Forget hard work and perseverance. Getting ahead is as simple as tidying your desk.
According to a leading expert, having a cluttered environment reflects a cluttered mind, but the act of tidying up can help you be more successful. The advice comes from Jayne Morris, the resident"life coach" for NHS Online, who said it is no good just moving the mess around. In order to clear the mind, unwanted items must be thrown away to free your "inner world", she said.
Ms Morris, who claims to have coached celebrities to major business figures, said:“Clearing clutter from your desk has the power to transform your business. " How? Because clutter in your outer environment is the physical sign of all the clutter going on inside of you. " Clearing clutter has a chain effect across your entire life, including your work. Having an untidy desk covered in clutter could be stopping you achieving the business success you want. " She is sure cleaning up will be helpful even though some of history's biggest achievers lived and worked in messy conditions.
Churchill was considered untidy from a boy throughout his life, from his office to his artist's studio,and the lab where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin was famously untidy.
Among the recommendations is that simply tidying a desk at work and an overflowing filing cabinet(陳列柜) will instantly have a positive impact on "your inner world. " Anything that is no longer used should not be put into storage but thrown away completely.
Keeping something in the loft, garage or other part of the house, does not help because it is still connected to the person "by tiny energetic li.nes", Ms Morris. claims.
She said, "The things in your life that are useful to you, that add value to your life, that serve a current purpose are charged with positive energy that refreshes you and enriches your life. But the things that you don't ever use and don't need anymore have the opposite effect on your energy.
Things that no longer fit or serve you, use up your energy. "
小題1:The underlined word "cluttered" (in Para.2) is closest, in meaning to __

A．messy

B．brief

C．complex

D．a(chǎn)ggressive

小題2:Which of the following statements does Ms Morris agree to?

A．Changing the position of staff frequently will help to build up a clear mind.

B．A tidy office will lead to a success in your business affairs in no time.

C．To have a free mind, we need to throw away unneeded items at times.

D．You can pack up your things in garage or loft to cheer you up.

小題3:According to Ms Morris, an untidy desk probably means that         

A．you are quite a failure

B．you are in a messy mind

C．you are toe tired to deal with it

D．you have achieved the business success

小題4:Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Less untidy, more successful.

B．How to improve your inner world.

C．Cleaning up makes you less intelligent.

D．Being bigger achiever needs more effort.

Most British people prefer to live in a house rather than a flat and one of the reasons is that houses usually have gardens. The garden is a place where people can be outside and yet private.
If a house has a front and back garden, the front is likely to be formal(正規(guī)的) and decorative(裝飾性的), with a lawn (an area of grass) or fancy flower borders. The back garden usually also has a lawn and flower beds, and sometimes a vegetable plot(菜地) fruit trees. There’s often a bird table, on which food is put for birds, and a small simple house in which garden tools are kept.
Many British people spend quite a lot of money on their gardens and even the smallest may contain different kinds of flowers and plants. For them gardening is a hobby and they take pride in their gardens. Some towns and villages have competitions for the best-kept small garden. People with a small garden, or no garden at all, can rent a piece of land, on which most grow vegetables.
There are garden centers near most towns, selling everything a gardener might need, from flower pots to fish ponds as well as many types of plants.
The British interest in gardening affects the appearance of whole towns. Public parks and some roads often have bright displays of flowers in summer and public buildings have windows boxes(窗口花壇) and hanging baskets. Towns and villages enter for the Britain in Bloom competition every year.
小題1: According to paragraph 2, a back garden _________.

A．is also formal

B．has flower beds

C．doesn’t have a lawn

D．has beautiful flower borders

小題2:What do we know about garden centers?

A．They are in the centre of the town.

B．Each town has a garden center.

C．Gardeners can buy tools there.

D．They have gardens for rent.

小題3:From the last paragraph we know that _________.

