My wife and I have always been friendly with the clerks at the local store. I don’t think many people appreciate what a difficult job these clerks have. They work for a little money and I often wonder how they make ends meet.
One of the clerks, Charlie, was always wearing his glasses but he didn’t one day. I asked him about it and he said they’d been out of order and that he couldn’t afford a new pair. His family needed money. It was clear that he was having a difficult time.
We wanted to help him, so we turned to our own eye doctor for help with a plan. We had his secretary contact him, asking him to come in for an eye exam for free. We told the doctor to let him order whatever glasses he wanted and that we would pay for them. Although Charlie questioned what was going on, the doctor just told him that someone had offered the money for his new glasses. When we went in to pay the bill, the doctor told us he was touched by our idea so that he waived the exam fee and only charged us for half the price of the glasses!
It was so wonderful to see Charlie in his new glasses and he enjoyed telling all the regular customers how the gift came about. I’m sure that upon hearing his story, ideas of kindness may have come in the minds of many people.Why didn’t the clerk Charlie wear glasses one day?
| A．It was very warm and fine. |
| B．His glasses were missing. |
| C．His old glasses were broken. |
| D．He forgot to wear his glasses. |
From the passage, we can infer that ______.
| A．Charlie was a young man with skills |
| B．Charlie knew who paid the money for the new glasses |
| C．Charlie completely accepted the money for the new glasses |
| D．Charlie couldn’t support his family with enough money |
The underlined word “waived” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.
| A．took up | B．gave up |
| C．cut down | D．put off |
Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Customers’ Gift to an Employee |
| B．A Friendly Clerk — Charlie |
| C．The Wonderful Feeling of Helping others |
| D．An Expensive Pair of Glasses |
Not so long ago almost any student who successfully completed a university degree could find a good career quite easily．Companies toured the academic institutions, competing with each other to select graduates．However, those days are gone, even in Hong Kong, and nowadays graduates often face strong competition in the search for jobs．
Most careers organizations highlight three stages for graduates to follow in the process of securing a suitable career：recognizing abilities, matching these to available jobs and presenting them well to possible employers．
Job seekers have to make a careful assessment of their own abilities．One area of assessment should be of their academic qualifications, which would include special skills within their subject area．Graduates should also consider their own personal values and attitudes．An honest assessment of personal interests and abilities such as creative skills, or skills acquired from work experience, should also be given careful thought．
The second stage is to study the opportunities available for employment and to think about how the general employment situation is likely to develop in the future．To do this, graduates can study job and position information in newspapers, or they can visit a careers office, write to possible employers for information or contact friends or relatives who may already be involved in a particular profession．After studying all the various options, they should be in a position to make informed comparisons between various careers．
Good personal presentation is essential in the search for a good career．Job application forms and letters should, of course, be filled in carefully and correctly, without grammar or spelling errors．Where additional information is asked for, job seekers should describe their abilities and work experience in more depth, with examples if possible．They should try to balance their own abilities with the employer’s needs, explain why they are interested in a career with the particular company and try to show that they already know something about the company and its activities．
When graduates go to an interview, they should prepare properly by finding out all they can about the possible employer．Dressing suitably and arriving for the interview on time are also important．Interviewees should try to give positive and helpful answers and should not be afraid to ask questions about anything they are unsure about．This is much better than pretending to understand a question and giving an unsuitable answer．“Those days are gone, even in Hong Kong” in Paragraph 1 suggests that__________．
| A．finding a good career used to be easier in Hong Kong than elsewhere |
| B．now everyone in Hong Kong has an equal chance of finding a good job |
| C．graduates now face stronger competition in Hong Kong than elsewhere |
| D．even in Hong Kong companies tour universities trying to select graduates |
It is implied in Paragraph 3 that graduates should_____________．
| A．aim to give a balanced account of what the employer needs |
| B．consider careers which suit their values, interests and abilities |
| C．stress their personal attitudes and values in job applications |
| D．recognize their own abilities regardless of what the employer looks for |
According to Paragraph 4, graduates should______________．
