Juanito Estrella has been a housekeeping manager on the US-based large passenger ship Carnival Spirit for 18 months and feels he has found the suitable position in his career(职业).He has always wanted to travel.“ I guess I am a really restless spirit. I Iike traveling, so when the chance came, I jumped at it,” he says.
The chance came in the form of a newspaper advertisement for work on cruise ships（游船）. At the time Estrella was the housekeeping manager at a Melbourne hotel. He applied and, after two interviews, a medical check and police clearance, the job was his.
Estrella is responsible(负责的)for the cleanliness of the ship, making sure that 160 crew work properly. “I enjoy it because there is no other work-you wake up each day in a different place and a different culture. It’s exciting when you go to the next country and you don’t understand the language, ”he says.
Estrella likes being busy and getting to know people from all over the world. The 1,000 crew come from 94 countries, and Estrella has learnt Spanish and a little Croatian.
But there is a downside .“You cannot get really drunk...because you have safety responsibilities to yourself and others, ”he says.“ You don’t really think about home. You start to think about home only when you get closer to your vacation and wonder what you’ll be doing.”
Life on the ship is anything but cruising. Estrella and his fellows work at least 10 hours a day, seven days a week. He warns the job is not for everybody. “You have to love being busy and be prepared to work every day-and to give up drinking too much alcohol. ”In his spare time, if the ship sails into a port, Estrella explores it, otherwise he works out in the crew’s gym, goes on the internet or calls home.
1.What do we know about Estrella?
A. He is very fond of traveling.
B. He doesn’t drink wine now.
C. He cannot speak a foreign language.
D. He used to be a housekeeping manager in a ship.
3.The underlined word “downside” in paragraph 5 probably means ____________.
A. disappointment B. disadvantage C. failure D. loss
3.Which of the following is true?
A. Estrella doesn’t often feel homesick because of his work.
B. The work on the ship is not suitable for a married person.
C. Estrella can find no other job except the one on the ship.
D. The people on the ship are from 94 countries.
4. In the last paragraph the writer thinks that life on the ship is ____________.
A. not a tiring journey at all B. just an interesting voyage
C. far from a voyage for pleasure D. more than a pleasant travel by sea
South Korean Films
An audience can view five new South Korean films, all with Chinese subtitles(字幕) until April 19 at the Tuixin Cinema in the Beijing National Library grounds.
Two other South Korean films completed their full runs at the Tuuixin Cinema earlier this month.
Location: Tuixin Cinema, Beijing National Library, 39 Baishiqiao Road, Haidian District.
Tel: 86415566
“My Love My Bride”
April 15: 9:00, 13:00, 15:30, 17:30, 19:30
“Kim’s War”
April 16: 9:00, 13:30, 18:15
“Because You Are a Woman”
April 17: 13:30, 18:15
“Marriage Story”
April 18: 9:00, 13:30, 15:30, 18:15
“Sopyoneje”
April 19: 9:00, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30, 19:30
Leon’s show
Hong Kong pop stat—Leon Lai will give a personal performance at 7:30pm from tomorrow through to September 21 at the Shanghai Gymnasium. The show is to celebrate the opening of the 93rd Huangpu Tourism Festival.
Tickets: 60, 90, 120, 180 yuan RMB, available(有票) at 66 Jiangning Road.
Address: Shanghai Gymnasium, 1111 Gaoxi Road N.
Tel: 29189188, 29171145, 49384952, 29197113
Russian concert
The Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra(管弦乐队) will put on some excellent Russian Orchestra works at 7:15pm on September 26 and 27 at the Shanghai Concert Hall. They will sing Russian folk songs and mass under a Russian Conductor who is very famous for conducting choirs(歌唱队) and has given a successful choral concert in Beijing.
Tickets: 6, 8, 10, 12 yuan RMB, available at the hall’s ticket office.
Address: 523 Yan’an Road W. Shanghai.
Tel: 32275694.
Korean songs
The Song and Dance Troupe of North Korea will give a song and dance show at 7:30pm tonight at the Shanghai Center Theater.
