A jobless man wanted very much to have the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. “You have passed the test,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the form to fill in and the date when you may start.” The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.” “I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you are not living. And anyone who isn’t living cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do with only $10 in his pocket. He thought and thought. Then he went to the supermarket and bought 10 kilos of tomatoes. He sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he had 20 dollars. He repeated the operation three times, and started to go early every day, and returned home late. Shortly, he bought a cart , then a truck, then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles(运货车队). Five years later, the man was one of the biggest food retailers (零售商) in the US.
One day, one of his friends asked him for his e-mail. He said, “I haven’t got one.” His friend couldn’t believe his ears. “Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”What did the man do for the test?
| A．He sent e-mails. | B．He did the cleaning |
| C．He sold computers. | D．He filled in forms. |
The man didn’t get the job because he_____________.
| A．disliked such a job |
| B．didn’t pass the test |
| C．didn’t have an e-mail |
| D．knew nothing about computers |
The man ______after he left Microsoft.
| A．went to look for another job |
| B．asked for food from door to door |
| C．thought of an idea to make monkey |
| D．bought a computer and got an e-mail |
Why could the man become one of the biggest food retailers in the US?
| A．Because he had many friends to help him. |
| B．Because he was smart and worked very hard. |
| C．Because he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. |
| D．Because he wanted to show Microsoft he was living. |
What does the story want to tell us?
| A．Computers are very important in our daily life. |
| B．Everyone can make a lot of money with only$10. |
| C．The HR manager didn’t find the ability of the man. |
| D．Nothing in the world is impossible if we work hard. |
When Cath Pirret and her husband Iain took their daughters Jessie, 10, and Holly, 7, to Britain earlier this year, it was a trip that was all about showing the girls where their parents grew up. But there were also some key sightseeing opportunities, such as Stonehenge, Hadrian’s Wall and Tate Modern, before heading to Paris to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo.
So, what did the couple from Melbourne hope their girls would get from the trip? "A greater understanding that travel is not a difficult thing to do," Cath says."Some of the highlights are to meet new people and adapt to lots of different situations."
Cath believes that children, in order to truly benefit from travel, need to be old enough to understand and appreciate the experience. Sydney-based ABC Radio broadcaster and film critic C.J. Johnson travelled a lot with his parents as a child. His father was "really into rivers" and decided he was going to make it the "family mission" to see the "seven great rivers of the world".
There’s no doubt, thanks to a richer society and the greater ease and access to all forms of travel, that few — if any — generations of parents and children have ever had the ability to journey together as far, as wide and as deep as the present one.Travel brings history to life, builds children’s independence and opens their minds. A child’s view also helps adults to see the world through new eyes.
For Keith Bellows, the award-winning editor-in-chief of the American National Geographic Traveler magazine says the world is simply"the greatest classroom we have". He’s convinced, like Spicer, that any parent willing and financially able to give the gift of travel offers a gift that keeps on giving.
"Children who learn to travel will travel to learn," he says. "And they will do it all their lives."
With that in mind, Bellows, a father of three, wrote a book, 100 Places that Can Change Your Child’s Life.Why did the couple take their daughters to Britain?
| A．To prove their parents grew up in a rich country. |
| B．To meet the friends and relatives in Britain. |
| C．To help them enjoy their wonderful holidays. |
| D．To assist them to get benefit from travelling. |
The couple and their kids .
| A．went to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo first |
| B．visited Hadrian’s Wall and Tate Modern in France |
| C．first stayed in Britain and then went to France |
| D．only preferred to have the key sightseeing trips |
When Johnson was a child, .
| A．he made a decision to see the greatest rivers |
| B．he fully understood his family mission |
| C．he was forced to keep his father company |
| D．he learned a lot and developed a broad outlook |
Now many children can travel around the world .
| A．because they are lucky to have good parents |
| B．because they were just born in rich families |
| C．because they are living in a prosperous society |
| D．because they are longing for new knowledge |
We can learn from the passage that .
| A．children who learn to travel will travel to learn |
| B．Keith Bellows objects to taking children to travel |
| C．children will purchase gifts for their parents |
| D．Keith Bellows is managing a famous TV show |
One day, a brave jackal (豺) came to the river to drink some water. He saw a lion looking weak and tired, and asked, "What is the matter, King of the Jungle?"
