For many years, I stuck to the idea that my suffering was because of my size. I believed that when the
weight disappeared, it would take old wounds, hurts, and rejections with it.
     Many weight-conscious people also mistakenly believe that changing our bodies will fix everything.
Perhaps our worst mistake is to believe that being thin equals being loved, being special, and being cherished
(珍爱). We fantasize (幻想) about what it will be like when we reach the long-awaited goal. We work very
hard to realize this dream. Then, at last, we find ourselves there. 
     But we often gain back what we have lost. Even so, we continue to believe that next time it will be
different. Next time, we will keep it off. Next time, being thin will finally realize its promise of everlasting
happiness, self-worth, and of course, love.
     It took me a long while to realize that there was something more for me to learn about beauty. Beauty
standards are different with culture. In Samoa, a woman is not considered attractive unless she weights
more than 200 pounds. More importantly, if it's happiness that we want, why not put our energy there rather
than on the size of our body? Why not look inside? Many of us work hard to change our body, but in vain.
We have to find a way to live comfortably inside our body and make friends with and cherish ourselves.
When we change our attitudes toward ourselves, the whole world changes.

1. The passage tries to make the readers realize the importance of _____.

A. attitudes toward ourselves
B. culture difference
C. body size
D. different beauty standards

2. The word "everything" in Paragraph Two probably refers to _____.

A. all the efforts
B. all the problems
C. the whole world
D. the total truth

3. What can be inferred about the author?

A. The author was once troubled by her/ his weight.
B. The author succeeded in losing weight.
C. The author probably got wounded in wars or accidents
D. The author is a Samoan.

4. The best title for the passage probably is _____.

A. Lose all your wounds with your weight
B. Beauty: standard varies with culture
C. Change your attitude rather than your shape
D. It will be different next time

    Everyone has good days and bad days. Sometimes, you feel as if you're on top of the
world. But occasionally you feel horrible, and you lose things and you cannot focus on
your schoolwork. For more than 20 years, scientists have suggested that high self-esteem
(自尊) is the key to success. Now, new research shows that focusing just on building self-
esteem may not be helpful. In some cases, having high self-esteem can bring bad results
if it makes you less likeable or more upset when you fail at something.
    "Forget about self-esteem," says Jennifer Crocker, a psychologist (心理学家) at the
University of Michigan, US. "It's not the important thing."
    Feeling good
    Crocker's advice may sound a bit strange because it is good to feel good about
yourself.
    Studies show that people with high self-esteem are less likely to be depressed,
anxious, shy, or lonely than those with low self-esteem.
    But, after reviewing about 18,000 studies on self-esteem, Roy Baumeister, a
psychologist at Florida State University, has found that building up your self-esteem
will not necessarily make you a better person.
    He believes that violent and wicked people often have the highest self-esteem of
all. He also said:"There's no evidence that kids with high self-esteem do better in
school."
    Problems
    All types of people have problems. People with high self-esteem can have big egos
(自我) that can make them less likeable to their peers (同龄人), said Kathleen Vohs,
a psychology professor at Columbia University.
    People with high self-esteem tend to think more of themselves, Vohs says. People
with low self-esteem are more likely to rely on their friends when they need help.
    What to do
    Researchers say it is best to listen to and support other people. Find positive
ways to contribute to society. If you fail at something try to learn from the experience.
"The best therapy (药方) is to recognize your faults," Vohs says. "It's OK to say, 'I'm
not so good at that,' and then move on."

1. The new research comes to the conclusion that high self-esteem ______.

A. is not important at all
B. has taken on a different meaning
C. may not be the key to success
D. does not help you do better at school

2. One of the conclusions of the new research is that ______.

A. feeling good about oneself doesn't mean you lead a happier life
B. people with high esteem usually do not seek other's help
C. people with high esteem tend to be proud
D. people with low esteem are often more popular

3. The underlined part "a better person" in the passage probably means a person who is
   ______.

A. helpful and supportive
B. gentle and modest
C. likable and successful
D. friendly and kind

4. From the text, we can infer the best therapy mentioned in the last paragraph is mainly
   for people ______.

A. with high self-esteem
B. with low self-esteem
C. of all kinds
D. who are focusing on building self-esteem

     As you grow rapidly through your teenage years, you will experience a lot of 'changes. The changes may
seem difficult. 1._____ Don't panic! You will deal successfully with them! You are a young adult now!
     With more responsibility, you will find more freedom to make your own choices. This is a time to be well
informed about making choices. In this way you can make healthy balanced decisions. 2._____ You may
already know your career path or you may have no idea at all what you want to do. Both situations are fine!
Work hard and the right opportunity will present itself to you.
     Young adulthood means greater freedom and more choices. 3._____ But try not to shut your family out
of your life. You should learn to think of others even though you are old enough to look after yourself.
     It is also perfectly natural at this time for you to spend more time with your friends than your family.
4._____ A true friend will stand by you no matter what happens.
     This period is part of the life cycle. These are some people who will be with you throughout life's journey.
There will be some people with whom you part and go separate ways. Leaving school can be hard. The reality
is that you may not even see all of your classmates again.
     You are a young adult. It is your life. No one can live it for you. 5. _____ So making the right choices will
be important to you. Life is for living. Enjoy your life wisely!

