Charlotte Hollins faces a battle. The 23-year-old British farmer and her 21-year-old brother Ben are fighting to save farm that their father worked on since he was 14. Although confident they will succeed, she is aware of farming’s many challenges.

“You don’t often get a day off. Supermarkets put a lot of pressure on farmers to keep prices low. With fewer people working on farms it can be isolating,” she said. “There is a high rate of suicide and farming will never make you rich!”

Like others around the world, Charlotte’s generation tend to leave the farm for cities.

Oliver Robinson, 25, grew up in Yorkshire. But he never considered staying on his father and grandfather’s land. “I’m sure Dad hoped I’d stay,” he said. “I guess it’s a nice, straightforward life, but it doesn’t appeal to me. For young, ambitious people, farm life is hard.”

For Robinson, farming doesn’t offer much “in terms of money or lifestyle”. Hollins agrees that economic factors stop people from enjoying the rewards of farming. He describes it as a career that provides “for a vital human need”, allowing people to work “outdoors with nature.”

Farming is a big political issue in the UK. The “Buy British” campaigns urge consumers not to purchase cheaper imported foods. The 2001 foot and mouth crisis closed thousands of farms, stopped meat exports, and raised public consciousness about the troubles on UK farms.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s 2005 campaign to get children eating healthily also highlighted the issue.

This national concern gives hope to farmers competing with powerful supermarkets. While most people buy food from the big supermarkets, hundreds of independent Farmers’ Markets are becoming popular.

“I started going to Farmers’ Markets in direct defiance(违抗) of the big supermarkets. I seriously objected to the super-sizing of everything－what exactly do they put on our apples to make them so big and red? It’s terrible,” said Londoner Michaela Samson, 31.

1.What are the challenges that British farmers face according to Charlotte Hollins?

a. loneliness                       b. thin profits

c. a lack of good equipment        d. long working hours but slow results

A．abc              B．abd              C．acd              D．bcd

2.Why did Oliver Robinson refuse to stay on the farm?

A．He hoped for a simpler life

B．He was fed up with a hard farm life.

C．Farm life was too demanding though he liked it.

D．He hoped for something challenging and rewarding.

3.What happened in 2001 to the British beef farmers?

A．British people ate more British beef.

B．To be a beef farmer became profitable.

C．Diseaes dramatically reduced the amount of beef available.

D．Foreign farmers stopped selling beef to Britain.

4.Which of the following is an advantage of Farmers’ Markets?

A．Lower prices.                          B．Flexible sizes.

C．Convenient location.                     D．Healthier food.

5.What can we conclude from the last two paragraphs?

A．Things are improving for independent farms in the UK.

B．Farming in the UK can now match the powerful supermarkets.

C．Most British people are doubtful of food in supermarkets.

D．Most British people have realized the problems facing farms and begun to help save them.

When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say. “Well, it’s so-and-so’s fault.” Or “I know I am late, but it’s not my fault; the car broke down.” It is not your fault, but once you form the habit of blaming（责备） somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a lose. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.

Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined regularly .Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.

This is what being a winner is all about---creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens Winners don’t have few problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “Whose fault it is”. Once you are confident about power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.

1.According to the passage, winners__________.

A．deal with problems rather than blame others

B．meet with fewer difficulties in the lives

C．have responsible and able colleagues

D．blame themselves rather than others

2.The underlined word“remedy” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.

A．avoid             B．accept            C．improve          D．consider

3.When your colleague(同事) brings about a problem, you should _________.

A．find a better way to handle the problems

B．blame him for his lack of responsibility

C．tell him to find the cause of the problem

D．ask a more able colleague for help

4.When problems occur, winners take them as__________.

A．excuses for their failures

B．barriers（障碍） to greater power

C．challenges to their colleagues

D．chances for self-development

5.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．A winner’s Secret                      B．A Winner’s Problem

C．A Winner’s Opportunity                 D．A Winner’s Achievement

Since many of you are planning to study at a college or university in this country, you may be curious to know what you usually do in a typical week, how you can get along with your fellow students, and so on. These are the questions I want to discuss with you today.

