The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other for ever. He sent camera crew out one evening to film the sunset for him.
The next morning he said to the men, "Have you provided me with that sunset? "
"No, Sir," the men answered.
The director was angry. "Why not? " he asked.
"Well, Sir, " one of the men answered, "we are on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset."
"But I want a sunset!" the director shouted. "Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one. "
But then a young secretary had an idea. "Why don't you photograph a sunrise, " she suggested, "and then play it backwards? Then it'll look like a sunset."
"That's a very good idea! " the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said, "Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea. "
The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay（海湾）. Then at nine o'clock they took it to the director. "Here it is, Sir, " they said, and give it to him. He was very pleased.
They all went into the studio（摄影棚）. "All right, " the director explained, "now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the 'sunset' behind them. "
The "sunset" began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.
The birds in the file were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.One evening, the director sent his camera crew out____.
| A．to watch a beautiful sunset | B．to find an actor and an actress |
| C．to film a scene on the sea | D．to meet the audience |
Why did the director want to send his crew to the west c
oast?
| A．Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset | B．Because he was angry about his crew |
| C．Because it was his secretary's suggestion. | D．Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The crew had to follow the secretary's advice. |
| B．If you want to see a sunrise, the east coast is a place to go. |
| C．The camera crew wasn't able to film the scene the first day |
| D．The director ordered his crew to stop filming the "sunset" |
The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because_____.
| A．it went well with the separation of the hero and heroine |
| B．when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening |
| C．it was more moving than a sunrise |
| D．the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset |
After the "sunset" began, the director suddenly put his face in his hands____.
| A．because he was moved to tears |
| B．as he saw everything in the film moving backwards |
| C．as the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined |
| D．because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and the heroine |
They sit by the door waiting for me. And while I may speak more about the narrowness of my very limited life than their real worth, just the fact that they're sitting there, waiting for me, makes me happy.
I speak, of course, of my wonderful, brilliant, intelligently designed, calf-high rubber boots. They are a piece of industrial genius（杰作）. They are real and vibrant（活力的），and make my life more worth living.
My rubber boots are real and they do not fail me. I slip them on over my socks at a moment's notice. They go on easily. My feet feel joyful like the wagging（摇摆）tail of a dog waiting for its walk. My feet know they are safe.
I step outside the house and nothing can stop me the late season snowstorm, the pool of standing water at the bottom of my doorsteps that will never give off, the mud and dirt this season brings. My feet are warm and dry and happy. And so am I.
My boots are modest. They make no promise they can't keep. I found them at one-third the price of the long boots I looked at longingly for years. Mine are American-made and inexpensive and unattractive and brown and solid. They are now three years old and still look new. I know I will have them forever. I will die with them on. They are homely and they are wonderful.
My rubber boots make me braver and kinder and more generous. Yes, I will get the mail. Yes, I will get the newspaper. Yes, I will walk the dog. Yes to the garbage. Yes. Yes. Yes. I have rubber boots, good strong rubber boots-and I am not afraid. We can infer from the passage that __________.
| A．the writer has a small life circle |
| B．it must be very cold in winter where the writer lives |
| C．the writer enjoys the dog wagging its tail |
| D．the boots are designed by an industrial talent |
Which of the following is mentioned in the last two paragraphs?
| A．The writer is a postman by occupation. |
| B．The writer will wear the boots all his life. |
| C．The writer bought the boots out of curiosity. |
| D．The boots are good-looking, old and American made. |
Which is the right order of the writer's developing the passage?
a. He feels at home in the boots.
b. His feet feel safe.
c. They bring him happiness.
d. His life is meaningful.
e. He feels very fearless.
f. They warm his feet and keep wet out.
| A．a-c-b-e-d-f |
| B．c-d-e-f-b-a |
| C．a-c-b-f-d-e |
| D．c-d-b-f-a-e |
The writer writes the passage in order to __________.
| A．tell his daily life |
| B．advertise rubber boots |
| C．praise the objects ordinary but reliable |
| D．attach the importance to happiness and safety |
NSE Summer School is suitable for those who are at, or are about to start university. lt will begin accepting applications in January 2013.