A. Choose your friends wisely.
B. They will help shape the future.
C. They may seem to happen quickly.
D. You will probably want to be independent.
E. You may appreciate what you have in your own life.
F. The choices that you make from now on will be your choices.
G. Your family has been with you since you came into this world.

     WHAT can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top university might not be enough.
A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school, the
more money you'll earn later.
     The idea that popularity could have a serious influence on one's earning potential shouldn't come as too
much of a surprise. The researchers noted that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking
are easily as powerful as talent and hard work.
     "If a person has lots of friends, it means that he or she has the Ability to get along with others in all kinds
of different situations," said Xu Yanchun, 17, from Nantou High School in Shenzhen, who totally agreed with
the recent finding. "Also, friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but
lift your mood when you are occasionally in low spirits." said Xu. She believed that all this helps you "earn a
higher salary".
     Maybe that's why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendaholism (交友狂症)?
A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook's 5, 000-friend limit was too low for her
large reserve of social contacts.
     But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency?
     "Call me uncool, but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom
I enjoy actually seeing. It seems, however, that this is no longer the definition of a friend," said Meghan Daum,
who works with the Los Angeles Times in the US.
     Daum dislikes the idea that quantity trumps quality in the age of Friendaholism. She thought the idea of
friendship, at least among the growing population of Internet social networkers, was to get as many of not-
really-friends as possible. For example, a friend might be someone you might know personally but who could
just as easily be the friend of a friend of some other Facebook friend you don't actually know. Although she
agreed that social ties grease (润滑) the wheels of life, she also wamed, "Too bad one thing money can't buy
is a real friend."

1. What can friends do in the eyes of Xu Yanchun?

A. They can help you with your schoolwork.
B. They teach you how to make more money.
C. They help you to get rid of sadness and cheer up.
D. They introduce their friends to you.

2. What will be needed if you are to achieve success according to the researchers?

A. Social skills, friends, good mood and fortune.
B. Social skills, networking, talent and hard work.
C. Social skills, networking, potential and fortune.
D. Social skills, talent, hard work and Facebook.

3. We learn that Meghan Daum's attitude towards friends is somewhat _____.

A. up-to-date
B. optimistic
C. confused
D. traditional

4. What does the word "trumps" in the last paragraph mean?

A. is better than
B. is equal to
C. is worse than
D. is similar to

     Are you truly happy? Do you even know what it means to be happy and what it takes to achieve happiness?
51.____ The following are a few tips that I follow to create happiness in my life.
     Make a plan for attaining goals that you believe will make you happy. Your moods will very likely increase
if you are going after something you value.
     Surround yourself with happy people. It is easy to begin to think negatively when you are surrounded by
people who think that way. 2.____
     When something goes wrong, try to figure out a solution instead of being absorbed in self pity. Truly happy
people don't allow setbacks to affect their mood because they know that with a little thought they can turn the
circumstances back to their favor. 
     3.____ These few minutes will give you the opportunity to focus on the positive things in your life and will
lead you to continuous happiness.
     4.____ Whether you treat yourself to lunch, take a long, relaxing bath or simply spend a few extra minutes
on your appearance, you will be subconsciously (下意识地) putting yourself in a better mood.
     Finding the humor in situations can also lead to happiness. Find a way to make light of a situation that would
otherwise make you happy.
     Keeping healthy is another way to achieve happiness. 5.____

A. What makes one person happy may be very different from what makes someone else happy.
B. On the contrary, if you are around people who are happy, their emotional state will be infectious.
C. Being overweight or not eating nutritious foods can have a negative effect on your mood.
D. These are important questions for anyone who is seeking happiness to ask themselves.
E. Spend a few minutes each day thinking about the things that make you happy.
F. There are some tips in life that lead to happiness.
G. It's also important to take some time each day to do something nice for yourself.

                                                                   How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
     "In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes (糖尿病). Believing my career (职业生涯) was over,
I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was to no reason why I should stop training and
competing. That was it-the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am
not saying that it isn't difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't finished yet. Nothing
is to stand in my way."
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
     "I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary.
This is the key to success-you can't follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you
believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you'll
be a step closer to achieving them."
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
     "When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can't achieve something. Then, there
are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to
repeat words such as 'calm', 'peace' or 'focus', either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more
in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a
powerful psychological (心理的) tool."

