“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving．” — Dale Carnegie

If we really want to be happy, why do we act like such babies?

We can claim to be proactive （前瞻性的） in our life by setting goals and going after what we want．But if we’re always complaining all the time, are we really living effectively?

If you don’t believe me, count how many times you complain about something or other in one day．Whether it is being stuck in traffic, being bothered by the weather, not enough mustard on your sandwich, or whatever it is, there are endless instances where you can find a reason to complain．

But it’s not just outside circumstances that we complain about．We complain about ourselves too．We complain that we don’t have enough time, we don’t have enough money （this one is huge because it’s often “true”）, that we’re not smart enough, cool enough, or just enough．

I know I’ve experienced plenty of unpleasantness due to complaining about things I can’t control．I never really thought about it much until I found this website about “l(fā)iving in a complaint-free world．”

Imagine how much happier you would be if you simply stopped complaining? Much of what you complain about is outside your control anyway．What’s the point of thinking about something you have no power to change? Not very intelligent, if you ask me．

Simply becoming conscious of how much you complain is the first step to stopping．When you recognize that you’re complaining, stop and take no notice of it．Ask yourself if you would rather complain, or be happy．

Are you ready to live a complaint-free, happier life?

1．According to the author, if you can’t change the situation, complaining is ______．

       A．a(chǎn) thing that can make you happy

      B．a(chǎn) thing that is not intelligent

      C．a(chǎn) thing that you cannot avoid

      D．a(chǎn) thing that you should do continuously

2．What can you infer from the first paragraph?

       A．It is easy to learn to criticize, condemn and complain．

       B．Only foolish people can criticize, condemn and complain．

       C．Your good qualities can help you understand and forgive others．

       D．To understand and forgive builds up your character．

3．What is the main idea of the passage?

       A．Stop complaining and live a happier life．

      B．Don’t complain about yourselves．

      C．Be conscious of how much you complain．

      D．Complain about the outside circumstances．

Chanel’s work is without question part of the liberation of women．She threw out a jacket design to women twice during two distinct periods apart：the 1920s and the 1950s．She focused on styles, materials and articles of clothing that were worn by men and also, made sports clothes part of the language of fashion．She couldn’t afford the fashionable clothes of the period — so she made her own, using, say, the sports jackets and ties that were typically male style, where she was climbing her first social ladders．

Throughout the 1920s, Chanel’s social and professional progress continued, and her success grew to the status of legend．Probably the single element that most ensured Chanel’s being remembered is not a piece of clothing but a form of liquid gold — Chanel N°5, which was launched in 1923．It was the first perfume to bear a designer’s name．By the early 1930s she had almost married one of the richest men in Europe, the Duke of Westminster; when she didn’t, her explanation was, “there have been several Duchesses of Westminster．There is only one Chanel．”

It’s not by accident that she became associated with the modern movement that included Picasso, Stravinsky and Cocteau．Like those artists, she was determined to break the convention and invent a way of expressing herself．Cocteau once said of her that “she has, by a kind of miracle, worked in fashion according to rules that would seem to have value only for painters, musicians and poets．”

In the late 1960s, Chanel began her fashion revolution （變革） against society by aiming at the head, with hats．Her boyish “flapper （輕佻女郎）” creations were in sharp contrast to the “Belle Epoque” hats that were in fashion at the time, about which she asked, “How can a brain function under those things?” Actually, her sharp mind is clear in everything she did．She was always commenting：“Fashion is not simply a matter of clothes．Fashion is in the air, born upon the wind．One senses it．It is in the sky and on the road．”

1．The underlined sentence “she was climbing her first social ladders” probably means ______．

       A．she began to be well-known in the society

       B．she climbed the ladders in the jackets she made by herself

       C．she was trying hard to make her design special

       D．she found something better than her own design by climbing higher

2．What do you know about Chanel from Cocteau’s comment on her?

       A．Chanel also knew how to express herself by painting or music．

       B．Chanel had a sharp sense of art and used it in her fashion design．

       C．Chanel put the materials for painters, musicians and poets in fashion design．

       D．It was a miracle for Chanel to work out what could only be done by painters, musicians and poets．

3．Which is TRUE about Chanel N°5?

