Work is a very important part of life in the United States. When the early Protestant immigrants(新教徒移民) came to this country, they brought the idea that work was the way to God and heaven. This attitude, the Protestant Work Ethic(道德规范), still influences America today. Work is not only important for economic benefits, the salary, but also for social and psychological needs, the feeling of doing something for the good of the society. Americans spend most of their lives working, being productive. For most Americans, their work defines(给…下定义) them: they are what they do. What happens then, when a person can no longer work? Almost all Americans stop working at age sixty-five or seventy and retire. Because work is such an important part of life in this culture, retirement can be very difficult. Retirees often feel that they are useless and unproductive. Of course, some people are happy to retire; but leaving one’s job, whatever it is, is a difficult change, even for those who look forward to retiring. Many retirees do not know how to use their time or they feel lost without their jobs. Retirements can also bring financial problems. Many people rely on Social Security checks every month. During their working years, employees contribute a certain percentage of their salaries to the government. Each employer also gives a certain percentage to the government. When people retire, they receive this money as income. These checks do not provide enough money to live on, however, because prices are increasing very rapidly. Senior citizens, those over sixty-five, have to have savings in the bank or other retirement plans to make ends meet. The rate of inflation(通货膨胀) is forcing prices higher each year; Social Security checks alone cannot cover these growing expenses. The government offers some assistance(补助), Medicare(health care)and welfare(general assistance), but many senior citizens have to change their life styles after retirement. They have to spend carefully to be sure that they can afford to buy food, fuel and other necessities.
Of course, many senior citizens are happy with retirement. They have time to spend with their families or enjoy their hobbies. Some continue to work part time, others do volunteer(志愿) work. Some, like those in the Retired Business Executives Association, even help young, people to get started in new business. Many retired citizens also belong to “Golden Age” groups. These organizations plan trips and social events. There are many chances for retirees.
American society is only beginning to be concerned about the special physical and emotional needs of its senior citizens. The government is taking steps to ease the problem of limited income. They are building new housing, offering discounts(折扣) in stores and museums and on buses, and providing other services such as free courses, food service, and help with housework. Retired citizens are a rapidly growing percentage of the population. This part of the population is very important and we must meet their needs. After all, every citizen will be a senior citizen some day.The author believes that work first became important to Americans because of _______.
| A．religion | B．economy | C．psychology | D．family |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．money and check | B．senior and junior |
| C．work and retirement | D．Protestants and Americans |
When Americans stop work, it’s difficult for them to _______.
| A．get Social Security checks | B．feel productive |
| C．enjoy themselves | D．be religious |
The author mentions _______ examples of the government' steps to ease the problem of limited income.
| A．two | B．four | C．five | D．three |
 |
Is a loved one missing some body parts? Is everyone at your dinner table of the same species? Humans and chimps（黑猩猩）differ in only 400 genes. And should that worry us ?Is it horrible for you thinking one fifth of all our genes are owned by someone else, or a person and his family may be hunted cross-country because they happen to have certain valuable genes? We live in a time of great scientific leaps! Next challenges our sense of reality, blending fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems. |
 |
The son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry. India. Planning a move to Canada, his family takes a ride on an enormous ship. After a shipwreck。Pi finds himself in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a hyena（鬣狗）, a orangutan（猩猩）, and a tiger named Richard Parker It sounds like a colorful setup. But these wild animals don’t burst into song as in the Disney cartoons. All want to survive, however Pi finds himself the weakest one of all. After much infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat’s only passengers. Pi is left to survive for 227 days through waters with his large dangerous companion, using all his knowledge, wits and faith. |
 |
Five people you meet in heaven When a lonely and elderly man dies in an accident, he awakens in an unfamiliar place called Heaven where five people, some strangers, some loved ones, take him on a clear journey through his life. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal（揭示）, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie learns “lessons”, finds out why certain events happened in his physical life, and understands the meaning of his own life. The book explores the unexpected mysteries of the afterlife by reminding us what really matters here on earth |
 |
Marley＆Me：life and love with the world’s worst dog Job and Jenny were just beginning their life together They brought home Marley, a yellow fur-ball of a dog Life would never be the same. Marley crashed through doors, and ate nearly everything he could get his mouth around. However, just as he refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. He shard the couple’s joy and heartbreak. He was there whenever the couple needs help Marley＆Me is so much more than the story of a lovable dog；it’s the story of a family. Toward the end of book, Grogan speaks of the life lessons-loyalty, courage, devotion, simplicity, joy-that Marley taught him. |
