If practicing an attitude of gratitude(感激） during the storms of life is too much for you right now, that’s OK. When things are tough, most people have a hard time being thankful. They're so caught up in what's wrong in the present moment that they simply can't see some things are still right.
If that's true for you, then accept it. You're going through a particularly difficult or unhappy period of time, and don't like it one bit. Very normal, very human. But remember this: there is always something to be grateful for. It may be only a small comfort right no, but it is a start. Make a list of some of the terrible things that didn't happen. For example:
       You're in debt... but you're not homeless.
       You lost your job... but you didn't lose your health.
       You broke your leg... but you didn't break your neck.
        Your mother has Alzheimers disease... but your father doesn't.
No matter how bad things are, they could always be worse. Start finding gratitude for what might have happened, but didn't. It does help a lot. Of course, you may not be thankful for everything- but you can always be thankful for something.
【小題1】How many "terrible things that didn't happen" are listed in this passage?

To be able to motivate oneself, or self-motivate, occurs when a person has the willingness to do something and is internally(內(nèi)在地) motivated to do it.
Sometimes it’s very difficult to get ourselves moving. The natural tendency is to postpone. Life just seems to get in the way! There is a job to go to, groceries to do, television to watch—whoops! I guess we get pretty good at finding excuses to escape getting started on goals like an exercise routine or reading a new book. The fact is that we are creatures of routine and habit. So what can we do to motivate ourselves to accomplish our goals? 
Here are some tips on how to get moving:
l Decide what you want. It’s hard to motivate an aimless mind. Set a goal and decide how you are going to go about it. Then break it down into smaller sections so it’s easier to handle and less overwhelming.（勢(shì)不可擋）
l Keep track of your progress. Keep a log or journal where you can measure how much you have accomplished. Looking at it can also motivate you to keep pushing ahead.
l Post motivating pictures or slogans within your sight. It is always inspiring to see pictures of people who have accomplished what you’re going for. It makes it attainable and realistic. Likewise, little slogans like “go for it” or “just do it” can give you the little support you need.    
l Sometimes we forget what we set out to do and a little reminder is all we need to be revitalized (激活) and focus on the end result. If you remind yourself to go for the desired promotion, it will re-establish why you are doing what you’re doing.
l Make it a habit. Once you have accomplished your objective, e.g. becoming an early riser, keep it up so that it’s second nature to you and you don’t have to think about it anymore.
64. According to the author, some people fail to achieve their goals because ________.
A. they don’t have enough desire
B. their life is filled with routine work
C. they benefit from the force of habit
D. they naturally put off forming new habits
65. It can be inferred from the underlined sentence that ________.
A. self-motivation needs repeated self-reminding of one’s goal
B. in modern society people tend to become forgetful
C. when we forget our goal, our life becomes meaningless
D. we can achieve our goal only by focusing on the end result
66. To get moving on your goal, you can do the following EXCEPT ________.
A. keep a diary to clearly judge your distance to your goal
B. make self-improvement your second nature
C. forget your aim and revitalize yourself with slogans
D. support yourself by hanging inspiring pictures in your house
67. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Set Goals in Your Life                                          B. Get Yourself Motivated
C. Get into Good Habits                                          D. Do Not Postpone

B
A new college guide in the United States compares educational requirements in seven subjects. These include math, science, writing and United States history or government. The other subjects are economics, foreign language and literature.
The free online guide is from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The council is a nonprofit group that supports liberal arts education.
Its president, Anne Neal, says these areas of knowledge are needed to succeed in a twenty-first century society and an increasingly connected world. Yet she told VOA’s Faiza Elmasry it was surprising how many students can graduate with, in her words, a “thin education.”
Forty-two of the one hundred colleges and universities surveyed received the lowest marks. This meant they required two or fewer of the seven subjects. Five schools received a top grade for requiring six subjects. These were Brooklyn College in New York City, Texas A&M, the University of Texas-Austin, West Point and the University of Arkansas.
Robert Costrell is a professor of education reform and economics at the University of Arkansas. He says many, if not all, of the top American colleges once had a core curriculum —a set of courses required for all students.
But over the years, many have dropped these requirements. Or they have watered them down, Professor Costrell says, into what became known as distribution requirements. This system lets a student choose from a number of different courses to satisfy a requirement.
ROBERT COSTRELL: “And in many cases these courses went too far, I would say, towards the fluffy treatment of serious material, and students could satisfy their requirement by taking such courses.”
Professor Costrell says schools should not only re-examine what they teach. They should also measure what students have learned — for example, through some form of examinations or papers.
A new report this week from the College Board showed that college prices continue to rise. But Anne Neal from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni says higher prices. do not guarantee a better general education. In fact, the group found that the higher the tuition, the more likely that students have to develop their own general education.
The college guide is on the Web at whatwilltheylearn.com. Anne Neal says her group is surveying more colleges. The hope, she says, is to discover what college graduates have really learned, and how ready they are to compete in the global marketplace.
61. Where does the passage probably come from?
A. A scientific fiction.                      B. A research newspaper.  
C. A fashion magazine.                     D. An entertainment newspaper.
62. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni does all the following EXCEPT _________.
A. support liberal arts education
B. concern itself with education in America
C. devote time to helping improve college education
D. make money by helping with college education
63. The words “watered them down” underlined in Paragraph 6 most likely mean “_______.”
A. reduced required courses                 B. improved required courses
C. increased required courses                D. developed required courses
64. In this passage, the new college guide mainly tells its readers that American colleges  should _____.
A. meet the requirements of the new century        B. reduce the number of required courses
C. have different standards on required courses      D. cut down on their tuitions

