Public schools in Washington, D.C. provide students with musical instruments for free. When something goes wrong with an instrument, Charles West and Larry Jernigan do the repairs. Both men approach their work with a passion(激情). For them, it’s important that students have a joyful experience with music.
The two have worked together for almost 20 years. This year alone, they’ve fixed about 450 instruments. Both men are musicians and music lovers, so learning to do repairs came naturally.
“I have been a musician all my life.” says West. “I played in an orchestra here in the city. I majored in music in college. I played in an army band.”
Jernigan’s musical interests are varied. “I was formerly trained in the piano and guitar. The alto sax, and the flute, I picked up while working here.”
In addition to fixing instruments, the two also go to schools to instruct teachers and students on how to make minor repairs on their own.
West believes if children start early and stay concerned with music, it enriches other areas of their lives. “I see that in other kids. I see it in myself. I have seen it hundreds of times and it works,” he says. “They learn teamwork. They learn patience and respect.”
But West has concerns about the future of music in the electronic age.
“This instant age has taken away from the sit-down, the patience. And to learn to play an instrument, it takes patience, it takes diligence, it takes time.”
Being able to enjoy music on the job is one of the benefits of the job. Both men agree their best rewards are the students’ performances. What’s the job of West and Jernigan at school?
| A．Teaching music. | B．Writing music. |
| C．Making musical instruments. | D．Repairing musical instruments. |
They love the job because they can .
| A．earn more money | B．learn repair skills |
| C．enjoy music | D．watch performances |
Which of the following is true of the two men?
| A．They have fixed 450 instruments in the past 20 years. |
| B．They can play and repair musical instruments. |
| C．Jernigan used to play in an army band. |
| D．West was trained to play the piano. |
According to West, what can people learn from music?
| A．Teamwork and patience. | B．The value of time. |
| C．The truth of society. | D．Diligence and confidence. |
What is mainly talked about in the text?
| A．How to repair musical instruments. |
| B．Learning experiences of two repairmen. |
| C．How to prepare a musical performance. |
| D．The enjoyable job of two music lovers. |
Two years ago my grandmother was going to turn 75. My family discussed what the best way to celebrate was. Should we throw her a party? Should we take her on a trip? We remembered that she had touched so many people's lives, and there were so many people for her to consider. Then someone got the idea that we should include everyone in the celebration by turning it into a tribute(献礼) to my grandmother.
We secretly sent out letters to the people in Grandmother's address book and asked them to send a letter with a memory that they had shared with her. People sent us letters with poems, stories and pictures. The deep feeling that was shared through the response (回应) surprised us. We compiled(编辑)these letters into a memory book and amazed her with it on the morning of her birthday.
The unusual thing about my grandmother's friends was not the number that she had, but the connection they shared. In many ways this book of friendship was the greatest achievement of my grandmother's life.
I believe that developing true friendships is one of the most important things that anyone can do in one's lifetime. It is not a matter of the number of friends one has, but the quality of the bonds. If one has had at least one true friendship before dying, then one can say one has lived a successful life. I have made many friends and I believe I have begun to develop the same types of friendships my grandmother kept up over her lifetime. I only hope that I will be as successful as she has been. How did the author's family celebrate Grandmother's birthday ?
| A．They took her on a trip across the country. |
| B．They gave her a memory book of friendship. |
| C．They invited all her friends to her birthday party. |
| D．They asked all her friends to send her cards. |
When receiving her birthday gift, the author's grandmother probably felt _____.
| A．disappointed and lonely | B．sorry and sad |
| C．surprised and pleased | D．nervous and excited |
The underlined word “bonds” in the last paragraph probably means________
| A．relationships | B．works | C．successes | D．celebrations |
According to the passage, the author probably agrees that _____.
| A．the more friends you have, the better |
| B．friends are more important than family |
| C．understanding leads to greater success |
| D．true friendship is very important to us |
Which of the following words can best describe the author's grandmother ?
| A．Famous | B．Great. | C．Polite | D．Pleasant |
A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the farmer asked for his qualifications(资历), he said, “I can sleep when the wind blows.”