A．gardening improves the appearance of British towns

B．British parks are full of flowers all year round

C．the British interest in gardening is decreasing

D．Britain in Bloom is a worldwide competition

任務(wù)型讀寫(共10小題；每小題1分，滿分10分)
Are you tired of the same old schedule on Mother’s Day? Well, here are some new ideas to help you enjoy that special day with your mother.
While it seems almost a tradition to take your mother out for dinner on Mother’s Day, perhaps this year you could try something else. You could invite her to a restaurant before or after the actual day. This way you don’t have to fight the crowds, and the prices will be lower.
Take your mother out for a picnic lunch if the weather is nice. You and she can enjoy the cool breeze under the shade of a tree while having a nice meal that you have made for her. Be sure to pack some of her favorite foods.
Another idea would be to invite your mother to go bowling(打保齡球). Even if she has never bowled in her life, trying something new is always interesting.
You could treat her to a movie she is dying to see, and make sure you buy her all the popcorn and candies she can eat. If you are a male, the chances are you won’t like the movie she wants to see, so instead you could go to the mall and get your picture taken with your mother, which she can proudly display in her house.
Take her to a spa on Mother’s Day. She has been working so hard and needs a way to release her stress.
If she doesn’t want to go to a spa, buy her special soaps and oils so she can relax herself in her own tub. There are various types of soaps and oils with delicious flavors available. You could also buy her some scented (芬芳的) candles that she could light by her tub to make the atmosphere peaceful.
No matter what you choose, make sure you do something special for the woman who took care of you for so long.
Title: Special ideas for Mother’s Day

Problem	Be tired of the same old schedule on Mother’s Day.
1) _______	Go out for dinner before or after Mother’s Day	Avoid the (2) ______ Have lower prices
	Go out for a (3) ______ lunch	Enjoy the cool breeze under the shade of a tree Enjoy a nice meal that you have made for her
	Invite her to go bowling	Something new is always (4) ________
	See a (5) ______ or take a photo with her	She can proudly display the (6) ______ in her house.
	Take her to a (7) _____	She needs a way to release her stress.
	Buy her special (8) _____ and oils and scented candles	She can relax in her tub and enjoy the (9) ______ atmosphere.
Conclusion	Make sure you do something (10) ____ for your mother.

 

People in the UK often talk about their homes: their mortgages (按揭), the interest rates, and rising prices. Here’s a guide to some of the words and phrases you might come across.
It’s a good idea in the UK to arrange a mortgage with a bank before you start looking. This is when the bank tells you how much money they will lend you so you have a good idea of how much you can afford.
The next step is to go to an estate agent and see what sort of properties they have available in your budget range and in your area. If you see something you like, the estate agent will arrange for you to view the property, so that you can see the house or flat for yourself.
If you see something that takes your eye, you put in an offer. The vendor (賣家) can accept or decline this offer, and if the vendor accepts it, you can move forward with the sale. However, as you don’t pay any money at this point, the offer isn’t legally binding (具有約束力), and in theory, you can pull out of the offer at any time that you like.
Your next step will probably be to get a structural survey done. A qualified surveyor will inspect the house and write a report that illustrates any structural problems, like damp or drainage problems.
If you still want to go ahead with the sale, you need to appoint a lawyer to do the legal paperwork.. If you already own a house, you might also be busy trying to sell it. Many house owners prefer to sell to first-time buyers (those people who don’t already own a home), as they are not in a chain (waiting for other people to buy the house before they can buy their next house).
Finally, once the contracts are signed and exchanged, you complete on your house. You get the keys and you can move in whenever you want. Then you might want to throw a house-warming party. Congratulations!
小題1: Which of the following shows the right order of what happens before the people in the UK move into a new house?
a. ask for a company which represents others of properties
b. decide how much to borrow from the bank
c. examine the structure of the house
d. hire a lawyer and make a contract
e. offer the seller the right money
f. visit the house and discuss a price with the seller

A．b, a, f, d, c, e	B．b, a, f, c, d, e
C．b, a, f, e, d, c	D．b, f, d, e, c, a

小題2: According to the passage, these statements are correct EXCEPT ___________.

A．People can borrow the whole money for a new house from a bank.

B．People care for mortgages, interest rates and the prices &house.

C．The sellers are more interested in the first-time buyers.

D．After getting the keys, the owners sometimes have a party.

小題3:Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Owners.	B．Surveyors.
C．Lawyers.	D．Collectors.

小題4: The passage is maybe one that _______________.

