Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes---khaki pants and sports shirt---to the office. He hardly ever wears necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday.” “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing,” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productive. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict” because_______.
| A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt |
| B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance |
| C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time |
| D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes |
David Smith wears casual clothes now, because________
| A．they make him feel at ease when working |
| B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes |
| C．he looks handsome in casual clothes |
| D．he no longer works for any company |
According to this passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?
| A．Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code. |
| B．Comfortable clothes make employees more productive |
| C．A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees |
| D．All the employers in the U.S are for casual office wear. |
In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned EXCEPT_______.
| A．saving employees’ money |
| B．making employees more attractive |
| C．improving employees’ motivation |
| D．making employees happier |
I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.
I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times. ”
My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.
From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.How did the author get to know America?
| A．From her relatives | B．From her mother |
| C．From Books and pictures | D．From radio programs |
Upon leaving for America the author felt .
| A．confused | B．excited |
| C．worried | D．amazed |
For the first two years in New York, the author .
| A．often lost her way |
| B．did not think about her future |
| C．studied in three different schools |
| D．got on well with her stepfather |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?
| A．She worked as a translator |
| B．She attended a lot of job interviews |
| C．She paid telephone bills for her family |
| D．She helped her family with her English |
The author believes that .
| A．her future will be free from troubles |
| B．it is difficult to learn to become patient |
| C．there are more good things than bad things |
| D．good things will happen if one keeps trying |
A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift—＄7,000，a legacy from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident . “It really made a difference when we were going under financially.” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars ; in others, it was more than ＄100,000.
It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than ＄3 million—they were am elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm .
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving, They thrived own comparison shopping and would routinely go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase .
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked you needed anything,” says their friend Sand Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do go make you happier, and they would do them.
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy—a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cent —should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come.
Neighbors helping neighbors ——that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story. According go the text, the Fusses___________.
| A．were employed by a truck company | B．were in financial difficulty |
| C．worked in a school cafeteria | D．lost their home |
Which of the following is true of the Hatches?
| A．They had their children during the Great Depression |
| B．They left the family farm to live in an old house |
| C．They gave away their possessions to their neighbors |
| D．They helped their neighbors to find jobs |
Why would the Hatches routinely go from store to store?
| A．They decided to open a store |
| B．They wanted to save money |
| C．They couldn’t afford expensive things |
| D．They wanted to buy gifts for local kids |
According to Sand Van Weelden, the Hatches were ___________.
| A．understanding | B．optimistic | C．childlike | D．curious |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．The community of Alto was poor |
| B．The summer camp was attractive to the parents |
| C．Sandy Van Weelden got a legacy form the Hatches |
| D．The Hatches would like the neighbors to follow their example |
Half a century after the March of Dimes (a US charity organization that collects money for children) put the 20th century’s most feared childhood disease on the road to eradication (根除), Bill Gates declared polio (小儿麻痹症) his important job and challenged world leaders to finish the job.
India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan now have active transmission (传播) of the disease. Gates says the biggest problem with the success of the Global Polio Eradication program in those countries and elsewhere is lack of money.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to increase its $200 million annual contribution (每年的捐款) by $102 million this year, Gates says. Gates recently met privately with Pakistan’s President in Washington, D.C., to try to persuade him to provide full support for Pakistan’s eradication plan.
Children in the USA also are at risk, experts say. Parents who don’t vaccinate (给某人接种疫苗) their children because they are fearful of vaccine side-effects create a large number of children who are likely to be harmed by the virus.
“If you increase the number of unvaccinated children, you increase the chance that this virus will find new subjects,” says David Oshinsky, Pulitzer Prized-winning author of Polio: An American Story.
“We’ve got to get this vaccine into the mouths of children,” says Bruce Aylward, head of the World Health Organization’s eradication program.
In 1988, when the World Health Organization launched the Global Polio Eradication program, the disease killed 350,000 children a year worldwide. By last year, the total dropped to fewer than 1,500 worldwide, Aylward says.
If Gates provides the final push for polio eradication, he may be remembered as much for helping prevent polio as for founding Microsoft, Oshinsky says.
