I think it was my mother who taught me the meaning of honesty. Not because she actually was honest, but because she lied all the time. She felt that the easiest way out of any given situation was generally the best way out. And, for her, that generally meant telling a “little white lie”. As a young child I thought it was kind of cool. And, naturally, when I would come to her with a concern or question wondering what I should do, she generally advised me to lie.
“Mom, I told Theresa that I would go over to her house, but now I would rather go to Sue's house to play.”
“Tell Theresa you're sick，” she would advise. And generally I did. But I didn't seem blessed with her lack of conscience. On many painful occasions Theresa would find out that I really went to Sue's house without her. These occasions taught me that it is more painful to be caught in a lie than it is to tell the truth in the first place. I wondered how it was possible that my mother had never learned that lesson.
I started thinking of all the lies that I'd heard her tell. I remembered the time she told someone that her favorite restaurant had closed, because she didn't want to see them there anymore. Or the time she told Dad that she loved the lawnmower he gave her for her birthday. Or when she claimed that our phone lines had been down when she was trying to explain why she hadn't been in touch with a friend of hers for weeks. And what bothered me even more were all the times she had involved me into her lies. Like the time she told my guidance counselor that I had to miss school for exploratory surgery
, when she really needed me to babysit. And it even started to bother me when someone would call for her and she would ask me to tell them that she wasn't there.
So, I started my own personai fight against her dishonesty. When I answered the phone and it was someone my mother didn't want to talk to, I said, “Louise, mom is here, but she doesn't want to talk to you.” The first time I did it, she punished me, but I refused to apologize. I told her that I had decided that it was wrong to lie. And the next time it happened I did the same thing. Finally, she approached me and said, “I agree that lying is not the best thing to do, but we need to find a way to be honest without being rude.” She admitted that her methods weren't right, and I admitted that mine were a bit too extreme.
Over the past few years, the two of us have worked together to be honest—and yet kind. Honesty should mean more than not lying. It should mean speaking the truth in kindness. Though I started by trying to teach my mom the importance of honesty, I ended up gaining a deeper understanding of the meaning of the term.The author's mother ________.
| A．thought white lies were not lies |
| B．helped the author get out of trouble with white lies |
| C．told the author to lie when in trouble |
| D．taught the author the importance of being honest |
The author ________.
| A．was thankful to her mother's advice |
| B．felt more awkward when being caught lying |
| C．found that telling the truth hurt more than telling a lie |
| D．felt guilty when hurting people with her honesty |
It can be inferred that the author's mother ________.
| A．met her friends in the same restaurant regularly |
| B．didn't get along with the author's teachers |
| C．was not popular among her friends |
| D．wanted to have something else for her birthday |
Finally the author and her mother agreed that ________.
| A．kindheartedness is more important than honesty |
| B．appropriate methods are the key to telling a good lie |
| C．honesty is defined as kindness as well as truthfulness |
| D．absolute honesty is basic to good interpersonal relationships |
The famous car Rolls-Royce has been largely hand-made and always one of the most expensive cars on the market.
In fact, Rolls-Royce is made up of two men’s names, Charles S. Rolls and Henry Royce. They came from very different backgrounds, received very different educations and when they met; their careers were going in very different directions.
In 1903, Royce bought a second-hand France Decauville car. He found the car unreliable, difficult to start and overheated. Royce decided he could do better himself and set about building two-cylinder (双杠发动机) car of his own design. The first of these, built almost completely by Royce himself, was a success in almost every way: it started easily, ran smoothly and was very reliable. It never failed to impress everyone who saw it rode in the car, including Rolls.
While he was a university student at Cambridge, Rolls acquired a French Peugeot. It was the first automobile seen at Cambridge and by the time Rolls finished his studies, he was probably the most skilled driver in Britain. In 1902, Rolls went into the business of selling cars and became a leading automobile distributor. He was looking for a British car to market when he was told that Henry Royce had designed and built a two-cylinder automobile.
In 1904, Royce and Rolls joined together to build and sell motor car. They combined their talents—Royce the engineer and Rolls the salesman and businessman.