A．give some advice on the house

B．introduces a book on travelers

C．give some tips to buyers

D．introduces a guide to visitors

It’s a Friday night. Your girl friends are out at a bar and your boyfriend is playing soccer with his mates. Two text messages later, you’re eating pizza and watching action movies with three guy friends. Perfect.
“Guy friends” have the potential to enrich your life in ways that female friends and boyfriends just can’t. For starters, they provide an insider’s perspective on how men think, feel and behave. When dealing with male relatives, coworkers and even boyfriends, another man’s point of view can be incredibly useful. Three hours spent analyzing a situation in a café with your girlfriends can’t compete with a quick chat to a guy friend.
Many women find that time spent with male friends can be a liberating and somewhat refreshing break from spending time with the girls. Without the judgmental gaze of other females, there is less pressure to dress up and compete for attention.
Traditionally, girl-guy friendships are seen as hard to maintain. Most relationships between males and females that we come across in our day-to-day lives, whether in movies or books, are romantic by nature. These cultural images make girl-guy friendships seem impossible.
Yet in reality, as gender roles loosen and equality becomes a norm in the workplace, it has become much more common for platonic friendships to blossom.
“The belief that men and women can’t be friends comes from another era in which women were at home and men were in the workplace, and the only way they could get together was for romance,” explains psychologist Linda Sapadin to Psychology Today magazine. “Now they work together and share sports interests and socialize together.”
“My boyfriend has met all of my guy friends so he’s quite accepting of me hanging out with them,” says Nellie. “Because we’ve been dating so long, there’s a level of trust where he knows I will make the right decision when choosing who to be friends with.
“He understands that the kind of time that I spend differs between guys and girls. When I’m out with the girls, we’re gossiping or talking about clothes but when I’m spending time with the guys, it’s different. I think their carefree and ‘whatever goes’ attitude can sometimes be exactly what I need.”
小題1:  What is the best title of the passage?

A．Platonic friendship can be fun and liberating.

B．Platonic friendship can take the place of boy-or-girl friendship.

C．Man friendship is far more exciting than woman friendship.

D．Both man friendship and woman friendship are necessary forgirls.

小題2:  In writer’s opinion, girl-guy friendships_________

A．a(chǎn)re hard to maintain in modern society.

B．a(chǎn)re impossible for most boys and girls.

C．a(chǎn)re quite reasonable and thought highly of by most people.

D．a(chǎn)re quite interesting and accepted by more and more and moregirls.

小題3: Why did people think men and women can’t be friends in the past?

A．Becausemen were at home and women were in the workplace.

B．Becauseboth men and women are too shy to make friends.

C．Because they were hard to keep in touch and only bymarrying cantheystay in touch with each other.

D．Becausewomen were at home and men were in the workplace, and the only way they could get together was for friendship.

小題4:  According to what Nellie said, _______

A．Her boyfriend enjoys she and her guy friend stay together.

B．When I’m out with the boys, we’re not gossiping or talking about clothes.

C．Sometimes whatmy guy friends giveisjustwhatI need.

D．My boyfriend trusts me so heaccepts my decision.

As you know, there are many ways to find a job. It can be as easy as walking into a neighborhood store to look at its announcement board. Local stores often have areas where people can put small signs telling what kind of service they need or can provide. Such services include caring for children or cleaning houses. Or, job searchers can look in the newspaper. Local newspapers have employment announcements placed by companies seeking workers.
Another popular tool for finding jobs is the Internet. For example, people in four hundred and fifty cities around the world can use the Craig list Web site to buy objects, meet people or find a job. Craig list says that it receives two million new job listings each month.
Another useful way to find a job is through a college or university. For example, students at the University of Texas in Austin can go to the Career Exploration Center to get help in finding a job. Of course, looking for a job requires knowing what kind of work you want to do. For example, there is a book called “What Color is Your Parachute (降落傘)?” by Richard Bolles. This book has been helping people choose a career since it was first published in nineteen seventy.
Some experts also help people find jobs. Susan W. Miller owns a company called California Career Services in Los Angeles. She says her company helps people find jobs by first helping them understand their strengths, goals and interests. Then she provides them with methods and resources to help them find the right job.
小題1:What is the passage mainly about?

A．Finding a job.

B．College students’ part-time jobs.

C．Craig list Web site.

D．The relation between study and work.

小題2:By logging on the Craig list Web site, you can ______.

A．sell your old things

B．do some shopping online

C．create your own announcement board

D．get useful information about 450 cities

小題3:“What Color is Your Parachute?” is a book which gives tips to those who want to______.

A．work on the airplane	B．buy a parachute
C．publish a book	D．find a suitable job

小題4:It can be learned from the passage that ______.

A．companies often put job information in local shops

B．the Internet is the most popular tool for job hunters in the USA

C．Susan W. Miller’s company is helping people choose careers

D．California Career Services mainly serves university students

小題5:How many ways of finding a job are mentioned in the passage?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Five.

D．Six.

