Nate suffered a hard blow when he lost his job.His boss had spoken rudely, “Your services are no longer needed.” Nate left the building filled with disappointment.By the time he reached home, he was in a deep depression.When he entered his house, he blurted out to his wife Sophia, “I lost my job.I am a complete failure.” A tense silence followed.Then a smile crept across Sophia’s face.“What great news!” she responded.

“Now you can write the book you have always wanted to write.”

“But I have no job and no prospect of a job,” he objected, completely without hope．“If I struggle to be an author, then what will we live on? Where will the money come from?” Sophia took her husband by the hand and led him to the kitchen．Opening a drawer, she took out a box that was full of cash．“Where on earth did you get this?” Nate gasped.“To whom does it belong?”

“It’s ours!” Sophia replied.“I always knew that one day you would become a great writer if only you were given the chance．From the money you gave me for housekeeping every week, I have saved as much as I could so you would have your chance．Now there is enough to last us a whole year.”

What a surprise! What encouragement! What a wife! The unemployed husband did concentrate on writing that year, and the novel he wrote became a literary(文学)masterpiece.The book is The Scarlet Letter.Sophia had an even greater achievement, and she turned Nathaniel Hawthorne from a poor clerk into a world famous master. 

Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph?

       A.Sophia was very disappointed to hear the news  

       B.Nate was too sad to speak any more

       C.Sophia was thinking of how to encourage Nate 

       D.Neither husband nor wife had any idea what to do

Sophia saved money because _______________________．

       A.she knew her husband would lose his job one day  

       B.she knew their life would be in difficulty

       C.she was very careful with money  

       D.she was trying to help her husband in every possible way      

From the passage we can know that Sophia was __________________________．

       A.kind and brave               B.careful and encouraging

       C.friendly and warm-hearted D.honest and determined

What would be the best title for the passage?

       A.Sophia’s Achievement      

B.A Great Writer’s Struggle to Success

       C.Great Encouragement in Hard Times      

D.Failure is the Mother of Success

When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter（炼铜厂），and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest．One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area．Paul knocked him down．From then on, something happened inside him.

Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office．He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back．The answer from that big industry was “No”.

Paul then went to college to study the science of plants．Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds．It would be a waste of his life to try to do it．Everyone knew that, he was told．Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted．

Paul later got married and had some kids．But his dream would not die．And then one night he did what he could with what he had．As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote．Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.

And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass．For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense．Slowly rabbits appeared．Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.

Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has．It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child.

When Paul was a boy，______________.

       A．he had decided never to leave his hometown

       B．the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter

       C．no laws were made to protect the environment against pollution

       D．he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area

Why did Paul go to college to study the science of plants？

       A．Because he wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself.

       B．Because he was interested in planting trees since he was young.

       C．Because he wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him.

       D．Because he thought his knowledge would make his advice more persuasive.

What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably refer to?

       A．That it was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland.

       B．That his normal work and life would be greatly affected.

       C．That no one would like to join him in the efforts.

       D．That he had to keep everything he did secret.

The company hired Paul to plant trees and grass because___________.

     A．they realized the importance of environmental protection

     B．What Paul was doing moved them

     C．Paul persuaded them to help him

     D．they had legal pressure

The message of the passage is that _____________.

       A．action speaks louder than words

       B．perseverance（持之以恒）will work wonders

       C．God helps those who help themselves

       D．many hands make light work

A woman renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation．She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself．

“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”

“Of course I have a job,” said Emily．“I’m a mother.”

“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation… ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.

       One day I found myself in the same situation．The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title．“What is your occupation?” she asked．

       The words simply popped out．“I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”

       The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.

       I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

       “Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”

       Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t）, in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out)．Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it)．But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”

       There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out．

       As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (依托) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.

       Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern．

       I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”

       Motherhood…What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door.

What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?

       A．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was.

       B．The recorder was impatient and rude.

       C．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced.

       D．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society.

How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?

       A．curious        B．indifferent    C．puzzled             D．interested

How did the author feel when describing her job to the clerk?

     A．calm     B．panic-stricken      C．confident      D．cool

Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?

       A．Because the author cared little about rewards.

       B．Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab.

       C．Because she thought the author did admirable work.

       D．Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of.

What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

       A．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it.

       B．To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect.

       C．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily.

