My mother loves flowers. As soon as warm weather comes around, you will find her planting, watering and weeding over everything .For many years we lived next door to each other, and she spent as much time in my garden as she did her own. After the flowers became plentiful each summer, she would cut colorful bouquets to enjoy inside the house--both hers and mine . I would often come home from work and find a beautiful arrangement of fresh flowers on my coffee table. Shortly before Christmas one year, a local flower shop offered a bouquet-a-month special. It seemed to be a great way to thank her for all of the flowers she had given me through the years. After the holidays, in early January, I drove her to the flower shop to pick up her first month's bouquet. the small fresh colorful bouquet would hardly fill a small vase . I was so embarrassed .However, after we returned home, she began to arrange the flowers she had received."Mom, I'm sorry, "I told her."I can't believe how _ that bouquet is."She looked at me and smiled."It's okay,"she said"It allows me to better enjoy the beauty of each one." Mom's words helped me to realize something bigger and more important--when we have too many good things, we often fail to enjoy the beauty of each one. Thanks, Mom ,for helping me understand that less is sometimes more. The author bought her mother flowers to _ . A) celebrate the coming Christmas B) express thanks for all her mother's done C) bring more flowers to her mother's garden D) arrange her mother's new house
B
(Question)
Rich or poor, we all have problems: that unfaithful mate, that irritating colleague, that persistent disease, the investment that is turning into a huge loss. How do we remain calm, positive and even elegant in the face of all these difficulties of life? That following suggestions may help. It comes with the pay. I have a friend who used to complain about her dead-end job and unreasonable boss. Sound familiar? One day I told her, "Look at it this way. You are getting paid for the annoyance as well as the work. It comes with the pay." This has become my favorite saying for work-related frustrations. "Take every day as a bonus." When we learn to treasure every moment of what we have, we begin to see life in a whole new perspective. It's all in the mind. Sure, the psychologists tell us it is important we work at resolving problems. But they also say if you try to resolve a problem that would not go away, it would only compound the frustration. If you tell yourself there isn't a problem, there won't be one. It's all in the mind. Stop thinking about your own problem ---help others instead. A lady who is combating a life-threatening disease revealed she coped with her illness by making herself useful, by offering help to others in a similar situation. She has spoken to at least five other women with breast cancer. She says that the sharing has helped her to find fresh meaning in her own life. Never give up on your dream. Why do we give in and give up when meet difficulties? Is it because we have no confidence in our cause and no commitment for what we pursue? It was said that Albert Einstein's last request on his death bed was to be given his equations and his unfinished statement declining the presidency of prefix = st1 /Israel. Einstein first picked up his equations and lamented to his son, "If only I had more mathematics!" What a great persistent spirit! One strong-hearted lady was the late head of the tragic Kennedy family, Rose Kennedy. She said this on nationwide television one... Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned by the author? A) Helping others will make it easier for us to solve our own difficulties. B) We can learn to see life from a fresh light. C) We should have confidence in our cause so that we won't give in easily. D) We should not be overwhelmed by problems in our life.
(Answer)
A
Ques: What shapes a man's ability and skill was always a question to psychologists until a few decades ago when findings show that they for the most part come from practice ---- repetitive and endless practice. The psychologist K. Anders Ericsson of the University of Florida and his team, based on a survey of a violin class in a college of music, have found that the students whose levels are rated as "A" have spent on average over 10,000 hours on violin-practice, those with level B a bit less than 8,000 hours, and those with average or lower levels no more than 5,000 hours. The result of the survey is widely preferred because it suggests that practice makes perfect, that is, the distinction between "excellent" and "good" lies more in hard work than in natural intelligence. Malcolm Gladwell points out in his latest book Outliers: The Story of Success: "Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good." Besides, he thinks IQ plays little part in the formation and development of ability. "When one has an IQ of 120," writes he, "what is beyond it does not make an evidential difference in real life." However, scientists' experimental results are quite different from the psychologists'. Their findings show success in many areas depends on intelligence --- and not a little. David Lubinski and Camilla Benbow of Vanderbilt University, with their research group, carried out a milestone research. They selected from Youth Talented Search 2000 teenagers of or under 13 whose SAT results ranked top1%. After tracking the achievements the 2,000 "wonder children" made in academy and career, Lubinski and Benbow's group found that those ranking top 1% have more possibility (averagely by two to four times) to get a doctor's degree, a certificate, and publish academic theses and works than those ranking top 9%. As a conclusion, it's a great advantage in the real world to have a high IQ. Psychologists apply violin-practice as an example to support the idea that _ . A) common people have more chances to become skilled B) practice plays a key role in the development of ability C) a man's ability has little to do with one's intelligence D) even a high IQ man can not succeed without practice
Ans: B
Ques:"Earthquake!"The word flashed in my brain.A roaring sound filled my ears.I tried to slide beneath my desk.The desk did a wild tap dance,slipping and sliding towards the centre of the room.I twisted my body and grabbed at the windowsill behind me,somehow kicking free of my dancing chair.I tried to stand.My legs skated away as if on a bucking escalator. My fingers shook,grasped and held the windowsill tightly.Somewhere through the roar sounded the terrified scream of some wounded animal.I looked behind me and tried to steady my gaze on the other kids but the scene was a dizzy nightmare.Some of the class were sitting in the middle of the room,surrounded by chairs and desks.One girl was screaming.A boy was trying to claw his way across the floor to the door in a crazy overarm crawl. My grip froze me to the windowsill. I cried aloud,"I'm going to die.I'm going to die.Save me,I'm not ready to die,I'm not ready!" I hunched forward on my knees and pressed my face against my clenched fingers.I looked at the backs of my fingers and stupidly noticed the fragile pale hairs growing out of the pores.The fingers would soon cease to exist.Somehow the impending horror of my death was too terrible to even cry about. Suddenly,I became aware that the rocking had ceased.Perhaps I wasn't going to die. When the narrator clenches his fingers he is _ . A) afraid B) angry C) injured D) impatient

Ans:
A