I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives (观点) by creating worlds we could step into, take part in and live in.
With this unshakable belief, I, at fourteen, decided to become a writer. Here too, reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people’s writing can one discover what works, what doesn’t and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has.
Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction (文学作品)．As a. law student, my reading is in fact limited to 
subject matter—the volume (量) of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime.What can be inferred about the author as a child?
| A． He never watched TV. |
| B． He read what he had to. |
| C． He found reading unbelievable. |
| D． He considered reading part of his life. |
The underlined word "voice" in the second paragraph most probably means “ ”.
| A． an idea |
| B． a sound quality |
| C． a way of writing |
| D． a world to write about |
What effect does reading have on the author?
| A． It helps him to realize his dream. |
| B． It opens up a wider world for him. |
| C． It makes his college life more interesting. |
| D． It increases his interest in worldwide travel. |
Which of the following can be the best title of this text?
| A． Why do I read? |
| B． How do I read? |
| C． What do I read? |
| D． When do I read? |
Some couples spend every waking minute together. Others fill their hours with personal hobbies,outside interests and even part-time jobs, just to keep their distance from each other! "There should be private time and couple time," suggests Dr. Stephen Treat at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia."You don't want your latter years to turn into a process where two people unite as one. If you hold too tightly to your partner, it's going to cause resentment and anger. If you're completely separate, you'll both be lonely and disconnected. You need balance. So you have to talk about how you'll achieve that."
The right balance? It's different for every couple. "Having a conversation about time can be difficult,but it's important for both partners to process those feelings out loud," Dr. Treat says. "You should not be accusing and act as a judge—ask the difficult questions, but do it in a loving way. You could say something like, 'How are we going to be as individuals and how are we going to be as a couple?' "
Barbara and Chris Christensen have achieved the balance that works for them. In addition to daily routines that keep them close—including about 10 minutes for a daily check-in and about a half hour of relaxation time—they each maintain separate interests and friendships.
"We have found that we need time apart," Barbara says. "I have a group of women friends that I have known for the last 30 years. We have dinner out once a month. We women also have parties and weekend or weeklong vacations as a group at a beach or somewhere. Chris, a former fighter pilot, has many aviation-oriented(航空的) groups and friends and also a poker-playing group of our friends. I may be with him during the poker night, but I don't play, and the wives usually watch a chick flick' DVD or something while the poker group has an evening of fun. We have found it important to have separate time as well as together time."The author writes the passage to ______.
| A．offer some suggestions on how to spend the time after retirement |
| B．advise couples to develop their separate hobbies |
| C．warn couples not to be accusing each other |
| D．give people some advice on how to entertain themselves after retirement |
Dr. Stephen suggests that _________after retirement.
A．couples s tay together all the time |
| B．couples express their feelings in a loving way |
| C．couples be separate |
| D．wives make many friends |
It can be inferred that________.
| A．many couples are faced with problems after retirement |
| B．America has a large population of retired people |
| C．most people join various social groups after retirement |
| D．playing poker is a popular activity among retired people |
Barbara and her friends do the following EXCEPT_______.
| A．having dinner regularly |
| B．holding parties |
| C．having weekly vacations at the beach |
| D．having fun playing poker |
The second paragraph is mainly intended to_______.
| A．warn the husband not to act as a judge |
| B．suggest couples have discussions about difficulties |
| C．suggest how to keep the correct balance |
| D．require couples to be considerate |
I used to work in an office, which had a Iocust tree growing outside the window. It had
grown into a tall tree and must have been there for a long time. The tree blocked the view and made the office seem dull. Unfortunately, this happened to be the room assigned to me, and l was dep
ressed by it for quite some time.
When the first spring came, everything was green except the locust tree.I felt very happy because I had thought it had died!
One morning, when I opened the window for some fresh air, I unexpectedly smelt a familiar sweet scent floating into my office which I could not name. Suddenly,I realized it was the locust tree!The tree that I thought dead was in full bloom!
From then on, I usually came to the office very early to see dew forming on the locust tree blossoms, and was eager to see spring again every year.
During summer, the green leaves provided shade protecting me from the harsh sunlight, but allowing enough light in to make it pleasant. In autumn, the leaves turned many different colors. Its beauty touched my soul. Many times, I thought to take photos but never did. Then, I had to leave in a hurry. Later in life, it became a great regret that I had not done so.
