The next day I sat down,with almost a hundred other candidates,for the intelligence test.I must have done all right because after about half an hour’s wait I was sent into another room for a psychological test.This time there were only about fifty candidates.The interviewer sat at a desk.Candidates were signaled forward to occupy the seat opposite him when the previous occupant had been dismissed,after a greater or shorter time.Obviously the long interviews were the more successful ones.Some of the interviews were as short as five minutes.Mine was the only one that lasted a minute and a half.
I can remember the questions now:“Why did you leave your last job?”“Why did you leave your job before that?”“And the one before that?”I can’t recall my answers,except that they were short at first and grew progressively shorter.His closing statement,I thought,evealed(揭示)a lack of sensitivity which helped to explain why as a psychologist,he had risen no higher than the underground railway.“You’ve failed the psychological test and we are unable to offer you a position.”
Failing to get that job was my low point.Or so I thought,believing that the work was easy.Actually,such jobs—being a postman is another one I still desire—demand exactly the sort of elementary yet responsible awareness that the habitual dreamer is least qualified to give.But I was still far short of full self-understanding.I was also short of cash.The writer applied for the job chiefly because .
A.he wanted to work in the centre of London |
B.he could no longer afford to live without one |
C.he was not interested in any other available job |
D.he had received some suitable training |
The writer thought he was overqualified for the job because .
A.he often traveled underground |
B.he had written many poems |
C.he could deal with difficult situations |
D.he had worked in a company |
The length of his interview meant that .
A.he was not going to be offered the job |
B.he had not done well in the intelligence test |
C.he did not like the interviewer at all |
D.he had little work experience to talk about |
What does the writer realize now that he did not realize then?
A.How unpleasant ordinary jobs can be |
B.How difficult it is to be a poet |
C.How unsuitable he was for the job |
D.How badly he did in the interview |
What’s the writer’s opinion of the psychologist?
A.He was very aggressive |
B.He was unhappy with his job |
C.He was quite inefficient |
D.He was rather unsympathetic |
Along the seashore(海边),the tall coconut(椰子)trees waved in he wind. The sand was white in the bright sun, and the ocean was dark blue. The houses in the town near the shore, were painted white. The boats had been pulled up on the shore. Usually they would all be in the water with hard-working fishermen. But today was a holiday, and everyone was preparing for the celebration that was going to take place that evening.
In the distance, men could be seen climbing the coconut trees. They were singing as they worked. There were monkeys in the trees, too. The monkeys were jumping up and down and screaming angrily.The climbers just laughed at the monkeys and continued to pick the fruits. What is this passage about?
A.It tells us a story of the monkeys. |
B.It describes the scene on the seashore. |
C.It talks about the life of the fishermen. |
D.It is about how the people celebrated a holiday. |
The boats had been pulled up on the shore because_________.
A.it was a holiday |
B.the weather was too hot |
C.there was going to be a storm |
D.it was not the season for fishing |
The men climbed the coconut trees to_________.
A.pick the coconuts |
B.catch the monkeys |
C.look at the ocean far away |
D.see who could climb high and fast |
The word "screaming" in Paragraph Two probably means _______.
A.singing and working |
B.jumping up and down |
C.running here and there |
D.shouting in a high voice |
The monkeys were angry because________.
A.the men were trying to catch them |
B.the men wanted to drive them away |
C.the men got the coconuts , which were their food |
D.the men climbed higher and faster than they did |
【1】 It's difficult enough to have privacy(隐私) in a house, so privacy in a small dorm room is next to impossible. However, it can be done if both roommates are willing to cooperate.
【2】 Step1 Tie a scarf to the outside doorknob as a symbol of Do Not Disturb, but be careful not to do this too consistently. Warn your roommate beforehand about possible days and times when this scarf will be on the door so your roommate will have time to make plans ahead of time instead of it being a surprise, especially if you plan to have an overnight guest. Be considerate if your roommate needs to get into the room regardless of the scarf on the door to get something out of the dorm because it is his dorm room too.
【3】 Step2 If one roommate is a light sleeper and the other is a heavy sleeper, the heavy sleeper could consider an alternate way to wake himself up besides an alarm. Heavy sleepers tend to ignore alarms, but sometimes vibrating (震动的) cell phones feel like someone is shaking them. It is also a quieter way to not disturb the light sleeping roommate using a vibrating cell phone.
【4】 Step3 Take cell phone calls outside of the room. Your roommate may not want to hear your conversation or you may want some privacy, but your roommate should not have to leave every time you have a phone call. The roommate who is not on the phone has no way of knowing how often you will have phone calls and should not be put out because you do.
【5】 Step4 Ask if it' s okay to have a guest in the room. Although your roommate is not your parent, and you may feel like this is your room too, remember that ____. He may not want company when you do. If one roommate is more sociable than the other and guests become a repeated argument, consider asking the resident director if you can swap( 交换) roommate with someone else.What does the passage mainly talk about? (no more than 10 words)
______________________________________________________________________Complete the following statement with proper words, (no more than 6 words)
To avoid disturbing the light sleeper, _______________________ is also a good way.Please fill in the blank in the passage with proper words, (no more than 6 words)
_________________________________________________________________What does Step 3 suggest us? (no more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________What does the underlined word "it" (line 2, paragraph 1) probably refer to? (no more than 3 words)
_______________________________________________
Norah had a cottage on a cliff(悬崖)above a big bay. In winter it could be very unpleasant because of strong winds and sea waves. In fact, when a gale was blowing, Norah and her husband got used to sleeping in a small room downstairs, because their bedroom upstairs, which faced the gales, had a very big window, and they were afraid that an extra violent wind might break it and blow pieces of broken glass over them.