       D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work．                                   

The quest for success always begins with a target．As Berra once said，“You got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going，because you might not get there．”

Too many people wander through life like sleepwalkers．Each day they follow familiar routines，never asking，“What am I doing with my life?’’and they don’t know what they’re doing because they lack goals．

Goal-setting is a focusing of the will to move in a certain direction．Begin with a clear conception of what you want．Write down your goals and date them—putting them into words clarifies them．Rather than concentrating on objects to acquire and possess，focus on fulfilling your desires to do，to produce，to contribute—goal-setting that yields the true sense of satisfaction we all need．

It’s important to visualize(想象)yourself accomplishing your goal．While losers visualize the penalties(不利)of failure，winners visualize the rewards of success．I’ve seen it among athletes，statistics contrasting air and highway safety，but it made no difference．I had read too many articles describing crash scenes and imagined these scenes vividly．I had programmed myself，without realizing it，to stay off planes．

Then one summer I had the opportunity to fly on a private plane with friends to a resort；I didn’t want to miss out on a great vacation．So I spent two weeks imagining a smooth flight on a beautiful sunny day and an easy landing．

When the day arrived，I was eager to go．To everyone’s surprise，I got on the plane and I loved every minute of it，and I still use the techniques I employed that day．

【小题1】According to the passage，if you want to be successful，the first thing for you to do is          .

       A．find the right methods                       B．be careful about everything

       C．know your ability                               D．have a clear goal

【小题2】If you have a target，you will          .

       A．wander like a sleepwalker                         B．know well what you are doing

       C．do the same work every day                  D．put it into words

【小题3】The problem with the author before he overcame his fear of air travel is that          .

       A．he didn’t know air travel is safer than highway travel

       B．he couldn’t imagine himself accomplishing his goal

       C．he read too much about plane crashes and tried to avoid flying

       D．he wanted to take a private plane instead of a public one

【小题4】What would be the best title for this passage?

       A．Define Your Coal

       B．Visualize Rewards of Success

       C．Overcome The Fear of Air Travel

       D．Sleepwalking Through Life

How would you like an easy way to earn 2,500 dollars? All you have to do is to sit around and wait for your meals．There’s catch, however．You have to stay in a chicken cage with a stranger for a whole week．There are no books or television or radio for amusement．You can’t leave until the week is up．And a camera will be recording your every move．

Two people actually took the job．The idea came from Rob Thompson, a video artist．He wanted to make a film about the way animals are treated．His goal was to raise people’s awareness of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food．He decided to pay $ 5000 out of his own savings to two people who were willing to lie like chicken for a week．

To Rob’s surprise, quite a few people answered his advertisement．He had interviews and selected Eric, a 24-year-old restaurant worker, and Pam, a 27-year-old chemist．The plan was for them to spend seven days together in a chicken cage that was six feet long and three feet wide．A camera would record their experience, which would take place in an art museum．

The week was long and difficult．They slept on a hard wooden floor．They couldn’t stand up without banging（重击）their heads．They ate vegetarian mash（土豆泥）and drank water from a garden hosepipe（水龙头软管）．Their only privacy was a toilet surrounded by a curtain．There were no sinks, mirrors, or toothbrushes in the cage．Their only inspiration was the two framed checks that hung on the wall outside the cage．Visitors who came here were warned, “Do not food the humans．”

Finally it was over, Pam and Eric emerged from their cage．They had survived the week, and they each had a $2,500 check in their hands．When Rob Thompson opened the cage, Eric came out, changed into clean clothes, and ate a chocolate bar right away．“It’s great to be able to stand up,” he said．Pam just changed her clothes and left．After a week of visitors and reporters watching her, she didn’t want to talk to anyone．

What kind of person is Rob Thompson?

       A．He is curious about people’s personal life．

       B．He is kind-hearted to animals．

       C．He hates people around．      

       D．He likes to help poor people．

What made it most difficult for the two to stay in the cage?

       A．They didn’t know each other．     

       B．They couldn’t lie down to sleep in the cage．

       C．They didn’t have meat to eat．     

       D．They had to do almost everything under others’ eyes．

Rob offered the money because he wanted________．

       A．to see if there were any people who would like to live in a cage

       B．to show the public how bitter animals’ life could be

       C．to make more money by publishing the recorded video tapes

       D．to improve housing conditions of working people like Eric

Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

       A．Easy Way to Earn $ 2 500．          B．Do Not Feed the Humans．

       C．Living Like a Chicken．                D．Getting Along Well Anyway．