“As long as there’s polio anywhere, people everywhere are at risk,” Aylawrd says. “We’re still not out of the woods.”According to the text, the success of the Global Polio Eradication program mainly depends on .
| A．the World Health Organization’s policy |
| B．the development of a new vaccine |
| C．the local governments’ support |
| D．the collection of funds. |
What do we know about polio according to the text?
| A．People in Nigeria don’t take it seriously. |
| B．It’s now the most serious childhood disease. |
| C．Great progress has been made in preventing it. |
| D．There are few organizations helping to prevent it. |
According to Oshinsky, .
| A．Gates should devote more time to Microsoft |
| B．polio eradication is a very important cause |
| C．vaccine side-effects should not be ignored |
| D．polio has been brought under control |
According to the passage, which of the following about Bill Gates is TRUE?
| A．He is the founder of the Global polio Eradication program. |
| B．He persuades some of the world leaders to support the eradication plan. |
| C．His foundation contributes $302, 000 to eradicate polio every year. |
| D．He works harder on preventing polio than founding Microsoft. |
The underlined part “We’re still not out of the woods” means “ ”.
| A．We get lost in the woods | B．We’re not free from trouble |
| C．we have no idea where to go | D．We’re unable to eradicate polio |
The other day, I received a most unexpected message in response to one of my essays: I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished. I shared your opinion …
It was signed Margaret Leibfried, who was my English teacher — a teacher who appeared at a vital (关键) point in my life and helped me believe that I could become a writer.
Thirty years ago, I entered high school as an introvert (性格内向的人) made all the more shy because I was the school’s only nonwhite student. I always felt in danger of being swept away by a sea of tall white athletes. I spent a lot of time alone, reading and writing stories, hoping to escape being teased.
Ms. Leibfried taught American literature and composition grammar, which involved the usual memorizing vocabulary, but also, thrillingly, reading novels.
Thrilling to me, that is. Many of my classmates expressed dislike for novels because they were “not real.” For once, I didn’t care what they thought. Ms. Leibfried seemed to notice my interest in both reading and writing, and she took the time to make me feel less shy; she even offered me reading suggestions, like one of her favorite novels, “The Bell Jar.”
That year’s big project was a book report, to be read aloud to the class. However, Ms. Leibfried suggested I do something “a little different.” Instead of a report, I chose a passage from “The Bell Jar” that I considered as the best to recite.
The morning of the presentations, I remember my hands sweating so badly as I walked to the front of the class that I kept my hands crossed, so I wouldn’t wipe them on my blouse.
When I finished, to my surprise, the class applauded. “Marie has picked out a particularly sensitive piece of writing and delivered it beautifully,” Ms. Leibfried said, smiling. I felt, maybe for the first time, confident.What was the author’s high school life like before she met Ms. Leibfried?
| A．Lonely. | B．Exciting. | C．Wild. | D．Busy |
In Paragraph 5, the author mainly tells us .
| A．how she cared what her classmates thought |
| B．when she became interested in “The Bell Jar” |
| C．why many of her classmates disliked novels |
| D．how Ms. Leibfried helped and encouraged her |
Why did Ms. Leibfried ask the author to recite a passage in front of the class?
| A．To test whether she had a good memory. |
| B．To make her earn the respect of her classmates. |
| C．To help deepen her understanding of “The Bell Jar.” |
| D．To guide her to build a good relationship with others. |
How did the author feel when she made the presentation?
| A．Comfortable. | B．sad. | C．Nervous. | D．Confident. |
What was the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To express her thanks to her teacher. |
| B．To discuss the issue of racial prejudice (偏见). |
| C．To introduce one of her favorite books. |
| D．To suggest the ways to gain confidence. |
Perhaps every older generation since ancient times has complained about young people, and today is no different. Isn’t it obvious that kids these days are self-absorbed social network addicts?
However, this summer, my impression of today’s kids has been restored by the story of Rachel Beckwith. She could teach my generation a great deal about maturity (成熟) and unselfishness — even though she’s just 9 years old, or was when she died on July 23.
At age 5, Rachel had her long hair cut off and sent to Locks of Love, which uses hair donations to make artificial hair for children who have lost their own hair because of cancer or other diseases. After that, Rachel announced that she would grow her hair long again and donate it again. And that’s what she did.
Then when she was 8 years old, her church began raising money to build wells in Africa through an organization called “charity: water”. Rachel was astonished when she learned that other children had no clean water, so she skipped her ninth birthday party. Rachel set up a birthday page on the charity: water website with a target of $300. Instead of presents, she asked her friends to donate $9 each to charity: water. Finally Rachel raised only $220 — which had left her just a bit disappointed.
