Herbie Ricketts，52,lives in Thornton Heath，south London，and works as an electrician．He has been a listening volunteer with the Samaritans for 16 years.
Each caller is as individual as their circumstances and I didn’t realize so many people take their own lives until I became a Samaritan．And only then did the true nature of the work I was doing hit home.
I’ll always remember my first day on duty．The caller, stressed and depressed，told me he was suicidal(想自杀的)．He’d been too frightened to talk to the people around him，which is common．People are told they’ve got nothing to be upset about．Or, if they are already classified as having mental health issues，so they tell no one．How do you make sense of your feelings if you can’t tell someone? Just allowing people to say what they honestly feel helps them find a different perspective．I couldn’t offer him practical advice but I could support him emotionally．I helped him come to terms with his situation and make sense of some of the terrible emotions he was experiencing．Offering anonymity(匿名)and being nonjudgmental(无偏见的)allows people easily hurt to explore their thoughts without fear or worry．I left him in an emotionally safe place，ensuring he knew 1 wasn’t rejecting or abandoning him．I let him know we were still there if he needed us，explaining that it might not be me on the other end of the phone but another Samaritan who could also support．
Suicidal people will ring with issues like drug use or loneliness．If you look at it from the perspective of, “How can I solve this? ”you can become，like them，at a loss．Every cell in your body wants to offer solutions，but as a Samaritan I’m not there to sort their problems out．I listen and will support them when they can’t see any further than tomorrow．When the phone goes silent，we stay with that caller as long as we possibly can，which could be two or three hours．
The shifts are up to four hours long．When it doesn’t go so well，I offload to my colleague，so I don’t carry home a heavy heart．Being a Samaritan has greatly improved my life．I’m calmer and become a supportive listener, which has also improved my relationships．But being a wonderful Samaritan doesn’t make you a wonderful parent or wonderful partner—I wish it did．What does the underlined sentence in the passage probably mean?
| A．Those who called in had their unique nature． |
| B．I got to realize the value of being a Samaritan． |
| C．It was common that many people committed suicide． |
| D．I was determined to be a Samaritan at home． |
Some people choose not to tell others about their feelings mainly because they________.
| A．actually have nothing to worry about |
| B．are too shy to expose themselves to others |
| C．suffer from serious mental health problems |
| D．find no supportive listeners around them |
Samaritans usually help callers by________.
| A．sorting out their problems |
| B．providing practical advice for them |
| C．offering them emotional support |
| D．asking questions such as“How can I solve this? ” |
We may infer from the passage that________.
| A．being a good Samaritan takes patience |
| B．Samaritans are easily affected by callers |
| C．callers are always successfully comforted |
| D．people kill themselves for lack of listening volunteers |
阅读下列材料，从所给的六个选项（A、B、C、D、E和F）中，选出符合各小题要求的最佳选项，并在答题卡上写上答案。选项中有一项为多余选项。
The people below are all looking for a hotel in Scotland for their holidays. After the description of these people, there is information about six Scotland hotels A-F. Decide which hotel would be most suitable for the people mentioned in questions 1-5 and then mark the correct letter(A-F) on your answer sheet. There is one extra paragraph about one hotel which you don’t need to use.
________Two women friends who want to do several all-day hikes in the mountains during the spring. They like a place with traditional decorations and wonderful views
______A woman with two children aged six and ten, who will spend July in Scotland. The children are interested in animals and plants and the mother enjoys fashions.
________A handicapped lawyer who must use a wheelchair but drives her own car. She enjoys concerts, museums, fine architecture and swimming. She will spend the first two weeks of October in Scotland.
__________A writer, a teacher and their one-year-old daughter. They want to be in a quiet place during August. They enjoy good food, and like to take long walks(the baby rides in a back-pack).
