Life is difficult.
     This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth,
we transcend (超越) it. Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept
it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.
     Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life
should be easy. It seems to them that difficulties represent a special kind of suffering especially forced
upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation.
     What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one.  Problems,
depending on their nature, cause us sadness, or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are
uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless
series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.
     Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the serious
test that tells us success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of human spirit, we
encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to
solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin
said, those things that hurt, instruct. It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome
the pain of problems.

1. The writer probably used just one short sentence in the first paragraph to  ______.

A. save space                              
B. persuade readers
C. make readers laugh                        
D. get readers' attention

2. According to the passage, we give school children difficult problems to solve in  order to______. 

A. encourage them to learn          
B. teach them to fear the pain of solving the problem
C. help them learn to deal with pain   
D. teach them how to respect for problems

3. From the passage, it can be inferred that ______.

A. everybody has problems
B. we become stronger by meeting and solving the problems of life
C. life is difficult because our problems bring us pain
D. people like to complain about their problems

     You can never be too sure these days in the United States of your neighbours or even your customers! Try to keep a low amount of attention from the public in your neighborhood: don't announce to just about
everyone that you are running a home business with thousands of dollars worth of equipment. As much as possible, don't invite customers or visitors to your home. In fact I know of some home-based businessmen who would rather meet their clients in a neutral ground, e.g. the client's office or even Starbucks.
     There are other ways to keep burglars away from your house.
     ●Keep lights on around your house in the evenings. Light is a natural fright for burglars.
     ●Invest in a security alarm, particularly if your house is located in a remote spot. Security systems can
often bring down the cost of your homeowner's insurance fees.
     ●Make sure that all windows and doors are locked and the security alarm turned on before you sleep
at night or go out of the house. Avoid keeping house keys in obvious places, such as under the lamp or
top of the doorframe.
     ●Adding an additional lock will provide extra security when you are home. The dead-lock, sometimes called an "exit-only deadbolt" is an deadbolt that doesn't have an external(外部的)key. It's clearly visible
on the door from the outside, but can't be broken into without destroying the door, frame, or lock itself.
While the security won't help directly when you aren't home, the visibility may discourage an intruder from
trying the door.
     ●Your door itself should be made of strong materials, such as one-inch thick solid hardwood or heavy metal.

1. The advice given by the writer in the passage focuses on __________.  

A. what to do when your house is broken into
B. how to make your house safer from burglars    
C. how to improve social security in the United States
D. how to run a home business

2. Some home-based entrepreneurs don't invite customers to their home _____.

A. to enjoy convenience outside their home
B. in order to avoid being seen by burglars
C. not to let others know their business
D. for reasons of their property safety

3. All of the following are part of the writer's advice except that the homeowner ________.

A. buy a security alarm and turn it on in the evening
B. keep lights on in all rooms to threaten burglars
C. have the doors made of solid hardwood or heavy metal
D. fix an extra lock on the door from inside

4. What does the underlined word "intruder" most probably mean in this passage?  

A. Someone who illegally enters the home.
B. Someone who is invited to visit.
C. Someone who pays regular visits to the home.
D. Someone who tries to destroy the lock.

     I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year-round sun. You may think people in such a splendid,
fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.
Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or
nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an
act. It is a deeper, more lasting emotion.
    Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us
relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because
their positive effects end when the fun ends.
    I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has
nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to glamorous parties, fancy
cars, expensive homes, everything that spells"happiness". But in memoir(回憶錄)after memoir, they
reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism ,drug addiction, broken
marriages, troubled children and profound loneliness.
    Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage, if he's honest, and he will tell you that he is afraid of making a
commitment, for commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure and
excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
    Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful
happiness. They can dine out whenever they want and sleep as late as they can. Couples with infant
children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or a three-day vacation. I don't know any parent who
would choose the word fun to describe raising children.
    Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating(解放性的)realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely
increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing
to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all
those rich and glamorous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun
actually may not be happy at all.

1. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A. fun creates long-lasting satisfaction
B. fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness
C. happiness is lasting whereas fun is short-lived
D. fun that is long-standing may lead to happiness

2. To the author, the role Hollywood stars play is to ________.  

A. write memoir after memoir about their happiness
B. tell the public that happiness has nothing to do with fun
C. teach people how to enjoy their lives
D. bring happiness to the public instead of going to parties

3. In the author's opinion, marriage ________ .

A. affords greater fun    
B. leads to raising children
C. indicates duty and devotion    
D. usually ends up in pain

4.Which of the following is the best example of"painful happiness"?