This puzzled the farmer. But he liked the young man, and hired him.
A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things to see if all was safe from damage. They found that the doors of the farmhouse had been safely fastened, and a lot of wood had been set next to the fireplace.
The young man slept soundly.
The farmer and his wife then looked at their property (财产) carefully. They found that the farm tools had been placed in the storage room, safe from the bad weather. The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn was properly locked. Even the animals were calm. All was well.
The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man’s words, “ I can sleep when the wind blows.”
The farmhand did his work loyally. When the sky was clear, he had prepared for the storm in case it broke. So when the wind blew, there was no need for him to be afraid. He could sleep in peace. The underlined word “fastened” in Para. 3 can be replaced by ______.
| A．closed | B．damaged | C．taken | D．moved |
From the passage, we can learn that ______.
| A．at first the farmer understood his words well |
| B．the young man was awakened in the night by a violent storm |
| C．the young man had prepared for the storm before it came |
| D．the young man was too sleepy to wake up in the night |
The best title for this passage is ______.
| A．Sleeping in peace through the storm | B．A violent storm |
| C．A young man and his dream | D．A clever farmer |
Which of the following proverbs can best explain the story?
| A．Lookers-on see more than players |
| B．Two heads are better than one |
| C．A stitch（针）in time saves nine |
| D．No man can do two things at a time |
A young woman was driving through the lonely countryside. It was dark and raining. Suddenly she saw an old woman by the side of the road, holding her hand out as if she wanted a lift.
“I can’t leave her out in this weather,” the woman said to herself, so she stopped the car and opened the door.
“Do you want a lift?” she asked. The old woman nodded and climbed into the car. After a while, she said to the old woman, “Have you been waiting for a long time?” The old woman shook her head. “Strange,” thought the young woman. She tried again. “Bad weather for the time of year,” she said. The old woman nodded. No matter what she said, the hitchhiker (搭便车的人) gave no answer except for a nod of the head or a shrug.
Then the young woman noticed the hitchhiker’s hands which were large and hairy.
Suddenly she realized that the hitchhiker was actually a man! She stopped the car. “I can’t see out of the rear screen,” she said. “Would you mind clearing it for me?”
The hitchhiker nodded and opened the door. As soon as the hitchhiker was out of the car, the terrified young woman raced off.
When she got to the next village she pulled up. She noticed that the hitchhiker had left his handbag behind. She picked it up and opened it. She gave a gasp — inside the bag was a gun.The young woman stopped the car because ______.
| A．“the old woman” asked her to |
| B．she recognized “the old woman” |
| C．she knocked “the old woman” down |
| D．she wanted to help “the old woman” out in the bad weather |
The young woman asked the hitchhiker to clear the rear screen because _______.
| A．this was the way she thought of to get rid of him |
| B．she couldn’t see out of the rear screen |
| C．the hitchhiker was very helpful |
| D．the rear screen was covered with dirt |
The hitchhiker left the bag with a gun in it behind because _______.
| A．he wanted to give the young woman a warning |
| B．he had not expected that the young woman would leave him behind in the rain |
| C．it was his present for the young woman |
| D．he wanted to kill the young woman with the gun |
What might the man be?
| A．a policeman | B．a soldier | C．a robber | D．an actor |
Cameron thought of himself as merely organized. He certainly did not consider that he took great pains over anything, he did just enough to get it right. Exactly right, of course, for as he was fond of telling his staff, "if it's not exactly right, it's wrong". Occasionally a worker might be sad on hearing these words, because it meant another hour or so of going over the same bit of work, correcting the mistakes which Cameron had patiently pointed out. And doing the corrections exactly right of course.
Strangely enough, his department had the reputation for performing the highest quality work in the company, and it was seen, and not only by those who worked in the department, as a sort of elite (出类拔萃) unit. Those programmes that had to work first time, straight out of the box, Cameron's men got those. "It's mission (任务) critical—give it to Cameron" was almost a catch-phrase with his team.
It helped that Cameron was not merely particular about things. He wanted things done just so, not because of a personal taste, but because he had discovered through patient experimentation that this was the best way for it to be done.
