For 52 years my father got up at 5:30 am every morning, went to work, and returned home at 5:30 pm. I never saw my father stayed home from work ill, nor did I ever see my father lay down to take a nap. He had no hobbies, other than taking care of his family. All he asked from me, his daughter, was to help him while he was repairing something, so we could have some time to talk.
For 22 years, after I left home for college, my father called me at 9:00 am every Sunday. Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days in the 80-degree Kansas heat, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked for was a glass of iced tea. Five years ago, at age 71, my father spent five hours putting together a swing set for my daughter. Four years ago, my father drove all the way from Denver to Topeka, with an eight-foot Colorado Blue Spruce (云杉) in his truck, so that we could have a part of Colorado growing on our land.
On the morning of January 16, 1996, my sister telephoned me; my father was in the hospital with an aneurysm(动脉瘤) in Florida. I got on an airplane immediately, and on the way I realized that I hadn’t communicated with him as much as I’d always wanted to. I vowed(发誓) that when I arrived, I would have a long talk with him. I arrived in Florida at 1 am, only to find that my father, at the age of 76, had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.
1. From the first paragraph we can infer that the author’s father ______.
A. was a good driver B. was in good health
C. sometimes fell ill D. had no hobbies
2. The underlined phrase “other than” in the first paragraph can be replaced by “______”.
A. except B. including C. without D. due to
3. According to the last paragraph, we can know that the author’s father was born in ______.
A. 1916 B. 1918 C. 1920 D. 1922
4. The author wrote the article in order to ______.
A. praise her father B. remember her father
C. show her father loved her D. let her father be known
Faced with a tough job market, fresh graduates are dreaming of running their own businesses instead. But a recent survey has showed that such ambitions lack the required support and remain just that — dreams.
The Shanghai MunicipalEmployment Promotion Center poll of 1,276 graduates in several universities and colleges in the city, released last Friday, showed 59.78 percent of respondents considered the possibility of setting up a company or at least a small store. "But they just stop at the 'thinking' stage," it stated.
Respondents put the top reasons for not going it alone down to a shortage of investment and a lack of business opportunity. They also listed lack of business experience and social networks, the need for advanced study and objections from family members as factors that stood in their way.
More than 90 percent of the interviewees said they would rather take up a job after graduating and then consider starting their own business two or three years down the road.
Guo Bing, a senior student in Shanghai International Studies University majoring in English, decided he wanted to be his own boss last year. But he is looking for a job first. "If I fail to find a satisfying job, I would like to establish a company in exhibition services," Guo said.
The Shanghai native has some relatives working in a local printing plant. With their help, Guo hopes to produce exhibition brochures at a relatively low price. He is also confident that his English language skills can help him do well in the industry.
"Social networking is an important factor leading to business success," Guo said.
Guo said that the shortage of graduate jobs is the main reason driving more university students to set up a business right after their graduation.
Jiang said the university sets up a business guide team made of government officials and professionals. They regularly give training courses to students who show an interest in having their own business. The parents of university graduates are more willing to help their children start up alone, the survey showed" Once you win the support of your family, you have won half the battle," Guo added.Which of the following can be the best title?
A.A Tough Job Market |
B.Graduates Who Can Only Dream of Being Boss |
C.The Ambitious Fresh Graduates |
D.The Story of Guo Bing |
Which of the following does NOT stop fresh graduates realizing their dreams of being bosses?
A.The lack of business opportunity and investment. |
B.The shortage of business experience. |
C.Less skilled English language. |
D.Their family members’ objections. |
In the view of Guo Bing, what is the key factor that makes fresh graduates dream of being boss soon after
graduation?
A.Their family don’t support them. |
B.Their social networking is not good. |
C.There are not enough graduate jobs. |
D.They want to achieve greater success. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true about Guo Bing?
A.He has started his own business with the help of his relatives. |
B.English is his major in the university. |
C.He is trying to find a job which can satisfies him. |
D.He is a Shanghai native. |
Who is this article mostly intended for?
A.The parents whose child graduates from university soon. |
B.Those who will graduate from university. |
C.Those who want to be bosses. |
D.The officials who work in the government. |
Brazil is a federation that consists of twenty-six states and one federal district. The biggest majority of Brazil’s population belongs to the Christian religion and almost all of them are Catholics. This is something Brazil inherited(继承) being Portugal’s colony(殖民地).
