Chinese tennis player Li Na didn’t win the Australian Open Championship on Saturday, but she still made the history books.
Li, who lost to Kim Clijsters of Belgium in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-3), is the first player from China to make it to a Grand Slam final.
The boss defeated a bit of the feel-good story for China and for Li, who on Thursday defeated No. 1 player Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals in Melbourne. Li is ranked fifth.
In an interview Li said she was proud of her effort. “I think I play great tennis,” she said. “ I mean, she plays better than me. After the match, I make a joke: tennis should only play one set.”
Bai Yan, a member of China’s men’s national team member and Li Na’s friend, said the loss was disappointing, but still a bright starting point.
“To tell you the truth I feel a little bit down, all of us. But you know she is still the best, and she’s still our hero in everybody’s eyes,” said Bai. “This is just the start.”.
Win or lose, Li’s appearance in the Australian Open finals was seen as a major victory for tennis in China, where badminton and table tennis rules.
Fans across China gathered to watch the match. Li’s mother joined fans at a restaurant in her hometown of Wuhan. In Bejing, fans crowded together to watch China’s national tennis match.
“ Tennis is still relatively a new sport in China,” said Michael Chang, the Chinese-American who was the first Asian grand slam champion, in an interview with CNN. “ To be able to see Li Na have as much success as she has… this could be the start of something very special for tennis in China.”
“Li will definitely change the sport of tennis in China and that is a great thing,” Chang said. What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Chinese tennis star Li Na’s tennis career. |
| B．A fierce tennis match at Australian Open. |
| C．Chinese tennis star made history at Australian Open. |
D．Chinese tennis r emained to be tested and challenged. |
Which is true according to the passage?
| A．Li Na’s failure let the Chinese down. |
| B．Li Na ranked fifth at Australian Open. |
C．LI Na’s mother attended the mat ch with her. |
| D．Li Na made a new starting point of China |
What’s the meaning of the u
nderlined words “tennis should only play one set” (Para 4)?
| A．Li Na was not satisfied with the rule of tennis match. |
| B．Li Na was not satisfied with her own performance. |
| C．Li Na had a bad opinion of Clijsters. |
| D．Li Na took pride in her effort. |
According to what Chang said in the last two paragraphs, we can imply that ________.
| A．it’s normal that Li Na failed because tennis is a new sport in China |
| B．Li Na has the advantage to change tennis sport in China |
| C．China still falls behind other countries in tennis sport |
| D．Li Na has great difficulty in defeating others because of weak ability |
When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices（装置）tell the time—which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.
But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others—apparently including some distinguished men of our time—are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to £250.000 for a piece.
This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions—but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?
If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.
Watches are now classified as“investments”(投资). A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly £350, 000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from £15, 000 to £30, 000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It's a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up—they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that £350, 000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Timex.It seems ridiculous to the writer that_______________.
| A．people dive 300 metres into the sea |
| B．expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones |
| C．cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones |
| D．expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell |
What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?
| A．It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors. |
| B．It targets rich people as its potential customers. |
| C．It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising. |
| D．It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches. |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Watches? Not for Me! |
| B．My Childhood Timex |
| C．Timex or Rolex? |
| D．Watches—a Valuable Collection |
As soon as you meet, or even see, a person, you form an impression of him based on his posture, gesture and facial expressions. This is why it is important to make a good first impression on the person who will be interviewing you. Within the first 60 seconds of meeting you, the interviewer will have formed an impression about what type of person you are and what kind of employee you would become, and 55% of this will be based only on your body language. Here are some tips to make you that impression a good one.
First of all, relax. Think positive thoughts and you are more likely to come across as a positive, confident person during the interview. Dress smartly, as your appearance is one of the first things an interviewer will notice you. Stand up straight, and walk in with your shoulders back and your head up. Try to avoid slowing down as you walk into the room because this suggests fear and uncertainty. Shake hands with the interviewer firmly. You should have a positive handshake and a warm smile. Open your coat or jacket as you sit down shows that you, too, are open.
Posture is important. You should be sitting well back in your seat. Sit up straight and lean forward slightly, but not too much. Sitting at too much of an angel expresses discomfort and distrust. Two of the most common defensive(防卫的) signals are crossing your arms and legs, so try to avoid them.
Another important issue is eye contact. Looking someone in the eye shows confidence in yourself and trust in the other person. However, don’t overdo it, as too much eye contact or starring will make the other person uncomfortable. Use more eye contact when listening than when talking, and when you look away, look down. Looking up at the ceiling will make you seem bored and rude.The purpose of the first impression is to tell readers __________.
| A．what a good first impression is |
| B．how to make a good first impression |
| C．how long it takes to make a first impression |
| D．the importance of making a good first impression |
Which of the following does the author advise you to do when you are being interviewed?
| A．Cross your arms or legs |
| B．Open your coat or jacket when sitting down |
| C．Go into the room more slowly than usual |
| D．Avoid looking at the eyes of the interviewer directly |
If you lean forward too much, it means __________.
| A．you are very bored |
| B．you are too nervous |
| C．you don’t have confidence |
| D．you don’t trust others |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to use body language to win an interview |
| B．How to answer questions in an interview |
| C．How to understand body language |
| D．How to deal with an interviewer |
My husband, Micheal, and I were at a restaurant with his boss, a rather stern(严厉的) elderly man. When Micheal began a story I was sure he had told before, I gave him a kick under the table. There was no response, so I gave him another kick. Still the story went on. Suddenly he stopped and said with a smile, “Oh, but I’ve told you this one before, haven’t I ?” We all chuckled and changed the subject.