1. What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?

A. Difficulties influenced his career.
B. Specialists offered him medical advice.
C. Training helped him defeat his disease.
D. He overcame the shadow of illness to win.

2. What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?

A. Her training schedule.                    
B. Her daily happenings.
C. Her achievements.                         
D. Her sports career.

3. What does the underlined word "distractions" probably refer to?

A. Ways that help one to focus.
B. Words that help one to feel less tense.
C. Activities that turn one's attention away.
D. Habits that make it hard for one to relax.

4. According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?

A. Courage.          
B. Devotion.         
C. Hard work.       
D. Self-confidence.

     Most of the people who appear most often and most gloriously in the history books are great conquerors
and generals, whereas the people who really helped civilization forward are often never mentioned at all. We
do not know who first set a broken leg, or launched a seagoing boat, or calculated the length of the year?
but we know all about the killers and destroyers. People think a great deal of them, so much so that on all the
highest pillars in the great cities of the world you will find the figure of a conqueror or a general.
     1. It is just possible they are, but they are not the most civilized. Animals fight? so do savages? hence to
be good at fighting is to be good in the way in which an animal or a savage is good, but it is not to be civilized.
     2. People fight to settle quarrels. Fighting means killing, and civilized peoples ought to be able to find some
way of settling their disputes other than by seeing which side can kill off the greater number of the other side,
and then saying that that side which has killed most has won.
     3. That is what the story of mankind has on the whole been like. Even our own age has fought the two
greatest wars in history, in which millions of people were killed. And while today it is true that people do not
fight and kill each other in the streets, nations and countries have not learnt to do this yet, and still behave like
savages. But we must not expect too much. After all, the race of men has only just started. From the point of
view of evolution, human beings are very young children indeed, babies, in fact, of a few months old.
     4. These figures are difficult to grasp? so let us scale them down. Suppose that we reckon the whole past
of living creatures on the earth as one hundred years? then the whole past of man works out at about one
month, and during that month there have been civilizations for between seven and eight hours.
     5. Taking man' civilized past at about seven or eight hours, we may estimate his future at about one hundred
thousand years. Thus mankind is only at the beginning of its civilized life, and as I say, we must not expect
too much. The past of 8 man has been on the whole a pretty beastly business, a business of fighting and killing.
We must not expect even civilized peoples not to have done these things. All we can ask is that they will
sometimes have done something else.

     [A] Even being good at getting other people to fight for you and telling them how to do it most efficiently-
this, after all, is what conquerors and generals have done-is not being civilized.
     [B] And I think most people believe that the greatest countries are those that have beaten in battle the
greatest number of other countries and ruled over them as conquerors.
     [C] We have got to the stage of keeping the rules and behaving properly in daily life. However, every year
conflicts between countries and nations are still claiming thousands of lives.
     [D] And not only has won, but, because it has won, has been in the right. For that is what going to war
means? it means saying that might is right.
     [E] So you see there has been little time to learn in, but there will be oceans of time in which to learn better.
     [F] Scientists reckon that there has been life of some sort on the earth in the form of jellyfish and that kind
of creature for about twelve hundred million years? but there have been men for only one million years, and
there have been civilized men for about eight thousand years at the outside.
1-(     )     2-(     )     3-(     )     4-(     )     5-(     )

     The average man who uses a telephone couldn't explain how a telephone works. He takes for granted the
telephone, the railway train, the airplane, as our grandfathers took for granted the miracles of the gospels (福
音书里的奇迹). He neither questions nor understands them. It is as though each of us investigated and made
his own only a tiny circle of facts. Knowledge outside the day's work is regarded by most men as a gewgaw
(花哨无用的东西). Still we are usually in reaction against our ignorance. We excite ourselves sometimes and
think deeply. We enjoy thinking about anything at all-about life after death or about such questions as is said
to have puzzled Aristotle. "Why sneezing from noon to midnight was good,but from night to noon unlucky".
One of the greatest joys known to man is to take such a flight into ignorance in search of knowledge. The
great pleasure of ignorance is after all, the pleasure of asking questions. The man who has lost this pleasure
or exchanged it for the pleasure of dogma (教义), which is the pleasure of answering,is already beginning to
stiffen (僵化). One envies so inquisitive (好盘根究底) a man as Jewell, who sat down to the study of
physiology in his sixties. Most of us have lost the sense of ignorance long before that age. We even become
proud of our squirrel' store-house of knowledge and regard increasing age itself as a school of omniscience
(无所不知). We forget that Socrates was famous for wisdom not because he was Mr. know-all but because
he realized at the age of seventy that he still knew nothing.

