TheUnitedStatesisonthevergeofl-优题课

Sunday, October 5
Clear, 69°F
My wife, Eleanor , and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and guide. And the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way. Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept.
After the other passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses.
Monday, October 6
Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69°F
We spent about two hours in Nancy, then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind of a lazy day. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, after dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat. Where we will visit tomorrow.
It was pleasant to sit out on deck （甲板）and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph.
Tuesday, October 7
Light rain, 64°F
This mourning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum and the church , which has this unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lost of shopping , then walked across the bridge to see a very , very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows.
We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down the eastern side. Later we drove to Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Mar.
Wednesday, Ocrober8
Cloudy.65 °F
Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went through two caves, an extremely unusual part of the journey. This river scenery is very different. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side and a forest beginning to show some color on the other.
Thursday, Ocrober9
Cloudy, 66°F
Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their separate ways. Our boating days are over until next time.
68. Where did the author get off the train?
A. Paris B. Strasbourg C. Nancy D. Barn
69. From the text, we learn that Baccarat and Sorrenbourg are the names of_________.
A. towns B. churches C. museums D. mountains
70. What does the author think of the tour?
A. Tiring B. Expensive C. Enjoyable D. Quick

It’s not easy being a teenager—nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager. You can make your child feel angry, hurt, or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself. It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you you’ll still be there for him when he needs you.
Expect a lot from your child, just not everything. Except for health and safety problems, such as drug use or careless driving; consider everything else open to discussion. If your child is unwilling to discuss something, don’t insist he tell you what’s on his mind. The more you insist, the more likely that he’ll clam up. Instead , let him attempt to solve（解决）things by himself. At the same time, remind him that you’re always there for him ，should he seek advice or help. Show respect for your teenager’s privacy （隐私）. Never read him his mail or listen in on personal conversions.
Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family. If your child talks on the family’s telephone for too long, tell him he can talk for15 minutes, but then he must stay off the phone for at least an equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls, but teaches your teenager moderation（节制）. Or if you are open to the idea, allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part –time job
64. The main purpose of the text is to tell parents _____________.
A. how to get along with a teenager B. how to respect a teenager
C. how to understand a teenager D. how to help a teenager grow up
65. What does the phrase “clam up” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. become excited B. show respect
C. refuse to talk D. seek help
66.The last paragraph is about how to teach a teenager_________________.
A. to use the phone in a sensible way B. to pay for his own telephone
C. to share the phone quickly D. to answer the phone quickly
67. What should parents do in raising a teenager according to the text?
A. Nor allow him to learn driving or take drugs
B. Give him advice only when necessary
C. Let him have his own telephone
D. Not talk about personal things with him

We have met the enemy and he is ours. We bought him at a pet shop. When monkey-pox, a disease usually found in the African rain forest suddenly turns up in children in the American Midwest, it’s hard not to wonder of the disease that comes from foreign animals is homing in on human beings. “Most of the infections （感染）we think of as human infections started in other animals” says Stephen Morse, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Columbia University.
It’s not just that we’re going to where the animals are; we’re also bringing them closer to us. Popular foreign pets have brought a whole new disease to this country. A strange illness killed Isaksen’s pets and she now thinks that keeping foreign pets is a bad idea “I don’t think it’s fair to have them as pets when we have such a limited knowledge of them”says Isaksen
“Laws allowing these animals to be brought in from deep forest areas without stricter control need changing” says Peter Schantz. Monkey-pox may be the wake-up call. Researchers believe infected animals may infect their owners. We know very little about these new diseases. A new bug（病毒）may be kind at first. But it may develop into something harmful（有害的）.Monkey-pox doesn’t look a major infectious disease But it is not impossible to pass the disease from person to person.
60．We learn from Paragraph I that the pet sold at the shop may_______.
A．come from Columbia B．prevent us from being infected
C．enjoy being with children D．suffer from monkey-pox
61．Why did Isaksen advise people not to have foreign pets?
A．They attack human beings B．We need to study native animals
C．They can’t live out of the rain forest
D．We do not know much about them yet
62．What does she phrase “the wake-up call” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A．a new disease B．a clear warning
C．a dangerous animal D．a morning call
63．The text suggests that in the future we .
A. may have to fight against more new diseases
B. may easily get infected by diseases from dogs
C. should not be allowed to have pets
D. should stop buying pests from Africa

