The cash machine is 47 years old, but where was the birthplace of this world-beating invention? New York? Tokyo? No. The first ever cash machine was born in Enfield Town, north London. It was a Scottish inventor, John shepherd Barron, who realized the concept of a self-service machine that could be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to withdraw cash from one’s own bank account. It struck the inventor while he was in the bath. He hit upon the idea of a chocolate bar dispenser, replacing chocolate with cash.
On September 2 in 1969, America’s first automatic teller machine (ATM) appeared in public, giving out cash to customers at Chemical Bank, New York. It was only able to give out cash, but in 1971, an ATM that could handle many functions, including depositing(存款) money, was introduced. Today there are over one million ATMs around the world, with a new one added every five minutes. It is reported that Americans over the age of 18 use their ATM card six to eight times a mouth. Not surprisingly, ATMs get their busiest workouts on Fridays. In the 1990s, banks began charging fees to use ATMs, a profitable move for them and an annoying one for consumers.
Consumers were also faced with an increase in ATM crimes. Robbers preyed(抢夺) on people using money machines in poorly lit or otherwise unsafe locations, and criminals also thought up ways to steal customers’ PINs (personal identification numbers), even setting up fake money machines to capture the information. In response, city and state governments passed laws such as New York’s ATM Safety Act in 1996, which required banks to install such things as surveillance cameras (监控摄像头), reflective mirrors and locked entryways for their ATMs. What does the underlined word, “It”, in the first paragraph, probably refer to?
| A．The opening time of the bank. |
| B．The concept of an ATM. |
| C．Ordinary banking service. |
| D．The act of withdrawing cash. |
Which of the following is true about ATM?
| A．It appeared earlier than the chocolate bar dispenser. |
| B．It was invented by a Scottish man in 1971. |
| C．It was at first free of charge for its consumers. |
| D．It was originally designed to deposit money. |
What can we learn from the text? "
| A． Americans under the age of 18 are not allowed to have an ATM card. |
| B． People are more likely to turn to ATMs for banking service on Fridays. |
| C． Criminals usually choose unsafe locations to steal customers' PINs. |
| D． The ATM crime rate in New York is much lower than that in other state |
Which of the following might be the best title for the text?
| A． How to Operate on an ATM |
| B． What is Waiting for ATMs in the Future? |
| C． The First ATM Opened for Business |
| D．The Unknown Truth about ATM |
Poverty today is a major global issue．Although there are all kinds of definitions used to explain it, in simple words, it means the inability of a person to even get his basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, safe drinking water, health and education．Poverty can be found in each and every comer of the world, although the causes may differ from country to country．Given below are the main causes of poverty in the world today．
Overpopulation is one of the main causes behind the threatening of poverty on an individual level as well as a social level．This is simple math: If there are more mouths to feed and less income, definitely much will remain poor．
Another theory which is used as an explanation for poverty is lack of education．If you look at any of the underdeveloped countries, you will find that the level of education there is very low．Lack of education means lack of employment opportunities, thus leading to unemployment coupled with poverty in the future．
Moving away from one's own homeland to another city or country in search of employment leads to poverty too．It may take these people a lot of time to find jobs．Meanwhile they live in bad conditions．The cost of living in the city or country is most of the time too high for them．
There may be other causes of poverty like the change in business．For example, in America, a couple of decades ago, heavy industry flourished, which employed a lot of African-American people．But now, the focus is more on information technology and health care, both of which employ only skilled and trained people．This has led to unemployment among African-Americans．
Poverty has many ill effects on society．That's why steps should be taken to get rid of it!What's the meaning of the underlined word "flourished" in Paragraph 5?
（No more than 5 words）Why is overpopulation a cause of poverty today? （No more thanl2 words）
What's the situation of education m underdeveloped countries? （No more than 8 words）
What does the passage mainly talk about?（No more than 10 words）
In your opinion, what's the most significant cause of poverty today? Please give your reason．（No more than 25 words）
Boys' schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music．
Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity （阳刚）, the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to obey a stereotype （陈规旧俗）, a US study says.
Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to obey the "boy code" of hiding their emotions to be a "real man"．
The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls．
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls．He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls．
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills．
But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys' learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study's author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia．
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with "boy-focused" approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them．Because boys generally have more acute vision learn best through touch, an are physically more active, they need to be given "hands-on" lessons where they are allowed to walk around; "Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine （女性的） and prefer the modem type in which violence and sexism are major themes, "James wrote．
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to obey a stereotype that men should be "masterful and in charge" in relationships．"In mixed schools boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means," the study reported．The author believes that a single-sex school would ____．
| A．force boys to hide their emotions to be "real men" |
| B．encourage boys to express their emotions more freely |
| C．help to cultivate masculine aggressiveness in boys |
| D．naturally reinforce in boys the traditional image of a man |
It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys ____．
| A．perform relatively better |
| B．grow up more healthily |
| C．behave more responsibly |
| D．receive a better education |
What docs Tony Little say about the British education system?
| A．It fails more boys than girls academically． |
| B．It focuses more on mixed school education． |
| C．it fails to give boys the attention they need． |
| D．It places more pressure on boys than on girls． |
According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is ____．
| A．teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys |
| B．boys can focus on their lessons without being distracted |
| C．boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in |
| D．teaching can be designed to promote boys' team spirit |
Which of the following is characteristic of boys according to Abigail James' report?