In Cameron's dictionary, "Take as long as you want" meant that you could work on your task not just in office hours, but that evening, and late into the early hours of the following morning if you so desired. But the project had to be in by its completion date, and yes, done exactly right. Or you did it again.
But he would always be regarded, and not least by himself, as someone who had failed to meet requirements, one of those who just couldn't cut it. You had to face it, if you were not working for Cameron, you were second best. So when word got out that Cameron had messed up, big time, the news was greeted with a mixture of sympathy, and entire relief that this perfection too was human.Cameron was a___________.
| A．software programmer | B．a chief scientist |
| C．quality controller | D．head of department |
"Mission-critical" work was given to Cameron because___________.
| A．Cameron's work was error-free | B．Cameron was critical |
| C．he didn't mind working late | D．he had a good team |
Working for Cameron, people felt that___________.
| A．they were part of an elite |
| B．their mission was critical |
| C．Cameron was very particular about things |
| D．Cameron was patient and responsible |
According to the underlined part in Paragraph 5, what is meant by someone “who couldn't cut it” ?
| A．He didn’t cut corners. | B．He wasn't good enough. |
| C．He had the wrong measurements. | D．He was a perfection. |
What can we learn about Cameron?
| A．He never got things wrong. |
| B．He didn’t allow for any mistake. |
| C．He encouraged work to be done in office hours. |
| D．He was often misunderstood. |
The attitude of the author towards Cameron is that of being___________.
| A．positive | B．sympathetic |
| C．non-subjective | D．optimistic |
Lightning flashed through the darkness over Donald Lubeck’s bedroom skylight. The 80-year-old retired worker was shaken by a blast of thunder. It was 11 p.m. The storm had moved directly over his two-story wood home in the rural town of Belchertown, Massachusetts. Then he heard the smoke alarm beeping. Lubeck padded down the stairs barefoot and opened the door to the basement, and flames exploded out.
Lubeck fled back upstairs to call 911 from his bedroom, but the phone didn’t work. Lubeck realized he was trapped. “I started panicking,” he says.
His daughter and young granddaughters, who lived with him, were away for the night. No one will even know I’m home, he thought. His house was three miles off the main road and so well hidden by pines that Lubeck knew calling for help would be fruitless.
Up a hill about a third of a mile away lived Lubeck’s closest neighbors, Jeremie Wentworth and his wife. Wentworth had been lying down, listening to the radio when it occurred to him that the sound was more like a smoke detector. He jumped out of bed, grabbed a cordless phone and a flashlight, and headed down the hillside toward the noise.
He dialed 911. “Is anyone there?” he called out as he approached the house. Wentworth knew that Lubeck lived in the house.
Then he heard, “Help me! I’m trapped!” coming from the balcony off Lubeck’s bedroom.
“I ran in and yelled,‘Don, where are you?’ Then I had to run outside to catch my breath.”
After one more attempt inside the house, he gave up and circled around back. But there was no way to get to him. “I shined the flashlight into the woods next to an old shed and noticed a ladder,” says Wentworth. He dragged it over to the balcony and pulled Lubeck down just as the second floor of the house collapsed.
Wentworth and Lubeck don’t run into each other regularly, but Lubeck now knows that if he ever needs help, Wentworth will be there.
Lubeck still chokes up when he tells the story. “I was alone,” he says. “Then I heard the most beautiful sound in my life. It was Jeremie.” According to the text, Lubeck___________.
| A．stayed calm in the fire | B．couldn’t find a safe way out |
| C．lived on the first floor | D．called for help in the fire |
How did Wentworth help Lubeck escape?
| A．He called 911. |
| B．He went upstairs and took Lubeck out. |
| C．He put out the fire. |
| D．He used a ladder and pulled Lubeck down. |
Which of the following factors was not mentioned in the text that almost cost Lubeck’s life?
| A．He was living in his wood home alone that night. |
| B．The storm was too heavy and the fire was too fierce. |
| C．He lived far from the main road and was surrounded by pines. |
| D．He was too frightened to escape from the danger. |
What does the text mainly talk about?
| A．A near neighbour is better than a distant cousin. |
| B．A good way to get a narrow escape. |
| C．God helps those who help themselves. |
| D．Blood is thicker than water. |
When I was in medical college, I went camping with some of my friends. The season was summer; therefore, we chose to go to the seaside. After arriving there, we rent a room and left our luggage there. We finished lunch and then decided to rent a boat because the sea and the weather were beautiful.