Nutrition influences not only students' grades at school but their growth and development. Improper nutrition is one of the causes of childhood obesity. What can you do to help your child avoid childhood obesity?
My first piece of advice is to look in your fridge. What are you buying at the grocery store? Think about it: if you don't buy junk food or snacks, your kids won't eat them at home. Now if you're like me — both of your kids are at school, you'll know you can't police them every second of the day. This is the time when you'll need to talk to your children about their food choices. If you don't know the right food choices, there are so many free resources on-line to guide you.
Try new things. I was very surprised to find out my 4-year-old daughter likes balsamic vinegar — she calls it the "black sauce". She likes to have it with tomatoes and cucumbers. You just never know what your kids might like.
Don't get stressed if you can't always prepare something healthy. You may sometimes leave the house and forget to take something out for dinner, or you are running late and there's no time to cook before you have to take one of the kids somewhere. However, you can still make healthy choices while dining out. Many of the fast food restaurants offer fruit and milk instead of soda. I like to buy organic frozen pizzas from the organic market — for a quick dinner solution(解決辦法). All the ingredients are natural. What I do is to serve the pizza with something raw: lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, or fruit to try to give the kids something healthy with that meal.
In closing, take baby steps. Don't try to change your family's eating habits in one go, or you'll go nuts.
小題1:This passage is written mainly to          us

A．explain why today’s kids are overweight

B．tell us the importance of healthy eating

C．give parents some healthy eating tips

D．teach parents what to cook at home

小題2: The writer believes it is very important for parents to          

A．make sure their fridge is full of food.

B．teach their children how to eat healthily

C．check their children’s grades at school

D．provide their children with their favorite food

小題3: Paragraph 4 tells parents they should           .

A．never take their kids to a fast food restaurant

B．eat out in a nice restaurant with their kids at times

C．choose healthy food while eating out with their kids

D．cook healthy food for their kids however busy they are

小題4:According to the passage, it does NOT seem to be a good idea to        .

A．tell children what to eat at school

B．find free resources on healthy eating online

C．put balsamic vinegar on tomatoes or cucumbers

D．try to change a family’s eating habits in a very short time

Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or service than make their own offer ₃ according to a study led by a Michigan State University scholar that has implications for the fast-growing e-commerce industry. The findings may come as a surprise given that shopping online is an anonymous(匿名的）process that seemingly can give consumers more confidence to drive a hard bargain_,said Don Conlon ，Professor of Management in MSU’s Broad College of Business.
But the study found that participants who made their own offers were less successful in sealing the deal and ，when they were successful_? worried they overpaid Many shoppers found the process of researching an offer to be a hassle. “ Americans are very busy，and it’s less time-consuming to be the one receiving the offer rather than the one proposing the offer  ” Conlon said. ^u People tend to be happier when they’re in the receiver role. ”
Online spending in the United States is expected to jump 45 percent in the next four years， from $ 226 billion this year to $ 327 billion in 2017，according to Forrester Research Inc. Nevertheless, researches into this prosperous market remain largely focused on the strategies of companies, rather than those o£ shoppers. Conlon^’s study is ，obviously, a rare exception.
Conlon got the idea for the study after considering the difference between two popular sites for hotels and airline flights, priceline.com, which takes bids, and hotwire.com ，which provides offers. Using these two models ，Conlon and his fellow researchers conducted a series of experiments with more than 850 people who were charged with booking a fictional hotel room and acquiring a fictional antique car. Not only did participants prefer to receive bids, Conlon said ，but they also secured more deals in that receiver role. Further ，when they had to make the bids ，they were left more mentally taxed and regretful.
From an industry perspective，putting customers in the receiver role may help fill more hotel rooms and airplane seats. “If you’re a business with a lot of products₃ ” Conlon said，“you may want to be the one making the offers. ” However, when selling single items, such as an antique car， accepting bids may be a better option since that typically drives up the price, he said.
小題1:What can we learn from Para. 1?

A．The result of the study gives customers more confidence.

B．Scholars aren’t surprised at the findings of the study.

C．Online shoppers don’t bargain as much as expected.

D．E-commerce industry drives more hard bargains.

小題2:It can be concluded from Conlon’s experiments that______.

A．online shopping is time-consuming

B．given prices help promote online sales

C．online businesses provide a lot of products

D．receiving offers makes online shoppers regretful

小題3:The underlined word “taxed” in Para. 4 probably means______.

A．burdened

B．numbed

C．relieved

D．challenged

小題4:The passage is mainly about______.

