I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.
I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.
It takes confidence to make a new start — there’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a navel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.
Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.
The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for. It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract（合同）of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding.The author decided to write a novel ______.
| A．to finish the writing course | B．to realize her own dream |
| C．to satisfy readers’ wish | D．to earn more money |
How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?
| A．Disturbed. | B．Ashamed. |
| C．Confident | D．Uncertain. |
What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?
| A．It pays to stick to one’s goal. |
| B．Hard work can lead to success. |
| C．She feels like being unexpectedly lucky. |
| D．There is no end in sight when starting to do something. |
Some time ago ,I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended , as there are a whole lot of antique shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth - so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper,“ Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “ Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK, ”he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds. ”“It ‘s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it's nothing.”
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?”I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done. ”“I'll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean？ You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I'm sorry, I'll give you twenty -seven pounds for it. ”“ Your must be crazy, ”he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair. ”“ You’re right, ”I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, Would you mend this chair for me?I wouldn't have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver?”He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer ________.
| A．was rather impolite | B．was warmly received |
| C．asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair | D．asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair |
The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper ________.
| A．changed his mind | B．accepted the offer |
| C．decided to help the writer | D．saw the writer’s purpose |
How much did the writer pay?
| A．￡ 5. | B．￡ 7. | C．￡ 20. | D．￡ 27. |
From the text, we can learn that the writer was ________
| A．honest | B．careful | C．funny | D．smart |
From the beginning rivers have played an important in the life of man．Man of the earliest times used the rivers as a means of travel．Today rivers still serve as a great waterway for the transport and people．
In ancient times, man settled near rivers or on river banks and built up large empires．
Water is nature’s most valuable gift to man．Man needs water to irrigate his crops, to cook and to wash．In nations all over the world, rivers mean life and wealth．They feed and clothe the nations around them．
Water is also a source of energy and power．Man build huge dams across the rivers to control the water for irrigation and get the energy needed to drive generators．The electrical power is then directed to homes, cities, factories and television stations．
Man uses water each day．In a small way rivers help to keep man in good health and provide for his amusements．Various forms of water sports keep man strong and healthy．Rivers have been important to man _______．
| A．since they came into being | B．since the last century |
| C．since a few hundred years ago． | D．since the beginning of BC |
Man in old times traveled from one continent to another ______．
| A．by air | B．by sea | C．by train | D．by bus |
Generators are machines that are used ______．
| A．to direct electrical power | B．to control the water |
| C．to produce electricit | D．to build dams y |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．People get energy by building bridges across rivers． |
| B．In ancient times large empires grew up near dams． |
| C．People can be provided with amusements in small rivers． |
| D．Large rivers are still useful for transportation in modern times． |
The Mississippi is the major river system in the United States. The Yangtze is China’s longest river.
Although a world apart, the two waterways share conservation concerns that provide a cultural bridge between students in the United States and China, as well as from around the world.
The Mississippi flows almost 3,800 kilometers from a small lake in Minnesota, gathering the waters of 250 other rivers and streams before reaching the Gulf of Mexico.
In mid-May, as spring flowers began to open, about 41 students from a dozen colleges, mostly in the Midwest, explored a section of the river in Wisconsin and Iowa, to learn about the environment, and each other.
The students, from the U.S., China and around the world, came to join the River Spirit Exchange program.
The cross-cultural educational experience - set up by the University of Wisconsin, Madison-based Environment and Public Health Network for Chinese Students - focuses on the Mississippi and China’s longest river, the Yangtze.
This three day get-together featured story-telling, hiking, camping and canoeing, all part of a larger lesson about conservation projects that can be used on both the Yangtze and Mississippi.
While the students learned about the problems challenging the Mississippi and Yangtze, Jeb Barzen, a wildlife biologist, explained they should also learn about the importance of bridging each other’s culture.
The president of the Environment and Public Health Network for Chinese Students, Xiaojun Lu, said the Mississippi and Yangtze Rivers are uniting these students from opposite ends of the earth.
Organizers say the success and spirit of this first gathering of students will lead to other trips, including one down the Yangtze.Where is the source of the Mississippi?
| A．Minnesota | B．the Gulf of Mexico | C．Wisconsin | D．Iowa |
According to the passage, the get-together .
| A．lasted a week | B．took place in May |
| C．was held in China | D．was organized by students |
According to Paragraph 8, Barzen believes that .
| A．China and the U.S. should work together to protect the environment |
| B．the Mississippi is more important than the Yangtze to the world |
| C．cultural exchange between different countries is of great importance |
| D．the program encourages technical cooperation between China and the U.S. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A major river system in the United States. |
| B．The differences between the Mississippi and the Yangtze. |
| C．An educational program about tourism. |
| D．An international cultural exchange program. |
Where is the passage most probably taken from?
| A．A personal diary | B．A news report |
| C．An official document | D．An advertisement |
Health insurance can be very expensive. Some working people do not make enough money to pay for it. In the US there is a program called Healthy Families. This program offers people health insurance at a low cost.
