If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have had the last laugh. There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech “Information Age” demands people who are flexible and who have good communication skills.
There are many social science majors in large companies who fill important positions. For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses. Studies show that social science majors are most suited for change, which is the leading feature (特点) of the kind of high speed, high-pressure, high-tech world we now live in.
Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long-term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily. A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry-level positions with social science graduates. The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as “very important” by 92 percent of the companies. Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are. It is probably due to these skills that they have been offered a wide variety of positions.
Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job, recent graduates report that they don’t regret their choice of study.
1. By saying that “you may have had the last laugh” in the first paragraph, the author means that you may have _______.
A. earned as much as computer majors B. stopped joking about computer majors
C. shared the jokes with computer majors D. found jobs more easily than computer majors
2. Compared with graduates of other subjects, social science graduates ______.
A. are likely to give others pressure B. are equally good at computer skills
C. are better able to deal with difficulties D. are ready to change when situations change
3. Which of the following is true about the communication skill?
A. Social science majors do not know they have had these skills.
B. Many companies prefer to employ those with good communication skills.
C. These skills have been considered very important by social science majors.
D. Computer majors have been offered a wide variety of positions because of these skills.
4 According to the text, what has made it easy for social science graduates to find jobs?
A. Part-time work experience. B. Skills in expressing themselves.
C. Willingness to take low-paid jobs. D. Readiness to gain high-tech knowledge.
5. The underlined word “land” in the last paragraph probably means _______.
A. successfully get B. lose regretfully C. immediately start D. keep for some time
Learners report two main difficulties in reading, which may be linked. There are too many unknown words and as a result reading is simply not a pleasure. For some students, even reading in their own language is a chore.
Having a wide vocabulary is essential to making sense of written language. Of course, this is a circular argument, because the more you read the more vocabulary you learn and the more words you know the more easily you can read. Don’t make the mistake of reading with your dictionary beside you, looking up every single new or doubtful word. This is laborious and prevents you from practicing the skill of prediction.
Sometimes in reading you find a word you know but the sense doesn’t seem to fit in. This is not surprising because words have so many meanings and degrees of meaning. What is more, part of their meaning is shaped by the words around them. Keep looking at the surrounding words and asking yourself “what sort of meaning would make sense here?”
The more that people study the reading process, the better they can pass on to language learners a range of advice to choose from. People have learned to read in all kinds of ways. Here is some information that could help you plan to be a better reader in the foreign language you are studying.
1）Work out the general meaning first
When people read in a new language they often feel they must take a detailed approach, focusing on every word, particularly those they don’t know. They read as if they were using a microscope, looking carefully at each of the small pieces（the individual words）, but not necessarily seeing the whole picture at first. This is called the “bottom-up” approach. Other readers try to look first at the big picture（the “top-down” approach）, attending to individual bricks only as necessary, a process that involves some intelligent guesswork. Generally this second approach is recommended by successful learners.
2）Interactive reading
Another way of thinking about reading is to describe it as an interactive process, where the text brings something to you and you bring something to the text. Readers bring together all their knowledge of the world with what they see on the page in front of them. That is why, when reading in our own language, we don’t need to read every word. We add meaning which is not actually stated.
3）From supported reading to independent reading
Language learners start by needing considerable support as they read. Textbooks supply this support in the form of introductions that summaries the contents, glossaries, pictures, explanations of new grammar points. In your reading you need to move gradually from this support to reading more the text itself.
1. According to the author, ________.
A. looking up the dictionary is of great help for the understanding
B. reading more promotes the gaining of vocabulary
C. the more you read, the less useful the dictionary will be
D. the amount of vocabulary is the key to reading
2. Successful learners recommend ________.
A. trying to look first at the big picture B. looking carefully at each of the small pieces
C. focusing on every word D. “bottom-up” approach
3. The word “chore” in the first paragraph maybe means ________.
A. an important aspect B. a difficult and tiring thing
C. an easy question D. something special
4. You come across a new or doubtful word when you are reading, you can ________.
A. just miss it and let it be B. keep looking at the surrounding words
C. look it up in the dictionary each time D. make sense of it with the help of dictionary
Dye (染料) call bring a little colour to life. Most clothing is coloured with dyes. Modern，manufactured dyes can be costly. Natural dyes from plant and animal products have been used since ancient times. Here we describe a natural way to dye wool.