Then, on July 20, a serious traffic accident left Rachel critically injured. Church members and friends, seeking some way of showing support, began donating on Rachel’s birthday page — charitywater.org/Rachel — and donations reached her $300 goal, and kept rising.
When it was clear that Rachel would never regain consciousness, the family decided to remove the life-support machine. Her parents donated her hair for the final time to Locks of Love, and her organs to other children.
Word spread about Rachel’s last fund-raiser (募捐行动). Contributions poured in, often they donated $9. The total donations soon topped $100,000, then $300,000.
This is a story not just of one girl, but of a young generation of outstanding problem-solvers working creatively. Which of the following is TRUE of Rachel?
| A．She died at the age of 8. | B．She was a cancer patient. |
| C．She was a warm-hearted girl. | D．She founded Locks of Love. |
The underlined word “skipped” in Paragraph 4 probably means “ ”.
| A．put off | B．gave up | C．expected | D．planned |
According to the text, Rachel set up the birthday page to .
| A．make more new friends |
| B．call on people to donate hair |
| C．ask her friends to send her gifts |
| D．raise money to help African children |
How does the author feel about the young generation now?
| A．Worried | B．Critical. | C．Appreciative. | D．Doubtful |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Rachel’s last fund-raiser |
| B．Rachel and her birthday page |
| C．Kids are addicted to social networks. |
| D．What’s wrong with the young generation? |
In the early 1950s, researchers found that people scored lower on intelligence tests if they spoke more than one language. Research in the sixties found the opposite. Bilingual people scored higher than monolinguals, people who speak only one language. So which is it?
Researchers presented their newest studies last month at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The latest evidence shows that being bilingual does not necessarily make people smarter. But researcher Ellen Bialystok says it probably does make you better at certain skills.
Ellen Bialystok said, “Imagine driving down the highway. There’re many things that could capture your attention and you really need to be able to monitor all of them. Why would bilingualism make you any better at that?”
And the answer, she says, is that bilingual people are often better at controlling their attention — a function called the executive control system.
Ms. Bialystok is a psychology professor at York University in Toronto, Canada. She says the best method to measure the executive control system is called the Stroop Test. A person is shown words in different colors. The person has to ignore the word but say the color. The problem is that the words are all names of colors.
Ellen Bialystok said, “So you would have the word blue written in red, but you have to say red. But blue is so salient(显著的), it’s just lighting up all these circuits(电路) in your brain, and you really want to say blue. So you need a mechanism(机制) to override that so that you can say red. That’s the executive control system.”
Her work shows that bilingual people continually practice this function. They have to, because both languages are active in their brain at the same time. They need to suppress(抑制) one to be able to speak in the other.
This mental exercise might help in other ways, too. Researchers say bilingual children are better able to separate a word from its meaning, and more likely to have friends from different cultures. Bilingual adults are often four to five years later than others in developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.What’s the best title of the text?
| A．Bilingual People, Smarter |
| B．Monolingual People, Smarter |
| C．Bilingual People, Longer Lives |
| D．Bilingual People, Better at Some Skills |
The underlined word “override” in Paragraph 6 probably means ____.
| A．pay attention to | B．take no notice of |
| C．take an interest in | D．take care of |
In the Stroop Test, supposing you have the word yellow written in white, you will have to say ____.
| A．white | B．yellow | C．blue | D．red |
Which group of people can most likely pass the Stroop Test?
| A．People who can speak only Chinese. |
| B．People who can speak only Japanese. |
| C．People who can speak more than one language. |
| D．People who can speak only English. |
Which of the following statements is FALSE according to the text?
| A．A bilingual child is better at separating a word from its meaning. |
| B．A bilingual child can more easily make friends with a foreign child. |
| C．Bilingual people are more able to monitor several things at the same time. |
| D．It’s not possible for bilingual people to develop Alzheimer’s disease. |
Oscar the cat seems to have an unnatural ability for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up (蜷伏) next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means the patient has less than four hours to live. "Many family members take some comfort from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a doctor and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.
The 2-year-old cat was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia (痴呆) unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where the facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses. After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd smell and observe patients, then sit beside people who would end up dying in a few hours. Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.
"Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work here," said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill. She was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call. While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish color, signs that often mean death is near. Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room, though, so Teno thought bis streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.
Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill that they probably don't know he's there, so patients aren't aware he's a predictor of death. Most families are grateful for the advance warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.