And, just two years later, the partnership produced the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, a milestone car acclaimed (盛赞) by many by the time as the “ best in the world”. Over the years the automaker built a legendary reputation.The Rolls-Royce is expensive for its ______ .
| A．procedure | B．engine |
| C．function | D．impression |
The underlined word “distributor” in Paragraph 4 probably means ______ .
| A．boss | B．producer |
| C．buyer | D．seller |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The Rolls-Royce car is the most expensive car in the world. |
| B．The two cylinder car built by Royce failed to impress people. |
| C．When Rolls graduated from Cambridge University, he didn’t do well in driving. |
| D．In 1906 the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was popular with many people. |
Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.
Many roads and places in Singapore are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries —in both the West and the East.
Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus —obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay（马来语）. Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent（月牙） because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Change suddenly. |
| B．Change significantly. |
| C．Disappear mysteriously. |
| D．Disappear very slowly. |
Which of the following places is named after a person?
| A．Raffles Place. | B．Selector Airbase. |
| C．Piccadilly Circus. | D．Paya Lebar Crescent. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain. |
| B．Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes. |
| C．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique. |
| D．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers. |
For almost two months Dominic York, a 23-year-old hairdresser, wandered about hospitals all night, wearing a white coat and pretending he was a doctor. Yesterday he proudly claimed in court that despite his complete lack of medical experience or qualifications, he had saved several people’s lives. He had even been allowed to assist a surgeon during an emergency operation on a patient who was about to die on something she had swallowed.
“I watched one of those TV dramas about a hospital and suddenly I felt like playing one of the roles myself. So I put on a white jacket and a stethoscope(听诊器)and walked around one of the biggest hospital in London. At first I just watched. Once you learn how doctors talk to patients, nurses and others doctors, it’s easy to take people in,” he said.
One of the patients he treated was Laura Kennan. She had been knocked down by a car and fainted. When she came to in hospital, York was standing over her.
“He looked very professional. He told me his name was Doctor Simon. Then he gave me some sort of injection,” she said. And then he suddenly cleared off when a nurse asked who he was. She didn’t think there was anything wrong. “I would never have realized he was a fake if a policewoman hadn’t showed me his photograph a week later. When the policewoman told me who he really was, I could hardly believe my ears.”
Judge Raymond Adams told York that he was “ shocked and horrified” that he got away with his deceiving for so long. And they sentenced him to eighteen months in a special prison for criminal with mental disorders.
“I can only hope that this will not lead to further problems. After all, you will have considerable opportunity to study the behaviour of the psychiatrists(精神科医生)who will look after you while you are there. If you try to persuade people that you yourself are a psychiatrist after you are set free, I shall make sure that you are given a much longer sentence.” Judge Adams warned York.York was proud of the fact that ___________.
| A．a surgeon let him watch an operation. |
| B．he could perform some duties of a doctor |
| C．he had cheated doctors for so long |
| D．people thought he could become a real doctor |
York learned how to behave like a doctor by __________.
| A．watching other doctors work |
| B．talking to doctors and nurses |
| C．getting some training and experience |
| D．observing doctors while he was a patient |
Why was Laura Kennan in hospital?
| A．She had swallowed something and almost died. |
| B．She had to have and emergency operation. |
| C．She had been injured in a road accident. |
| D．She had lost consciousness while driving. |
The judge’s remark implied that York would be more severely punished if he _________.
| A．pretended to be a psychiatrist |
| B．tried to get away from prison |
| C．was proud of what he had done |
| D．studied the behaviour of the psychiatrist |
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan sees an epidemic (流行病) sweeping across America’s farmland. It has little to do with the usual challenges, such as flood, rising fuel prices and crop-eating insects. The country’s farmers are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place. National agricultural census (普查) figures show that the fastest-growing group of farmers is the part over 65. Merrigan is afraid the average age will be even higher when the 2012 statistics are completed.
Merrigan, a former college professor, is making stops at universities across the country in hopes of encouraging more students to think about careers in agriculture. Aside from trying to stop the graying of America’s farmers, her work is made tougher by a recent blog posting that put agriculture at No. 1 on a list of “useless” college degrees. Top federal agriculture officials are talking about the posting, and it has the attention of agricultural organizations across the country.
