When I began planning to move to Auckland to study，my mother was a little worried about the uncertainty of living in a place that was so different from India，where we lived. She worried particularly about the lack of jobs，the cultural differences and the chance that I would face racism.
Despite these worries，I came to New Zealand in July 2009. I have found the place and people very nice and supportive. Soon after I arrived，I realized the importance of getting a job to supply my living expenses.
Determined to do this on my own ，I spent a whole day going from door to door asking for a job. However，I received little or no response. This became my routine every day after college for
a few weeks.
One afternoon，I walked into a building to ask if there were any job opportunities. The people there were very surprised，and advised me not to continue my job search in that manner. As I was about to leave，a clerk in the building，who had been listening to what the others had said, approached me and asked if I would wait outside. Fifteen minutes later，he returned. He asked me what my plans were and encouraged me to stay confident. He then offered to take me to the Royal Oak area to search for a job.
I was a little surprised，but had a good feeling about him，so I went along. Along the way I realized that I had run out of copies of my resume（简历）．The man stopped at his business partner's office to make me 15 extra copies. He also gave me tips on dressing and speaking，and added that I should give him, a call if I ever needed anything. I handed out my resumes and went home feeling very satisfied. The following day，I received：call from。store in Royal Oak offering me a job.
It seems that the world always gives back to you when you need it. And this time，it was a complete stranger who turned out to be a real blessing.
What wasn't the author's mother worried about?
| A．People might look down on the author. |
| B．The author couldn't speak the local language. |
| C．The author wasn't familiar with local customs. |
| D．It might be difficult for the author to find a job. |
After staying in New Zealand for a short time, the author
| A．decided to go back to his own country |
| B．felt the local people were not very friendly |
| C．had to find a job to cover his living expenses |
| D．wanted to get a job that needed practical skills |
When the author went into a building to look for a job
| A．a clerk gave him encouragement and advice |
| B．he was confident that he would find a good one |
| C．he found many college students like him already there |
| D．a clerk recommended him to the company he worked for |
What is the story mainly about?
| A．How a stranger offered the author a job. |
| B．How a stranger turned out to be a real blessing. |
| C．How the author adapted himself to a new situation. |
| D．How the author was helped to get a job by a stranger. |
Fading beauty
She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last for ever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.
The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum (卢浮宫博物馆) where it is housed.
“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state (化学状态).
Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision (视觉) is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”
However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519.
In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later.
During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.
Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.What does the writer mean by “time is catching up with the Mona Lisa”?
| A．The painted woman is not so beautiful any more. |
| B．Ageing is something that affects us all. |
| C．The painting needs repairing. |
| D．At such an old age, she is no longer popular. |
What makes the repair work difficult?
| A．The wooden panel is thin and old and has also changed shape. |
| B．The health of the painting is suffering |
| C．Experts can’t agree on how the painting might respond to treatment. |
| D．No one knows exactly what materials were used to create the painting. |
What makes her smile so mysterious according to Professor Livingston?
| A．The materials the Italian artist used. | B．The way Da Vinci painted the smile. |
| C．The way she smiles. | D．It plays a trick upon the human eye. |
Which of the following is in the right order?
①The painting was stolen from the Louvre.
②The painting was sent back to France.
③It was sold to France’s King Francis I
④Da Vinci carried the painting with him.
⑤French hid the painting to keep it out of the hands of German forces.
| A．④→③→①→②→⑤ | B．④→①→③→②→⑤ |
| C．①→④→③→②→⑤ | D．①→③→④→②→⑤ |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
During the first half of the nineteenth century in the United States, Christmas was a very different kind of holiday than it is today. There was no set of way of celebrating the day,which was not yet an official holiday. 71 Some observed Christmas as an important Christian religious day honoring the birth of Jesus.Others celebrated the day with parties,music,drinking and eating. 72 73 .Calvinist Christians banned the celebration of Christmas.But groups such as Episcopalians
and Moravians honored the day with religious services and seasonal decorations.
By mid-century,Christian groups began to ignore their religious diffrences over the meaning of Christmas and honored the day in special ways.
Christmas became an important time for families to celebrate at home. More and more Christians Americans also began to follow the European traditions of Christmas trees and giving gifts.Christians believed that the tree represented Jesus and was also a sign of new beginnings. German immigrants brought their tradion of putting lights,sweets and toys on the branches of evergreen trees placed in their homes.
This tradition of setting up a Christmas tree soon spread to many American homes. 74 As these traditions increased in popularity,the modern trade and business linked to Christmas also grew.