No one's certain if Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant or points to a cause. Teno wonders if the cat senses mysterious scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses who raised him. Nursing home staff aren't concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying. The staff recently gave Oscar a wall sign publicly praising his "sympathetic care."What makes Oscar the cat so special?
| A．He observes the cases of dying patients. |
| B．He curls up next to the patients. |
| C．He calls family members to the hospital. |
| D．He senses when patients are to die. |
The passage tells us Oscar_____.
| A．would go round and observe patients |
| B．may sometimes fail to predict death |
| C．is friendly and liked by every nurse |
| D．was born and grew up in the hospital |
The underlined words "his streak was broken" probably mean ____.
| A．his bones were severely injured |
| B．his magic power stopped working |
| C．his devotion to work got changed |
| D．his friendship with patients ended |
From the passage, we learn that_____.
| A．Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant |
| B．Oscar can read something of the nurses' behavior |
| C．Oscar might like to stay with the dying patients |
| D．Oscar is sympathetic to the dying patients |
The best title for this passage is "____".
| A．Cats Can Be Used for Looking After Patients |
| B．Oscar, the Sweet-Faced, Gray-and-White Cat |
| C．As Death Comes Calling, So Does Oscar the Cat |
| D．Oscar the Cat, the Best Helper of Our Hospital |
As a young girl, Margaret “Mattie” Knight never played with dolls, preferring to make toys for her brothers instead. In 1849, Knight went to work in a cotton factory where she witnessed a “shuttle,” a device that carries thread back and forth across a textile loom（纺布机）, fly off the machine when the thread broke, striking and killing a young boy about her own age.
The 12-year-old Knight developed a safety mechanism that made it impossible for a shuttle to leave the loom. The design was so effective, soon virtually every new power loom carried her invention, saving countless workers from injury or death. Being so young, she didn’t bother to patent the device, so she never received payment.
Knight wouldn’t make the same mistake later in life when she invented a machine that could produce flat-bottomed paper bags. Knight had built a small wooden model in her home, but she needed a metal version to show it could hold up to the stress of mass production. So she hired Charles Annan to make the full-sized machine for her, only to have him try to claim the patent for himself. When Knight sued（起诉）, Annan’s argument was that the design had to be his, because no woman could possibly understand the complex mechanics. Knight proved him wrong when she brought back her wooden prototype and explained how every part worked. She won the case in 1871, making her the second woman to hold an American patent. Over a hundred years later, her design is still used as the basis for many modern flat-bottom bag machines.
But that wasn’t the last the world heard of Mattie Knight. During her lifetime, she made about 90 inventions and received 26 patents, becoming one of the most productive female inventors of the 19th century. We can learn from Paragraph 1 that ________.
| A．Knight behaved like boys | B．Knight had an unhappy childhood |
| C．Knight did a poor job of making toys | D．Knight liked inventing things as a child |
What do we know about Knight’s first invention?
| A．It is still used today. | B．It brought her great profit. |
| C．It was made when he was 20. | D．It reduced injuries at textile plants. |
Knight sued Charles Annan because he _______.
| A．stole the wooden model for the machine she invented. |
| B．failed to make the full-sized machine for her |
| C．tried to patent her invention for himself |
| D．kept the metal version for himself |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Mattie Knight’s fight for her patent | B．A great woman in the 19th century |
| C．“The female Edison”, Mattie Knight | D．Great inventions, great woman |
Studying volcanoes is a demanding profession. Hazel Rymer frequently has to struggle through rainforests, climb to the top of mountains, then climb 200 metres into the crater of active volcanoes. But the 38-year-old volcanologist does her best to make it sound less alarming than it is. “Driving to work is more risky,” she insists. “And the deepest I go into the crater of a volcano is about 300 metres,” she adds, trying to make it all sound as ordinary as taking the dog for a walk.
Hazel has been studying volcanoes for a long time, so it’s not surprising she is used to the danger. Her interest in volcanoes began at school. A teacher gave her a book about Pompeii. “I remember reading about the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of the city,” she explains. “The thought of all those people just frozen in time had quite an effect on me and I am still excited by their dangerous beauty today.”
Nowadays, volcanoes are getting more and more unpredictable. There have been many changes in sea level caused by global warming and melting ice caps. These have resulted in some dormant volcanoes erupting, so studying them is more dangerous than ever before. Hazel says that although she doesn’t take any unnecessary risk she has had some frightening moments. Her worst experience was on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, when she was slowly surrounded by lava. “I had a choice of walking ten hours to get around the lava flow or just walking across it,” she explains. She chose to pick a path across the cooler rocks in the lava stream. “I guess it was five metres. The flow was 1,000°C, so if you hesitated your boots would begin to melt. It was scary, but it really was a practical decision --- there wasn't time to do anything else.”