| A．find a good position and then compare it with other careers |
| B．ask friends or relatives to secure them a good job |
| C．get information about a number of careers before making comparisons |
| D．study the opportunities and the kinds of training that will be available |
In the last paragraph, the writer seems to suggest that ________________．
| A．interviewees should appear humble if they can’t give an answer |
| B．dressing properly is more important than being able to give an answer |
| C．it is better for interviewees to be honest than to pretend to understand |
| D．it is a good idea for interviewees to be boastful in their answers |
One day in January, my uncle, my cousin and I decided to go hunting．We left by car in the afternoon．It was a Range Rover with four-wheel drive．It took us three hours to get there．After we arrived at 5:15 p．m．, we fixed the tent, then made coffee and had a short rest．After that, we went hunting, using a falcon（猎鹰）．We spent two hours without finding anything．On our way back to the camp, my cousin saw a rabbit．I removed the falcon’s bead cover and let go of the aggressive falcon．When the rabbit saw the falcon, it ran fast, but my falcon was a professional hunter．He flew up and came down to trick the rabbit．After two minutes, the rabbit was caught．We took it back to the camp to cook our dinner．We ate the delicious food, drank Arabic coffee, and sat around the fire talking until 10:30 p．m．
We left the camp the next day at 7 o’clock in the morning．We went north．However, around 10:00 a．m．our car got stuck in the sand! We spent about three hours trying to pull out the car without any progress．Finally, we decided to walk．As it was hard for an old man or a young boy to walk more than 40km in the desert, I decided to get help myself．I took a bottle of water with me and started to walk south alone．I knew the way well, but it was a long way in the sand．I walked more than four hours without stopping．When I felt so tired and thirsty, I stopped to rest．I drank all the water and slept for around two hours．
When I got up, it was dark．I continued to walk south．I was worried about my uncle and cousin．Suddenly, I met a Bedouin man who was riding his camel．He took me to his house．When I had had enough rest, I asked him to take me to the road where I found a car．It took me to the city to get help．I had one day to get back to my uncle and cousin．When I got back to them, they were so happy because I had gotten help and they were able to see me again．Which word can best describe the first evening of their hunting trip?
| A．Adventurous． | B．Enjoyable． |
| C．Stressful． | D．Exhausting． |
How did the writer finally get out of the desert?
| A．He was picked up by a car． |
| B．A camel took him to the road． |
| C．A passer-by Bedouin helped him． |
| D．His uncle and cousin found and rescued him． |
What can be inferred from the story?
| A．It’s an easy job to walk 40km in the desert． |
| B．The author loved to go hunting with his family． |
| C．The hunting trip is much longer than expected． |
| D．To hunt in the desert one must train a falcon well． |
I keep hammering this because I keep seeing people who don’t do it．
1．Look up English to Elvish．
2．Look up the Elvish word in the best Elvish dictionary you have, and, preferably, find out the context in Tolkien’s language dictionary．
3．Change the word to suit rules of grammar: singular or plural, mutations, verb tenses, etc．
You cannot leave out any of these steps．If you do, you’re almost certain to have errors．Why you have to do step 2:
Languages never match up one- to-one．English and Elvish are closer than usual, but there are still problems．And English has strange idioms: why are there no baths or beds in public bathrooms or restrooms? You can’t translate literally．You have to understand the meaning behind each word．
In Elvish this is even more true, since our dictionaries contain more or less questionable reconstructions, and words that Tolkien later threw away or replaced．Find the best one you can．
Consider the word “fair”．We tend to use it to mean “just”．Tolkien tends to use it to mean “beautiful”．In Elvish, these are two entirely different words．So when you look up “fair”, you’ll have to go to the Elvish dictionary to see that you’ve got the right one．
Consider the nightmare of He left the bar．Is “left” the opposite of “right” （which also has two meanings） ? Is “bar” extruded steel（型材钢）, or something to do with law? You have to know what words mean in both languages．
And you’d be amazed at how many people ignore step 3, forgetting that language is more than a string of words, and there are rules about how to fit those words together．You can’t simply look up the word “I” and use it everywhere．Sometimes you need “me” or “my”．There’s a reason it takes a while to learn a language: you have to learn the rules．
It drives me completely mad when people give a questionable translation they insist is right because “it’s in the dictionary”．A dictionary is a tool, a resource．but its entries（词目）should not be mistaken for a finished product．They are raw materials．The underlined word “this” in paragraph 1 refers to ．
| A．consulting the dictionaries when translating between languages |
| B．finding out the true meaning in context |
| C．ignoring the rules of grammar |
| D．leaving out some of the three steps the author mentions |
