Thereisanendlesssupplyofstorie-优题课

阅读理解（共20小题，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑
In the past, people who graduated from college felt proud of their academic（学业的）achievements and confident that their degree would help them to find a good job.
　　However, in the past four years the job market has changed greatly. This year’s college graduates are facing one of the worst job markets. For example, Ryan Stewart, a graduate of San Jose State University, got a degree in religious studies, but he has not gotten any job offers. He points out that many people already working are getting laid off and don’t have jobs, so it’s even harder for new college graduates to find jobs.
　　Four years ago, the future looked bright for his class of 2006. There were many high-tech(“dot com”) job opportunities, graduates received many job offers, and they were able to get jobs with high salaries and benefits such as health insurance and paid vacations. However, “Times have changed. It’s a new market,” according to an officer of the university.
　　The officer says students who do find jobs started preparing two years ago. They worked during summer vacations, they have had several short-time jobs, and they majored in fields that are still paying well, such as accounting or nursing.
　　Even teaching is not a secure profession now. Ryan Stewart wanted to be a teacher. But instead he will probably go back to school in order to become a college teacher. He thinks college teaching could be a good career even in a bad economy.
　　In conclusion, these days a college degree does not automatically lead to a good job with a high salary. Some students can only hope that the value of their degree will increase in the future.
1. What did a college degree mean to people in the past?
　　A. It was a proof of their professional skills.　　
B. It would guarantee their quick promotion（升职）.
　　C. It built up their confidence in the job market.　　
D. It would help them to start an academic career.
2. Why does Ryan Stewart want to be a college teacher?
　　A. Teaching jobs are well-paid.　　B. He majored in teaching in the university.
　　C. College teaching is less challenging than high-tech jobs.
　　D. College teaching career won’t be influenced by economy.
3.It can be concluded from the passage that _____.
　 A. the value of a college degree has decreased now　
B. new college graduates today can’t find any job
　 C. a college degree can still lead to a good job　　
D. graduates must prepare early to find jobs

Zoe Chambers was a successful PR(Public Relations) consultant and life was going well—she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. “The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through,” she said. “After everything I’d done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn’t feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life.”
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm.
“The moment I arrived at Kathy’s farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay,” said Zoe. “Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless.”
Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. “It’s a hard life, physically very tiring,” she says. “In London I was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy’s wonderful dinners.”
Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing—watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, “It’s one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had. I could never go back to city life now.”
1. When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a ______ life.
A. satisfying B. tough C. meaningless D. boring
2 The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy’s farm is that _________.
A. Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant B. Kathy persuaded her to do so
C. Zoe got tired of the city life D. Zoe loved Wales more than London
3. How does Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage? ______.
A. Tiresome and troublesome B. Romantic and peaceful
C. Mentally exhausting but healthy D. Physically tiring but rewarding

I love charity(慈善) shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices. You can get things you won’t find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.
The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity’s appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful it had been flooded with donations(捐赠物). They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. My favourite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children’s books, all 10 or 20 pence each.
Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don’t encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open.
The shops have very low running costs: all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than ￡110 million a year, funding(资助) medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better place to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and tread lightly on the environment.
1. The author loves the charity shop mainly because of _________.
A. its convenient location B. its great variety of goods
C. its spirit of goodwill D. its nice shopping environment
2. The first charity shop in the UK was set up to ________.
A. sell cheap products B. deal with unwanted things
C. raise money for patients D. help a foreign country
3. Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops? _________.
A. The operating costs are very low B. The staff are usually well paid
C. 90% of the donations are second-hand D. They are open twenty-four hours a day
4. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage? _________.
A. What to Buy a Charity Shops
B. Charity Shop: Its Origin & Development
C. Charity Shop: Where You Buy to Donate
D. The Public’s Concern about Charity Shops

