C
The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, painfree life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever getting real happiness．If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness．But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness is connected with some pain．
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts（尝试）that are the source of true happiness They fear the pain brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment（承担的义务），self-improvement．
Ask a bachelor（单身汉）why he refuses marriages even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying, if he’s honest he will tell you afraid of making a commitment．For commitment is in fact painful．The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement．Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most unusual features．
Couples with baby children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation．I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children．But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild．
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has noting to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations．It liberates（解放）time; now we can devote more hours to activities that can increase our happiness．It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless．And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all．
48．Raising children, in the author’s opinion, is________．
A．a duty we should have to perform      B．a thankless job
C．a source of pain that can’t be avoided    D．a rewarding task
49．To understand what true happiness is one must________．
A．have as much fun as possible during ones lifetime
       B．make every effort to free oneself from pain
C．put up with pain in all conditions
D．be able to tell happiness from fun
50．What is the writer trying to tell us?
A．One must know how to get happiness
B．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain
C．It is important to make commitments
D．Pain usually leads to happiness

C

       The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, painfree life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever getting real happiness．If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness．But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness is connected with some pain．

       As a result, many people avoid the very attempts（尝试）that are the source of true happiness They fear the pain brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment（承担的义务），self-improvement．

       Ask a bachelor（单身汉）why he refuses marriages even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying, if he’s honest he will tell you afraid of making a commitment．For commitment is in fact painful．The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement．Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most unusual features．

       Couples with baby children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation．I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children．But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild．

       Understanding and accepting that true happiness has noting to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations．It liberates（解放）time; now we can devote more hours to activities that can increase our happiness．It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless．And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all．

48．Raising children, in the author’s opinion, is________．

       A．a duty we should have to perform       B．a thankless job

       C．a source of pain that can’t be avoided    D．a rewarding task

49．To understand what true happiness is one must________．

       A．have as much fun as possible during ones lifetime

       B．make every effort to free oneself from pain

       C．put up with pain in all conditions

       D．be able to tell happiness from fun

50．What is the writer trying to tell us?

       A．One must know how to get happiness

       B．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain

       C．It is important to make commitments

       D．Pain usually leads to happiness

A university graduate described as a “respectable and intelligent” woman is seeking professional help after being convicted of （证明有……罪）shoplifting for the second time in six months．

       Ana Luz, recently studying for her PhD, has been told she could end up behind bars unless she can control the desire to steal from shops．

       Luz ,who lives with her partner in Fitzwilliam Road ,Cambridge ,admitted stealing clothes worth ￡9．95 from John Lewis in Oxford Street ,London ,on March 9．

       Phillip Lemoyne ,prosecuting（起诉）,said Luz selected some clothes from a display and took them to the ladies’ toilet in the store．When she came out again she was wearing one of the skirts she had selected ,having taken off the anti-theft security alarms（防盗警报装置）．

       She was stopped and caught after leaving the store without paying ,Mr Lemoyne said．

       He added that she was upset on her arrest and apologized for her actions．

       Luz,28, was said to have been convicted of shoplifting by Cambridge judges last October ,but Morag Duff, defending ,said she had never been in trouble with the police before that．

       “She is ashamed and embarrassed but doesn’t really have any explanation why she did this ,” Miss Duff said．“She didn’t intend to steal when she went into the store．She is at a loss to explain it．She is otherwise a very respectable and intelligent young lady．She went to her doctor and asked for advice because she wants to know if there is anything in particular that caused her to do this．”

       Judge David Azan fined Luz ￡ 50,  and warned : “You’ve got a criminal record．If you carry on like this ,you will end up in prison ,which will ruin your bright future you may have．”

       Luz achieved a degree in design at university in her native Spain ,went on to a famous university in Berlin , Germany for her master’s degree and is now studying for a PhD at Cambridge University ,UK．

What is Ana Luz’s nationality?

       A．American．     B．British．  C．Spanish． D．German．

What does the underlined sentence “She is at a loss to explain it” mean?

