Puling heavy suitcases all day in the summer is hard work, especially when you’re a thin 14-year-old. That was me in 1940-the youngest and smallest baggage boy at New York City’s Pennsylvania Railway Station.
After just a few days on the job, I began noticing that the other fellows were overcharging passengers. I’d like to join them, thinking, “Everyone else is doing it”.
When I got home that night, I told my dad what I wanted to do. “You give an honest day’s work,” he said, looking at me straight in the eye. “They’re paying you. If they want to do that, you let them do that.”
I followed my dad’s advice for the rest of that summer and have lived by his words ever since.
Of all the jobs I’ve had, it was my experience at Pennsylvania Railway Station that has stuck with me. Now I teach my players to have respect for other people and their possessions. Being a member of a team is a totally shared experience. If one person steals, it destroys trust and hurts everyone. I can put up with many things, but not with people who steal. If one of my players were caught stealing, he’d gone.
Whether you’re on a sports team, in an office or a member of a family, if you can’t trust one another, there’s going to be trouble.What can be inferred about the baggage boys?
A.They could earn much, but they had to work hard. |
B.Many of them earned mon![]() |
C.They were all from poor families. |
D.They were all thin, young boys. |
What does the father’s advice imply?
A.It is wrong to give more pay to the passengers. |
B.Don’t believe them if they are paying you more. |
C.Don’t follow others to overcharge the passengers. |
D.It is difficu![]() |
The writer can’t put up with stealing because he thinks that .
A.it is a totally shared experience |
B.it is considered as the most dangerous |
C.it does great harm to human relationship |
D.it may lead to the loss of his sports team |
It can be concluded from the text that .
A.his father’s advice helped him to decide which job to take up |
B.working in the sports team was his most important experience |
C.he learnt much from his shared experience with his team members |
D.his experience s a baggage boy had a great influence on his later life |
Comera is the only place in the world which has a whistle language. We do not know how and why it began because we do not know the complete history of the island. But we can certainly imagine the reasons for the beginning of the whistle language. There are many deep valleys on the island. A person on one side of valley can not easily shout to a person on the other side. But he can whistle and be heard from four miles away, and the record is seven miles. The people who live on the island usually have good teeth, and this helps them to whistle well. They must also have good ears so that they can hear other whistlers.
We can understand why the whistle language continues. It is very useful on the island, and quite easy to learn. When somebody is hurt or ill, the whistle language takes the place of telephone. If the sick person is a long way from the town, boys and men pass the news from one to another. A boy guarding cattle on a hillside whistles to a man fishing from his boat. The last one is able to describe the trouble fully and exactly to the doctor in town. People help each other in the same way when a car breaks or a cow is lost.
The whistle language is hundreds of years old, and probably it will continue to live for hundreds of years more. Radio and TV often kill the special ways of speaking in the different parts of a country. But on Comera you are nobody if you cannot whistle. Perhaps soon after TV arrives on the island, the people there will be whistling the news and other facts and opinions.
4. If a person on Comera island is ill, .
A.others will phone the doctor in town |
B.whistle language will pass the news to the doctor |
C.his family will take him to the doctor |
D.people will take him to the hospital |
5. From the passage we know radio and TV at that time.
A.killed the special way of speaking |
B.whistled all the news and opinions |
C.helped Comera people to communicate |
D.did not appear on Comera island yet |
6. Comera island is special in that .
A.it attracts visitors every year |
B.no visitors have ever been there |
C.people there have special ears to hear whistles |
D.people there use the whistle language to communicate with each other |
7. Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
A.It is not easy for a person to live on Comera island if he cannot whistle. |
B.The whistle language can only be found in Comera. |
C.The whistle language has been used for hundreds of years on the island, but will not be used any longer. |
D.The record shows that one best whistler can be heard by others seven miles away. |
Many people think that the most popular way of communicating with other people is through the mouth. But what they don’t know is that actual communication using the mouth accounts for only around 10% (or even less) of all the means to communicate a message.
Moreover, you can never determine the truthfulness or honesty of people by what they say alone. In fact, words expressed through the mouth often do not reflect what people really think or feel. The more reliable way you can determine their true inner feelings and thoughts is by reading their body language. Everybody communicates using these gestures and if you understand the gestures and their meanings you will be able to read people and know what they are really communicating to you. One researcher even went as far as to say that we speak to hide what’s on our minds. But gestures cannot lie.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you can “see through” the emotions of other people? Let’s say you ask a person whether he can do an important task. He says “OK”. But deep inside, you are questioning yourself, “Is he really willing to do this job?” or “Does he have the confidence in finishing this task?” You can’t question him directly because that would be like belittling him. And even if you ask him those questions, his replies will not tell you what he really feels or thinks. So the most useful way is to observe his body language. Expressions like smiling, frowning, pouting, facial reddening, sweating, toe curling and sideways glances are visible hints that can help you make a right judgment.
