It is impossible not to make a mistake at some points in your life. We may as well accept that some thing will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore sensible to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter. This way you can take care over every work you write— which you can’t do if you say sorry to someone in person.

We all say or do something that we wish we hadn’t said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards that a client or customer expected.

You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn’t be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy（修补）the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process.

For the contents of the letter, just remember TABS—Timing, Action, Brevity, Sincerity.

The timing of a letter of apology is essential—it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound(add to) the problem. In this case “Better late than never” is not the best motto! The longer you wait before you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been coerced（被迫）into writing it.

Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to rectify whatever it was you did wrong. Research has shown that some indication that you have thought about what future action you plan to take is always well received.

A letter of apology should be brief and the word “sorry” should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware using it a second time—“once again, I am so sorry for…” or “as I said earlier, I am really sorry about…”. Finally, the tone of the letter has to be sincere. In fact, the combination of all the above factors will help in this respect.

And don’t think that letters are out of date in the email—oriented 21st century. An apology email can be worse than no apology at all!

72．What kind of advice does the text suggest about apologizing?

A．It’s a good idea to write a letter of apology as soon as something has gone wrong.    

B．It’s a good idea to send several emails to apologize.

C．Write a long letter apologizing several times to make your point.

D．Wait to see how they react to your letter before planning to do anything.

73．What kind of things do you NOT apologize for?

A．A service that is not as good as it should be.

B．Genuine mistakes.

C．Car accidents.

D．Causing offence or hurt.

74．The underlined expression “Rather than dwell on the mistake” in the third paragraph means you _____.

A．should not waste time worrying about what happened.

B．should consider the problem

C．should forget about what happened.

D．should analyse who was at fault.

75．How can timing compound problems?

A．If you write immediately, they will be suspicious.

B．If you leave it for a few days, they will know it is your idea to write.

C．Waiting for a few days before you write will show your sincerity.

D．Waiting too long will make it worse because they won’t believe you mean it.

It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech. At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned. Fortunately, the moments are usually not obvious (明显的) to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser. When such moments occur, don’t worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.

Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that doesn’t really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech — “I Have a dream”, you may notice that he stumbles (结巴) his words twice during the speech. Most likely, however, you don’t remember. Why? Because you were fixing your attention on his message rather than on his way of speech-making.

People care a lot about making a mistake in a speech because they regard speech–making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication (交流). They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition. But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performance. They are looking for a well-thought-out speech that expresses the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly. Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker’s attractiveness by making him more human.

As you work on your speech, don’t worry about being perfect. Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely. 

The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ______.

A. be smarter than you           B. notice your mistakes

C. do better than you                       D. know what you are talking about

It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A. giving a speech is like giving a performance

B. one or two mistakes in a speech may not be bad

C. the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made

D. the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be

What would be the best title for the passage?

A. How to Be a Perfect Speaker

B. How to Make a Perfect Speech

C. Don’t Expect a Perfect Speech

D. Don’t Expect Mistakes in a Speech

It is common for older people to forget things. Now an American study has found that memory starts to fail when we are young adults. People younger than thirty years of age usually do not know that they are starting to forget information. But scientists from the University of Michigan say the loss of memory has usually already started.

    Researchers say people do not observe this slow reduction in mental ability until the loss affects their everyday activities.

    Denise Park led the new study. She directs the Centre for Aging and Cognition at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Her team studied more than 350 men and women between the ages of twenty and ninety years. The study identified people in their middle twenties with memory problems.

    She says young adults do not know they are forgetting things because their brains have more information than they need.

    But she says that people in their twenties and thirties are losing memory at the same rate as people in their sixties and seventies.

    Ms. Park says people between the ages of sixty and seventy may note the decrease in their mental abilities. They begin to observe that they are having more trouble remembering and learning new information.

    The study found that older adults are more likely to remember false information as being true. For example, they remembered false medical claims as being true. Younger people remembered hearing the information. But they were more likely to remember that it was false.

    Ms. Park is now using modern imaging equipment to study what happens in the brains of people of different ages. She is studying what parts of the brain older adults use for different activities compared to younger adults. Ms. Park says mental performance is a direct result of brain activity and brain structure. She says keeping the brain active is important. She hopes future studies will identify ways to improve the operation of our aging minds.

The passage is meant to _____________.

A. emphasize the importance of exercising the brain

B. analyze the difference between different age groups on the loss of memory

C. reveal the decrease in mental ability of young adults as well as older adults

D. introduce effective ways to improve memory

According to the passage, young adults differ from older adults in that ________.

