When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
Jack brought the couple their food very fast because .
| A．the manager asked him to do so |
| B．he respected the elderly |
| C．the couple wanted him to do so |
| D．he wanted more pay |
When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became .
| A．nervous | B．satisfied |
| C．unhappy | D．excited |
In Jack’s hometown, .
| A．people dislike being called “old” |
| B．people are proud of being old |
| C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty |
| D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants |
After this experience, Jack .
| A．lost his job in the restaurant |
| B．made friends with the couple |
| C．no longer respected the elderly |
| D．changed his way with older people |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got. |
| B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience. |
| C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple. |
| D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture. |
Imagine yourself on a boat looking out at the horizon and all you can see is the water meeting the sky with no land in sight and you are sailing straight ahead to meet the world. Jesse Martin does not have to imagine: he is living in it.
On Dec. 7, 1998, at 17 years old, Jesse set sail from Melbourne, Australia on his boat, attempting to become the youngest person to sail alone and nonstop around the world. He sailed south of New Zealand, through the South Pacific, around South America, north on the Atlantic, back south past Africa, through the Indian Ocean and back to Melbourne.
Even as a young child, Jesse had been an adventurer who traveled all over Europe and Asia with his parents. Born in Munich, Germany in 1981, he moved to Australia with his family when he was only two years old. They moved close to a rainforest in Cow Bay, about 3500kms north of Melbourne, where they built a small house with no electricity or running water. Jesse grew up at the beach enjoying the outdoors to its fullest.
At 14, he sailed for the first time with his father and brother, Beau. It was after this trip that he began to dream about sailing around the world.
Jesse’s family played an important role. “I was made to believe I could do anything.” he says. Although, he says, there were others that were not so encouraging or supportive, “People that I looked up to, respected and trusted told me I couldn’t. Thankfully, I trusted myself. There were people that said that the boat couldn’t be ready by the time I had to leave.” However, through perseverance and belief in himself he was able to do what many told him was impossible.
On Oct.31, 1999, more than 10 months after he set sail, Jesse Martin went down in history as the youngest person to sail around the world alone, nonstop and unassisted. What’s the author’s purpose in encouraging the reader to imagine a sailing experience?
| A．To show how difficult it is to be a sailor. |
| B．To show how wonderful Jesse’s sailing is. |
| C．To describe what Jesse’s sailing is like. |
| D．To describe what a sailor’s life is like. |
Jesse Martin was at the end of his voyage when he _______.
| A．sailed on the South Pacific. |
| B．sailed on the Indian Ocean. |
| C．sailed past Africa |
| D．sailed past South America. |
Which of the following made Jesse decide to sail alone around the world?
| A．His childhood adventure experiences. |
| B．His journeys to Europe. |
| C．His first sailing trip with his family. |
| D．His love for outdoor activities. |
What can we learn from Jesse Martin’s story?
| A．Interest leads to success. |
| B．A strong belief will make a person stronger. |
| C．Life is an unusual adventure we should enjoy. |
| D．Failure is the mother of success. |
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| A．Students of the French language |
| B．Language experts doing research into French |
| C．Teachers who are eager to improve their students’ French |
| D．Parents who want their children to learn French quickly and easily |
Rocket French Premium describes itself as.
| A．free and funny | B．practical and interactive |
| C．slow but efficient | D．suitable for everyone |
．The advertisement claims learners of Rocket French Premium.
| A．will speak fluent French in six days |
| B．can take the entire course for free |
| C．will practice French in a restaurant or airport |
| D．won’t have to worry about the security of their e-mail addresses |
．The underlined word “fast-track” can best replaced by.
| A．speed up | B．pick up | C．change | D．solve |
Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites yo
u’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, 
it’s likely some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a spouse, a girlfriend（配偶）, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal, Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen -- the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it’s important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs （面包屑）you leave 
everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you lik
e. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal（泄露）what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter?
For many Americans, the answer apparently is "no."
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it A survey found an overwhelming pessimism（悲观）about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is "slipping away, and that bothers me."
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny fraction of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths （收费处）to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券).