Any car accident is frightening, but an accident in which your vehicle is thrown into the water, with you trapped inside, is absolutely terrifying.   1.  However, most deaths result from panic, without a plan or understanding what is happening to the car in the water. By adopting a brace(支撐) position, acting decisively and getting out fast, you can save yourself from a sinking vehicle.

Brace yourself for impact (撞擊力). As soon as you're aware that you're going off the road and into a body of water, adopt a brace position. The impact could set off the airbag system in your vehicle, so you should place both hands on the steering wheel in the "ten and two" position.

Undo your seatbelt.   2.  Unbuckle the children, starting with the oldest first. Forget the cell phone call. Your car isn't going to wait for you to make the call.

  3.  Leave the door alone at this stage and concentrate on the window. A car's electrical system should work for up to three minutes in water, so try the method of opening it electronically first. Many people don't think about the window as an escape option either because of panic or misinformation about doors and sinking.

Break the window. If you aren't able to open the window, or it only opens halfway, you'll need to break it with an object or your foot. It may feel counter-intuitive (有悖常理的) to let water into the car.   4.

Escape when the car has equalized. If it has reached the dramatic stage where the car cabin has been filled with water and it has become balanced, you must move quickly and effectively to ensure your survival.   5.  While there is still air in the car, take slow, deep breaths and focus on what you're doing.

A．Open the window as soon as you hit the water.

B．Surviving a sinking car is not as difficult as you think.

C．It takes 60 to 120 seconds for a car to fill up with water usually.

D．Such accidents are particularly dangerous to the risk of drowning.

E.In conclusion, if you know what to do in the water, you will be safe.

F.This is the first thing to attend to, yet it often gets forgotten in the panic.

G.But the sooner the window is open, the sooner you can escape directly through it.

         The Olympic Games are seen as the greatest test of an athlete’s ability and are supposed to celebrate the spirit of fair play. But in fact, sportsmen have been using drugs to cheat their way to victory since the Games first began.

         In the early years, athletes ate mushrooms(蘑菇)and plant seeds to improve their performance. Nowadays, this kind of cheating has a name doping(服用興奮劑).

         Just last month, Britain’s top sprinter(賽跑選手) Dwain Chambers and several American athletes tested positive(呈陽(yáng)性)for the drug THG. Until a coach secretly gave a sample of THG to scientists, no one knew how to test for it.

         “We’re like cops(警察)chasing criminals—athletes are always adapting and looking for areas we haven’t investigated,” said Jacquew de Ceaurriz, a French anti-doping expert.

         Since the first drugs test was carried out at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, many cheats have been caught out. The most famous case in history is that of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson.

         He broke the 100 meters world record in winning gold at the 1988 Seoul(漢城)Olympics. But days later, he tested positive for drug use, lost his gold medal and was banned from the sport. Five years later, he returned to action—only to be found positive again and banned forever.

         China has also had problems with drug cheats. At the 1994 Asian Games, 11 Chinese athletes—seven of them swimmers—tested positive for banned drugs. Sports organizations promised that cheating on this scale would not happen again.

         Experts are also worried that doping can damage a person’s health. It is believed to increase the risk of liver and kidney(肝腎)diseases, and women may experience reproductive(生育) problems. As long as they can stay ahead of the scientists, it is unlikely the cheats will stop. But experts say there is a limit to what can be achieved and that athletes will not be able to change their bodies using gene(基因)technology.

         “For the moment, genetic doping does not exist,” said de Ceaurriz. “Even in 10 or 15 years it will not be done easily—the scientific community(界)will not let it happen.”

(  ) 60. Which of the following is not the way that some athletes cheat to their better sports achievements?

A.Eating mushrooms.         B Taking drug THG.

C. Taking genetic doping.       D. Eating plant seeds.

(  ) 61. How many countries are mentioned in the passage in which there were athletes doping?

         A. Two.                       B. Four.                       C. Sic.                          D. Eight.

(  ) 62. We can infer from the passage that ____.

A.scientists get a lot of information about drugs before the athletes take doping

B.taking doping will never happen again because of the serious test

C.few athletes used drug cheats before the first drugs test was carried out at the 1968 Olympics

D.problems with drug cheats are still serious though they are severely tested

(  ) 63. Which statement of the following is true?

A.Many police are sent to chase criminals of taking doping during the Olympic Games.

B.The drug test was carried out until the 1968 Olympics.

C.There is the possibility that women athletes taking doping will give no birth to a child.

D.Ben Johnson was banned from sports forever for being tested positive for drug use at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.