pleased,I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic,and seriously crossed Plato off my list.

On heating the teacher’s suggestion of reading,the writer thought ______.

A.one must read as many books as possible

B.a student should not have a complicated idea

C.it was impossible for one to read two thousand books

D.students ought to make a list of the books they had read

While at high school,the writer ______.

A.had plans for reading

B.learned to educate himself

C.only read books over 100 pages

D.read only one book several times

The underlined phrase “with finality” probably means ______.

A.firmly                                                                 B.clearly

C.proudly                                                               D.pleasantly

The writer’s purpose in mentioning The Republic is to ______.

A.explain why it was included in the list

B.describe why he seriously crossed it off the list

C.show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand

D.prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

The writer provides two book lists to ______.

A.show how he developed his point of view

B.tell his reading experience at high school

C.introduce the two persons’ reading methods

D.explain that he read many books at high school

It is pretty much a one-way street. While it may be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercial world, there is very little traffic in the opposite direction. Pay has always been the biggest deterrent, as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary when moving to a university job. For some industrial scientists, however, the attractions of academia (学术界) outweigh any financial considerations.

　　Helen Lee took a 70% cut in salary when she moved from a senior post in Abbott Laboratories to a medical department at the University of Cambridge. Her main reason for returning to academia mid-career was to take advantage of the greater freedom to choose research questions. Some areas of inquiry have few prospects(前景) of a commercial return, and Lee’s is one of them.

　　The impact of a salary cut is probably less serious for a scientist in the early stages of a career. Guy Grant, now a research associate at the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics at the University of Cambridge, spent two years working for a pharmaceutical (制药的) company before returning to university as a post-doctoral researcher. He took a 30% salary cut but felt it worthwhile for the greater intellectual(智力的) opportunities.

　　Higher up the ladder, where a pay cut is usually more significant, the demand for scientists with a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the transition (转换) to academia more attractive, according to Lee. Industrial scientists tend to receive training that academics do not, such as how to build a multidisciplinary(包括各种学科的) team, manage budgets and negotiate(谈判) contracts. They are also well placed to bring something extra to the teaching side of an academic role that will help students get a job when they graduate, says Lee, perhaps experience in manufacturing practice or product development. “Only a small number of undergraduates will continue in an academic career. So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed to work in an industrial lab has far more potential in the job market than someone who has spent all their time on a narrow research project.”

1.By “a one-way street” in the first paragraph, the author means ________.

A．university researchers know little about the commercial world

B．there is little exchange between industry and academia

C．few industrial scientists would quit to work in a university

D．few university professors are willing to do industrial research

2.The word “deterrent” most probably refers to something that _____.

A．keeps someone from taking action

B．helps to move the traffic

C．attracts people’s attention

D．brings someone a financial burden

3.What was Helen Lee’s major consideration when she changed her job in the middle of her career?

A．Flexible work hours.

B．Her research interests.

C．Her preference for the lifestyle on campus.

D．Prospects of academic accomplishments.

4.Guy Grant chose to work as a researcher at Cambridge in order to ________.

A．do financially more rewarding work

B．raise his status in the academic world

C．enrich his experience in medical research

D．have better intellectual opportunities

5.What contribution can industrial scientists make when they come to teach in a university?

A．Increase its graduates’ competitiveness in the job market

B．Develop its students’ potential in research.

C．Help it to obtain financial support from industry.

D．Adapt its research to practical applications.

How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, impolite waiter，rude boss, or an insensitive employee  1  your day?

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab. One day I was in a taxi and we headed   2  the airport. We were driving in the  3  lane when suddenly a black car drove out of a parking space right in front of us.  My taxi driver slammed on his  4, slide sideways，and at the very last moment our car stopped and  5  the other car by just inches！The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, looked around and started  6  at us.

My taxi driver just  7 and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was  8, so I said，"Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital！” This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call "The Law of the Garbage Truck".

He said, “Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of 9 full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage  10  up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on 11 .  Don’t take it personally; Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be  12 .”

So I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and  13  it to other people at work, at home, or on the street? It was then that I said, “I don’t want their garbage and I’m not going to spread it anymore.”

Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with 14 . The mark of your success is how quickly you can refocus on what’s 15  in your life. See, Roy Baumeister, a psychology researcher from Florida State University，found in his extensive research that you __16  bad things more often than good things in your life. You store the bad memories more easily, and you __17  them more frequently. So love the people who treat you right. Ignore the ones who don’t. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you _18  it！The odds are against you when a Garbage Truck comes your way, but when you follow “The Law of the Garbage Truck”，you take back control of your life. You make room for the good by  19 go of the bad.

Have a Garbage-Free Day！Have a marvelous, garbage-free day！The seeds you plant today  20  the harvest you reap tomorrow.

1.                A．enrich         B．ruin            C．spare D．obtain

2.                A．through        B．to             C．in   D．for

3.                A．latter          B．right           C．opposite  D．free

4.                A．brakes         B．door           C．window   D．seat

5.                A．knocked        B．overtook        C．missed   D．lost

6.                A．laughing        B．throwing        C．glancing  D．yelling

7.                A．wondered      B．smiled          C．ignored   D．guessed

8.                A．friendly        B．angry          C．tired D．disappointed

9.                A．expectation     B．passengers      C．garbage  D．goods

10.               A．turns          B．pushes         C．holds D．piles

11.               A．roads          B．children        C．you  D．dustbin

12.               A．upset          B．happier        C．pitiful D．frightened

13.               A．spread         B．share          C．explain    D．contribute

14.               A．surprise        B．pleasure        C．doubt D．regrets

15.               A．funny          B．important       C．strange    D．embarrassing

16.               A．remember      B．forget          C．value D．appreciate

17.               A．enjoy          B．exchange       C．recall D．imagine

18.               A．inspire         B．take           C．mend D．notice

19.               A．letting         B．consisting       C．making    D．dreaming

20.               A．distinguish      B．deserve        C．deliver    D．determine

Jenny Bowen, an American living in Beijing, has been selected as the only American to carry the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch on Chinese soil. She and seven other non－Chinese winners were chosen from a pool of 262 applicants (申请者) from 47 countries in a contest organized by Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group and the official English－language newspaper, China Daily. When Bowen runs with the Olympic torch, she will not only be representing the United States, but also be representing thousands of Chinese orphans(孤儿).

Bowen, a mother of two adopted Chinese daughters, is the executive director of Half the Sky Foundation, an organization which was founded in 1998 and aims to enrich the lives and improve the prospects for orphaned children in China. In nearly 10 years, Bowen and Half the Sky have touched the lives of over 13,000 children. Half the Sky is now present in 36 welfare (福利) institutions in 28 Chinese cities. About 4,000 children are active in the program, which provides trained staff, educational tools, medical support and nurturing love for orphans.

Bowen hopes that running with the Olympic torch will help draw attention to the children in China. She will be among 19,400 runners who will carry the flame along an 85,000－mile, 130－day route across five continents. Beijing organizers say it will be the longest torch relay in Olympic history.

Like Bowen, the seven other non－Chinese winners, including a German engineer and a Venezuelan graphic designer, live in China. Other countries represented will be the Philippines, Colombia, India, Japan and Russia.

According to Olympic organizers, candidates (候选人) were selected based on an online vote, committee selection, their “love of Chinese culture and history” and devotion to “communicating information of a real China to their native countries”. Each runner will carry the torch for 200 meters on Chinese soil.

6. According to the text, Jenny Bowen ________.

A. is interested in Chinese sports

B. founded Half the Sky, an organization which aims to help Chinese orphans

C. has adopted 13,000 children during 10 years

D. loves Chinese culture and history

7. Bowen hopes that being a torch runner would help ________.

A. collect educational tools, medical support, etc, for orphans

B. make Half the Sky Foundation well known

C. communicate information of America

D. draw attention to orphans in China

8. Which of the following about the 2008 torch relay is WRONG?

A. The contest for its runners is organized by Lenovo Group and China Daily.

B. It has eight foreign runners, including an American, a German and a Venezuelan.

C. It will be the longest relay with the most runners in Olympic history.

D. It will be an opportunity to communicate information of a real China to the world.

9. What's the BEST title for the passage?

A. A US woman to carry 2008 Olympic torch in China

B. Happy life of a US woman in China

C. Development of Chinese welfare institutions

D. The longest torch relay in Olympic history

10. The text is a(n)________．

A. biography                 B. argument            

C. news report               D. advertisement