Families are charged about ￥7.00 a month for every child, and ￥10.00 for every adult. It costs much less than any other kind of health insurance. Having health insurance is very important. With this insurance, people can see a doctor when they are sick or hurt.
The program is not expensive at all, but many people are still not enrolling in it. People say that it still costs too much money. They need all of their money to pay for things like food and rent.
It would be great if everyone could have health insurance. People are working hard to come up with ways to make this happen. One idea is to make the Healthy Families Program free for some people.
It is important for people to see a doctor when they need to. The Healthy Families Program makes it possible for more people to do this. Many ideas are being considered. Hopefully some of them will allow even more families to get health insurance.
The Healthy Families Program is made to help those who don’t have welfare (社会保障金) and cannot earn enough to pay for private health insurance. It is an important program, but officials say that too many people are signing up for it and then dropping out because of the Healthy Families Program’s cost. The aim of the Healthy Families Program is to __________.
| A．help people earn more and pay for the program |
| B．help more families get health insurance |
| C．make it free for people to see a doctor |
| D．help families pay for private health insurance |
If a couple has two children, how much would health insurance cost every month in the family?
| A．￥24. | B．￥28. | C．￥34. | D．￥40. |
Why is it very important for people to have health insurance?
| A．They can afford to see a doctor when they need to. |
| B．They can get special medical care. |
| C．They can see a doctor free of charge. |
| D．They can go to see a doctor as soon as possible. |
In the passage we can learn all of the following EXCEPT that __________.
| A．health insurance is very important for ordinary people |
| B．the program is still too expensive for many people |
| C．people should make more money to pay for private health insurance |
| D．many people don’t make enough money to pay for health insurance |
The passage is mainly about __________.
| A．health insurance at a low cost | B．the benefits of health insurance |
| C．the cost of health insurance | D．the Healthy Families Program |
Jesse Owens is recognized as a hero not just because he is fast. Some people might say that they know him for just that reason. However, there are lots of fast people who are not known. Jesse Owens is known because Chancellor Adolf Hitler did not shake the hand of Jesse Owens or even recognize his feat of winning four gold medals, because Owens was an African American.
Jesse Owens owed much of his success to his coach Charles Riley, who probably was the most important one making him have the career that he did. Owens came from a background that required him to work after school in a shoe shop. He couldn’t attend the regularly scheduled track practices organized by his school. However, Charles Riley saw the boy had both a passion(热情) and a talent for running, and so arranged for him to be able to practice before school instead.
Jesse Owens achieved this success despite(尽管) his racial background, which at the time was a huge limitation to him. He could only eat in certain restaurants and sleep in certain hotels, as could all African Americans of the time. He was also never offered a scholarship for school despite setting records for NCAA(美国全国大学生体育协会) championships.
The Berlin Olympics in 1936 is where his star rose as high as it would ever be able to. These Olympics were during the height of Hitler’s rule. It took courage to race in front of Hitler and many other racist(种族主义者). It took time, determination, and perseverance(坚持不懈) to race like him. He won four gold medals at those Olympics. It would take almost fifty years for someone else to walk away from the Olympics with four gold medals. He passed away at the age of 66 from lung cancer.The underlined word “feat” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “ .”
| A．chance | B．happiness | C．success | D．hope |
We know from paragraph 2 that Jesse Owens .
| A．did not need to work after school |
| B．took part in the regular track practices |
| C．did not get along well with his coach |
| D．was arranged to practice before school |
Jesse Owens was well-known around the world mainly because he .
| A．sets records for NCAA championships |
| B．was brave enough to race in front of Adolf Hitler |
| C．didn’t want to shake hands with Hitler |
| D．is recognized as a hero of the white Americans |
According to the passage, which of the following about Jesse Owens is true?
| A．Hitler recognized his feat of winning four gold medals. |
| B．He was offered a scholarship for setting records for NCAA championships. |
| C．He could only eat in certain restaurants like many other African Americans. |
| D．It took him almost fifty years to walk away from the Olympics with four gold medals. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Sport hero ---- Jesse Owens | B．The Berlin Olympics in 1936 |
| C．Charles Riley ---- Jesse Owens’ s coach | D．Jesse Owens’s childhood |
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