There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip, so he packed his suitcase with cakes and a six-pack of beer, and started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a cake.
She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her some beer.
Once again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted. They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, yet they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy got up to leave. Before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy got home, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the old woman returned to her home. Her neighbor was shocked by the look of joy on her face and asked, “What did you do today that made you so happy?”
She replied, “I ate cakes in the park with God.” But before her neighbor responded, she added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”What did the boy know before his journey?
| A．He had little chance to meet God. |
| B．It would be long before he met God. |
| C．He would run into many difficulties on the road. |
| D．God would greet him with the most beautiful smile. |
The old woman was happiest when .
| A．the boy offered her a cake |
| B．the boy offered her some beer |
| C．the boy turned back and gave her a hug |
| D．she was looking at the pigeons in the park |
What was God like in the eyes of the old woman?
| A．He should be old enough. |
| B．He couldn’t be very talkative. |
| C．He must be kind to the young. |
| D．He must be happy all the time. |
Where was I? The room was dark and quiet. My head hurt really badly. I shouted, “Help! Help! Can anybody help me?”
After a while somebody came in. The room was so dark that I couldn’t see his face clearly. The man turned on the light and said with a sharp voice, “Ah! Sweetie, do you still remember who I am?” I was shocked. Oh, my God! I cried, “You are Michael Zey, the man I charged with murder! Why are you here? You should be in prison!”
“You never thought about the result of charging a gang（犯罪团伙） leader, did you? Because of you, I was in prison for 15 years. You ruined my life!” His voice was very cold. My face was pale with fear. He was here to take revenge（报复）!
“Please, let me go! Don't hurt me! Please!” I asked him. “Dr. Calment, you are smart enough to know it is impossible. Now, I give you two choices. One is shooting your head. It is the quickest way. The other is cremation（火葬）. Your husband and you will be together forever. It’s quite romantic. Don't you think?” He spoke angrily. “What? My husband? He is innocent!” I shouted at him.
Suddenly, he took hold of my head and said, “You will pay for what you have done to me.” He took out a gun from his bag.
“Help! Help! Can anybody help me?”What might have happened to the writer before the man came in?
| A．She had taken his place and become a gang leader. |
| B．She had come to this place to see her husband. |
| C．She wanted to pay for what she had done to Michael Zey. |
| D．She had been beaten terribly. |
Which of the following words can best describe how the writer felt when the story happened?
| A．Surprised. | B．Terrified. | C．Amazed. | D．Puzzled. |
What does the underlined word “it” in the fourth paragraph refer to?
| A．To let her go. | B．To hurt her. |
| C．To take revenge. | D．To stay in prison. |
Michael Zey mentioned the writer’s husband because ______.
| A．he thought her husband was guilty |
| B．he thought it was romantic |
| C．he thought her husband was innocent |
| D．he wanted to frighten the writer |
The 115-year-old prestigious (有名望的)Oxford Dictionary will now include popular new Chinese terms like“shanzhai” “youtiao” and “fangnu”, as part of the modern Chinese language．
As China plays a more and more important role in the world economy, the Chinese language is forever developing, attracting more attention from people who want to understand this ancient yet lively language．
For instance, the word “shanzhai” is used to describe the countless knockoffs（名牌仿制品）of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos．
Another new term in the new edition is the word “fangnu”, or a “mortgage slave” —a term used to describe the phenomenon in large cities where well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage．
All these new or often fashionable terms can be found in the new Oxford English –Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary that was unveiled(公布于众的)in the recently concluded Beijing International Book Fair last week．
The dictionary now is available for retail sales since the beginning of this month．This dictionary is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary and contains 670,000 words and phrases after five years of preparation．Sixty editors from the Oxford University Press and its partner in China—the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press—worked together on the project．According to Julie Kleeman, the dictionary’s chief editor, most of the firm’s editors were Chinese, while about one fourth were native-English speakers．
“We don’t want to make it florid（绚丽的）, we want it to be modern and conversational．．．many of the words in the present dictionary are no longer in use,” said Kleeman．“The need for studying Chinese by foreigners today is totally different from decades ago．．．Precise, native and practical—that is our main advantage,” she said．
Kleeman said newer publications updates will be available only for the online version as language often changes too quickly for book versions to keep pace．The online version will also offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide．The online version, allowing access via different platforms from the PC to the iPad, will be ready “as soon as possible”, Kleeman said． According to the above passage, we learn that ________．
| A．knockoffs can be found in China but not very often. |
| B．the Oxford University Press made the dictionary without outside aid. |
| C．most Chinese editors are also native speakers of English. |
| D．well-educated youth in China’s big cities have difficulty buying houses. |
The possible reason why newer publications updates are not available for book versions is that ________．
| A．book versions can’t keep up with the changes of language. |
| B．the computer network is available everywhere. |
| C．book versions can’t offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide. |
| D．computer technology like the PC and the iPad keeps pace with language. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．New Chinese terms like “shanzhai” and “fangnu” have got into Oxford Dictionary． |
| B．The latest Oxford English-Chinese, Chinese-English Dictionary is on the market． |
| C．Oxford Dictionary has become more fashionable due to the Chinese language． |
| D．Beijing International Book Fair was where the new Oxford Dictionary was published |
Hundreds of students from around the world gathered in New York City last week for the Microsoft Imagine Cup finals. They came to present their ideas for using technology to solve world problems.
Microsoft education director Suzi Levine says the nine-year-old program began mainly as a competition to create technology.
