An 18-year-old student has won a local election to become mayor of his hometown in the US state of Michigan. Michael Sessions won by the slenderest of margins - just two votes put him ahead of his only rival, the incumbent 51-year-old mayor. Mr. Sessions attributed his electoral success to the votes cast by his parents. He will now have to juggle schedules between attending school and fulfilling his civic duties. He will attend his school classes between 8am to 3pm and carry out his new job as the elected mayor of Hillsdale before dinner at 6pm. He aims to deliver on his campaign pledges of increasing the contingent (小分队) of full-time fire-fighters from three to four, revitalizing (使恢复元气) the local economy and enabling townsfolk to air their views and grievances on town life.
Mr. Sessions was too young to enter the election when it was first announced – he turned 18 only in September, which meant he had just four weeks of campaigning. Although he is the youngest elected official in America, he cannot celebrate his success with champagne because he would be arrested for underage drinking. He ran for office with a budget of $700, which he made from his summer job of selling toffee apples. His position is largely ceremonial and he will not get his own office. Instead, he will receive an annual stipend of $3,600 to cover basic expenses. He starts his four-year position on November 21. Mr. Sessions has become an overnight celebrity since his victory and has already done the circuit of television chat show interviews.
1. When did the election probably take place?
A. August. B. September. C. October. D. December.
2. How long will Mr. Sessions be the mayor of Michigan State?
A. One year. B. Two years. C. Four years. D. Not mentioned.
3. Which of the following statements is correct?
A. Mr. Sessions won the election by two votes.
B. Mr. Sessions had many competitors during the election.
C. The new mayor will get an office after the election.
D. The new mayor doesn’t have to attend the school any more.
“Pay has little to do with motivation in the workplace”. That’s the argument put forward by best-selling author Daniel Pink in his new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. “Pay for performance is supposed to be a folk tale,” he says.
Daniel argues that, if employees receive a basic level of payment, three other factors matter more than money: a sense of independence, of mastery over one’s labor, and of serving a purpose larger than oneself. For example, in 2008 at the offices of Best Buy’s Richfield, salaried workers there were allowed to organize their own work day, putting in only as many hours as they felt necessary to get their jobs done. Productivity increased by 35% according to The Harvard Business Review.
But the managers at Goldman Sachs aren’t exactly making some efforts to adjust. Like others on Wall Street, the banking giant argues that fat bonuses (extra rewards) are essential to make its numbers. “That’s exactly the attitude that leads to the recent financial crisis in the United States,” responds Daniel, “as managers always focus on short-term rewards that encourage cheating, shortcuts, and dishonest behavior.”
Moreover, the 45-year-old author and former Al Gore speechwriter refers to social-science experiments and experiences at such workplaces as Google and 3M. In one 2005 experiment he describes, economists working for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston tested the power of incentives (激励) by offering cash rewards to those who did well in games that included reciting a series of numbers and throwing tennis balls at a target. The researchers’ finding: Over and over, higher incentives led to worse performance --- and those given the highest incentives did the poorest job.
From this and other cases, Daniel draws a conclusion that monetary incentives remove the element of play and creativity, transforming “an interesting task into a dull one.” It’s even possible, he adds, for oversized rewards to have dangerous side effects, like those of a drug dependency in which an addicted requires ever larger amounts. He refers to scientific testing that shows the promise of cash rewards increase a chemical in the brain similar to that brought on by cocaine or nicotine.
Daniel, however, is also aware that his company examples --- no GE, no IBM, no Microsoft --- hardly represent the commanding heights of the economy. But he thinks his approach will catch on, even in the biggest companies. “Managers tend to be realistic, and in time they will respond,” he says.
53. In his book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink is promoting the idea that _____.
A. it is a money-driven society B. all workers are not driven by money
C. money plays a key role in management D. pay has nothing to do with workplaces
54. In Daniel’s point of view, many Wall Street managers are _______.
A. dishonest B. considerate C. short-sighted D. ridiculous
55. In paragraph 5, the example of drug-taking is given to show _______.
A. money is as addictive as cocaine or nicotine
B. big rewards bring about dangerous side effect
C. nicotine and money bring the same chemical
D. workers do not need the incentives of money at all
56. We can learn from the last paragraph that _______.
A. Daniel’s approach will be popular in a wider field
B. realistic managers will first consider Daniel’s approach
C. Daniel’s approach meets the demand of economic crisis
D. GE, IBM and Microsoft will join in Daniel’s approach next
A car that runs on coffee is unveiled（shown to the public for the first time）today but at between 25 and 50 times the cost of running a car on petrol, the invention won’t please any motor industry accountants.
