Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Aristotle, a Greek thinker, said, “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” In other words, we make our own happiness. Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier.
The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend too much time thinking about the future-for example, getting into college or getting a good job—that we fail to enjoy the present. You should enjoy life’s simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have several close friends often live happier and healthier lives.
Another secret to living a happy life is to be active. Many people go dancing or play sports. People can forget about their problems and only think about the activities.
Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others. If you want to feel happier, do good things for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to buy food for an elderly person, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes.
【小題1】 The best title（標(biāo)題）of this passage is _____________ .

When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care of my younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.
One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum.He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he fell asleep. About half an hour later, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn’t afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother to wait right there. A man heard it and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, “You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?” I did not know how to answer that question. He continued, “It’s OK if you can’t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother.” Then he sent us to mum’s workplace by taxi.
My whole life I have depended on the kindness of many strangers, I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I do not even remember what the man’s face looked like, but he taught me a lesson—people are more important than things.
【小題1】 Why did the younger brother cry for his mother?

John and Bobby worked in the same company. Both of them worked very hard. However, several years later, Mr. Ted, the boss of the company, asked Bobby to be market manager. John could not accept the fact. He thought the boss only liked those who flattered(奉承) him. So he decided not to work there.
The boss knew John well and asked John to do one thing before he left. He asked John to go and find out anyone selling watermelon in the market. Soon John returned and said that he found a man selling watermelon. The boss asked him how much the watermelon was. John shook his head.
The boss asked John to wait a moment. Then he called Bobby to come to his office. He asked Bobby to do the same thing. When Bobby returned, he told the boss that only one person was selling watermelon. It was $1.2 a kilo and $10 for 10 kilos. Each watermelon weighed about 2 kilos. All came from the South two days ago.
John was much moved and realized the difference between himself and Bobby. Chances are in the daily details(細(xì)節(jié)) and a more successful person sees more and father.
【小題1】Who was the market manager?
A. John.                  B. Bobby.                C. Ted.
【小題2】 How did John feel about Ted’s choice first?
A. Moved.                B. Annoyed.               C. Accepted.
【小題3】Why did Ted ask John and Bobby to do the same thing?
A. To buy some fresh watermelons for the workers.
B. To find the price of watermelon in the market.
C. To help John know the difference between himself and Bobby.
【小題4】What can be the best title(標(biāo)題) for the passage?
A. More, Details, More Chances.
B. More Practice, More Success.
C. Better Luck, Better Jobs.

For a long time being happy was considered natural，and there was nothing special to do about it. Now we know that we can work at getting along well with other people. It is possible to act in such a way that other people will like us better.
One way is being unselfish，not wanting everything your own way or asking for the best share of everything, including the attention of your friends. Another way is to look for good points, not bad ones in other people.
You don’t have to be spineless(無骨氣的)in order to be popular. In fact，you will be liked and respected(尊重)if you are not afraid to stand up for your rights(權(quán)利). But do it politely and pleasantly. One way to develop a good character is being friendly and polite to your own group,  to older people，to strangers and especially to those who do not look important or do not interest you.
You cannot expect to be perfect,  so you must learn not to be too unhappy when you make a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one is to be blamed unless he refuses to learn from them. Many young people become discouraged(泄氣的) when they know their unpleasant qualities—selfishness，laziness，etc. Just remember that we all have some of these faults and have to fight against them.
When sometMng is wrong，it is best to try to make it right. Perhaps you don’t like a teacher or a classmate. Try to see why，and look at yourself，too. Make sure that you are not doing something to make others dislike you. In time, things may turn out all right, then you simply have to learn to get along the best you can with the situation, without thinking too much about it. Worrying never helps in a situation you can’t change.
【小題1】Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined part?

Sometimes people come into your life and you know at once that they were sure to be there. They serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help find out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be: your classmate, neighbor, teacher, long-lost friend or even a real stranger. But you know that every moment they will affect (影響) your life in some serious way.
Sometimes things happen to you. At the time they may seem terrible, painful (痛苦的) and unfair. But later you realize that without getting over those difficulties you would have never realized your further ability and strength. Everything happens for a reason and nothing happens by chance or with good or bad luck.
The people you meet affect your life, and the successes and failure (失敗) you experience, create who you are. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.
Enjoy every day even every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people you have never talked to before, and really listen. You should set your sights high, hold your head up, tell yourself you are a great one and believe in yourself.
You can make your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it.
【小題1】 The people we meet     .

A．平淡的

B．明顯的

C．深刻的

D．艱苦的

One day a lonely girl found two weak birds while she was walking in the woods(樹林).She took them home and put them in a small cage. She fed them with love and the birds grew strong. Every morning they greeted her with a beautiful song. The girl loved them very much and wanted their singing to last forever.
One day the girl left the cage’s door open. The larger and stronger of the two birds flew out of the cage. The girl watched worriedly as it circled(盤旋) high above her. She was afraid that it would fly away and she would never see it again. So when it flew close, she grasped(抓) at it wildly. She was very happy that she held it tightly within her hand! Suddenly, she felt something had happened to the bird. She opened her hand and was surprised to find the bird was dead. Her love for the bird killed it.
She noticed the other bird jumping in the cage. She could feel that it wanted to be free. It hoped to fly into the clear, blue sky. She lifted(舉起) it from the cage and flew it into the air. The bird circled once, twice, three times…
When the bird was flying happily in the sky, she was so glad. Just then the bird flew closer and sat softly on her shoulder. It sang the sweetest song she had ever heard.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it tight; the best way to keep love is to let it fly!
【小題1】The girl loved the two birds very much because _____.

