What I like to advise people is to find out what it is that makes them happy. What do you love to do? If you truly love what you do just go ahead and try to make a living by doing it. People will throw money at you to do it. But you will always have to work hard at it. I have to draw every single day of my life. I have to draw about 20 ideas. My advice is to put aside a certain amount of time every day and make you draw or whatever, especially when you don’t feel like it. Only in this way will you be able to perfect your talent.

The first step you take is to go to your local library and ask for the publications issued in the current years. When you get these publications, try to find the names of the top people concerned and their presidents. After you find these, write down their names and addresses. Keep this list and update it every year. Next thing you want to do is to create at least 40 cartoons. Get a grid（格子） from one of the strips in the newspapers, enlarge it to whatever size you wish and draw inside this grid. Now take the best 20 of your ideas and make them into finished pieces. To do this, you would want to copy them in ink because if you were a professional cartoonist, that was what you should do. Now you can reduce the size of the finished cartoons to fit onto a regular comic’s page. By comparing yours with the others already in print, it gives you a good idea of clarity to your cartoon.

The next step is to write letters to presidents of the publication. In the letters, explain who you think would read your work, or in other words, what group do you think you would target. After you complete these, send all of your information enclosed with letters in the appropriate envelope.

Now as soon as you send out these letters, start to create a brand new strip with all new characters. Don’t get married to one idea because if your idea gets turned down then you will give up. And always remember. If you receive a rejection from any of them, keep in mind that you are working on something better. You will be working on something new and more exciting and the rejection letter will not have any impact. With this in mind…

1.What is the advice from the writer in the first paragraph when you want to succeed in your life?

A. Stop doing anything until you find something quite suitable for your future career.

B. Put aside a certain amount of time every day to consider how to make a living.

C. Make a living by something that you truly like to do as your profession and work hard at it.

D. Perfect your talent only by drawing some cartoons.

2.The purpose of writing a letter to the president was to ____.

A. get some money to support the later career

B. enclose the information on how to become cartoonists with the letter

C. focus his attention on the work

D. explain who would be the readers of the work

3. The underlined phrase “get married to one idea” in the last paragraph probably refers to ______.

A. having a strong desire to get married

B. fixing all attention on one idea

C. marrying someone is a good ideas

D. refusing one idea to get married

MY Chinese friend is going to the US and he is nervous about what to talk about. “Talk about the weather,” is my advice.
“How are you?” is often followed by comments about the weather. “Nice day today.” “Cold/hot enough for you?” “Will it ever stop raining?” “Some winter we’re having.” “Can’t remember a winter/summer so cold/hot.” “Whew, it’s hot out there.”
These introductory statements are often followed by a long conversation entirely about weather conditions. Past, present and – with global warming – speculation (推测) about the future.
Our fascination with weather might seem silly, but the real purpose behind those endless discussions is small talk. Weather’s a safe topic of conversation. As a group, we Americans seem to enjoy chatting with those around us. Whenever we stand in line at the grocery store, we tend to engage in this sort of conversation with other people standing in line with us. If I were seated next to another American on any form of public transport, I’d expect both of us to make some harmless comment about the weather as a way of acknowledging (承认) each other’s presence (存在). At parties, the weather is a common topic, especially with those you are meeting for the first time.
In contrast we are taught to avoid certain topics like religion and politics. Weather is neutral (中性的); you don’t have to have an opinion about it, just make a statement of a fact. What is truly interesting is the fact that we can go on and on about it.
My Chinese friend has a hard time understanding why we put so much effort into this topic – and why I warn him about bringing up much more “interesting” subjects like salaries or how much something costs.
Sometimes it is tricky (复杂的) to wend (行走) one’s way through winding cultural roads, especially those that are never taught in books.
【小题1】What does the writer suggest her Chinese friend should talk about with people in the US? (No more than two words)
【小题2】Why do Americans enjoy talking to people around them about the weather, in writer’s opinion? (No more than ten words)
【小题3】List four topics that people should avoid talking about in the US. ( No more than 5 words)

How can I help ________ if people just don’t follow my advice?

A.      this                B. them                 C. that              D. it

The 92-year-old, thin, calm and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, even though she is nearly blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she walked slowly to lift, I provided a true description of her tiny room, including the old sheets(床单) that had been hung on her window. “I love it.” She said with the happiness.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…. Just wait..”  “That doesn’t matter.” She replied. “ Happiness is something you decide ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my mind, I have already decided to lobe it. It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I will focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away.” She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account(帐户). You put what you have in. So, my advice to you would be to put in a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank.” And with a smile, she said, “All my memories are happy ones.”
Mr. Jones was always happy in the nursing home and she died at the age of 108.
【小题1】 We can infer from the passage that the writer_____________.

This story is about a 92-year-old, short, well-behaved and proud lady. She is fully dressed each morning by eight, with her hair fashionably done and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is totally blind. She is moving to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she moved to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet(观察孔) sheets that had been hung on her window.“I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old girl having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room yet. Just wait.” “That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up.”

“I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting(叙述) the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw(收回) from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit(储蓄) a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank. I am still depositing.”

Which is the direct reason for the lady’s move to a nursing home?

A. She is totally blind.       B. She can not dress herself any more.

C. She is 92 years old.       D. Her husband has passed away.

When I described the room in which the lady would live, she was     .

A. disappointed        B. angry       C. happy      D. sad

From the third paragraph we can infer that     .

A. the lady’s attitude towards life was positive

B. the lady wanted the furniture well arranged

C. the lady disliked the writer’s description

D. the lady decided to get up early every day

The best title of the passage would be “    ”.

A. Life Is like a Bank Account             B. Saving More Money for Your Life  

C. Life Is Full of Sorrow and Happiness      D. Coming Out from the Shadow of Life