Her frozen fingers touched the flame trying to feel alive. She could feel the warmth but it was a cold heat, as if the candle was rejecting her.
Her arms turned red because of the cold, her short sleeved shirt not giving her enough warmth. The winter air grabbed(抓住) at her arms, causing her pain, but she didn’t mind. She knew she should put her jacket on, it was winter in Connecticut, but that would be giving up. Up here, in this tree she felt safe.
She looked at the candle, surrounded by hardening wax(蜡). She placed her fingers gently on the warm green wax. This candle was a reminder of her life inside that house, a life she would have to return to eventually.
As a child, she had gotten this candle. She spent all she had on it. The beautiful crystal box （水晶盒）had caught her eye. Five whole nickels（五分币）had brought her that candle.
She gave it to her mother for Mother’s Day. Her mother had managed a smile and put it on a shelf. “It’s very pretty, honey! I will put it right here.” Since then that candle had never been moved, never been lighted, sitting dusty on a cluttered shelf that no one could see. Later on, her parents got divorced.
By now the candle was colder than the air and the darkness was complete. The snow on the ground made the night lighter and less satisfying than it had been before the first snowfall. She liked the darkness because she felt safe in it. From the glances of her friends who liked the girl she used to be. From the boys who could never figure out who she was. From her guidance counselor(顾问) whose endless worried looks never made her feel any better.
No one was outside at this time of night. She was alone in the world, just how she liked it. Just as she was about to lean back against the branch, she heard a sound.
She heard footsteps breaking the ice in the snow, heading toward her. He was making his way toward the white fence at the edge of the building, right against the road. Normally she would have ignored this person and stayed on her branch faraway from human contact, but this figure had something with him. He trudged(吃力地走) toward the white fence carrying a case. The figure reached the fence, opened the case and took out a shiny object.[来源
She took her eyes off this figure only long enough to climb down the tree to get a better view of him. She reached the bottom and saw that the person had turned to face the street, sitting on the white fence that she and her friends once sat on. She stepped carefully on the ice, making her way toward him.
And then a beautiful sound of music came from the shiny object. She stopped and listened to it. She started walking towards the guy again. Just as she was about to step onto the snow banks, she slipped on the ice crashing to the ground. The figure turned around in surprise and a sudden recognition fell upon them both.The girl was hiding in the tree at deep night to ______.
| A．keep herself from the cold |
| B．wait for the boy to come |
| C．want to be left alone |
| D．seek safety from any hurt |
From the story, we can learn that ______.
| A．the girl suffered a lot in her life |
| B．the girl’s parents divorced because of her |
| C．teachers and friends treated the girl badly |
| D．the girl used to stay in the tree when feeling sad |
The underlined word “it” in the story refers to ______.
| A．leaning back against the branch |
| B．being alone in the world |
| C．not being disturbed at night |
| D．it being dark with snow around |
From the end of the story, it can be known that the girl _______.
| A．knew the person |
| B．knew what the object was |
| C．realized her wishes |
| D．would never feel alone any more |
Chinese are very generous (慷慨) when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet（芭蕾舞）, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children’s skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence (自信).
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse（唤起） his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important. Parents in China, according to this passage, _______.
| A．are too strict with their children |
| B．are too rich to educate their children |
| C．have some problems in educating their children correctly |
| D．are too poor to educate their children |
The writer of the passage does not seem to be satisfied with ______.
| A．the parents’ ideas of educating their children | B．the education system |
| C．children’s skills | D．children’s hobbies |
Doing some cooking at home helps children ______.
| A．learn how to serve their parents |
| B．learn how to become strong and fat |
| C．benefit from it and prepare themselves for the future |
| D．make their parents believe that they are clever |
According to the last paragraph we can conclude that ______.
| A．broken radios and television sets are useful |
| B．one’s curiosity may be useful for his later life |
| C．an engineer must fix many broken radios |
| D．a good student should spend much time repairing radios |
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy — who could not have been more than seven or eight years old — replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed (确认) my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.
Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development is depended not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation (诱惑) , many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.
| A．a sure sign of a mental problem in a child |
| B．a mental state present in all humans, including children |
| C．something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development |
| D．something hardly to be expected in a young child |
Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________.
| A．through connection with society |
| B．gradually and under guidance |
| C．naturally without being taught |
| D．through watching television |
According to the author, that today’s children seem adultlike results from ______.
| A．the widespread influence of television |
| B．the poor arrangement of teaching content |
| C．the fast pace of human scientific development |
| D．the rising standard of living |
What does the author think of communication through print for children?
| A．It enables children to gain more social information. |
| B．It develops children’s interest in reading and writing. |
| C．It helps children to read and write well. |
| D．It can control what children are to learn. |
The impression you make at the beginning of an interview is very important. Employers often decide to hire someone in the first three minutes of the interview. They judge you by your appearance，attitude(态度)and manners.
A friendly smile when you walk into the room is important. A smile shows a confident（自信的） and positive attitude.
When you introduce yourself， make eye contact with the interviewer. Some interviewers offer a handshake. Others don’t.
Try to be as natural as possible. But pay attention to your body language. The way you sit，walk，gesture，use your voice and show feelings on your face is all part of your body language. It makes the interviewer know how you feel about yourself and the situation you are in. Are you feeling positively about yourself? Your abilities? Your interest in the job?
Speak clearly and loudly enough. Show interest and enthusiasm in your voice. When you speak， look at the interviewer. Also， don’t say negative things about yourself， or former employer.
Listen to questions carefully. If you don’t understand a question， ask the interviewer to repeat or explain：
“I’m sorry， but I didn’t catch that.”
“I’m not sure exactly what you mean.”
Almost everyone is nervous in a job interview. Interviewers know that. They don’t expect you to be totally calm and relaxed. But they expect you to try to control your nervousness. They expect you to show confidence in your ability to do the job.
At the end of the interview， thank the interviewer for her or his time.
It’s a good idea to send a short thank-you letter right after the interview， or deliver it by hand.
Phone the company if you have not heard anything after one week. Ask if they have made a decision about the job.
Good luck！It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
| A．you should always put on a smile when meeting the employer |
| B．you should stand still with respect before the employer |
| C．the first impression is very important in an interview |
| D．employers understand and like employees’ nervousness |
Why should we pay attention to our body language?
| A．Because it can help us win the employer’s positive impression. |
| B．Because it can help us feel about the employer. |
| C．Because it is needed by our employer. |
| D．Because we need it to improve our feelings. |
The main purpose of the passage is ______.
| A．to give you some advice on the art of finding a job |
| B．to tell right from wrong about job interviews |
| C．to explain why we should do something about an interview |
| D．to suggest not being shy in an interview |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Friendly Smile | B．Making a Good Expression |
| C．Don’t Be Nervous | D．Sending a Thank-You Letter |
She is only 12 years old but lives only with her younger sister. Her parents are far away from home, and she has to take care of her younger sister. She is He Can, a student at Anqing Jiangzhen Middle School in Anhui, one of the “stay-at-home children” in her town. To make money, these kids’ parents go to big cities to find jobs. Their children have to stay at home because they have to go to school.
He Can’s parents left home when she was only four. They only come back for the Spring Festival every year. Because she had to live with different relatives at different times, He Can went to eight different primary schools.
“I used to complain,” she said. “But later I understood my parents. They have to go away to make a better life for us.” He Can said her frequently (频繁地) changing life also has a good side.
“When I went to a new school, I had to try to make friends,” said He Can. “I became outgoing. Now I’m not afraid of talking to people.”
He Can said her relatives were kind to her. They taught her how to cook and wash clothes.
When He Can was going to start junior high school, her parents agreed to let her live out with her younger sister. She rents a house near the school. Sometimes their grandmother comes over and helps them.
Every day, He Can gets up at 6:00 am and cooks breakfast. Then the two girls go to school. They have supper at 6:00 pm. Then He Can does chores and helps her sister take a shower. She usually goes to bed at 9:30 pm.