A. they lose their memory at a slower rate

B. they rarely realize they have memory problems

C. their brains can store much more information

D. all of the above

Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A. Not until the loss of memory affects their daily activities, do people notice the decrease in their mental abilities.

B. People begin to lose memory in their twenties.

C. Older people tend to remember false information as being true.

D. Younger people find it easier to remember the information that is proven false.

It can be inferred from what Denis Park says that ______.

A. mental performance can be improved

B. mental ability is determined entirely by brain structure

C. people of different ages use different parts of the brain for memorizing

D. different parts of the brain are responsible for different mental activities

Which of the following is a suitable title for the passage?

A. The Mysterious Brain         B. The Ability to Forget

C. Memory Reduction           D. Mental Performance

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, carrier, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of the dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories fleshed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. it’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce (回忆) about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it, ” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral.” Jack said.

Busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture … Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said.

“What box?” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most’,” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said sadly.

Returning to his office the next day, he found a package on his desk. The return address caught his attention.

“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.

Jack tore open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside,

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bernett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes. Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.

Inside he found these words carved: “Jack. Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”

“Oh. My God! This is the thing he valued most …”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

Why did Jack think Mr. Belser died years ago?

   A. College and career prevented him from remembering Mr. Belser.

   B. Jack was too busy with his business and family to think about Mr. Belser.

   C. Jack was too busy realizing his dreams to think about Mr. Belser.

   D. His present busy life washed away his children memories.

Jack’s mother told him on the phone about Mr. Belser EXCEPT that _________.

   A. Mr. Belser often asked how Jack was doing

   B. Mr. Belser’s funeral would take place on Wednesday

   C. Mr. Belser had asked for Jack’s mailing address

   D. Mr. Belser had pleasant memories of their time together

Why did Belser send Jack his gold watch?

   A. Because he was grateful for Jack’s time with him.

   B. Because he had no children or relatives.

   C. Because he thought he had to keep his word.

   D. Because Jack had always wanted it during his childhood.

Why did Jack say he needed some time to spend with his son?

   A. He was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest.

   B. He had promised to spare more time to stay with his son.

   C. He had missed his son and his family for days.

   D. He came to realize the importance of the time with his family.

Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

   A. The Good Old Times   B. What He Valued Most

   C. An Old Gold Watch    D. The Lost Childhood Days

Forget Twitter and Facebook, Google and the Kindle. Television is still the nost influential medium around. Indeed ,fot many of the poorest regions(地区)of the world, it remains the next big thing——finally becomes globally available. And that is a good thing, because the TV revolution is changing lives for the better.

Across the developing world, around 45% of families had a TV in 1995; by 2005 the number had climbed above 60%. That is some way behind the U.S. ,where are more TVs than people, and where people now easily get access to the Internet. Five million more families in sub-Saharan Africa will ger a TV over the next five years. In 2005 , after the fall of the Taliban（塔利班）,which had outlawed TV, I in 5Afghans had one. The global total is another 150 million by 2013——pushing the numbers to well beyond two thirds of families.

Television’s most powerful effect will be on the lives of women. In India, researchers Robert Jensen and Emily Oster foumd that when TVs reached villages, women were more likely to go to the market without their husbands approval and less likely to want a boy rather than a girl. They were more likely to make decisions over child health careTV is also a powerful medium for adult education. In the Indian state of Gujarat,Chitrageet is a popular show that plays Bollywood songs with words in Gujarati on the screen. Within six months, viewers had made a small but significant(有意义的) improvement in their reading skills.

Too much TV has been associated with violence, overweight and loneliness. However, TV is having a positive influence on the lives of billions worldwide.

60.The underlined word “outlawed” in paragraph 2 probably means “        ”.

A.allowed          B.banned          C.offered            D.refused

61.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

 A.Americans used to get access to the Internet easily.

   B.The world’sTV sets will total 150million by 2013.

   C.45% of families in the developing countries had a TV in 2005.

   D.Over two thirds of families in the world will have a TV by 2013.

62.The author intends to             .

A.stress the advantages of TV to people’s lives

   B.persuade women to become more independnt

   C.encourage people to improve their reading skills

   D.introduce the readers some websites such as Google

63.What would be the best title for the passage?

   A.TV Will Rule the World                  B.TV Will Disturb the World

   C.TV Will Better the World                 D.TV Will Remain in World