We started to row, but about one mile out, the weather suddenly changed. Although the weather was not good, we didn't want to give up, but finally my friends and I agreed that we should go back. We tried to change the boat's direction, but as soon as we changed it, the oarlock (桨架)broke. Therefore, we were unable to turn back. We had to wait for help because we couldn't do anything.
After seeing the change of weather, we shouldn't have continued to row, but it was too late. We regretted(后悔) it. The sea changed a lot, the waves got very high, and the boat began to shake like a cradle(摇篮). One of my friends started to cry; another started to vomit(呕吐). Three hours passed, and nobody came to help us. We were just praying.
Fortunately, after five long hours of waiting, two big boats came to rescue us and we escaped. If they hadn't come to get us, we would have crossed the border between Turkey and Greece because the border was very close.
This story is the most exciting story of my life because we could have died, but luck was with us and we escaped.What does the author mainly tell us in this passage?
| A．An experience at sea. |
| B．An exciting experience when swimming. |
| C．The changeable weather at the seaside. |
| D．It is dangerous to boat at sea. |
When did they begin to go boating in the sea?
| A．In the morning. | B．In the afternoon. | C．In the evening. | D．At night. |
What they regretted was that ______ when the weather changed.
| A．they went camping at the seaside | B．they went on rowing |
| C．the waves got very high | D．they started too late |
One of his friends started to vomit because _________.
| A．he came down with a disease | B．they stayed three hours at sea |
| C．the boat shook too much | D．nobody came to help them |
A year ago, at the annual pre-Grammy party, Whitney Houston, the great star, walked on stage and closed the evening with a brilliant performance．
Last Saturday, Houston was once again the focus before the Grammy, but her presence was a regrettable one．Earlier that day, the pop music's former queen was found dead in her hotel room．She was 48．This, no doubt, is sad news to the whole music industry and her fans all over the world．
At her peak(巅峰), Houston was the golden girl of the music world．From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists．She impressed audiences with her effortless, powerful and peerless performance．
Besides multi-million record sales, Houston made countless hits such as The Greatest Love of All, I Have Nothing, and the mostly famous I Will Always Love You．She also influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey．
But by the end of her career, there was a shocking fall for this superstar．Houston had been addicted to(上瘾) drugs．Her album sales declined (下降) and the hits stopped coming and her once beautiful voice became hoarse （嘶哑的）, unable to hit the high notes as she used to．
In 2009, Houston staged a successful comeback with the album I Look To You, which fell on top of the charts．But hoarse voice, canceled concerts, and continuous illness-Houston's comeback trail wasn't smooth at all．In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, Houston admitted: "It (show business) is too much for me and I wanted out．"
Now that Houston has finally taken a break from all the chaos(混乱), may she rest in peace．Whitney Houston died ______．
| A．shortly before the Grammy this year | B．earlier last Sunday |
| C．a year ago | D．at the annual pre-Grammy party |
The underlined word "peerless" in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______．
| A．having no power | B．having no equal |
| C．requiring no effort | D．leaving no impression |
The cause of the fall of Whitney Houston was that _____．
| A．her album sales declined |
| B．show business was too much for her |
| C．her fans no longer love her |
| D．she had been addicted to drugs |
According to the passage, which is not Houston’s achievement?
| A．She made countless hits such as I Have Nothing. |
| B．She influenced a generation of younger singers. |
| C．She became the focus before the Grammy this year. |
| D．She staged a successful comeback in 2009. |
If I raised the question, “What would be the last thing you would expect to happen while watching your son’s flag football game?” you probably still couldn’t come up with what happened to me and my family.
