A few months ago as I wandered through my parents’ house, the same house I grew up in, I had a sudden, scary realization. When my parents bought the house, in 1982, they were only two years older than I am now. I tried to imagine myself in two years, ready to settle down and buy the house I’d still be living in almost 30 years later.
It seemed ridiculous. On a practical level, there’s no way I could afford to buy a house anytime soon. More importantly, I wouldn’t want to. I’m not sure where I’ll be living in two years, or what kind of job I’ll have. And I don’t think I’ll be ready to settle down and stay in one place.
So this is probably the generation gap that divides my friends and me from our parents. When our parents were our age, they’d gotten their education, chosen a career, and were starting to settle into responsible adult lives.
My friends and I – “Generation Y” – still aren’t sure what we want to do with our lives. Whatever we end up doing, we want to make sure we’re happy doing it. We’d rather take risks first, try out different jobs, and move from one city to another until we find our favorite place. We’d rather spend our money on travel than put it in a savings account.
This casual attitude towards responsibility has caused some critics to call my generation “arrogant”, “impatient”, and “overprotected”. Some of these complaints have a point. As children we were encouraged to succeed in school, but also to have fun. We grew up in a world full of technological innovation: cellphones, the Internet, instant messaging, and video games.
Our parents looked to rise vertically（垂直的）– starting at the bottom of the ladder and slowly making their way to the top, on the same track, often for the same company. That doesn’t apply to my generation.
Because of that, it may take us longer than our parents to arrive at responsible, stable adulthood. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In our desire to find satisfaction, we will work harder, struggle for ways to keep life interesting, and gain a broader set of experiences and knowledge than our parents’ generation did.                                                                              
【小題1】What is the main “generation gap” between the author and her friends and their parents according to the article?

A．Their ways of gaining experience.

B．Their attitude towards responsibility.

C．Their attitude toward high technology.

D．Their ways of making their way to the top.

【小題2】Which of the following might the author agree with?

A．It involves too much effort to rise vertically.

B．It’s better to take adult responsibility earlier.

C．It’s all right to try more before settling down.

D．It’s ridiculous to call her generation “arrogant”.

【小題3】 What can we conclude from the article?

A．The author is envious of her parents enjoying a big house at her age.

B．“Generation Y” people don’t want to grow up and rush into adulthood.

C．Growing up in a hi-tech world makes “Generation Y” feel insecure about relationships.

D．The author wrote this article so that others would be able to understand her generation better.

【小題4】What is the main theme of the article?

A．Criticisms of the young generation.

B．The sudden realization of growing up.

C．A comparison between lifestyles of generations.

D．The factors that have changed the young generation.

Have you ever made contact with the creative spirit, that certain something hard to describe, but full of good—and sometimes great—ideas? It is more than an occasional great thought. When we feel the moving of the creative spirit, it brings to life a style of being: a lifetime filled with the desire to invent, to explore new ways of doing things, and to turn dreams into reality.
That flash of inspiration is the final moment of a process marked by unique stages—the basic steps in creative problem-solving. The first stage is preparation, when you look for any information that might be important. It's when you let your imagination run free.
But one barrier(障礙) is the inside voice of judgment that locks up our creative spirit within the limits of what we think acceptable. It's the voice that whispers to you, "They'll think I'm foolish," or "That will never work." But we can learn to recognize this voice of judgment and have the courage to discount its unhelpful advice.
Once you have thought about all the relevant(相關(guān)的) pieces and pushed your mind to the limits, you can let the problem remain and take in all you have gathered. It's a stage when much of what goes on occurs outside your focused awareness. As the saying goes, "You sleep on it."
We are more open to creative thoughts from the unknowing mind when we are not really thinking of anything. That is why daydreams are so useful in the search for creativity. Anytime you can just daydream and relax is useful in the creative process: a shower, long drives, a quiet walk, etc.
With luck, daydreaming will lead to a light turning on above your head, when all of a sudden the answer will come to you as if from nowhere. This is the popular stage—the one that usually gets all the glory and attention, the moment that people sweat and long for, the feeling "This is it!" But the thought alone is still not a creative act. The final stage is translation, when you take your creative thought and transform it into action; it becomes useful to you and others.
【小題1】In Paragraph 1, “the moving of the creative spirit” probably means ________.

A．preparation

B．exploration

C．problem-solving

D．inspiration

【小題2】According to the article, what keeps us from creativity?

