We are in a world full of competition．Our parents compete（競(jìng)爭(zhēng)）with others in their offices，our brothers and sisters compete with others in their colleges，and we compete with our classmates in school．Many of us give up in the face of competition and will never be successful．①can't，others，why，we，do，better，than One important reason is that we have no self-confidence（自信）．

In fact，everyone is born equal．You can do what others do．Although your classmates may be better than you in some ways，you may be better than them in other subjects．So everyone has his or her own advantages．Don't look at things from a single（單個(gè)的）point of view．Try to discover your own advantages，and believe that you can do better than others in those ways．

Competition is not so terrible．Don't be afraid of it．And don't be afraid of those classmates who are better than you．②Remember that self-confidence is the first step to success．Believe in yourselves，and you will be successful one day．

1．Are we living in a world full of competition?

2．How can you improve your serf-confidence according to the passage?

3．將①處劃線部分單詞連成一個(gè)完整的特殊疑問句。

4．將②處劃線部分譯成中文。

5．What's the main idea of this passage?

All of the people have ambitions. An ambition is something we want to do, want to have, or want to be．A student's ambition for example，might be to pass his or her exams．An athlete's ambition could be to win an important competition．A businessman's ambition is usually to make a lot of money．

    Not all ambitions are about success at work，however．Some people just want to be good people, have a happy family or help others．

    Ben's ambition is to be a sports writer．He writes the sports reports for his class newspaper．He likes most sports，but swimming and football are his favorites．Trudy's ambition is to be a concert pianist．She is very serious about it and practices every day with her best friend Lily．It is very important to her．

    Harry's ambition changes every day! One day he wants to be an astronaut．The next day he wants to be a pop singer．Then he wants to drive a racing car．His mother would be happy if his ambition was to get up in time for school every day!

What is your ambition?

1．The underlined word “ambition" is“               ”in Chinese．

A．信心                   B．希望                    C．理想                   D．幻想

2．What does a businessman want?

A．To pass the exams．                                B．To win a competition．

    C．To make a lot of money                              D．To get a good job．

3．What does Ben want to be?

A．A newspaper reporter．                           B．A famous swimmer．

    C．A great football player．                              D．A sports writer．

4．Why does Trudy practice the piano very day?

A．Because she wants to be a concert pianist。

    B．Because she wants to help Lily

    C．Because she wants to be a pop singer．

    D．Because her mom tells her to．

5．What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Everyone has his or her own ambition．

    B．Harry can't decide what he wants to do．

    C．Ambitions are about success at work．

    D．Somebody doesn't have a ambition．

Except for a few times, Americans are not big present-givers. There’s no exchange of presents among business people, and if one American tries to give another a present, it may look like that he wants to bribe (賄賂) him. Americans have learned that in some other countries people like to give presents to others, but among ourselves we don’t see the need for presents.

Even friends may never exchange presents. When I go to foreign countries, I try to bring back little things for close friends, but nobody would feel unhappy if I didn’t. I don’t often re­member a friend’ s birthday, and few people outside of my family remember mine. If someone gave me presents too often, I’d get unpleasant. But a present from a foreigner — that kind from his or her homeland — won’t go wrong, except to government employees (政府職員) who can’t be given presents.

You usually open a present at once and in front of the person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only say, ‘It’s so nice. Thanks…’when you get Christ­mas or birthday presents.

You may want to bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) or flowers to a dinner party, but you’re never asked to. Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that evening.

At Christmas we often give presents to our family and sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful during the year like doormen, babysitters, housecleaners , newspaper senders — anyone who has often helped us.

1.What do the underlined words ‘close friends’ mean in the passage?

A．The friends who are very kind.

B．The friends who live close to each other.

C．The friends who were once classmates.

D．The friends who you like most.

2.What kind of presents don’t Americans usually open in front of the givers?

A．The small presents

B．Christmas or birthday presents.

C．The expensive presents.

D．The presents for dinner party.

3.Why do Americans also give presents to housecleaners at Christmas?

A．To pay them.

B．To help them.

C．To thank them.

D．To make them work harder.

4.Which of the following do you think is right?

A．American business people don’t want presents because they are rich enough.

B．The writer of this passage must be an American.

C．Everyone must give presents to one’s family and friends at Christmas.

D．Government employees can get little presents from a foreigner.

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Present-giving in the United States.

B．Customs (習(xí)俗) in the United States.

C．American people and present-giving.

D．When and how to give presents.