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 Mexi
co 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 immigra
nts 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 bet
ter．"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． |
Paul was dealing with a crisis. The new girl Linda in class really liked him a lot. Paul was not happy about it.
Paul's good friend, Sam, tried to comfort him. "What's the big deal? I think Linda is kind of cute and nice enough."
Paul glared at Sam. "Then why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend? There she is, sitting all by herself at the other end of the cafeteria. Go there and ask her to be your honey!"
"She's crazy about you, not me," Sam replied.
"Well, I don't want any girlfriend, especially not a girl like her! "Paul growled.
Sam wouldn't give up. "The only thing pesky about her is that she keeps writing you those notes ."
"I don't like notes at all!" Paul interrupted. He took another sip of milk.
"Did you notice those strange brown eyes? Why aren't they normal red or pink?"
Sam took another look at Linda. "I think her face is a lovely shade of green. And her dark green curly hair is quite pretty. Besides, she's very gentle and that's what really matters."
Paul stuck out his tongue. "I think I'm going to be sick! I'd better save my dessert for later." He crammed a small bag of Maggot Munchies into his even smaller shirt pocket. "The fact is, I have a problem. That girl is getting on my nerves! "
Sam followed Paul’s example and decided to save his dessert for later. However, he carefully placed the bag into his lunch box. "Do you have any ideas about how to solve your problem?" Tremor asked.
"I'm going to be mean and rude to her," Paul announced. "I'll call her names and make ugly faces at her."
"That's how you treat everyone," Sam reminded his friend.
Paul nodded. "It's time that Linda got to know the real Paul !" What does the underlined part "a crisis" in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．how to get away from Linda | B．how to win Linda over |
| C．how to get Sam's help | D．how to save money |
How did Linda feel about Paul ?
| A．She didn't like him because he was rude. | B．She was annoyed by his strange appearance. |
| C．She didn't have any strong feelings about him. | D．She fell in love with him. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Paul pretended to be rude in order to make Linda stop liking him. |
| B．Sam thought that looks were more important than personality. |
| C．Sam thought that Linda was cute. |
| D．Paul offered his dessert to Linda to make her sick. |
Sam appreciate Linda in the following aspects EXCEPT
| A．her eyes | B．her hair | C．her face | D．her character |
What is implied from this passage?
| A．Linda will be Sam's girlfriend. | B．Paul has fallen in love with another girl. |
| C．Paul and Linda are classmates. | D．Paul and Linda are colleges students. |
While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states—at least in getting people off welfare．It's estimated that more than 2 million people have left the rolls since 1994．
In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens Country have been cut in half．But 70 percent of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour．T'he result: The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent—twice the national average,
For advocates（代言人） for the poor, that's an indication much more needs to be done．
"More people are getting jobs, but it's not making their lives any better," says Kathy Lairn, a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington．
A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female-headed households were earning money on their own, but that average income for these households actually went down．
But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory．
"Welfare was a poison．It was a toxin（毒素） that was poisoning the family," says Robert Rector, a welfare-reform policy analyst．"The reform in changing the moral climate in low-income communities．It's beginning to rebuild the work ethic, which is much more important．"
Mr．Rector and others argued that once "the habit of dependency is cracked," then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards．Why don't people enjoy their better lives when they get jobs?
| A．Because they are used to relying on welfare to make livings． |
| B．Because the cost of living is higher than before． |
| C．Because many families are below average income． |
| D．Because their wages are very low． |
From the passage we know that the reconstruction of___ is the core of the reform．
| A．government aids |
| B．work ethic |
| C．welfare funds |
| D．moral awareness |
From the example of the Athens County, we know great efforts should be done for the poor to ___.
| A．improve their living standards |
| B．to help them be employed |
| C．to get them off welfare |
| D．to increase their wage |
From the passage, it can be inferred that the author ___．
| A．is completely certain about the success of welfare reform |
| B．thinks that welfare reform has done little good for the poor |
| C．insists welfare reform has increased the government's burden |
| D．considers welfare reform fundamentally successful |
RECRUITMENT ADVERTISEMENTS
| Beijing City International School Position: IT manager Major Duties and Responsibilities: Prepares and implements the annual budget of the department． Builds and develops the whole school IT system Provides excellent IT services with IT team for teaching and business. Requirements/Qualifications: Bachelor or above, majoring in Information Technology or Finance． Good command of both Chinese and English Minimum 5 years working experience, 3 years in a managerial level Able to work in a collaborative style |
| KAI CABLE INC. Position: Sales Internship Major Duties and Responsibilities: Builds and develops good relationship with new customers Maintains strong relationship with the existing customers Explores potential customers further Conducts market & competitors analysis to improve customer satisfaction． Requirements/Qualifications: Graduates with Bachelor degree． Major in Finance, Economics, International Trade． Fluent English （in both written & speaking） and Mandarin． Familiar with MS office, especially Excel and PowerPoint and internet application Willingness to accept challenges and work under pressure． Strong sense of responsibility． Prepare for business trips． |
Both of the recruiting ads include the following information EXCEPT ____．
| A．positions available |
| B．working duties |
| C．the degrees needed of the applicants |
| D．a good command of computer skills |
Ben is a fresh graduate, majoring in Finance．He can speak fluent English and be good at working with people Which company can he apply to?