A．Having less information to form a good idea.

B．Relying on others during the creative process.

C．Caring about other people’s opinions about us.

D．Thinking about too many ideas at the same time.

【小題3】What can we learn from the fifth paragraph?

A．The unknowing mind is very difficult for us to understand.

B．Creativity arrives when we aren’t focused on any one thing.

C．Daydreaming is useless and has nothing to do with creativity.

D．Showers, long drives and quiet walk are good for our bodies.

【小題4】When does creativity become useful to us and others?

A．When thought is turned into action.

B．When people understand our ideas.

C．When the popular stage is reached.

D．When we think “This is it!”.

【小題5】Which of the following would the author probably support?

A．The creative spirit means an occasional great thought.

B．Others’ voice of judgment allows us to ignore barriers.

C．Creative problem-solving calls for barrier-free imagination.

D．Daydreaming is sure to bring a sudden answer to a problem.

During the last fifteen years of my mother's life she suffered with Alzheimer's disease (老年癡呆). Until then she had been a bright, cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. I would go home to visit her in Virginia and she would look at me in a puzzled way and ask, “Who are you?”  I would answer, “I'm your son.”  “Where do you live?”  She would ask. “In California”, I would tell her. “Isn't that interesting,” she would say, “I have a son in California.”
She seemed simply forgetful and confused at the beginning of the disease, but later on she would go through periods of intense anxiety. She would pace through the house she had lived in most of her life crying uneasily that she wanted to go home. Or she would leave home and wander away if she were unattended for a short time.   
Hoping to please her and put her mind at ease I would take her for a drive, visiting sites where she had lived as a child. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn. I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, “I want to go home.”
Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place, but a time. I suspect it was a time when she was much younger, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still vigorous and attentive.
Watching my mother's suffering set me wondering where I would have gone in mind if someday I couldn’t find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of Alzheimer's is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudy minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance.               
【小題1】What's the main idea of the first two paragraphs?

A．The author’s mother suffered with serious Alzheimer's disease.

B．The author’s mother forgot who’s his son.

C．The author didn’t know how to cure his mother.

D．The author’s mother couldn’t find her home.

【小題2】What is not the symptom of the author’s mother ? 

A．cheerful

B．confused

C．forgetful

D．uneasy

【小題3】 What’s the meaning of the underlined word “pictured”?

A．photographed

B．a(chǎn)ppeared

C．described

D．painted

【小題4】What can you infer from the third paragraph?

A．The author care much about his mother.

B．The author’s mother was fond of pet lambs.

C．The author saw a little girl playing with a pet lamb.

D．The author’s mother didn’t like her usual home.

【小題5】What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Take Mother Home.

B．Everyone will suffer with Alzheimer's disease.

C．A story about a son and a mother.

D．Where Is Home?

How many of us have heard that question, "Where was GOD when the World Trade Center(世貿(mào)中心) and the Pentagon(五角大樓) were attacked?" Well, I know where my GOD was the morning of September 11, 2001, and He was very busy!
He was trying to discourage anyone from taking these flights. Those four flights together held over 1000 passengers and there were only 266 aboard.
He was on 4 commercial flights giving frightened passengers the ability to stay calm. Not one of the family members who were called by a loved one on one of the hijacked(被劫持的) planes said that passengers were screaming in the background. On one of the flights he was giving strength to passengers to try to overtake the hijackers.
He was busy trying to create obstacles(阻礙) for employees at the World Trade Center. After all, only around 20,000 were at the towers when the first jet hit. Since the buildings held over 50,000 workers, this was a Miracle in itself. How many of the people who were employed at the World Trade Center told the media that they were late for work or they had traffic delays.
He was holding up 2-110 story buildings so that 2/3 of the workers could get out. I was so amazed that the top of the towers didn't fall when the jets crashed. And when they did fall, GOD made them fall inward, as many more lives would have been lost.
So when anyone asks, "Where was your GOD on September 11," you can say "everywhere"! And yes, although this is without a doubt the worst thing I have seen in my life, I see God's miracles in every bit of it. I can't imagine going through such a difficult time and not believing in GOD – life would be hopeless. So shines a good deed in a weary world!
【小題1】In what way the author tried to prove his point in the passage?

A．By telling a story.	B．By giving examples.
C．By answering questions.	D．By performing experiments.

【小題2】Which one of the following is TURE according to the passage?

A．There were three planes together hijacked in the attack.

