Hobbs was an orphan（孤儿）. He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work made him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts.
One day a lawyer said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, “I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I’d like to do: painting pictures. I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place in the factory and have no money
to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for one and too little for the other.”
“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will（遗嘱）,” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”
“Yes, I see. I’ll do that,” said the young man... Hobbs wanted to borrow money to _______.
| A．study abroad | B．work abroad |
| C．pay off the debts | D．learn to paint pictures |
. What does the underlined word “dumbfounded” （in Paragraph 2） probably mean?
A．Surpri sed. |
B．Frightened. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Excited. |
. With the money he got, at first Hobbs _______.
| A．planned to have a happy life for a few days |
| B．decided to give up his work in the factory |
| C．was to give a dinner to his friends |
| D．had no idea what to do |
.. Hobbs was asked to _______.
| A．tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it |
| B．read his uncle’s will |
| C．tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money |
| D．buy some pictures |
Marketing Professionals
A major US corporation in the health and nutritional industry has announced the opening of its direct selling division in Taiwan.
The company offers the most lucrative compensation plan in the industry and has paid over NTD (新台币) 3.5 billion in commissions in just 6 years in the US.We are a group of top earners.
Applicants should meet the requirements：
(1)Taiwan citizen
(2)Have experience in marketing
(3)Aggressive，energetic，and willing to learn
If you believe you have what it takes to develop this business，please dial 27426996.
Job B
An international company requires a
Service Technician
To service and maintain electronic medical equipment，applicants should have degree in electronics.The selected candidate will have a training program to be conducted by our manufacturer’s trained technical personnel.
Interested candidates please apply immediately with a resume (简历)and mail to P．O.Box 594.Or telephone Ms Chang at 2945－0027 for an immediate interview. ,
Job C
Wanted：Reporters & Editors
Qualifications：
* Strong command of English language
* Chinese speaking and reading ability a must
* A university degree
* Journalism education and/or experience preferred
* Flexible working hours( 30 hours per week)
* Good work environment and medical insurance，etc.
Fax resume and work samples，if any，to The China Post at(03) 25957952. ,
Job D
Southeastern Travel Services
Tour Guides
Duties：To conduct escorted tours (陪游)for foreign
visitors；to assist with travel and transportation arrangements.
Qualifications：Good appearance.High school diploma.
Good knowledge of English.Outgoing personality.
Dial 27032172 after 3∶00 pm.Ask for Gary. , Which of the following is required for marketing professionals?
| A．A university degree. |
| B．Good appearance. |
| C．Good computer knowledge. |
| D．Some marketing experience. |
Wendy is good at Chinese and doesn’t like to work on fixed schedules.Which of the four jobs might be suitable for her?
A．Job A.B．Job B. C．Job C. D．Job D.Charles has a strong interest in technology service.Which phone number should he dial?
| A．27426996. | B．29450027. | C．25957952. | D．27032172. |
Mary has attractive looks and a good command of English with an outgoing character.Which of the following would she choose?
A．Job A. B．Job B. C．Job C. D．Job D.
The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it’s purposeful practice. Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. It you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or shared the same birthday.
This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would hive her some idea of a fascinating circle who might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fuelling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her field. She’s be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.
Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practising in this way, he delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious. Automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance form the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems—how do I get characters into a room—dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.
The primary quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine; the latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour.The passage mainly deals with.
| A．the function of I.Q. in cultivating a writer |
| B．the relationship between genius and success |
| C．the decisive factor in making a genius |
| D．the way of gaining some sense of distinction |
By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could.
| A．come to understand the inner structure of writing |
| B．join a fascinating circle of writers someday |
| C．share with a novelist her likes and dislikes |
| D．learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security |
In the girl’s long painstaking training process, ________.
| A．her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success. |
| B．her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance |
| C．she acquires the magic of some great achievement |
| D．she comes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success |
| B．A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing. |
| C．As to the growth of a genius, I.Q. Doesn’t matter, but just his/her effort. |
| D．What really matters is what you do rather then who you are. |
Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They froget how much tourism can help the country's economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination (目的地) country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance the well-being (health and happiness) of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country's economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first-class roads, and other support facilities (设施) needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international-class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers (阴沟) to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost.Which of the following has most probably been discussed in the paragraph that goes before the passage?
| A．It is extremely important to develop tourism. |
| B．Building roads and hotels is essential. |
| C．Support facilities are highly necessary. |
| D．Planning is of great importance to tourism. |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT______.
