Without any hesitation, he said, “I’d be better off dead.” Hearing those words come out of my best friend’s mouth tore my heart apart. He has repeated that phrase more than once, and my mind continually plays it over like a voice recording.
I met him about three years ago. After knowing me for six months, he told me about his struggles with depression. Sadness was not the only emotion that came over me; I was shocked. He seemed so outgoing and happy all the time. I soon learned that he was physically and emotionally abused as a young child, causing him to have suicidal thoughts.
He refuses to talk to others about his depression because he now distrusts adults, especially those in his family. Nevertheless, he feels as if I understand him and that I know the right words to speak. Therefore, when it comes to helping him, convenience is not in my vocabulary. It does not matter where I am or what I am doing, for he always comes first.
Many students at his school laugh at him when they notice scars on his arms from cutting. As he sees it, other kids have every right to make fun of him. But no one holds such a right, so I encourage him to ignore the heartless kids who treat him badly. When he feels the weight of judging eyes or hateful voices, I always remind him that I care about him unconditionally. Just hearing me say I will always be his best friend seems to give him the security he needs to keep on going.
My best friend once told me that if he had not had me, he would not be alive. He said that my encouraging words convinced him not to take his life. Our friendship has taught me that a single kind word can influence someone’s life. With the fragility of life as it is, I believe in the necessity of encouragement.According to the first paragraph, what the author’s friend said made the author feel ______.
| A．puzzled | B．heartbroken. | C．frightened | D．hopeless |
By saying “convenience is not in my vocabulary”, the author means ______.
| A．he is always ready to help his friend. |
| B．he hardly spares time to help his friend. |
| C．he has no good excuse for refusing his friend. |
| D．he is not good at communicating with his friend. |
From the passage we learn that the author’s friend ________.
| A．had a happy childhood but everything changed later |
| B．wanted to share his story but no one listened. |
| C．took it for granted that he was made fun of |
| D．was always of sad appearance |
What does the author learn from his experiences?
| A．How to make a big difference to others. |
| B．The importance of encouragement. |
| C．How to get rid of depression |
| D．The necessity of security |
Bruno was a boy of eight. His father worked in a cinema and his mother worked in a shop. He lived not far from his school. He always walked there and walked home. On his way to school, he had to pass a playground. It was very wet after it rained. One day, when he got home, his clothes were all wet. His mother became angry(生气的)and said, “Don’t play in the water on your way home from school!”
On the next day Bruno came home with wet and dirty(脏的)clothes. His mother became even angrier. “I’ll tell your father if you come back wet again,” said his mother. “He’ll punish(惩罚)You, you know.”
The third day the little boy was dry when he came home.
“You’re a good boy today”, his mother said happily. “You didn’t play in the water.”
“No,” the boy said unhappily. “There were too many older boys in the water when I got there this afternoon. There wasn’t any room(空地方)for me at all!”
根据文章内容选择正确答案Bruno went to school every day.
| A．by bike | B．by bus | C．by car | D．on foot |
The playground was between(在……之间) 。
| A．two classrooms | B．the cinema and shop |
| C．Bruno’s house and school | D．the shop and Bruno’s school |
The little boy liked to play on the playground .
| A．when it snowed |
| B．when there was some water there |
| C．when the children played football there |
| D．when his father was busy with his work |
54.Bruno was afraid of the most.
| A．his father | B．his mother | C．his teacher | D．the older boys |
That afternoon, the boy’s clothes were dry because .
| A．nobody made room（地方）for him in the water |
| B．there was no water on the playground |
| C．he took off his clothes before he played there |
| D．he played in the water carefully |
University is generally regarded as one of the most important times in a person’s life, yet the function of this institution continues to arouse debate. Many believe that arts subjects are too easy, that practical skills are more useful and that a chosen subject for study should be clearly linked to a career. However, this view is far too simplistic. Arts subjects are very difficult. They can prepare students for any number of careers as well as allowing the student to take time to make a decision. The function of the modern university is to cater to different types of student.
Arts subjects are not easy. For example, a degree in Literature is not an easy option. No question in a Literature class has a single, simple answer. Debate is conducted in a spirit of openness, texts are very closely analyzed and skills in close reading are developed. Literature is about language, our primary means of communication. Arts subjects require the same concentrated study as any other subject.
Arts subjects can prepare students for any number of careers. A degree in an arts subject teaches skills in well organized debates and defence of a position through the provision of evidence. These are applicable to many types of career. Law, for example. The point is that an undergraduate degree in any Arts subject trains the student in analysis and structure. Therefore, Arts graduates can pursue any number of careers.