The lion told the jackal his story. The jackal felt sorry for the lion. He pulled and pulled at the lion’s tail until the lion became free. The lion was very happy and said, "Thank you so much for helping me. I thought I would die! You are my friend for life! I would like you to come and live with me. From now on, I will hunt and share my food with you."
The jackal moved in with the lion’s family and had a wonderful time.
Soon, the lion had children of his own and so did the jackal. The lioness was not happy about the friendship. She complained to her children. Her children complained to the jackal’s children; the jackal’s children complained to their mother and their mother complained to the jackal.
The jackal was upset and told the lion, "You told me to live with you. If you don’t like it any more, you should have said so yourself." The lion was shocked and said, "This is not true. I’ve never complained about you. I still want you to continue staying with me."
The jackal said, "We understand each other. But our families don’t. Perhaps it is better for us to live apart, but continue meeting each other when we are free. We can even hunt together!"
The two families parted, but the lion and the jackal met often and remained friends for the rest of their lives.
From the above paragraphs, we can conclude that in order to keep our good friendship, we have to give something up or give in in some particular cases. However, we can never give up or destroy our families. What do you think of it?How was the lion when the jackal first met him?
| A．Strong and happy. | B．Fierce and cruel. |
| C．Kind and friendly. | D．Weak and tired. |
The lion thanked the jackal for saving his life by .
| A．serving the jackal dinner | B．inviting the jackal to live with him |
| C．offering the jackal a house | D．protecting the jackal |
When both the lion and the jackal had family, .
| A．the two families still lived happily together |
| B．the two families often quarreled with each other |
| C．the lioness began to complain about the friendship |
| D．the lion’s children laughed at the jackal’s children |
What was the jackal’s advice for the two families’ problem?
| A．Live apart and stop meeting each other. |
| B．Live together and hunt apart. |
| C．Live apart but continue meeting each other. |
| D．Teach the children to learn to share. |
We can learn from the text that .
| A．we should try to value true friends without giving up our family |
| B．family relationship is more important than friendship |
| C．it is easy to give up a friendship |
| D．we should not make friends with those who refuse to help you |
A friend asks you to be a volunteer. Your husband asks you to glance over an e-mail he is writing to his boss. You say you’d love to. Really! But..."I don’t have time".
It seems plausible( 有道理的). We’re all busy these days, right? But there are reasons not to use these four words, at least with yourself.
Here’s the big one: it is not true. You tell yourself "I don’t have time" to exercise, but we all have 168 hours a week. If someone offered to pay you $100,000 a week to go to the gym for 5 of those 168 hours, you would probably find the time to do it. Since that isn’t going to happen, this is a more exact description: " It’s not a priority(优先考虑的事)."
There are a million things we could be doing with our time; some are priorities and some are not, even if it’s wrong to say so. Try it. "I’m not going to read to you tonight, sweetie, because it’s not a priority. Daddy’s present priority is to check my e-mails."
Using the words "I don’t have time" keeps us from admitting to the fact that how we spend our time is a choice. It puts the responsibility for our lives on someone else: a boss, a client or a family member.
