A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone’s else or ourselves --- the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.

We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”

Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clear will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh（刻薄的）and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.

Words possess power because of their lasting effect. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.

Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem（自尊）and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.

The main idea of the first paragraph is that ________.

    A．words have a lasting effect on us  B．inspiring words give us confidence

    C．negative words may let us down 

D．not sticks and stones but words will hurt us 

There is no sense for us to feel embarrassed when we talk to ourselves because _______.

    A．almost everybody has the habit of talking to themselves

    B．talking to ourselves always gives us courage

    C．we can benefit from talking to ourselves

    D．it does no harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone

The underlined part in the third paragraph means that we should also timely _______.

    A．remind ourselves     B．praise ourselves

    C．make ourselves relaxed   D．give ourselves amusement

．The author would probably hold the view that ___________.

    A．encouraging words are sure to lead to kind offers

    B．negative words may stimulate us to make more progress

    C．people tend to remember friendly words

    D．it is better to think twice before talking to others

The word “day” has two meanings. When we talk about the number of days in a year, we are using “day” to mean 24 hours. But when we talk about day and night, we are using “day” to mean the time between sunrise and sunset. Since the earth looks like a ball, the sun can shine on only half of it at a time. Always one half of the earth is having day and the other half night. A place is moved from day into night and from night into day over and over by the spinning(旋转) of the earth. At the equator(赤道) day and night are sometimes the same length. They are each twelve hours long. The sun rises at 6 in the morning and sets at 6 in the evening. For six months the North Pole is tilted(倾斜) toward the sun. In those months the Northern Hemisphere(半球) gets more hours of sunlight than the Southern Hemisphere. Days are longer than nights. South of the equator nights are longer than days. For the other six months the North Pole is tilted away from the sun. Then the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight. Days are longer than night. North of the equator nights are longer than days. Winter is the season of long nights. Summer is the season of long days.

1.When the Western Hemisphere is having day, the Eastern Hemisphere is having ______.

A.both day and night      B.day             C.neither day nor night       D.night

2.A place is moved from day into night and from night into day over and over by ______ of the earth.

A.the pushing          B.the pulling      C.the spinning        D.the passing

3.At the equator day is as long as night ______.

A.sometimes            B.never            C.usually             D.always

4.When the North Pole is tilted toward the sun, the Northern Hemisphere gets _____ sunlight.

A.less                  B.more              C.all                 D.no

5.When it is winter in China, ______.

A. the USA is tilted toward the sun            

B. the South Pole is tilted away from the sun

C. the North Pole is tilted toward the sun    

D. the North Pole is tilted away from the sun

When we talk about a bad man, we like to call him a “wolf”. But is it really true that the wolf stands for devil and ugliness?

Have you read the book The Wolf Totem（狼图腾） by a famous writer Jiang Rong which tells the story of the relationship between wolves and human beings? Have you ever   36   the wolves’ world? If you had, you would   37   the wolves.

In the book, wolves are heroes on the large grassland. They know more about   38   than humans. They can attack lambs without disturbing their mothers. They also know how to   39    full use of the shape of land to   40   sheep. I believe that if wolves were humans, they would be   41   experts good at fighting.

The wolf is a kind of special creature that can deeply understand   42  . Each wolf serves its group with its heart and soul. A   43   wolf has little power, but a pack of wolves   44   nothing. All the wolves obey the rules.   45   they are defeated, they run away together. It is their teamwork   46   makes wolves powerful.

The wolves also have great self-respect and won’t   47   to anyone. The writer, who wrote the book The Wolf Totem，  48   stole a one-month-old baby wolf and raised it very carefully. To his   49  , he found the little wolf still wanted to go back with   50   wolves. He bit through the iron chain that limited him. The wolf was   51   and he never gave in, fighting   52   his death. The little wolf died as a glorious fighter.

I was shocked by this kind of   53  : wolves are one of the most respected creatures on earth. I want everyone to look at wolves in a   54   way. They are our teachers. They show us how to survive and   55   in this not simple and dangerous world. Please honor the wolves, please honor all these heroes of nature!_　

When we talk about a bad man, we like to call him a “wolf”. But is it really true that the wolf stands for devil and ugliness？

Have you read the book “The Wolf Totem” by a famous writer Jiang Rong, which tells the story of the relationship between wolves and human beings? Have you ever   41  the wolves' world? If you had, you would 　42  the wolves. In the book, wolves are heroes on the large grassland. They know more about   43　than humans. They can attack lambs without disturbing their mothers. They also know how to   44　 full use of the shape of land to   45　 sheep. I believe that if wolves were humans, they would be 　46　 experts good at fighting.

The wolf is a kind of special creature that can deeply understand 　47　.Each wolf serves its group with its heart and soul. A 　48　 wolf has little power, but a pack of wolves   49　 nothing. All the wolves obey the rules. 　50　 they are defeated, they run away together. It is their teamwork   51　 makes wolves powerful.

The wolves also have great self respect and won't 　52　 to anyone. The writer, who wrote the book “The Wolf Totem”, 　53　 stole a one-month-old baby wolf and raised it very carefully. To his 　54　, he found the little wolf still wanted to go back with   55　 wolves. He bit through the iron chain that limited him. The wolf was   56　 and he never gave in, fighting 　57　 his death. The little wolf died as a glorious fighter.

I was shocked by this kind of 　58　 wolves are one of the most respected creatures on the earth. I want everyone to look at wolves in a 　59　 way. They are our teachers. They show us how to survive and 　60　 in this not simple but dangerous world. Please honor the wolves, please honor all these heroes of nature!

Today, whether or not you follow the latest trends, one’s fashion and choice of dress is a reflection of one’s individual style and tastes. Can you still remember how you dressed at the start of China’s opening-up? Today’s program is one of a special series commemorating （纪念） the 30th anniversary of reform and opening-up in China. In these two episodes we focused on fashion and style and were honored to invite two special guests to join us in studio—Ms. Zhang Ling from Raffles-BICT Inter-national College and Alex from Esquire magazine.

When we talk about fashion, color is absolutely crucial. A color can reflect the mood of an individual person or the spiritual temperament（性情） of entire society or age. Mrs. Zhang and Alex talked about the colors which have left the greatest impression on them. In the 1960s and 70s, blue and grey were the dominant colors at the time and people had limited choices to dress up. But fast forward to the present, you will find no difficulty in choosing from array(大批) of vivid colors in the market.

We also gave our guests a list of keywords—traditional brands, jeans, DIY, international brands, personal dress for them to choose from in order to represent the fashion of their generation. We find out that for every keyword our guest chose, there was a special story behind it. Some of the stories brought us back to old times—we even brought some vintage(古老的) clothing from the 60s and 70s up on stage and invited some audience members to try them on.

When we mention fashion, we must mention brand. With increasing disposable（可自由使用的） income and purchasing power of the Chinese, many luxury brands have flocked into China. However, you could imagine in 1980s, when the first inter-national brand came to China, it unveiled（展示） a fashion storm among the Chinese.

1.  China’s opening-up dates back to _______.

2. All of the following EXCEPT _______ are keywords in representing the fashion of our generation.

3.  The fact that many luxury brands have flocked into China shows that _______.