Later, on the dance floor, I asked my husband why it had taken him so long to get my message. “What do you mean?” he replied. “I cut off the story as soon as you kicked me.”
“But I kicked you twice, and it still took you a while to stop!”
Suddenly we realized what had happened and returned to our table. The boss smiled and said, “Don’t worry. After the second one I thought it wasn’t for me, so I passed it along!”The writer kicked her husband because __________.
| A．she didn’t like him |
| B．she didn’t like stories |
| C．he was telling a story he had told before |
| D．the story he told was not interesting |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Micheal was kicked three times. |
| B．Micheal kicked the boss. |
| C．The boss was kicked twice |
| D．The boss kicked the author. |
They all chuckled because __________.
| A．they kicked each other |
| B．they changed the subject in the end |
| C．they were all satisfied with the dinner |
| D．they all thought each of them had done something interesting |
It took Micheal so long to stop his story because __________.
| A．he wanted to finish the whole story |
| B．he got a kick only after a long while |
| C．he didn’t understand at once why he was kicked |
| D．the two kicks given were not heavy enough |
Johann Gutenberg, who worked as a goldsmith(金匠)，took what has already been discovered, and created a small invention that changed history. He created a machine that allowed him to move small blocks of letters in such a way that written material could be printed and mass-produced. Few people could read before Johann Gutenberg made the invention, but once books became less expensive, more Europeans could read and write.
Block printing existed long before Gutenberg. The Chinese had been using wood blocks to print books as early as 868, but a new set of woodcuts(木刻印版) had to be made for each book. Producing one book was not easy; producing all kinds of books was more difficult.
Writing ink dates from about 2500 BC in Egypt and China. Johann Gutenberg use an oil-base printing ink that would last longer than other inks used in his time. We don’t know much about Gutenberg because he was not famous during his lifetime. He was born in Germany about 1400. In 1448, Gutenberg developed signatures for each number, letter, and punctuation mark(标点符号). He then built the molds (模型) to hold the signatures in place. Johann Gutenberg published the first mass-produced book: a 1,282 page Bible. To this day, more copies of the Bible have been printed the any other book.
Copies of Gutenberg’s invention spread throughout Europe, but the German goldsmith did not get rich from his invention. Some officials denounced the invention of printing because they feared that it would spread bad ideas. By 1500 there 1,700 printing presses in Europe. The presses had already produced about 20 million volumes of 40,000 different books.What happened after Johann Gutenberg’s invention?
| A．People could afford to read books. |
| B．People became interested in inventing. |
| C．It was still difficult to print all kinds of books. |
| D．Punctuation mark began to be used in printing. |
Compared with block printing in China, Johann Gutenberg’s method __________.
| A．was difficult to run. | B．needed harder paper |
| C．used a new kind of ink | D．was put into use earlier |
The underlined word “denounced” in the paragraph means __________.
| A．fought against | B．accepted | C．laughed at | D．supported |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．A famous 1,282 page Bible |
| B．The life of a famous inventor |
| C．An invention that changed history |
| D．The development of printing |
Many people say pennies are not worth saving. After all, a penny is only worth a cent. But one unusual penny turned out to be worth a lot more when a coin collector paid $1.7 million for it earlier this month.
The coin is one of a kind. It is the only penny that the Denver mint(铸币厂) made out of copper, instead of steel, in 1943. Because it is unique, it is also very valuable. No penny has ever sold for so much money.
The Changing Penny
The Lincoln penny first appeared in 1909. For 34 years, the one-cent coin was made out of copper. Then, in 1943, the penny changed. World War II was going on, and copper was needed for equipment. So for one year, pennies were made out of steel instead. At least most of them were.
Only a few coins were made out of unused copper. There are three main mints, or places where coins are made, in the United States. Of the known copper pennies from 1943, twelve were made in the Philadephia mint, and five were made in the San Francisco mint. Only one was made in the Denver mint.
Nobody knows for sure why a copper penny was made at the Denver mint in 1943, coin dealers Andy Skrabalak told Time for Kids. “There is a rumor that a mint employee made the coin in the middle of the night.”
A Special Set
The coin collector who bought the $1.7 million penny wants to remain unknown. But the reason for the trade is known. He already had two copper pennies from 1943 – one from the San Francisco mint and one from the Philadephia mint. To complete the set, he needed the Denver penny. The three coins will go on display at a coin exhibition in Tampa, Florida.
The collector who sold the penny is also keeping his name a secret. It took four years to convince him to give up the rare coin. Now that he has finally donating all of the money to charity.Why is the Lincoln penny worth over one million dollars?
A. Because it has a history of thirty-four years.
B. Because it was made out of a rare material.
C. Because it was made on one night of 1943 by the Denver mint.
D, Because it was the only coin Denver mint made out of copper in 1943.Before the Lincoln penny was sold, people thought one-cent coins __________.
| A．were worth collecting for selling later |
| B．were surely valuable if not made out of steel |
| C．wouldn’t be sold for large amounts of money |
| D．were only useful for some coin museums |
At least how many copper coins were made in 1943?
| A．Five | B．Twelve | C．Seventeen | D．Eighteen |
What can we learn about the collector who sold the penny?
| A．He already had two copper pennies from 1943. |
| B．He wanted to complete the set of copper pennies. |
| C．He didn’t want to sell his penny in the beginning. |
| D．He was a well-known coin dealer in Tampa, Horida. |