The Pickup

Nadine Gordimer

The book talks about the love between an Arab man and a white South African woman. They come from very different cultures with very different ways of looking at the world.

List price: $16.00

Price: $11.30

You save: $4.70(29%)

Publisher: Picador

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

Atul Gawande

The modern world has given us huge know-how. Yet failures continue to influence us in health care, government, the law, the financial industry and so on. And the reason is simple: there is so much knowledge that it is hard for people to fully command it. Atul Gawande makes an argument that we can do better, using the simplest of methods: the checklist.

List price: $15.00

Price: $ 11.76

You save: $3.24(21%)

Publisher: Picador

Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer

Micheal White

Micheal White tells the colorful life of the world’s first modern scientist. Interesting yet based on fact. Micheal White’s learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him. Newton is shown as a great scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic ended and science began.

List price: $19.95

Price: $15.01

You save: $4.94(25%)

Publisher: Basic Books

1.Who has written a book that talks about cultural differences?

A. Micheal White. B. Adrian Vickers.

C. Atul Gawande. D. Nadine Gordimer.

2.What do The Pickup and The Checklist Manifesto have in common?

A. They have the same price cut.

B. Their list prices are the same.

C. Their authors are introduced in detail.

D. They share the same publisher.

3. In the book Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer Newton _____.

A. is a great but not perfect man

B. lives a meaningful and colorful life

C. is the same as what we commonly know

D. is an old-time gifted scientist and magician

4.Which of the following books offers the biggest price cut?

A. The pickup.

B. Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer.

C. A History of Modern Indonesia.

D. The Checklist Manifesto : How to Get Things Right

Dear Mr. Smith,

I currently rent (租) APT #832 in the Canyon Crossing apartments. Overall, I am happy with the location. At the beginning I had planned to live here for at least two years. I like here.

However, I am very disappointed in that there seems to be a terrible roach (蟑螂) problem. I can’t invite any guest over because of this problem and I cannot recommend (推荐) Canyon Crossing to any of my classmates either.

I have left two voice mails for you which are concerned with this problem. You have not returned either one. Therefore, this letter is my next step in hoping to solve the problem. I am kindly asking you to ask an exterminator (灭蟑人) by July 15th. If you fail to do so, I will have no choice but to make a complaint to the BBB (Better Business Bureau).

You are welcome to text me anytime at (435) 234-3452. I hope this problem will be solved soon.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely, Unhappy Ursula

Dear Sir,

I am a new resident (居民) at Sunning Court. I have seen the condition of the building becoming worse and worse since I moved here last year.

First of all, the management of the building is really terrible. Sometimes, there is a bad smell when I walk on the road. I see much rubbish there. No cleaners clean the rubbish. Many roaches and rats run around the building.

My second problem is about the security (安全). I always see the guards reading newspapers or smoking when they are on duty. The security room is very dusty too. When I want to use the phone, they say, “We can’t help.”

I am therefore writing to demand your company’s action to improve the situation. Thank you for your consideration.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Wong

1.What’s the major problem that Ursula is facing now?

A. She is being troubled by roaches in her apartment.

B. The exterminator fails to kill the roaches on time.

C. She has become more afraid of roaches than before.

D. She can’t find a cheap and comfortable apartment.

2.The first letter is most probably written by .

A. a student B. an exterminator

C. a housekeeper D. a BBB official

3.How does Chris Wong feel about his living conditions at Sunning Court now? .

A. A bit confused B. Quite frightened

C. Really excited D. Very disappointed

There was once a forest made up of tiny trees that were all growing up together. They had been planted by a very old gardener who took care that they would all grow up to be straight and healthy. However, the area was hit by strong winds, and the little trees preferred to avoid the annoying winds, so they bent(弯) their trunks (树干) and branches to protect themselves.

The old man, knowing they could never grow well like this, decided to straighten them out, and spent many hours tying their tiny trunks to supporting poles(杆), hoping his beloved trees would understand he was doing this for their own good. But those naughty trees disliked all the wind. They always avoided the gardener’s help by bending themselves, hiding from the wind. One of those trees, one standing right in the middle of the forest, forced itself to grow up straight, patiently bearing the annoying wind.