1. What does the underlined word “blending” in the first hook introduction mean_________.
A. ruin B. break C. combine D. attempt
2. What happened to the survivors on the life boat according to the introduction?
A. Pi managed to kill those animals and finally survived
B. They worked hand in hand to get through the sea
C. They had to fight against one another in order to survive
D. Richard Parker killed other animals but was killed by Pi.
3. Five People You Meet in Heaven tells an old man’s experience in Heaven in order to reveal___.
A. the existence of Heave B. the mystery of death
C. human’s future life D. the true meaning of life
4. Who is Grogan most probably according to the introduction?
A. The author of Marley＆Me B. A friend of John and Jenny
C. An expert taming dogs. D. The previous owner of the dog
People and the sources of air pollution are found in the same places. This means that cities with large populations have the biggest problem of dirty air. Air pollution is caused by many different things. A major source of air pollution is the gas fumes from cars. Statistics show that 93 percent of all auto trips are within cities. Another major source of dirty air is the burning of coal and oil for energy. This energy is needed to make electricity. Of course, much more electricity is used in the city than in the country.
On the average, we throw away more trash and garbage than the year before. The burning of garbage contributes to air pollution. Many major industries are also responsible for the dirty air in the around cities. The fumes from iron, steel, chemical, and petroleum production add particles to the air.
The effects of air pollution range from mild headaches to death. The levels of pollution found in heavy for traffic may cause headaches for loss of clear vision. Wherever coal and oil are used for fuel, fumes may kill trees and plants and cause metal to corrode. In some of the larger cities, these fumes endanger the live of human beings by contributing to lung diseases and causing early death.
15．The key point of the passage is that _________.
A. the cause of air pollution is people
B. the causes and the effects of air pollution are both found in cities
C. the effects of air pollution range from headaches to death
D. air pollution is caused by dirty air
16．What is the purpose of this passage?
A. to persuade people to stop polluting the air
B. to tell the causes of air pollution
C. to tell why cities are bad places to live
D. to describe why cities are bad places to live
17. Why is air pollution more grave in the city than in the country?
A. Because there larger populations in cities.
B. Because the air in the city is dirty.
C. Because there are more cars in the city.
D. Because there are much more gas fumes from cars and burning of coal and oil for energy
in the city than in the country.
18．The fumes from coal and oil may cause metal ______.
A. to turn black B. to become rusty
C. to corrode D. to twist
19. In larger cities, the fumes from coal and oil may contribute to ___________.
A. heart disease B. lung diseases
C. loss of clear vision D. serious headache
Georgia was waking up to a new president Monday but it was also getting as its first lady a greeneyed linguist from Holland who has already managed to cast a spell over the little Caucasus nation. Sandra Roelofs is seen by some as the secret weapon which enables her husband Saakashvili to win in this presidential election.
She runs an investment consultancy（投资咨询公司）, speaks six languages and some believe she is the real brains behind her husband’s rise to power.
Roelofs, who is a year younger than her husband, met him in 1993 when he was studying an international law programme in Strasbourg, France. She planed to go from there to Somalis as an aid worker but Saakashvili persuaded her to go with him instead to New York, where he had got a scholarship. They married soon after and when Saakashvili returned to his native Georgia to begin a career in politics, she went with him.
She has enchanted(使人心醉) many of her adopted countrymen. The mention of her name sends women swooning（神魂颠倒）, and melts the tough expressions of strong Georgian men.“You can really tell that she cares about people,” says a resident of the capital, Tbilisi.“She runs a hunitarian organization. She is smart and pretty and kind and did you hear the way she speaks Georgian? Perfectly!”
The new first lady’s looks and intelligence play a large part in her appeal. But Georgians are especially taken by her simple manner. She has said that she plans to keep living in the family’s modest flat, even though they have the right to move into a luxurious government residence. “She doesn’t care about fancy houses and cars.” said Malika, a 29yearold civil servant in Tbilisi.
11. The underlined part “cast a spell over” means_________.
A. cast a shadow over B. attract
C. love D. respect
12. Which of the following can be best used to describe Sandra Roelofs?
A. Proud. B. Hardworking. C. Charming. D. Humble.
13.What moves Georgians most is that Sandra Roelofs is very ________.
A. pretty B. modest C. intelligent D. plain
14. Which is the right order in which Sandra Roelofs did the following?
a. Roelofs married Saakashvili.
b. She planned to go from France to Somalis as an aid worker.
c. Roelofs runs an investment consultancy.
d. Roelofs came from Holland.
e. Roelofs went to Georgia with Saakashvili.
