I am a single working mother and going to college for a better life for my three-year-old child and myself. I am taking a nurse course called “Urban Community（社区）”. We were asked to do a major project on problems in urban communities. I chose the topic “Homeless”.
Each day I would walk down the streets of the homeless and offer them something to drink and to eat. I know it’s tough to survive on the streets. Last night I ran into a group of 30 kids who were living on the streets in New York. My heart went out to them and I just wanted to cry. But I had to be strong.
I asked about their families and if they contacted them to let them know they were alive. Most of them said, “NO!” They all looked like a happy family and they took care of one another. I tried to persuade them to get help and to contact their families but they did not want to. I did not want to make them to do it as they had their own reasons.
All these kids were very respectful. None of them was high on drugs nor were they drinking. Some of them enjoyed reading and writing. Some of them enjoyed skateboarding, dancing and playing music.
One girl asked me if I could give her a hug and I did so. She started to cry and said, “Thank you for not treating us as freaks（怪人）like everyone else does. People don’t realize that we all have our own problems and some are worse than others.” She told me that her stepfather （继父） was extremely mean to her and her mother did not believe her. She ran away. Her street name was Little Mary.
They were good kids just trying to make ends meet. I told them that I didn’t have much to offer because I was a single mother just making ends meet. I had offered them sandwiches and drinks. They were so happy to have something to eat and told me that I couldn’t change the world but at least there was someone who really cared.The author is _______.
| A．a homeless mother with a three-year-old kid |
| B．a single mother who attends college in New York |
| C．a teacher who teaches the “Urban Community” course |
| D．a full-time housewife with a three-year-old kid |
What does “My heart went out to them” in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．My heart was taken away by them. |
| B．I wanted to hug them |
| C．I felt sympathy for them |
| D．I fell in love with them |
What kind of feeling did the author show when she failed to persuade the children to contact their families?
| A．Sorrow | B．Anxiety | C．Anger | D．Understanding |
Little Mary left home and became a wanderer because ________.
| A．her stepfather didn’t want to live with her |
| B．her stepfather treated her so badly that she was injured |
| C．her mother treated her so badly that she felt hurt |
| D．her mother didn’t believe her and her stepfather treated her badly. |
What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．A Story of a Single Mother |
| B．Care for the Homeless Kids |
| C．An Urban Community |
| D．How to Survive on the Streets |
In some Western countries, there are many opportunities for adults who want to improve their lives. There are public schools you can attend. In the schools, you can take things like English, arithmetic, and history. You can find classes in almost any subject you want to study. You may want to learn to type, sew, paint, or fix TV sets. You may want to learn more about trade you are already in. You may want to learn a new trade. You may want to get a high school diploma. You may even want to go to college. All it takes is time and effort.
In many cities, there are adult classes in the public schools. You can attend many of these classes without having to pay money. In some schools you may have to pay a small fee. There are also many kinds of private schools for adults.
In addition to schools, many industries and unions conduct on-the-job training programs. In these programs you hear about new ideas and learn new skills. Many large companies will send a worker to school if he or she has ability.
Many job opportunities are offered to those who wish to work. It helps if you know more than one language. There are good jobs for interpreters and typists who know English and another language.
There are many good jobs in government. In most cases, you must be a citizen of this country, and you must take a civil service examination. These examinations are open to everyone, regardless of race, religion, or color.
For many civil service jobs you need a high school diploma. The person who does not have a high school diploma can get one. There are several ways. You can study high school subjects at home and then take special tests. If you pass the tests, then you get a diploma. Or you can go to night school. There are classes that prepare you to take special tests to earn a diploma.
You can attend a night school that grants a high school diploma if you complete certain courses. If you do this, you do not have to take the special test.
