He’s an old cobbler (修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street;
he'll fix them for you right away.
But I’d had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman (手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can’t do it well. ”
“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” — without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron (围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said,“Come back in a week. ”
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work. ”
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.
68. Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?
A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools.
B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais.
C. He was proud of his skills.
D. He was a native Parisian.
69. The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend. ” (paragraph 7) implies that _______.
A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him
B. it was difficult to communicate with this man
C. the man was very strange
D. the man was too old
70. According to the author, many people work just to _______.
A. realize their abilities B. gain happiness
C. make money D. gain respect
71. This story wants to tell us that_______.
A. craftsmen make a lot of money B. whatever you do, do it well
C. craftsmen need self-respect D. people are born equal
In the past two years, his wife, Merlie, and their seven children have said “goodbye” to him four times, most recently last month. Each time it has been unnecessary.
Mr. Smart had a hip (髋关节) replacement in February at the Burnie hospital but was rushed back two months later with internal bleeding.
“The doctors couldn’t stop the bleeding,” Mrs. Smart said. Medical staff told Mrs. Smart to contact her family, which includes children in Western Australia. “It took two days for them to get here. We had to hope he hung on .” he did.
“The doctors were there 24 hours a day and they stopped the bleeding. They brought him back,” Mrs. Smart said.
“I certainly believe in miracles because I’ve seen one happen, but it wouldn’t have happened if the doctors didn’t do what they did.”
It was the second time Mrs. Smart thought she was losing her husband of 54 years. Two years ago, Mr. Smart was admitted to the Launceston General Hospital after a heart attack and a few days later with intense pain caused by a hemorrhage (出血). Again, the family was called to say goodbye---twice.
“I was given a 50-50 chance of coming out of it, ” Mr. Smart said.
Going through the ordeal (苦难,折磨) then was trying on the family, who had prepared themselves for the worst.
But to face the same situation only two years later was hard. The Smarts said the support they received at the Burnie hospital helped them through.
And it seems the experience has also left an impression at the hospital. Mrs. Smart said when she rang recently and mentioned her husband’s name, the reply was “ah the miracle man”.The first time Mrs. Smart and the children said goodbye to Mr. Smart was when he had.
A.a hip replacement | B.internal bleeding |
C.a heart attack | D.intense pain caused by a hemorrhage |
When Mr. Smart was rushed back to the hospital with internal bleeding, .
A.only his wife believed he could survive |
B.no one believed that he could survive |
C.he had given up hope of recovering |
D.it didn’t take the doctors long to stop the bleeding |
The experience Mr. Smart had at the hospital could be that of.
A.concern | B.puzzle | C.fear | D.wonder |
The underlined phrase “hung on ”in the third paragraph can be replaced by.
A.beat the pain | B.came back to life |
C.lived through | D.make his fortune |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.The Miracle Man. | B.The Kind Doctors and Nurses. |
C.A Devoted Wife. | D.A Great Family. |
With the average home in the capital selling for 19,548 yuan a meter in November, a tiny mobile home built by a 24-year-old office worker is creating a stir(震动) online.
Dai Haifei built the 6-square-meter pad(住所) because he could not afford to buy or rent in the capital.
Dai’s new home costs him 6,400 yuan and he has been living in it for nearly two months in courtyard at Chengfu
Road, Haidian district.
Dai, who is one of the millions of migrants who moved to the capital from other parts of China seeking a better
life and better job, said he realized his financial burden had become too great.
The Hunan native said he simply could not make ends meet(收支相抵) when he became an intern at a
Beijing-based construction design company in 2009.
“I rented a home at the very beginning--a small room in an apartment that cost me about 900 yuan per month,”
said Dai in an interview with local media. “It was too expensive for me. ”
Dai’s father works on a construction site in his hometown and his mother is a cleaner.
Dai, who ended up becoming a formal employee of the company, figured out his own way to solve the
problem---with inspiration from a housing design project at his company’s exhibition early this year.
The project, named“An egg given birth to by the city”, included a series of egg-like movable houses, with a
karaoke house, chair house and trader’s house in it.
Dai, who borrowed 6,400 yuan from an older cousin and who got additional help from several friends, decided to
make one of his own. He spent nearly two months building his“egg house”in his hometown, a village in southeast
Hunan that is around 1,700 kilometers from Beijing.Where is this passage probably taken from?
A.A story book. | B.A cartoon film. | C.A news report. | D.A research report. |
What is Dai Haifei?
A.An official of government. | B.A journalist. |
C.An office worker of a company. | D.A manager of a company. |
Why did he build the pad?
A.Because he will sell it for money. |
B.Because he has no house to get married in. |
C.Because he doesn’t have enough money to buy or rent a house. |
D.Because he wants to get help from the society. |
Which statement is not TRUE?
A.He comes from a Hunan village. |
B.He has lived in the egg home for two months. |
C.He got the idea from a friend. |
D.He once rented a room. |
What’s the writer’s attitude?