Tickets: 10, 20, 30 yuan RMB, available at the theater’s ticket office.
Address: 1376 Nanjing Road W. Shanghai.
Tel: 29798663
64. ____ will be on April 18. The cinema’s telephone number is ____.
A. Kim’s War; 9798663 B. My Love, My Bride; 32275694
C. Because You Are a Woman; 29189188 D. Marriage Story; 86415566
65. An audience can watch the performance given by Leon Lai from tomorrow through to September 21 in ____.
A. Beijing B. South Korea C. Shanghai D. Hong Kong
66. The address of the Shanghai Center Theater is ____.
A. 1111 Caoxi Road N B. 1376 Nanjing Road W
C. 523 Yan’an Road W D. 66 Jiangning Road
67. According to the advertisement, a six-yuan ticket is for ____.
A. Russian concert B. Korean songs C. South Korean films D. Leon’s show
He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, with many boys around her, while he was so normal, with nobody paying attention to him.
At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised, but due to being polite, she agreed. They sat in a nice coffee shop. He was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, thinking, “Please let me go home.”
Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.”
Everybody stared at him—so strange！His face turned red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.
She asked him curiously, “Why do you have this hobby?”
He replied, “When I was a little boy, I was living near the sea. I liked playing in the sea, and I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood. I miss my hometown so much. I miss my parents who are still living there.” While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That’s his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, and has responsibility of home. Then she also started to speak, about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story.
They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands; he was kind-hearted, warm and careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him! Thanks to the salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married the prince, then they were living a happy life… And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee.
After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive my whole life lie. This was the only lie I said to you—the salty coffee.”
“Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time. Actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead.”
“I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything.”
“Now I’m dying, I’m afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don’t like the salty coffee. What a strange bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!”
“Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for a second time, I still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again.”
Her tears made the letter totally wet.
Someday, someone asked her, “What’s the taste of salty coffee?”
“It’s sweet,” she replied.
60. After ordering some salt to put into the coffee, the young man must have felt ___.
A. touched B. satisfied C. disappointed D. embarrassed
61. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Salt coffee is more delicious and sweeter than sugar coffee.
B. The man ordered the salt coffee in order to create a chance to date with the girl.
C. The man had to have the salty coffee all his life to keep his word.
D. The woman hardly believed the man’s explanation at the first date.
62. From the passage we can see that the man is ___.
A. caring and kind-hearted B. shy and sly
C. dishonest but responsible D. warm and understanding
63. It is implied in the passage that the woman ___ when reading the letter left by her husband.
A. was cheated by his husband’s behavior
B. was touched by his husband’s white lie
C. felt sorry to know the truth too late
D. felt angry about his dishonesty
I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek. Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square. It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave peace and strength and continuous power. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.
But the Wasichus (Indian word for “white people”) have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should, boys were men at twelve of thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to be bull grown.
72. The title of this passage is ____.
A. Round Houses B. Square Houses
C. Round Houses and Square Houses
D. Power or Houses
73. Two things being compared in the passage are ____.
A. the Indians’ past and present living conditions
B. the Indians’ past and modern beliefs
C. the Indians’ old and new power
D. people and nature
74. In the second paragraph “the four quarters” refers to ____.
A. the four rooms of the Indian’s house B. the four kinds of natural power
C. the four seasons D. the four directions
75. According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, _____.
A. they had to move to other houses B. boys took more time to grow into men
C. they forgot the old way of life D. everyone was not happy
Many people think the search for cleaner energy leads only to renewable resources like sun, wind and water. But it also leads to a fossil fuel. Natural gas is considered the cleanest of the fossil fuels, the fuel created by plant and animal remains over millions of years. Burning it releases fewer pollutants than oil or coal. The gas is mainly methane (甲烷). It produces half the carbon dioxide of other fossil fuels. So it may help cut the production of carbon gases linked to climate change.
Russia is first in what are called "proved reserves" of natural gas. The United States is sixth. Over the years, big oil and gas companies recovered much of the easily reached supplies of gas in America. They drilled straight down into formations where gas collects. As these supplies were used up, big drillers looked for similar formations in other countries.
