LONDON (Reuters Life!) ---- Forget about talking your children into considering life as a doctor or a teacher and start training them for the talent show.
A survey of British parents showed the aspirations (志向) of their children are greatly different from what they dreamed about when considering who they wanted to be when they grew up.
Although astronaut (宇航员) still remains fairly high on the list of careers (事业) kids dream about these days, others like doctor and teacher have been taken the place of by the desire (欲望) to win good name and money as a sporting hero, pop star or actor.
The parents of children aged 5 to 11 said the choice of lawyer had dropped by only one place on a top 10 list to sixth, while teacher had dropped to ninth from top in the last 25 or more years.
The survey for British TV channel “Watch” found a great difference between the genders (性别) of today’s young people when compared with their parents’ dreams 25 years or more ago.
Playing professional football, being an astronaut and joining the firefighting service topped the boys’ choices, while girls are more likely to be dreaming of taking to the stage as a pop star or actress or joining the medical profession.
When asked what they would like their children to do for a living, today’s parents still like the academic (学术的) professions (职业), with law and medicine scoring highly, while being a boss came third.
Parents also praised job happiness above wealth (财富) when it comes to their hopes for their children.
Nearly 70 percent of the parents surveyed thought that they failed to follow their dreams when it came to their career, with 37 percent thinking it was caused by a lack of aspiration and not having the necessary conditions.From the passage we know that most parents still hope that in the future their children can take up ______.
| A．jobs such as musicians, singers and dancers |
| B．jobs related to academic professions like lawyers and doctors |
| C．jobs in which they will not be endangered |
| D．jobs which will be well paid only |
According to the survey for British TV channel “Watch”, which of the following is the boys’ best career choice?
| A．A pop star | B．An actor | C．A doctor | D．A firefighter |
What can be learnt from the passage?
| A．Parents’ hope for their children’s career did not change too much. |
| B．Parents pay much attention to the income of their children. |
| C．Less than half of the parents who were surveyed didn’t follow their dreams. |
| D．Most parents didn’t have the necessary conditions to realize their dreams. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Many reasons cause the change of children’s dreams. |
| B．Parents’ dreams are different form children’s. |
| C．Parents are changing their own dreams. |
| D．Children’s dreams are always changing. |
In 1974, after filling out fifty applications, going through four interviews, and winning one offer, I took what I could get ----- a teaching job at what I considered a distant wild area: western New Jersey. My characteristic optimism was alive only when I reminded myself that I would be doing what I had wanted to do since I was fourteen ------- teaching English.
School started, but I felt more and more as if I were in a foreign country. Was this rural area really New Jersey? My students took a week off when hunting season began. I was told they were also frequently absent in late October to help their fathers make hay on the farms. I was a young woman from New York City, who thought that “Make hay while the sun shines” just meant to have a good time.
But, still, I was teaching English. I worked hard, taking time off only to eat and sleep. And then there was my sixth-grade class ---- seventeen boys and five girls who were only six years younger than me. I had a problem long before I knew it. I was struggling in my work as a young idealistic teacher. I wanted to make literature come alive and to promote a love of the written word. The students wanted to throw spitballs and whisper dirty words in the back of the room.
In college I had been taught that a successful educator should ignore bad behavior. So I did, confident that, as the textbook had said, the bad behavior would disappear as I gave my students positive attention. It sounds reasonable, but the text evidently ignored the fact that humans, particularly teenagers, rarely seem reasonable. By the time my boss, who was also my taskmaster, known to be the strictest, most demanding, most quick to fire inexperienced teachers, came into the classroom to observe me, the students exhibited very little good behavior to praise.
My boss sat in the back of the room. The boys in the class were making animal noises, hitting each other while the girls filed their nails or read magazines. I just pretended it all wasn’t happening, and went on lecturing and tried to ask some inspiring questions. My boss, sitting in the back of the classroom, seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. After twenty minutes he left, silently. Visions of unemployment marched before my eyes.
I felt mildly victorious that I got through the rest of class without crying, but at my next free period I had to face him. I wondered if he would let me finish out the day. I walked to his office, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
He was sitting in his chair, and he looked at me long and hard. I said nothing. All I could think of was that I was not an English teacher; I had been lying to myself, pretending that everything was fine.
When he spoke, he said simply, without accusation, “You had nothing to say to them.”
“You had nothing to say to them”. he repeated.” No wonder they are bored. Why not get to the meat of literature and stop talking about symbolism. Talk with them, not at them. And more important, why do you ignore their bad behavior”? We talked. He named my problems and offered solutions. We role-played. He was the bad student, and I was the forceful, yet, warm teacher.
As the year progressed, we spent many hours discussing literature and ideas about human beings and their motivations. He helped me identify my weaknesses and strengths. In short, he made a teacher of me by teaching me the reality of Emerson’s words: “The secret to education lies in respecting the pupil.”
