A punctual person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.

　　The unpunctual man，on one hand，never does what he has to do at the proper time. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. A lost thing may be found again，but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things. In fact，time is life itself. The unpunctual man is for ever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable asset (财产) as well as other's. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters，or return calls or keep appointments promptly. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and seldom complains of want of it. He knows that he can not get through his huge amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every piece of work when it has to be attended to.

　　Failure to be punctual in keeping one's appointments is sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time，he keeps all the other guests waiting for him. Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.

　　Unpunctuality，moreover，is very harmful when it comes to do one's duty，whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men.

　　(Words:290;Time:4.5 minutes)

　　1.What does the author think is the main difference between a punctual person and an unpunctual person?

　　A. A punctual person does everything ahead of time while an unpunctual person does everything behind schedule.

　　B. A punctual person does everything at the right time while an unpunctual person seldom does anything at the correct time.

　　C. A punctual person has a lot of appointments while an unpunctual person has few appointments.

　　D. A punctual person has much time to do everything while an unpunctual person has little time to do anything.

　　2.According to the passage，the main reason that a person is always unpunctual is that______.

　　A. he has more work to do than other people

　　B. he is always in a hurry when he works

　　C. he doesn't care much about time

　　D. he always mismanages and wastes his time

　　3.According to the third paragraph，when you are invited to dinner，you should arrive there______.

　　A. after other guests have arrived

　　B. before all other guests

　　C. at the appointed time

　　D. after the host has got things ready

　　4.Which of the following statements best describes the harm of unpunctuality?

　　A. If you are an unpunctual person，you cannot be in charge of any important task.

　　B. If your friends know that you are unpunctual，they may not see you again.

　　C. Unpunctuality may bring about heavy losses for both public and private affairs.

　　D. Unpunctuality may make you miss a lot of appointments and lose friends.

　　(B)

　　Northern Europeans spend a lot of time in their cold and cloudy winters planning their summer holidays. They are proud of their healthy color when they return home after the holiday. But they also know that a certain amount of sunshine is good for their bodies and general health.

　　In ancient Greece people knew about the healing (治疗) powers of the sun，but this knowledge was lost. At the end of the nineteenth century a Danish doctor，Niels Finsen，began to study the effect of sunlight on certain diseases，especially diseases of the skin. He was interested not only in natural sunlight but also in artificially (人造地) produced rays. Sunlight began to play a more important part in curing sick people.

　　A Swiss doctor，Auguste Rollier，made full use of the sun in his hospital at Leysin. Leysin is a small village high up in the Alps. The position is important: the rays of the sun with the greatest healing power are the infrared (红外线的) and ultraviolet (紫外线的) rays; but ultraviolet rays are too easily lost in fog and the polluted air near industrial towns. Dr. Rollier found that sunlight，fresh air and good food cure a great many diseases. He was particularly successful in curing certain forms of tuberculosis with his "sun-cure".

　　There were a large number of children in Dr. Rollier's hospital. He decided to start a school where sick children could be cured and at the same time continue to learn. It was not long before his school was full.

　　In winter，wearing only shorts，socks and boots，the children put on their skis after breakfast and left the hospital. They carried small desks and chairs as well as their school books. Their teacher led them over the snow until they reached a slope which faced the sun and was free from cold winds. There they set out their desks and chairs，and school began.

　　Although they wore hardly any clothes，Rollier's pupils were very seldom cold. That was because their bodies were full of energy which they got from the sun. But the doctor knew that sunshine can also be dangerous. If，for example，tuberculosis is attacking the lungs，unwise sunbathing may do great harm.

　　Today there is not just one school in the sun. There are several in Switzerland，and since Switzerland is not the only country which has the right conditions，there are similar schools in other places.

　　(Words:411;Time:7 minutes)

　　5.According to the passage，when did sunlight begin to play a more important part in the treatment of disease?

　　A. From ancient times.

　　B. At the end of the nineteenth century.

　　C. Not until this century.

　　D. Only very recently.

　　6.Why are a Danish doctor and a Swiss doctor mentioned in the second and third paragraphs?

　　A. Because they both made use of sunlight to treat illness.

　　B. Because they were the first people

　　who used sunlight for treatment.

　　C. Because they were both famous European doctors.

　　D. Because they used sunlight in very

　　different ways.

　　7.Dr Rollier set up a "sun-cure" school probably for the reason that______.

　　A. most children could stay in his hospital

　　B. children could study while being treated

　　C. the school was expected to be full of pupils

　　D. the school was high up in the mountains

　　8.What can be inferred from the last paragraph of the passage?

　　A. "Sun-cure" schools are becoming popular everywhere.

　　B. Switzerland is the only country where "sun-cure" schools are popular.

　　C. Proper conditions are necessary for the running of a "sun-cure" school.

　　D." Sun-cure" schools are found in countries where there is a lot of sunshine.

　　KEY: BDCC BABC

　　(文/赵炳河；英语通高三版2004年第1期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)