And what about the future? “I haven’t been to the volcanoes in Indonesia yet. And I would love to spend some time working in the Antarctic,” she says. “I would also like to know why quiet lava flows erupt from some volcanoes and why other volcanoes go bang.” In other words, Hazel Rymer won’t be exchanging her volcanoes for the relative safety of driving to work just yet. Hazel’s claim that “driving to work is more risky” than exploring volcanoes shows that ______.
| A．people have exaggerated the dangers of volcanoes in the past |
| B．Hazel does not really understand the dangerous situations she puts herself in. |
| C．there are many bad drivers in the place where Hazel lives |
| D．Hazel is being modest and understating the dangers she faces |
When did Hazel first become interested in volcanoes?
| A．When she was visiting Italy. |
| B．When she was at school. |
| C．When she was twenty. |
| D．When she saw Vesuvius. |
The underlined word “these” (in paragraph 3) refers to __________.
| A．melting ice-caps | B．volcanic eruptions |
| C．changes in sea level | D．higher temperatures |
When Hazel was on Mount Etna she had to ________.
| A．take a dangerous route |
| B．take an unnecessary risk |
| C．leave her boots behind |
| D．walk for ten hours around the mountain |
In the future, Hazel wants to ________.
| A．revisit volcanoes she knows |
| B．go on holiday to the Antarctic |
| C．find a less dangerous job |
| D．discover new things about volcanoes |
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 dialogue may start a quarrel. For example, many believe that comedians on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance than people in any other forum.
Humor is often the best way to keep a small misunderstanding from escalating into a big deal. Recently a neighbor of mine had a squabble with his wife as she drove him to the airport. Airborne, he felt miserable, and he knew she did, too. Two hours after she returned home, she received a long-distance phone call. “Person-to-person for Mrs. I. A. Pologize,” intoned the operator. “That’s spelled ‘P’ as in…” In a twinkling, the whole day changed from grim to lovely at both ends of the wire.
An English hostess with a quick wit was giving a formal dinner for eight distinguished guests whom she hoped to enlist in a major charity drive. Austerity（节俭）was a fashion in England at the time, and she had asked her children to serve the meal. She knew that anything could happen—and it did, just as her son, with the studied concentration of a tightrope walker, brought in a large roast turkey. He successfully elbowed the swinging dining-room door, but the backswing threw the bird onto the dining-room floor.
The boy stood rooted: guests stared at their plates. Moving only her head the hostess smiled at her son,” No harm, Daniel,” she said. “Just pick him up and take him back to the kitchen”… she enunciated clearly so he would think about what she was saying… “and bring in the other one.”
A wink and a one-liner instantly changed the dinner from a red-faced embarrassment to a conspiracy of fun.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Humor is the key to success in our work and our lives. |
| B．Humor enables us to cope with difficult situation effectively. |
| C．Humor is the only best way to criticize someone without losing his face. |
| D．Humor makes fun of any difficult situations. |
Which of the following is NOT stated in the passage?
| A．Comedians on TV are believed to have done a lot in making people more tolerant of racial and religious differences. |
| B．To make up differences, humor is a most acceptable as well as a most effective means. |
| C．People often turn to humorous ways when meeting with difficult situations because of its effectiveness. |
| D．Only by adopting the means of humor can one succeed in some jobs. |
By saying “and bring in the other one,” the hostess meant that_________.
| A．the son had to cook another turkey for the guests |
| B．she already had made more than one turkey ready for the dinner |
| C．some other dish would be served instead of a turkey |
| D．the son could serve the same turkey after it was cleaned |
Did you ever wonder who invented products like Liquid Paper, Kevlar or paper bags? Most would think a man invented these items. Guess what? Women invented each of these. What? You don’t believe me? Well, read this:
Liquid Paper was invented by Bette Nesmith Graham in 1951 and originally called Mistake Out. Being a typist, Bette was increasingly irritated with being unable to erase her typing mistakes. The messy business left her hands black and the paper dirty. Bette was good at painting and remembered that an artist paints over mistakes. She applied that same principle to typing mistakes and Liquid Paper was born, making Bette into a self-made millionaire.
