In 1959, when Jean Harper was in the third grade, her teacher gave the class an assignment to write a report on what they wanted to be when they grew up. She poured her heart into her report and expressed her dream of becoming an airline pilot. Her paper came back with an "F" on it. The teacher told her it was a "fairy tale". Jean was heartbroken and ashamed. As the years went by, Jean was beaten down by the discouragement and negativity she encountered whenever she talked about her dream. "Girls can't become airline pilots; never have, never will. You're crazy. That's impossible. "Finally Jean gave up.
In her senior year of high school, her English teacher was a Mrs. Dorothy Slaton, a demanding teacher with high standards. One day Mrs. Slaton asked this question: "If you had unlimited finances, unlimited access to the finest schools, unlimited talents and abilities, what would you do?" Jean felt a rush of the old enthusiasm, and with excitement she wrote down the very old dream.
The next thing that Mrs. Slaton said changed the course of Jean's life. The teacher leaned forward over her desk and said, "I have a little secret for you. You do have unlimited abilities and talents. When you leave school, if you don't go for your dreams, no one will do it for you. You can have what you want if you want it enough."
The hurt and fear of years of discouragement disappeared all of a sudden. Jean felt thrilled and told her about her dream of becoming a pilot. Mrs. Slaton slapped the desk top. "Then do it!" she said.
So Jean did. It didn't happen overnight. In her l0 years of hard work, even facing varieties of laugh, frustration and opposition, she never gave up her dream. Instead, she went on doing everything her third-grade teacher said was fairy-tale.
Eventually, Jean Harper became a Boeing 737 captain for the United Airline Company.Jean’s third-grade teacher thought her dream to be ____________.
| A．great | B．impossible |
| C．challenging | D．reasonable |
Mrs. Slaton may hold the view that _____________.
| A．only some of her students have great potential |
| B．her students are good enough to be admitted to the best schools |
| C．belief contributes to realizing a dream |
| D．Jean was to have her dream realized |
According to the passage, we can infer that___________.
| A．Jean’s dream was always in her deep heart |
| B．Jean owed her success to all her teachers |
| C．most people around Jean approved of her dream |
| D．Jean achieved her dream with ease |
Which is the best title of the passage?
| A．A Respectable Teacher | B．How to Realize a Dream |
| C．Hard Work Pays off | D．Reach for the Sky |
China news, Beijing, July. 29 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property (房产) developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate(房地产) market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(control) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans (贷款) and lands to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses th
rough various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high hou
sing prices can be lowered. What is the average housing price per square meter in China?
| A．8000 yuan. | B．10000 yuan. |
| C．7000 yuan. | D．It’s not mentioned here. |
Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States?
| A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. |
B．American people’s a verage income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
| C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. |
| D．The population who need houses in China is larger than in the United States. |
How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?
| A．Four. | B．Three. | C．Two. | D．One. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
A．The housing price in China is so high that the gover nment should do something useful to prevent it. |
| B．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market. |
| C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States. |
| D．Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. |
Dior was born in Normandy in 1905, and his family’s original plans for him included a career in the diplomatic (外交的) service, but by the time he was twenty—three, with his parents’ money，he opened a small art gallery in Paris．By 1931，the money had been used up. Dior’s friends in the art gallery asked him to draw and he took his first step at designing and drawing．His first job was with Lucien Lelong from whom Dior learned his craft（手艺）．
In February,1947, Dior started the New Look in his first major Paris collection．He was backed by a famous textile (纺织品) producer, Boussac，who looked after the dollars, while Dior looked after the fashions．Dior knew nothing about cutting and sewing，but he was good at fashion design．
The New Look started an entirely different look to costume, with a tiny waist, a rounded shoulder and a shapely bust（胸围），usually with a low-cut neckline and a long, full skirt．To women who had lived through the war years, the femaleness of the New look was a great success, for people were tired of tile extremely plain, wartime restrictive fashions．
It is said that dresses by Dior were “constructed like buildings.” But young people were attracted to his design，and all over the western world, manufacturers plunged（投入）into the production of his new style．Dior’s revolutionary designs lighted up a whole cycle of fashion，rounded，gentle，feminine, a delight in elegance．A New Look House of Dior opened in 1948，followed by one in London．Considered as King of Couture（women’s clothing）for years, the Dior empire grew until it covered every country in the western world，and included furs, hosiery, jewelry, perfumes, men’s wear and on and on．More than 1,000 people worked at the Paris headquarters then．
His sudden death in 1957 when he was 53 years old did not stop the growth of the House of Dior. Even now, so many years after his death，his name is closely
connected with fashion throughout the world，and indeed is one of the most recognized names in the world. His first，great New Look，with its long skirts was an expression of freedom in the late 1940s．Which of the following designs is close to Dior’s?