As we were sitting on the sidelines enjoying the game, a low-flying bird came swooping in attempting to land on my daughter’s head! It honestly came out of nowhere. We were seated by ourselves on the tree lined side of the field. I was able to calm my daughter’s shock and fear once I showed her that the bird was not some wild animal, it was in fact, somebody’s pet!
Now, we’re sitting at the outdoor fields of the Pontiac Silverdome, far from any populated area, wondering where this very social cockatiel, an Australian parrot (澳洲鹦鹉) could have come from. I walked up to the bird and put out my hand. Immediately, it hopped on and chirped in a friendly way. We looked around us and knew that we could not just leave and suppose that the bird would return to where it came from. This was a very domesticated bird that needed help or it would not survive.
The flag football game had ended so we walked the bird over to other groups of adults and asked if they knew of anyone who had lost a bird. All the kids were excited about the bird and fed it with some post game snacks. The bird’s nails were getting long and he was looking pretty dirty, so we knew it had been out here for a long time and was hungry. Since its wings were clipped, it could fly a little but probably not more than 100 yards or so at a try. We all just scratched our heads as a group wondering what to do with the lost bird.
We explained to the kids that this bird needed our help since it was someone’s pet and would not know how to get its own food, and it could not fly well since its wings were clipped. The kids understood, and all of them wanted to take the bird home! The parents however, knew this was not a good choice as one had a large dog, another two cats, etc. We explained to the kids that one of us could take the bird home for the night and then bring it to the Humane Society in the morning in hopes to connect it to its owners. We couldn’t keep the bird. It wasn’t ours. This was tough for the kids to understand at first. We couldn’t just leave the bird either. There was no way it could attend itself. The group of us sat around the Silverdome practice fields for quite a while trying to determine the best course of choice for the lost bird. It was getting dark out but no one was willing to leave that parking lot until we had a game plan for how to help the bird.
The owner of the football league, Chris Novak, offered to take the bird. It was extremely nice of him and he really stepped in to help while all the rest of us who had kids tugging on our shirts and begging to take it home. We took a box and put a bunch of holes in it and he brought it home for the night. Another mom went online and found a family that had lost a bird that looked just like the one we’d found. She emailed the info to Chris who got in touch with the family and the next day, reunited the bird with the family that lost it almost 3 weeks earlier! When Chris emailed us to let us know, we could not believe that this bird had traveled from The Rochester Tienken area all the way to the Silverdome!
We were so happy to be able to save this bird and get it back to its family. I showed my kids the email about how the other family got their pet back. The family has 3 kids who were so happy to see their bird. My kids realized what a nice ending this story had. Not only had we been able to save this bird’s life, but we were able to bring it back to the family that loves and misses him.
The life lesson in the missing bird story seemed to miss its mark with my kids at first. They were a little bummed out that they couldn’t keep the lost bird. I explained to them that when an animal or someone needs help, you just can’t turn a blind eye and hope everything works out OK. The “lost bird incident” was also a reminder to them that teamwork and the kindness of strangers can make a world of difference and that a group of well-meaning strangers can work together to help someone. It wasn’t a heroic act, but one that I knew had sunk in with my kids when they realized that trying to help was the best and only real course of action. What happened when the author watched his son’s football games?
| A．A parrot tried to eat their food. |
| B．His daughter was hurt by a parrot. |
| C．A parrot flew towards his daughter. |
| D．A parrot landed on his daughter’s head. |
The underlined word “domesticated” in the second paragraph probably means_______.
| A．having been abandoned | B．having been used to home life |
| C．having been used to life in the wild | D．having been week and hungry |
Who was the first one to find the bird’s owner?
| A．The author | B．Chris Novak |
| C．The Humane Society | D．A participant’s mother |
What can be learned from the “lost bird incident”?
| A．Strangers can also work well together. |
| B．Humane Society helps children in teamwork. |
| C．Children can keep lost injured pet birds home. |
| D．Helping others is always regarded as a heroic act. |
What did the author want to tell in the text?
| A．How to help a lost parrot to find home. |
| B．The experience of watching a football games. |
| C．The importance of teamwork and helping others. |
| D．How a parrot can fly a long distance from home. |
The best title of the text should be________.
| A．What Animals Can Teach Us |
| B．Complete Care for a Lost Bird |
| C．Life Lessons When You Least Expect It |
| D．Love First, Teamwork and Kindness Second |
An Australian man who has been donating his extremely rare kind of blood for 56 years has saved the lives of more than two million babies.