A. Winning lottery by accident    
B. A bachelor resisting marriage
C. Raising children        
D. Buying some fancy clothes

5. If one gets the true sense of happiness, he will ________.

A. stop playing games and joking with others    
B. keep himself with his family
C. give a free hand to money        
D. use his time to increase happiness

     I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year - round sun. You may think People ,n such an
attractive, fun - filled place are happier than others. If so you have some mistaken ideas about the nature
of happiness.
     Many intelligent people still think fun equals happiness. The truth is that fun and happiness have little
or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after
an act. It is a deep, long-lasting emotion.
     Going to an amusement park or a ball game, watching a movie or television are fun activities that help
us relax, temporally forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because
their positive effects end when the fun ends.
     I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has
nothing to do with fun. They have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes,
everything that spells "happiness" But in memoir (回憶錄) after memoir, they expose Ac unhappiness
hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages and loneliness.
    Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he
is honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite
painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they
are not its most distinguishing features.
     Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful
happiness. They can dine out whenever they want and sleep as late as they want. Couples with babies are
lucky to get a whole night' s sleep. I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe
raising children.
     Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most
liberating realizations we can ever come to. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities
that can truly increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that
will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it frees us from envy: we now
understand that all those rich and famous people we were so sure are happy because they are always
having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Fun and happiness.
B. Success and satisfaction.
C. Marriage and commitment.
D. Entertainment and responsibility.

2. The author probably agrees that ____.

A. fun creates long - lasting satisfaction
B. long - standing fun may lead to happiness
C. fun is short-lived while happiness is long-lasting
D. fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness

3.What does the author think of marriage?

A. It ends in pain.            
B. It means commitment.
C. It affords greater fun.        
D. It leads to raising children.

4. If one gets the real meaning of happiness, he ____.

A. will start a business          
B. won' t place too much value on money
C. will seek for freedom        
D. won't devote himself to his family

     At a certain time in our lives we consider every place as the possible sites (地點) for a house. I have
thus searched the country within a dozen miles of where I live. In imagination I have bought all the farms,
one after another, and I knew their prices.
     The nearest thing that I came to actual ownership was when I bought the Hollowell place. But before
the owner completed the sale with me, his wife changed her mind and wished to keep it, and he offered
me additional dollars to return the farm to him. However, I let him keep the additional dollars and sold him
the farm for just what I gave for it.
     The real attractiong of the Hollowell farm to me were its position, being about two miles from the village,
half a mile from the nearest neighbor, bounded (相鄰) on one side by the river, and separated from the
highway by a wide field. The poor condition fo the house and fences showed that it hadn't been used for
some time. I remembered from my earliest trip up the river that the house used to be hidden behind a forest
area, and I was in a hurry to buy it before the owner finished getting out some rocks, cutting down the
apples trees, and clearing away some young trees which had grown up in the fields. I wanted to buy it
before he made any more of his improvements. But it turned out as I have said.
     I was not really troubled by the loss. I had always had a garden, but I don't thing I was ready for a large
farm. I believe that as long as possible it is better to live free and uncommitted (無牽掛的). It makes but little
difference whether you own a farm or not.

1. What do we know about the author?

A. He wanted to buy the oldest farm near where he lived.
B. He made a study of many farms before buying.
C. He made money by buying and selling farms.
D. He had the money to buy the best farm in the country.

2. Why did the author decide to buy the Hollowell place?

A. It was of good market value.
B. It was next to the highway.
C. It was in a good position.
D. It was behind a nice garden.

3. Why did the author want to buy the farm in a hurry?

A. He was afraid the owner might changes his mind.
B. He hoped to enlarge the forest on the farm.
C. He wanted to keep the farm as it was.
D. He was eager to become a farm owner.

4. The underlined words "the loss" in the last paragraph refer to _____.

A. the money the author lost in buying the farm
B. the sale of the garden in the Hollowell place
C. the removal of the trees around the house
D. the failure to possess the Hollowell place

5. What does the author believe as important in life?

A. To own a farm
B. To satisfy his needs
C. To be free from worries
D. To live in the countryside

                                                             The Best of Friends
     The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young
people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image (印象) of unhappy
teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
      An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious
than it has ever been in the past. "We were surprised by just how positive today's young people seem to be
about their families," said one member of the research team."They're expected to be rebellious (叛逆的) and
selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry
about whether school is serving them well. There's more negotiation (商議) and discussion between parents
and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don't want to rock
the boat."
     So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their
children as friends."My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me," says
17-years-old Daniel Lazall."I always tell them when I'm going out clubbing. As long as they know what I'm
doing, they're fine with it." Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. "Looking back on the last 10 years, there
was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I'd done all my homework, I could go
out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that."
     Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenage
rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments,"Our surprise that teenagers say they get along
well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as
different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during
that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth
change from helping out with the family business to taking it over."