According to the passage, in Dior’s life，he did NOT ．
| A．make creative fashion designs | B．work in a diplomatic service |
| C．1earn craft as his first job | D．open a New Look House |
We can infer from the passage that ．
| A．Dior and his supporter had different interests in business |
| B．Dior’s New Look had little influence on people then |
| C．Dior is only a brand of women’s fashion |
| D．Dior’s fashion was not accepted at first |
What is probably the best title for the passage? ．
| A．The History of the New Look | B．The Growth of the Dior Empire |
| C．An Expression of Freedom—Dior | D．The Founder of the New Look—Dior |
My friend took his colleague to s
ee an art exhibition in north London.
The show was basically piles of breeze blocks (煤渣砖) forming armchair and sofa shapes, painted in primary colors.
Seeing these, the colleague said, “You brought me all the way out here to see this pile of junk when we could have been having a nice lunch?” He continued his rant about the work all the way back to the office.
When they got there my friend said, “You said you don’t like the work, but you haven’t stopped talking about it since you first saw it.”
Whether he liked it or not, he could not forget it.
If the artwork is fresh and new, you can’t expect to like it straightaway, because you have nothing to compare it with.
The effort of coming to terms with things you do not understand makes them all the more valuable to you when you do grasp them.
Good art speaks for itself. That doesn’t mean you have to like it.
So the next time you go to an art show, or look at anything for that matter, observe what effect it has on you and try to form your own opinion.
That way, you become the c
ritic and not a mouthpiece for someone else’s opinions.What does the colleague think about the art exhibition?
| A．He feels it a waste of time going to the exhibition. |
| B．He is very interested in the work shown on the exhibition. |
| C．He is disappointed that art is abused on the exhibition. |
D．He thinks his understanding about art is far better than the au thor of the work on the show. |
The underlined word ‘rant’ means ________.
| A．praise | B．hatred | C．complaint | D．misunderstanding |
Which of the following does NOT represent the author’s opinion about art?
| A．Good art speaks for itself. |
| B．Good art doesn’t mean you have to like it. |
| C．It matters more what impression a piece of art work leaves on you. |
| D．Learn to be a mouthpiece for someone’s opinion matters more. |
What suggestion does the autho
r give for going to an art show?
| A．Like it whether it is good or not. |
| B．Don’t compare it with anything. |
| C．Observe its effect and form your own opinion . |
| D．Be a good mouthpiece. |
Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers’ exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos(袋鼠). After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep. Australia is _______.
| A．the largest country in the world | B．as large as Shanghai |
| C．not as large as China | D．the largest island in the north of the earth |
The government had made _______.
| A．too enough laws to fight pollution |
| B．so many laws that it can fight pollution |
| C．enough laws that it can hardly fight pollution |
| D．enough laws because the pollution is very serious |
Which of the following is NOT true？
| A．Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. |
| B．Perth is bigger than any other city in Western Australia. |
| C．Perth lies in the west of Australia. |
| D．No other city is larger than Perth in Australia. |
Which of the following is true？
| A．Australia is famous for its sheep, kangaroos and wild flowers. |
| B．We ran back to the car because we were in the middle of white sheep. |
| C．Three hundred sheep came towards us because they saw us. |
| D．If you go to the countryside in Australia, you will see a large number of white sheep. |
Bamboo is one of the nature’s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains(平原).
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.
Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables(绳索) that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.
In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use. Bamboo pipes and drills(钻) can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered. How is bamboo like grass?
| A．It is thin and easy to cut. | B．It grows everywhere. |
| C．It grows quickly after its cut short. | D．It is short and green. |
The sentence “while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across.” means “Some other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______.”
| A．short | B．strong | C．thick | D．tall |
From the text we know ______.
| A．most people call bamboo plant trees |
| B．a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days |
| C．the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows |
| D．a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago |
Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?
| A．Because it is cheap. | B．Because it is colorful. |
| C．Because it drills fast. | D．Because it is used by Asians. |
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