First, let’s talk about  what your weekly schedule will look like. No matter what your major may be, you can expect to spend between four and six hours a week for each class attending lectures. Lectures are usually in very large rooms because some courses such as introduction to sociology or economics often have as many as two or three hundred students, especially at large universities. In lectures, it’s very important for you to take notes on what the professor says because the information a lecture is often different from the information in your textbooks. Also, you can expect to have exam questions based on the lectures. So it isn’t enough to just read your textbooks; you have to attend lectures as well. In a typical week you will also have a couple of hours of discussion for every class you take. The discussion section is a small group meeting usually with fewer than thirty students where you can ask questions about the lectures, the reading, and the homework. In large universities, graduate students, called teaching assistants, usually direct discussion sections.

If your major is chemistry, or physics, or another science, you’ll also have to spend several hours a week in the lab, or laboratory, doing experiments. This means that science majors spend more time in the classroom than non science majors do. On the other hand, people who major in subjects like literature or history usually have to read and write more than science majors do.

1.The main purpose of this text is       .

A．to persuade the students to attend lectures

B．to encourage the students to take part in discussions

C．to advise the students to choose proper majors

D．to help the students to learn about university life.

2.We can learn from the passage that university professors       .

A．spend about 5 hours on lectures each week

B．must join the students in the discussion sections

C．require the students to read beyond the textbooks

D．prefer to use textbooks in their lectures

3.A discussion section does NOT include       .

A．talking over what the students have read about the courses

B．working under the guidance of university professors

C．discussing the problems related to the students’ homework

D．raising questions about what a professor has said in a lecture

4.According to the author, science majors       .

A．read and write less than non science majors

B．have to work harder than non science majors

C．spend less time on their studies than non science majors

D．consider experiments more important than discussions

When something goes wrong，it can be very satisfying to say，”Well,it’s so-and-so’s fault.”or “I know I’m late，but it’s not my fault；the car broke down.”It is probably not your fault，but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation，you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However,you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.

Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you  need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or  don’t rely on the person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.

This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose fault it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stop on for success.

1.According to the passage, winners        .

A. deal with problems rather than blame others

B. meet with fewer difficulties in their lives

C. have responsible and able colleagues

D. blame themselves rather that others

2.The underlined word remedy in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to        .

A. avoid            B. accept           C. improve          D. consider

3.When your colleague brings about a problem, you should         .

A. find a better way to handle the problem

B. blame him for his lack of responsibility

C. tell him to find the cause of the problem

D. ask a more able colleague for help

4. When problems occur, winners take them as      

A. excuses for their failures

B. barriers to greater power

C. challenges to their colleagues

D.chances for self-development

5. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. A Winner’s Secret.                  B. A Winner’s Problem.

C. A Winner’s Opportunity.         D. A Winner’s Achievement.

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题纸（卡）上相应题号的横线上。

When young children are learning to ride a bicycle, they require that their parents hold on to the back of the bike so that they gain confidence and won’t fall off.

However, when children leave to go to college, or get married, parents must accept that their children are riding off into their own future. At this time, parents shouldn’t stand back and with the children gone, they are left with an empty nest. How can parents get through this period of life?

The first thing you should do is nothing at all. You should actually take some time to rest since your child was born. Just relax and reward yourself for the work you put into your child.

Taking some time for yourself will allow you to adjust to the change and figure out how you really feel about your child’s departure (离开). You shouldn’t compare how you feel with how other people feel, as everyone’s experience of an empty nest is different.

Exercise is a great mood lifter. A physical fitness program may have been one of the first sacrifices (牺牲) you made when your child came along; now, with fewer duties, you’ll have time to hit the gym regularly. If you have a friend who also has become an empty nester recently, you may have found a new companion. Not only will you get the chance to share dealing with tips, you’ll also create social opportunities for yourself, which will get you out of that empty house if you need to.

We all have those things that we say we’ll do or learn “someday”. If you’re an empty nester, the “someday” might just be now.

If you’re not sure exactly what to do in all your spare time, take your time and think about it. It will, however, probably be easier to figure out your dream when you’re out. Try exploring a nearby museum or attraction you’ve never visited.

Many parents may fear an empty nest because they worry that their little birds have flown away forever. Try setting up a regular phone date with your child. A once-a-week call may make you feel satisfied while giving your child a reasonable degree of freedom.