He's an old cobbler （修鞋匠） with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris．When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: "I haven't time．Take them to the other fellow on the main street; he'll fix them for you right away．"
But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman (手艺人). "No," I replied, "The other fellow can't do it well."
"The other fellow" was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys "while-U-wait" -- without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) ,you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron (围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, "Come back in a week."
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boot off a shelf.
"See what I can do " he said with pride. "Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work."
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, an old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it "pays", when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period,it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?
| A．He was equipped with the best repairing tools. |
| B．He was the only cobbler in the Marais. |
| C．He was proud of his skills. |
| D．He was a native Parisian. |
The sentence "He was something out of an ancient legend." ( paragraph 7 ) implies that .
| A．nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him |
| B．it was difficult to communicate with this man |
| C．the man was very strange |
| D．the man was too old |
According to the author, many people work just to .
| A．realize their abilities | B．gain happiness |
| C．make money | D．gain respect |
This story wants to tell us that .
| A．craftsmen make a lot of money | B．whatever you do, do it well |
| C．craftsmen need self-respect | D．people are born equal |
Bend over, take a deep breath and drink some water! This is just one of hundreds of tips you might get if you have the hiccups(打嗝). Hiccups are so mysterious. We really don’t know why they start and why they stop.
Everyone has a favorite cure(治愈方法) for a case of the hiccups. Some people think that a good scare(惊恐) is necessary to get well. Others eat a teaspoon of sugar. Still others drink a glass of water with a knife in it.
An American man named Jack O’Leary said he had hiccupped 160 million times over a period of eight years. He tried 60,000 cures, but none of them worked. At last he prayed to Saint Jude, the saint of Hopeless cases, and his hiccupping stopped immediately.
It took a British plumber eight months to cure his hiccups. People from all over the world wrote him letters with suggestions for getting well. He tried them all, but the hiccups continued. Finally, he drank a “secret” mixture someone had sent him. By that evening his hiccups were gone.
Why did these cures work for these two men? No one really know. But people who have studied many cases of hiccups have an idea – hiccups usually go away if you believe in the cure.. How did Jack O’Leary stop his hiccups?
| A．He took a deep breath. | B．He prayed to Saint Jude |
| C．He ate a teaspoon of sugar. | D．He drank a “secret” mixture. |
. The British plumber spent in stopping his hiccups.
| A．4 hours | B．2 days |
| C．8 months | D．8 years |
. might be the best cure for hiccups according to the passage.
| A．Cold water | B．A spoonful of salt |
| C．Special pills | D．What you believe in |
. From this passage, we can learn .
| A．Saint Jude is an expert in curing the hiccups |
| B．the reason why the hiccups start and why the hiccups stop |
| C．some people think that a good scare is a cure for a case of hiccups |
| D．the British plumber drank a “secret” mixture given by an experienced doctor and then became well |
. What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Different ways to stop hiccups. |
| B．What makes hiccups happen. |
| C．How to get hiccups. |
| D．Jack O’Leary’s hiccups. |
There are many ways to find a job. It can be as easy as walking into a neighborhood store to look at its announcement board. Local stores often have areas where people can put small signs telling what kind of service they need or can provide. Such services include caring for children or cleaning houses.
Or, job searchers can look in the newspaper. Local newspapers have employment announcements placed by companies seeking workers.
Another popular tool for finding jobs is the Internet. For example, people in four hundred and fifty cities around the world can use the Craigslist Web site to buy objects, meet people or find a job. Craigslist says that it receives two million new job listings each month.
Another useful way to find a job is through a college or university. For example, students at the University of Texas in Austin can go to the Career Exploration Center to get help in finding a job. Of course, looking for a job requires knowing what kind of work you want to do. For example, there is a book called “What Color is Your Parachute (降落伞)?” by Richard Bolles. This book has been helping people choose a career (职业) since it was first published in nineteen seventy.