Courses ： Accounting and Finance; Economics; Management; Law; International Relations; Government and Society
Dates ： Session （学习时间）1:7 July ~25 July Session 2 ： 28July~ 15 August
Rate ： Standard Rate ： One session: $ 1，400；Both session ： $2，400
Reduced Student Rate ： One session ： $ 1，100；Both session ： $1，875
The reduced student rate applies to （适用于）fulltime students registered at a university or college anywhere in the world. Accommodation is not included, and fees range from $ 500 ~ $ 1，000 for20 nights.
Applicant requirements ：
If you have studied in the USA then you do not need any additional English qualifications （资格）. Students from other countries will generally not require a visa （签证）to study at the Summer School; however, you will enter the USA as a "Student Visitor". You are permitted to change courses before the start of the program and within the first three days of the session.
Contact hours and teaching methods ：
Summer School courses are full-time and normally consist of 48contact hours over the three-week period, taking the form of 36hours of lectures and 12 hours of classes. Lectures, attended by all students, take place in either the morning or afternoon supplemented by small one-hour classes, of approximately 15 students.
Assessment and examinations ：
Assessment for Summer School is based upon the results of either two written examinations, or a final written examination and assessment work. Everyone is required to take the examinations and no exception can be made for any reason.
Summer School lecture series ：
Famous economists-Tony Godden and David Held-have agreed to give lectures to Summer School participants in July in 2013.
If any questions, please click here to see our Frequently Asked Questions/Contact Us Page. During the course，__________
| A．students can learn about everything from culture to science |
| B．students can choose not to attend the lectures they don't like |
| C．world-famous economists will give students lessons every day |
| D．all the students must take part in the exams without any excuse |
From the passage, we can learn that __________.
| A．the program is specially designed for foreign students |
| B．NSE Summer School 2013 is a university level program |
| C．students can change their courses whenever they want to |
| D．a visa is required to study at the NSE Summer School |
The purpose of the advertisement is to __________.
| A．attract students to NSE Summer School |
| B．introduce famous economists to students |
| C．help students to pass the final exams |
| D．advertise for new staff for university |
You will most probably find this passage __________.
| A．in a newspaper |
| B．in a guidebook |
| C．on a webpage |
| D．in a magazine |
My 14-year-old son, John, and I spotted （看到）the coat at the same time in a second-hand clothing store. It stood out among big and old coats. It had beautiful tailoring and an unbelievable price：$28. I looked at my son and we both said nothing, but John's eyes shone. Dark, woolen topcoats were popular with teenage boys, but they could cost several hundred dollars new. This coat was even better. John tried it on and turned from side to side, eyeing himself in the mirror. The fit was perfect.
John wore the coat to school the next day and came home with a big grin . "Did the kids like your coat?" I asked. "They loved it，"he said.
Over the next few weeks, John changed. He was polite, less ar-gumentative, more thoughtful, and on the whole much happier. "Good dinner, mom，" he would say every evening. Without a word of objection he would carry in wood for the stove （火炉）. One day when I suggested that he might start on his homework before dinner, John, who always put things off, said，"You're right. I guess I will. " When I mentioned this incident（事件，事情）to one of his teachers, she joked that the coat must have changed him.
John and I both know we should never mistake a person's clothes for the real person within them. But there is something to be said for wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see, for practicing standards of excellence in thought, speech, and behavior, and for matching what is on the inside to what is on the outside. What does the author try to express in the first paragraph?
| A．The coat looked like a magical coat. |
| B．They were good at shopping. |
| C．The coat was a real bargain（便宜货）. |
| D．They had the same taste in clothes. |
What does the underlined word "grin" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．A wide smile. |
| B．A worried look. |
| C．A jealous （嫉妒的）spirit. |
| D．A joking tone. |
After John wore the new coat, the author found he __________.
a. was happier and better-behaved
b. received more praise from his teachers
c. was willing to follow suggestions
d. made rapid progress in study
e. would say sweet words to please her
| A．a, b，c |
| B．a, c，e |
| C．b, d，e |
| D．c, d，e |
What message does the author intend to deliver in the article?
| A．We should not judge people by their appearance. |
| B．Life is full of possibilities when we are young. |
| C．It's beneficial to try different things in our lives. |
| D．What we wear could help shape who we are inside. |
A cat is recovering in California after surviving a 6，500-mile journey across the Pacific stowed inside a Chinese shipping container without food or water. Staff and volunteers have named it"Ni Hao"，which is Chinese for "hello".
