Zoe Cha
mbers was a successful PR (Public Relations) consultant (顾问) and life was going well—she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. “The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through,” she said. “After everything I’d done for the company, they dismissed me by text
! I was so angry and I just didn’t feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life.”
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in northwest Wales. Zoë jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm.
“The moment I arrived at Kathy’s farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay,”said Zoe.“Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless.”
Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. “It’s a hard life, physically very tiring,” she says.“In London I was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy’s wonderful dinners.”
Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing—watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says,“It’s one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had. I could never go back to city life now.”
When she worked as a PR consultant in London, Zoë thought she lived a life.
| A．meaningless | B．tough | C．boring | D．satisfying |
The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy’s farm is that .
| A．Kathy persuaded her to do so | B．Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant |
| C．Zoe got tired of the city life | D．Zoe loved Wales more than London |
How does Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage?
| A．Physically tiring but rewarding. | B．Romantic and peaceful. |
| C．Mentally exhausting but healthy. | D．Tiresome and troublesome |
Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. | B．A misfortune may turn out a blessing. |
| C．Kill two birds with one stone. | D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
Traditional fairytales are being abandoned by parents because they are too scary for their young children, a study found.
Research revealed one in five parents has ditched old classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rapunzel in favour of more modern books. One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the horrible details of Little Red Riding Hood. And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplestiltskin to their kids as the themes of the story are kidnapping and execution. Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it forgives stealing.
The survey of 2,000 adults was conducted to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM, which starts tonight at 9 p.m. on Watch, and sees six episodes(片段) based on traditional fairytales. The poll found a quarter of parents polled wouldn’t consider reading a fairytale to their child until they had reached the age of five, as they prompt too many awkward questions from their offspring(后代子孙).
Steve Hornsey, General Manager of Watch, said: “Bedtime stories are supposed to soothe children and send them off to sleep soundly. But as we see in GRIMM, fairytales can be dark and dramatic tales so it’s understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children.”
“As adults we can see the innocence in fairytales, but a five year old with an over active imagination could take things too seriously. Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales, as we see in GRIMM, good will triumph over evil and there is always a moral to the story.”
The study also found two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares.
However, half of parents said traditional tales are more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids’ books, such as The Gruffalo, The Hungary Caterpillar and the Mr. Men books.Why don’t some parents want to read Rumplestiltskin to their kids?
| A．Rumplestiltskin is too long. |
| B．Rumplestiltskin is too difficult. |
| C．Rumplestiltskin forgives stealing. |
| D．Rumplestiltskin may influence Children badly. |
We can learn from paragraph 3 that Grimm is ___________.
| A．a fairytales book |
| B．a movie for children |
| C．a play loved by children |
| D．a drama based on traditional fairytales |
The underlined word “soothe “in paragraph4 can be replaced by___________.
| A．put down | B．calm down | C．take down | D．come down |
What’s the author’s attitude towards traditional fairytales?
| A．Optimistic | B．Not mentioned |
| C．Casual | D．Disapproving |
Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research—the mapping of all DNA in a human gene（基因） is complete．Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish．All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away．Human cloning has always been a topic of argument, in terms of morality or religion．
Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning．If the clone was free of genetic limitations．then the other clone would be as well．The latter could foe inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term．Moreover, cloning would enable women, who can't get pregnant, to have children of their own．
Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs．This, surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single （or more） organ （s）．It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists．
Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side．Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal "cycle" of life．There would be a large number of same genes, which reduce the chances of improvement, and, in turn, development—the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment．Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance．Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappear．Thus, leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes and, chances are, that those individuals would be regarded as "objects" rather than people in the society．
Scientists haven't 100 per cent．guaranteed that the first cloned humans will be normal．Thus this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human "gene-pool"．
Regarding such arguable topics in "black or white" approach seems very innocent to me personally．We should rather try to look at all "shades" of it．I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs; not humans．Then we could regard this as for "saving life" instead of "creating life"．I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Genetic limitation will be beneficial for some women |
| B．A large number of genes will prevent us from developing |
| C．Prohibition of cloning might limit the freedom of scientists |
| D．First cloned humans might be normal according to scientists |
What's the author's opinion on cloning?
| A．Cloning should be entirely banned． |
| B．Cloning should be used in creating life． |
| C．Cloning will take away the right to reproduce． |
| D．Cloning is acceptable if it is used for cloning organs． |
Where can you read this article?
| A．In a story book |
| B．In a magazine |
| C．In a science fiction |
| D．In a brochure |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills （泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
Of all of today's environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run.