There are several methods to put dye onto material. The vat（缸）method，for example，can be used to dye wool with onionskins. For this example，use one hundred grams of natural woo1. The wool must be clean. Leave it overnight in water and liquid soap. Then wash it with clean water that is a little warm. Gently squeeze out the extra water.
A solution called a mordant (媒染) is used in the dying process. A mordant helps fix the dye to the material. Traditionally, mordants were found in nature. Wood ash is one example. But chemical mordants such as alum（矾）are popular today. Alum is sold in many stores. It is often mixed with cream of tartar, a fine powder commonly used in cooking.
Mix eight grams of alum with seven grams of cream of tartar in a small amount of hot water. Add the solution to a metal pan of cool water. Next, add the wool and place the mixture over heat. Slowly bring the liquid to eighty-two degrees Celsius. Heat the mixture for forty five minutes. After it cools, remove the wool and wash it.
To prepare the dye solution, cover thirty grams of onionskins with water. Use only the dry，brown outer skins. Boil the liquid until the onionskins lose their colour, about forty—five minutes. Remove the skins after the dye cools.
Now it is time to dye the wool. Place the wool into the dye and heat the mixture. Bring it to a boil，then immediately reduce the heat to eighty-two degrees. Now heat the dye for about forty-five minutes or until the wool is the desired colour. Keep in mind that wet wool looks darker than it is.
Once the dye cools, remove the wool and wash it. Now the wool is orange or yellow. Or at least it should be.
1. According to the passage, mordants are ___________.
A. dyes used in the dying process B. materials which will be put dye to
C. wood ashes used in the dying process D. not dyes but play an important role in the dying process
2. Which of the following statements about “natural dyes” is TRUE?
A. They might be cheaper than chemical dyes. B. They are more expensive than chemical dyes.
C. They have been used for only recent years. D. They are all made from animal products.
3. As for the vat method，which of the following things is NOT necessarily needed?
A. Ash. B. Water. C. Mordant. D. Temperature.
4. Choose the proper order of dying wool：
a. boil the liquid with onionskins
b. add mordants to a metal pan of cool water ,put the wool into it and heat the mixture
c. wash the wool with clean water after it is left overnight in water and liquid soap
d. put the wool into the dye and heat it
A. c, b, a, d B. d, c, d, a C. b, a, d, c D. a, b, c, d
Bayfield Shopping Coupons (赠券)
| 1. Six Hours Free Parking If you spend $ 100 or more in our stores you will receive six hours of free parking. When you have spent $100 or more, just take this coupon and your receipt to the customer service desk on level 4. They will stamp your parking ticket to allow 6 hours of free parking. Offer here until November 14. |
| 2. Win a $1000 CD Collection Win your choice of $1000 worth of CDs from JB Music Store. Just buy any two CDs and your name will go into the competition. Select your own prize from our wide variety of rock, pop, jazz and classical music. Competition ends November 14. Prize drawn on November 21. Check store for more information |
| 3. Buy One, Get One Free Buy one shirt or tie at Daniel’s Menswear, and get another shirt or tie of the same value free. Choose from any of our dress shirts and we will give you another one at no cost. Hurry! Offer ends November 14. Offer limited to one per customer. |
| 4. 10% Off Present this coupon at The Book Store to get a 10% discount on any books you buy. We have lots of books to choose from, including children’s books, novels, travel guides, and science works. You are sure to find something that you will enjoy. Shop now for Christmas, we have a large quantity of toys as gifts for you and avoid the rush! Offer here until November 14 |
| 5. Half-price Movie Tickets Buy any full-price movie ticket on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, and you can buy a second tickets for a friend for only half price. The latest movies are here, being shown in one of our five theaters at Bayfield Shopping Center. Offer here through December 1, Limit on per customer. |
| 6. Free Soft Drink Buy any meal for at least $6 at Mike’s Café, and receive a free soft drink. We serve the best food in the Shopping Center. Come in and try our delicious meals and our excellent service. You won’t be disappointed! Free soft drink offer ends November 14. |