1. The underlined part "made his own" probably means "_____".

A. produced something by himself
B. made believe by himself
C. made his own way
D. found out the truth by himself

2. From the passage we may infer that _____.

A. the writer values those who often ask "why"
B. the writer regards these who like asking "why" are very silly
C. the writer is against the idea that one is never too old to learn
D. the writer is for the idea that one should know everything

3. From the passage we can see the most joyful the writer think is _____.

A. to master useful knowledge
B. to know a great deal just as Socrates
C. to seek the truth
D. to learn at one's sixties

4. The best title of the passage is _____.

A. Socrates is Ignorant to Learn
B. Seeking Knowledge Makes One Happy
C. To Learn the Miracles of the Gospels
D. To Learn Is Asking for Trouble

     I hear many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling. I wish it were so. At your age,
you ought to be growing from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take
a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are all taking the same way of showing that they
disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching (抓紧) at
one another's hands for reassurance.
     They claim they want to dress as they please, but they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new
directions in music, but somehow they all end up huddled round listening the same record. Their reason for
thinking or acting in thus and such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come at of their cocoon (蚕
茧) into a larger cocoon.
     It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her
own way. Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from the
advertisements what a teenager should have and be. And many of today's parents have come to award high
marks for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.
     But the barrier is worth climbing over, the path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music
instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may
have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it, find yourself, be
yourself Popularity will come with the people who respect you for who you area. That's the only kind of
popularity that really counts.

1. The author's how to be popular with people around _____.

A. readers how to be popular with people around
B. teenagers how to learn to decide things for themselves
C. parents how t control and guide their children
D. people how to understand and respect each other

2. According to the author, many teenagers think they are brave enough to act on their own, but, in fact, most of them _____.

A. have much difficulty understanding each other
B. lack confidence
C. dare not cope with problems single-handed
D. are very much afraid of getting lost

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

 A. There is no popularity that really counts
B. What many parent are doing is in fact hindering their children from finding their own paths
C. It is not necessarily bad for a teenager to disagree with his or her classmates
D. Most teenagers claim that they want to do what they like to, but they are actually doing the same.

4. The author thinks of advertisements as _____.

A. convincing
B. influential
C. instructive
D. authoritative

5. During the teenage years, one should learn to _____.

A. differ from others in as many ways as possible
B. get into the right season and become popular
C. find one's real self
D. rebel against parents and the popularity wave

     Bushwick is a tough place to grow up. This part of Brooklyn, in New York City, has a lot of crime.
More than half of its 100,000 residents rely on aid from the government. Only 50% of students at
Bushwick High School graduate in four years.
     Some people might say, "We should help these poor kids who have so many challenges." But Malaak
Compton-Rock looks at the teens in Bushwick and says, "Go to help kids who have even bigger challenges
than you do."  She believes that once young people see the power they have to make things better, they
can handle their own problems more easily. So her service group, the Angel Rock Project, took 30 Bushwick
kids to Soweto, in South Africa, to help poor families there. Soweto is a township outside the city of
Johannesburg. The effort, called Journey for Change, aims to show that any kid can change the world.
     "Kids in Bushwick face pressure to drop out of school or become involved in gangs and drugs." Says
Compton-Rock. "We want them to live a life of purpose and service."
     In Soweto, many parents have died of AIDS, a deadly disease. When that happens, a grandparent or a
child must lead the family. The Bushwick volunteers helped such families. They tended vegetable gardens,
cared for babies and bought groceries.
     "The saddest thing was when we visited an orphanage (孤儿院) and I helped a little boy who had been
abandoned because he had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS," says Queen Clyde, 12. "It's been good to be
on this trip. But what's also important is what we do when it's finished. That's what counts." " I never
appreciated what I had until I saw some people who had nothing," says Sadara Lewis, 12 "It's really changed
my attitude. I want to make a difference."
     The trip was two weeks long. But the kids, aged 12 to 15, will spend all year speaking about their
experience, fund-raising and more.

1. What's the main idea of the first paragraph?

A. Bushwick is the poorest place in New York City.
B. Bushwick still needs more care from the government.
C. It is children who suffer most in New York City.
D. Children in Bushwick are living in a bad situation.

2. In Compton-Rock's opinion, the Bushwick kids _____.

A. have few challenges
B. are living much better than people in Africa
C. can learn to deal with their own problems by helping others
D. should be kept out of schools

3. Compared to Bushwick kids, some children in Soweto _____.

A. may have bigger challenges
B. receive no care from the government
C. are much more independent
D. are able to lead the family

4. According to the passage, "Journey for Change" can be best seen as the saying "_____".

A. God helps those who help themselves
B. saying and doing are two things
C. one stone kills two birds
D. a friend in need is a friend indeed

5. From the passage we know that _____.

A. there are few students in Bushwick High School
B. the trip to Soweto will have a long influence in spite of its short time
C. most children are suffering from AIDS in Soweto
D. kids with HIV will be abandoned in Soweto