I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a book shop 36 me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very 37 to earn my own pocket money and my parents 38 interfered with how I spent it, even when I was spending it 39 . They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the 40 , I would become more mature and 41 about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.
Like many 42 parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 43 a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around 44 . My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great 45 for me. In the end, my father won the 46 on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins 47 through the country who could 48 shelter and help if I needed them.
Three years later, my younger brother decided to 49 a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not 50 to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 51 year working his way on trains and ships to 52 passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.
These kinds of experiences are probably rare for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly 53 . Most parents start 54 their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have 55 the university they plan to attend and maybe even decided on their future career, and so on.
36. A. taught B. allowed C. treated D. hired
37. A. anxious B. content C. proud D. hopeful
38. A. never B. ever C. always D. even
39. A. quickly B. foolishly C. seriously D. honestly
40. A. work B. mistakes C. others D. books
41. A. strict B. reasonable C. polite D. responsible
42. A. American B. Japanese C. Chinese D. British
43. A. helped B. supported C. shared D. worried
44. A. Asia B. Africa C. Europe D. Oceania
45. A. journey B. experience C. chance D. possibility
46. A. argument B. game C. discussion D. plan
47. A. send out B. give out C. carry out D. spread out
48. A. promise B. afford C. provide D. serve
49. A. leave B. make C. take D. prepare
50. A. angry B. eager C. sorry D. sad
51. A. unusual B. hard C. strange D. busy
52. A. accept B. earn C. find D. search
53. A. welcome B. fit C. necessary D. common
54. A. bringing B. forcing C. pushing D. protecting
55. A. selected B. admired C. afforded D. left
George had stolen some money, and had been caught by the police. Now his ___1___ was about to begin. He felt ___2___ that he would be sent to prison for a long time. Then he ___3___ that his friend Jim was one of the members of the jury(陪审团). He succeeded in seeing him ___4___. He said to him, “Jim, I know that the jury will find me guilty of having stolen the money. I can’t hope to be found ___5___ of taking it. But I should be grateful ___6___ you if you could ___7___ the other members of the jury to ___8___ some strong ___9___ for me to their statement that they consider me seriously guilty.”
“Well, George,” answered Jim, “I shall ___10___ try to do what I can for you as an old friend, ___11___ I cannot promise you will be highly ___12___ with the result. The other eleven members of the jury are not ___13___ good terms with me.” Of course, George was very ___14___, but he did not have a ___15___ to see Jim for some time after the trial. At last, ___16___, Jim visited him in prison. George ___17___ him very much for what he had done.
“Well, George,” Jim told him, “___18___ I thought, those eleven men were very ___19___ to persuade, but I managed it in the end ___20___ tiring them out. You know, those fools had all wanted to find you not guilty!”
1. A. punishment B. trial C. sentence D. arrest
2. A. doubtful B. firm C. sure D. uncertain
3. A. wondered B. imagined C. explained D. discovered
4. A. secretly B. rarely C. often D. openly
5. A. guilty B. moral C. not moral D. not guilty
6. A. for B. with C. to D. of
7. A. please B. try C. persuade D. advise
8. A. add B. add up C. increase D. increase up
9. A. feeling B. mercy C. care D. excuse
10. A. difficulty B. easily C. certainly D. uncertainly
11. A. so B. but C. thus D. then
12. A. surprised B. supposed C. satisfied D. separated
13. A. in B. by C. on D. of
14. A. lucky B. unlucky C. pleased D. disappointed
15. A. time B. hope C. chance D. reason
16. A. moreover B. however C. therefore D. thus
17. A. complained B. criticized C. thanked D. envy
18. A. as B. like C. if D. though
19. A. foolish B. easy C. clever D. difficult
20. A. in B. by C. with D. after
Norman Cousins was a businessman from the United States who often traveled around the world on business. He enjoyed his ___1___ and traveling.
Then, after returning to the United States from a ___2___ trip to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic(USSR), Mr. Cousins got sick. Because he had pushed his body to the ___3___ of its strength on the trip, a change began to take place ___4___ him. The material between his bones became ___5___.