James Harrison has an antibody in his plasma that stops babies dying from Rhesus disease, a form of severe anaemia. He has enabled countless mothers to give birth to healthy babies, including his own daughter, Tracey, who had a healthy son thanks to her father's blood.
Mr. Harrison has been giving blood every few weeks since he was 18 years old and has now racked up a total of 984 donations. When he started donating, his blood was deemed so special that his life was insured for one million Australian dollars.
He was also nicknamed the “man with the golden arm” or the “man in two million”. He said: “I've never thought about stopping. Never.” He made a pledge to be a donor aged 14 after undergoing major chest surgery in which he needed 13 litres of blood. “I was in hospital for three months,” he said. “The blood I received saved my life so I made a pledge to give blood when I was 18.”
Just after he started donating he was found to have the rare and life-saving antibody in his blood. At the time, thousands of babies in Australia were dying each year of Rhesus disease. Other newborns suffered permanent brain damage because of the condition. The disease creates an incompatibility between the mother's blood and her unborn baby's blood. It stems from one having Rh-positive blood and the other Rh-negative.
His blood has since led to the development of a vaccine called Anti-D. After his blood type was discovered, Mr. Harrison volunteered to undergo a series of tests to help develop the Anti-D vaccine. “They insured me for a million dollars so I knew my wife Barbara would be taken care of,” he said. “I wasn't scared. I was glad to help. I had to sign every form going and basically sign my life away.”
Mr. Harrison is Rh-negative and was given injections of Rh-positive blood. It was found his plasma could treat the condition and since then it has been given to hundreds of thousands of women. It has also been given to babies after they are born to stop them developing the disease.
It is estimated he has helped save 2.2 million babies so far. Mr. Harrison is still donating every few weeks now.How old is James Harrison？
| A．56 | B．70 | C．74 | D．78 |
What does the underlined phrase “two million” refer to?
| A．dollars | B．babies | C．mothers | D．all of the above |
Why did James decide to donate his blood? Because _____.
| A．someone else’s blood saved his life |
| B．he has a golden arm worth a million dollars |
| C．a vaccine called Anti-D is to be developed |
| D．his daughter asked him to help her son |
The sentence “The disease creates an incompatibility between the mother's blood and her unborn baby's blood” (underlined in Paragraph 5) suggests that _____.
| A．all the patients have a rare antibody in their blood |
| B．babies suffer permanent brain damage before born |
| C．Rhesus disease contributes to permanent brain damage |
| D．. the mother and the baby have different types of blood |
What can we infer from the sixth paragraph?
| A．His wife Barbara needed to be taken care of badly then. |
| B．Some of the tests to develop the vaccine are dangerous. |
| C．Mr. Harrison was glad to help develop a new vaccine. |
| D．His blood type was accidentally discovered after tests. |
When 7-year-old Warren Buffett said, “I will be the richest man one day,” his friends made fun of his “daydreaming”. But ever since then the little boy has set about learning how to make money by selling drinks, delivering newspaper and buying stocks. The American had already earned $9,000 (equal to $90,000 today) by the time he graduated from the high school.
And this month the 78-year-old, who earned his fortune by making a lot of sound investment in the stock market, took the place of Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, as the world’s richest man. Gates’ worth declined $1.5 billion to $55.5 billion in 33 days after the recent financial storm, according to Forbes Magazine.
Buffett, the only son of a stockbroker, was ready to think outside the box to develop his business from a very early age. At 8, he went to golf courses collecting and selling the used balls. At 11 when he sold soda pop door-to-door with a friend, the pair collected lids on streets to judge which flavor was the most popular.