1. What are these ads for?
A. Food you can order for delivery. B. Places to go on vacation.
C. Special offers at a shopping center. D. Things on sale in a big store.
2. Which of the following is true according to the ads?
A. Spending $50 means 3 hours of free parking.
B. One person can buy 5 tickets for the price of three.
C. After buying two CDs, you can get another two CDs for free.
D. At Mike’s Café, people can get a free drink after spending $6.
3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned at this mall?
A. Clothes store. B. Music store. C. Restaurant. D. Toy store.
4. We can know from this passage ________.
A. there is more than on theater in the center.
B. if you buy a book there, you may pay less than half the price.
C. you may get a free on if you buy a shirt, or a tie, or a pair of shoes.
D. you won’t get a free soft drink unless you spend more than 10 dollars on the meal.
第二部分：阅读理解（本题有两小节，第一节共20小题，每小题2分；第二节共5小题，每小题2分；满分50分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
The Pillow
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer (拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house—something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, “What do you want for your new room?” Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were astonished when Josh responded, “I just want a bed.”
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds together, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, “What is that?”
“A pillow,” he replied.
“What do you do with it?” Eric continued to ask.
“When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to my eyes as my father handed Eric the pillow.
“Oh…that’s soft,” he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my dad gently asks, “Do you have a pillow?”
We know exactly what he means.
1. The writer’s first volunteer project was ______.
A. working on a poor trailer B. helping a poor family
C. donating beds and bedding D. dealing with a housing problem
2. On hearing Josh’s answer, the writer was shocked because ______.
A. the family lived in a trailer B. he expected to get some toys
C. he didn’t know what a bed was D. the boys had no bed to sleep in
3. From the passage, we can learn that Eric had never seen ______ before.
A. a trailer B. a truck C. a pillow D. a house
4. By saying “Do you have a pillow?”, the writer’s father means that ______.
A. what they want to get may be unnecessary B. they should not waste money on small things
C. they should do more volunteer work for the poor D. what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow
There are some very good things about open education. This way of teaching allows the students to grow as people, and to develop their own interests in many subjects. Open education allows students to be responsible for their own education, as they are responsible for what they do in life. Some students do badly in a traditional classroom. The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning. Some students will be happier in an open education school. They will not have to worry about grades or rules. For students who worry about these things a lot, it is a good idea to be in an open classroom.
But many students will not do well in an open classroom. For some students, there are too few rules. These students will do little in school. They will not make good use of open education. Because open education is so different from traditional education, these students may have a problem getting used to making so many choices. For many students it is important to have some rules in the classroom. They worry about the rules even when there are no rules. Even a few rules will help this kind of students. The last point about open education is that some traditional teachers do not like it. Many teachers do not believe in open education. Teachers who want to have an open classroom may have many problems at their schools.
You now know what open education is. Some of its good points and bad points have been explained. You may have your own opinion about open education. The writer thinks that open education is a good idea, but only in theory. In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school. The writer believes that most students, but of course not all students, want some structure in their classes. They want and need to have rules. In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects. Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting. They would not study those subjects if they did not have to.
1．Open education allows the students to____________
A．grow as the educated B．be responsible for their future
C．develop their own interests D．discover subjects outside class
2．Open education may be a good idea for the students who_________
A．enjoy learning B．worry about grades
C．do well in a traditional classroom D．are responsible for what they do in life.
3．Some students will do little in an open classroom because_________.
A．there are too few rules
B．they hate activities
C．open education is similar to the traditional education
D．they worry about the rules
4．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A．Some traditional teachers do not like it.
B．Many teachers do not believe in open education.
C．Teachers may have problems in open classrooms.
D．The teacher’s feelings and attitudes are important to the students.
5．Which of the following best summarizes the passage?
A．Open education is a really complex idea.
B．Open education is better than traditional education.
C．Teachers dislike open education.
D．The writer thinks that open education is a good idea in practice.