But privacy does matter -- at least sometimes. It’s like health: When you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it.What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?
| A．Friends should open their hearts to each other. |
| B．There should be a distance even between friends |
| C．Friends should always be faithful to each other. |
| D．There should be fewer disputes between friends. |
Why does the author say "we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret" ?
| A．Modern society has finally evolved into an open society. |
| B．People leave traces around when using modern technology. |
| C．There are always people who are curious about others’ affairs. |
| D．Many search engines profit by revealing people’s identities. |
What do most Americans do with regard to privacy protections?
| A．They change behaviors that might disclose their identity. |
| B．They use various loyalty cards for business transactions. |
| C．They rely more and more on electronic devices. |
| D．They talk a lot but hardly do anything about it. |
According to the passage, privacy is like health in that ______.
| A．people will make every effort to keep it |
| B．its importance is rarely understood |
| C．it is something that can easily be lost |
| D．people don’t cherish it until they lose it |
Anthony Horowitz was miserable as child. He was, as he put it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Horowitz was sent away to an abusive boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded(恳求) with his parents year after year not to send him. “The thought was, It’ll be good for him,” he recalled.
It was not. Horowitz did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied (欺负) for five yea
rs. “My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn't even smart enough to rebel . The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was this desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”
Now, at age of 55, Horowitz is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies, and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, came out this month.
The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16.
Horowitz said he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way. “I have a feeling it's to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.
The style has also made Horowitz a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story.
Now, Horowitz couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success: “…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.” In the boarding school, Horowitz’s teachers .
| A．often criticized him | B．showed great concern for him |
| C．taught him how to write stories | D．thought little about his ability |
Which of the following is true of Anthony Horowitz?
| A．He was the beloved child of his family. |
| B．He benefited a lot from boarding school. |
| C．He emphasizes the plot rather than character in stories. |
| D．Although he is successful, he isn’t very happy. |
What advice does Horowitz have for readers?
| A．Confidence is the key to success. | B．Hardship teaches valuable lessons. |
| C．Interest is the best teacher. | D．Industry is the parent of success. |
In w
hich section can you most probably read the passage?
| A．Campus Trends | B．Culture & Leisure |
| C．Our World |
D．Science Life |
“If you run for more than five minutes at any time, you might need a pair of running shoes,” advises Stephen Pribut, a US sports medicine expert. Running shoes are highly technical footwear. They provide stability（牢固）while bearing up to three times the wearer’s body weight. But it’s not easy to find the right pair. Finding the right running shoes is something of an art, or a science and a feel.
The science part begins with the shape of the arch（弓）of your foot, which anyone can find out at home with this quick experiment: Put your foot in water and place it on a piece of brown paper. If you see a “C” shape on the paper when you remove your foot, you have a rare high arch. If the shape looks more like a rectangle, that means you have flat feet. See something in between? That’s a normal arch.
Conveniently for shoppers, shoe companies nowadays divide their shoes in three categories: neutral(for high arches), stability(for normal or low arches) and motion control(for flat arches). So you will know which type suits you.
At this point, most people would just grab an appealing shoe and try it on. But professionals would do a few quality-control tests. First, you bend the shoe toe to heel to see where it bends. If it’s not at the forefoot---where the foot actually bends, be afraid. Then you grip both ends and twist in opposite directions. If you can twist it like a towel, it means there’s zero support. Finally, you squeeze(挤)the heel in both directions. A stable heel won’t cave in.
Now you need to check the mold(模子)that shapes the inside of the shoe: whether it’s wide or narrow in the mid-foot, how it sits on the heel and how roomy the toe box is.
It’s wise to hold off until the afternoon to make the shoe purchase, to allow for any swelling(肿胀) that your feet do throughout the day. Toes also decide sizing choice. The rule is you need a finger’s width from your longest toe (whether that’s your big one or not) to the end of the shoe.What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Advantages of wearing running shoes fitting you. |
| B．Ways to get to know about the shape of the arch of your foot. |
| C．Advice on how to choose the right pair of running shoes. |
| D．Best time to buy a pair of running shoes. |
If the arch of your foot looks like a “C” shape, you have _________.
| A．a normal arch | B．a high arch | C．a flat arch | D．a low arch |
．The underlined phrase “cave in” most probably means ______.
| A．bend | B．stretch | C．shake | D．crash |
．Why is the late afternoon the ideal time to go shopping for shoes?
| A．We are likely to be more patient in the afternoon. |
| B．Feet usually become large late in the day. |
| C．The toes become longer late in the day. |
| D．The arch of our feet will be in best shape in the afternoon. |