Computer programmer David Jones earned ￡35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a check card, he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18.
He works for a small firm in Liverpool, where most young people of his age are finding jobs. David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Though he has high payment, he cannot drive a car, or get credit card(信用卡).
David got his job four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels（普通成绩）and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.
“I suppose ￡35,000 sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother ￡20 a week as he lives with his parents. But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school, ” he said. “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway. I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement(退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”Why is David so different from other young people of his age?
| A．He earns an extremely high payment |
| B．He has got a job. |
| C．He lives at home with his parents. |
| D．He does not go out much. |
David’s greatest problem is that______.
| A．he can’t be treated as an adult by the bank. |
| B．he doesn’t make as many games as he wishes. |
| C．he doesn’t know what to buy with the money. |
| D．he is too young to drive a car. |
He was employed by the company because ____.
| A．he had worked in a computer shop. |
| B．he had written some computer programs. |
| C．he is clever and works hard at his lessons. |
| D．he had learnt to use computers at school. |
He left school after taking six O-levels because____.
| A．he was afraid of getting too old to start computing. |
| B．he did not enjoy school. |
| C．he wanted to work with computers. |
| D．he wanted to earn a lot of money. |
Why does David think he might retire early?
| A．He thinks computer games might not always sell so well. |
| B．He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire. |
| C．One has to be young to write computer programs. |
| D．He thinks his firm might close down. |
When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation (住所). I suggested that they should stay at ‘bed and breakfast’ houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.
“We didn’t stay at bed and breakfast houses,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”
I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought ‘VACANCIES’ meant ‘holidays’, because the Spanish word for ‘holidays’ is ‘vacaciones’. So they did not go to house where the sign outside said ‘VACANCLES’, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to house where the sign said ‘NO VACANCLES’, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels!
We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word ‘DIVERSION’ means fun. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word ‘DIVERSION’ on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hold.
English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris, when someone offered me some more coffee, I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more. However, to my surprise, the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No, thank you.”My Spanish friends wanted advice about ______.
| A．learning English | B．finding places to stay in England |
| C．driving their car on English roads | D．going to England by car |
‘NO VACANCIES’ in English means ______.
| A．no free rooms | B．free rooms | C．not away on holiday | D．holidays |
When someone offered me more coffee and I said “Thank you” in French, I ______.
A didn’t really want any more coffee B. wanted them to take the coffee pot away
C. really wanted some more coffee D. wanted to express my politeness I was surprised when the coffee pot was taken away because I ______.
| A．hadn’t finished drinking my coffee | B．was expecting another cup of coffee |
| C．meant that I didn’t want any more | D．was never misunderstood |
I had been to several doctors as a child, but I have a special place in my heart for Dr. Vincent. He was a Pediatric Cardiologist at UCLA back in 1971 who saved my life. I was eight years old at the time with a severe heart problem and I needed heart surgery. My Mom did not have the money, and without the surgery there was a real good chance I would not live to be thirteen years old. After contacting several organizations Dr. Vincent was able to get financial help for me through United Way, a Crippled Children’s Organization.
Dr. Vincent was a handsome man; he was also very gentle and caring. I remember being in the hospital for an Angiogram test, and during the procedure I was crying terribly, so the medical staff called in Dr. Vincent to calm me down, and he was able to comfort me when no one else could. Then the time came for me to have heart surgery; there was a fifty- percent chance that I would not make it through the surgery because it was experimental. At the time I was only the second or third person to have this procedure done. I was absolutely terrified, and again Dr. Vincent reassured me he would see to it that everything would be all right.
I had a lot of confidence and trust in Dr. Vincent; He came to see me after the surgery, which was extremely painful but very successful, and brought me a stuffed animal. I was so surprised to get this gift from Dr. Vincent; I gave him a hug. I guess Dr. Vincent must have known I was feeling very lonely and scared. You see, I had no family or friends visit me while I was in the hospital except for my Mom, and I am not sure why. I do know one thing; I had a wonderful doctor who took the time to help a scared little girl who felt all alone.