B．The passengers on the planes were not frightened at all.

C．Many people working at WTC were delayed by traffic jams on Set. 11.

D．Many more people were killed in the buildings than we could imagine.

【小題3】What’s the meaning of the underlined word “Miracle” in the context?

A．something funny	B．something important
C．something reliable	D．something unbelievable

【小題4】Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?
A. Everyone has a GOD.
B. Where was the GOD?
C. Never forget September 11.
D. September 11 – A Disaster To America.

Happiness is for everyone. You don' t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses with large gardens and swimming pools or those who have nice cars and a lot of money and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads at their free time.
In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you; when you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; when you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you; when you do something wrong, people around you will help you to correct it. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too. All these are your happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you.
Happiness is not the same as money. It is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also say you are very happy, because you have something else that can' t be bought with money. When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. So you cannot always say you are poor and you have bad luck. As the saying goes, life is like a revolving(旋轉(zhuǎn)的)door. When it closes, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.
【小題1】When you fall down in a PE class, both your teacher and your classmates will ______.

A．laugh at you	B．play jokes on you
C．quarrel with you	D．help you up

【小題2】What will your friends say to you when you make great progress?

A．Congratulations.	B．Oh, so do I.
C．Good luck.	D．It' s just so-so.

【小題3】Which idea is NOT RIGHT according to the passage?

A．Happiness is always around you though difficulties come towards you.

B．You can get help from others when you make mistakes.

C．You can still be a happy person even if you have little money.

D．People who have cars would never like to walk in the open air.

【小題4】Which of the following is this passage about?

A．Bad luck

B．Good luck

C．Happiness

D．Life.

A few months ago as I wandered through my parents’ house，the same house I grew up in，I had a sudden，scary realization．When my parents bought the house，in 1982，they were only two years older than I am now．I tried to imagine myself in two years, ready to settle down and buy the house I’d still be living in almost 30 years later．
It seemed ridiculous．On a practical level，there’s no way I could afford to buy a house anytime soon．More importantly，I wouldn’t want to．I’m not sure where I’ll be living in two years，or what kind of job I’ll have．And I don’t think I’ll be ready to settle down and stay in one place．
So this is probably the generation gap that divides my friends and me from our parents．When our parents were our age，they’d got their education，chosen a career，and were starting to settle into responsible adult lives．
My friends and I--“Generation Y”--still aren’t sure what we want to do with our lives．Whatever we end up doing，we want to make sure we’re happy doing it．We’d rather take risks first，try out different jobs，and move from one city to another until we find our favorite place．We’d rather spend our money on travel than put it in a savings account．
This casual attitude toward responsibility has caused some critics to call my generation “arrogant”(自大的), “impatient”, and “overprotected”．Some of these complaints have a point．As children, we were encouraged to succeed in school，but also to have fun．We grew up in a world full of technological innovation: cell phones，the Internet，instant messaging，and video games．
Our parents looked to rise vertically(垂直的)--starting at the bottom of the ladder and slowly making their way to the top, on the same track, often for the same company. That doesn’t apply to my generation.
Because of that, it may take us longer than our parents to arrive at responsible, stable adulthood. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In our desire to find satisfaction, we will work harder, strive for ways to keep life interesting, and gain a broader set of experiences and knowledge than our parents’ generation did.
【小題1】When the author walked through her parents’ house，she  _______.

A．had no idea what she wanted from life

B．realized I should buy a house

C．started to think about her own life

D．wondered why her parents had settled down early

【小題2】What is the main “generation gap” between the author and her friends and their parents according to the article?

A．Their attitude toward responsibility．

B．Their ways of making their way to the top．

C．Their ways of gaining experience．

D．Their attitude towards high technology．

【小題3】Which of the following might the author agree with?

A．It’s better to take adult responsibility earlier．

B． It’s all right to try more before settling down．

C．It involves too much effort to rise vertically．

D．It’s ridiculous to call her generation “arrogant”.

【小題4】What is the main theme of the article?

A．The sudden realization of growing up.

B．Criticisms of the young generation.

C．A comparison between lifestyles of generations.

D．The factors that have changed the young generation.