Nicknamed the Car-puccino, it has been created using a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco bought for £400 and it was chosen because it looked like the time-traveling DeLorean in the movie Back ToThe Future. The car will be driven the 210 miles between Manchester and London powered only by roasted coffee granules (颗粒). It has been built by a team from the BBC1 science programme Bang Goes The Theory and will go on display at the Big Bang science fair in Manchester to show how fuels other than traditional petrol can power vehicles.
The team calculates the Car-puccino will do three miles per kilo of ground coffee (咖啡粉) — about 56 cups of espressos (浓咖啡) per mile. The journey will use about 70 kilos of ground coffee which, at supermarket prices of between £13 and £26 a kilo depending on brand and quality, will cost between £910 and £1,820, or between 25 and 50 times the £36 cost of petrol for the journey. In total, the trip will cost 11,760 espressos, and the team will have to take ‘coffee breaks’ roughly every 30 to 45 miles to pour in more granules. They will also have to stop about every 60 miles to clean out the ‘coffee filters’ to rid them of the soot and tar which is also generated by the process. So despite a top speed of 60mph, the many stops mean the going will be slow, with the journey taking around ten hours.
Sadly, the inventors will still have to pay duty on their coffee fuel---even though tax collectors at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom haven’t yet worked out how much.
Nick Watson, producer of Bang Goes The Theory, said, “Coffee, like wood or coal, has some carbon content so you can use it as a fuel. The coffee needs to be very dry and in granules to allow the air to move through the pile of coffee as it burns. The brand doesn’t matter.” He said the same technology could be used to power a car on other unusual fuels, such as woodchips or nut shells, construction or agricultural waste.
49. Which is the right way to choose the coffee used as fuels to run the Car-puccino?
A. It should be very dry. B. The stronger, the better.
C. The smaller the granules are, the better. D. It should be of a certain brand.
50. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. All kinds of materials can be used as fuels.
B. The Car-puccino will be put into the market soon.
C. Nick W
atson is the designer of the Car-puccino
D. Much remains to be improved for the Car-puccino.
51. The Car-puccino has its disadvantages EXCEPT that ________.
A. it makes a lot of noise
B. it runs at a very high cost
C. it has to stop to be refueled very often.
D. it’s not good enough for long-distance journey
52. How much ground coffee will be used to cover a distance of 126 miles in this car?
A. About 70 kilos B. About 42 kilos. C. About 32 kilos D. About 30 kilos
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第二部分：阅读理解（第一节20小题；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。
In 1921, Lewis Lawes became the warden (监狱长) at Sing Sing Prison of New York State. No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired some 20 years later, that prison had become a humanitarian institution. Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes. But when he was asked about the transformation, here’s what he said, “I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls.”
Catherine Lawes was a young mother with three small children when her husband became the warden. Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn’t stop Catherine!
When the first prison basketball game was held, she went into the gym with her three beautiful kids and she sat in the stands with the inmates. Her attitude was: “My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me! I don’t have to worry!” She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records. She discovered one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit. Holding his hand in hers she said, “Do you read Braille?” “What’s Braille?” he asked. Then she taught him how to read. Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language.
Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921to 1937. Then, she was killed in a car accident. The next morning Lewis Lawes didn’t come to work, so the acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong. The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As the acting warden took his early morning walk, he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, hardest-looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine. He turned and faced the men.
“All right, men, you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight!” Then he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, the three-quarters of a mile to stand in line to pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes. And every one of them checked back in. Every one!
41. Catherine was not afraid of getting inside the prison walls because she believed ______.
A. one good turn deserves another B. no pains, no gains
C. a new broom sweeps clean D. virtue never grows old
42. The underlined word in paragraph three most probably refers to ______.
A. basketball players B. prison guards
C. prisoners D. family of the prisoners
43. What made every one of the criminals check back in?
A. The acting warden’s requirement B. The strict rules of the prison
C. Their respect for Catherine D. The force of the guards
44. What is the best title of the passage?
A. A Tough Prison B. A Woman Bringing Changes
C. A warden Caring for Prisoners D. A Great Wife
Dye (染料) can bring a little color to life. Most clothing is colored with dyes. Modern, manufactured dyes can be costly. Natural dyes from plant and animal products have been used since ancient times. So this week, we describe a natural way to dye wool.
There are several methods to put dye onto material. The vat method, for example, can be used to dye wool with onionskins. For this example, use one hundred grams of natural wool. 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. Wool ash is one example. But chemical mordants such as alum 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 color, 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 color. 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.
57. 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
58. 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.
59. As for the vat method, which of the following statements is NOT necessarily needed?
A. Ash. B. Water. C. Mordant. D. Temperature.
60. Choose the proper order of dying wool:
a. boil the liquid with onionskins.
b. add mordants to a metal pan of cool water.
c. wash the wool with clean water.
d. put the wool into the liquid and heat it
e. heat the mixture and then wash it.
A. c, b, e, a, d B. e, b, c, d, a C. b, e, a, d, c D. a, b, e, c, d