ANarrowEscapeShortlyafterthewa-优题课

Sitting across from his teacher, Edgar Martinez repeated the word he couldn't quite pronounce: "situation"．The teacher, LisaMojsin, hired to help Martinez reduce his accent, said the word slowly; "Sit-chew-a-shun．" "I wish he had taught me this 20 years ago．" said Martinez, 37, who comes from Mexico and lives in Los Angeles．In private tutoring classes throughout the nation, immigrants are focused on sounding more American．
Accent reduction classes have been around for years, but experts say．"As our workforce becomes more and more global, these classes are becoming more and more popular．" Private tutors said they answer calls almost daily from students, when just a few years ago the phones rang only occasionally．Author Amy Gillett said that sales of her book and CD set, "Speak English Like an American", have increased three times in the last few years．Judy Ravin, President of the Accent Reduction Institute, said she has hundreds of students who follow her program, "Lose Your Accent in 28 Days"．
Though there is a general tolerance for diversity, experts said, reality has made some immigrants who sound different feel unwelcome．If someone speaks with an accent associated with an Asian language, they may work as engineers or computer scientists．If someone speaks with certain Spanish accents, people may think they are recent immigrants working in landscaping or the hospitality industry （招待性行业）．A French accent gives images of romance．An Australian accent brings to mind adventure and fun．
Accent reduction students said they are aware of how they sound and whether their accents limit their job opportunities or spoil their social lives．Jennie Lo, aged 43, said her accent has been an embarrassment．Sometimes people couldn't even understand her when she said her name．While in college in Oklahoma, Lo said she didn't make many friends, tearing that no one could make out her words．Lo is now taking accent reduction classes and hopes to apply for a manager position at work．"I just want to feel good about myself," she said．"If I really work hard, if I practice every day, I can't be perfect．But I can be better．"
In the whole passage, the first paragraph serves as a（n） _____．

A．introduction	B．comment
C．explanation	D．background

What does the author want to express in the second paragraph?

A．The effect that popular accent reduction classes have．

B．The fact that accent reduction classes become popular．

C．The steps how accent reduction classes become popular．

D．The reasons why accent reduction classes become popular．

If someone speaks with certain Asian accents, people may think _____．

A．they are romantic	B．they are hospitality workers
C．they are computer scientists	D．they love adventure and fun

What is Jennie Lo's attitude towards her taking accent reduction classes?

A．Confident．	B．Helpless．
C．Proud．	D．Anxious．

Britain is set to face an increase in cold winters, with up to one-in-seven hitting the UK with longer periods of time when temperatures are below freezing, a study has suggested．The prediction was based on research that found out how low solar activity affected winter weather patterns．
However, the researchers were eager to stress that their findings did not suggest that the region was about to fall suddenly into a "little ice age"．The findings appear in the journal Environmental Research Letters．"We could get to the point where one-in-seven winters are very cold, as we had at the start of last winter and all through the winter before last," said co-author Mike Lockwood, professor of space environment physics at the University of Reading．
Using the Central England Temperature （CET） record, the world's longest instrumental data series that dates back to 1659, the team said that in general temperatures during recent winters had been obviously lower than the longer-term temperatures．"The mean CET for December, January and February for the recent relatively cold winters of 2008 ~ 2009 and 2009~2010 were 3．50℃ and 2．53℃ respectively," they wrote．"However, the mean value for the previous 20 winters had been 5．04℃．The series of lower winter temperatures in the UK during the last three years had raised questions about the probability of more similar, or even colder, winters occurring in the future．"
Last year．Professor Lockwood and colleagues published a paper that found a link between fewer sunspots and atmospheric conditions that "blocked" warm westerly winds reaching Europe during winter months, opening the way for cold easterly winds from the Arctic and Russia to sweep across the region．Professor Lockwood, while acknowledging that there were a range of possible meteorological factors （气象因素） that could influence blocking events, said the latest study moved things forward by showing that there was "improvement in the predictive skill" when solar activity was taken into consideration．
We can know from the second paragraph that _____．

A．research shows that Britain will soon fall into an ice age

B．Mike Lockwood's research focuses on space environment physics

C．it was quite cold in Britain over the entire winter last year

D．so far one-in-seven winters have been very cold in Britain

The．underlined word "mean" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to "_____"．

A．average

B．stable

C．ungenerous

D．changeable

What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．It was sunspots that blocked warm westerly winds reaching Europe．

B．Meteorological factors hardly have any influence on blocking events．

C．The latest study done by Professor Lockwood was of little practical value．

D．Considering solar activity or not affects the accuracy of weather forecasting．

What's the best title of the passage?

A．Another big danger approaching the UK

B．Research finds out solar activity is to blame for the cold

C．UK faces more cold winters due to weaker solar activity

D．Changes in weather patterns should be responsible for low solar activity

When T was a child I never said, "When T grow up, I want to be a CEO," but here T am．When I look back on my career, I realize the road to becoming a CEO isn't a straight, clearly clarified path．In fact, no two paths are the same．But whether you want to be a boss one day or not, there's a lot to learn from how leaders rise to the top of successful companies．
As this series of stories shows, the paths to becoming a CEO may vary, but the people in that position share the qualities of commitment, work ethic （守则） and a strong desire for building something new．And every CEO take risks along the way—putting your life savings on the line to start a software company or leaving a big business to be one of the first employees at a startup．
I grew up in Minnesota, and learned how to be an entrepreneur （企业家） from my father, who has run a small business for almost 30 years．I went to Georgetown University and tried a lot of business activities in college with varying degrees of success．And I always had a dream job pattern: to walk to work, work for myself and build something for consumers．
I'm only 29, so it's been a quick ride to CEO．Out of college, I worked for AOL as a product manager, then moved to Revolution Health and ran the consumer product team．In mid-2007 I left Revolution Health and started LivingSocial with several other colleagues, where I became a CEO．
Career advice; Don't figure out where you want to work, or even what industry you'd like to work at．Figure out what makes you do so．What gives you a really big rush? Answer why you like things, not what you like doing．．．and then apply it to your work life．Also, just because you're graduating, don't stop learning．Read more books than you did in college．If you do, and they're not, you're really well-positioned to succeed in whatever you do．
What can we know from the first paragraph?