Fifteen years later I still drive that same winding road to the same school. Thanks to the help I received that difficult first year, the school is my home now. It can be inferred from the story that in 1974 ________________.
| A．the writer became an optimistic person |
| B．it was rather difficult to get a job in the USA |
| C．the writer was very happy about her new job |
| D．it was easy to get a teaching job in New Jersey |
According to the passage, which of the following is most probably the writer’s problem as a new teacher?
| A．She didn’t like teaching English literature. |
| B．She didn’t ask experienced teachers for advice. |
| C．She took too much time off to eat and sleep. |
| D．She had blind trust in what she learnt at college. |
What is the writer’s biggest worry after her taskmaster’s observation of her class?
| A．She couldn’t ignore her students’ bad behavior any more. |
| B．She migh t lose her students’ respect. |
| C．She couldn’t teach the same class any more. |
| D．She might lose her teaching job. |
Which of the following gives the writer a sense of mild victory?
| A．Her talk about symbolism sounded convincing. |
| B．She managed to finish the class without crying. |
| C．Her students behaved a little better than usual. |
| D．She was invited for a talk by her boss after class. |
The students behaved badly in the writer’s classes because
| A．They were eager to embarrass her. |
| B．They didn’t regard her as a good teacher. |
| C．She didn’t really understand them. |
| D．She didn’t have a good command of English. |
The taskmaster’s attitude towards the writer after his observation of her class can be described as________________.
| A．cruel but encouraging | B．sincere and supportive |
| C．fierce but forgiving | D．angry and aggressive |
Although in the 17th century in the United States fine art and folk art had similar qualities, a difference between them began to appear as time went on in the 18th and 19th centuries artists with ambition studied abroad and came back to paint portraits(肖像) of upper-class families in American society. The less ambitious or less fortunate artists traveled around their own areas and created pictures of countryside society. Anyway, artists got trained and those simple creations improved a lot.
Around 1930，folk art began to take on a new meaning and was considered as an expression of a small cultural class. Folk art is never the product of art movements, but comes out of craft traditions. This art is based not on measurements or calculations and rarely goes with the standards of realism. It goes straight to the bases of art which the folk artists feel naturally.
The period 1930~ 1960 was the time when folk artists began to receive recognition. They often began their art careers late in life and used art as an outlet（出口） for their energy. Their materials were cheap and simple, their subjects were different, but their creativity flowed. Doing their own things became the norm（标准）, and was what made folk art so desirable.
Although it is hard to define folk art, one thing is certain --- it touches us in a special way because the artists show us how he or she brought beauty into their everyday life. Since folk artists come from all walks of life, each piece of art created is one of a kind, emphasizing color, simplicity of line and brave, simple form. Most importantly, it exemplifies（作为…的例子） the history of American life.What similar qualities did folk art and fine art probably have in the 17th century?
| A．They were both simple creations. |
| B．The artists of both focused on family life. |
| C．The artists of both came from the lower class. |
| D．They were both gifted creations by trained artists. |
What was folk art around 1930 based on according to the second paragraph?
| A．The traditions of the upper class. |
| B．The progress of art in that period. |
| C．The standards of realism. |
| D．The feelings of the artists. |
Which of the following statements can be used to describe the works of folk artists?
| A．They are difficult to understand. |
| B．They help artists let out their energy. |
| C．They show pictures of unreal life. |
| D．They are similar to one another. |
Why did folk art become popular during the period from 1930 to 1960?
| A．It offered artists the freedom of expression. |
| B．Artists didn’t need to spend much on materials. |
| C．Other kinds of art couldn’t express the beauty of life. |
| D．Artists could express their dissatisfaction towards society. |
The author’s purpose in writing the text is to ___________.
| A．speak highly of folk art |
| B．compare folk art and fine art |
| C．explain the history and characteristics of folk art in America |
| D．explain the development and changes of American art |
As demand for power and fuel grows steadily in the coming decades, we must consider every possible energy source（来源）on hand if we're to meet the world's needs. And because clean natural gas is found in great plenty, there is little doubt that it will play a major role on the world energy stage in this century, much like oil did in the last. But, like oil, gas reserves are concentrated in just a few places in the world, usually far from where they're needed most. And that's only part of the challenge. The world has had well over 100 years to search for oil and to build the necessary facilities（设施）to bring it to market; the natural gas facilities, particularly when it comes to liquefied（液化）natural gas（LNG）, are not nearly as developed.
So what needs to be done? On the supply side, producing nations need policies that allow for better development of their natural gas in an open, stable business environment, not one in which the rules of the game change without warning. The governments of consuming nations, on the other hand, must make policies for sustainable（可持续的）development to ensure they'll have enough supplies in the future. That means building the related facilities, including LNG stations. This, in turn, will require coastal areas to allow these necessary, but not necessarily pretty, facilities to be built in their backyards. And energy companies have a responsibility to be good neighbors in those areas by operating these facilities responsibly and safely. They must also continue to put in the billions of dollars needed to build the complex transport and storage facilities required to bring more gas to market.