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power （太阳能） , electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world's millions of cars were 10% more efficient （高效的）—and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient，we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．What is the passage mainly talking about?
| A．Oil spills pollution． | B．What oil pollution is |
| C．Oil tanker accidents. | D．How to reduce oil pollution |
How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?
| A．By giving a description． | B．By making an argument |
| C．By giving an example． | D．By drawing a diagram |
What does the underlined word "risk" in Paragraph 5 refer to?
| A．Transportation depending more on oil |
| B．Poisonous oil breaking down naturally |
| C．Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea |
| D．More environmental damage being caused |
Which suggestion, is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?
| A．We should build safer tankers in the near future |
| B．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use |
| C．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines |
| D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea |
Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to participate in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to showcase the image of the host country and city. The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China．
I．Basic Requirements for Volunteers
● Be willing to participate in voluntary services of Expo 2010;
● Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30, 1992 and Expo City Voluntary Service Station volunteers before April 30, 1994;
● Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;
● Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;
● Possess necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;
● Be in good health to meet the requirements of corresponding voluntary positions．
II．Further Information for Volunteers
● Source
Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers．
● Signup methods
Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup．They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations．
● Time
May 1 - December 31, 2009
Ⅲ．Volunteer Training
Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training．General training is carried out through internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice．
IV．Volunteer Types
● Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and．volunteer management．
● Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo's information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site．They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid．If you were born in April 1993, where can you be a volunteer?
| A．In the Expo City． | B．In the host country |
| C．In the Expo Site． | D．In Chinese mainland |
Which of the training will be done on the Internet?
| A．Position training． | B．General training |
| C．Classroom training． | D．Special training |
Which of the following service is offered by information booth volunteers?
| A．Visitor flow management． | B．Helping the disabled |
| C．Assistance in media service． | D．Emergency First aid |
Shopping in the United States changes a lot．About ninety years ago most people shopped in small stores that were owned by one person or a family．Women went from the bakery to the butcher's to the grocer and on to the fruit and vegetable seller in order to get their food for the week．
Then about sixty years ago, supermarkets were born．In a supermarket, people could get all the different kinds of food they needed without going to different stores．
The next big change in shopping in the United States was the shopping mall．A shopping mall is a group of stores under one roof．Because malls allowed people to shop without worrying about the weather, they soon became very popular．The mall became a place for people to socialize in addition to shopping．If you walk through a mall, you will see older people sitting, chatting and drinking coffee．Malls are places for teenagers to hang out．Many teens will often just "go to the mall" and spend time with their friends．
The recent change in American shopping was the superstore．Large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Toys "R" Us have been built all across the United States．Because they are so large, they can buy goods at a great discount and sell them much cheaper than smaller stores．
Sometimes, when they are built near small towns, many of the small town stores have to close．They just cannot compete with their giant neighbors．
And now, online shopping is becoming more and more popular all over the States．People are too busy to go to the physical stores, so they go shopping over the Internet．Online shopping has lots of advantages．For instance, online stores are usually available 24 hours a day．Searching or browsing online shops can be faster than browsing the physical stores．While, online shopping also has its disadvantages．People are at higher risk of being cheated on the part of the merchant than in a physical store．And privacy of personal information may be let out．Which of the following shows the right order of shopping development in the United States?
①small stores ②superstores ③shopping malls ④shopping online ⑤supermarkets
| A．①②③④⑤ | B．①⑤②③④ |
| C．①⑤③②④ | D．②③④①⑤ |
Which is the place for people to spend time with others according to the passage?
| A．Shopping malls | B．Small stores |
| C．Supermarkets | D．Superstores |
Why can the superstores sell products at much lower prices?
| A．Because they are built near small towns． |
| B．Because they are across the United States． |
| C．Because they sell all kinds of products people need． |
| D．Because they can buy goods at a reduction in the price． |
What's the disadvantage of online shopping according to the passage?
| A．Wasting time． | B．Leaking personal information． |
| C．Fixed prices． | D．No chance to do physical activities |
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