Kevlar, yes, the Kevlar of the bullet proof vest（防弹衣）—what police officers and soldiers wear, was invented by Stephanie Kwolek. Stephanie worked for the DuPont Company as a research chemist. She was asked to find a high-performance fiber. Originally, this fiber was intended to be used for car tires (轮胎). However, the fiber she developed in 1964 was amazing and is still used in products such as sailboats, skis, shoes, and yes, bullet proof vests. In 1995 Stephanie was named to the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame.
Margaret Knight invented a machine that revolutionized the making of paper bags. Paper bags had been made like envelopes but Margaret developed a machine that would fold and paste（粘）a flat-bottom paper bag, the very same type we still use today. Margaret’s family was poor and she started working at the age of nine. Her first invention at the age of twelve was a safety tool for a loom（织布机）. Later she worked for the Columbia Paper Bag Company. It was there that she worked on improving the making of paper bags. She was issued her patent（专利）in 1870.
So next time you use a new product or an old one, will you wonder who made it? Do some research on the web and answer a few questions like: Who invented it? How was it invented? You may be surprised at some of the stories you uncover.The underlined word “irritated” in Paragraph 2 is the closest in meaning to_________.
| A．annoyed | B．excited | C．delighted | D．nervous |
What do we know about Margaret?
| A．She was a member of the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. |
| B．Her first invention was made when she was twenty. |
| C．Her invention was designed to produce envelopes. |
| D．She began working when she was very young. |
which of the following best shows the structure of the passage? (①="paragraph" 1, ②="Paragraph" 2,… ⑤="paragraph" 5)
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．How inventions were made |
| B．Amazing inventions by women |
| C．Women and modern technology |
| D．You can also be an inventor |
It is pretty much a one-way street. While it may be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercial world, there is very little traffic in the opposite direction. Pay has always been the biggest deterrent, as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary when moving to a university job. For some industrial scientists, however, the attractions of academia (学术界) outweigh any financial considerations.
Helen Lee took a 70% cut in salary when she moved from a senior post in Abbott Laboratories to a medical department at the University of Cambridge. Her main reason for returning to academia mid-career was to take advantage of the greater freedom to choose research questions. Some areas of inquiry have few prospects of a commercial return, and Lee’s is one of them.
The impact of a salary cut is probably less severe for a scientist in the early stages of a career. Guy Grant, now a research associate at the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics at the University of Cambridge, spent two years working for a pharmaceutical (制药的) company before returning to university as a post-doctoral researcher. He took a 30% salary cut but felt it worthwhile for the greater intellectual opportunities.
Higher up the ladder, where a pay cut is usually more significant, the demand for scientists with a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the transition to academia more attractive, according to Lee. Industrial scientists tend to receive training that academics do not, such as how to build a multidisciplinary team, manage budgets and negotiate contracts. They are also well placed to bring something extra to the teaching side of an academic role that will help students get a job when they graduate, says Lee, perhaps experience in manufacturing practice or product development. “Only a small number of undergraduates will continue in an academic career. So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed to work in an industrial lab has far more potential in the job market than someone who has spent all their time on a narrow research project.”By “a one-way street” (Line 1, Para. 1), the author means ________.
| A．university researchers know little about the commercial world |
| B．there is little exchange between industry and academia |
| C．few industrial scientists would quit to work in a university |
| D．few university professors are willing to do industrial research |
What was Helen Lee’s major consideration when she changed her job in the middle of her career?
| A．Flexible work hours. |
| B．Her research interests. |
| C．Her preference for the lifestyle on campus. |
| D．Prospects of academic accomplishments. |
Guy Grant chose to work as a researcher at Cambridge in order to ________.
| A．do financially more rewarding work |
| B．raise his status in the academic world |
| C．enrich his experience in medical research |
| D．exploit better intellectual opportunities |
What contribution can industrial scientists make when they come to teach in a university?
| A．Increase its graduates’ competitiveness in the job market. |
| B．Develop its students’ potential in research. |
| C．Help it to obtain financial support from industry. |
| D．Gear its research towards practical applications. |
A year after graduation, I was offered a position teaching a writing class. Teaching was a profession I had never seriously considered, though several of my stories had been published. I accepted the job without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr. Davis. My father went by the same name, and I liked to imagine people getting the two of us confused. “Wait a minute,” someone might say, “are you talking about Mr. Davis the retired man, or Mr. Davis the respectable scholar?”