Arts subjects allow the student to take time to choose a career. Love of the subject for its own sake may well be the initial motivation for the Arts undergraduate but because the subject they have chosen is not so clearly linked to a career they have time to reflect, making a decision only when they are absolutely certain. Students who pursue Arts subjects therefore have the leisure to make a carefully considered choice.
In conclusion, it is clear that Arts subjects are not a waste of time. They are flexible when it comes to relating them to a career and they allow the student to discover an appropriate career path. Many industries now acknowledge that a degree in Literature can be just as valuable as any other subject, especially when it is evident that Arts graduates tend to think more creatively. Not all undergraduates have clearly defined goals and not all subjects can be simply matched to a career. Acknowledging this difference should be the main function of a modern university What does the author mainly argue in this article?
| A．Universities should be aware of diversity | B．Universities should focus on practical courses. |
| C．Arts courses should be promoted. | D．Arts subjects are inappropriate for work. |
What does the author imply about universities’ attitude to students?
| A．They need to be more understanding of students’ needs. |
| B．They need to keep out arts students. |
| C．They need to link courses to careers. |
| D．They need to offer more arts courses. |
The author suggests that technical subjects ____________.
| A．are more important than arts subjects. | B．are more useful to the modern world. |
| C．have equal value to arts subjects. | D．are not as important as arts subjects. |
From the article, we know skills acquired by arts undergraduates include___________.
| A．Perception and investigation | B．Technique and motivation |
| C．Appreciation and dedication | D．Analysis and structure |
According to the author, the students choose arts courses initially because ___________.
| A．they are unsure about a career | B．they are interested in the subject |
| C．they hate technical subjects | D．they are creative people |
The months and years went by. I had been Joe’s apprentice for four years.
One evening, Joe and I were sitting in the village inn. A stranger came in, a big, tall man, with heavy eyebrows. The man had large, very clean white hands. To my surprise, I recognized the man. I had seen him at Miss Havisham’s many years before. He had frightened me then. He frightened me a little now.
‘I think there is a blacksmith here----name of Joe Gargery,’ the man said in his loud voice.
‘That’s me!’ Joe answered. He stood up.
‘You have an apprentice, known as Pip,’ the stranger went on. ‘Where is he? ’
‘Here!’ I cried, standing beside Joe.
‘I wish to speak to you both. I wish to speak to you privately, not here,’ the man said. ‘Perhaps I could go home with you.’
We walked back to the workshop in silence. When we were in the sitting room, the man began to speak.
‘My name is Jaggers,’ he said. ‘I am a lawyer in London, where I am well-known. I have some unusual business with young Pip here. I am speaking for someone else, you understand. A client who doesn’t want to be named. Is that clear?’
Joe and I nodded.
‘I have come to take your apprentice to London,’ the lawyer said to Joe. ‘You won’t stop him from coming I hope?’
‘Stop him? Never! ’ Joe cried.
‘Listen, then. I have this message for Pip. He has ---- great expectations!’
Joe and I looked at each other, too surprised to speak.
‘Yes, great expectations’ Mr. Jaggers repeated. ‘Pip will one day be rich, very rich. Pip is to change his way of life at once. He will no longer be a blacksmith. He is to come with me to London. He is to be educated as a gentleman. He will be a man of property.’
And so, at last, my dream had come true. Miss Havisham----because Mr. Jaggers’ client must be Miss Havisham----had plans for me after all. I would be rich and Estella would love me!
Mr. Jaggers was speaking again. ‘There are two conditions,’ he said, looking at me. ‘First, you will always be known as Pip. Secondly,’ Mr. Jaggers continued, ‘the name of your benefactor is to be kept secret. One day, that person will speak to you, face to face. Until then, you must not ask any questions. You must never try to find out this person’s name. Do you understand? Speak out!’
‘Yes, I understand,’ I answered. ‘My benefactor’s name is to remain a secret.’
‘Good,’ Mr. Jaggers said. ‘Now, Pip, you will come into your property when you come of age----when you are twenty-one. Until then, I am your guardian. I have money to pay for your education and to allow you to live as a gentleman. You will have a private teacher. His name is Mr. Matthew Pocket and you will stay at his house.’
I gave a cry of surprise. Some of Miss Havisham’s relations were called Pocket. Mr. Jaggers raised his eyebrows.
‘Do you not want to live with Mr. Pocket? Have you any objection to this arrangement?’ he said severely.
