Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes-khaki pants and sports shirt-to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” of “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.” David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because _______.
| A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt |
| B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance |
| C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time |
| D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes |
David Smith wears casual clothes now, because _______.
| A．they make him feel at ease when working |
| B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes |
| C．he looks handsome in casual clothes |
| D．he no longer works for any company |
According to this passage, which of the following statements is false?
| A．Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code. |
| B．Comfortable clothes make employees more productive. |
| C．A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees. |
| D．All the employers in the U. S. are for casual office wear. |
According to this passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Company workers started to dress down about twenty years ago. |
| B．Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 1990s. |
| C．“Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers. |
| D．Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people. |
In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned in the passage except _______.
| A．saving employees’ money |
| B．making employees more attractive |
| C．improving employees’ motivation |
| D．making employees happier |
A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce(不足的), and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift--$7,000, a legacy(遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident . “It really made a difference when we were going under financially.” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in other, it was more than ＄100,000.
It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money , more than ＄3 million—they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm .
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They thrived on (喜欢) comparison shopping and would routinely(通常地) go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase .
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything,” says their friend Sand Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy——a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents ——should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come.
Neighbors helping neighbors ——that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story .According to the text, the Fusses______.
| A．were employed by a truck company |
| B．were in financial difficulty |
| C．worked in a school cafeteria |
| D．lost their home |
Which of the following is true of the Hatches?
| A．They had their children during the Great Depression. |
| B．They left the family farm to live in an old house. |
| C．They gave away their possessions to their neighbors. |
| D．They helped their neighbors to find jobs. |
Why would the Hatches routinely go from store to store?
| A．They decided to open a store. |
| B．They wanted to save money. |
| C．They couldn’t afford expensive things. |
| D．They wanted to buy gifts for local kids. |
According to Sandy Van Weelden, the Hatches were _______.
| A．understanding | B．optimistic | C．childlike | D．curious |
It’s going to be a busy day at Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia on Thursday. She won’t be there, since she died in 1836, but hundreds of tourists will be going through her house.
You see, Thursday is Flag Day in the United States. The unofficial holiday commemorates the adoption of the stars-and-stripes design of the American flag by the Continental Congress 235 years ago, on June 14, 1777. According to lore, the Ross House is the birthplace of the nation’s flag. That’s open to debate, but it’s a story that schoolbooks still tell. Betsy Ross was a seamstress, busy sewing cushions for chairs in Philadelphia, which was the focus place of the American revolution against British rule. The Declaration of Independence by the colonists was signed there, and so was the new nation’s Constitution after independence was won.
Widowed when her husband, a member of the local militia, was killed in a gunpowder explosion, Betsy Ross often mended the clothes of the rebels’ leader and future U.S. president, George Washington. According to what some say in history and others a stretch of what really happened, Washington asked Ross to design and sew the new nation’s flag. The story was promoted by Ross grandson, who wrote that Betsy Ross had “made with her hands the first flag.” She became a role model for girls - a shining example of women’s contributions to the nation’s history. Most research indicates that Ross did sew the first flag. She’s credited with substituting artful five-point white stars for six-pointed ones in the upper-left blue field. But many other accounts indicate George Washington brought the design to Ross and simply asked her to stitch it together.
In a letter, Washington wrote: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her. And the white stripes shall go down to posterity as representing liberty.” People would like to go to Ross’s house in Philadelphia to _____.
| A．ask Betsy Ross who created the first American flag |
| B．meet her grandson who wrote a book about flags |
| C．debate over who designed the first American flag |
| D．remember her as the creator of the first American flag |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．Betsy Ross was one of the people who signed The Declaration of Independence |
| B．All are in agreement that Ross designed the first American flag |
| C．It is almost certain that Ross did sew the first American flag |
| D．It is George Washington who designed the stars and stripes flag |
The underlined the word “seamstress” in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
| A．a person who designs flags |
| B．a person who makes a living by sewing |
| C．a person who takes part in revolution |
| D．a person who creates chairs |
What does the last paragraph imply according to the passage?
| A．It implies that the U.S. is independent from Britain |
| B．It implies that Washington liked Ross’s design of the flag |
| C．It implies that Washington might be the designer of the flag |
| D．It implies that Ross did have helped with the design of the flag |
From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine for man. We may not depend as much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways. Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats. When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.
An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said the wildcat congressmen went home. It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.
Wildcat also has been used as a name for money in the 1800s. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it. Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat banknote. The banks who offered this money were called wildcat banks. A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.