As a paper boy during high school, Buffett delivered two competitor papers, so that even when customers canceled one of the subscriptions (订阅) , he could still make a profit from the other. With his paper delivery savings, Buffett bought 162,000 square meters of farmland and collected rent. Young Buffett stepped into the stock market at 11 but earned only $5. The experience taught him one of the virtues（优点）in investing patience.
After graduating from university, Buffett started his venture with stocks with his childhood earnings and money from friends. He researched the stocks and just bought those of solid companies that were undervalued and inexpensive at the time. By sticking to companies such as American Express and Coca-Cola, Buffett has become rich.
“Learning is important to Buffett’s success. He is a learning machine who can spend his entire day reading. He keeps learning from books, street smarts and investigation, from both success and failure. In this way, he over achieved his aptitude (能力),” said Charlie Munger, his longtime business partner.The passage is mainly about_____.
| A．why Buffett took the place of Bill Gates as the world’s richest man |
| B．what effect Buffett’s childhood experiences have on his success |
| C．how Buffett earned his fortune and achieve his aptitude |
| D．what Buffett dreamt about when he was a child |
How did Buffett behave at the stock market?
| A．He will buy the stock whose price is lower than its value. |
| B．He often prefers some inexpensive stocks. |
| C．He always borrows money from his friends to buy stocks. |
| D．He will sell the stock if its price doesn’t go up. |
Which is the main factor that determines Buffett’s success?
| A．His desire to learn. |
| B．His family background. |
| C．His education. |
| D．His cooperation with his partner. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Buffett is an immediate success in the stock market |
| B．Buffett and Gates are business partners. |
| C．His father helped him a lot in his business. |
| D．Buffett has a good sense of business. |
A very little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had with him a plastic pail (桶) and a shiny, red plastic shovel (铲). In the 1 of creating roads and tunnels in the sand, he 2 a large rock in the middle of the sandbox.
The boy dug around the rock, 3 to move it off the dirt. At first, he wanted to carry it out of the sandbox with his hands; however, it was too heavy. Later, with much 4 , he pushed the rock across the sandbox by 5 his hands. When the boy got the rock to the 6 of the sandbox, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and 7 the little wall. 8 , the little boy pushed, but every time he thought he had made some 9 , the rock tipped (翻滚) and then fell back into the sandbox. The little boy pushed and pushed, but his only 10 was to have the rock roll back.
Finally he 11 tears. All this time the boy’s father watched from his living room window 12 the drama was unfolded. The moment the tears fell, a large 13 appeared across the sandbox. It was the boy’s father. Gently but 14 , he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had?”
Defeated, the boy 15 back, “I did! I did! I used all the strength that I had!”
“No, you didn’t. You didn’t ask me for help.” The father 16 down, picked up the rock and dropped it off the sandbox.
Do you have “rocks” in your life that need to be 17 ? Are you discovering that you don’t have 18 it takes to lift them? There is someone who is willing to give us the 19 we need. Maybe, it’s sometimes a good idea to ask others for 20 when we meet difficulties we can’t overcome.
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Mo Yan, the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, said he is not sure about whether he is happy after winning the prize.
In an interview with China Central Television broadcast on Sunday night, Mo said “I don't know,” when a reporter asked if he was happy.“Happiness means a healthy body and a total absence of mental burdens, but now I’m under high pressure and bothered by worries. Can I say that I'm happy?” he said. “But if I say I'm not happy, people will consider that I'm striking a pose. How could you be unhappy after winning the Nobel Prize?”
Mo, born into a farmer’s family in East China’s Shandong province, As a 12-year-old during the Cultural Revolution he left school to work, first in agriculture, later in a factory. In 1976 he joined the People’s Liberation Army and during this time began to study literature and write. His first short story was published in a literary journal in 1981.
“In his writing, Mo Yan draws on his youthful experiences and on settings in the province of his birth. This is apparent in his novel Hong gaoliang jiazu (1987, in English Red Sorghum 1993),” said the academy in a statement of Mo’s biography. Red Sorghum was successfully filmed in 1987, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou.
Mo won the Nobel Prize for Literature, which is worth $1.2 million, on Oct 11 for his “hallucinatory realism” which merges “folk tales, history and the contemporary”. Dozens of his works have been translated into English, French and Japanese and many other languages.
