Recently, a study was carried out to determine who was the greatest American president.Sixty-five presidential historians took part in it, and they judged the past forty-two American leaders based on ten leadership qualities, including public persuasiveness (信服), crisis leadership, management of the economy, moral leadership, and conduct of international relations.The historians also looked at administrative (管理) ability, relations with Congress, ability to set goals, and the pursuit of equ
al justice fo
r all.Finally, the experts took into consideration the historical period in which the president lived.
The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as American’s greatest president.He had also been named best president in a similar study in 2000.Abraham Lincoln was the president who led the nation through the Civil
War in the 1860s, and was able to unite it in the end.He also took the first steps to abolish slavery in America.
Edna Medford, a professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was an adviser on this study and the earlier one.She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values the nation most honors, such as truthfulness, moderation, and respect for human rights.
The historians put American’s first president, George Washington, second on the list, while Franklin D.Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman follow in that order.John F.Kennedy, the country’s first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list.Like Lincoln, Kennedy was murdered while in office.
Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the tenth best and Bill Clinton rated fifteenth, while the historians put former president George W.Bush at number thirty-six.His father, George H.W.Bush, did much better, being placed at number eighteen.
We learn from the text that ___________.
A.this is the second time that Abraham Lincoln has been chosen as America’s greatest president |
B.Edna Medford didn’t take part in the study conducted in 2000. |
C.George H.W.Bush was thought to have done worse in office than George W.Bush |
D.Harry Truman was rated the fourth-best president by the study |
Which of the following belong to the ten leadership qualities considered?
a.Being able to persuade the public
b.Taking effective measures during a financial crisis.
c.Balancing home life and career.
d.Pursuing equal justice for all.
A.a,b,c | B.b,c,d | C.a,b,d | D.a,c,d |
Who is rated worst among the following four presidents?
A.John F.Kennedy | B.George Washington |
C.Bill Clinton | D.George W.Bush |
The text is mainl
y about ________.
A.the ten qualities a great president needs |
B.a study of American presidents |
C.the values the American nation honors most |
D.how Abraham Lincoln improved the country |
Although there are no state controlled survival courses in Britain or the United States,there are various independent organizations offering similar activities.Students can participate(take part)in outdoor training courses through university clubs and societies.Anyone can register with such groups,which then organize courses,training and trips for all members.
One of the most popular outdoor training programmes in both the US and Britain is Outward Bound(户外训练).It was founded in 1941 in Wales and attracts hundreds of thousands of adventurous types every year. The courses are intended to broaden minds through experiences that build confidence, self-esteem(自尊)and character.As well as specialist courses such as canoeing,leadership skills and sailing,participants can take part in week long adventure training camps which include a host of sports and survival training education skills.
Michael Williams,an American student,took part in an Outward Bound course last year.He said:“We learned lots of first aid skills,lots of natural history ,lots of environmental facts, and participated in a wildlife preservation programme.Beyond that,my favorite skills learned were sailing and rock climbing.”Courses can last up to 40 days and are open to anyone over the age of 14.Students must be in general good health,but do not need to be experienced in outdoor-sports.There is no selection process;everyone is welcome,although new participants are advised to pick a course matching their physical capacity.Most of the British courses take place in the Brecon Beacons in Wales.Another similar organization is the UK Survival School,which includes courses on learning to 1ive with the environment,sailing and winter survival.On a basic survival weekend students will learn how to get water and food, how to make fire and cook with it,to find and build a shelter,control survival life support,how to cross rivers.Send off a distress signal,and to use compasses(指南针)by day and night.
According to the leaders,such adventures are “an awakening, an exploration into the unknown.”Outward Bound believes that participants will “use mind and body traveling some of the Earth’s roughest wilderness areas.”In Britain and the United States,survival courses are popular with.
A.old people | B.young people | C.dangerous people | D.weak people |
The advantage of the training courses is that.
A.participants can make friends with others |
B.participants can visit some places of interest |
C.participants can experience different adventures |
D.participants can learn how wonderful nature is |
In an Outward Bound course last year,the most exciting experience Michael Williams had was.
A.learning first aid skills | B.collecting facts of environment |
C.rock climbing and sailing | D.preserving wildlife |
They are among the 250, 000 people under the age of 25 who are out of work in the Netherlands, a group that makes up 40 percent of the nation’s unemployed.A storm of anger boils up at the government-sponsored (政府资助的) youth center, even among those who ar
e continuing their studies.
“We study for jobs that don’t exist,” Nicollets Steggerda, 23, said.
After thirty years of prosperity, unemployment among 10 member nations of the European Community has reached as much as 11 percent, affecting a total of 12.3 million people, and the number is climbing.
The bitter disappointment long expressed by British youths is spreading across the Continent.The title of a rock song “No Future” can now be seen written on the brick walls of closed factories in Belgium and France.
One form of protest(抗议) tends to put the responsibility for a country’s economic troubles on the large numbers of “guest workers” from Third World nations, people welcomed in Western Europe in the years of prosperity.
