Shanghai: Car rentals（出租） are becoming more and more popular as an inexpensive way of taking to the roads. Business people, foreigners and families alike are making good use of the growing industry.
The first car rental firm opened in Shanghai in 1992 and now 12 car rental players are in the game, with more than 11,500 cars in their books.
The largest player - Shanghai Bashi Tourism Car Rental Center offers a wide variety of choices - deluxe sedans, minivans, station wagons, coaches. Santana sedans are the big favorite.
Firms can attract enough customers for 70 percent of their cars every month. This figure shoots up during holiday seasons like National Day, Labor Day and New Year's Day, with some recording 100 percent rental.
The major market force rests in the growing population of white-collar employees （白领雇员）, who can afford the new service, said Zhuang Yu, marketing manager of Shanghai Angel Car Rental Co.
56. The words "deluxe sedans, minivans" and "station wagons" used in the text refer to ______.
A. cars in the making B. car rental firms C. cars for rent D. car makers
57. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
A.70% of the cars can be rented out on holiday.
B. 70% of the customers are white-collar employees.
C. More firms are open for service during holiday seasons.
D. Some firms rent out all their cars during holiday seasons.
58. Shanghai's car rental industry is growing so fast mainly due to ______.
A. better cars supplied by producer
B. fast service offered by car rental firms
C. the increasing number of white-collar employees
D. People's growing interest in travelling during holidays
Ryan and Lowry had been friends since high school， but it wasn’t until after college that they hit on the idea of a home-care-products company．“We were shocked to learn how toxic cleaning products were” says Ryan．Why couldn’t they create green products that would be just as environmentally pure as Aveda’s skin-and-hair-care lines?
When Ryan’s mom heard about the plan，she stared at him blankly: “I’ve never even seen you clean your room!” Not discouraged，Lowry experimented with nontoxic ways to clean while Ryan focused on marketing．In February 2001，they mixed their first four cleaning sprays and convinced the managers of 20 grocers to try them· Once they had their approval，they tapped friends and family and pooled their savings to come up with $90，000 in seed money．
From the start，“Go big or go home’’ was their mantra(口头禅)．Their first financing— that $l million—was due to be signed on September 11, 2001. By the time they got it, two months
later，says Ryan, "we had$16 in the bank and personally owed$300,000.”
Seeking a national retailer(零售商)proved just as troublesome．The friends set their sights on Target，known for its trendy，affordable goods．“But Target didn’t like the product or the brand，”recalled Ryan．“We thought the deal was dead，but then a new buyer saw that even though we weren’t selling big volumes, we were profitable, just on a smaller scale．”They won over Target．
Consumers were hooked on the natural things and wonderful fragrance. T
oday, the partners sell 130 products in more than 8,000 stores，and taxes are over$100 million. Such rapid growth has at times stressed the men’s friendship. “Eric and I agree on ‘what’ but never on ‘how，’ says Lowry． “Although we are willing to challenge each other，we come up with interesting and smarter solutions．There’s little fire and ice between us.”The underlined word “toxic” in Paragraph 1 most probably means——·
| A．poisonous | B．dirty | C．expensive | D．troublesome |
When Ryan told his mom his plan, ___________.
| A．he knew his mom was sure to support him |
| B．his mom asked him to clean his room |
| C．his mom suspected his ability |
| D．he was discouraged by his mom |
We can learn from the third paragraph that ___________．
| A．Ryan and Lowry wanted to give up and go home at first |
| B．their plan didn’t go smoothly at the very beginning |
| C．they made profit two months later after their first financing |
| D．$1 million was not enough as their seed money |
The partners’ cleaning products are sold very well because_________．
| A．the products are made of natural material and smell nice |
| B．their friends and family offered to use their products |
| C．they cooperated with a well—known national retailer |
| D．they convinced 20 grocer managers to try them |
It can be inferred from the passage that___________．
| A．Aveda’s skin-and-hair-care lines are not so successful as Ryan and Lowry’s |
| B．Target is a famous environment-friendly cleaning brand |
| C．The friends "cooperation with Target was very successful |
| D．The partners get on well with each other in their business |
Some couples spend every waking minute together. Others fill their hours with personal hobbies,outside interests and even part-time jobs, just to keep their distance from each other! "There should be private time and couple time," suggests Dr. Stephen Treat at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia."You don't want your latter years to turn into a process where two people unite as one. If you hold too tightly to your partner, it's going to cause resentment and anger. If you're completely separate, you'll both be lonely and disconnected. You need balance. So you have to talk about how you'll achieve that."
