Daniel Defoe (about 1660—1731) was an important novelist in the English literature. When he was young, he served as a soldier and had been to Spain, Italy, France and Germany. At the same time, he went in for politics. He cared much about the development of capitalism(资本主义). He had written a lot of articles against it and he was put into prison twice for that. It was not until that he was nearly sixty that he began to write the famous novel “Robinson Crusoe”, which was published in May, 1709. It spread so rapidly that the story was known to every household very soon.
“Robinson Crusoe” can be divided into three parts. The first part is about Crusoe’s three voyages, the second part about his hunting, hiding in caves farming and his hard struggles against nature on a small island, the third about the things which happened after his return from the island. The second part is the body of the novel, in which Robinson’s characters are clearly shown. Defoe wrote his novel in a simple style and his language is easy to understand. His novel writing set a milestone of the modern English novel. In his later part of life, He was in poor health and lived very poorly. He died on April 24, 1731.Deniel Defoe was _______ and the writer of _______.
| A．an Englishman, “A Tale of Two Cities” |
| B．an American, “A Million Pound Note” |
| C．a French, “The Lost Necklace” |
| D．an English, “Robinson Crusoe” |
How old was he when he began to write his famous novel Robinson Crusoe?
| A．He was in his sixties. |
| B．He was in his fifties. |
| C．He was over 60. |
| D．He was sixty. |
Robinson Crusoe can be divided into ______ parts and the first is about _______.
| A．three, his journeys by sea |
| B．three, his characters |
| C．two, his lonely life |
| D．four, his fame |
“Every household” in this passage means ________.
| A．all members of a family |
| B．all people |
| C．every building |
| D．persons living in the same house |
What was Defoe’s contribution(贡献) to the English literature?
| A．He wrote a very interesting story. |
| B．He made people happy while reading his story. |
| C．He set a milestone of the modern English novel. |
| D．He was active in politics and was against capitalism. |
Pacing and Pausing
Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve's new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn't hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.
Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there's no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I'm finished or fail to take your turn when I'm finished. That's what was happening with Betty and Sara.
It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.
The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思维定式). And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in --- and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.
That's why slight differences in conversational style --- tiny little things like microseconds of pause --- can have a great effect on one's life. The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems --- even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?
| A．Betty was talkative. | B．Betty was an interrupter. |
| C．Betty did not take her turn. | D．Betty paid no attention to Sara. |
According to the passage, who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns?
| A．Americans. | B．Israelis. | C．The British. | D．The Finns. |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing |
| B．women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US |
| C．one's inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes |
| D．one should receive training to build up one's confidence |
The underlined word "assertiveness" in the last paragraph probably means ______.
| A．being willing to speak one's mind | B．being able to increase one's power |
| C．being ready to make one's own judgment | D．being quick to express one's ideas confidently |
Open Letter to an Editor
I had an interesting conversation with a reporter recently --- one who works for you. In fact, he’s one of your best reporters. He wants to leave.
Your reporter gave me a copy of his resume(简历) and photocopies of six stories that he wrote for you. The headlines showed you played them proudly. With great enthusiasm, he talked about how he finds issues(问题), approaches them, and writes about them, which tells me he is one of your best. I’m sure you would hate to lose him. Surprisingly, your reporter is not unhappy. In fact, he told me he really likes his job. He has a great assignment (分工), and said you run a great paper. It would be easy for you to keep him, he said. He knows that the paper values him. He appreciates the responsibility you’ve given him, takes ownership of his profession, and enjoys his freedom.
So why is he looking for a way out?
He talked to me because he wants his editors to demand so much more of him. He wants to be pushed, challenged, coached to new heights.
The reporter believes that good stories spring from good questions, but his editors usually ask how long the story will be, when it will be in, where it can play, and what the budget is.
He longs for conversations with an editor who will help him turn his good ideas into great ones. He wants someone to get excited about what he’s doing and to help him turn his story idea upside down and inside out, exploring the best ways to report it. He wants to be more valuable for your paper. That’s what you want for him, too, isn’t it?
So your reporter has set me thinking.
Our best hope in keeping our best reporters, copy editors, photographers, artists --- everyone --- is to work harder to make sure they get the help they are demanding to reach their potential. If we can’t do it, they’ll find someone who can.What does the writer think of the reporter?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Imaginative. | C．Ambitious. | D．Proud. |
What does the reporter want most from his editors in their talks?
| A．Finding the news value of his stories. | B．Giving him financial support. |
| C．Helping him to find issues. | D．Improving his good ideas. |
Who probably wrote the letter?
| A．An editor. | B．An artist. | C．A reporter. | D．A reader. |
The letter aims to remind editors that they should ______.
| A．keep their best reporters at all costs |
| B．give more freedom to their reporters |
| C．be aware of their reporters’ professional development |
| D．appreciate their reporters’ working styles and attitudes |
Goldie’s Secret
She turned up at the doorstep of my house in Cornwall. No way could I have sent her away. No way, not me anyway. Maybe someone had kicked her out of their car the night before. "We’re moving house.’; "No space for her any more with the baby coming." "We never really wanted her, but what could we have done? She was a present." People find all sorts of excuses for abandoning an animal. And she was one of the most beautiful dogs I had ever seen.
I called her Goldie. If I had known what was going to happen I would have given her a more creative name. She was so unsettled during those first few days. She hardly ate anything and had such an air of sadness about her. There was nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed. Heaven knows what had happened to her at her previous owner’s. But eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down. Always by my side, whether we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by the fire.
