My Best Enemy

    Once again, I was in a new school. So was a girl in my class named Lisa. That’s where the

similarities ended.

    I was tall and she was small. My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy

style. Her natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great. I was 12 and one of the oldest

in the class while she was 11 and the youngest. I was awkward and shy. She wasn’t. I couldn’t

stand her, considering her my enemy. But she liked me and wanted to be friends.

    One day, she invited me over and I said yes—I was too shocked to answer any other way. My

family had moved six times in six years, and I had never managed to develop any friendships. But

this girl who wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school.

She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places, an all-right bookstore, a movie theater and a park. As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood, I tried to guess which house might h\be hers. Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the three –story house with a front porch? I got very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building. She lived on the fourth floor in a two-room place with her mother, her stepfather, her two brothers and her sister.

When we got into the room she shared with her sister, she took out a big case of Barbies, which was my next surprise. I had never played with them. We sat on the floor, laughing as we made up crazy stories about the Barbies. We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had wild imaginations. We had a great day that afternoon.

Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood. The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines; the movie theater gave her free tickets…. Soon I was included in her magic world. We slept over at each other’s houses and spent every free moment together.

Lisa, my first real friend since childhood, helped me get through the rough years of early adolescence(青春期)and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends: you worst enemy can turn out to be your best friend.

1.The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that           .

      A.they were both new students                B.they had the same hair styles

       C.they were both tall                               D.they were of the same age

2.One day Lisa invited the writer          .

       A.to go to the movie                                B.to go to her home

       C.to go to walk in a park                         D.to go to a pizza place

3.In the passage the writer described Lisa as a girl who was        .

       A.awkward and shy                                B.rich and happy

       C.quiet and lonely                                   D.friendly and lovely

4.Which of the following did the writer learn from Lisa?

      A.How to make up stories.                       B.How to deal with enemies.

       C.How to make friends.                           D.How to live a better life.

We’ve all met with something that slows us down, for example, the bump(颠簸)in the road, the setback. You just have to keep in mind that a setback is only temporary and greater things lie ahead. Therefore, keep moving forward, developing what you have, since you’ve already built a solid foundation on which you can rely.

It is easy just to quit, give up and ignore the hard work you have put into something. But we believe in the “two steps forward, one step back” philosophy(哲学). So how can you react when something doesn’t turn out as you’ve expected it to be?

First, be objective. Step back and look at the situation. Is your setback really that significant, or will it just require a little extra effort? Then, plan your next move. You can ask for help. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to do this. Frequently, people are more than willing to give you support and advice. You don’t have to be perfect; after all, nobody else is. Next, bounce back. Reevaluate the goals you should have set for yourself at the beginning and retool(改组)them as necessary. Goals should be realistic and specific, but that doesn’t mean they cant be flexible. Instead of looking at your project as a disaster or failure, view it with success. Concentrate on how great it will feel after it is finally done, after you have put your all into it. instead of focusing on a possible unsatisfactory performance one single time, take a moment to sit back and reward yourself for all that you have accomplished.

Above all, don’t live with regrets. Success is never easy. It remains up to you whether you will give up , or fight through the tough battles to earn whatever you want. Keep reaching for your goals and you will achieve them. One small setback is nothing if you really want something and are willing to work for it.

1.According to the passage, the philosophy “two steps forward, one step back” means that

      when meeting with a setback.

      A.we are supposed to quit and ignore the hard work

       B.we’d better think it over before making a decision

       C.we should stop to think before taking further action

       D.we are expected to look at things in an all-round way

2.The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refers to       .

       A.a performance     B.a success            C.a goal                  D.a project 

3.When we suffer a setback, the most important thing to do is       .

       A.to keep moving forward to your goals

       B.to depend on others’ support and advice

       C.to sit back and reward yourself for your success

       D.to focus on a possible unsatisfactory performance

4.What is the passage mainly about?

       A.How to avoid the bumps.                      B.How to deal with the setbacks.

       C.Different attitudes to the setbacks.         D.Different suggestions on your goals.

Now that the recession(经济衰退)is most likely over, it’s time to start looking at which companies, institutions, and individuals developed well during this unpleasant period. In the downturn that began in December 2007, the recession ruined the wealthiest consumer markets—the united States, Europe, Japan—there were very few safe shelters. But some countries, such as Peru, managed to grow right through the global recession. And some companies arranged their business so that they resisted the contraction and benefited from the trends affecting their industry. Some even managed to bring more business.

