"Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice． Gifts are easy - they're given after all. Choices can, be hard " －Jeff Bezos

    I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago． I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year． I'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building 'an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me．  I had just turned 30 years old, and I'd been married for a year． I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don't, and I wasn’t sure what to expect． MacKenzie told me I should go for it． As a young boy, I'd been a garage inventor．  I'd always wanted to be an: inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion．

    I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired． I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet． He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, "That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job”）That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision． Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but finally, I decided I had to give it a shot． I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing． And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all．

After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I'm proud of that choice． For all of us, in the end, we are our choices．

21．What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?

   A．His dream of being an inventor．

   B．The support of his wife．

   C．The greatly increasing usage of the Internet．

   D．Millions of exciting titles．

22．Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?．

   A．The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him．

 B．He would be very excited if he tried it out．

 C．He would be always having a doubt if he didn't try．

 D．The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him．

23．We can know from the passage that          ．

   A．the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author

   B．the author wanted someone else to try the idea

   C．the author might not regret if he failed the idea

   D．the author might go back to his boss if he failed

24．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? ．

   A．Cleverness and Kindness     B．The Starting of Amazon

   C．Following My Passion    D．We Are What We Choose 

   In Britain and other countries, young people sometimes take a "gap year," a year off between high school and college, This idea never gained a big following in America  Recent news reports have suggested that interest may be growing, though there are no official numbers．

     Charles Deacon, Dean of Admissions at Georgetown University in Washington, D．C．estimates that in the current first-year class of 1600 students, only about 25 decided to take a year off． He says this number has not changed much over the years．

     Mr．Deacon says the most common reason for taking a "gap year" is to have a chance to travel, but he says international students may take a "gap year" to meet requirements at home for military duty．

     Some high school graduates see a year off as a chance to recover after twelve years of required education, but it can also give students a chance to explore their interests．Students hoping to be doctors, for example, could learn about the profession by volunteering in a hospital．

     Many colleges and universities support gap-year projects by permitting students to delay their admission． Experts say students can grow emotionally and intellectually as they work at something they enjoy．

    The Harvard admissions office has an essay on its website called "Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation．"  It praises the idea of taking time off． to step back, think and enjoy gaining life experiences outside the pressure of studies． It also notes that students are sometimes admitted to Harvard or other colleges partly because they did something unusual with that time．

    Of course, a "gap year" is not for everyone, Students might miss their friends who go on directly to college． And parents might worry that their children will decide not to go to college once they take time off． Another concern is money． A year off, away from home, can be costly．

Holly Bull's job is to specialize in helping students plan their "gap year¨． She notes that several books have been written about this subject． She says these books along with media attention and the availability of information on the Internet have increased interest in the idea of a year off, and she points out that many gap-year programs cost far less than a year of college．

25．What is the passage mainly about?

    A．More and more American students are choosing to take a year off．  :

    B．If you want to go to an American university, take a "gap year" first．

    C．It is likely that taking a "gap year" is becoming popular in America          -

    D．Americans hold different opinions towards students' taking a "gap year．"

26．How many reasons for students' taking a "gap year" are mentioned in the passage?

 A．2 B．3 C．4  D．5

27．The essay "Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation" suggests that         ．

    A．every student must take a "gap year" before applying for a famous university

   B．some famous universities encourage students to gain more life experiences

   C．taking a "gap year" can make students free from life learning

   D．the stress of studies does harm to the students' health

28．What can we learn from the passage?

    A．Books and media have contributed to the students' interest in school learning．

    B．Charles Deacon doesn't support the idea of the students' taking a "gap year"．

   C．Parents night disagree with the program, concerned about their children's future．

    D．Experts agree taking a year off will benefit the students emotionally and physically．

     In our world today, the media and entertainment industries are constantly focusing on beauty over brains． Movies, television shows, commercials, and magazines all utilize （使用） models and actors whose physical attributes（特性） will sell their product．

     As our country becomes so obsessed with trying to reduce the obesity numbers, eating disorder statistics continue to increase due to the push for thinner people． While obesity is a serious medical condition that can lead to many health problems, many of us try to lose weight for appearance purposes． Children as young as elementary school age have begun to worry about the numbers that appear on the scale, In my opinion, it seems that fat" has become the new ugly"．

     Two weeks ago, 37-year-old Wisconsin television reporter Livingston, who is 235 pounds, received an email from a man named Krause． In the email Krause attacked her, writing, "Your physical condition hasn't improved for many years． Surely you don't consider yourself a 'suitable example for this community's young people, girls in particular．"

     Today, it seems that a vast majority of people care more about how they look and appear

to their peers rather than what is inside． The truth is that every person is built differently; we all come in different shapes and sizes．  Someone is heavier, which doesn't mean they eat large amounts of junk food and lounge around all day． Likewise, even though a person is thin, it doesn't mean they are necessarily healthy and fit．

If you are reading this and you struggle with your weight or your appearance, please recognize that you are beautiful and special in your own way． You are worth h so much more than you realize, and even if I don't know you, understand that I respect and support you．Beauty is not defined by size; it is defined by how we treat others and respect ourselves． In the words of the talented film actress Kirstie Alley, "There's a lot more to life than how fat or thin you are．"

29．According to the author, why do elementary school children worry about the numbers that appear on the scale?