A．The author hasn't achieved his childhood ambition．

B．The author thinks there is some easy way to become a CEO．

C．The author had an ambition of becoming a CEO in his childhood．

D．The author believes success stories of CEOs can be beneficial to everybody．

According to the author, successful CEOs should _____．

A．try not to take risks

B．stay in the same business

C．have a strong sense of creativity

D．save every possible penny

What can we know about the author from the passage?

A．His father had far-reaching influence on him．

B．He used to run the consumer product team for AOL．

C．His business activities at college ended up in more failure than success．

D．He started LivingSocial when he was still a student of Georgetown University．

Which of the following proverbs may the author agree with according to the last paragraph?

A．Well begun is half done．

B．One is never too old to learn．

C．Time and tide wait for no man．

D．Everything conies to him who waits．

Ideal for anyone who wants a good time, the Gold Coast is packed with enough fun for everyone in Australia．It's impossible to be bored on the Gold Coast．Below are the attractions;
Dream World
This is a fun place for everyone, whether you are a family with young kids, older kids, or out with your mates．This theme park is actually a series of parks, made up of such places as preschooler heaven Wiggles World and such attractions as Big Brother for inner reality TV fans．Dream World also owns the theme park White Water World．It is possible to buy tickets from Dream World that covers several different parks．
Sea World
Get up close and personal with dolphins, sharks and polar bears．This theme park also offers the right mixture of shows, exhibits, animal fights and thrill rides such as roller coaster．This is a must-see for your Gold Coast adventure．
Warner Bros Movie World
This theme park has the best combination of fast-paced entertainment．Visitors can have fun living as though they're in the movies．Kids will see all their cartoon favourites on parade and in shows．Bigger kids and grown-ups can pretend they're on real movie sets with their favourite action heroes, and then put themselves into some serious action．
How to get there梇ou can easily travel to the Gold Coast by plane．Fly straight into Gold Coast International Airport, or to Brisbane and then catch the '"airtrain" service to the Gold Coast．All of the major airlines have daily flights, some with several per day depending on your departure city．If you want to save money, you can get there by train．
Accommodation—Want something truly unusual? Consider staying in the world's largest residential tower （塔式住宅） and enjoy beautiful views．The accommodation choices on the Gold Coast are just as varied and interesting as the activities, so whether you are a single, couple, family, friends, a large or small group, you will find options perfect for you at TakeABreak．corn．an．
From the passage, we know _____．

A．visitors can go t．o the Gold Goast only by air

B．the Gold Coast is famous for its golden beach

C．it is difficult for a family to find a right place to stay

D．the theme park "Sea World" wi

ll attract animal lovers

Which is NOT included in the theme parks?

A．Children can see their favorite cartoons．

B．Visitors have opportunities to take roller coasters．

C．Some famous movie actors often act with visitors．

D．Visitors can share the joy from animals．

This passage is mainly ______．

A．to describe the theme parks in Australia

B．to draw

more visitors to go to the Gold Goast

C．to tell some exciting shows, adventures, etc．

D．to introduce how to get to the Gold Coast

Satellites are an important part of our ordinary lives．For example, the information for weather forecasts is sent by satellite．Some satellites have cameras which take photographs of the Earth to show how clouds are moving．Satellites are also used to connect our international phone calls．
Computer connections of the World Wide Web and Internet also use satellites. Many of our TV programs come to US through satellites．Airplane pilots also sometimes use a satellite to help them find their exact location．
We use satellites to send television pictures from one part of the world to another．They are usually 35，880 kilometers above the equator．Sometimes we can see a satellite in the sky and it seems to stay in the same place．This is because it is moving around the world at 11，000 kilometers an hour—exactly the same speed that the earth rotates．A satellite must orbit the Earth with its antennae(天线)facing the earth．Sometimes, it moves away from its orbit，So there are little rockets on it which are used to put the satellite back in the right position．This usually happens about every five or six days．
Space is not empty! Every week, more and more satellites are sent into space to orbit the Earth．A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years．Satellites which are broken are sometimes repaired by astronauts or sometimes brought back to Earth to be repaired．Often，very old or broken satellites are left in space to orbit the Earth for a very long time．This is very serious because some satellites use nuclear power and they can crash into each other．
Which of the following is NOT done by satellites according to the passage?

A．Sending information for weather forecast	B．Taking photographs of the Earth
C．Sending TV pictures	D．Providing food for airplane pilots

What’s the speed the earth rotates at?

A．35,880 kilometers per hour	B．335,880 kilometers per hour
C．11,000 kilometers per hour	D．110,000 kilometers per hour

Which of the following is right according to the passage?

A．There are little rockets on the satellite to put it in the right position every day.

B．Because some satellite use nuclear power, they can crash into each other.

C．A satellite seems to stay in the same place in the sky

D．In order not to move away from its orbit, the satellite puts the rockets in the right position.

Which is true of satellites?

A．A satellite usually works for over 10 years．

B．Every time a satellite gets broken，it is brought back to the Earth to be repaired．

C．A broken satellite is never left in space．

D．They often crash into each other．