Young Europeans, brought up in an extended period of economic success and general stability, seem to be similar to Americans more than they do their own parents.Material enjoyment has given them a sense of expectation, even the right to a standard of living that they see around them.
“And so we pass the days at the discos, or meet people at the café, and sit and stare,” said Isabella Cault."There is usually not much conversation.You look for happiness.Sometimes you even find it.”Unemployment in the Netherlands has affected _______
A.one million people | B.250,000 people |
C.1ess than half of the population | D.about 0.6 million people |
What Nicollete Steggerda said (Para.2) means that ________.
A.the students cannot get work after graduation |
B.what the students learn is more than necessary |
C.the students’ aim in study is not clear |
D.school education is not sufficient |
The underlined word ‘‘it” in the last paragraph most probably refers to ________.
A.material enjoyment | B.a sense of expectation |
C.happiness | D.a job |
With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills(泄露) on people, nature, and the environment.
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil.Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea.
Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious.Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material.In the end, it breaks down naturally.There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term.
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible.In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean.If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened.
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage.Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil.Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power(太阳能), electricity, hydrogen, and so on.Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal.
If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient(高效的)— and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year.If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too.What is the passage mainly talking about?
A.Oil tanker accidents. | B.Oil spills pollution. |
C.What oil pollution is. | D.How to reduce oil pollution. |
How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?
A.By giving a description. | B.By making an argument. |
C.By giving an example. | D.By drawing a diagram. |
What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A.Transportation depending more on oil. |
B.Poisonous oil breaking down naturally. |
C.Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea. |
D.More environmental damage being caused. |
Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?
A.We should develop new technologies to cut oil use |
B.Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines. |
C.We should build safer oil tankers in the near future. |
D.Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea. |
Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to participate in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to showcase the image of the host country and city.The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China.
I.Basic Requirements for Volunteers
Be willing to participate in voluntary services of Expo 2010;
Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30, 1992 and Expo City Voluntary Service Station volunteers before April 30, 1994;
Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;
Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;
Possess necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;
Be in good health to meet the requirements of corresponding voluntary positions.
II.Further Information for Volunteers
Source
Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers.
Signup methods
Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup.They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations.
Time
May 1 – December 31, 2009
III.Volunteer Training
Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training.General training is carried out through the Internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice.
IV.Volunteer Types
Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and volunteer management.
Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo’s information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site.They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid.What’s the purpose of this writing?
A.To recruit(招募) the volunteers for the World Expo 2010 |
B.To give some basic information of the World Expo 2010 |
C.To praise the hard work of the volunteers |
D.To attract people to visit the World Expo 2010 |
If you were born in April 1993, where can you be a volunteer?
A.In the Expo Site. | B.In the host country. |
C.In the Expo City. | D.In Chinese mainland. |
Shopping in the United States changes a lot.About ninety years ago most people shopped in small stores that were owned by one person or a family.Women went from the bakery to the butcher’s to the grocer and on to the fruit and vegetable seller in order to get their food for the week.Then, about sixty years ago, supermarkets were born.In a supermarket, people could get all the different kinds of food they needed without going to different stores.
The next big change in shopping in the United States was the shopping mall.A shopping mall is a group of stores under one roof.Because malls allowed people to shop without worrying about the weather, they soon became very popular.The mall became a place for people to socialize in addition to shopping.If you walk through a mall, you will see older people sitting, chatting and drinking coffee.Malls are places for teenagers to hang out.Many teens will often just “go to the mall” and spend time with their friends.
The recent change in American shopping was the superstore.Large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Toys “R” Us have been built all across the United States.Because they are so large, they can buy goods at a great discount and sell them much cheaper than smaller stores.Sometimes, when they are built near small towns, many of the small town stores have to close.They just cannot compete with their giant neighbors.
And now, online shopping is becoming more and more popular all over the States.People are too busy to go to the physical stores, so they go shopping over the Internet.Online shopping has lots of advantages.For instance, online stores are usually available 24 hours a day.Searching or browsing online shops can be faster than browsing the physical stores.While, online shopping also has its disadvantages.People are at higher risk of being cheated on the part of the merchant than in a physical store.And privacy of personal information may be let out.Which of the following shows the right order of shopping development in the United States?
①small stores②superstores③shopping malls④shopping online ⑤supermarkets
A.①②③④⑤ | B.①⑤③②④ | C.②③④①⑤ | D.①⑤②③④ |
Which is the place for people to spend time with others according to the passage?
A.Small stores. | B.Supermarkets. | C.Shopping malls | D.Superstores. |
Why can the superstores sell products at much lower prices?
A.Because they can buy goods at a reduction in price. |
B.Because they are across the United States. |
C.Because they sell all kinds of products people need. |
D.Because they are built near small towns. |
What’s the disadvantage of online shopping according to the passage?
A.Wasting time. | B.Fixed prices. |
C.No chance to do physical activities. | D.Leaking personal information. |