    A．They want to appear in ads to sell their product．

    B．They are concerned about their health．

    C．They are suffering from eating disorder．

    D．They want to look slim．

30．The writer used the example of Jennifer Livingston to show        ．

    A．people think "fat" looks ugly

    B．fat people should lose weight

    C．physical condition needs improving    

    D．young girls won't follow fat models

31．What Kirstie Alley said means _       ．

    A．people should pay attention to the appearance

    B．there is no need for any people to go on diet

    C．people are beautiful when they concern others

    D．there's always someone who understands and supports you

    Rats that eat high levels of a natural sugar known as fructose（果糖）seem to age faster than other rats-and the same could be true for people who eat too much sweet junk food, Israeli researchers said Monday．

     Fructose, found naturally in honey and fruit, is used widely in foods ranging from soft drinks to yogurt．But while its sweet taste is popular, the sugar could cause wrinkles, the researchers said．Dr．Moshe Werman and Boaz Levi of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology fed large amounts of fructose to laboratory rats．Writing in the Journal of Nutrition, they said the fructose-fed rats showed changes in the collagen （胶原蛋白）of their skin and bones．Collagen basically holds the body together．The loss of collagen is what causes loose skin and deep wrinkles in older people,

       The process affected, Werman's team said, is known as cross-linking（交叉相连） "．"Too much cross-linking makes the skin stiff, and these are the conditions that encourage wrinkled skin," Werman said in a statement．He said the same could be true of people, although this has not been shown．"Americans are eating more and more processed foods such as baked goods, canned fruits, jams and dairy products that contain fructose," Werman said．Other studies have shown that taking in high fructose may cause diabetes（糖尿病）．

     The rats Werman worked with were fed much more than the average adult person might eat in a day, which is standard in such experiments．The rats were fed  12.5 grams of fructose per kg of weight every day for a year．

32．In 'the experiments, if a rat was 0．25 kg, it may have been fed about      grams of fructose every day for a year．

   A．3     B．4          C． 5          D．6

33．Why do older people have deep wrinkles according to the passage?

    A．They don't drink enough water every day．'

   B．They don't take enough exercise every day．

   C．Collagen in their body is lost,

   D．Their daily foods do not contain enough fructose．

34．What can we learn from the passage?

   A．The fructose-fed rats only showed changes in the collagen of their skin．

   B．Too much cross-linking makes the skin soft．

   C．The amount of sugar the rats ate was larger than an ordinary adult might eat in a day．

   D．It hasn't been shown that taking in high fructose may cause diabetes．

35．The best title for the passage should be “       ” ．

    A．Sugar-it could reduce collagen

    B．Collagen-it could age you

   C．Collagen-it could cause wrinkles

   D．Sugar-it could age you

   As a child grows up, you may wonder how you can teach him to become a respectful adult． 36  A child who learns to respect riot only learns to receive respect from others in kind, but also learns to respect himself．

    ◆ Show him respect．

    This is the best way to teach your child how to respect others． Listen to your child attentively and he will learn to listen to you, understanding how important this is in communication．

    ◆    37 

    The more you say "please" and "thank you" to your child, the more likely he will learn to use them． Politeness then becomes a normal part of any conversation．

    ◆  Agree to disagree．

38   Explain your decision so that he will understand you and expect "respectful responses． Disagreeing with you doesn't necessarily mean disobedience．

     ◆   Control your impulse to overreact．

     When a situation arises, stay calm and keep in mind that you are'．supposed to be modeling correct behavior． 39 

◆ Praise, praise, praise!

 So much is focused on what a child does wrong and how to correct it that his accomplishments are not celebrated enough．  40  

 A．Teach manners by using polite requests and responses．

 B．Respectful behavior is always accompanied by bad behavior as a child．       

 C．Respect is necessary for a meaningful and successful life． 

 D．If he sees you lose your temper, he is more  likely to respond that way in future．

 E．A child may act as he pleases, and he will live a happy life．

 F．Seeing a child exhibit respectful behavior, make sure he knows how proud you are of him．

G．Try to remember that a child won't always agree with you．