A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.
1. The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.
A. his wife B. his mother-in–law C. his own mother D. no one
2. He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
A. he was very rich B. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him
C. he was anxious to get it D. his business had been successful
3. He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.
A. exactly the same size as the black on
B. exactly the same quality as the black one
C. worth no more than $ 25,000
D. exactly as big and nice as the black one
4. Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.
A. to see the perfect pearl
B. to buy some beautiful pearls too
C. to get in touch with the rich man
D. to sell their own pearl at a high price
5. The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
A. he died suddenly.
B. He happened to be out
C. He got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money.
D. He wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time.
Pop music is the name for different forms of popular, commercial(商业) music. It had its beginning in the USA and spread throughout the whole world during the 1950s and 1960s. It is widely liked by the young people. The best known early form of pop music was “rock’ n’ roll”; another was “blues”. A more recent development is “folk-rock”. Pop music has taken the place of native music in many parts of the world; it has caused the number of people for jazz to become much smaller than it was in the 1950s and earlier, and it has now begun to rule musical stage productions. It’s a big industry. Much pop music is without artistic value, but the work of some pop singers, e.g. the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the groups like Floyd and Crosby, Stills and Nash, is on a higher musical level. And there is still a great interest in it today. Pop music concerts and festivals are held all over the world.All of the following forms belong to pop music EXCEPT _________.
| A．blues | B．rock’ n ’roll | C．jazz | D．folk-rock |
According to the article, the number of people for jazz in the 1950s and earlier was __________ it is today.
| A．much greater than | B．much smaller than |
| C．as great as | D．as small as |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．No pop music is on a high musical level. |
| B．Much pop music is very artistic. |
| C．Pop music is highly artistic. |
| D．Not all pop music is without artistic value. |
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 Municipal Employment 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 to 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(小册子） 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 Ye, deputy director of Yangpu District Business Guide Center, said the universitysets 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 Dream of Being Boss |
| C．The Ambitious Fresh Graduates | D．The Story of Guo Bing |
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． |
Who is this article mostly intended for?
| A．The parents whose child goes to university soon. |
| B．Those who will graduate from university． |
| C．Those who want to be bosses． |
| D．The officials who work in the government． |
The rapid growth of cities worldwide over the next two decades will cause significant risks to people and the global environment, according to analysis.
Researches from Yale and Stanford predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by 590,000 square miles—nearly the size of Mongolia—to meet the needs of 1.47 billion more people living in urban areas.
“It is likely that these cities are going to be developed in places that are the most biologically diverse,” said Karen Seto, a famous scientist at Yale University. “They are going to be growing and expanding into forests, biological hotspots, savannas(热带稀缺大草原), coastlines—sensitive and vulnerable places.”
Urban areas, they found, have been expanding more rapidly along coasts. “Of all the places for cities to grow, coasts are the most sensitive. People and buildings along the coast are at risk of flooding and other environmental disasters,” said Seto.
The study provides the first estimate of how fast urban areas globally are growing and how fast they may grow in the future. “We know a lot about global patterns of urban population growth, but we know significantly less about how urban areas are changing,” she said. “Changes in land cover associated with urbanization lead to many environmental changes, from habitats loss and agricultural land conversion(转化) to changes in local and regional climate.”
The researchers examined studies that used satellite data to map urban growth and found that from 1970 to 2000 the world’s urban footprint had grown by at least 22,400 square miles—half the size of Ohio.
“This number is numerous, but, in actuality, urban land expansion has been far greater than what our analysis shows because we only looked at the published studies that used satellite data,” said Seto. “We found that 48 of the most populated urban areas have been studied using satellite data, with findings in journals. This means that we’re not tracking the physical expansion of more than half of the world’s largest cities.”
Half of urban land expansion in China is driven by a rising middle class, whereas the size of cities in India and Africa is driven primarily by population growth. “Rising incomes translate into rising demand for bigger homes and more land for urban development, which has a great effect on biodiversity conservations, loss of carbon sinks and energy use.”According to the passage, the most dangerous place for city expansion is the _____.
| A．forest | B．desert | C．savannas | D．coastline |
The underlined word “vulnerable” (in Para. 3) probably means “____”.
| A．diverse in plants | B．beautiful in scenery |
| C．easily damaged | D．very productive |
From Para. 5, we can infer that ____.
| A．urbanization is a good way to improve people’s standards of living |
| B．cities develop very fast and more and more people come to live in cities |
| C．more and more agricultural farmlands are used to make room for local animals |
| D．in the past, researchers focused their attention on the expanding urban areas |
Cities in Africa become bigger and bigger mainly because of their ____.
| A．growing population | B．rising middle class |
| C．unique living patterns | D．economic development |
A. Adults keep pets with their children
B. Pet keeping has a very long history
C. Pet-keeping may do hard to animals
D. People keeps pet for their aesthetic need
E. Caged pets become increasingly popular
F. Pet-keeping is helpful for children’s growths___________
Pet-keeping is a time-honored tradition. One of the reasons for people to raise to raise dogs or cows was usefulness. While people in the past hunted animals and kept them in their backyards, the civilized man today is less cruel towards them and is less exploitative(利用的).___________
We keep animals as pets because they are attractive. We all have the urge to possess something that has aesthetic value, and that is why we treasure paintings or fine furniture. Keeping pets is one form of this urge. A Siamese cat in the house can be a decorative objective. Pets are playful animals and they amuse us. A little rabbit amuses us by its playful and lively runs. ___________
Many parents find it helpful to have pets in their house and for their children. Having pets is an excellent way of developing in children the love of animals and responsibility. Children get the opportunity to take on full responsibility for another creature’s life. It will be an educational experience for a child to watch the natural life cycle of an animal. There are psychological benefits for children. Pets are welcome friends for children who are lonely. Pets are excellent companions. Keeping pets means giving love and being loved. We find comfort in giving care and receiving care in return. We get pleasure from their appreciation and their behavior. ___________
As more people move into apartments, there are limitations on keeping of animals like dogs and monkeys. Therefore, caged animals have increased in popularity. Birds fall into this type. We keep them for their beautiful songs and feathers. Fishing keeping is a widespread hobby and the keeper can observe their behavior in the glass tank and study its entire life cycle. The cat is a fine house pet and it fits neatly into human habitation(居住地) without requiring its own cage. They are wonderful hunters, if there are rats around. ___________
Pets satisfy man’s desire to care for a bit of nature. The pet owner has the responsibility for supplying those needs nature provides. Pets are amusing and entertaining, but we are in a way doing animals harm by making them live in a human environment. Are we not enslaving(奴役)them?
There is a common belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever considered spelling unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, quite different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority (优先) it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely in writing without holding him back with spelling.
If spelling becomes the only point of his teacher’s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “play safe”. He will write only words within his spelling range (范围). That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience:“This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling mistakes.” It may have been a sharp criticism(批评) of the pupils technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad thing for the teacher who had omitted (略过) to read the composition, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the mistakes, but if his priority had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more hope to seek improvement.The expression “play safe” probably means ____.
| A．to write carefully | B．to do as teachers say |
| C．to use dictionaries frequently | D．to avoid using words one is not sure of |
Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that____.
| A．students will be able to express their ideas more freely |
| B．teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes |
| C．students will have more trust in writing |
| D．students will learn to spell words correctly |
The writer seems to think that the teacher’s judgement on that sensitive piece of writing is____.
| A．reasonable | B．unfair | C．foolish | D．careless |
The major point discussed in the passage is _______.
| A．the importance of developing writing skills |
| B．the importance of spelling |
| C．the correct way of marking composition |
| D．the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition |