As we all know, Stephen Hawking writes the book A Brief History of Time that explains the origin of the universe. The book spent 147 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List and has sold 10 million copies. He is, most agree, very smart. In his recently published autobiography My Brief History,Hawking offers four life lessons on how to become a genius. 1) Don' t miss opportunities by being too cool "We showed an air of complete boredom and the feeling that nothing was worth making an effort for. One result of my illness has been to change all that. When you are faced with the possibility of an early death, it makes you realize that life is worth living and that there are lots of things you want to do." Seize the moment, as Oxford would say. 2) Keep it simple When writing A Brief History of Time,he tried to make science understandable for the rest of Us. "I was sure that nearly everyone is interested in how the universe operates, but most people cannot follow mathematical equations . "He has trouble with them, too."This is partly because it is difficult for me to write them down, but mainly because I don't have an inborn feeling for equations. My aim in the book was to describe these mental images in words. It is such an easy book that everybody can understand it." The moral: You don't have to be a genius to know everything. 3)Have fun Hawking has a long history of being a joker,and he has placed lots of bets with other scientists on the nature of black holes. One was with Cal-Tech scientist John Preskill. After paying off his bet by giving Preskill a baseball encyclopedia, Hawking wrote,"but maybe I should have just given him the ashes." So lighten up! Geniuses like bad jokes too. 4) Always look for a silver lining (even if you are seriously ill) Hawking's disease has slowly robbed him of the ability to walk,move his arms,even speak. But, Hawking says,"in some ways I guess my disability has been an assist:I haven't had to lecture or teach students, and I haven't had to sit in meetings. So I have been able... Hawking shows his viewpoint by _ . A) making comparisons B) quoting a famous saying C) listing the numbers and equations D) talking about his own experience
D
(Question)
Shyness is the cause of much unhappiness for a great many people. Shy people are anxious and self-conscious; that is, they are over concerned with their own appearance and actions. Worrisome thoughts are constantly occurring in their minds: what kind of impression am I making? Do they like me? Do I sound stupid? Am I wearing unattractive clothes? It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must affect people unfavorably. Adperson's self concept is reflected in the way he or she behaves and the way a person behaves affects other people's reactions. In general, the way people think about themselves has a deep effect on all areas of their lives. Shy people ,have low self-esteem , are likely to be passive and easily influenced by others. They need reassurance(,) that they are doing "the right thing". Shy people are very sensitive to criticism. It makes them feel inferior .They also find it difficult to be pleased by praises because they believe they are unworthy of praise . A shy person may respond to a praise with a statement like this one:" You're just saying that to make me feel good .I know it's not true." It is clear that, while self-awareness is a healthy quality, overdoing it is harmful. Can shyness be completely got rid of ,or at least reduced? Fortunately, people can overcome shyness with determination. It is important for people to accept their weaknesses as well as their strengths, for example, not fair for them to label themselves inferior because they have to be realistic. Living on the impossible leads to absence of inferiority. Each one of us has his or her own characteristics. We are interested in our own personal ways. The better we understand ourselves. the easier it becomes to live up to our chances for a rich and fulfilling life. We can learn from the passage that shyness can _ . A) help us to live up to our full development B) enable us to understand ourselves better C) block our chances for a successful life D) have nothing to do with lack of self esteem
(Answer)
C
Ques: The idea of micropayments--- charging Web users tiny amounts of money for single pieces of online content--- was basically put to sleep toward the end of the dot-com boom. In December 2000, Clay Shirky, a professor in New York University's interactive telecommunications program , wrote a manifesto that people still quote whenever someone suggests using the idea. "Micropayments will never work," he wrote, mainly because "users hate them." But wait. Without many people noticing, micropayments have arrived--- just not in the way they were originally imagined. The 99 cents you pay for a song on the Internet is a micropayment. So are the tiny amounts that some operators of small web sites can earn whenever someone clicks on the ads on their pages. Some stock-photography companies sell pictures for as little as $1 each. "Micropayments are here" said Benjamin M. Companie, a lecturer atprefix = st1 /NortheasternUniversity, "they just have not developed in the way that everybody expected." From the earliest days of the Web until around the time of Mr Shirky's manifesto, the expectation was that a handful of companies would provide platforms---or perhaps a single platform--- that would enable Web users to pay a penny or a dollar for a bit of content such as a newspaper article, or a research report. Simply clicking a link would complete the transaction . Sellers of content--- at the time, newspaper companies---were among the most interested in the idea as they looked for tax income that didn't depend on advertising. You will have to pay for it, if you _ . A) visit some famous websites B) read latest news on the internet C) advertise for your products on some websites D) download your favorite songs
Ans:
C