A. daecb B. dabec
C. abecd D. dbaec
Faces, like fingerprints, are unique. Did you ever wonder how it is possible for us to recognize people? Even a skilled writer probably could not describe all the features that make one face different from another. Yet a very young child --- or even an animal, such as a pigeon --- can learn to recognize faces. We all take this ability for granted. We also tell people apart by how they behave. When we talk about someone’s personality, we mean the ways in which he or she acts, speaks, thinks and feels that make that individual different from others.
Like the human face, human personality is very complex. But describing someone’s personality in words is somewhat easier than describing his face. If you were asked to describe what a nice face looked like, you probably would have a difficult time doing so. But if you w
ere asked to describe a nice person, you might begin to think about someone who was kind, considerate, friendly, warm, and so forth.
There are many words to describe how a person thinks, feels and acts. Gordon, an American psychologist, found nearly 18,000 English words characterizing differences in people’s behavior. And many of us use this information as a basis for describing, or typing his personality.
Bookworms, conservatives（保守派）, military（军人或军事的）types --- people are described with such terms. People have always tried to type each other. Actors in early Greek drama wore masks to show the audience whether they played the villain’s or the hero’s role. In fact, the words “person” and “personality” come from the Latin persona, meaning mask. Today, most television and movie actors do not wear masks. But we can easily tell the good guys from the bad guys because the two types differ in appearance as well as in actions.
6.The passage tells the readers ______.
A. how to describe people’s faces
B. how to describe p
eople’s personality
C. how to differ good persons from bad ones
D. how to describe people both inward and outward
7. What is the possible role of the writer?
A. Psychologist B. Behaviorist C. Writer D. Sociologist
8. Which of the following is incorrect?
A. Different people may have different personalities.
B. People differ from each in appearance.
C. People can describe all the features of others.
D. People can learn to recognize faces.
9. It is easier to describe a person’s personality in words than his face because ______.
A. a person’s face is more complex than his personality
B. a person’s personality is easily distinguished
C. people’s personalities are very alike
D. many words are available when people try to describe one’s personality
10. People classify a person into certain type according to ______.
A. his way of acting and thinking
B. his way of speaking and behaving
C. his learning and behavior
D. his physical appearance and his personality
When one looks back upon the fifteen hundred years that are the life span of the English language, he should be able to notice a number of significant truths. The history of our language has always been a history of constant change—at times a slow, almost imperceptible change, at other times a violent collision between two languages. Our language has always been a living growing organism, it has never been static. Another significant truth that emerges from such a study is that language at all times has been the possession not of one class or group but of many. At one extreme it has been the property of the common, ignorant folk, who have used it in the daily business of their living, much as they have used their animals or the kitchen pots and pans. At the other extreme it has been the treasure of those who have respected it as an instrument and a sign of civilization, and who have struggled by writing it down to give it some permanence, order, dignity, and if possible, a little beauty.
As we consider our changing language, we should note here two developments that are of special and immediate importance to us. One is that since the time of the Anglo-Saxons there has been an almost complete reversal of the different devices for showing the relationship of words in a sentence. Anglo-Saxon (old English) was a language of many inflections. Modern English has few inflections. We must now depend largely on word order and function words to convey the meanings that the older language did by means of changes in the forms of words. Function words, you should understand, are words such as prepositions, conjunctions, and a few others that are used primarily to show relationships among other words. A few inflections, however, have survived. And when some word inflections come into conflict with word order, there may be trouble for the users of the language, as we shall see later when we turn our attention to such maters as WHO or WHOM and ME or I. The second fact we must consider is that as language itself changes, our attitudes toward language forms change also. The eighteenth century, for example, produced from various sources a tendency to fix the language into patterns not always set in and grew, until at the present time there is a strong tendency to restudy and re-evaluate language practices in terms of the ways in which people speak and write.
1．In contrast to the earlier linguists, at present, more and more attention is paid to_________.
A. the standardization of the language
B. language practices in terms of current speech rather than standards or proper patterns
C. the improvement of the language than its history
D. the rules of the language usage
2．From the study we know that language is ________.
A. a possession of upper class.
B. a possession of lower class.
C. a possession of the whole society.
D. the only property of those who treasure it much.
3．Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. It is generally believed that the year 1500 can be set as the beginning of the Modern English.
B. Some other languages had great influence on the English language in its development.
C. The English language has been and still in a state of relatively constant change.
D. Many classes or groups have contributed to the development of the English language.
4．The author of these paragraphs is probably a(an) _________.
A. writer specially interested in English
B. person who pays much attention to people of lower classs
C. teacher who teaches the English language
D. expert in studying languages
5．Which of the following can be best used as the title of the passage?
A. The history of the English language.
B. Our changing attitude towards the English language.
C. Our changing language.
D. Some characteristics of modern English.
粤公网安备 44130202000953号