What is a lifestyle and how is that different from a life? A lifestyle is about brand names and buying identity or fame. Lifestyle gives a false sense of peace and acceptability that comes from others recognizing what you’ve bought into (as well as bought). If your car, clothes, and home are expensive, you’re sophisticated(世故的) and stylish. If you have the right kind of job or go to the right social gatherings, then you receive the insincere approval of others. This means that your self-esteem(自尊) is always at the mercy of others, with no appreciation of you as an individual.
A life, on the other hand, is very different. A life is what you lead when you know what matters most to you. It is very simple and comes from being connected to what you know is important and being willing to put that first, no matter what others may think. When you create a life vs. a lifestyle, your self-esteem comes from what’s inside you, not what others think about you.
Lifestyle is expensive financially and personally, because it costs a great deal to keep up appearances and do what you think is socially acceptable. A life is not expensive. Rather than using personal or financial resources, a life generates energy and staying power. It’s about liberating yourself from the mindless consumption that society expects. It is about making the choices that are in line with your values, instead of using up your bank account or energy for no heart-driven reason.
How can you make the change? Understand the difference between a life and a lifestyle. Analyze your current lifestyle to see what is costing you in money, time, stress, and energy to maintain it. Let go and make room for what is really important to you, what supports you and brings you joy. Remember who you are from within, not what you own!
【小題1】Which of the following examples best explains “what is life about”?

A．We work long hours in a job that we do not enjoy.

B．We focus on what we wear, or what kind of car we drive.

C．We find out what our true beliefs and values are and choose to live by these.

D．We think that how others see us is more important than what we think of ourselves.

【小題2】What method does the author use to explain his opinion in the third paragraph?

A．Making comparison.	B．Giving an example.
C．Giving a definition.	D．Giving a reason.

【小題3】To make the change, we need to______________________.

A．be directed from within	B．be directed from outside
C．be driven by social values	D．be driven by others’ opinions

【小題4】What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?

A．To describe what life is.

B．To introduce what lifestyle is.

C．To promote life instead of lifestyle.

D．To tell the differences between life and lifestyle.

When it comes to success in business and success in life, there are few qualities as important as confidence．
People naturally have different levels of confidence．Some have a higher level of confidence than others do, but even those whose confidence is lacking can learn to build their level of confidence and reach their most important goals．Increasing self confidence is one of the most common reasons people give for seeking the help of psychologists and other professionals．
One of the many places where a greater level of confidence is useful is in the workplace． We all know how difficult it can be, for instance, to ask the boss for a raise．This process can be extremely difficult for those who lack confidence in their own abilities．After all, if you are unsure about your own abilities, how will you ever convince your boss that you deserve more money for the work you do?
Even if you are not asking for that big raise, having plenty of confidence in your abilities is important to success．If you are certain of your abilities, chances are that those around you, whether they are your coworkers, your colleagues or your superiors, will see that confidence, and that will help to assure them that you aree the best at what you do．
Being thought of as the person to go to, and being seen as an expert in your chosen field, is naturally very important to success on the job．If you can make yourself the person people go to for guidance and advice, you will help to protect yourself from the ever present danger of downsizing（裁員）．After all, if you are a recognized expert at the office, you will be regarded as an indispensable member of the team．
Having a high level of confidence, after all, does not mean overlooking the places where you could improve．Knowing what you do well and where you need help will help you enjoy increased success and confidence．
【小題1】What is the passage mainly about?

A．The influence of confidence on one's life．

B．The difference of people's confidence．．

C．The importance of confidence to success

D．The judgment on one's confidence．

【小題2】Psychologists and other professionals can offer help to those ______．

A．who dream to be recognized experts

B．who expect to give guidance to others

C．who want to ask the boss for a raise

D．who think their goals are hard to reach

【小題3】What does the underlined word "indispensable" in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．outgoing

B．a(chǎn)ttractive

C．important

D．energetic

【小題4】What message does the author want to convey（傳遞） in the last paragraph?

A．To overlook one's disadvantages．

B．To make full use of one's advantages．

C．To have great confidence in one's abilities．

D．To make objective evaluations of one's abilities．

To err is human. To blame the other guy is even more human.
Common sense is not all that common.
Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?
These three popular misquotes(戲謔的引語)are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature .To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do .The original quote about human nature went like this: “ To err is human, to forgive, divine(神圣的).”This saying mirrors an ideal people should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite –find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a making of great maturity.
Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine．Common sense does not seem to be common for large organizations, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”
And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary(直接推論)to that: if good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?
【小題1】According to tile passage, which of following seems the most human?