Chief among the Great Recession’s winners is McDonald’s. McDonald’s sales growth in 2008 was greater than in 2006 and 2007. while many restaurants reduced their business operation, it opened nearly 600 stores in 2008. and the chain has achieved same-store sales growth in each of 2009’s first seven months.

In 2008, after a decade of severely trading up to higher quality consumer goods and services, Americans began to trade down with a vengeance(报复). McDonald’s, which has 44 percent of its 32,000 stores in the United States, was set up to profit from trading down in two ways. Fist, in a recession, people eat out less and at home more frequently. And when they eat out, they eat at cheaper places. McDonald’s is so cheap, efficient, and convenient that it was a practical alternative to casual restaurants like Ruby Tuesday.

In the United States, McDonald’s may be a cheap source of calories in food. In other parts of the world, McDonald’s is an appealing brand, identified with middle-class, westernized consumerism. Much of the world, such as China, India, is still not developed for the Golden Arches. Coincidentally, these are the right places where its business has continued to grow during the global recession. While it faces operational challenges in markets, McDonald’s has benefited form a weakening dollar and rising incomes in Asia.

The question now for investors(投资者)is whether McDonald’s can survive the recovery.

When people feel better-off, will they still stop by? The growth in same-store sales in the United States has come down a little in recent months. And there’s a rising amount of the population that has grown accustomed to eating healthier and better. Going forward, McDonald’s may face larger cultural barriers in the United States than in China.

1.From the passage we can infer that      in the recession.

       A.the developing countries grew wealthier

       B.the rich countries became unable to recover

       C.the Western companies suffered a great loss

       D.the opportunities were brought as well as challenges

2.McDonald’s managed to remain popular in the recession mainly because of       .

       A.its good operation                                B.the American food culture

       C.its low price and convenience               D.the weak value of dollars

3.The underlined word “contraction” in Paragraph I means          .

       A.formal written agreement                      B.influence on industry

       C.disappointing management                    D.process of reduced trade

4.What can be the best title for this passage?

       A.Who Won the Recession

       B.Who Traded down in the Recession

       C.How Western Business Survived the Recession

       D.How McDonald’s Kept Growing after the Recession

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余

选项。

Warren Buffett

For someone who is such a successful investor, Warren Buffett comes off as a pretty ordinary

guy. He was born on August 30, 1930.  1  He used to go door-to-door and sell soda water. When his family moved to Washington, Buffett became a paperboy for The Washington Post. Buffett ran his five paper routes and even added magazines to round out his product offerings. While still in school, he was making $175 a month, a full-time wag for many men.

He spent $1,200 on 40 acres of farmland in Nebraska. He and a friend also made $50 a week by placing pinball machines in barber shops. They called their venture(企业)Wilson Coin Operated Machine Co.

Already a successful small-time businessman, Buffett wasn’t interested in going to college but ended up at the University of Pennsylvania-his father encouraged him to go.  3  But he was turned down in what had to be one of the worst admission decisions in Harvard history. The outcome affected Buffett’s life, for he ended up attending Columbia Business School, where he studied under Professor Benjamin Graham, the father of securities analysis who provided the foundation (基础)for Buffett’s investment strategy.

From the beginning, Buffett made his fortune from investing. He started with all the money he had made from selling soda water, delivering papers, and operating pinball machines. Between 1950 and 1956, he grew his $9,800 to $14,000.  4  And then he gradually drew in other investors through word of mouth and very attractive terms.

      5  He doesn’t collect houses or cars or works of art, and he disdains(鄙视)companies that waste money on expensive ears, private dining rooms, and high-priced real villas. He is a creature of habit-same house, same office, same city, same soda water.

A.Then Bufftt applied to Harvard Business School.

B.Buffett is more likely to be found in a four star restaurant.

C.When he was 14, Buffett still kept great interest in investment.

D.Even as a young child, Buffett was serious about making money.

E.One thing is for sure about Buffett: he is happy doing what he is doing.

F.Buffett’s investment strategy mirrors his lifestyle and his overall philosophy.

G.From there, he organized investment partnerships with his family and friends.

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