In Britain today, is it possible to tell a person’s class just by looking at him? Physical details alone tell us about health, diet and the type of work a person does. A hundred years ago the working class often looked unhealthy, small and they were either too thin or too fat. The upper classes were often tall, sporting types who were used to a good diet and looked healthy. Today living and working conditions have improved, and such descriptions are no longer true. People are taller now than a hundred years ago. Everyone in Britain today is able to have free medicine, a good diet, acceptable working conditions and enough rest and leisure.
The clothes people choose to wear, however, do provide information about their backgrounds. Expensive clothes look expensive and show their wearer is rich. Clothes can provide other clues as well. The upper classes appear to be less interested in fashion and wear good quality clothes in non-bright colours, made of natural material like wool, leather and cotton. Lower working-class people often choose clothes in bright colours, made of man-made materials. A sociological explanation for this would be that colour and interest are missing from their lives, and therefore any opportunity to produce this is taken.
Clothes are available at a price within most people’s reach. New clothes make the wearer feel good and show some degree of wealth to the outside world. Today it is the younger people who spend most money on clothes. Fashion is no longer for the upper classes and the rich. Young people from all social classes spend a lot of money on clothes. Some new fashions are started by working—class people who want to look different and feel important. They want people to look at them.
1. In the past, a person’s appearance could not tell other people about his ________.
A. healthB. diet C. occupation D. habits
2. The clothes people choose to wear tell us about their ________.
A. education B. richness C. backgrounds D. hobby
3. A working—class person may start a new fashion because ________.
A. she wants to draw the attention of other people
B. she wants to look different and healthy
C. she wants to show their wealth
D. she wants to show their taste
4. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Expensive clothes look expensive and show the wearer is rich.
B. Working—class people prefer clothes in bright colours because they lack colour in their lives.
C. Today, it is still the upper class people who spend most money on clothes.
D. Today, fashion is no longer for the upper classes and the rich.

四、.阅读理解
There is an endless supply of stories about sleepwalkers(梦游者). People have been said to climb on roofs, solve mathematical problems, write music, walk through windows, and do murder in their sleep.
In Revere, Masachusctts, a hundred policemen scarched for a lost boy who left his home in his sleep and woke up five hours later on a strange sofa in a strange living room, with no idea how he had got there.
At the University of Lowa, a student was reported to have the habit of getting up in the middle of the night and walking three—quarters of a mile to the lowa River. He would take a swim and then go back to his room to bed.
An American expert on sleep claims(声称) that he has never seen a sleepwalker. He is said to know more about sleep than any other living man, and during the last thirty—five years he has lost a lot of sleep watching people sleep. He says, “Of course, I know that there are sleepwalkers because I have read about them in the newspapers. But none of my sleepers ever walked, and if I were to advertise for sleepwalkers for an experiment, I doubt whether I would get many takers(应征者).”
Sleepwalking, however, is a scientific reality. It is one of those strange things that sometimes looks quite fantastic(奇特的). Doctors say that sleepwalking is much more common than is generally supposed. Many sleepwalkers do not try to find help and their sleepwalking is never recorded.
1. Generally speaking, sleepwalkers are people who __________.
A. climb on roofs B. walk through windows
C. do fantastic things during their sleepD. walk in a half—awake state
2. It was reported that a boy ________.
A. was found on a strange sofa, telling how he had got there
B. slept in his own room but woke up in a strange room
C. lost his way five hours after he left home
D. was searched for by policemen when he lost his way
3. There was a college student who got into the habit of ___________.
A. getting up in the middle of the night and walking down to the river
B. walking three—quarters of a mile every day
C. swimming in the lowa River before going to bed
D. walking about before he went to bed
4. Why do people think sleepwalking is nothing but a fantastic thing which doesn’t have any explanation?
A. It is so common that it needn’t be recorded.
B. Scientists take no interest in it.
C. Most sleepwalkers do not seek help for their problem.
D. No records about it have been made.

A．climb on roofs	B．walk through windows
C．do fantastic things during their sleep	D．walk in a half-awake state