Jealousy is a very common problem in daily life. It’s everywhere. For example, if someone does better than you, you will get annoyed because you want to be No. 1. We may become jealous of a best friend’s top marks in an exam, or of the girl in art class who is praised by the teacher all the time. We get annoyed because these good things are happening to someone else but not to us.

It’s bad to feel jealous. We should be pleased with the things we have. But we still wish we had the money of this person and the talent of that person. Instead of sharing their happiness, we just feel jealous and unhappy with ourselves. And, too often, these feelings are expressed by speaking ill of the people we envy.

However, envy is also a kind of compliment to others. We see that other people have styles and talents different from our own. By comparing ourselves with others, we can know what we lack. And we can turn this comparison, the envy of others, into a kind of power.

Therefore, being a bit jealous of others lets us know what we are like and what we want to be like. It can push us to become what we really want to be.

根据短文内容，从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳答案。

1.According to the first paragraph, why do you get annoyed?

A．Because the teacher dislikes others.

B．Because others do something better than you.

C．Because you are an annoying person.

D．Because you want to be No.1 in the exam and you do.

2.The Chinese meaning of the underlined part “speaking ill of” probably is “_____".

A．赞美             B．说…的坏话        C．憎恨             D．说…病了

3.What should be the right attitude towards jealousy?

A．It’s a good thing.

B．It’s just a bad thing.

C．It’s a kind of compliment to others.

D．It makes us know what we are like and what we want to be like.

 

Here’ s an unusual story: a diamond ring

 was recently found in an egg. The    

               

                                                    

 

magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front          

of an audience of millions at CCTV’ s Spring

Festival Gala. Liu’ s magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.

As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the U

nited States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.

Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’ s love for magic.

 “It’ s actually thinking rather than one’ s manipulation（操作）skills; that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting.  ”Liu said.

    Liu Qian’ s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.

Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur  (业余的) magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.

    To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields for passers-by, policemen and farmers.

     “Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds, ” Liu said.

What does the underlined word  “seasoned ” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. 季节性的        B. 刚出道的         C. 老练的         D. 职业的

The story is about_____.

A. how Liu Qian became China’ s hottest magician

B. why people love magic

C. what magic tricks are

D. how fashionable the magic is

People love to watch magic because_____.

A. they can’ t figure out the secret of magic

B. it arouses their curiosity

C. they love watching magicians make the impossible happen

D. it is a centuries-old art

Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?

A. He was interested in magic when he was little.

B. He had won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest.

C. He became an amateur magician in his spare time.

D. He couldn’ t find an acceptable job after graduation