According to the author, you have to do step 2 because ．
| A．you have to understand the meaning behind each word |
| B．Elvish and English are quite different in forms |
| C．there are no baths or beds in public bathrooms |
| D．Elvish has some words which are hard to find |
Grammar is also very important because it ．
| A．helps fit the words together | B．takes a while to learn a language |
| C．is a rule to obey | D．is often forgotten in translating |
In the last paragraph, the author shows ．
| A．his impatience to those who insist their wrong translation is right |
| B．his puzzle to the questionable translation |
| C．the importance of the correct use of dictionaries |
| D．the mistaken entries in the dictionaries |
The passage is mainly about how to ．
| A．learn a foreign language with a dictionary |
| B．avoid errors when looking up a dictionary |
| C．understand the meaning of a strange word |
| D．use a dictionary to translate between languages |
What is the relationship between violence and sports? Psychologists say that there are many reasons for violence at sports events. One is alcohol. Many fans drink a lot at games. When people drink, they are more likely to do abnormal things. Psychologist Dennis Brock says, “Quiet people become loud. Normally nonviolent people become destructive． ”
David Sampson, a sports sociologist, says, “These are often celebratory riots— a large number of very happy people mixed in with large amounts of alcohol. They don’t often seem dangerous in the beginning, but things get violent quickly． ”
Another reason for violence at sports events is the crowd. When individuals are in a large group of people, they can lose their sense of personal responsibility. Edward Hirt, a social Psychologist, says that research shows that people do things in crowds that they would never do alone. People in crowds feel anonymous — no one knows who they are. Crowds also make people feel powerful. They stop making personal decisions. They just follow the crowd. Social psychologists call this a “mob mentality．”
Dave Zarifis, head of public safety says, “Some people don’t even come to celebrate. They want to drink hard and make trouble. Someone does something stupid, and it grows from there. You get a mob mentality. People think it’s OK to do almost anything. They think, ‘There are so many of us and not enough of them． ’ ”
Social psychologist Dr. Sharon Kennedy says that there are some things officials can do to prevent violence. Making sure that an area is not overcrowded is very important. Officials should also think of games as “big parties．” Then they will prepare differently. Kennedy says that in Great Britain they are controlling the problem with cameras in all the stadiums. “When you know someone is watching, you are much less likely to behave badly． ”Which of the following best gives the main idea of the first two paragraphs?
| A．There’s a connection between violence and sports |
| B．One cause of violence at sports events is alcohol． |
| C．There are many reasons for violence at sports events． |
| D．David Sampson and Dennis Brock have the same opinion． |
Which of the following does NOT belong to a “mob mentality”?
| A．“I must drink some alcohol to stop myself feeling shy． ” |
| B．“ It’s safe to do what many people are doing． ” |
| C．“There are so many of us and not enough of them． ” |
| D．“ No one knows I’m doing this． ” |
How many experts are quoted by the writer of this passage?
| A．Two． | B．Four． | C．Three． | D．Five． |
The last paragraph is mainly about ______．
| A．how to turn games into big parties |
| B．why to install cameras in stadiums |
| C．how to prevent violence at sports events |
| D．how to avoid oneself behaving badly |
What lesson can we learn from this passage?
| A．Never drink any alcohol no matter where you are． |
| B．Whenever you are watching a game, you should keep quiet． |
| C．Never follow blindly no matter how many people are doing something． |
| D．Be careful when you are at a stadium because there are cameras there． |
I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket．
I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth… ?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room – if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”
Then she turned to me, kissed me and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control. ” With that, she left the room．
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly． We can infer from the passage that ________．
| A．the secretary didn’t care about the writer |
| B．the writer was bad-tempered |
| C．the agent was not responsible for his own work |
| D．the wife of the writer was not sensible |
Why did the author shout at the telephone?
| A．He was angry with his agent． |
| B．He was mad at the telephone． |
| C．He was impatient with the secretary． |
| D．He was anxious about his wife． |
What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
| A．She was speechless． |
| B．She threw the phone away． |
| C．She shouted at him． |
| D．She called the agent in person and scolded him． |
What made the author laugh?
| A．His changeable feelings． | B．His wife’s suggestion． |
| C．His own behavior． | D．His wife’s sweet kiss． |
What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?
| A．Smart words | B．Anxious feelings |
| C．Surprising looks | D．Unusual actions |
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