SUZI LEVINE: "When we realized that students really actually want to have a purpose for what they're creating, we introduced the idea of inspiring them with the UN Millennium Development Goals and suggesting that they use those for their muse(灵感). "This past year we also rolled out something called the Imagine Cup Solve This library（创新杯求解计划知识库）, where IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits can submit some of the technical challenges that they would like students to consider for their solutions."
Microsoft says over 350，000 high school and college students registered for this year's competition. Judges chose more than four hundred of them to attend the finals.
SUZI LEVINE: "One from Thailand was called NewKrean, where they created a Windows Phone 7 application that allows you to broadcast your location to your social network of friends so that you can be more easily rescued." They named their application Terra.
Suzi Levine says there were also ideas from Egypt inspired by the revolution that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in February.
SUZI LEVINE: "One was to use Bluetooth as sort of a Twitter equivalent so that if the government shuts down the Internet, you actually can still have a massive social distribution."
Students competed in nine categories. For example, in software design the top prize of twenty-five thousand dollars went to Team Hermes from Ireland. The students developed a device for cars to collect information on road conditions, driving behavior and traffic incidents.
A team from Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University won first place in the embedded（内嵌的） development category. They developed a network of wireless devices to help plot the safest escape routes during a fire.
Next year's awards ceremony will take place in Australia. Registration for Imagine Cup twenty-twelve opened Friday. Also, Microsoft announced plans for a three million dollar program to help Imagine Cup winners further develop their projects.Which of the following is true ?
| A．The program is sponsored by Microsoft. |
| B．Next year, the awards ceremony will be held in New York City. |
| C．Any high school or college student can attend the finals. |
| D．The initial purpose of the program is to solve world problems using technology. |
What can we infer from the third paragraph?
| A．The UN offers great help to the program. |
| B．Microsoft sets up a library for the students who want to achieve their goals. |
| C．IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits also provide help for the students. |
| D．Microsoft takes effective measures to inspire the students. |
What does the underlined word “overthrew ” in Paragraph 6 mean ?
| A． Abandoned | B．Supported | C．Drove away | D．Overturned |
What can we know from Paragraph 7?
| A．They want to replace Bluetooth with Twitter. |
| B．They want to combine Bluetooth with Twitter. |
| C．They want to replace Twitter with Bluetooth. |
| D．Twitter can still be used without the Internet. |
People in the UK often talk about their homes: their mortgages (按揭), the interest rates, and rising prices. Here’s a guide to some of the words and phrases you might come across.
It’s a good idea in the UK to arrange a mortgage with a bank before you start looking. This is when the bank tells you how much money they will lend you so you have a good idea of how much you can afford.
The next step is to go to an estate agent and see what sort of properties they have available in your budget range and in your area. If you see something you like, the estate agent will arrange for you to view the property, so that you can see the house or flat for yourself.
If you see something that takes your eye, you put in an offer. The vendor (卖家) can accept or decline this offer, and if the vendor accepts it, you can move forward with the sale. However, as you don’t pay any money at this point, the offer isn’t legally binding (具有约束力), and in theory, you can pull out of the offer at any time that you like.
Your next step will probably be to get a structural survey done. A qualified surveyor will inspect the house and write a report that illustrates any structural problems, like damp or drainage problems.
If you still want to go ahead with the sale, you need to appoint a lawyer to do the legal paperwork.. If you already own a house, you might also be busy trying to sell it. Many house owners prefer to sell to first-time buyers (those people who don’t already own a home), as they are not in a chain (waiting for other people to buy the house before they can buy their next house).
Finally, once the contracts are signed and exchanged, you complete on your house. You get the keys and you can move in whenever you want. Then you might want to throw a house-warming party. Congratulations! Which of the following shows the right order of what happens before the people in the UK move into a new house?
a. ask for a company which represents others of properties
b. decide how much to borrow from the bank
c. examine the structure of the house
d. hire a lawyer and make a contract
e. offer the seller the right money
f. visit the house and discuss a price with the seller
| A．b, a, f, d, c, e | B．b, a, f, c, d, e |
| C．b, a, f, e, d, c | D．b, f, d, e, c, a |
According to the passage, these statements are correct EXCEPT ___________.
| A．People can borrow the whole money for a new house from a bank. |
| B．People care for mortgages, interest rates and the prices &house. |
| C．The sellers are more interested in the first-time buyers. |
| D．After getting the keys, the owners sometimes have a party. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Owners. | B．Surveyors. |
| C．Lawyers. | D．Collectors. |
The passage is maybe one that _______________.
| A．give some advice on the house |
| B．introduces a book on travelers |
| C．give some tips to buyers |
| D．introduces a guide to visitors |
In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.
A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.What did the author say about her own writing experience?
| A．She was constantly under pressure of writing more. |
| B．Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers. |
| C．Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations. |
| D．She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer. |
Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?
| A．She wanted to share her stories with readers. |
| B．She had won a prize in the previous contest. |
| C．She was sure of winning with her mother’s help. |
| D．She believed she possessed real talent for writing. |
The author took great pains to refine her daughter’s stories because ________.
| A．she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dream of becoming a writer |
| B．she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance |
| C．she did not want to disappoint Rebecca who needed her help so much |
| D．she was afraid Rebecca’s imagination might run wild while writing |
What’s the author’s advice for parents?
| A．Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions. |
| B．Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience. |
| C．Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in. |
| D．A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue. |
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