One day,not too long ago,the employees of a large company in St.Louis,Missouri returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door.The sign said,“Yesterday the person who had been hindering (阻礙) your  1  in this company passed away.We  2  you to join the funeral in the room that has been  3  in the gym.”?

At first everyone was sad to  4  that one of their colleagues had died,   5  after a while they started getting  6  about who this person might be.?

       The excitement  7  as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last  8  .Everyone wondered.“Who is this person that was hindering my growth?Well,   9  he’s no longer here!”?

One by one the   10  got closer to the coffin (棺材) and when they looked inside it,they  11  became speechless.They stood beside the coffin,  12  into silence,as if someone had  13  the deepest part of their soul.?

      There was a mirror inside the coffin—everyone who looked inside it could see himself.There was also a  14  next to the mirror that   15  ,“There is only one person who is capable to 16  limits to your growth:it is YOU.”?

You are the only person who can revolutionize your   17  .  You are the only person who can  18  your happiness,realization and success.You are the only person who can help yourself.Your life does not change when your boss changes,your friends change,your parents change,your partner changes or your company changes.Your life changes when YOU change,when you go  19  your limiting beliefs and when you realize that you are the only one 20 for your life.?

1. A.ability                   B.progress       C.talent                  D.practice?

2. A.demand                 B.allow         C.invite                  D.advise?

3. A.started                   B.prepared      C.opened                 D.created?

4. A.learn              B.receive        C.notice        D.find?

5. A.for             B.or                C.so                D.but?

6. A.angry                    B.sorry       C.curious             D.nervous?

7. A.grew                     B.appeared?    C.improved            D.developed?

8. A.sight                     B.attention?     C.appreciation              D.respect?

9. A.at least                  B.in fact?     C.at once                  D.in general?

10. A.employees            B.managers?  C.friends          D.citizens?

11. A.quickly         B.finally?       C.obviously          D.suddenly?

12. A.worried        B.depressed?   C.shocked            D.embarrassed?

13. A.broken          B.touched           C.stolen                  D.changed?

14. A.letter                   B.sign         C.mark                     D.page?

15. A.told                        B.warned           C.wrote                     D.read?

16. A.set              B.take           C.put               D.get?

17. A.business               B.heart        C.life                 D.success?

18. A.realize                 B.satisfy       C.influence        D.consider?

19. A.for                  B.upon         C.over               D.beyond

20. A.reasonable            B.responsible?C.suitable           D.valuable?

Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signals(信號). Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.

Different cultures emphasize(強調(diào)) the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in “small talk”, usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries—like the UK or France—people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafes rather than at the office.

 Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.

 Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.

 People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment(多元文化環(huán)境) will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.

In some countries, eating together at restaurants may make it easier for people to ______.

A. keep each other company         B. develop closer relations

C. get to know each other            D. share the same culture

The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that_________.

A. the English prefer to make long speeches          B. too many words are of no use

C. even talk and silence can be culturally different

D. people from Thailand are quiet and shy by name

According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?

A. By sharing different ways of life   B. By accepting different habits

C. By recognizing different values    D. By speaking each other’s languages

What would be the best title for the text?

A. Multicultural Environment       B. Cross-Cultural Differences

C. How to Understand Each Other   D. How to Build up a Relationship

My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software.

If you come to visit, you’ll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN （個人身份號碼）to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it’s dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings.

Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console (控制臺), a small machine that turns things on and off around you.

The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console.

I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I’ve put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I’ve put in today.

I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, “How will I live without them?”

What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. How to develop a new system.            B. The function of the PIN.

C. A home for the future.                  D. Easy life in the future.

What’s the purpose when the writer wrote the fourth paragraph?

A. To let readers know why his ideas are new.

B. To let readers know how special his house is.

C. To explain the importance of the PIN and the console.

D. To explain more easily what the functions of the PIN and the console are.

The writer’s new house is different from ordinary ones mainly because _____.

A. it has been controlled by computers

B. you can make a telephone call anywhere

C. it has your favorite music following you

D. the writer is able to change his new idea into practice

What is the writer most likely to be according to the passage?

A. An IT expert.    B. A famous doctor. 

C. An idealist      D. An experienced teacher.

What can’t be done in the writer’s new house?

A. turns on the lights

B. play music

C. get a telephone call

D. go swimming

Lucky is the man who has no “skeleton in his closet”. When a man has done something in his life that he is ashamed of, that he wants to hide, he is said to have a “skeleton in his closet”. Some people may have more than one skeleton.

As we have noted many times, it is hard to find out how these expressions begin. Sometimes, we get some hard facts. But more often we have to depend on guesswork. And that is true of this phrase, which came from England.

Before 1932, English law did not permit a doctor to cut open a dead human body for scientific examination, unless it was the corpse(尸體) of an executed(處決) criminal.

But when it became legal, more and more doctors demanded skeletons for a more scientific study of medicine. It was helping in the advance of modern medicine. The demand had become so strong that men began to rob tombs and sell skeletons to doctors at high prices.

We are told that a doctor would usually buy just one skeleton for scientific study. It became very important in his work. But he had to keep it hidden because most people objected to keeping such a thing. As a rule, the doctor would keep his skeleton in some dark corner where it could not be seen, or hide it in a closet.

After a time, people began to suspect(懷疑) every doctor of hiding a skeleton in the closet. From this suspicion, the phrase “a skeleton in the closet” took on a broader, more general meaning to describe anything that a man wanted to keep others from discovering. It could be proof of a criminal act, or something much less serious. Well, that is one theory.

One writer, however, believes that the phrase might have come from something that really happened. It is his guess that a hidden closet in some old English country home may have turned up a real skeleton, clear proof of some old family shame or crime. Well, one man’s guess is as good as another. But this sounds like a story by the great French novelist, Balzac.

Baizac tells us of a man who suspected his wife of having a lover. The husband comes home by surprise. But she hears him and quickly hides her lover in the closet of her bedroom. He enters her room and asks her if she is hiding her lover. He says he will not open the door to the closet if she promises him there is no one there; He will believe her. She answers firmly that she is not hiding anyone in the closet.

The husband then begins to build a solid brick wall against the closet. His wife watches, knowing that her lover will never come out alive. But she will not change her story and admit her guilt.   

1. Which of the following situations is suitable for using the phrase “skeleton in the closet” ?

A. You have stolen something precious and don’t want it discovered.

B. You are a doctor and have to keep a skeleton for research.

C. If you have cut open a dead human body for scientific examination you should keep the skeleton secret.

D. You have done a crime or done something foolish, but you want to keep other from discovering it.

2. From the text we know that there are _______ theories about how the phrase “skeleton in the closet” came into being.

A. one    B. two    C. three  D. four

3. In Chinese the world “skeleton” means _______.

A. 尸體   B. 標本  C. 收藏  D. 骷髏

4. Which of the following is right according to the text?

A. In the 20th century, doctors realized the importance of anatomy(解剖) in the development of medicine.

B. The doctors of the ancient times liked to collect as many skeleton as possible.

C. The thieves stole skeletons from tombs in order to help the doctors.

D. It was legal that corpses of anybody were cut open for scientific examination in history.

5. From the story Balzac told we know that the wife’s lover must have become _______.

A. a corpse  B. a phrase  C. a skeleton 　D. a secret

Surely it doesn’t matter where the student associations get their money from; what ______ is what they do with it.

   A. counts      B. applies      C. stresses      D. functions