Be as well trained as you can. Get as much training as you can. Opportunity knocks at every door. Be sure that when it knocks at your door you are ready.According to the article, if you want to live a better life, you have to get__________.
| A．some time | B．an education | C．new ideas | D．new jobs |
In many places, public schooling for adults is ____________________.
| A．difficult | B．easy | C．free | D．new |
What does this article tell us?
| A．Civil service jobs are offered to everyone. |
| B．Only a citizen can apply for a government job. |
| C．Training programs are often poorly organized. |
| D．Large companies will send most of their workers to school. |
We can see that___________________________________.
| A．well-trained people are often out of work |
| B．typists who know English earn much more money |
| C．one can work on a high school diploma at home |
| D．the person without a high school diploma can also get a civil service job |
The purpose of adults’ going to night school is to_______________.
| A．take special tasks | B．complete certain courses |
| C．get more training | D．get a diploma |
Few Americans remain in one position or one place for a lifetime. We move from town to city to suburb, from high school to college in a different state, from a job in one region to a better job elsewhere, from the home where we raise our children to the home where we plan to live in retirement. With each move we are forever making new friends, who become part of our new life at that time.
For many of us summer is a special time for forming new friendships. Today millions of Americans vacation abroad, and they go not only to see new sights but also with the hope of meeting new people. No one really expects a vacation trip to produce a close friend, but the beginning of a friendship is possible.
The word “friend ” can be applied to a wide range of relationships ---- to someone one has known for a few weeks in a new place, to a fellow worker, to a childhood playmate, to a man or woman, to a trusted confidant. Many Americans move from place to place for the following reasons except______.
| A．going to college | B．getting a better job |
| C．finding a place to live in retirement | D．saving money |
Summer is a special time when many Americans_____.
| A．enjoy the sunlight | B．feel strange | C．travel to other countries | D．get a new job |
When summer comes, many Americans _________.
| A．hope to meet new people |
| B．expect to find some close friends |
| C．want to begin lasting friendships with new people |
| D．Both A and B |
From the passage it can be seen that a “friend” can be ______.
| A．a fellow worker | B．a football teammate | C．a boy or a girl | D．all of the above |
Which of the following is the topic sentence of the second paragraph?
| A．For many of us summer is a special time for forming new friendships. |
| B．Today millions of Americans vacation abroad. |
| C．No one really expects a vacation trip to produce a close friendship. |
| D．But surely the beginning of friendship is possible. |
If you're one of the 13 million Americans still struggling to find a job, or wanting to change jobs, a lot of your applications are probably being swallowed up by the "the black hole．" That's when you send in a job application and never receive any follow-up from the company．In fact, only 25 out of 100 applications ever get looked at by companies．
Now, a remarkable new service is helping job seekers instantly track almost every application they submit so they actually know what's going on．It's called Start Wire． corn and it lets job seekers track their applications and find out whether or not their applications have been reviewed, dismissed, or are still being considered．
How does it work? When you fill out a job application via a company website, you'll typically get an auto confirmation email from the company, thanking you for applying．And then, the waiting begins．
Start Wire has linked to more than 5 , 600 employers across the country and receives online updates on job applications for every one of their members．By allowing you to connect your job hunt to your Facebook and Linkedin accounts, it can notify you if you have any connections with the company that you apply for ．
And, Start Wire is free to use! Because Start Wire is a completely ad-supported site, they don't need to charge job seekers to use it．
Most importantly, Start Wire keeps your information private．Your job search activity will never show up on a social network or search engine．Start Wire has become invaluable to over 55, 000 job seekers in a highly competitive job market．
If you're tired of your job search resulting in dead-end responses, take advantage of this free service and give yourself a huge advantage in the job marketplace．
Click here to put your information on an official list and reach an arrangement with Start Wire to use a free service it provides, and improve your chances of finding a good job quickly．You can probably read the passage from ___________.
| A．a newspaper | B．a website | C．a poster | D．a magazine |
If your job applications are being swallowed up, it means that ______．
| A．your personal information has been stolen |
| B．your job applications are under consideration |
| C．you can not receive any reply from the company |
| D．you have to pay money to get your applications back |
If you want to use Start Wire first you should ________.