That’s why it was such a shock when she pulled away from me one day when we were out for a walk. We were a long way from home, when she started barking and getting very restless. Eventually I couldn’t hold her any longer and she raced off down the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could.
By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with Goldie. But when I saw her licking (舔) the four puppies (幼犬) I started to feel sympathy towards them. "We didn’t know what had happened to her," said the woman at the door. "I took her for a walk one day, soon after the puppies were born, and she just disappeared." "She must have tried to come back to them and got lost," added a boy from behind her.
I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I’ve got Nugget now, and she looks just like her mother. And I’ve learnt a good lesson: not to judge people.How did the author feel about Goldie when Goldie came to the house?
| A．Shocked. | B．Sympathetic. | C．Annoyed. | D．Upset. |
In her first few days at the author’s house, Goldie ______.
| A．felt worried | B．was angry | C．ate a little | D．sat by the fire |
Goldie rushed off to a farmhouse one day because she ______.
| A．saw her puppies | B．heard familiar barking |
| C．wanted to leave the author | D．found her way to her old home |
The passage is organized in order of ______.
| A．time | B．effectiveness | C．importance | D．complexity |
With a £4 million ITV contract（合同） in her pocket and an engagement （婚约） to her England footballer boyfriend, it's been a good year for Christine Bleakley．Perhaps it's no wonder, as the TV presenter is 31, the age at which women are the most attractive, according to a survey．
While the average British woman of 31 may be married with a child, the survey noted they are at a wonderful age because they have not only youthful beauty but also more confidence and a better sense of style than flesh-faced teenagers．
Some 70 percent of more than 2,000 men and women surveyed considered confidence as a key factor in making a woman attractive, ahead of the 67 percent who included physical beauty and 47 percent who looked for a sense of style．Almost two thirds of the women agreed with the opinion "With age, comes beauty", and over half said that as they age they do away with their insecurities and feel more beautiful, while 55 percent felt they knew the best make-up to wear．
Self-confidence varied widely across the country in the survey: London women emerged as the most confident about their looks, with 37 percent describing themselves as beautiful, compared with just 28 percent of Welsh women．Meanwhile, East Midlands women spend the most on beauty programs —£129．69 monthly—compared with a national average of £105．50．
The research was carried on for TV shopping channel QVC to mark the launch of its "Beauty Month"．QVC marketing director Sue Leeson said: "This research shows what many have always suspected — real beauty is about more than just good looks but a combination of confidence, style and personality, too．”
Which of the following doesn't have much to do with a woman's beauty?
| A．Being famous and independent． | B．Having self-confidence． |
| C．Looking young and stylish． | D．Wearing proper make-up． |
In the survey_______________ think attractive women should possess a sense of style．
| A．nearly 1,000 women | B．more than 1,000 women |
| C．nearly half the participants | D．55 percent of the women |
Which fact shows that a woman is confident?
| A．Paying little attention to style． |
| B．Wearing expensive make-up． |
| C．Considering herself as beautiful． |
| D．Spending much on beauty programs． |
For years my husband, John, and I had dreamed of taking our three kids to Disney World．We'd planned our trip down to the last detail and dollar．But in Georgia, halfway there, our car broke down．
At a garage, the mechanic promised our Mercury Sable would be repaired by the next week．Meanwhile, John tried to find us a rental car．After many phone calls, John finally found a car．Luckily, our auto club would pick up the tab．We ended up arriving there three hours behind schedule．We tried every ride and met Mickey．
At the end of the long weekend we called the garage to check on our car．It turned out that the mechanic hadn't even looked at it yet! John got on the phone again．He found it would cost more than $ l, 100 to rent a car to drive home．That plus a plane ticket for him to go pick up our own car and we'd be out over $2,000!
I wailed（痛哭） and asked John, "What are we going to do?" He said, "It'll work out．" John encouraged me not to lose heart and he insisted on trying to find a way out．Amazingly, John found a car transport company that had a car we could drive home, paying only for gas! But all the way home I couldn't stop thinking about the money we'd still need for John's trip back to the garage and another long driving home．
When we got home, the high school student who had fed our cats asked how our trip was．I gave him the rundown, "Things worked out okay except that our car's still stuck in Georgia．" "No problem," he said．"I'm heading to Florida for a spring break with my parents．We'll be glad to stop in Georgia on the way back and pick up your car．"
We ended up spending only $50 more than we'd budgeted．The next week, our car was back, and I had a new understanding of dealing with trouble．Whatever happens, if you never give up, a good solution will come out at last．From the passage we can learn that ．
| A．Disney World is located in Georgia |
| B．Mercury Sable is the name of the mechanic |
| C．the couple budgeted for their trip carefully |
| D．repairing their car needed a lot of money |
The underlined phrase "pick up the tab" probably means “___________”．
| A．pay the expense of renting a car |
| B．find a taxi for the club members |
| C．give somebody a lift on the way |
| D．take someone home free of charge |
Why was the author unhappy at the end of the weekend?
| A．They didn't have enough money to rent a car to go home． |
| B．They spent $2,000 more than they had budgeted． |
| C．They didn't enjoy themselves in Disney World． |
| D．They found their car hadn't been repaired at all． |
We can infer from the passage that _______________________．
| A．the car transport company usually had its cars rented |
| B．the couple had to drive the company's car to an appointed place |
| C．the car transport company charged the couple some money |
| D．a student helped the couple return the car to the company ． |
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