‘No, no, none at all,’ I answered quickly.
‘Good. Then I will arrange everything,’ Mr. Jaggers went on. ‘Mr. Pocket’s son has rooms in London. I suggest you go there. Now when can you come to London?’
I looked at Joe.
‘At once, if Joe has no objection,’ I said.
‘No objection, Pip old chap,’ Joe answered.
‘Then you will come in one week’s time,’ Mr. Jaggers said, standing up. ‘You will need new clothes. Here is some money to pay for them. Twenty guineas.’
He counted the money and put it on the table.
‘Well, Joe Gargery, you are saying nothing,’ Mr. Jaggers said to Joe firmly. ‘I have money to give to you too.’The underlined word “apprentice” in paragraph 1 means ____________.
| A．a very good friend and companion |
| B．someone who has no money but is very skilled at their job |
| C．a young person who is being trained for a particular job |
| D．a person with no education living with another family |
The author describes Mr. Jaggers as having ‘large, very clean white hands’ in order to ____________.
| A．show how Pip recalls Mr Jaggers |
| B．provide a description of Mr. Jaggers to the readers only |
| C．indicate that Mr. Jaggers remains indoors a lot and doesn’t get much sun |
| D．show Mr Jaggers often washes his hands to rid himself of his own bad deeds as a lawyer |
At the end of the passage above, Mr. Jaggers says he also has money to give Joe because ____________.
| A．he believes he can also help Joe become a gentleman |
| B．he is repaying money loaned to Joe previously by the benefactor |
| C．the secret benefactor wants Joe to be his personal blacksmith |
| D．Joe will have to hire a new worker |
Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
| A．Joe is happy that Pip will go to London. |
| B．Mr. Jaggers does not want other people to know he is a lawyer. |
| C．Pip hopes Miss Havisham will help him become a gentleman |
| D．Pip will become very rich when he comes of age. |
If someone has an accident in the afternoon, you should ____________.
| A．Phone 37499 | B．Ensure no one enters the danger area |
| C．Report to the Police station at J J Thomson Ave | D．Call an ambulance on 1-999 |
Where do you think you can find this notice?
| A．In the Assembly area | B．At the Fire station |
| C．At the University | D．At Turner Hospital |
Anytime you hear the fire alarm, you should _____________.
| A．go to the Assembly area | B．phone the Fire brigade on 37499 |
| C．use the red ‘break glass boxes’ | D．make sure the fire alarms aren’t being tested |
All writers dream of success. Yet some writers turn their back on success the moment it comes along. J.D. Salinger, the American author, is a good example.
On the face of it, the future did not look promising for the teenage Salinger. He seems always to have been running away from something. First it was school, then he dropped out of New York University. Finally, after failing to find a career in his father’s food import business and dropping out of yet another college he decided that his destiny was to be a writer. In the same year he joined a writing class at Columbia University which was taught by Whit Burnett, founder and editor of a magazine called Story. The March-April issue contained a story written by Salinger entitled ‘The Young Folks’. In it there are early versions of the moody, selfish youths that appear in his later fiction. Soon, his stories were appearing in various mass-circulation magazines but it was the famous New Yorker which he dreamed of, believing that publication within its covers would indicate his future potential as a serious writer.
Salinger has a huge reputation around the world yet it rests mainly on just one novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Published in 1951, it soon became highly popular with teenagers who identified with the hero’s powerful sense of dissatisfaction. Its success made Salinger a public figure. Most writers, of course, would welcome this. Salinger, however, hated it and refused it. He moved to a small house in Cornish, New Hampshire, where he lived away from society until his death in 2010 at the age of 91.
For Salinger, fame and artistic honesty were not the same thing. Some people become writers because they wish their works to speak for themselves. Salinger appears to have been disgusted by the idea that he had become the spokesman for a generation. In death he has perhaps achieved his highest goal: to be out of the spotlight, represented only by his work.According to the article, J.D. Salinger is an example of _____________.
A. a selfish and moody youth B. a serious writer who hates fame
C. a famous American author D. someone who lives away from society Salinger’s career as a writer improved greatly and his reputation was assured after he ____________.
| A．failed to pursue a career in business |
| B．attended a writing class at Columbia University |
| C．published the novel ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ |
| D．became a spokesman for young people |
Which event in his early life confirmed his status as a serious writer?
| A．Publication in a magazine. |
| B．Being taught by Whit Burnett. |
| C．Having a story accepted by the ‘New Yorker’. |
| D．Dropping out of New York University. |
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