He is the first Chinese citizen to win the prize.The award sparked strong interest about contemporary Chinese literature among the public, and his books have been flying off the shelves in many bookstores across the country.The followings are TRUE except_____________.
| A．He has won about 8 million yuan. |
| B．His works are all about farmers. |
| C．He has a big influence on Chinese contemporary literature. |
| D．Reporters have interviewed him about his winning. |
From the passage we can know__________.
| A．He won the prize because of his story Red Sorghum. |
| B．He wanted to become a writer when he was very young. |
| C．Mo Yan’s works have been translated into Russian. |
| D．Mo Yan was born in a farmer family. |
What is Paragraph Three mainly about ?
| A．His different work. | B．His early life. |
| C．He switched over to literature. | D．His family and hometown. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Mo Yan is very happy to win the Nobel Prize. |
| B．More and more readers are buying Mo’s books to read in China. |
| C．Winning the Nobel Prize is not easy. |
| D．Mo Yan won the prize with the help of Zhang Yimou. |
Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5：30 and at 6：30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door , she nearly tripped over (被绊倒)Sheba.
“Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I've got no time for you now, but I'll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (兽医).
When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.
“Listen, doctor, I'm really in a rush to get to a meeting, can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”
“Sure.” said the doctor.
Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.
“This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately, ”said the doctor's voice. “I'm coming round right away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”
At that moment, a police car screeched (发出尖锐的声音)to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.
“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.
“She’s fine, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now. ”
Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white—faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.
“My God, ” said Joanne, “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”
“I think he must be a burglar.” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat：it turned out to be three human fingers.”What was Joanne supposed to do at 6：30？
| A．To walk her dog. |
| B．To see her doctor. |
| C．To attend a club meeting. |
| D．To play tennis with her friends. |
Joanne wanted to get back to her home again __________ . .
| A．to dress up for the meeting |
| B．to phone the police station |
| C．to catch the badly hurt burglar |
| D．to wait for her dog to be cured |
From the passage, we can infer that________ .
| A．Sheba fought against the burglar |
| B．the police found the burglar had broken in |
| C．Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting |
| D．the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog |
In this passage, the writer intends to tell us that the dog is _________ .
| A．clever | B．friendly | C．frightening | D．devoted |
The underlined word “a burglar” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
| A．a cleaner | B．a physician | C．a thief | D．a murderer |
I woke up late and had breakfast in a hurry. I had never been late and didn’t want my boss to be unsatisfied.
However, it seemed that the day wasn’t a lucky one for me from the very second I left my flat. The moment I wanted to rush downstairs, one of my stiletto heels (细高跟) broke. I had to return to change my red shoes. I also had to change my purse and other little things that I had tried to match with the shoes. I was sure I would be late for work.
On my way to work I had to wait for over half an hour because of an accident. I had no choice but to wait. I phoned my boss and he told me that it was no problem, but he needed me for the meeting with the Japanese clients (客户) that morning.
Finally, I arrived at the office one hour later. I had to keep calm and be fresh for the meeting to make the clients sure that our plan was the best for their future business project. However, I left the plan I had made the night before at home and was going to make a presentation (介绍) about it to the clients. I was about to get angry when I realized that I had a copy of it in my office.
At last, the meeting came to an end and it turned out to be successful. But I have to say that I had a terrible day, full of incidents.Which of the following is NOT the reason of the writer being late for her work?
| A．She got up late in the morning. |
| B．She changed her purse and other little things. |
| C．One of her shoe heels broke. |
| D．She had a traffic accident on the way to work. |
According to the passage, what could we learn about the writer?
| A．Her boss was very angry with her. |
| B．She often arrived at her office on time. |
| C．She left her plan on the bus. |
| D．She was nervous at the meeting. |
What did the clients think of the writer’s presentation?
| A．Dull. | B．Just so-so. | C．Excellent. | D．Terrible. |
Which old saying could be used to describe the writer’s incidents?
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．A good beginning makes a good ending. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| D．One trouble never comes alone. |
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