Better to be truthful: "I have another volunteer job on which I am focusing my energy right now. It is the cause that is most important to me." Or, to your husband "I wish you had mentioned this earlier. Right now, my priority is to get our children dressed and out of the door for school. I will be available around lunch time if you would like to talk".What does the word "it" in the third paragraph refer to?
| A．Saying "I don’t have time". |
| B．Saying "We are all busy today". |
| C．Checking your husband’s e-mail. |
| D．Telling your friend you won’t be a volunteer. |
From the third paragraph we can learn that .
| A．it is enough to exercise for five hours a week |
| B．we are too busy to exercise these days |
| C．we can earn $100,000 a week by exercising |
| D．we don’t often regard exercise as a priority |
Which would be the best answer if your friend asks you to be a volunteer?
| A．I have to check my e-mails first. |
| B．I already have a volunteer job that I enjoy. |
| C．I cannot find any time to do it. |
| D．I have a million things to do. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．How to be responsible for our lives. |
| B．How to get time to do exercise. |
| C．How to say no to others without saying "I don’t have time". |
| D．How we should spend our time reasonably these days. |
You can find this text in the section of a newspaper.
| A．sports | B．entertainment | C．culture | D．science |
（London）—If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.
Some doctors now think that the internal fat surrounding important organs like the heart or liver could be as dangerous as the external fat which can be noticed more easily.
“Being thin doesn’t surely mean you are not fat,” said Dr Jimmy Bell at Imperial College. Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create “fat maps” showing where people store fat.
According to the result, people who keep their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are slim.
Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside. Of the women, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25) actually had too high levels of internal fat. Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent.
According to Bell, people who are fat on the inside are actually on the edge of being fat. They eat too many fatty and sugary foods, but they are not eating enough to be fat. Scientists believe we naturally store fat around the belly first, but at some point, the body may start storing it elsewhere.
Doctors are unsure about the exact dangers of internal fat, but some think it has something to do with heart disease and diabetes. They want to prove that internal fat damages the body’s communication systems.
The good news is that internal fat can be easily burned off through exercise or even by improving your diet. “If you want to be healthy, there is no short cut. Exercise has to be an important part of your lifestyle,” Bell said.What is this piece of news mainly about?
| A．Thin people may be fat inside. |
| B．Internal fat is of no importance. |
| C．Internal fat leads to many diseases. |
| D．Thin people also have troubles. |
Doctors have found _____.
| A．the exact dangers of internal fat |
| B．internal fat is the cause of heart disease and diabetes |
| C．being slim is not dangerous at all |
| D．being slim doesn’t mean you are not fat inside |
According to the passage, which of the following is WRONG?
| A．Exercise can help to reduce the internal fat. |
| B．People can get rid of internal fat by improving diet. |
| C．Men are more likely to have too much internal fat. |
| D．People with heart disease all have internal fat. |
From the last paragraph, we can find that _____.
| A．whether internal fat can lead to disease has been proved |
| B．exercise plays in important role in people’s life for keeping healthy |
| C．thin people usually have internal fat even if they are slim |
| D．it is easier to burn off internal fat than external fat |
Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York—he in computers, she in special education. “Teaching means everything to us.” Tim would say. In April 1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.
Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton's foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. “I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire.” Tim recalls. He placed the brochure on his desk, “as a reminder”．
Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imaginationlibrary.com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts.
The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a looksee. “We didn't want to give the children rubbish.” says Linda. The books—reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists, and Dollywood board members—included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama series.
Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative：“This program introduces us to books I've never heard of.”
The Richters spend about $400 a month sending books to 200 children. “Some people sit there and wait to die.” says Tim. “Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left.”What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life?
| A．The news from the Web. | B．His love for teaching. |
| C．The influence of his wife. | D．His health problem. |
What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?
| A．Give out brochures. |
| B．Write books for children |
| C．Do something similar.. |
| D．Retire from being a teacher. |
According to the text, Dolly Parton is ________.
| A．a wellknown surgeon |
| B．a singer born in Tennessee |
| C．a mother of a fouryearold |
| D．a computer programmer |
What can we learn from Tim's words in the last paragraph?
| A．He considers his efforts worthwhile. |
| B．He wonders why some people are so busy. |
| C．He tries to save those waiting to die. |
| D．He needs more money to help the children. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号