The right balance? It's different for every couple. "Having a conversation about time can be difficult,but it's important for both partners to process those feelings out loud," Dr. Treat says. "You should not be accusing and act as a judge—ask the difficult questions, but do it in a loving way. You could say something like, 'How are we going to be as individuals and how are we going to be as a couple?' "
Barbara and Chris Christensen have achieved the balance that works for them. In addition to daily routines that keep them close—including about 10 minutes for a daily check-in and about a half hour of relaxation time—they each maintain separate interests and friendships.
"We have found that we need time apart," Barbara says. "I have a group of women friends that I have known for the last 30 years. We have dinner out once a month. We women also have parties and weekend or weeklong vacations as a group at a beach or somewhere. Chris, a former fighter pilot, has many aviation-oriented(航空的) groups and friends and also a poker-playing group of our friends. I may be with him during the poker night, but I don't play, and the wives usually watch a chick flick' DVD or something while the poker group has an evening of fun. We have found it important to have separate time as well as together time."The author writes the passage to ______.
| A．offer some suggestions on how to spend the time after retirement |
| B．advise couples to develop their separate hobbies |
| C．warn couples not to be accusing each other |
| D．give people some advice on how to entertain themselves after retirement |
Dr. Stephen suggests that _________after retirement.
A．couples s tay together all the time |
| B．couples express their feelings in a loving way |
| C．couples be separate |
| D．wives make many friends |
It can be inferred that________.
| A．many couples are faced with problems after retirement |
| B．America has a large population of retired people |
| C．most people join various social groups after retirement |
| D．playing poker is a popular activity among retired people |
Barbara and her friends do the following EXCEPT_______.
| A．having dinner regularly |
| B．holding parties |
| C．having weekly vacations at the beach |
| D．having fun playing poker |
The second paragraph is mainly intended to_______.
| A．warn the husband not to act as a judge |
| B．suggest couples have discussions about difficulties |
| C．suggest how to keep the correct balance |
| D．require couples to be considerate |
I used to work in an office, which had a Iocust tree growing outside the window. It had
grown into a tall tree and must have been there for a long time. The tree blocked the view and made the office seem dull. Unfortunately, this happened to be the room assigned to me, and l was dep
ressed by it for quite some time.
When the first spring came, everything was green except the locust tree.I felt very happy because I had thought it had died!
One morning, when I opened the window for some fresh air, I unexpectedly smelt a familiar sweet scent floating into my office which I could not name. Suddenly,I realized it was the locust tree!The tree that I thought dead was in full bloom!
From then on, I usually came to the office very early to see dew forming on the locust tree blossoms, and was eager to see spring again every year.
During summer, the green leaves provided shade protecting me from the harsh sunlight, but allowing enough light in to make it pleasant. In autumn, the leaves turned many different colors. Its beauty touched my soul. Many times, I thought to take photos but never did. Then, I had to leave in a hurry. Later in life, it became a great regret that I had not done so.