This was twenty eight years ago, so wherever you are Dr. Vincent, I want to thank you for not only saving my life, but you helped me live a normal productive life, and for showing me that you truly cared, for that I will be eternally grateful to you. Why did Dr. Vincent have a special place in her heart? Because________.
| A．Dr. Vincent was handsome |
| B．Dr. Vincent was caring and kind |
| C．Dr. Vincent carried out the operation. |
| D．Dr. Vincent offered the money the operation needed. |
Dr. Vincent was called in during my test to ________________.
| A．feed her | B．comfort her | C．scare her | D．have the surgery. |
Which of the following is true except ___________.
| A．the operation was experimental. | B．she didn’t trust in Dr. Vincent |
| C．the operation would be extremely painful | D．she felt scared and all alone |
How did Dr. Vincent get the money for the operation?
| A．He collected it in the hospital. | B．He saved the money day by day |
| C．He got help from an organization. | D．He borrowed the money from his friends |
Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.
I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”
“Oh, you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice(临终医院). I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器).
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
At dawn, she suddenly said,” I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.” The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ______.
| A．show she was familiar with the city | B．see some places for the last time |
| C．let the driver earn more money | D．reach the destination on time |
The taxi driver did not charge the old woman because he ______.
| A．wanted to do her a favor |
| B．shut off the meter by mistake |
| C．had received her payment in advance |
| D．was in a hurry to take other passengers |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Giving is always a pleasure. |
| B．People should respect each other. |
| C．An act of kindness can bring people great joy. |
| D．People should learn to appreciate others’ concern. |
Almost everyone likes dogs, and almost everyone likes reading stories about dogs.
I have a friend. The friend has a large police dog. Its name is Jack. Police dogs are often very clever. Every Sunday afternoon my friend takes Jack for a long walk in the park. Jack likes these long walks very much.
One Sunday afternoon a young man came to visit my friend. He stayed a long time. He talked and talked. Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for his walk. But the visitor still stayed. Jack became very worried. He walked around the room several times and then sat down in front of the visitor and looked at him. But the visitor paid no attention. He continued talking. Finally Jack couldn't stand it. He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later. He sat down again in front of the visitor but this time he held the visitor's hat in his mouth and ran out of the room.Jack is the name of ____.
| A．a young man | B．a policeman | C．a police dog | D．a good friend |
In this story the word "visitor" means ____.
| A．the young man | B．the writer of this story |
| C．the police dog | D．the friend |
The visitor paid no attention to the dog because ____.
| A．he didn't see the dog | B．he didn't like the dog |
| C．he was afraid of the dog | D．he didn't understand what the dog meant |
The dog held the visitor's hat in his mouth to show that ____.
| A．he liked the hat very much | B．he wanted the visitor to leave immediately |
| C．he wanted to throw the hat away | D．he wanted to put on the hat |
Which one is right according to the passage?
| A．Everyone must like dogs. | B．My friend” name is JACK |
| C．The visitor paid no attention to my friend’s behavior. | D．JACK is clever.. |
Many students in China are learning English. Some of these students are small children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others study by themselves. A few learn English language over the radio, on television, or in films. One must work hard to learn another language.
Why do all these people want to learn English? It is difficult to answer that question. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects. They study their own language and maths and English ... Some people learn English because it is useful for their work. Many people often learn English for their higher studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English. Other people learn English because they want to read newspaper and magazines in English.Many students in China are learning English, aren't they? ____.
| A．No, they aren't | B．No, they are |
| C．Yes, they are | D．Yes, they aren't |
If one wants to learn another language well, he must ____.
| A．learn at school | B．study by himself |
| C．work hard | D．study hard |
The sentence "It is difficult to answer that question" means ____.
| A．that question is not difficult to answer |
| B．that question is difficult to answer it |
| C．it is difficultly to answer that question |
| D．it is hard to answer that question |
"Their own language" means ____.
| A．Chinese | B．English | C．French | D．Japanese |
What's the Chinese of "study by themselves"?
| A．和他们一起学习 | B．自学 | C．向他们学习 | D．通过学习 |
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