Everyone likes to feel that he or she is special.

       Unfortunately, many of us grow up believing that we’re not special at all. We wish that we could be better at sports or more attractive. We wish we had nicer clothes or more money. Like the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, or the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz (《绿野仙踪》), we believe we’re not good enough just as we are. In the movie, the Scarecrow wishes that he had a brain. The Tin Man wishes he had a heart, and the Lion wants courage. In the end, each of them realizes that he already has what he needs.

       Most parents want us to be the best we can be. They sometimes try to encourage us to do better by comparing us to others. They mean well, but the message we often get is that we’re not good enough. We begin to believe that the only way we can be special is by being better than someone else, but we are often disappointed. There will always be someone out there who is better than we are at something. There are plenty of people around who may not be as smart as we are but who are better at sports. Or they may not be as good-looking, but they have more money. It is impossible for us to be better than everyone else all the time.

       Like the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, we all want what we believe will make us better people. What we don’t realize is that often we already have inside us the very things that we seek. Parents sometimes forget to tell us that we are special, that we are good enough just as we are. Maybe no one told them that when they were growing up, or maybe they just forgot. Either way, it’s up to us to remind them from time to time that each of us, in our own way, is special. What we are ... is enough.

This passage is most likely written by a ______.

A. teenager     B. parent C. teacher       D. coach

According to the author, it seems improper for parents to ______.

A. compare their children with others now and then

B. give no pressure to their children 

C. remind their children frequently they are special

D. praise their children too much

By discussing the characters in The Wizard of Oz, the author mainly wants to show ______.

A. we are not good enough just as we are

B. we already have inside us what we want

C. it is impossible for us to be better than others

D. there is always someone who is better than us

What does the author of this passage believe?

A. Not everyone can be special.                 

B. Smart people are more special than others.

C. The richer you are, the better you are.           

D. We are all good enough just the way we are.

How hard we have all prayed(祈祷) to grow up quickly, and looked forward to the happy days of being a grown-up and enjoying the many interests that a youth should have.
At last, you have grown up. At least you are no longer a child. They call you “young lady”. You then enjoy the pleasure of being a young lady. You are proud of being a grown-up teenager. People welcome you-this young lady-heartily. You are glad that your prayer has been answered.
But there is always something that troubles you a lot. You say; “Papa and Mama, give me some money please. My pocket money is all gone already.”
“No”, they say, “your age is a dangerous age. If you have too much money to spend, it won’t do you any good.” Then you have to stay at home because you dare not go out with an empty pocket.
Another time you tell your grandma, “Grandma, see, I am a grown-up now.”
“Good, now, you can sit here and knit (编织) this for me while I go and have a rest.” To show that you are no more a child, you have to sit there the whole afternoon doing the work, which only a grown-up can do. After an hour, you find it hard to do, and give the knitting basket back to your grandma. Your grandma criticizes your work. You hear what she says, “Such a big girl can’t do such easy work.” You wish then you were a child again.
But the fact is, you are growing up, and you can’t help it. That’s the way it goes!
【小题1】The passage is told about _______ problems.

It is impossible not to make a mistake at some points in your life. We may as well accept that something will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore sensible to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter. This way you can take care over every work you write— which you can’t do if you say sorry to someone in person.

We all say or do something that we wish we hadn’t said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards that a client or customer expected.

You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn’t be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy（修补）the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process.

For the contents of the letter, just remember TABS—Timing, Action, Brevity, Sincerity.

The timing of a letter of apology is essential—it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound the problem. In this case “Better late than never” is not the best motto! The longer you wait before you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been coerced（被迫）into writing it.

Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to rectify whatever it was you did wrong. Research has shown that some indication that you have thought about what future action you plan to take is always well received.

A letter of apology should be brief and the word “sorry” should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware using it a second time—“once again, I am so sorry for…” or “as I said earlier, I am really sorry about…”. Finally, the tone of the letter has to be sincere. In fact, the combination of all the above factors will help in this respect.

And don’t think that letters are out of date in the email—oriented 21st century. An apology email can be worse than no apology at all!

What kind of advice does the text suggest about apologizing?

A. It’s a good idea to write a letter of apology as soon as something has gone wrong.     

B. It’s a good idea to send several emails to apologize.

C. Write a long letter apologizing several times to make your point. 

D. Wait to see how they react to your letter before planning to do anything.

What kind of things do you NOT apologize for?

A. A service that is not as good as it should be.

B. Genuine mistakes.

C. Car accidents.

D. Causing offence or hurt.

The underlined expression “Rather than dwell on the mistake” in the third paragraph means you _____.

