Who’s in control of your life? Who is pulling your string? For the majority of us, it’s other people—society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course. We were brainwashed. We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us. As Oscar Wilde puts it, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry(模仿), their passions a quotation.”

So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good. We long for this good feeling like a drug. Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to. Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix (一剂毒品). We worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval.

But, just as with any drug, there is a price to pay. The price of the approval drug is freedom—the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think. People have their own agenda, and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they're more interested in themselves than in you. Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand. Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time. The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process.

So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way—make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think. We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values---not values imposed（强加）from the outside by others, but innate values which come from within. If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others, we will live a more authentic, effective, purposeful and happy life.

What Oscar Wilde says implies that _____________.

A. we have thoughts similar to those of others

B. most people have a variety of thoughts

C. most people’s thoughts are controlled by others

D. other people’s thoughts are more important

What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph ?

A. We may lose ourselves to please others.

B. Changing opinions may cost us our freedom.

C. We need to pay for what we want to get.

D. The price of taking drugs is freedom.

In order to live a happy, effective and purposeful life, we should _________.

A. care about others’ opinions and change opinions all the time

B. guide ourselves by means of values from the outside

C. persuade others to accept our opinions

D. stick to our own values

It can be concluded from the passage that __________.

A. we shouldn’t care what others think     B. it’s better to do what we like

C. we shouldn't change our own opinions   D. it’s important to accept others’ opinions

MOST recently, my world has been shaken by the death of a teacher at my school. He was Dr Allan Woolley and he was only 52. Suddenly he took his own life, which remains a mystery.

That morning, everyone sensed that something wasn't right. During our lessons, an announcement was made that an assembly (集会) was scheduled for morning break, which was only done in emergencies.

Once morning break came, the entire school gathered in the main hall. As our headmaster marched out to announce the "momentous (重大的) news", it felt like the air around us trembled . Many students broke down in tears, and the reaction afterward was intensely powerful and unifying .  

The headmaster said that students were allowed to miss lessons and have a free period to collect themselves if they found the news too distressing (悲伤的). Many students went outside and shared memories of Dr Woolley to control theirselves.

Dr Woolley taught me chemistry two years ago, but up until his death he still taught many of my close friends. Many of my friends were so shocked that they still couldn't believe the person that they had owed (欠) some homework to was now dead.

It was heart-warming to spend time with teachers that morning and get to know more about them. Despite the time of sadness, I feel that every cloud has a silver lining. Although Dr Woolley's death is something nobody wanted to see, we must move on.

What did the students feel at the news of his teacher’s death?

A.unhappy   B shocked    C.surprised    D.silent

What does the underlined word “collect” in Paragraph4 mean?

A. bring something together  B.calm  down  

C. increase in amount        D.get and keep

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A.The real cause of Dr Woolley’s death is known to us.

B.Many students didn’t prepare themselves for the bad news so that they felt very sad.

C.It takes the whole school some time to recover from the dispressing news.

D.Dr Woolley’s death allows students to understand teachers better.

It can be inferred from the underlined sentences in the last paregraph that______.

A.Dr Woolley’s death made students sad.

B.There is still some comfort and hope in trouble

C.Dr Woolley’s death disappointed students greatly

D.We should forget the fact to study better.

The best title for the passage should be_______.

A. Our School Faces a Tragedy 

B. Dr Woolley—A Great Teacher

C. The Living Live For the Death

D. Lesson From the Death.

A girl with blue eyes is a blue-eyed girl. A man with long legs is a long-legged man. A woman with white hair is a white-haired woman. Children who have good looks are good-looking children. What do you do when you want to buy clothes? You go to a shop. If you can find clothes that are the right size for you, and if they are ready to wear, you will probably buy them. They are called ready-made clothes. If you can not find clothes that are the right size, you will go to a tailor’s shop. A tailor is a man who makes clothes. He will measure you carefully and will then make clothes for you. Such clothes are called tailor-made clothes.

       What do we call a man who is dressed badly? We call him a badly-dressed man. A woman who is dressed well is called a well-dressed woman.

       What do you wear when it rains heavily? You wear a coat that will keep the rain out. Such a coat is called a raincoat. It is made of waterproof cloth—cloth that does not let water pass through. We have a lot of rain in England. If you come to England, bring a raincoat and an umbrella. You will find them useful.

       If the floor, walls and ceiling of a room are made so that sound cannot pass through the wall, we say that the room is sound-proof. There are sound-proof rooms in all broadcasting stations.

