I chose to study in Madrid because I had a desire to learn Spanish. My first impressions of Madrid were incredible. It was before the New Year that I arrived in Madrid for the first time. While traveling to my Spanish friend’s house in a taxi, I appreciated the buildings along the road which were different from those of my own country.
There are an incredible number of restaurants and bars from all over the world. If you are really into sightseeing, I hope you have rechargeable batteries for your digital camera, because one week really isn’t enough time to see everything here including a number of art, science, and historical museums as well as parks, buildings, and amazing landscapes.
What I liked best about life in Madrid was the fact that if you were frustrated with schoolwork and wanted to have some fun, you can easily go out. The nightlife never seems to stop and the people are all very friendly. You can meet people and practice Spanish while having fun at the same time.
What I liked least was the fact that many people smoked in the streets. Also, coming from the US, I was used to having a big breakfast every morning, but while living with an actual Spanish family, I wasn’t really satisfied with the food in the morning.
I think I have definitely become more independent since I came back from Spain. Living in a big city like Madrid I found that it is necessary to plan ahead and to make a schedule for future. There is so much to see, not just in the Spanish World, but in the European World as well.
56. What’s the purpose of the text?
A. To attract people to tour around Madrid.
B. To show how to enjoy Spanish culture.
To give advice on how to study Spanish.
D. To describe the author’s life in Madrid.
57. Why did the author suggest taking rechargeable batteries?
A. It’s difficult to deal with the used batteries.
B. It’s not convenient to recharge batteries. There are few stores that sell ordinary batteries.
D. You will find lots of places worth taking pictures of.
58. Which of the following in Madrid didn’t please the author?
A. Parks and buildings. B. Restaurants and bars.
Nightlife. D. Breakfast.
Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels, yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know, however, that they existed over 5,500 years ago in ancient Asia.
The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in Slovenia. It is over 5,100 years old. Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while, though. This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around. But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces, roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually, road surfaces did become smoother, but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.
In the mid-1700s, a Frenchman came up with a new design of road — a base layer (层) of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones. A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong, lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same time, metal hubs (the central part of a wheel) came into being, followed by the pneumatic type (充气轮胎） in 1846.Alloy wheels were invented in 1967, sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads (柏油路). As wheel design took off, vehicles got faster and faster.What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?
| A．Few knew how to use transport wheels. |
| B．Humans carried farming tools just as well. |
| C．Animals were a good means of transport. |
| D．The existence of transport wheels was not known. |
What do we know about road design from the passage?
| A．It was easier than wheel design. |
| B．It improved after big changes in vehicle design. |
| C．It was promoted by fast-moving vehicles. |
| D．It provided conditions for wheel design to develop. |
How is the last paragraph mainly developed?
| A．By giving examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following time order. | D．By making classifications. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The beginning of road design. |
| B．The development of transport wheels. |
| C．The history of public transport |
| D．The invention of fast-moving vehicles. |
Mothers and daughters go through so much — yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother, Sheila Solomon Klass, both gifted professional writers, prove to be ideal co-writers as they examine their decades of motherhood, daughterhood, and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped (重叠).
Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother’s: both have full-time careers; both have published books, articles, and stories; each has three children; they both love to read. They also love to travel — in fact, they often take trips together. But in truth, the harder they look at their lives, the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature.
A child of the Depression (大萧条), Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a luxury for girls. Starting with her college education, she has fought for everything she’s ever accomplished. Perri, on the other hand, grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s. For Sheila, wasting time or money is a crime, and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury, but has not been successful in trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.
Each writing in her own unmistakable voice, Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains, the love and bitterness, the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together. Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork. Perri admits that she can’t sort out all the mess in the households, even though she knows it drives her mother crazy. Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working, admit long-hidden sorrows, and enjoy precious memories.
Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together, Perri and Sheila tell their mother-daughter story with honesty, humor, enthusiasm, and admiration for each other. A written account in two voices, Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet (二重奏) that produces a deep, strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother’s?
| A．They both have gone through difficult times. |
| B．They have strong emotional ties with each other. |
| C．They have the same joys and pains, and love and bitterness. |
| D．They both have experiences as daughter, mother and writer. |
The word “luxury” in Paragraph 3 means ______.
| A．something rare but not pleasant |
| B．something that cannot be imagined |
| C．something expensive but not necessary |
| D．something that can only be enjoyed by boys |
What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
| A．The content of the book. | B．The purpose of the book. |
| C．The influence of the book. | D．The writing style of the book. |
How are women’s lives explored in this book?
| A．In a musical form. | B．Through field research. |
| C．With unique writing skills. | D．From different points of view. |
I am Sergey Brin! I was born in Moscow. In 1979, when I was 5, my family immigrated to the United States. I remember that on my 9th birthday I got my first computer “Commodore 64”.
Later I graduated with honors in the University of Maryland in Mathematics and IT. The main field of my science research was the technologies used to collect data from unsystematic sources as well as large quantities of texts and science data. I was the author of dozens of articles in leading American academic magazines.
The greatest event in my life happened when in 1998 I was preparing for the defense（论文答辩）of my Doctor’s degree in Stanford University. There the fate made me meet Larry Page—a young computer genius. Larry belonged to the intellectual society. Larry and I quickly became friends when we worked together.