Also, the salt wave from the sea put an end to many of the colorful plants Norah planted in her garden. She tried putting up a fence to protect them, but the wind just hit it, went up over the top and then down the other side, so in the end she filled the garden with trees and bushes that liked salt.
But most of the summer Norah enjoyed her cottage and garden very much. At weekends she could sit out-of-doors in the sun, looking at the beautiful view, with interesting ships and boats passing by, and she could very easily cycle down to the sea for a swim.
Now, Norah and her husband had plenty of friends and relations. In the summer lots of them used to come to enjoy the beautiful place, and in the end it really became quite annoying for the couple. When they were at home, they found friends and relations arriving, expecting to be given unlimited drinks and meals, and to sit in the sun for hours, talking as if Norah and her husband had nothing else to do but entertain and listen to them.
This went on for several years. Norah didn’t wish to appear rude by refusing to let her friends and relations in, but on the other hand, she was getting tired every summer.
Then one day Norah was complaining about this to her hairdresser while she was doing her hair. “You’re disturbed by too many uninvited guests, are you?” said the hairdresser. “Why don’t you try my way of escaping?”
“What’s that?” asked Norah.
“Well,” the hairdresser answered, “when the bell rings, I put on my coat and take my shopping bag. If it’s someone I don’t want to see, I say innocently, ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go out.’ But…”The underlined word “gale” can be replaced by _____.
A.wind | B.ship | C.sea | D.animal |
We can infer that _____.
A.lots of friends cam to visit them in winter |
B.few friends came to visit them in winter |
C.friends came to visit them only for drinks and meals |
D.Norah was a good cook |
How did Norah go to the sea for a swim?
A.She went there by ship. | B.She walked there. |
C.She swam there. | D.She went there by bicycle. |
The hairdresser likely to continue to say “_____” in the end?
A.if I’m tired, I say ‘Sorry, can you come next time?’ |
B.if it’s someone I like to see, I say ‘How lucky! I’ve just come in!’ |
C.if it is fine that day, I say, ‘I’m tired of this, but I’ll show you around the place.’ |
D.if it’s someone I like to see, I say, ‘How happy to see you! But I was going shopping now .’ |
Which of the following is the best title?
A.A Good Place of Enjoying the Sea | B.A Visit to Norah |
C.A clever Way of Escaping | D.A Warm-hearted Couple |
Fear can be a wonderful feeling in our lives, protecting us from dangerous situations and keeping us safe. But fear can also limit our lives significantly. While it may not be conscious, fear may make us think we are unacceptable or that what we have to offer isn’t valuable. Fear may make us feel that we are not safe being ourselves.
To avoid feeling fear, we may limit our lives greatly, living in tiny boxes. Living this way gives us the illusion(假象) of safety but leaves us with an unfulfilling life of no passion. If we shine a light on many of our fears, we see they have a very limited view of what is “safe” and how to “protect” us. Many of our fears are concerned only with protecting us from humiliation(羞辱) and failure. While these fears are doing their jobs incredibly well, they are doing so with faulty and outdated programming. Many fears we have as adults are trying to protect us as they protected us when we were children. Indeed, many of our current, automatic reactions to fear were actually formed when we were children.
Even so, it’s important not to judge ourselves for feeling these types of fears. If we judge ourselves, we will bury our fears or disguise them. By denying our fears, however, we also deny our energy, creativity and passion.
So what do we do with fear? We recognize the fear for what it is--- a feeling we’ve experienced many times in the past and a feeling we will experience many times in the future. We become very familiar with our own particular brand of fears and how we allow them to control our lives. It is especially beneficial for each of us to become aware of the particular behavior patterns we’ve adopted when we feel fear, so we can look at our reactions with a sense of humor and compassion. Then, if we wish, we can choose a different response, which can be a scary yet very exciting experience.According to the first paragraph, fear sometimes.
A.protect us when we’ve made mistakes |
B.makes sure our feelings are not hurt |
C.brings great change to our everyday life |
D.makes us lose confidence in ourselves |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author.
A.thinks it difficult to control our fear |
B.believes fears protect us negatively |
C.thinks it’s good to criticize ourselves |
D.values the advantages of feeling fear |
According to the author, the ways we react to fear .
A.vary from person to person |
B.have been formed since childhood |
C.develop during our growth |
D.will not change until we get old |
The last paragraph mainly tells us .
A.what is the essence of fears |
B.usual reactions we have when feeling fear |
C.how to deal with fears reasonably |
D.the importance of humor and compassion |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Is fear managing your life? |
B.Be calm when feeling fear |
C.What do you fear most? |
D.Passion, chance and fear |
A new study gives us the warning that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by the year 2025.
A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three-hundred-thirty-five-million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.
P-A-I researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025, about three-thousand-million people may lack water. At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on Earth stays the same.
Mr. Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase.
The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking waters not safe. Mr. Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases, such as cholera, which are carried in water. Lack of water may also result in more international conflict. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning.
The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem. One way, it says, is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third way is to use less water of agriculture.
The report also says long-term solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth. It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have.__________ are expected to have severe water problems by the year 2025
A.No countries | B.18 countries | C.46 countries | D.28 countries |
All the following are true except____________.
A.Lack of water may cause conflict between countries |
B.Egypt now has enough fresh water |
C.There are solutions to the water problem |
D.New industries need a lot of water |
It can be inferred that _____________.
A.There is connection between providing clean water and slowing population growth |
B.Lack of water may also result from international conflict |
C.The ability of developing has nothing to do with lack of water. |
D.It is not known whether diseases have something to do with lack of water |
What is the solution to the water problem for a long time?
A.Not to waste water. | B.Less developing industries. |
C.Less international conflict. | D.Control the population |
The best title of the passage would be __________.
A.World Conflict | B.Diseases and Water |
C.World Water Shortage | D.Population and Water |