| A．They enjoy being in charge． |
| B．They obey stereotypes． |
| C．They are violent and sexist． |
| D．They have sharper vision． |
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition．Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity．Others say that competition is bad, that it sets one person against another, that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people．
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills．For them, playing well and winning are often, life-and-death affairs．In their single-minded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten．
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude．In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition．Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society．Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail．They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success．By not trying, they always have an excuse: "I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try．"What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot．Such a loss would be a measure of their worth． Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves．Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others．Both are afraid of not being valued．Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve （缓解） can we discover a new meaning in competition ．What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Competition helps to set up self-respect． |
| B．Opinions about competition are different among people． |
| C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development． |
| D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition． |
Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
| A．It builds up a sense of duty． |
| B．It pushes society forward． |
| C．It improves personal abilities． |
| D．It encourages individual efforts． |
The underlined phrase "the most vocal" in Paragraph 3 means ____．
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who value competition most highly |
| C．those who are against competition most strongly |
| D．those who rely on others most for success |
What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a "desire to fail"?
| A．One's worth lies in his performance compared with others'． |
| B．One's success in competition needs great efforts． |
| C．One's achievement is determined by his particular skills． |
| D．One's success is based on how hard he has tried． |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back． |
| B．Competition should be encouraged． |
| C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter． |
| D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition． |
The Beijing government has set out to recruit thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city's employment problems．
The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year, 1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas．
People interested in jobs in Beijing's rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www．Bjbys．com from February 1 through March 15．
"We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers," Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency．
The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan （ $ 250） in the first year, 2,500 yuan （$ 320） the second year and 3,000 yuan （$ 385） the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards．Sun said．
Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Besjing's Pinggu District．For one project, Wang contacted people at the BeijingAcadeny of Agricnitural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting．Her efforts paid off．The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year．
Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education．
The ministry predicts that 4．95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year．About 1．4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate．
In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year． Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to the personnel bureau．The underlined word "recruit" in the first paragraph probably means___．
| A．employ | B．force | C．encourage | D．train |
We can see from the passage that____．
| A．once you are hired as a junior official, you can get an endlessly rising salary |
| B．the government guarantee a gradually high salary for the successful candidates |
| C．working as junior officials is easy but very meaningful |
| D．the competition for the job as junior officials is very fierce |
From the story of Wang Lina we can learn that .
| A．the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful |
| B．local fanners can get big harvests if they team more knowledge |
| C．university graduates can also realize their value in rural areas |
| D．Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers planting organic strawberries |
The last two paragraphs aim to tell us that .
| A．more and more graduates will work．as junior officials |
| B．the universities should not have so many students |
| C．there are more and more graduates in recent years |
| D．it is not easy for graduates to find jobs nowadays |
Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A．What is the best career? |
| B．Graduates go to the countryside． |
| C．Job hunting for university graduates． |
| D．A good choice for university graduates． |
Summer school is something a kid will never forget．For some, it's a way to advance past their classmates．For most, summer school is' a requirement in order to graduate with their classmates I can remember being forced into taking a summer school course．It was not the school that forced me into this awkward situation it was my mother．
I was a 16-year-old kid in a new school; My school did not offer summer courses so I had to take my course at an alternative school in the city．It was an experience I will never forget．I was not concerned with making friends．I was there to get credit （学分） for a course that I should have received credit for the previous semester．It was．my doing that landed me in the situation and it was important that I understood this．
The fees were lowest but the experience was amazing．I enjoyed I didn't miss the day． The course was from Monday to Friday for an entire month．I passed the course with an A．I was thrown into an awkward situation and actually enjoyed it．My friends didn't even know I took the course．Most of them were still sleeping by the time my course ended each day．
Awkward situations are so important for personal growth．This situation made me feel more independent．I made friends．I finally understood what sacrifice and hard work were all about．While attending college, I remembered how much I enjoyed summer school and I chose to take summer school in my first three years of college．Some kids get pushed too much but some don't get pushed enough．I was never pushed enough．
Enable your children to struggle for success．If your child needs summer school you explain to them why it's important．Some parents are surprised by the situation and may want to be more involved in their children's education．Follow through and follow up．Most students go to the summer school in order to ____．
| A．find good jobs graduation | B．become top students in their class |
| C．have a chance to make more friends | D．graduate successfully on time |
What made the author go to summer school for the first time?
| A．What he had done． | B．His mother's wish． |
| C．His own requirement． | D．Study competition． |
Which of the following was NOT the benefit got by the author through attending summer school?
| A．It helped him get rid of bad habits． |
| B．It helped him make new friends． |
| C．It helped him understand what sacrifice and hard work were． |
| D．It increased his independence． |
From the last paragraph we can learn that the author ____．
| A．does not like summer school at all even though it is useful |
| B．thinks summer school is unnecessary for children |
| C．encourages parents to make their children attend summer school |
| D．is against forcing children to attend summer school |
What does the author think of summer school?
| A．He thinks it is awkward． | B．He thinks it is significant． |
| C．He doesn't think it is suitable． | D．He thinks nothing of it． |
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