“There couldn’t be anything that’s more incorrect,” Merrigan said. “We know that there aren’t enough qualified graduates to fill the jobs that are out there in American agriculture.”
In addition, a growing world population that some experts predict will require 70% more food production by 2050, she said.
“I truly believe we’re at a golden age of agriculture. Global demand is at an all-time record high, and global supplies are at all-time record lows,” said Matt Rush, director of the Texas Farm Bureau. “Production costs are going to be valuable enough that younger people are going to have the opportunity to be involved in agriculture. “
The Department of Agriculture has programs aimed at developing more farmers and at increasing interest in locally grown food. The National Young Farmers’ Coalition has also been pushing for state and federal policy changes to make it easier for new farmers.
Ryan Best, president of Future Farmers of America, has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the country and visiting with high school students about careers in agriculture. The 21-year-old Best hopes his message --that this is a new time in agriculture-- will motivate the next generation to turn around the statistics. “Never before have we had the innovations (创新) in technology which have led to agriculture in this country being the most efficient it has ever been,” he said. “There’s really a place for everybody to fit in. “ What is the new challenge to American agriculture?
| A．Fewer and older farmers. | B．Higher fuel prices. |
| C．More natural disasters. | D．Lower agricultural output. |
Why is Merrigan visiting universities across the country?
| A．To draw federal agriculture officials’ attention. |
| B．To select qualified agriculture graduates. |
| C．To clarify a recent blog posting. |
| D．To talk more students into farming careers. |
According to Matt Rush, American agriculture will provide opportunities for younger people because ________.
| A．the government will cover production costs |
| B．global food supplies will be even lower |
| C．investment in agriculture will be profitable |
| D．America will increase its food export |
What do the underlined words “to turn around the statistics” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．To re-analyze the result of the national census. |
| B．To increase agricultural production. |
| C．To bring down the average age of farmers. |
| D．To invest more in agriculture. |
Young people looking for a job with good pay, flexible hours and job security should consider working in health care, according to a list of the top 15 best jobs in the US for young people.
Health care is the fastest growing sector of the US economy and nearly half of what are considered the top jobs for young people are in the sector, Forbes.com said.
With a medium annual salary of $33,470, dental assistants topped the ranking, while medical assistants, who earn about $28,860, came in No. 3, followed by physical therapist assistants who make a medium salary of nearly $50,000 and health aides who earn $20,560.
Teachers of self-enrichment courses such as pottery and art, were the only non-health job in the top five.
"Almost every one of these requires physical contact," Laurence Shatkin, the author of the book "150 Best Jobs for Your Skills," told Forbes. com. "You have to show up to do them, so you're not being shipped overseas, and they can't be done by a robot."
Shatkin studied which jobs have the highest concentration of 16 to 24 year olds, pay well and have opportunities for entry level positions. He based the ranking on annual salary and openings and projected growth. Many of the jobs do not require a college degree.
Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors, pharmacy technicians and surgical technologists were also among the top 10 jobs for young people.
Because many of the jobs can be done on a part-time basis, they offer the flexibility for people to continue their education while doing them. Some of the jobs offer career prospects and advancements.
"Young people may not have figured out what their priorities are yet," Shatkin told Forbes.com. "They may use these jobs to discover what they like and where they fit in."From the passage, we know that health care is a sector where people in the USA can ________.
| A．work the shortest time |
| B．make the most money |
| C．enjoy its safest working conditions |
| D．experience its fastest development |
After reading the passage, we can infer that _________.
| A．teachers of self-enrichment courses are No.2 among the top five jobs |
| B．dental assistants are listed as the best job due to their highest salary |
| C．people still need to go to college to get a good job |
| D．good jobs are those that can be done part-time |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Health Care among Top Jobs for Young People |
| B．Factors for People to Consider while Seeking Jobs |
| C．Results from Forbes.com on Best Jobs |
| D．The Higher the Pay Is, the Better the Job Is |