       A．In her opinion it was a loss to the clothes shops where she stole things．

       B．She doesn’t have any idea why she has the desire to steal from shops．

       C．She thinks it is a loss for her to explain why she stole things from shops．

       D．Personally she feels ashamed and embarrassed for her shoplifting actions．

Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “shoplifting” used in the passage?

       A．Carrying goods in a lift for a shop．    

       B．Taking goods to the ladies’ toilet．

       C．Selecting some goods from a display． 

       D．Taking goods from a shop without paying．

From the passage we can learn that          ．

       A．Ana Luz is already got her PhD at Cambridge University ,UK

       B．Ana Luz is ashamed and embarrassed and knows why she often did so

       C．the university graduate will be put in prison if she steals in shops once more

       D．Phillip Lemoyne is the “respectable and intelligent” woman’s defense lawyer

The Touchstone

    When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read little, bought it for very little money.

The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the "Touchstone"! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold.

The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. The days continued over a long period if time.

One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along he still threw it away.

    So it is with opportunity. Unless we are cautious, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away.

The man bought the book because          .

      A．he wanted to read it B．it was very interesting

       C．there was a secret in the book  D．he wanted to find the touchstone

We can learn from the passage that the touchstone is         .

       A．pure  B．cold  C．magic       D．big

Why did the man throw the pebbles into the sea?

       A．Because he didn’t want to get the same pebbles.

       B．Because he didn’t want others to pick them up.

       C．Because he didn’t like their ordinary looks.

       D．Because he didn’t like the cold feelings.

What does the author want to tell us in the passage?

       A．We about orate opportunities in our life.

       B．We should seek for opportunities in the world.

       C．We may seize opportunities when we are watchful

       D．We may discover opportunities when forming habits.

       The Zhoukoudian Beijing Man Site is one of the most important world heritage sites in China．Since the discovery, which changed China’s knowledge of its history, was made in the 1920s, Zhoukoudian has become an important place for archaeologists from all over the world．At the site in the south-west suburb of Beijing, there is, for example, the earliest evidence of the use of fire by humans．It has also been proved that people lived there continuously between 500,000 and 10,000 years ago．

       Today, however, Zhoukoudian is in serious danger．Parts of the cave have been badly affected by rain and exposure to the air．Some areas are almost completely covered in weeds, causing serious damage．Pollution from nearby cement factories has also contributed to the problem．

       The site is extremely expensive to maintain and it will cost between three and five million yuan to repair it．At the moment, visitors are not allowed to visit the caves．

       Zhoukoudian is on the World Cultural Heritage List, organized by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization．The list is constantly checked．Any site which is seriously damaged or which is not properly protected is an endangered heritage, and UNESCO is very quick to do something about situations like this．They have recommended that the site be closed and repaired．If nothing is done to repair it, it could be removed from the list．

       This is a very serious matter and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is trying to raise public awareness about it．They have suggested that the general public be encouraged to help with the problem．A professor at the Academy has proposed that a fund be established to raise money．

       Dr Zhu Ming of the Academy said, “ We have requested that the government get involved, but we also need assistance from ordinary people．They can help by contributing to the cost of repairing the caves．They are a precious part of our cultural heritage—it is of vital importance that we do something．If not, it will be a catastrophe．”

Why is Zhoukoudian of great importance in China?

     A．Because the site tells some information about how man lived in the old times．

     B．Because it has brought in lots of money as a place of interest．

     C．Because it is the only place in China on the World Cultural Heritage List．

     D．Because it changed our knowledge of China’s history of the 1920’s．

What is the second paragraph about?

     A．Zhoukoudian’s discovery               B．Zhoukoudian’s future   

       C．Zhoukoudian’s in danger               D．Zhoukoudian’s protection

The following has caused the damage of the site except________________．

     A．Weeds         B．Rain      C．Fire            D．Cement factories

The passage suggests that to repair Zhoukoudian, Chinese Academy of Sciences is seeking help from_________．

     A．Archaeologists from all over the world     

       B．Government and the public

     C．Experts from UNESCO                  

       D．Visitors

Which of the following can replace the underlined word “catastrophe”?

     A．case     B．worry          C．wonder        D．disaster