Wildcat then was also used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Wildcats and their stories. |
| B．Wildcats and their characters. |
| C．Varieties of animal species. |
| D．Relationship between animals and humans. |
The underlined words "a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat" in Paragraph 1 may refer to "__________".
| A．gasoline companies | B．automobile manufacturers |
| C．brands of automobile | D．names of wildcats |
Which of the following would people like to have or trust according to the passage?
| A．Wildcat congressmen. | B．Wildcat oil wells. |
| C．Wildcat banks. | D．Wildcat cars. |
It can be inferred that during the days of wildcat money__________.
| A．people couldn't buy anything with the money |
| B．people complained and suffered a lot |
| C．the rich invested too much on oil wells |
| D．people didn't know how to save money |
Some people believe that international sport creates goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourage international brotherhood. Not only was there the incident of tragedy involving murders of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused principally by minor national contests.
One country received its second-place medals with visible anger after the hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, as the losers disagreed with the final decisions. They believed that one of their goals should have been allowed and that their opponents’ victory was unfair. Their manager was in great anger when he said: “This isn’t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished.” The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension(停赛) of the team for at least three years.
The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia, after a disputable(有争议的) end to their contest. The game had ended in disorder. It was thought at first that the United States had won by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player popped it into the basket. It was the first time the US had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury (评审委员会) debated the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals.
Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism (爱国主义).According to the author, recent Olympic Games have ____.
| A．created goodwill between the nations |
| B．hardly showed any international friendship |
| C．caused only false national pride |
| D．led to more and more misunderstanding and hatred |
What did the manager mean by saying, “...Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished”?
| A．There should be no more hockey matches organized by the Federation. |
| B．His team would no longer take part in international games. |
| C．Hockey and the Federation are ruined by the unfair decisions. |
| D．The Federation should be ended. |
The basketball example implied that .
| A．too much patriotism was displayed in the incident |
| B．the announcement to make the match last longer was wrong |
| C．the appeal jury was too hesitant in making the decision |
| D．The American team was right in receiving the silver medals |
Which statement best summarizes this passage?
| A．The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved. |
| B．Different teams often have disputes when fighting for the first place. |
| C．Any team that has disrespectful behavior should be suspended. |
| D．Athletes should compete as individuals. |
College libraries are designed primarily for research and study. To explain its use, let us choose a research topic and follow the step-by-step procedure of looking up the material for the paper．
Suppose your assignment is to write a paper on a novel called The Sun Also Rises by American writer Hemingway．The first step is to go to the main catalog．Many small drawers on the large wooden cabinets are lined up in alphabetical(字母的) order．Each of the drawers contains hundreds of alphabetical ordered cards．These cards are printed references to all material available in the library．Title cards are cataloged by the first word of the book title, leaving out the articles like “a”, “an” and “the”．And then you get the cards for the books you need．On the upper left corner of each card is the call number．This is the numerical code that shows where the book is located in the library．The library has open and closed stacks．If your book is on the open stacks, you can go to the open-stack room, and according to the call number find it out by yourself．There are only about 30,000 books on open stacks, while most of the 800,000 books in our library are kept in closed stacks, which are accessible only to teachers and graduate students.
For undergraduates like you, borrowing books from the closed stacks have to be done with the help of our librarian．In that case, you must fill out a call slip(纸条) for the book, showing the call number, author and title．You can get call slips on tables near the catalog cabinets．You show your call slip together with your library card to a librarian at the information desk．He or she will help you find the book out in the closed stacks.What is the main purpose of this text?
| A．To present readers a brief introduction to a college library． |
| B．To guide readers how to find books needed in a college library. |
| C．To tell readers how to fill out a call slip in a college library. |
| D．To show readers where to find books in a college library. |
What letter you should look for on the title card for the book The Old Man and the Sea by the Hemingway?
| A．The letter “t”. | B．The letter “h”. | C．The letter “o”. | D．The letter “s”. |
How are books arranged and shelved in the library?
| A．By call numbers. | B．By call slips of authors’ names. |
| C．In alphabetical order. | D．By the first word of book title. |
Suppose you are an undergraduate and you want to borrow a book from the closed stacks, which is the correct order to do it?
a. go to the main catalog b. show your call slip and library card
c. find out the call number d. fill out a call slip
e. get the cards for the books
| A．a-b-e-d-c | B．b-a-c-d-e | C．a-e-c-d-b | D．b-c-a-e-d |