Expanding and diversifying（使多样化）energy sources by using more natural gas could lead to lower fuel prices and to greater energy security. We've taken some of the steps to get started, but we need your help to get the rest of the way.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Gas played a major part in the 20th century. |
| B．Natural gas facilities are far from satisfactory. |
| C．Gas reserves are widely spread around the world. |
| D．Necessary facilities are ready to bring gas to market. |
The underlined word "one"（in Paragraph 2）refers to _____________.
| A．a gas supply side | B．a business environment |
| C．a gas consuming nation | D．a policy for gas development |
Consuming nations of natural gas need to ___________.
| A．change the rules of the game |
| B．open markets in their backyards |
| C．build pretty facilities along the coast |
| D．have long-term policies for gas supply |
The main purpose of the passage is to _______.
| A．warn people of the lack of power and fuel |
| B．discuss the importance of oil and natural gas |
| C．call for better use and development of natural gas |
| D．instruct people how to make use of energy sources |
The passage might be followed by a paragraph about
| A．what kind of help you can offer |
| B．where energy sources are concentrated |
| C．which countries are in great need of gas |
| D．what problems of energy sources we may face |
Human beings are the most intelligent of all animals because we are gifted with the ability to think and reason logically. Scientists and even common people with special intelligence have made a lot of inventions and contributions to modern lifestyle in the past. "Houses" have been the most popular area for discoveries and inventions in the past and even now.
Many household items have been the result of inventions of people who desired better functioning of the existent products. Every individual has intelligence and if it is used properly for the right purpose it leads to invention of a new tool or device. Many new household inventions are made almost every day and there are specific companies, which particularly keep a record of all these inventions.
A lot of inventions have been made recently in the household field. These products are patented（专利的）and have trade mark licenses（许可）. The patented sliding cinch is a very simple but effective method to prevent shoulder stress and injury for those who work before computers all day long. Vanity PC is a type of computer furniture that specifically hides all the computer wires and keeps a clean and good look. All the outdoor dust, mud and snow can be kept out of the house by installing（安装）the dirt drain（排水管）at the entrance of the door. Another important invention is the automatic toilet night-light, in which a small light starts when the lid of the toilet seat is opened and closes as soon as the lid（盖子）is closed.
These are some of the new household inventions invented mostly by common people. Thus, a variety of new household items are invented every day, which helps in a better functioning of household chores（家务）and in a more useful manner.The first paragraph is intended to _____________.
| A．stress the importance of inventions |
| B．introduce the topic of the article |
| C．show the advantages of modern lifestyle |
| D．tell the differences between human beings and animals |
According to the passage, people make house inventions to _____________.
| A．earn more money and gain awards |
| B．accumulate their wealth |
| C．improve the present living conditions |
| D．meet the new demands of new science |
It can be inferred that the sliding cinch is used to ___________.
| A．prevent your shoulder from being over-pressured |
| B．keep your shoulder safe and sound when you are in an accident or an operation |
| C．help you practice your shoulder more often and reduce shoulder pains |
| D．cover your shoulder and make it stronger to resist the outside strike |
Common people can also make good inventions because ___________.
| A．wisdom and inspiration sometimes come from everyday life |
| B．some inventions are easy to be made and can be mastered by them |
| C．common people have a strong desire to do something for science research |
| D．success is often connected with hardship and bitter experience of common people |
The passage mainly talks about _______________.
| A．the correct use of household facilities |
| B．different ideas about household inventions |
| C．the history of household inventions |
| D．household inventions and their influence |
When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?
Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentences expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive（说明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph, it is most likely to give you the main idea.
Sometimes, though, the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.
Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important. The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence（精髓）. It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ____________.
| A．at about 315 w.p.m.（words per minute） |
| B．to get the general idea of each paragraph |
| C．so that you can take in each work separately |
| D．to make sure you get to the end at least once |
The topic sentence of an expository paragraph in English _____________.
| A．usually comes in the middle |
| B．is most likely to be found at the end |
| C．is most often at the beginning |
| D．is usually left out in expository writing |
Most expository paragraphs in English have a clearly defined topic sentence. In such paragraphs the topic sentence comes first _____________.
A. in about 5% of cases B in about 80% of cases
C. in about 20% cases D. very rarelySometimes we know the first sentence is not the topic sentence because ____________.
| A．it does not seem to give us enough new information |
| B．it is not long enough |
| C．it does not come at the beginning |
| D．it does not make a complete sentence |
The closing paragraph of a piece of writing ____________.
| A．is not really very important |
| B．is often unnecessary repetition |
| C．often comes at the end |
| D．often summarizes the essence of the passage |
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