Computer programmer David Jones earns $35.000 a year designing new computer games. yet he cannot find a bank ready to let him have a credit card（信用卡）.Instead he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18. The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job .David’s firm releases（推出）two new games for the fast growing computer market each month
But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage（抵押贷款）,or get credit cards. David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago ,a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs” he said. David spends some of his money on records and clothes and gives his mother 50 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school” he said, “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time .I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway” David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement（退休）is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”
56．In what way is David different from people of his age?
A．He often goes out with friends B．He lives with his mother
C．He has a handsome income D．He graduated with six O-levels
57．What is one of the problems that David is facing now?
A．He is too young to get a credit card B．He has no time to learn driving
C．He has very little spare time D．He will soon lose his job
58．Why was David able to get the job in the company?
A．He had done well in all his exams
B．He had written some computer programs
C．He was good at playing computer games
D．He had learnt to use computers at school
59．Why did David decide to leave school and start working?
A．He received lots of job offers B．He was eager to help his mother
C．He lost interest in school studies D．He wanted to earn his own living

“I find myself glancing at my watch to see how long I’ve been standing in line,” she said. “Everywhere I go, I notice if the dumpster(垃圾罐)gates are open or if there’s trash in the parking lot.” Ms. Clark is a “mystery shopper”, one of thousands of contract workers that companies hire to pretend as regular customers in order to judge customer service, cleanliness and whether a store is selling a product that meets company specifications (规格).
Mystery shoppers can be found or, rather, not found, everywhere from restaurants and automotive shops to convenience stores and department stores. They play a constant cat-and-mouse game with store and restaurant employees and managers. However it’s not all fun and games. Once in the field, a mystery shopper will typically visit several stores or restaurants per hour, taking mental notes while inside, then jotting down physical notes after they leave.
It’s important for mystery shoppers to be as exact as possible, because the client companies are looking for data they can use to improve their service. The questionnaire won’t say, “Does the trash can need to be emptied?” What an educated shopper will say is, “The trash can to the left of the front door was overflowing with 10 pieces of trash on the ground.” Companies don’t need opinion but facts.
Nowadays mystery shoppers are armed with a number of high-tech devices, such as a digital scale and a digital thermometer, as well as a handheld PC for recording the entire experience. It’s a challenging job but a rewarding one. Mystery shoppers can be full time or part time, but the full-time workers tend to stick to standard mystery shopping while part-timers often choose the less complex reward-based programs. In those , the shoppers stay disguised(装扮的) only until the “shop” is finished, and then reveal (透漏) themselves to the store management and award prizes to employees who provided excellent service.
To be a mystery shopper, it’s important to be a good observer, but sometimes it’s important to have the right profile(外表), too. Companies often hire shoppers from particular backgrounds to better blend in with clients’ regular customers. If a secret shopper will be sent in, for example, to do a high-end automotive shop, the candidate must have a particular profile that meets a high-end, luxury car-type buyer profile. “It’s a challenge to perform your shop without being discovered,” Ms. Clark said, “because most of the people that we work for are very aware of the mystery shopping program.”
67. According to the text a “mystery shopper” would not have to .
A. sign a contract with the employer B. travel a lot around the city
C. provide exact facts to the company D. fill in questionnaires
68. We learn from the text that Ms. Clark .
A. visits some shops regularly and sometimes does something special
B. pretends to be a shopper and evaluates the services
C. is a government official looking into the services
D. is a manager of a company offering good services
69. People are willing to become a mystery shopper mainly because they can .
A. get the best service and get paid at the same time
B. play a cat-and-mouse game with shop employees and managers
C. do the job either full time or part time and get paid well
D. observe clearly what happens in the shops
70. What does the underlined word “those” in the 4th paragraph refer to?
A. The shops where the mystery shoppers go.
B. The less complex reward-based programs.
C. Part-time jobs.
D. Excellent services.