       A．It was produced with gold added．

       B．It showed her fashion revolution against society．

       C．It was the first fashion design to bear the designer’s name．

       D．It was likely to be the single element marking her unforgettable success．

4．Which can be the best title for the passage?

       A．Liberation of Women                            B．Life of Chanel

       C．Chanel, a Fashion Legend                     D．Fashion Is to Be Sensed

An 80-year-old man from a Paris suburb said his iPhone screen had broken up without explanation in July, the week after he bought it．“I took it out of my pocket and held it to my ear and saw the screen crack up like a car windscreen,” Rolland Caufman told AFP．On Tuesday, a 26-year-old security guard claimed he was hit in the eye with a glass piece when his iPhone screen cracked up．The incidents have led to investigations by French consumer affairs groups．“An investigation is under way,” said a spokesman from watchdog DGCCRF．

Consumers in the UK, Holland and Sweden have also reported similar problems, prompting （激起） an earlier EU investigation．The European Commission has also asked the 27 EU nations to keep it informed of any problems, under its Rapex scheme．Rapex is the EU rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products．The system issue alerts for multiple products every week, sometimes leading to mass product recalls, but often with no consequence．

Apple, which has sold 26 million iPhones and 200 million iPods to date, said it was aware of the reports and was waiting to receive the handsets from the affected customers．The firm has been accused of trying to hush-up those cases of iPhones and iPods heating up or bursting into flames in the US and the UK．Ken Stanborough and his daughter, from Liverpool, have accused the firm of trying to silence them after the child’s iPod exploded and the family sought a refund．Apple reportedly offered to pay the money to Mr. Stanborough, but only if he kept the terms of the settlement secret．It has been reported that the device’s lithium ion batteries （鋰離子電池） could be the source of the problem．“We are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers,” said Alan Hely, head of European Communications for Apple．“Until we have the full details, we don’t have anything further to add．”

1．All of the following statements are true EXCEPT ______．

      A．so far Apple has sold 26 million iPhones and 200 million iPods

      B．British and French consumers met different problems with their iPhones

       C．no explanation was offered to Mr. Caufman’s iPhone explosion

      D．the iPhone explosions were likely caused by its batteries

2．In paragraph 3, the underlined word “hush-up” means ______．

      A．hide                    B．expose                C．prohibit               D．boycott

3．From the passage we can learn that ______．

      A．Apple responded to the iPhone problems in a positive way

      B．a(chǎn)ll the victim customers were repaid their money

      C．DGCCRF is an organization which is responsible for consumers’ complaints．

      D．under the Rapex system the iPhone problems won’t be settled very well．

4．The passage is most likely to be taken from ______．

      A．a(chǎn) social science book                           B．a(chǎn) newspaper

       C．a(chǎn) textbook                                           D．a(chǎn)n owner’s manual

The city of Stockholm shoots thousands of wild rabbits spread across the green spaces of the Swedish capital and sends their bodies to be burned as heating fuel, a practice which has angered animal rights groups．

The rabbits going up in smoke are the inhabitants of Stockholm’s parks who are killed to protect the bushes and trees on which they feed．But many of them are tame domestic pets turned loose by owners who no longer want them．Six thousand rabbits were killed last year．The bodies were frozen and then sent to a special heating plant at Karlskoga, in central Sweden, where the bodies were burnt in order to help heat the homes of residents of Värmland．

“One should put this in the view that we （humans） are actually cremated （火葬） ourselves and that generates a completely different reaction,” Freij said in response to criticism．

Animal Rights Sweden spokeswoman Lise-Lott Alsenius questioned whether the practice was humane or ethical and suggested neutering （閹割） the male rabbits as an alternative method of holding down the population．“One at least has to evaluate what possible alternatives are to just simply shooting them,” she said．

Konvex, the company handling the operation, said the rabbits were ground up with the bodies of other beasts, mainly farm animals such as cows which have been thought unfit for human consumption, turned into flammable （可燃的） form and burnt．“Just as with us people ．．．the bodies contain a lot of fat and fat has exactly the same energy content as normal heating oil for instance,” Konvex Chief Executive Leo Virta said．

1．The rabbits in Sweden are killed because ______．

       A．the rabbits made the animal rights groups angry

      B．there are too many rabbits for people to keep as pets

      C．Sweden lacks fuel for heating the homes of residents of Värmland

      D．the rabbits feed on the trees thus causing great damage to them

2．Which of the following statements is true according to the animal rights groups?