Actually, many times in our lives we think we own something and thus do not value it. We don't feel regretful until we lose it one day! Moreover, sometimes, we have to accept the things we don't want and need to discover the hidden beauty to find unexpected joy! The locust tree first attracted the author most by____.
| A．the way it blocked the view | B．its height |
| C．the smell of its flowers | D．its green leaves |
In which season do you think the author paid the least attention to the locust tree?
| A．Spring. | B．Summer | C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
Which of the following statements is true of the author according to the passage?
| A．He would have regretted if the locust tree had died as he had thought it had. |
| B．The locust tree turned out to be a lovely memory for him. |
| C．He felt unhappy as he had forgotten to take the photos with him. |
| D．His work in the office changed with the seasons every year. |
It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
| A．the locust tree died soon after the author left the office |
| B．the author worked in the office for at least a few years |
| C．it was summer when the author took his job in the office |
| D．the weather was dry when the author first saw the tree |
What advice does the author intend to give us?
| A．Treasure what we've owned. | B．Look before you leap. |
| C．Treat everything calmly. | D．Never forget the past. |
BEIJING---The Beijing government has set out to recruit thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city's employment problems.
The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year, 1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas.
People interested in jobs in Beijing's rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www. bjbys, com from February 1 through March 15.
"We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers," Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency.
The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan( $ 250) in the first year, 2,500 yuan ($ 320) the second year and 3,000 yuan ($ 385) the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards, Sun said.
Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside. After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Beijing’s Pinggu District. For one project, Wang contacted people at the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting. Her efforts paid off. The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year.
Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education.
The ministry predicts that 4．95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year. About 1.4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate.
In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year. Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to the personnel bureau.The underlined word "recruit "in the first paragraph probably means_____________.
| A．force | B．employ | C．encourage | D．train |
From the story of Wang Lina we can learn that________________.
| A．the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful. |
| B．local farmers can get big harvests if they learn more knowledge. |
| C．university graduates can also realize their value in rural areas. |
| D．Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers planting organic strawberries. |
The last two paragraphs aim to tell us that________________.
| A．more and more graduates will work as junior officials |
| B．the universities should not have so many students |
| C．there are more and more graduates in recent years |
| D．it is not easy for graduates to find jobs nowadays |
Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A．Job hunting for university graduates. |
| B．Go to the countryside. |
| C．What is the best career? |
| D．A good choice for university graduates. |
Besides calling 911, here is what to do in some life-threatening emergencies when no oneis
|
around to help.
Lost in the wilderness
|
Choking
Aim to hit the top of the chair against your stomach, in the soft part
|
Severe bleeding
Use your hand or clean cotton, or paper towels, or a scarf,
|
If you surprise a bear, don’t run away. That invites an attack.
Instead, stand up and back away slowly, without looking the| A．someone is bleeding | B．someone is choking |
| C．someone is lost | D．someone is attacked by a bear |
If you are still choking after six tries, you should .
| A．keep a sense of humor | B．call 911 and leave the line open |
| C．use your hand our clean cotton | D．lie down with your hands behind your neck |
Don’t tie around your bleeding leg tightly, or you could .
| A．stop bleeding | B．reduce stress |
| C．lose your foot | D．cause breathlessness |
The passage is mainly teaching us how to .
| A．survive the emergencies | B．avoid a bear attack |
| C．deal with a choke | D．find our way |
A recent study, published in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how risky it is to get a lift from a teenage driver. Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a fatal accident as a teenager driving alone. By contrast, the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases with each additional passenger.
The author also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased dramatically after 10 p.m., and especially after midnight, with passengers in the car, the driver was even more likely to die in a late-night accident.
Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience. “The basic issue.” he says, “is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is.”
Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to mitigate (使……缓解)the problem is to have states institute so-called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a multistage process. A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself capable of driving in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving with night of passenger restrictions, before graduating to full driving privileges.
Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies, About half of the states now have some sort of graduated licensing system in place, but only 10 of those states have restrictions on passengers, California is the strictest, with a novice (新手)driver prohibited from carrying any passenger under 20(without the presence of an adult over 25)for the first six months. Which of the following situations is most dangerous according to the passage?
| A．Adults giving a lift to teenagers on the highway after 10 p.m. |
| B．A teenager getting a lift from a stranger on the highway at midnight. |
| C．Adults driving with three or more teenage passengers late at night. |
| D．A teenager driving after midnight with passengers in the car. |
According to Robert Foss, the high death rate of teenage drivers is mainly due to ________.
| A．their frequent driving at night |
| B．their lack of driving experience |
| C．their improper way of driving |
| D．their driving with passengers |
According to Paragraph 3．which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The licensing authorities are partly responsible for teenagers' driving accidents. |
| B．Driving is a skill too complicated for teenagers to learn. |
| C．Restrictions should be imposed on teenagers applying to take driving lessons. |
| D．Teenagers should spend more time learning to drive. |
The most suitable measure to be taken to reduce teenagers' driving accidents is that ________ .
| A．driving in the presence of an adult should be made a rule |
| B．they should be prohibited from taking on passengers |
| C．the licensing system should be improved |
| D．they should not be allowed to drive after 10 p.m. |