Some experts also help people find jobs. Susan W. Miller owns a company called California Career Services in Los Angeles. She says her company helps people find jobs by first helping them understand their strengths, goals and interests. Then she provides them with methods and resources to help them find the right job.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Finding a job. |
| B．College students’ part-time jobs. |
| C．Craigslist Web site. |
| D．The relation between study and work. |
“What Color is Your Parachute?” is a book which gives tips to those who want to _____.
| A．work on the airplane | B．buy a parachute |
| C．publish a book | D．find a suitable job |
It can be learned from the passage that ______.
| A．companies often put job information in local shops |
| B．the Internet is the most popular tool for job hunters in the USA |
| C．Susan W. Miller’s company is helping people choose careers |
| D．California Career Services mainly serves university students |
How many ways of finding a job are mentioned in the passage?
| A．Three. | B．Four. |
| C．Five. | D．Six. |
Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York., in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.
Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends (小商品 ) for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said five cents each. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.
Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store., selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly form the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.
By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always ran his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: “ The customer is always right.” Frank took a short business course in order to ____________.
| A．earn more money for his family |
| B．learn something from a salesman |
| C．get away from the farm |
| D．get enough to eat. |
. The price of the knives was cut down by half because ______________.
| A．the factory workers worked 24 hours a day. |
| B．knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory. |
| C．the knives were made in Germany, where labour (劳动力) was cheap. |
| D．the knives were produced in one factory. |
_____________ make Woolworth a world-famous man.
| A．His business skills and his wealth. |
| B．The low price of the goods he sold. |
| C．His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives. |
| D．His natural skill for showing things. |
The belief that : “ The customer is always right” suggests that _______________.
| A．whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right. |
| B．If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way. |
| C．stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money. |
| D．stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful. |
A rainforest is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely falling below 16℃. Rainforests have a great effect on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate. Without the forest cover, these areas would reflect more heat into the atmosphere，warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns, potentially causing certain natural disasters all over the world.
In the past hundred years, humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources : land for crops, wood for paper and other products, land for raising farm animals. This action affects the environment as a whole. For example，a lot of carbon dioxide in the air comes from burning the rainforests. People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, when people cut down trees, generally they can only use the land for a year or two. Secondly, cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now, but in the long run it actually reduces the world’ s wood supply.Rainforests are often called the world’s drug store. More than 25% of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests. However, fewer than 1% of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value. It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world’s shrinking rainforests. Rainforests can help to adjust the climate because they________.
| A．reflect more heat into the atmosphere |
| B．bring about high rainfall throughout the world |
| C．rarely cause the temperature to drop lower than 16℃ |
| D．absorb the heat from the sun, reducing the effect of heat from the sun on the earth |
What does the word “this” underlined in the third paragraph refer to?
| A．We will lose much more than we can gain. |
| B．Humans have begun destroying rainforests. |
| C．People have a strong desire for resources. |
| D．Much carbon dioxide comes from burning rainforests. |
It can be inferred from the text that________.
| A．we can get enough resources without rainforests |
| B．there is great medicine potential in rainforests |
| C．we will grow fewer kinds of crops in the gained land |
| D．the level of annual rainfall affects wind patterns |
. What might be the best title for the text?
| A．How to Save Rainforests? |
| B．How to Protect Nature? |
| C．Rainforests and the Environment. |
| D．Rainforests and Medical Development. |
Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.
Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.
Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.
Animals are more than beautiful or interesting or a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.
For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(鹰), the farmers’ stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖) quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.
Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.Why do people kill animals?
| A．They kill animals for something they need. |
| B．They kill animals to raise some money. |
| C．Animals destroy their natural resources. |
| D．Animals create many problems. |
Animals are important to us mainly because ______.
| A．they give us a source of food |
| B．they are beautiful and lovely |
| C．they keep the balance of nature |
| D．they give us a lot of pleasure |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．People care much about animals because they need them. |
| B．Once a certain kind of animal is gone forever, there will never be any more. |
| C．Killing all rats and mice may cause some new problems. |
| D．People must not kill any animal or plant. |