It was discovered breathing shallowly after a two-week trip across the Pacific Ocean. The cat was seriously suffering from loss of water and starvation when the container was opened in California last week, but was said to be doing well after being sent to the Car-son Animal Care Center in Los Angeles. At first it was too weak to stand, but finally took its first step. Then it ate a good meal and slept soundly. The cat woke up Thursday morning, physically in a better condition than 24 hours ago.
"Ni Hao greeted the medical team with its first meow this morning and is attempting to stand，" said Marcia Mayeda, head of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control. Aaron Reyes, director of the Department, added ： " We finally got to hear its voice. It sounds like a single-engine plane. "
Ni Hao is expected to be observed for 60 days but afterwards animal workers will look forward to providing it with a good shelter. "It's much better for it to recover in a home environment，" Mr Reyes said. "It's just like a human being in a hospital so we're ho-ping to move it. " He added ： " Little by little we're getting there. We're hoping that under the treatment and with rest, it'll be able to recover quickly. "
It was not immediately clear how the cat got into the container. The underlined word "stowed" in Paragraph 1 probably means "__________"
| A．packed |
| B．driven |
| C．raised |
| D．hidden |
The container to California started on its journey __________.
| A．60 days ago |
| B．one month ago |
| C．2 weeks ago |
| D．24 hours ago |
The cat is likely to be taken care of by __________ in the future.
| A．a medical team |
| B．animal workers |
| C．a caring family |
| D．an animal shelter |
Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be. Places of business that used to keep daytime" business hours" are now open late into the night. And on the Internet, the hour of the day and the day of the week have become irrelevant（不相关的）. A half century ago in the United States, most people experienced strong and precise dividing lines between days of rest and days of work, school time and summer time. Today the boundaries still exist, but they seem not clear.
The law in almost all states used to require stores to close on Sunday; in most, it no longer does. It used to keep the schools open in all seasons except summer; in most, it still does. And whether the work week should strengthen its legal limits, or whether it should become more "flexible"，is often debated. How should we, as a society, organize our time? Should we go even further in relaxing the boundaries of time until we live in a world in which every minute is much like every other?
These are not easy questions even to ask. Part of the difficulty is that we rarely recognize the" law of time" even when we meet it face to face. We know as children that we have to attend school a certain number of hours, a certain number of days, a certain number of years-but unless we meet the truant officer（学监），we may well think that we should go to school due to social custom and parents' demand rather than to the law. As adults we are familiar with" extra pay for overtime working"，but less familiar with the fact that what constitutes（构成）"overtime" is a matter of legal definition. When we turn the clock forward to start daylight-saving time, have we ever thought to ourselves： Here is the law in action? As we shall see, there is a lot of law that has great influence on how we organize and use time： compulsory education law, overtime law, and daylight-saving law-as well as law about Sunday closing, holidays, being late to work, time zones, and so on. Once we begin to look for it, we will have no trouble finding a law of time to examine and assess. By saying" Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be"，the writer means that __________.
| A．work time is equal to rest time |
| B．many people have a day off on Monday |
| C．it is hard for people to decide when to rest |
| D．the line between work time and rest time is unclear |
The author raises the questions in Paragraph 2 to introduce the fact that people __________.
| A．fail to make full use of their time |
| B．enjoy working overtime for extra pay |
| C．are unaware of the law of time |
| D．welcome flexible working hours |
According to the passage, most children tend to believe that they go to school because they __________.
| A．need to acquire knowledge |
| B．have to obey their parents |
| C．need to find companions |
| D．have to observe the law |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Our life is governed by the law of time. |
| B．How to organize time is not worth debating. |
| C．New ways of using time change our society. |
| D．Our time schedule is decided by social customs. |