Actually, many times in our lives we think we own something and thus do not value it. We don't feel regretful until we lose it one day! Moreover, sometimes, we have to accept the things we don't want and need to discover the hidden beauty to find unexpected joy! The locust tree first attracted the author most by____.
| A．the way it blocked the view | B．its height |
| C．the smell of its flowers | D．its green leaves |
In which season do you think the author paid the least attention to the locust tree?
| A．Spring. | B．Summer | C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
Which of the following statements is true of the author according to the passage?
| A．He would have regretted if the locust tree had died as he had thought it had. |
| B．The locust tree turned out to be a lovely memory for him. |
| C．He felt unhappy as he had forgotten to take the photos with him. |
| D．His work in the office changed with the seasons every year. |
It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
| A．the locust tree died soon after the author left the office |
| B．the author worked in the office for at least a few years |
| C．it was summer when the author took his job in the office |
| D．the weather was dry when the author first saw the tree |
What advice does the author intend to give us?
| A．Treasure what we've owned. | B．Look before you leap. |
| C．Treat everything calmly. | D．Never forget the past. |
BEIJING---The Beijing government has set out to recruit thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city's employment problems.
The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year, 1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas.
People interested in jobs in Beijing's rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www. bjbys, com from February 1 through March 15.
"We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers," Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency.
The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan( $ 250) in the first year, 2,500 yuan ($ 320) the second year and 3,000 yuan ($ 385) the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards, Sun said.
Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside. After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Beijing’s Pinggu District. For one project, Wang contacted people at the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting. Her efforts paid off. The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year.
Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education.
The ministry predicts that 4．95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year. About 1.4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate.
In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year. Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to the personnel bureau.The underlined word "recruit "in the first paragraph probably means_____________.
| A．force | B．employ | C．encourage | D．train |
From the story of Wang Lina we can learn that________________.
| A．the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful. |
| B．local farmers can get big harvests if they learn more knowledge. |
| C．university graduates can also realize their value in rural areas. |
| D．Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers planting organic strawberries. |
The last two paragraphs aim to tell us that________________.
| A．more and more graduates will work as junior officials |
| B．the universities should not have so many students |
| C．there are more and more graduates in recent years |
| D．it is not easy for graduates to find jobs nowadays |
Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A．Job hunting for university graduates. |
| B．Go to the countryside. |
| C．What is the best career? |
| D．A good choice for university graduates. |
Besides calling 911, here is what to do in some life-threatening emergencies when no oneis
|
around to help.
Lost in the wildernessFirst, you’ve got to acknowledge you’re in trouble. Stay where
you can be seen clearly and remember to rest. Keeping a sense
of humor helps too—it reduces stress and helps creative thinking.
In a wide open area, make a colorful cross out of rocks to show
your present position.
|
Choking
Aim to hit the top of the chair against your stomach, in the soft partbelow the bony upside-down V of the ribs（肋骨）. Make a sudden
push against the chair. If you still can’t breathe after six tries, call 911,
even if you can’t talk. Write the word choking somewhere nearby, and
leave the line open until help arrives.
|
Severe bleeding
Use your hand or clean cotton, or paper towels, or a scarf,or any cloth you can find, and push down on the wound
until the bleeding stops. But if you put a band around
your leg tightly, you’re going to close the vessels（血管）
to the entire leg. In this way, you could lose your foot.
Bear attack
|
If you surprise a bear, don’t run away. That invites an attack.
Instead, stand up and back away slowly, without looking thebear in the eyes. If it does charge at you, stick out your chest,
raise your arms, and spread your legs. Shout at the bear, to
frighten it. If it’s going to attack, lie facedown, with your hands
held firmly behind your neck. Play dead until you’re sure the bear
is gone.
| A．someone is bleeding | B．someone is choking |
| C．someone is lost | D．someone is attacked by a bear |
If you are still choking after six tries, you should .
| A．keep a sense of humor | B．call 911 and leave the line open |
| C．use your hand our clean cotton | D．lie down with your hands behind your neck |
Don’t tie around your bleeding leg tightly, or you could .
| A．stop bleeding | B．reduce stress |
| C．lose your foot | D．cause breathlessness |
The passage is mainly teaching us how to .
| A．survive the emergencies | B．avoid a bear attack |
| C．deal with a choke | D．find our way |
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