【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 ess is the core of science．D．Exactness and way of using tools are the keys to making of a scientist．Passage 6A lot of us lose life’s tough battles by starting a frontal attack—when a touch of humor might well enable us to win．Consider the case of a young friend of mine，who hit a traffic jam on his way to work shortly after receiving an ultimatum about being late on the job．Although there was a good reason for Sam’s a being late—serious illness at home—he decided that this bynowfamiliar excuse wouldn’t work any longer．His supervisor was probably already pacing up and down preparing a dismissal speech．Yes，the boss was．Sam entered the office at 9：35．The place was as quiet as a locker room；everyone was hard at work．Sam’s supervisor came up to him．Suddenly，Sam forced a grin and stretched out his hand．“How do you do！” he said．“I’m Sam Maynard．I’m applying for a job，which，I understand，became available just 35 minutes ago．Does the early bird get the worm？”The room exploded in laughter．The supervisor clamped off a smile and walked back to his office．Sam Maynard had saved his job—with the only tool that could win，a laugh．Humor is a most effective，yet frequently neglected，means of handling the difficult situations in our lives．It can be used for patching up differences，apologizing，saying “no”，criticizing，getting the other fellow to do what you want without his losing face．For some jobs，it’s the only tool that can succeed．It is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialog may start a quarrel．For example，many believe that edians on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance than people in any other forum．1．Why was Sam late for his job？A．Because he was ill． B．Because he got up late．C．Because he was caught in a traffic jam．D．He was busy applying for a new job．2．The main idea of this passage is ________．A．Sam Maynard saved his job with humorB．humor is important in our livesC．early bird gets the wormD．humor can solve racial discriminations3．The phrase “clamped off” in Paragraph 3 means ________．A．tried to hold back B．tried to set C．charged D．gave out4．Which of the following statements can we infer from the passage？A．Many lose life’s battles for they are lacking in a sense of humor．B．It wasn’t the first time that Sam came late for his work．C．Sam was supposed to e to his office at 8：30．D．Humor is the most effective way of solving problems．Passage 7BEIJING，March 9—The central government will require an additional three years of use for official vehicles for ministers and governors to reduce the costs of purchasing new cars，media have reported．The new rule has been applied among all Party and government departments nationwide，the Beijing News reported on Tuesday．The new rule has not yet been made public，said Li，a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee．Under the old rules，the cars used by ministerlevel officials could be replaced as often as every five years，Li said．These officials will also keep the same cars when they assume new posts，he added．The new rule also reiterated that officials ranking below ministerorgovernorlevels should not be allocated cars．The cars possessed by their departments should be used on demand．“It violates the rules for lowerranking—even countylevelofficials to be allocated cars，” Li said．Purchases of vehicles for official use have been heavily investigated，as they account for a large expenditure of public funds every year．A survey on the Web news ．ifeng． found 64 percent of respondents believed the new rule will be difficult to carry out because it is related to officials’ interests．“Local government departments had halted approvals for requests for such vehicles and had started to work on new quotas under the new rules，” Li said．“The future reform of official vehicle use will introduce market mechanisms and monetization．”Premier Wen Jiabao said in the annual government work report on Saturday that expenditures on such vehicles will not increase in 2011 pared with a year ago．Beijing’s standing deputy mayor Ji Lin last week said the municipal government will release the number of vehicles for official use in the capital as early as at the end of this month．Earlier this month，the Minister of Finance had published a rule regulating the budgets for such vehicles．1．What is the purpose of the new rule allocating vehicles among officials？A．To promote a lowcarbon lifestyle．B．To cut down the present huge expenditures of purchasing cars．C．To make good use of budgets for official cars．D．To solve the problem of severe traffic jam．2．How often could the cars used by ministerlevel officials be replaced according to the new rule？A．Every 3 years． B．Every 5 years． C．Every 8 years． D．Every 10 years．3．What about the officials ranking below ministerorgovernor levels in terms of official vehicles？A．They can still possess special cars．B．They can use their own private cars．C．They can use cars whenever officially necessary．D．They can be allocated secondhand cars．4．What is the public’s attitude toward the new rule’s fulfillment？A．Uncertain． B．Optimistic． C．Indifferent． D．Passive5．From the passage，we can infer that_________．A．the government is determined to carry out the new ruleB．the new rule has not yet been made publicC．the new rule will benefit official’s interestD．the new rule is applied to ministerlevel officialsPassage 8Grandma Moses is among the most famous twentiethcentury painters of the United States，yet she did not start painting until she was in her late seventies．As she once said to herself： I would never sit back in a rocking chair，waiting for someone to help me． No one could have had a more productive old age．She was born Anna Mary Robertson on a farm in New York State，one of five boys and five girls．At twelve she left home and was in dome