Three years passed, and the old man died. And from then on the trees could grow however they liked, bending from the wind just as they pleased, with no one bothering them about it. All, that was, except the single straight tree in the center of the forest, who decided to grow up just as a tree should.

But as the forest grew, and the trees got thicker and stronger, they began to hear cracks(破裂声) from inside. Their branches and trunks needed to keep growing, but the trees were so twisted that the growth they were experiencing only brought them pain and suffering.

And it was a place with a special beauty since, right in its center, surrounded by thousands of short twisted trees, rose one impressive tree that was long and straight like no others. And that tree, the only one that never cracked, continued growing, without a worry for the changeable wind.

1.Why did the trees bend their trunks and branches?

A.Because the gardener often touched them.

B.Because the wind were not strong.

C.Because they protected themselves from being destroyed.

D.Because they were very shy and afraid to meet the wind.

2.What can we infer from Paragraph 2?

A.The gardener was kind and treated the trees well.

B.The trees disliked the gardener.

C.The gardener was cruel to the trees.

D.The trees were all naughty.

3.How long did the old gardener look after the trees?

A. Two years. B. Three years.

C. Four years. D. Five years.

4. We can learn from the fourth paragraph that .

A. the trees lived happily

B. the trees liked to stay with each other

C. the trees missed the old gardener

D. the trees suffered from their actions

How to be happier in life

Create a plan for yourself

1. Sometimes it’s not about realizing the goal, but the hard work you put to get there. Therefore, the harder you work the better you will feel about yourself because you will feel better about going after something you like.

Surround yourself with positive people

This is often the hardest part of being happy, knowing the people you hang around may not be best for you, choose to be with happy and positive people, who support you to realize your goal. 2.

3.When something goes wrong, or you fail at something, don’t give up trying. People who are happy accept the failures as a learning experience and move on. 4. When that happens, you will know all of the efforts you have made are not useless. Never be beaten by failures.

Appreciate what/who you have

Don’t ignore the great things you have in life. Take a few minutes each day to think about the wonderful things, people, children, pets that are part of your life. 5. It also will change your feelings on bad days.

A.If you are around people who are happy with their life, you will have this feeling as well.

B.Failure is certain to happen.

C.You can have a million failures; all you need is one great success moment.

D.Try to be successful and you will be happier.

E.Create a realistic plan for goals that you feel will make you happy.

F.These few minutes will give you the opportunity to focus on the good things in your life.

G.Make a goal easily.

假定英语课上老师要求用桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。 文中共有10处语言错误，每句中错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加： 在缺词处加一个漏字符号（/\），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除： 把多余的词用（\）划掉。

修改： 在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Mr. Wang is my English teacher but I really love his lessons. He loves English so he teaches with great energy.Mr. Wang prepares his lessons very well and use things like PPT and videos to making the subject come alive. Mr. Wang is very strict at us; he works very hard and he requests us do the same. We respect Mr. Wang and do not mind him being strict because we knew he is only trying to help us learn well and speak English fluent. Mr. Wang is my favorite teachers because of his love of English makes me love it too. I know I will always have an interest on English.

假定你是李华，希望通过外籍教师Peter找一位英语笔友。请写一封短信，描述一下你理想中笔友的条件，并说明为什么选这样的笔友。具体条件包括：

年龄；

性别；

爱好

注意：1. 字数100左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3. 开头和结尾已写好。

Dear Peter,

I am writing to ask whether you are able to do me a favor.

Best regards,

Li Hua

The businessperson wanted to sell his goods fast; ______, he chose his partner with great care.

A. therefore B. otherwise

C. for D. however

By the time he was ten, Edison _________ experiments in chemistry.

A. had already done B. already had done

C. was already doing D. already did

His mother happened _______ when his program was shown on Channel Young.

A. watching TV B. to watch TV

C. to be watching TV D. being watching TV

_______, the more exercise you do, the richer your knowledge will be.

A. It is known to all B. Which is known to all

C. As we all know D. As is known to all that