We were searching day and night on the Internet. We were finding a lot of information but with the feeling we still couldn’t find enough of what we were looking for. Naturally the idea for a search engine that would allow specific information to be found in the endless pool of data was born like it came to us. It wasn’t our plans but we gave up the education at the university. You know the next part, maybe we managed to turn an ordinary garage in Meplo Park, California, the U. S. A. into our first office, in which Google was born. With excitement we typed the name of the thing which we created with love on September 14th 1998—www. google.com. Now, after those years we bought this garage. As a symbol it will always remind us that everything is possible.Sergey Brin actually graduated from ＿＿＿.
| A．the University of Maryland | B．the University of Moscow |
| C．the University of California | D．Stanford University |
From the passage we know that Larry Page ______.
| A．was Brin’s important partner in starting Google |
| B．was born in a rich merchant family |
| C．was once a student in the University of Maryland |
| D．was a professor from Stanford University |
Which is the right order of what happened?
a. My family moved from Russia to the U. S. A.
b. I met Larry Page.
c. I was given a computer as a present on my 9th birthday.
d. Google was born in an ordinary garage in California.
A. c-a-b-d B. c-b-a-d C. a-c-b-d D. a-c-d-bWhich of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The History of Google | B．The Great Contribution of Google |
| C．The Great Success of Google | D．The Birth of Google |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The main field of my science research was computer. |
| B．I wrote many articles in leading American magazines. |
| C．Larry is one of my classmates. |
| D．When I was 5, I got my first computer “Commodore 64”. |
In 1939 two brothers, Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses for years, first a theater, then a barbecue（烤肉）restaurant, then another drive-in. But in their new operation, they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this small selection they added one new idea: quick service，no waiters or waitresses, and no tips.
Their hamburgers were sold for fifteen cents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity（一致性）, for the brothers had developed a strict routine（程序）for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cooks’ sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became surprisingly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundred during the busy noontime. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success until they met Ray Kroc.
Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954 when he was selling milkshake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the special attraction of the brothers’ fast-food restaurants and bought the right to franchise（特许经营）other copies of their restaurants. The agreement included the right to duplicate（复制） the menu, the equipment, even their red and white buildings the golden arches（拱门）.
Today McDonald’s is really a household name. In 1976, McDonald’s had over＄1 billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most surprising successes in modern American business history.
This passage mainly talks about ＿＿＿.
| A．the development of fast food services |
| B．how McDonald’s became a billion-dollar business |
| C．the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonald |
| D．Ray Kroc’s business talent |
Mac and Dick managed all of the following business except ＿＿＿.
| A．a drive-in | B．a theater |
| C．a cinema | D．a barbecue restaurant |
We may infer from this passage that ＿＿＿.
| A．Mac and Dick McDonald never became wealthy, for they sold their ideas to Kroc |
| B．the place the McDonald brothers chose was the only source of the great popularity of their drive-in |
| C．forty years ago there were lots of fast-food restaurants |
| D．Ray Kroc was a good businessman |
The passage suggests that ＿＿＿.
| A．creativity is an important element of business success |
| B．Ray Kroc was the close partner of the McDonald brothers |
| C．Mac and Dick McDonald became broken after they sold their ideas to Ray Kroc |
| D．California is the best place to go into business |
Which of the following statement is NOT true?
| A．Today McDonald’s is very popular in the world. |
| B．The first twenty-two years of McDonald’s is the most surprising success in American business history. |
| C．Mac and Dick McDonald were content with their business at first. |
| D．It is convenient to eat in a drive-in. |
Many American youngsters earn their own allowance（零花钱）by doing temporary jobs for their neighbors. Babysitting is one of the common of these jobs. Most couples do not have maids or relatives living with them, and they need to have someone watch the children if they want to go out.
Another way is by mowing lawn in summer and clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways in winter. Many people mow their own lawns，but often people prefer to give the job to a neighbor’s child. In winter, snow clearing from streets and highways is the government’s responsibility. Homeowners or tenants, however, must clear sidewalks and driveways. Since clearing snow is very tiring, many people prefer to hire teenagers for this job rather than do it themselves.
Besides, many American teenagers usually work two to three hours after school and all day on Saturday or Sunday at the local supermarket. They work as cashiers or stockroom clerks. Or they help customers carry things to their cars. Other favorite jobs are waiting on tables in restaurants or working part-time at stores or gas stations.
By earning their own allowance，teenagers acquire a feeling of independence and a sense of responsibility which prepares them for a productive life in society.What does “babysitting” mean in the first paragraph?
| A．Watching a baby when its parents are out. | B．Working as a maid. |
| C．Sitting with a baby. | D．Selling something. |
How do American youngsters earn their allowance? Which one is NOT one of the ways?
| A．By mowing lawn in summer. |
| B．By clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways in winter. |
| C．By working two to three hours after school and all day on Saturday or Sunday. |
| D．By doing some housework for the family. |
When it comes to clearing snow，what do many people like to do?
| A．Hire teenagers for this job rather than do it themselves |
| B．They do it themselves. |
| C．They hire their own children to do so |
| D．They don’t clean it at all. |
What is the advantage of youngsters earning allowance?
| A．They acquire a feeling of independence. |
| B．They acquire a sense of responsibility. |
| C．The actions prepare them for a productive life in society. |
| D．All of the above. |
Who will clear the snow on the streets?
| A．The inhabitants. | B．The neighbors |
| C．The government. | D．The police. |
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