In less than one week after his return, he could not ___6___. Every move that he ___7___ was painful. He was not able to sleep at night. The doctors told him that they did not know how to cure Mr. Cousins’ problem and he might never ___8___ over the illness. Mr. Cousins, however, refused to give up ___9___ Mr. Cousins thought that ___10___ thoughts were causing bad chemical changes in his body. He did not want to take medicine to cure himself. ___11___, he felt that happy thoughts or ___12___ might cure his illness.
He began to ___13___ on himself while still in the hospital by watching funny shows on television. Mr. Cousins quickly found that 10 minutes of real laughter during the ___14___ gave him two hours of pain-free sleep at night. ___15___ the doctors could not help him, Mr. Cousins left the hospital and checked into a hotel room where he could ___16___ his experiments with laughter. For eight days, Mr. Cousins rested in the hotel room watching funny shows on television, reading funny books, and sleeping ___17___ he felt tired. Within three weeks, he felt well ___18___ to take a vacation to Puerto Rico where he began running on the beach for ___19___. After a few months, Mr. Cousins returned to work. He had laughed himself back to ___20___.
1. A. time B. holiday C. sleep D. work
2. A. boring B. tiring C. dangerous D. pleasant
3. A. top B. degree C. problem D. limit
4. A. from B. around C. inside D. beside
5. A. weak B. ill C. false D. painful
6. A. speak B. breathe C. stand D. see
7. A. made B. did C. took D. gave
8. A. look B. get C. turn D. think
9. A. effort B. hope C. treatment D. arrangement
10. A. foolish B. unusual C. funny D. unhappy
11. A. Instead B. however C. Therefore D. Otherwise
12. A. sleep B. travel C. laughter D. television
13. A. rescue B. operate C. try D. experiment
14. A. day B. week C. month D. year
15. A. Promising B. Deciding C. Doubting D. Recognizing
16. A. invent B. begin C. continue D. prove
17. A. until B. whenever C. unless D. so that
18. A. soon B. completely C. slowly D. enough
19. A. exercise B. illness C. rest D. pleasure
20. A. power B. sense C. health D. happiness
As my train was delayed for two hours, I had plenty of time to spare. After buying some newspapers to read on the journey, I made my way to the ___1___ office to collect my heavy suitcase I had ___2___ there three days before. There were only a few people ___3___, and I took out my wallet to find the receipt for my case. The receipt didn’t seem to be where I had left it. I ___4___ the contents, and railway tickets, money scraps of paper and photos fell out of it; but no matter how ___5___ I searched, the receipt was nowhere to be found.
When my turn came, I ___6___ the situation sorrowfully to the assistant. The man looked at me ___7___ as if to say that he had ___8___ this kind of story many times and asked me to ___9___ the case. I told him that it was an old, brown looking ___10___ no different from the many cases I could see on the shelves. The assistant then gave me ___11___ and told me to ___12___ of the chief contents of the case. If they were ___13___, he said, I could take the case away. I tried to ___14___ all the articles I had ___15___ packed into the case and wrote them down as they came to me.
After I had done this, I went to ___16___ among the shelves. There were hundreds of cases there. For one dreadful moment, it ___17___ to me that if someone had ___18___ the receipt up he could have easily claimed(认领) the case already. This hadn’t happened ___19___, for after a time I found the case lying in a corner. After examining the articles inside, the assistant was ___20___ and told me I could take the case away.
1. A. posting B. working C. luggage D. manager’s
2. A. left B. forgotten C. found D. bought
3. A. standing B. crowding C. talking D. waiting
4. A threw B. put C. looked D. emptied
5. A. often B. much C. hard D. soon
6. A. said B. searched C. spoke D. explained
7. A. now and then B. up and down C. here and there D. back and forth
8. A. knew B. realized C. heard D. seen
9. A. describe B. draw C. take out D. show
10. A. object B. matter C. subject D. wallet
11. A. a paper B. a note C. a message D. a form
12. A. sign names B. make a list C. write down D. draw a picture
13. A. everything B. wrong C. correct D. ready
14. A. draw B. remember C. read D. remind
15. A. carelessly B. suddenly C. hurriedly D. immediately
16. A. see B. watch C. find D. look
17. A. happened B. occurred C. appeared D. seemed
18. A. picked B. collected C. taken D. stolen
19. A. fortunately B. unluckily C. by chance D. presently
20. A. disappointed B. surprised C. satisfied D. worried
Back in my country, when I was a child, I used to go to “market day” with my mother. One day each week, farmers used to ___1___ their fruit and vegetables into the city. They ___2___ one street to all cars, and the farmers set up tables for their ___3___. This outdoor market was a great place to ___4___. Everything was fresher than produce in grocery stores because the farmers brought it in ___5___ after the harvest. My mother and I always got there early in the morning to get the ___6___ produce.