| A．make a call to the website | B．get access to some employers |
| C．register an account without payment | D．email the company you will apply to |
The passage is mainly intended to______.
| A．prove the advantages of Start Wire |
| B．attract more people to use Start Wire |
| C．teach people how to access Start Wire |
| D．provide key facts about unemployment |
The Segway Human Transporter was invented by Dean Kamen．It is a two-wheeled vehicle designed for a single rider standing upright over its single axle（轴） and navigate using a set of handlebars resembling those on a bicycle．Electrically powered, it could travel over 15 miles on a single charge and reach speeds up to twelve miles per hour．Its speed and direction can be controlled by riders' changing their weights．
A college dropout and self-taught engineer, Kamen already held over 100 patents for his inventions when he developed the one he hoped would revolutionize short-distance travel．While still in college, Kamen started developing the medical devices （设备） that made his name．Later, he changed focus to the challenges faced by wheelchair users．His robotic wheelchair known as IBOT could climb stairs．This robot ended up paving the way for the Segway．
Before showing his most recent invention, Kamen had kept it a top secret for months．When it turned out to be little more than a motor scooter, many publicly expressed their disappointment．On closer examination, however, even his critics（批评家） had to admit that the vehicle was an engineering achievement．It answered the prayers of anyone who is worn out when walking downtown．Not everyone welcomed the Segway's arrival, though．Some complained it was too expensive, while others said it would further weaken the average American ' s fitness．A Japanese inventor even accused Kamen of stealing the idea for the Segway from him．
Despite the controversy, the U．S．postal service began using Kamen's invention a month after its appearance, and a factory was built with plans to produce about 40,000 Segways every month．The argument is still on whether the Segway will be remembered as the greatest invention since the light bulb, or just another forgettable electronic device．Anyway, trips to the local supermarket will never be the same again．Which statement best describes the critics' reaction to the Segway?
| A．Nothing but an electrical device． |
| B．A disappointing engineering mistake． |
| C．An expensive and disappointing invention． |
| D．Disappointing, but still a successful device． |
Which is not a feature of the Segway?
| A．One person at a time can ride on it． |
| B．It has two wheels with a single axle． |
| C．It is powered by electricity and can go up to 12mph． |
| D．Riders increase the speed by moving the handlebars |
Some people expressed dissatisfaction with the Segway because of its______.
| A．high cost | B．danger to traffic |
| C．being difficult to use | D．contribution to laziness |
Shortly after the Segway appeared, there were _________.
| A．hopes for a larger model of it |
| B．no plans to do anything more with it |
| C．some discussions on the unforgettable device |
| D．plans to make tens of thousands of them a month |
Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world．But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism （双语能力） are even more important than being able to converse with a wider range of people．Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter．It can have a deep effect on your brain, improving skills not related to language and even protecting against a serious mental disorder in old age．
This view of bilingualism is different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century．Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interruption that prevented a child's school work and ability to think and understand things．They were not wrong about the interruption: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual \s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system disturbs the other．But this interruption, researchers are finding out, isn't so much a disturbance．It forces the brain to solve inside conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its thinking muscles．
The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment．"Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often—you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language," says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompea Fabra in Spain．
"It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving．" In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr．Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, showing that they did better in it．From the passage we can learn that experts used to believe that ______．
| A．interruption forced a bilingual's brain to strengthen its thinking ability |
| B．a second language stopped children's studying as well as mental development |
| C．using two languages annoyed the children who have trouble in learning skills |
| D．language systems were busy in a bilingual's brain when he was using languages |
The underlined word "switch" in Paragraph 3 probably means "______"．
| A．change | B．use | C．speak | D．study |
What is the author's attitude towards bilingualism?
| A．Cautious． | B．Doubtful． | C．Concerned． | D．Favourable． |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．How Bilinguals Use Languages |
| B．What Bilingualism Is Really about |
| C．Why Bilinguals Are More Intelligent |
| D．When People Learn a Second Language |
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