A.Supporting. | B.Puzzled. | C.Criticizing. | D.Objective. |
Everyone has got two personalities—the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control your behavior, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don’t like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive(不坦率的) person. You worry a lot and you’re always easily upset. You’re very stubborn(顽固的), but you aren’t very ambitious. You’re usually live for today not for tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled up (卷曲), you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often defensive. You’re shy and you don’t normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You’re easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You’re usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often get depressed. You always say what you think even if it annoys people.According to the writer, you naturally show your secret and real personality.
A.only in a normal night |
B.only when you go to sleep |
C.only when you refuse to show yourself to the word |
D.only when you change sleeping position |
Which is NOT mentioned in the second paragraph about a person’s personality?
A.He or she is always open with others. |
B.He or she always likes new ideas earlier than others. |
C.He or she is always easily upset. |
D.He or she tends to believe in others. |
Point out which sentence is used to show the personality of a person who is used to sleeping on his or her stomach?
A.He or she is careful not to offend others. |
B.He or she doesn’t want to stick to his or her opinion. |
C.He or she can’t be successful in any business. |
D.He or she likes to bring others happiness. |
Which of the following may be the reason for you not to make friends with a person who sleeps curled up?
A.He or she would rather be alone than communicate with you. |
B.He or she is rarely ready to help you. |
C.He or she prefers staying at home to going out. |
D.He or she wouldn’t like to get help from you. |
It appears that the writer tends to think highly of the person who sleeps on one side because.
A.he or she always shows sympathy for people |
B.he or she is confident, but not stubborn |
C.he or she has more strengths than weaknesses |
D.he or she often considers annoying people |
Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.
In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all, whether rich or poor, clever or stupid, one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough: we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degrees than there are jobs for them to fill. Because of their degree, they refuse to do what they think “low” work; and in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we would get terrible diseases in our towns.
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we are educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability, and secondly, that we realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.The writer of this passage thinks that ________.
A.free education can solve all of the world’s problems |
B.free education for all probably leads to a perfect world |
C.free education won’t help to solve social problems at all |
D.not all the social problems can be solved by free education |
The writer wants to tell us that ___________.
A.our society needs all kinds of jobs |
B.our society needs free education for all |
C.a farmer is more important than a professor |
D.people with university degrees earn more money |
According to the passage, ____________.
A.work with hands is dirty and shameful |
B.work with hands is low work |
C.work with hands is the most important |
D.we can’t regard work with hands as low work |
The purpose of education is ___________.
A.to choose a system of education |
B.to let everyone receive education |
C.to prepare children for their future life |
D.to prepare children for well-paid jobs |
As the mobile phones so widely appear in our daily life, someone said it would be cool if you didn’t have a mobile phone nowadays. It might be true to some extent, but as for an adult, a mobile means contact. It connects your work, relatives, friends, etc. It should do great deeds for us.
Months ago, my uncle gave his dear son a phone, because my nephew’s school is far from his home. He can only come back once a term, and the phones haven’t been so expensive yet. However, someone has criticized (批评) the young people for playing on mobiles, but not using. They are fond of sending messages, taking pictures and so on. They buy expensive, high level and fashion types for showing. They play on the mobiles day in and day out ….. Holy cow!
So, what happens to youngsters around you? Do they have a phone? What do they use it for? Do you think it’s necessary for teenagers who are still in school to have a phone?
POSTER 1:
In my view, mobile phones are only a tool for communication purpose, just like any other tools which have the potential (潜力) to be misused. In my opinion, I can see young people using it for security reason, emergency purpose, etc. If the parents can afford to pay big phone bills for their kids, well, that’s their business, like the old saying goes, “live and let live.”
--- Mary Smith
POSTER 2:
From psychological (心理学的) point of view, teenagers are more likely to be relaxed or pleasure-oriented. They would like to make something different. Buying brands that are considered “COOL” is important to them. They want others to like and admire themselves, and sometimes, even exaggerate(夸大)their own personality to show off. This can be seen as a kind of psychology during this certain range of age.
--- Dick Gates
Currently, people should tend to be more sociable, and age should not be seen as a barrier for teenagers to own their phones. They also need to set trends on the social circuit (社交圈). But here parents should play an important role in controlling their children about how to use the phones more properly. We can learn from the first sentence of the passage that ________.
A.people admire those who don’t have mobile phones |
B.people don’t like to have mobile phones nowadays |
C.mobile phones are too popular among people now |
D.mobile phones are not as useful as before |
Why are some teenagers criticized according to the second paragraph?
A.They use mobile phones for playing instead of using. |
B.They don’t use mobile phones for their study. |
C.They play “Holy Cow” games in mobile phones. |
D.They buy expensive, fashionable mobile phones. |
By saying “live and let live”, Mary Smith means that _________.
A.teenagers shouldn’t use mobile phones |
B.parents should buy mobile phones for their children |
C.teenagers can use mobile phones if their parents don’t mind |
D.teenagers should use mobile phones for communication |
What is Dick Gates’ attitude towards whether teenagers should use mobile phones?
A.Supportive. | B.Objective. (客观的) |
C.Negative. (消极的) | D.Uninterested. |