When I was a girl of 10, I joined the school cross-country team and practiced twice a week, on the 1,8-km course I'd never really run before and I thought the course would be easy. It was a real shock I ran out of breathe(喘氣)within the first few minutes. I never realized how tiring running could be but I didn’t t think about give up.
Over time,I did get a little bit faster. However, I was really slow. In races, I would finish close to last. I'd always have to stop more than once, especially in the longer races, which were 2. 5 to 2. 8 km. After every race, I'd go home and cry. But 1 still didn't stop running, holding onto that picture of crossing the finishingline and finally doing well.  
Then one of my friends joined the team, too. She could run easily and even came in the 18^th in a big race! I felt so slow and my confidence(自信) was lower than ever. I became so nervous when I thought of the races that I wanted to give up badly.
Still. I refund to. Finally. 1 realized that the reason I was to nervous was that I was always worried that I wasn't ready for them. So a few weeks before the next 2. 8-km race. I practiced running almost 3 km every day. which helped me improve my pace(步伐).
When the time came for the big race, all that practicing really paid off. I stopped only once and my pace was so much better.
I realized that I’d finally gotten happiness with running. But the funny thing was. It didn't come from doing better, Instead, it came from the fact that I hid tried harder and never given up.
【小題1】 Before she took the 1.8-km course, the writer________.

Think back to a time in your life when you tried something new.
When I was a teenager I volunteered to pass out water at a local race. I was so excited to see all the different runners who passed by and quickly took a cup of water. Some ran past，some walked past and a few wheeled past.
I saw so many types of people doing it. I thought maybe I could do it too! The next year I decided to run for the race，but I had little running practice. I just wanted to finish.
On the day of the race，it was terribly hot. After running for about 5 miles，I was thinking，“I must be crazy. Why did I do this? What was I thinking？” And at one moment，I said to myself，“I am never doing this again！”
That first 10 km race was quite an experience. I jogged (慢跑)，I walked，I jogged and walked. At times，I didn’t know if I could finish.
Near the end，a 70­year­old man ran past me，very fast，and I felt a little embarrassed (尷尬的) that I was more than 50 years younger than he and I couldn’t even keep up with him. But then I realized something. He was running his race and I was running mine. How often in life do we compare(比較) ourselves to others when we really shouldn’t? I decided that I would not give up on running races，and that one day I would be one of those 70­year­olds who were still running.
As I crossed the finishing line，I was proud of myself. I didn’t regret (后悔) having such an experience.
【小題1】What did the writer do at a local race as a volunteer?

Nick Petrella is a doctor in Montreal. He works 60 hours a week. He takes care of more than100 patients a week in the hospital and at his office. He’s been a doctor for ten years.
Dr. Petrella offers lots of help to his patients. But he doesn’t just tell his patients what to do.
He also sings to them on television! Dr. Petrella has his own TV show. The show is in Italian, English and French. The doctor starts the show with a song and then he explains a medical problem or disease in simple language. After that, he sings another song.
Dr. Petrella makes and performs in his own show every week. The program is very popular with his patients and with people who enjoy his singing. His dream is to perform in Las Vegas.
His favorite songs are love songs, and he has a CD of love songs that he wrote. Dr. Petrella says, “I always love to sing. All my problems are gone when I sing.” But when Dr. Petrella was young,
his father didn’t want him to be a singer. So he went to a medical school.
Some people tell Dr. Petrella he can help people more as a doctor. But Dr. Petrella says he helps people when he sings, too. “1 like to make people smile. Sometimes it’s difficult to make a sick person smile. Medicine and entertainment both try to do the same thing. They try to make people feel good .
Choose the best choice from A, B or C according to the passage.
【小題1】 In his TV show, Dr. Petrella _________ .
A. sings love songs he wrote         
B. sings about different diseases
C. sings and explains a medical problem
【小題2】           isn’t used in his TV show.
A. Russian  B. English  C. Italian
【小題3】Dr. Petrella performs in his show 10_________.
A. become famous    B. make people feel good    C- achieve his dream
【小題4】   From the article, we can know Dr. Petrella is _____________.
A. talented and proud   B, creative but lazy    C. kind and helpful
【小題5】   What’s the best title (標(biāo)題）of the article?
A. Medicine and Entertainment  B. His Dream Came True   C. A Singing Doctor

Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station(加油站) about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款臺), I said hello to an older couple（夫婦）who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car, I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays wonderful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery（電池） was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership - a shop selling cars - was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
"Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?" I asked and told them my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck (小貨車) to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.
"Thank you" - two powerful words. They’re easy to say and mean so much.
【小題1】 The writer planned to stop at Oklahoma City ______.