1. According to the passage, we know _______.
A.words through the mouth are the most common way in communication |
B.body language is the quickest way to help people understand each other |
C.expressions are the most powerful tool to judge whether a man is confident or not |
D.you may know what a person really thinks with the help of reading his body language |
2. What does the underlined sentence mean in the second paragraph?
A.We can express ourselves well by body language. |
B.We use words to prevent others knowing our true thoughts |
C.Spoken words can fully reflect our true self. |
D.We use body language to help express ourselves. |
3. The underlined word in the third paragraph can be replaced with ______.
A.looking down upon | B.speaking highly of |
C.laughing at | D.believing in |
I fell in love with England because it was quaint (古色古香的)—all those little houses, looking terribly old fashioned but nice, like doll’s house. I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London. I’ve slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it’s an ugly town now.
Things have changed. For everybody, England meant gentleman, fair play, and good manners. The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good manners—people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing.
I regret that there are so few comfortable meeting places. You are forced to live indoors. In Paris I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs. To meet friends here usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman. The cafes are not terribly nice.
As a woman, I feel unsafe here. I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public transport after 10 p.m. I used to use it, but now I’m afraid.
The idea of family seems to be more or less non-existent in England. My family is well united and that’s typically French. In Middleses I had a neighbor who is 82 now. His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone.The writer doesn’t like London because she___________.
A. is not used to the life there now
B. has lived there for seventeen years
C prefers to live in an old-fashioned house
D. has to be polite to everyone she meets there Where do people usually meet their friends in England?
A.In a café | B.In a restaurant | C.In a nightclub | D.In a pub |
The underlined word “it” in Para.4 refers to__________.
A.a taxi | B.the money | C.a bomb | D.public transport |
The writer took her neighbor the France for Christmas because she__________.
A.felt lonely in England | B.had never been to France |
C.was from a typical French family | D.didn’t like the British idea of family |
Every autumn, as families across the United States get ready to send their kids to college, the economics of higher education receive renewed attention. College is expensive and becoming more so in the U. S. The situation raises two questions: Why does it cost so much, and how can students and their families afford it?
Several studies published in the past few weeks reflect on these questions. The findings provide comfort to poor families.
First, it appears that only the minority actually pay the "high price". A study by the US Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics found that 55 percent of college students last year received some forms of help--scholarships, loans(贷款)or jobs.
Other factors are also at work. The government has increased the size of its grants (补助金)to lower-income students. Grants, unlike loans, don't have to he repaid and are awarded only to college students who have not earned a bachelor's or professional degree.
At the same time, most colleges are spending more on undergraduate education than they are collecting in tuition fees. A study, which is part of the Williams College Project on the Economics of Higher Education, reaches the conclusion that on average colleges “subsidize (赞助)” their students. The results of these studies, however, leave unanswered the questions of whether educational costs are higher than they need to be. Some experts argue that much of the college cost results from educational competition for fame, students and facilities.
This puts upward pressure on tuition, hut many colleges feel that good fame will enable them to attract students even if they charge them more.
Therefore, until something important changes in the marketplace, costs seem likely to continue rising. And American families will continue to beat down the doors of the high price "college in the end.From the fourth paragraph of the passage we can conclude that _______.
A.American families earn only a little money every year |
B.American families pay little attention to education |
C.American students often have to stop their studies |
D.American colleges have different ways to help poor students |
In the writer's opinion, for students from lower-income families, the best way is ________.
A.to find a good job and make money |
B.to borrow money from the banks |
C.to ask for grants |
D.to borrow money from friends |
It can be inferred that in America _______.
A.famous colleges only accept rich students. |
B.famous colleges charge their students more money |
C.the government spends little money on education |
D.families often break the doors of colleges |
The writer of this passage seems to hold the opinion that _______.
A.college fees rise too fast for poor families. |
B.poor people should borrow money from banks |
C.poor people don’t need to send their children to college |
D.colleges should get more money to improve themselves |
To Whom It May Concern:
My husband and I got married in 1965 and for the first ten years of our marriage I was very happy to stay home and raise our three children. Then four years ago, our youngest child went to school and I thought I might go back to work.
My husband was very supportive and helped me to make my decision. He emphasized all of the things I can do around the house, and said he thought I could be a great success in business.
After several weeks of job-hunting I found my present job, which is working for a small public relations firm. At first, my husband was very proud of me and would tell his friends , "My clever little wife can run that company she's working for."
But as his joking remark approached reality, my husband stopped talking to me about my job.I have received several promotions and pay increases , and I am now making more money than he is. I can buy my own clothes and a new car. Because of our combined incomes, my husband and I can do many things that we had always dreamed of doing , but we don't do these things because he is very unhappy.
We fight about little things and my husband is very critical of me in front of our friends. For the first time in our marriage, I think there is a possibility that our marriage may come to an end.
I love my husband very much, and I don't want him to feel inferior, but I also love my job.I think I can be a good wife and a working woman, but I don't know how .Can you give me some advice? Will I have to choose one or the other or can I keep both my husband and my new career?
Please help."Distressed"The letter was most probable written ________.
A.in 1975 | B.around 1980 | C.four years ago | D.in 1965 |
Her husband ________ when she first found her present job.
A.was very critical of her | B.felt disappointed |
C.was proud of her | D.was happy but critical |
What does the underlined word "promotion" mean?
A.scolding | B.criticism | C.prize | D.advancement |
As her income increased, ________.
A.she found a gap emerged between her and her husband |
B.she bought more clothes and a house |
C.she did the many things she and her husband dreamed of |
D.she felt very proud of herself |