Historically, the country was a colony claimed by people from Portugal and this made Portuguese the official language. The Portuguese reached Brazil in 1500 and until that moment it was inhabited by semi-nomadic(半游牧的) people. The Portuguese changed Brazil into a country of slaves until 1800, when Maria I of Portugal came to live in Brazil. The Queen did not stay long in Brazil, but during the 20 years of royal presence a lot of changes occurred: commercial ports to United Kingdom were opened; Brazil stopped being isolated(孤立) from other countries. So at the moment of getting the independence on the 7th of September, 1822, Brazil already had the potential to develop. The Brazilian Empire, Pedro I, abolished slavery in 1888 in the face of Princess Isabel. A lot of European people started coming to Brazil and the industry of the country started working. In the 19th and the 20th century as it has been said above foreign people immigrated(移民) to Brazil and basically 5 million European and Japanese people became the residents of Brazil. The beginning of the 20th century was especially marked by the immigration of a lot of Asian people: Japanese, Korean and Chinese immigrants. As a matter of fact Japanese people do not immigrate a lot, and the fact that the Brazilian-Japanese people are the largest Japanese minority in the world does astonish greatly.
The majority of the cultural inherits of Brazil are actually Portuguese, due to the fact that Brazil was Portugal’s colony for a very long time. The southern states mainly consist of European population and the north and the northeast consist of a mixed population including Africans, Amerindians and Europeans. Most of this population is Roman Catholic. No other country in the world has the same amount of Catholics. The modern tendency of Brazil is the growing number of people calling themselves Protestants. Around 7.4% of the population don’t believe any god. Some Brazilians, especially in the northern states are mixed Africans who prefer following the traditional African religions. Only 1.8% of the population chose Buddhism, Islam or Judaism.
Though Brazil always tried to maintain democracy, it was failed several times by the dictatorship(独裁) of Getulo Vargas. This fact could not affect the political situation in the country.Brazil was ruled by Portuguese about ______.
A.22 years | B.300 years | C.322 years | D.328 years |
Who might block the development of Brazil?
A.Maria I | B.Pedro I | C.immigrants | D.Getulo Vargas |
The writer mainly tells us the ______ of Brazil in the passage.
A.religion | B.history | C.culture | D.political situation |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Brazil was isolated from other countries when Maria I stayed there. |
B.The industry of the country started working in 1888. |
C.Brazil has the largest population of Catholics in the world. |
D.Some people in Brazil don’t believe any god. |
It can be inferred that Brazil is a country with ________.
A.western culture | B.modern culture |
C.traditional culture | D.mixed culture |
Toyota Motor Corp, Japan’s biggest carmaker, said on Friday it will recall 1,489 Lexus sedans (高级轿车) sold in China. "It will take us some time to ship the fuel tanks and vent pipes to China to change those in these Lexus sedans for customers free of charge, if problems are found," said Yang Hongjian, a spokes- woman of Toyota’s China representative office.
The expected recall will affect Lexus LS430 sedans made in Japan from July 29, 2003 to January 14, 2004, the representative office said in a statement. Toyota has not received complaints from Chinese customers, according to the statement. The move will be part of Toyota’s global recall of 18,200 Lexus LS430s. It will be the third car recall in China in two weeks. Although automobile recall is a common practice in developed markets, it remains new to Chinese customers. The Chinese government published long-awaited automobile recall rules on March 15, which will be officially carried out at the beginning of October.
China’s auto market is forecast to reach 10 million units by 2010. Automakers, especially Chinese producers, will face greater pressure from automobile recalls, which could be very costly sometimes, and should be in full preparations, according to the expert. The Japanese carmaker sold 1, 549 Lexus vehicles on the Chinese mainland during the first five months of this year, according to Yang. Lexus sales on the mainland reached 4,000 units last year, up from 1,600 units in 2002. (China Daily July 3, 2004)What can we learn from the text?
A.Chinese customers are not satisfied with Toyota Lexus LS430 sedans. |
B.Chinese car market has seen car recalls three times so far. |
C.Toyota will have a worldwide recall of Lexus LS430 sedans. |
D.Toyota Motor start to recall Lexus Sedans due to the problems with fuel tanks. |
The carmakers were unwilling to recall their cars in the past mainly because ______.
A.they were not fully prepared |
B.they couldn’t afford the cost for their car recalls |
C.their products could not meet the required standard |
D.there were no related rules and little pressure |
It is implied in the passage that ______.
A.sales of homemade automobiles will grow even faster |
B.automobile recalls will take place in China more frequently |
C.China’s car market is forecast to be the biggest by 2010 in the world |
D.Toyota is likely to sell the most Lexus Sedans in China in the future |
Which of the following is the best tide of this passage?