A．the big advantages of online shopping

B．the rapid development of online shopping

C．online shoppers’ preference for taking offers

D．online companies strategies to improve service

What is your body language saying to your children? What is their body language telling you? I had the honor of hearing Jan Hargrave speak the other day. She is one of four body language experts in the US. Jan Hargrave says we lie with the right side of our brains, so it is our left hand that gives us away. A person touching his nose, pulling at his ear or rubbing his eye with his left hand might be lying to you. Also, a person who, in any way, crosses any fingers might just be lying. That, she says, is a holdover(遺留物) from childhood, when we crossed our fingers to signal that we didn’t mean what we were saying. When children squint(眨) their eyes, move their body away from you, or can’t seem to make good eye contact, you may need to ask for a little more clarification.
But just as important, children learn early how to read our body language when they are conversing(交談) with us. Here are some acceptance signals to let them know you are interested when they are talking to you. Lean(傾斜) towards them. Make good eye contact and smile. Open your arms. Let your hands relax with the palms(手掌) showing: an open, upward palm always show acceptance. If your legs are crossed, make sure you are not crossing them away from your child. These are important because they signal to your child that you are focused on them and are accepting and welcoming them into your world.
By paying attention, we can open those lines of important communication with our children and we can see the truth more clearly. I think it would be a mistake to use these tools to lie, but we need to be aware of the signals we are giving so we can show people that they really do matter to us.
小題1:According to Jan Hargrave, we can tell whether a person is lying by _______.

A．observing his/her left hand’s movements.

B．looking at how he/ she crosses his/ her fingers

C．observing whether he/ she uses body language

D．making good eye contact with him/ her

小題2:We can learn from the passage that body language _______.

A．is hard to master for children

B．can be understood in different ways

C．may help improve communication

D．is more likely to hide the truth

小題3:Which of the following does NOT show acceptance to people?

A．Smile while making eye contact.

B．Open your arms to them.

C．Relax your hands with the palms showing.

D．Cross your leg away from them.

小題4:In the last paragraph, the author seems to suggest that parents_______.

A．spend more time with their children

B．learn to read and use body language

C．pay attention to family communication

D．try to prevent their children from lying

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students. To make the point 1, he used an illustration.
As he stood in front of the group, he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” He then pulled out a wide-mouth jar and set it on the table. Then he 2 placed about a dozen fist-sized rocks, one by one, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the 3 and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar 4?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”
“Really?” Then he 5 under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel(石子), dumped some in and 6 the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces 7 the big rocks. Then he asked the group the same question. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!”  He replied.
He reached under the table and 8 a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all the 9 left between the rocks and the gravel. 10 he asked the question. “No!” the class shouted. “Good!” Then he grabbed a can of water and began to pour it in 11 the jar was filled to the brim.
Then the expert in time management looked at the class and asked, “What is the 12 of this illustration?” It is such a seemingly easy question that one 13 student raised his hand and said, “It is, however full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always 14 some more things in it.
“No,” the speaker replied. “The truth it teaches us is that you will 15 get them in at all if you don't put the big rocks in first. 16 the big rocks in your life are, do things that you love and 17 for yourself. In your schedule if you value the little stuff then you’ll fill your life with 18 things and you will never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff. So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are 19 on this short story, ask yourself what the ‘big rocks’ in your life are. Then put those in your 20 first. ”

小題1:	A．harder B．rougher C．clearer D．wiser

小題2:	A．carefully B．firmly C．a(chǎn)ctively D．unwillingly

小題3:A edge        B. bottom        C. wall        D. top

小題4:	A．full B．pure C．enough D．smooth

小題5:	A．sent B．reached C．managed D．felt

小題6:	A．delivered B．shook C．dropped D．held

小題7:	A．beneath B．a(chǎn)cross C．beyond D．between

小題8:	A．threw out B．came out C．brought out D．set out

小題9:	A．spaces B．caves C．blanks D．holes

小題10:

A．At last B．shortly after C．Later on D．Once more

小題11:

A．unless B．until C．before D．while

小題12:

A．result B．opinion C．point D．comment

小題13:

A．calm B．a(chǎn)wkward C．nervous D．eager

小題14:

A．a(chǎn)dd B．fit C．include D．collect

小題15:

A．never B．even C．still D．ever

小題16:

A．Whether B．However C．Whatever D．Which

小題17:

A．conclude B．encourage C．a(chǎn)chieve D．value

小題18:

A．more B．little C．much D．less

小題19:

A．reflecting B．counting C．deciding D．insisting

小題20:

A．packet B．can C．jar D．luggage