| A．a bad impact on other industries |
| B．a change of tourists' customs |
| C．overcrowdedness of places of interest |
| D．pressure on traffic |
Not enough tourism can lead to _____
| A．an increase of unemployment |
| B．a decrease in tourist attractions |
| C．the higher cost of support facilities |
| D．a rise in price and a fall in pay |
It is good for local people to be well aware that tourism will______.
| A．use up a large amount of water | B．weaken their economy |
| C．help establish their traditions | D．help improve their life |
The word handle in the last paragraph most probably means______.
| A．carry away | B．pick up | C．get in | D．take down |
Across the globe, single-parent homes are on the rise. In the US, the 2000 census (人口普查 ) showed 24.8 million or nearly 24 percent of the nation's 105.5 million households, were traditional two-parent homes. By comparison, 9.8 million households or 9.8 million of all US households were headed by an adult raising a child alone. The 1990 census showed 26 percent of homes were led by a married mother and father, and 8 percent of homes were led by a singe parent.
Similar increases occurred in other countries. In the UK, lone-parent family homes increased from 3.3 percent in 1990 to 5.5 percent in 1999. Single parent households in Australia rose from 5.8 percent in 1990 to 7.6 percent in l999. Belgium saw the increase from 1. 8 percent to 2.7 during the same period of time. These countries tend to have greater acceptance of single parenting because there are fewer nearby family members to disapprove, Riche, a Census Bureau director, said.
Just as in the US, those changes raised new questions about how involved government should be in helping single-parent families. Some research suggests children raised in two-parent families are better off than those who depend on one.
"The position of one-parent families in any country is very much a gender (性别) issue－women's opportunities, especially working-class women on low income," said Sue Chen, coordinator (协调员) of the Single Action Parents Network in England.Not considering the exact number of the single-parent families, which country saw the fastest rise rate in 1999, compared with 1990?
| A．UK. | B．Australia. | C．America. | D．Belgium. |
What is the cause of the rise of single-parent families across the globe?
| A．The nearby family members have a favorable opinion. |
| B．A lone parent is well off enough to support his/her children. |
| C．A lot of problems have arisen in two-parent families. |
| D．We cannot get enough proving information from the text. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the increase of single-parent families according to the passage?
A. It will somewhat limit the growing population of younger generation.
B. Governments should take actions about the social problems brought about by it.
C. Single-parent families are not looked down upon in any country mentioned here.
How can you help kids cope with （对付）stress? Proper rest and good nutrition can improve coping skills, so can good parenting. Make time for your kids each day. Whether they need to talk with you or just be in the same room with you, make yourself available.
Even as kids get older, quality time is important. It’s really hard for some people to come home after a tiring day of work, get down on the floor, and play with their kids or just talk to them about their day -- especially if they’ve had a stressful day themselves. But expressing interest in your kids shows that they’ re important to you.
Help your child deal with stress by talking about what may be causing it. Together, you can come up with a few solutions. For example, he should cut back on after-school activities, spending more time talking with his parents or teachers, developing an exercise plan or keeping a journal.
You can also help by predicting potentially stressful situations and preparing kids for them. For example, let a child know ahead of time, but not too far ahead of time, that a doctor’s appointment is coming up and talk about what will happen there. Keep in mind, though, that younger kids probably won’t need too much advance preparation. Too much information can cause more stress.
Remember that some level of stress is normal, Let kids know that it’s OK to feel angry, scared, lonely, or anxious and that other people share those feelings, too.
When kids can’t or won’t discuss these problems, try talking about your own concerns. This shows that you’re willing to handle tough topics and are available to talk with when they’re ready. If a child shows symptoms that concern you and is unwilling to talk, consult a counselor （顾问）or other mental health experts.
Most parents have the skills to cope with their children’s stress. The time to seek professional attention is when any change in behavior continues to exist, when stress is causing serious anxiety, or when the behavior is causing significant problems in functioning at school or at home.What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To share the author’s ideas on proper parenting. |
| B．To persuade parents to spend more time with their kids. |
| C．To advise parents how to help their kids deal with stress. |
| D．To seek different ways to help solve kids’ problems. |
Why do some parents feel it difficult to spare quality time for their kids?
| A．Their kids are growing so fast. | B．They have too much housework. |
| C．Their kids are losing interest in them. | D．They are tired out after work. |
You are advised not to talk too much about a stressful situation in advance because ________.
| A．it does no good to your kids | B．it doesn’t work in practice |
| C．your kids may not feel stressed | D．your kids don’t want to listen |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Normal people share the same feelings. |
| B．It is normal for kids to have some stress. |
| C．Kids should get rid of the negative feelings. |
| D．Everybody feels angry, scared, lonely or anxious. |