The outdoor market was a wonderful adventure for a small child, ___7___ was like a festival — full of colors and ___8___. There are red tomatoes, yellow lemons, green lettuce, peppers, grapes, onions. The farmers did their own ___9___. They all shouted loudly for ___10___ to buy their produce. “Come and buy my beautiful oranges! They’re juicy and delicious and full of vitamins to ___11___ your children healthy and strong!”
Everyone used to ___12___ with the farmers over the ___13___ of their produce. It was like a wonderful drama in a theatre; the buyers and sellers were the “___14___” in this drama. My mother was an ___15___ at this. First, she picked the freshest, most attractive tomatoes, for example. Then she asked the price. The seller told her.
“What?” she said. She looked very surprised. “ So ___16___?”
The seller looked terribly ___17___. “My dear lady!” he replied. “I’m a poor, ___18___ farmer. These are the cheapest tomatoes on the market!”
They always argued for several minutes before agreeing ___19___ a price. My mother took her tomatoes and left. Both buyer and seller were ___20___. The drama was over.
1. A. carry B. take C. bring D. fetch
2. A. opened B. closed C. started D. stopped
3. A. produce B. goods C. food D. product
4. A. buy B. sell C. bargain D. shop
5. A. hurriedly B. immediately C. directly D. straightly
6. A. best B. finest C. freshest D. cheapest
7. A. who B. that C. which D. what
8. A. voices B. noises C. sounds D. accent
9. A. shopping B. business C. shouting D. advertising
10. A. customers B. producers C. themselves D. sellers
11. A. keepB. let C. expect D. make
12. A. argue B. talk C. discuss D. speak
13. A. order B. price C. quality D. form
14. A. viewers B. listeners C. actors D. directors
15. A. actress B. inventor C. advancer D. expert
16. A. wonderful B. exciting C. cheap D. expensive
17. A. injured B. hurt C. damaged D. wounded
18. A. excellent B. fair C. honest D. easy
19. A. with B. to C. in D. on
20. A. disappointed B. encouraged C. satisfied D. tired
Professional sports are very popular in the United States and they are big business. The most popular sports are basketball, football and baseball. ___1___ has its own season. And ___2___ supporters. Professional teams are named for the cities ___3___ they are located. When a team plays in a championship game, most people in the city ___4___ the game with interest and enthusiasm. Basketball is ___5___ around the world. Professional basketball games in the US ___6___ indoors during winter months. From November to April ___7___ can find a professional basketball game several nights a week in most large ___8___ cities. Basketball is an American sport. It ___9___ the national pastime.
The game is played in the evening ___10___ every night of the week and ___11___ weekends as well. The season begins in April and ___12___ in the October. Football ___13___ most popular professional sport in the US. It is played on Sundays ___14___ the fall from August to January. American football is different ___15___ international football, ___16___ Americans called soccer. Both games require ___17___ and specialized skills. Professional players are very ___18___.The most famous players ___19___ millions of dollars for their playing skill. American best players have higher ___20___ than the country’s president.
1. A. Every B. Both C. Each D. All
2. A. million B. millions C. million of D. millions of
3. A. when B. where C. who D. whose
4. A. follow B. walk C. run D. jump
5. A. well-known B. well C. known D. fame
6. A. played B. is played C. plays D. are played
7. A. somebody B. one C. anyone D. everybody
8. A. America B. England C. American D. English
9. A. was called B. has been called C. is called D. be called
10. A. nearly B. close C. closely D. near
11. A. at B. in C. on D. during
12. A. finish B. finishing C. finished D. finishes
13. A. became B. is become C. is becoming D. has become
14. A. during B. while C. on D. at
15. A. of B. from C. with D. about
16. A. when B. that C. where D. which
17. A. strong B. strength C. strengthen D. stronger
18. A. well pay B. good pay C. well paid D. good paid
19. A. make B. had C. got D. received
20. A. money B. salaries C. pay D. wage