As Christmas became more popular,some states declared the day a state holiday.Louisiana was the first state to make the move in eighteen thirty-seven. 75 .It was not until eighteen seventy that President Ulysses Grant made Christmas a federal holiday.
| A．So did the practice of giving people presents. |
| B．By eighteen sixty,fourteen other states had followed. |
| C．And,some communities did not celebrate the day at all. |
| D．Americans seldom gave each other presents on Christmas Day. |
E. But many new American Christmas songs started to become popular.
F. Religion played a big role in how an American might celebrate the holiday.
G. Communities around the country honored the day in different ways.
I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek。Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square. It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power.
This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.
Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.
But the “white people” have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should, boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to grow up.According to the passage, the Indians _______.
| A．don’t have modern instruments in their homes |
| B．refused to move from round places |
| C．lived in round places, but were forced to live in square houses |
| D．lived in round places, but then decided to move into square houses |
Two things being compared in the passage are _______.
| A．the Indians’ past and present living conditions |
| B．the Indians’ past and modern beliefs |
| C．the Indians’ old and new power |
| D．people and nature |
In the second paragraph “the four quarters” refers to _______.
| A．the four rooms of the Indian’s house |
| B．the four kinds of natural power |
| C．the four seasons |
| D．the four directions |
According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, _______.
| A．they had to move to other houses |
| B．boys took more time to grow into men |
| C．they forgot the old way of life |
| D．everyone was not happy |
The food we eat seems to have great effects on our health. Although science has made great steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty percent of cancer is related to diet as well. Different cultures are subject to certain illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures. That food is related to illness is not a new discovery.
In 1945, government researchers realized that nitrates(硝酸盐) and nitrites(亚硝酸盐), commonly used to keep color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels(标签) of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to cows and chick and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cows.
Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medicinal purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to get a higher price on the market. Although the FDA has tried repeatedly to control these, the practices continue.How has science done a bad service to mankind?
| A．Diseases caused by food have been done away with. |
| B．It has caused a lack of information about the value of food. |
| C．Some harmful materials have been added to our food. |
| D．Scientists have made food more expensive to eat. |
What are nitrates used for?
| A．They help process packaged food. |
| B．They keep the color in meats. |
| C．They cure diseases of cows and chickens. |
| D．They cause the animals to become fatter. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．You can find out harmful additives on the packaging labels of food. |
| B．Drugs given to animals are not all for medical reasons. |
| C．Researchers knew about the harm of food additives about 60 years ago. |
| D．Food may cause forty percent of cancer in the world. |
According to the passage, the FDA might be _________.
| A．an organization which controls the safety of food |
| B．a producer which makes additives |
| C．a factory which processes food |
| D．a hospital which cures cancer |
The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all around you and that it proves down upon you．Air pressure is a wonderful force．When you swim underwater, you can feel water push down your body．The air all around you does the same．However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this．The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere．This layer surrounds the Earth, extending to about five kilometers above the Earth's surface．
The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home．But make sure that you are supervised, because you will need to use matches．
What you need
·A hard-boiled egg without the shell
·A bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg
·A piece of paper
·A match
Method
1）Check that the paper will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle．
2）Tear the paper into strips and put the strips into the bottle．
3）Light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle．
4）Quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle．
Result
Astonishingly, the egg will be sucked into the bottle．Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment．But be careful when you handle matches．
Why it happened
As the paper burns, it needs oxygen and uses up the oxygen （air）in the bottle．The egg acts as a seal in the neck of the bottle, so no more air can get inside．This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle．The air pressure must equalize, so more air from outside must enter the bottle．The outside air presses against the egg and then the egg is pushed into the bottle! That proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on it．Why is there the need to take care when you are doing the experiment?
| A．The bottle could break． |
| B．You need to light the paper with a match． |
| C．The egg needs to be shelled． |
| D．The egg has to be perfectly placed on the neck of the bottle． |
In the experiment, the burning inside the bottle can__．
| A．equalize the air pressure inside and outside |
| B．make a seal in the neck of the bottle |
| C．finish up the oxygen inside the bottle |
D．produce more oxygen inside th e bottle |
How did the egg put into the bottle?
| A．The oxygen inside the bottle sucked the egg in． |
| B．It became salt without the shell． |
| C．The neck of the bottle was wide enough． |
| D．The outside air pressure forced it into the bottle． |
The experiment is carried out to prove ____．
| A．water pushes on your body when you swim underwater |
| B．the earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere |
| C．the pressure of air around us has a powerful force |
| D．the air pressure is not equalized around us |
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