55. The clothes which you buy from the supermarket are called _______ clothes.

A. tailor-made       B. ready-made 

C. hand-made       D. mass production

56. If you come to England, bring both a raincoat and an umbrella because_______        .

   A. there is a lot of rain in England

   B. there are few umbrellas in the country

   C. gentlemen usually carry umbrellas with them in England

   D. walking with an umbrella in hand is popular in England

57. On back of a watch we can often see the word “water-proof”. The word means        .

   A. water won’t get into the watch  

B. you can put water into the watch

   C. not putting the watch into water 

D. you can see the watch clearly in water

58. What do you think is the best title for the article?

   A. The Forms of Compound Words. 

B. Compound Words in Everyday Life

   C. How to Use Compound Words. 

 D. Water-proof Cloth in the Best.

Many American schools have a student exchange program with foreign countries. Along with this program,there is usually another one called the“American Host Family”program.As its name suggests,the program gets American families involved in foreign students’ lives in America and offers homes for them.

Foreign students generally welcome such an opportunity to have a“family”here,but there are also those who prefer to stay“homeless”.

Many American families volunteer to host foreign students.However,if there is a shortage of host families,schools also get in touch with local people and introduced foreign students to them.

The“American Host Family”program changes in lengths of time.It can go from a few days to a few years,depending on each individual school.After the first year is over,it is up to foreign students and their“families”to decide if they want to stay together as a“family”.American families can host as many foreign students as they like.They can either have several students or just one at a time.Many families start with new students each year while still keeping in touch with the old ones.Schools usually leave it to foreign students and their host families to decide their activities after both sides meet.

My school, however, holds activities every year. On major holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas,foreign students are usually invited to their thomes for dinner.Even schools that do not have host family programs often arrange students to get together with American families on these special holiday occasions.

It is typical that a host family invites its foreign daughter or son over,and they cook the student’s home food together,Undoubtedly,Chinese students are usually considered good cooks,whether or not they are really qualified for such praise at home.Although many Chinese students rarely cooked at home,they often have a hard time making their American friends believe that they cannot cook.It often happens when a Chinese student promises to cook a Chinese meal for his host family,he usually sees a little crowd expecting him:friends or relatives are also invited over for the“special”Chinese food!

The best title of the passage might be           .

  A.Studying in the U.S.

  B.The“Host Family Program”in the U.S.

  C.The“Student Exchange Program”in the U.S.

  D.Activities in American Schools

What’s the purpose of the“American Host Family program”?

  A.To bring foreign students closer to American life.

  B.To provide homes for foreign students.

  C.To make greater progress in the study of foreign students.

  D.To supply“sons”or “daughters”for American families.

What can we know about the program from the fourth and fifth paragraphs?

  A.Its time,the number of students and families.

  B.Its activities,the number of schools and students.

  C.Its lengths of time,the number of students and activities.

  D.The number of students,the lengths of time and important holidays.

We can know from the last paragraph that           .

  A.foreign students must prepare their home food for their host family

  B.not all Chinese students are good cooks in the eyes of Americans

  C.it is good manners to invite relatives or friends to taste foreign food

  D.Americans are very interested in foreign food

Taylor sings with heart

The music industry is never short of teen pop stars with wonderful looks, but it doesn’t often find one like US singer Taylor Swift. “Beneath Taylor Swift’s not-a-girl, not-yet-a-woman sweetness hides a very skillful songwriting technique (技巧),” writes Leah Greenblatt with Entertainment Weekly.

Songwriting, the country singer explains, is “how I deal with problems. I am used to writing about things that really influences me most.” So in her songs, there is always something true and honest. They seem like stories from a diary. And that certainly helps Swift attract her audience.

She’s sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first two albums, 2006’s self-titled debut (首张专辑) and 2008’s Fearless. She’s the youngest artist ever to be named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. Not surprisingly, there were great expectations for her third album, Speak Now, which came out late last month, where she again returned to her own life for material. The 14 songs “are all about the last two years... when life was a little bit bigger and crazier,” says Swift. “So I’ve written about the lessons and confusion and heartbreak and all the different things that go along with being 18, 19 and 20.”

What led to Taylor’s fame?

A. Her wonderful looks.              B. Her songwriting skills together with her looks.

C. Her beautiful voice.                 D. Her special life experience in her teenage years.

Which of the following is true?

A. Taylor is now in her twenties.

B. Taylor’s the youngest Artist of the Year at the Academy Awards

C. Taylor has produced three albums up till now.

D. Taylor has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.

What may be written in the album, Speak Now?

A. Her unhappy experience with her boyfriend. k*s5*u

B. Her concern for her popularity.

C. Her happy childhood.

D. Her worries for environmental pollution.