The position was offered at the last minute, and I was given two weeks to prepare, a period I spent searching for briefcase (公文包) and standing before my full-length mirror, repeating the words, “Hello, class. I’m Mr. Davis.” Sometimes I would give myself an aggressive voice. Sometimes I would sound experienced. But when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr. Davis was there. I sounded not like a thoughtful professor, but rather a 12-year-old boy.
I arrived in the classroom with paper cards designed in the shape of maple leaves. I had cut them myself out of orange construction paper. I saw nine students along a long table. I handed out the cards, and the students wrote down their names and fastened them to their breast pockets as I required.
“All right then,” I said. “Okay, here we go.” Then I opened my briefcase and realized that I had never thought beyond this moment. I had been thinking that the students would be the first to talk, offering their thoughts and opinions on the events of the day. I had imagined that I would sit at the edge of the desk, overlooking a forests of hands. Every student would yell. “Calm down, you’ll all get your turn. One at a time, one at a time!”
A terrible silence ruled the room, and seeing no other opinions, I inspected the students to pull out their notebooks and write a brief essay related to the theme of deep disappointment.The author took the job to teach writing because ______.
| A．he wanted to be expected |
| B．he had written some storied |
| C．he wanted to please his father |
| D．he had dreamed of being a teacher |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 2 ?
| A．He would be aggressive in his first class. |
| B．He was well-prepared for his first class. |
| C．He got nervous upon the arrival of his first class. |
| D．He waited long for the arrival of his first class. |
Before he started his class, the author asked the students to ______.
| A．write down their suggestions on the paper cards |
| B．cut maple leaves out of the construction paper |
| C．cut some cards out of the construction paper |
| D．write down their names on the paper cards |
What did the students do when the author started his class?
| A．They began to talk. | B．They stayed silent. |
| C．They raised their hands. | D．They shouted to be heard. |
The author chose the composition topic probably because ______.
| A．he got disappointed with his first class |
| B．he had prepared the topic before class |
| C．he wanted to calm down the students |
| D．he thought it was an easy topic |
It all started at the beginning of this term. At first, Carmen wasn’t really sure what was happening. In class, she had to squint (眯眼) to see the blackboard clearly. As it got worse, she became more and more worried. It was important for her to see the notes and homework the teacher wrote on the board.
In class, she asked for a desk that was closer to the blackboard. One day, her teacher said, “Carmen, I’ve noticed you squinting a lot. Are you having trouble seeing the board?” Carmen shook her head. “I’m fine, Mrs. Cruz.”
At home, she had to sit closer and closer to the television. Her mother noticed her squinting as she watched her favorite shows.
“Tomorrow I will go to see a doctor,” she said firmly. Three days later, Carmen had new glasses. She was told to wear them all the time. “All of the kids at school will think I am a nerd (书呆子)，” she said. “You look just as beautiful with those glasses on as you do without them,” her mother said. But Carmen didn’t believe her.
The next day, Carmen kept the glasses in her pocket as she walked into the schoolyard. Suddenly, she heard her friend Theresa shout. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“My silver ring is gone!” Theresa cried. Carmen could tell that Theresa was very upset. They all looked for the ring in the grassy area of the playground.
Carmen realized that she could search better if she could see better. She took the glasses out of her pocket and put them on. Everything looked so different! So clear! And a glimmer (微光) of silver caught her eye.
“Here it is,” she shouted. “Thanks Carmen,” Theresa said. “I didn’t know you wore glasses. They look great!” “Thanks,” Carmen replied shyly.
As they walked back toward the school building, two more girls praised her glasses. Carmen smiled. “Maybe wearing glasses won’t be so bad after all,” she thought.According to the text, Carmen_________.
| A．doesn’t like doing homework |
| B．often tells lies to her teacher |
| C．cares how well she does in lesson |
| D．has trouble getting along with her classmates |
When Carmen wore glasses for the first time, she felt________.
| A．sad | B．pleased | C．surprised | D．disappointed |
What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Other girls expect to have new glasses. |
| B．Carmen will get used to wearing glasses. |
| C．Wearing glasses will make Carmen look beautiful. |
| D．Carmen hopes to receive more comments on her glasses. |
The purpose of the text is to tell readers__________.
| A．how to protect their eyes |
| B．never to make fun of others |
| C．things aren’t always as bad as we expect |
| D．it is necessary to give a hand to those in trouble |
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