A. should not waste time worrying about what happened.  

B. should consider the problem

C. should forget about what happened.

D. should analyse who was at fault.

How can timing compound problems?

A. If you write immediately, they will be suspicious. 

B. If you leave it for a few days, they will know it is your idea to write.

C. Waiting for a few days before you write will show your sincerity.       

D. Waiting too long will make it worse because they won’t believe you mean it.

The words “timetable” and “schedule” make most final year students want to eat their own vomit(呕吐物). Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that final year students must develop a timetable. If you don’t have a schedule or plan for studying, you will have no way of allocating your valuable time when the unexpected arises. A well-thought-out timetable can be a lifesaver. It is up to you to learn how to develop a schedule that meets your needs .Change it if necessary, but most important, follow it. All timetables should be made with the idea that they can be changed. A good one will keep you from wandering off course.

       A good timetable should make every hour count—every class, social event and other activity you engage in .You must focus on the other “free time” available and how you will use it. Make a weekly schedule and divided each day into one-hour increments. Indicate times for classes, socializing, and work time. Also block off a period for sleeping every day. In the precious hours left over, plan time for study. This gives you a rough road map of the time available. Of course, you can change your schedule as circumstances need.

       The timetable you develop should guide you in how to distribute the available time in the most productive manner. Sticking to your schedule can be tough, but don’t dribble away valuable time. Avoiding study is the easiest thing in the world. It is up to you to follow the schedule you’ve prepared. A good deal of your success in high school and with any future study depends on this simple truth.

       Remember, there is a learning curve. You learn the most in the first 30 minutes of study; after that, it progressively deteriorates（减弱）. After four or five hours of studying the same material in the same way, you are learning virtually nothing. The solution is to keep switching subjects and study styles.

What is the best title of the passage?

       A．Advantages of starting a timetable  B．Keep to it, and you will succeed

       C．Make a schedule, and follow it      D．Learn to love your timetable

What does Paragraph 2 talk about?

       A．Tips for making a schedule.            B．Significance of a scientific timetable.

       C．Requirements for making a timetable.    D．Importance of following one’s schedule.

The following are characteristics of a good timetable EXCEPT that     .

       A．it can be changed            B．it is flexible

       C．it is of many periods           D．it can save our time

From this passage, we can learn if we wish to achieve high learning efficiency, we’d better     .

       A．shift subjects and use different methods regularly

       B．devote to the same material continuously

       C．turn to teachers for help if necessary

       D．have a break every thirty minutes

In my experience, one of the greatest reasons of unhappiness is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are．When we see something we don’t like, we wish it could be different–we cry out for something better．That may be human nature, or perhaps it’s something that has been grown in our culture．

The root of the unhappiness isn’t that we want things to be different, however, it’s that we decided we didn’t like it in the first place．We’ve judged it as bad, rather than saying, “It’s not bad or good, but it just is．”

Here is an example．I have written a paper, A Beautiful Method to Find Peace of Mind．Quite a few people think it bad after reading it because I think people should expect things to go differently than you planned, and that you should accept that, instead of encouraging people to change themselves or the environment as much as possible．You could accept it as the way the world works–as the way things actually are．And try to understand why that is, and follow it, as it is．

This can be useful to whatever you do: whether it be how other people act at work, how politics works and how depressing the news media can be．Accept these things as they are, and try to understand why they’re that way．

It’ll save you a lot of sadness because you’ll no longer say, “Oh, I wish things didn’t go bad!”

If you really understand what I mean, you can try a different way to live in this world:accept, and understand．It might lead to some interesting results．

1.What is the major reason why we feel unhappy in the writer’s opinion?

A．We are never satisfied with ourselves and the environment around us．

B．When we see something that makes us unhappy, we don’t know what to do．

C．We feel hard to accept the way things happen themselves．

D．No matter how happy we are, we never want to be happy．

2.What do you think the writer may say to himself when he meets something unhappy?

A．How could I have made such a stupid mistake?

B．I should have done better．It’s all my fault．

C．Why is it all against my plan? It can’t be so bad．

D．Well, I know all is what it is meant to be．Take it easy．

3.Why do some people think badly of the writer’s new paper after reading it?

A．The writer hasn’t shown an encouraging attitude in his paper．

B．The writer asks people to try to make things better．

C．The writer reminds the people that things will go exactly as you’ve planned．

D．The writer doesn’t think it a good idea to accept the things go naturally．

4.The statements below are based on the writer’s points of view, EXCEPT_______

A．Unhappiness may be caused by human nature that we always want things to be better．

B．Why we don’t like the thing is that we have regard it as bad in the beginning．

C．The news media shouldn’t be so depressing if the reporters worked harder．

D．The best way to avoid feeling unhappy is to accept the things as they are．