_________An old couple, aged 65 and 68. They love mountain scenery and still take easy walks by the lakeside when they can. They hope to enjoy fresh air and some relaxing activities.
| A．Edinburgh. Post House A popular base for visitors to Edinburgh, this fine hotel stands next to the zoological Gardens within easy reach of the many famous sights, shops and entertainments of one of Europe’s most elegant capitals. |
| B．Gatehouse of Fleet. Cally Hotel This impressive hotel, well-known for its good Scottish cooking, is an ideal choice for a relaxing family holiday. Set in 100 acres of private grounds, the Cally, a former stately home, has something for everyone including its own fishing lake, outdoor heated swimming pool, green lawn, tennis court, children’s playground and sauna baths. |
| C．Glenborrodale. Glenborrodale Castle Hotel There can be few better places for a refreshing holiday than this picturesque hotel set in its own 120 acres of beautiful countryside by charming Lake Sunart on the Ardnamurchan Peninsular（半岛）. Boating and fishing are both available here. |
| D．Inverness. Royal Hotel! |
A unique feature(特点) of the Royal is its fine collection of antique(made in earlier times) furniture, china and glass. This friendly comfortable hotel, a favourite meeting place for the townspeople, is an excellent base for getting to know the Highlands-Lake Ness, Great Gien and Culloden Moor are all within easy reach.
E．Peebles. Tontine Hotel
The Tontine had a fascinating beginning-it was built in 1808. This homely hotel has been extended to make it a really comfortable base for exploring the Tweed Valley and the attractive Lowland country.
F．North Berwick. Marine Hotel
Fine hotel overlooks the famous West Links golf course and is close to several sandy beaches. The Marine has its own open-air swimming pool as well as tennis courts, squash courts and saunas. Edinburgh, well-known for its art festivals, is only some 24 miles away.
| Box Office Instructions |
| Discounts/ Service charges: We offer children (12 and under), seniors (65 and over) and students (student ID card required) discounts on all seats. Please call the Box Office to know about any other possible discounts. |
| Returns/ Exchanges: We are happy to offer returns or exchanges of tickets bought up until the close of the last business day before the show with a $3.00 per ticket fee for this service. The b  ox office must be informed directly in order to exchange tickets to another date (this service is not available online). |
| Friendly reminders: Latecomers will not be permitted to enter the hall until a suitable break in the performance. Children must be seated where they can be looked after by parents. Please show consideration for other audiences by not talking during the performance, and please encourage children to do the same. Cameras and recording equipment are not allowed to be used in our theatre. Please turn off all cell phones while enjoying the performance. |
| Will call: Please tell us at the time of booking if you would like your tickets mailed to you, otherwise they will be held for pickup at the box office. |
We can learn from the passage that exchanges of tickets bought ________.
| A．are free of charge | B．are not available until the last business day |
| C．will not be given a big cash discount | D．need to contact the box office directly |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Latecomers will not be permitted to enter the theatre. |
| B．There is a special area for children in the theatre. |
| C．The audience is not allowed to take photos in the theatre. |
| D．Children can talk in a low voice during the performance. |
According to the passage, the audience ________.
| A．can receive their tickets by mail | B．can see the performance online |
C．can’t t ake cell phones to the theatre |
D．can’t return tickets in any case |
Thousands of people living in the Chinese capital will celebrate the start of the Chinese New year by heading for the ski resorts (滑雪场). Never mind that Beijing's dry weather seldom produces snow. It is cold enough in winter for snow-making machines to make a covering for the hills north to the capital. And the rapid growth of a pleasure-seeking middle class has formed t
he basis for this new craze(热潮）
Since Beijing's first ski resort was opened ten years ago, the sport has enjoyed astonishing increase. There are now more than a dozen resorts. Clothes markets in the city have added bright colored ski suits to their winter collections. Mr. Wei, a manager of a newly-opened ski resort in Beijing, sees the growth of an industry that
could soon lead Chinese to head for the ski resorts of Europe, In recent years ski resorts offering natural snow have opened in China. But many are in faraway areas of the country and can't really match the equipment and services of some ski resorts in Europe.
Beijing's skiing craze is partly a result of the recent increase in private (私有的) cars. This has led to the growth of a leisure industry in the capital's suburbs (郊区), which until the late-1990s were unreachable to ordinary people, According to Mr. Wei, about 40% of the visitors to his resort come in their own cars. The rest are bused in by schools, businesses or government offices.
The problem is making money. Starting ski resorts requires quite a lot of money; hiring land from the local government, preparing the hills, buying snow machines, making sure there are enough water and electricity to run them, and buying ski equipment for hiring out to customers.