       A．The number of rabbits shouldn’t be cut down．

       B．Animals are more important than plants．

       C．It is not acceptable to use rabbit bodies as heating fuel．

      D．Neutering the male rabbits is the best way to reduce rabbit population．

3．The writer quotes Freji’s speech with the purpose of ______．

       A．supporting the writer’s own point of view

       B．illustrating that the opinion of animal rights groups is wrong

       C．indicating that human bodies should also be burnt as heating fuel

       D．showing that people don’t quite agree with each other on the burning issue

4．What does the underlined phrase “ground up” probably mean?

       A．eaten up              B．crushed up          C．burnt up              D．dug up

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項。選項中有兩項為多余選項。

In phone booths in the U．S．there are usually directions for using the telephone．All phone numbers have seven digits （數(shù)位）, though letters and numbers are sometimes used in combination．There may be phone directories under the telephones．

     1      You can make dial-direct calls in most parts of the U．S．Look in the white pages directory for long distance rates or more information on making long distance calls．Or you can call the operator for help．If you need a phone number that’s not in your phone book, call Directory Assistance．

     2      Dial 1 plus the area code plus the number, and an operator or a computer voice will tell you how much money to deposit．On operator-assisted calls, the operator will ask you to deposit more money before your time is up．     3      If you make a long distance call and get a wrong number, call the operator and explain what happened．     4      Or you can have the phone company mail you a credit coupon （附單） that has the same value as the phone call．

Some companies advertise a service called WATS, which means Wide Area Telephone Service．     5 ____ ．These are called “toll-free numbers” and the area code for all of them is 800．

A．To make a long distance call, you’ll need to know the three-digit area code．

B．A person-to-person call can only be accepted by the particular person you are calling．

C．On dial-direct calls, you’ll be cut off at the end of the time you paid for unless you put more money in the slot （投幣口）．

D．If that person is not there, you will also be charged．

E．This means that you can make the call again to the right number without having to pay more money．

F．You can dial a special number without a long distance charge．

G．There are two main kinds of long distance calls：dial-direct and operator-assisted．

根據(jù)所給句子及橫線后的漢語意思寫出正確形式的單詞。

1．An international effort is required to cope with the _______________ （緊急） needs of the earthquake victims．

2．The worst part of the divorce was the _______________ （分離） from his three children．

3．The opening of this section of the road is _______________ （延遲） until September．

4．There are still a lot of problems which need to be _______________ （克服）．

5．You must _______________ （道歉） to your sister for being so rude．

根據(jù)所給句子及橫線后的漢語意思寫出正確形式的短語，注意每空一詞。

1．__________ __________ __________ （代表） everyone here, may I wish you a very happy retirement．

2．Bill __________ ____________ （易于） talk too much when he’s nervous．

3．I haven’t had time to look at the plans __________ __________ （詳細(xì)） yet．

4．In my day, children were __________ __________ （培育） to respect the law．

5．Although she didn’t mention any names, everyone knew who she was _____ _____ （提及）．

DNA is a nucleic acid that contains     genetic instructions used in        development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses.

A．/; a         B．the; the          C．the; /         D．/; /

In 1861, the native wife of a crew member Maria followed native trails to Fort Langley   __help when their boat became stuck in winter ice.

A．has sought               B．seeking          C．to seek          D．sought

With the publishing of Thoreau’s On Walden Pond      of the wonder of Nature.

A．this appreciation came                                 B．came a new appreciation

C．was the appreciation came                           D．the author appreciated