A.Toyota to Recall Its Lexus Sedans Sold in China |
B.China Prepares to Recall Cars |
C.The Problems in China’s Car Market |
D.Costly Japanese Car Recalls |
Who are these people rushing by you in the street? More than 215 million people now call America “home”, but most of them can trace their families back to other parts of the world. If you look at the names on shop windows, you will see that Americans come from many different lands. The idea that these people, who once were strangers to the United States, have lost the customs and cultures of their original countries and have become “American” is really not true. In fact, what exists in America is more often a kind of “side-by-side” living in which groups of people from other countries often have kept many of their customs and habits. They join the general American society only in certain areas of their lives—such as in schools, business, and sports—but they keep many of their own native customs and manners socially and at home. This living “side-by-side” has both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes it may cause disagreements to develop between groups whose ways of life are very different from one another. however, there are also great advantages that come from the variety of cultures brought by settlers from other lands. There is great freedom of choice among ideas and dress, food, and social customs in America. Everyone can find some part of his or her familiar world in the United States, in churches, music, food, national groups, or newspapers.More than 215 million people call America “home” because_______.
A.they have their houses there |
B.they settle there now |
C.they want to make their home there |
D.they like that land very much |
“Side-by-side” living style means _______.
A.to make friends with native people |
B.to keep their own customs while sharing American ones in certain areas |
C.the groups of people who live nearby |
D.that they get closer to American society |
according to the passage, people in the USA ________.
A.share American customs and culture |
B.live in a kind of “side-by-side” society |
C.keep their own customs and habits firmly |
D.make no choice to accept American customs |
Which of the following statements is true?
A.They always stick to their own customs and habits. |
B.“Side-by-side” living style is not suitable. |
C.They face the society they are not familiar with. |
D.The advantages coming from the variety of cultures make life in America colorful. |
Which is the best title for this passage?
A.Advantages and Disadvantages. |
B.Different Customs and Habits. |
C.Home for the People. |
D.“Side-by-side” Living Style in America. |
It’s 10:30 p.m. and 11-year-old Brandon Blanco is sound asleep at home. Suddenly, a loud noise wakes him up. Naturally, Brandon reaches for his cell phone. He blinks twice, and the message on the screen becomes clear: “ R U awake?”
But the late-night text does not annoy Brandon. He gets frequent messages and calls, even after bedtime. And he can’t imagine life without them. “ If I didn’t have a cell phone, I wouldn’t be able to talk to my friends or family as often,” he told TFK.
Brandon’s use of technology doesn’t stop there. He also has a computer, a TV and three video-game consoles in his room. With so many choices, it is no surprise that when he is not at school, he spends nearly every waking minute using one or more of these devices. Brandon is hardly alone. According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids aged 8 to 18 are spending more time than ever before using electronic devices. How much time? More than seven and a half hours a day on average, the study found. That’s about an hour more than just five years ago.
The jump is the result of a huge explosion in mobile devices, says Victoria Rideout, the lead author of the study. Today, nearly seven out of ten kids have cell phones. Just five years ago, it was four out of ten.
“ These devices have opened up many more opportunities for young people to use media, whether it’s on the bus, on the way to school or waiting in line at the pizza parlor,” says Rideout.
Often, kids multitask, or use more than one device at a time. “ If you’ve got a chance to do something on your computer and take a phone call and have the TV on in the background, why not?” Media expert Cheryl Olson says.
Most experts agree technology has much to offer kids. But some worry the kids could be missing out on other activities like playing outside or hanging out with friends. “ It’s a matter of balance,” says Olson. “ You’ve got to work on it.”
Multitasking while doing homework is another concern. Some kids listen to music, watch TV or use the phone while doing their homework. “It’s important to make sure that you can stop and concentrate on one thing deeply,” says Rideout.
Logan Jones, 11, of Maumelle, Arkansas, describes himself as a “game freak”. Still, he is glad not to have unlimited time with his PlayStation 2. “I’ll tell my mom I’m going to play a game, and she’ll say, ‘Okay, but only for 30 minutes,’”, Logan told TFK.
With new and exciting devices hitting stores every year, keeping technology use in check is more important than ever. “ Kids should try,” adds Rideout. “:But parents might have to step in sometimes.”The text is mainly about kids’ _________
A.cell phone use | B.various hobbies |
C.favorite video games | D.using electronic devices |
It can be learnt from the text that _________.
A.Brandon feels annoyed about his late-night message. |
B.Olson is against teenagers’ using mobile phones. |
C.many teenagers lack friends in their middle school |
D.kids have too many electronic devices to choose from |
Which of the following is an example of multitasking?
A.Watching TV while using the computer |
B.Talking on the phone while lying on the sofa. |
C.Playing video games after having lunch. |
D.Listening to loud music while relaxing. |
The underlined phrase “in check” in the last paragraph can be replaced by ______.
A.in order | B.in store | C.in sight | D.in control |
According to the text, Victoria Rideout would probably agree that kids should ____.
A.do homework while watching TV |
B.do homework in a place without disturbance |
C.spend more time on homework |
D.have less homework |