The ski resort where Mr. Wei works cost nearly $4 million to set up. And. as so often in China when someone comes up with a good idea, many others rush in and price wars break out. Beijing now offers some of the cheapest ski training classes in the world, though with most people rather new to the sport, expecting a few more doing the same job.What does this text mainly talk about?
| A．Convenience for skiers brought about by private cars. |
| B．Skiing as a new way of enjoying one's spare time. |
| C．Things to be considered when starting a ski resort. |
| D．A sudden increase of ski training classes in Beijing. |
Why are some Chinese likely to go skiing in Europe?
| A．To visit more ski areas. | B．To ski on natural snow. |
| C．For a large collection of ski suits. | D．For better services and equipment. |
The underlined words "leisure industry" in Paragraph 3 refer to ----
A. transport to ski resorts B. production of family cars
C. business of providing spare time enjoyments D part-time work for people living in the suburbs What is the main problem in running a ski resort?
| A．Difficulty in hiring land. | B．Lack of business experience. |
| C．Price wars with other ski resorts, | D．Shortage of water and electricity, |
A young father was visiting an old neighbor．They were standing in the old man's garden，talking about children. The young man said，“How strict should parents be with their children？”
The old man pointed to a string（绳子）between a big strong tree and a thin young one． “Please untie（解开）that string，” he said．The young man untied it，and the young tree bent over to one side．“Now tie it again， please，” said the old man，“but first pull the string tight so that the young tree is straight again．”
The young man did so．Then the old man said，“There，it is the same with children．You must be strict with them，but sometimes you must untie the string to know how they are getting on．If they are not yet able to stand alone，you must tie the string tight again．But when you find that they are ready to stand alone，you can take the string away．”The story is about ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．how to take care of young trees |
| B．how strict parents should be with their children |
| C．how the young father should get on with his old neighbor |
| D．how to tie and untie the string |
The young man untied the string ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．in order to throw it away |
| B．so that both of the trees would grow straight |
| C．only to find that the thinner one bent over to one side |
| D．in order to let the old man teach him |
When can the string be taken away？＿＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．When the old man has left |
| B．After you have untied it |
| C．When the young man has untied it next time |
| D．When the young tree grows strong enough |
At last the old man told the young man ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．that he should be strict with his children if they could not yet stand alone |
| B．that he should always be strict with his children |
| C．that he should be hard on them |
| D．that he should tie his children until they are ready to stand alone |
Chinese people are now living happier and longer than before. According to the latest study, the number of people over 60 years old is 130 million, making up 10 percent of the whole population, and increases at a rate of 3 percent per year. This marks that China has stepped into the aged society. It is the Chinese tradition to respect, love, support, and help old people, and the aging problem has received more and more attention from the society.
China has built the system to protect and serve old people’s legal (法律的) rights and interests, gradually developed social insurance, public health services and social welfare (福利) projects for old people, and als
o applied the minimum living standard protection (最低生活保障) system for the aged who are unable to work and receive no supports. Now, China is bringing the aging problem into the work of sustainable (持续的) development according to China’s conditions, to build and develop a social security system for old people, set up a system combined with the state, collectives (集体) and families to solve the problem of “the elderly should be provided for”. The life of China’s old people is more colorful along with the fast and sound economic development of the country.
Old people in today’s China who don’t have to consider their food and clothing hope to live more colorfully. The happy psychology (心态) of the aged makes them thir
sty for knowledge. Strong and healthy old people can be seen everywhere of the country. They learn new knowledge, surf the Internet, practice handwriting and drawing, and take part in fashion shows, exercises and entertainments. Their active and sound living attitude encourages the youth around and they are in fact an important role in ensuring a stable and peaceful society.The underlined part “thirsty for” (in the last paragraph) means “________”.
| A．want to drink water | B．feel hungry | C．want to learn | D．want to teach |
Which of the following is NOT the author’s idea?
| A．China has entered an aged society. |
| B．All people in the society should care for the old. |
| C．Old people’s active living ways have a good effect on the young. |
| D．The society hasn’t done enough for old people. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．How to respect old people | B．Old people’s life in China |
| C．Old people’s problem | D．Old people’s wishes |
From the passage we can know that the author is ________ about the aging problem in China.
| A．disappointed | B．hopeful | C．worried | D．doubtful |
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