My students often tell me that they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork.
My reply is often a brief “You have as much time as the president.” I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.
Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was, “That’s irrelevant (无关的). What’s important is the quality of your work.” Since then I have had time to think carefully about the “hard worker” dodge (诀窍), and I have come to some conclusions — all relevant to the problem of how much time we have.
If you analyze the matter, you can identify two parts of the problem: There is, of course, the matter of “time”, which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the problem of “work” during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it’s not how hard one works but the quality of the product that’s important.
That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office: “Don’t work harder. Work smarter.” There is a lot of sense in that idea.
If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “study habits”.
Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies.
【小题1】We can infer from the 2^nd paragraph that we students still _____ .

单词拼写（10分）
【小题1】G              changes of climate may have been responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs.
【小题2】Too much salt can be h              to a young baby.
【小题3】With the d              of science, more and more new technologies are playing important roles in people’s life.
【小题4】She grew up in a w              family, which resulted in the fact that she cared little about money.
【小题5】The postman has to get up before d              every day in order to deliver the letters in time.
【小题6】The skirt is too f              for me. I prefer a plain one.
【小题7】We have found further scientific e              for his experiment.
【小题8】We left the forest hungry, so we went to Calistoga in s              of a place to eat. Unfortunately, it took us almost two hours to find one.
【小题9】The main e              to the park is on Gongyuan Road, near the City Railway Station. Admission is free for children under 12.
【小题10】After the v              quarrel, the young couple realized that their marriage had come to an end.

I woke up late and had breakfast in a hurry. I had never been late and didn’t want my boss to be unsatisfied.
However, it seemed that the day wasn’t a lucky one for me from the very second I left my flat. The moment I wanted to rush downstairs, one of my stiletto heels (细高跟) broke. I had to return to change my red shoes. I also had to change my purse and other little things that I had tried to match with the shoes. I was sure I would be late for work.
On my way to work I had to wait for over half an hour because of an accident. I had no choice but to wait. I phoned my boss and he told me that it was no problem, but he needed me for the meeting with the Japanese clients (客户) that morning.
Finally, I arrived at the office one hour later. I had to keep calm and be fresh for the meeting to make the clients sure that our plan was the best for their future business project. However, I left the plan I had made the night before at home and was going to make a presentation (介绍) about it to the clients. I was about to get angry when I realized that I had a copy of it in my office.
At last, the meeting came to an end and it turned out to be successful. But I have to say that I had a terrible day, full of incidents.
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT the reason of the writer being late for her work?

Every day we go to school and listen to teachers, and the teacher will ask us some questions. Sometimes, the classmates will ask your opinions of the work of the class. When you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics, remember that they must be able to hear what you are saying. You are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends --- you are in a situation where a large group of people will remain silent, waiting to hear what you have to say. You must speak so that they can hear you loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force yourself.
Remember, too, that it is the same if you are called to an interview whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet you. The person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease in ordinary conversation but the situation is somewhat different from that of an ordinary conversation. You must take special care that you can be heard.
【小题1】When you speak to the class, you should speak __________.

A serious problem for today's society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.
First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible,  a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose.  But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs.
Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility, to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor.
In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions. Furthermore, some institution should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows,  this is not a truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.
One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent.
To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations.
1. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The problems faced by the old in society.
B. Why we should take responsibility for the old.
C. How we can improve the lives of the old.
D. Where the old can go to get their pensions.
3. According to the passage, how can the government help to improve the lives of retired people?
A. Set aside some profits to help people with problems after they retire.
B. Increase savings levels of people during their working years.
C. Increase the discounts for food and transport for the old.
D. Make available pensions for those who have retired.
3. The underlined word "viable" most probably means"       ".
A. impossible     B. practical    C. useful   D. successful
4. What is the writer's main purpose in writing this article?
A. To point out the need for government support for old people.
B. To make general readers aware of the problems of retired people.
C. To discuss some possible solutions to an important social problem.
D. To instruct retired people on how they can have a happier life.