Though busy, He Can is still a top student in her class. She said the secret is never to put things off until tomorrow.
“I think my life is OK,” she said. “But if possible, I would like my parents to settle down (安顿下来) and live with us.”Why does He Can live only with her younger sister?
| A．Because their parents don’t like them. |
| B．Because their parents have to work in a big city. |
| C．Because they enjoy living by themselves. |
| D．Because their schools are too far away from their home. |
Where did He Can live before she started junior high school?
| A．In her relatives’ houses. | B．In her own house. |
| C．In a house she rented. | D．In her school. |
What does He Can think of changing schools so often?
| A．She hates it and complains a lot about it. |
| B．She thinks it good for her growth. |
| C．She enjoys it because she can make more friends. |
| D．She thinks it bad for her studies. |
What is He Can’s secret of being top at studies though busy?
| A．She often asks her relatives for help. |
| B．She exercises a lot to make herself stronger. |
| C．She gives her sister some work to do. |
| D．She tries to finish everything before going to bed. |
Have you seen the film Star Wars? If you have, you’ll know what an energy–gun is, and a light–sword too. The gigantic space ship in Star Wars can destroy a whole planet in a second or two, and it does so. Fortunately, it isn’t our planet; it belongs to a distant system, far out in space.
The great empty spaces of the universe are no problem in star Wars. The fighters know how to fold space over, like a sheet of paper, so that very distant stars are brought close together; they call it “hyperspace”. This means, of course, that their ships don’t have to creep along at the speed of light. If they did that, they would take years, even centuries, to reach the battlefield. Hyperspace allows them to travel as “supralight” speed and get there in a couple of hours. It’s good clean fun (健康无害的娱乐) though.
We certainly don’t know all about physics yet, but we do have the work of Albert Einstein. He asked us to believe that nothing could travel faster than light through an empty space --- but don’t let that miserable idea spoil the film for you, even though all our observations up to now have shown that Einstein was dead right --- forget it. Sit back and watch those energy–shells blow up the hated enemy. The Star Wars princess is extremely beautiful.
The more we “discover”, the more we must admire Einstein. He knew it all before us --- by about 1910 in fact. We observe certain very high speed particles (微粒), and they behave exactly as Einstein predicted they would. We can give them a speed almost equal to light, but they never quite reach light speed. He predicted that a very fast–moving object, as it flashed by a stationary observer(静止的参照物), would seem to have much greater weight than usual. And that, too, was proved correct.
So far as scientific theory or evidence is concerned, there is no such thing as hyperspace, no such speed as supralight. Space is as we know it, and light speed is the highest possible speed. “But,” say the story-writers, “that’s only true at present. We don’t know all about physics yet. Who knows --- who knows if there isn’t another set of facts just waiting to be discovered; another universe perhaps, just round the corner?”
Einstein seems to have been prepared for that too. In his theories he emphasized the word “relative”. Everything --- speed, weight, time, etc. --- is relative to something else. Nothing, by itself is real or absolute. So if there is another universe somewhere, we shall only know about it relative to ourselves. So far there’s no sign of it. But for the future, well, who knows?
51．What is the purpose of science – fiction stories and films?
They point out the way ahead, and scientists are grateful.
They encourage us in our searching for the truth.
They show us what the future universe will be like.
They are written and made to entertain us.
52．If you see Star Wars, what might spoil it for you, according to the passage?
A．Einstein’s theories.
B．The uncomfortable surroundings of the theatre.
C．The ugly actress and actors.
D．The rude audience.
53．Einstein predicted that the increase in weight .
applies only to big things, like huge space–ships
is apparent only to the stationary observer
is a real increase
remains even after the objective has stopped moving
54．Einstein’s theories emphasized .
A．everything is relative to something else B．the universe is infinite (无限的)
C．light speed is the highest possible speed D．there is another universe somewhere
55．Although Einstein did not observe the behavior of high–speed objects, .
his theories predicted they travels at light speed
his theories predicted them with great accuracy
he knew they would be discovered
he predicted them in the year 1910
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