A．To search for truth．

B．To achieve one’s ideal

C．To make fun of others’ mistakes．

D．To criticize others for one’s own error.

【小題2】According to the author, what is a sign of a man’s maturity?

A．Doing things his own way.

B．Bearing responsibility for his mistakes.

C．Making as few mistakes as possible．

D．Thinking seriously about his wrongdoing.

【小題3】Which of the following is N0T based on common sense?

A．A man tries to take charge of everything in a large company.

B．A student goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather.

C．A company’s next move follows a good plan．

D．A lawyer acts on fine judgments．

【小題4】What is the author’s opinion about a good excuse?

A．Making a good excuse is sometimes a better policy.

B．Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas.

C．A good excuse is as rewarding as honesty.

D．Bitter truth is better than a good excuse.

【小題5】What would be the best title for his passage?

A．A Mirror of Human Nature	B．To Blame or to Forgive
C．A Mark of Maturity	D．Truth or Excuse

Now, I want to start with a question: When was the last time you were called childish? For kids like me, being called childish can be a frequent occurrence. Every time we make irrational(不理智的) demands, exhibit irresponsible behavior, or display any other signs of being normal American citizens, we are called childish. ___________A____________. After all, take a look at these events: imperialism（帝國主義）and colonization（殖民主義）, world wars, George W. Bush. Ask yourself: Who's responsible? Adults.
　  Now, what have kids done? ___________B____________. Well, Anne Frank touched millions with her powerful account of the Holocaust (大屠殺), Ruby Bridges helped end segregation(隔離) in the United States, and, most recently, Charlie Simpson helped to raise 120,000 pounds for Haiti on his little bike. So, as you can see evidenced by such examples, age has absolutely nothing to do with it. We are called childish so often by adults that we should abolish this age-discrimination when it comes to criticizing behavior associated with irresponsibility and irrational thinking.
　  Then again, who's to say that certain types of irrational thinking aren't exactly what the world needs? Maybe you've had grand plans before, but stopped yourself, thinking: That's impossible or that costs too much or that won't benefit me. For better or worse, we kids aren't hampered as much when it comes to thinking about reasons why not to do things. ___________C____________. Kids can be full of inspiring aspirations and hopeful thinking, like my wish that no one went hungry or that everything were free kind of utopia(烏托邦). How many of you still dream like that and believe in the possibilities? Sometimes a knowledge of history and the past failures of utopian ideals can be a burden. On the other hand, we kids still dream about perfection. ___________D____________. And that's a good thing because in order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first.
Now, our inborn wisdom doesn't have to be insiders' knowledge. Kids already do a lot of learning from adults, and we have a lot to share. I think that adults should start learning from kids. Now, I do most of my speaking in front of an education crowd, teachers and students, and I like this analogy. It shouldn't just be a teacher at the head of the classroom telling students to do this, do that. The students should teach their teachers. Learning between grown ups and kids should be reciprocal. The reality, unfortunately, is a little different, and it has a lot to do with trust, or a lack of it. Now, if you don't trust someone, you place restrictions on them, right. If I doubt my older sister's ability to pay back the 10 percent interest I established on her last loan, I'm going to withhold her ability to get more money from me until she pays it back.
True story, by the way. Now, adults seem to have a prevalently restrictive attitude towards kids from every "don't do that," "don't do this" in the school handbook, to restrictions on school internet use. Kids have no, or very little, say in making the rules, when really the attitude should be reciprocal(相互的), meaning that the adult population should learn and take into account the wishes of the younger population.
Adults, you need to listen and learn from kids. The world needs opportunities for new leaders and new ideas. Kids need opportunities to lead and succeed. Are you ready to make the match?  
【小題1】Where should the sentence “This really bothers me.” be put in the passage?
A. In blank A.                          B. In blank B.     
C. In blank C.                      D. In blank D.
【小題2】What does the speaker think is the root cause why adults call kids childish?

A．That kids like being called that way.

B．That adults are more irresponsible than kids.

C．That kids often make irrational demands.

D．That adults are driven by age-discrimination against kids.

【小題3】 Which of the following least explains kids’ advantage over adults based on the speaker?

A．Younger age.	B．Irrational thinking.
C．Knowledge of history.	D．Excess restrictions.

【小題4】What is the best title of this passage?

A．Don’t Be Childish again, Adults!

B．Time to Listen and Learn from Us!

C．Don’t Do That, Don’t Do This!

D．We Are Not Young Any More!