But now the industry is taking a new look. Companies are developing gas supplies trapped in shale (页岩) rock two to three thousand meters underground. They drill down to the shale, then go sideways and inject high-pressure water, sand or other material into the rock. This causes the rock to fracture, releasing the gas. Huge fields of gas shale are believed to lie under the Appalachian Mountains, Michigan and the south-central states. Gas shale exploration is being done mainly by small to medium sized companies. Eric Potter, a program director, says more than half the gas in the United States is now coming from these new reserves.
But hydraulic (液压的) fracturing can also produce debate and anger over the risk of groundwater pollution. This method of drilling is not federally supervised under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Some in Congress want to end that exemption (豁免) from the law.
Natural gas provides Americans with about one fourth of their energy. And, unlike oil, most of it is produced in America. Gas producers invested heavily in reaching new supplies when prices were high. But prices are down sharply now because the depression cut demand for energy. So energy expert Eric Potter says it is too early to know how the changing market prices will affect the market for gas shale exploration.
68. We can learn from the first paragraph that ________.
A. natural gas releases methane and carbon dioxide
B. natural gas is considered as the cleanest energy
C. natural gas is more environmentally friendly than other fossil fuels
D. natural gas is a renewable source of energy
69. The word “fracture” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______.
A. create B. break C. change D. decrease
70. Gas shale exploration may cause disagreement because ______.
A. it may cause water pollution B. it brings too high profits
C. it breaks the law D. it is out of states’ control
71. According to Eric Potter, the new gas shale exploration ______.
A. will provide America with about one fourth of their energy
B. will increase demand for energy
C. will make gas producers invest a big sum of money
D. may be influenced by the changing market prices
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
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。
It was a warm April day when a big fat envelope came in the mail from the only college I had ever imagined attending. I tore open the packet. My eyes were fixed on the word “congratulations”. I don’t remember ever smiling so wide.
Then I looked at my financial package.
The cost of Dream School’s tuition, room and board was around $40,000— an impossible sum! How could I afford to attend? What good reasons did I have to go there when three other fine colleges were offering me free tuition? My other choices were good, solid schools even if they weren’t as famous as my first choice.
In my mind, attending my dream university would be the only way to realize my dream of becoming a world-class writer. My parents understood how I felt. They told me that even though it would be a financial problem, I could go wherever I would be happiest. But as I was always careful with money, I wasn’t sure what to do.
One of the schools that offered me a full ride had an informational dinner one night in the spring. Considering my parents’ financial difficulties, I decided to drive the 45 minutes and attend. At first, all I had planned to do was smile politely, eat free food ,listen quietly. But I surprised myself.
At dinner the president of the university talked about the wonderful activities on campus（including guest lectures and social gatherings）. He also made it perfectly clear that free food would be offered at all future events. He continued with explanations of professors, class sizes, activities, and sporting events on campus. As he spoke, I began to realize that this school, though not as good as my first choice, might be the best one for me. It seemed small yet with many great programs. It seemed challenging yet caring.
As the president ended his speech, we clapped politely and pushed back our chairs. As I walked out that door, a feeling of comfort washed over me. Looking at the campus that night, I realized that I would be spending the next four years right there.
In all honesty, my university is not as well-known as my “dream” university. However, it turned out to be the right choice of schools for me.
56. How did the author feel when he started to read the letter?
A. He was full of joy. B. He was lost in his dream.
C. He was worried about the money. D. He was uncertain which school to go to.
57. We can learn from the passage that the parents were _______.
A. honest B. strict C. supportive D. decisive
58. In Paragraph 5, “offered me a full ride” can be replaced by “_______”.
A. would pay for transport to the school
B. would show me around the campus
C. would offer free meals at all events
D. would charge me nothing for tuition
59. What does the author mainly want to say?
A. Your second-choice college may actually be your best fit.
B. You should consider comfort in your choice of schools.
C. You should try your best to attend your dream school.
D. Your choice of schools should be based on their fame.