1. What is the popular image of teenagers today?

A. They worry about school.
B. They dislike living with their parents.
C. They have to be locked in to avoid troubles.
D. They quarrel a lot with other family members.

2. The study shows that teenagers don't want to ______.

A. share family responsibility
B. cause trouble in their families
C. go boating with their family
D. make family decisions

3. Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today's parents ______.

A. go to clubs more often with their children
B. are much stricter with their children
C. care less about their children's life
D. give their children more freedom

4. According to the author, teenage rebellion ______.

A. may be a false belief
B. is common nowadays
C. existed only in the 1960s
D. resulted from changes in families

5. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Negotiation in family.
B. Education in family.
C. Harmony in family.
D. Teenage trouble in family.

    There are many ways of defining success. It is accurate to say that each of us has our own concept of
success to the extent that each of us is responsible for setting our own goals and determining whether we
have met these goals satisfactorily. Because each of us possesses unique differences in genetic ability and
favorable environments in which to express these abilities, it is necessarily true that we must define success broadly.
     For some people, simply being able to live their life with a minimum of misery and suffering is
considered a success. Think of the peace of mind of the poor shepherd who tends his sheep, enjoys his
simple life with his family in the beauty of nature, and who is respected because he does a good job of
achieving the goals expected of and accepted by him and his society. On the other hand, it seems that
even though some people appear to be rich in material possessions, many of them seem to be miserable
and consider themselves unsuccessful when judged by their own goals of success. Because not all
ventures can be successful, one should not set unrealistic goals for achieving success, but if one has
self-confidence it would be unfortunate to set one's goals at too low a level of achievement.
     A wise counselor once said to a young man who was experiencing frustration with his own
professional success: "You do not have to set your goal to reach the moon in order to have success in
traveling. Sometimes one can be very successful merely by taking a walk in the park, or riding the
subway downtown," The counselor added, "You have not really failed and spoiled your chances for
success until you have been unsuccessful at something you really like, and to which you have given your
best effort."

1. In the paragraph one, the author implies that_____ are essential in achieving success .

A. ability and goals    
B. ability and environment
C. goals and determination            
D. goals and environment

2. Which one of the following statements is Not True?

A. All the rich people are not considering themselves successful.
B. Only the person who achieves great goals can be regarded as a successful man.
C. Living a simple life and enjoying peace is for some people a success.
D. A shepherd is someone who takes care of sheep.

3. The last paragraph implies that ______.

A. success means taking a walk in the park    
B. success means achieving great goals
C. we should have high goals    
D. success means trying one's best at what one really likes

4. This passage mainly talks about _______.

A. the definition of success    
B. how to achieve success
C. how to set goals    
D. the importance of goals

     In the United States you will find yourself being urged from every page of  every newspaper and every
television station to buy all kinds of goods.
     Not only is there a wide range of prices for goods in America, there is also a wide range in the quality
of goods offered for sale. Unlike some countries,
     Americans generally pay the price of a product without question, instead of trying to get a lower price
by bargaining. However, there are many "sales" in the United States, during which time stores will lower
their normal prices. This may all be very confusing to visitors. How are you going to know how to "get
your money's worth" when you shop? Perhaps the best advice is: Don't hurry. Visit various stores and
determine the quality of goods. Read the advertisements so that you can compare prices.
     There is a great variety of shops in the United States, ranging from very large stores called "department stores" to very small shops. There are "discount houses" offering goods at low prices, and "dime stores"
specializing in a wide range of inexpensive items.
     Most department stores in large cities carry better quality products at higher prices. However, they
offer the shoppers great convenience since they contain such a wide variety of products.
     If convenience isn't as important to you as price, you may want to shop in discount houses. These
stores have nearly as great a variety of goods as department stores, but offer lower prices. They can do
so for several reasons. They don't offer the same services to buyers that department stores do; there may
be fewer sales people; and the store probably doesn't deliver purchases.
     Another popular shop is the "dime store". No longer selling many things for five or ten cents, these
stores got their name in the last century when it was decided that a small profit on a great quantity of
goods would be better than a large profit on fewer sales. Dime stores specialize in a wide variety of
inexpensive items and today, prices range from a quarter or 50 cents up to several dollars.