| A．Beijing City International School． |
| B．KAI Cable Inc． |
| C．Both of the firms． |
| D．Neither of the firms． |
According to the 1st ad, which of the following is NOT included in the daily duties of an IT manager?
| A．Making a plan of the annual expense of the department beforehand． |
| B．Offering assistance if people have any computer problems． |
| C．Analyzing the needs of the market and developing its IT systems． |
| D．Managing and controlling the money of the department． |
Parents, our first teachers, play a highly significant role in our lives．However, doesn't it seem that many of us come to have conflicts with them when we start high school? We're less likely to listen to them and take their suggestions—we even rebel against them．
Why? It may be the so-called "generation gap"．A generation gap appears when we begin to feel our parents
are ignoring us, don't understand us, and we feel we can no longer share our feelings with them．
The key reason is our desire for independence．In senior high school, we start to want to take responsibility for our own lives and make our own decisions．But parents resist this．They still want to control us and try to force us to do things they think we should do．Debate and discussion often come to nothing．Gradually, we talk with them less, and keep our feelings locked up inside．
Zhang Xiaoyun, 16, of Ningbo, Zhejiang, has talked less and less with her mother since she started senior high school．"She believes studies should be my priority, not my inner world," Zhang said．"Each day, she asks me the same old questions like, 'How was your last exam? or 'Have you made any progress in physics?" To Zhang, these questions are annoying and so she always tries to ignore them and answers perfunctorily．"Sometimes, when I get upset, I quarrel with her．After, she comes to apologize and comfort me．But I know, she doesn't completely understand me," Zhang said．Now, a home that was once full of laughter has fallen into gloom and silence．
The generation gap can be harmful．Because of the lack of communication, our parents no longer know what we are thinking about．There are quarrels, even over trivial things．When that happens, we may not be able to concentrate on our studies．Some of us even become afraid to go home after school— a very serious situation for the whole family．Which of the following is not included in article?
| A．The causes of generation gap． | B．The effects of generation gap． |
| C．One example of generation gap． | D．Ways of narrowing generation gap． |
Which of the following is one reason for the generation gap according to the passage?
| A．Modern society changing very fast． |
| B．Parents having unrealistic hopes of their children． |
| C．Parents and kids not understanding and respecting each other． |
| D．Young people liking to escape from the control of their parents． |
Which of the following word has the closet meaning to the underlined word "perfunctorily"?
| A．attentively | B．indifferently |
| C．flatteringly | D．seriously |
In the view of the author,____．
| A．parents should allow their children more freedom |
| B．parents and children should not stay together |
| C．the younger generation should value the older generation |
| D．academic records are more important than one's inner world |
At the moment when looking round the world, all kinds of dance performances are being offered. There are competitions that claim to be a World Cup or World Championship, and the young dancer or the dance teacher who wants to enter his students might be quite confused. Which is which? Which is of high standard and good quality, and which is not worth going to? First of all it has clearly got to be distinguished between the different styles of dance and the purpose of such competitions. When a person wants to learn classical ballet, he or she would never dream of going to a ballroom teacher. Such a teacher might even have been world champion in his ballroom dancing, but he would definitely not be qualified in teaching proper classical ballet.
People in Britain and the USA are taking more interest in modern dance. Dance classes of all kinds are popular; the audiences going to watch modern dance companies are also larger. And perhaps the most popular modern dance company in Britain is the Ballet Rambert.
The Ballet Rambert is Britains’ oldest established dance company which began in 1926. In the 60 s the company lacked the money to go on staging big productions. The directors wanted to encourage new talent and to keep up their high standards. A chan
ge of direction was necessary. They decided to give the ballet a ‘new look” in 1966. The aim was to provide a chance for new talent – for musicians and designers as well as dancers – and to show dance as a contemporary art form. And although some of the company’s previous fans dislike the change, new audiences came to see the productions.
The modern dance pieces and modern music found unexpected popularity. In the 21 st century the Ballet Rambert was a great success in L
ondon’s West End. The company becam
e a focus for new, progressive talent in the art.
Then, the Ballet Ramvert started to introduce young people to modern dance by giving performances at schools, which again, was a success.
The Ballet Rambert has managed to make modern dance popular while creating original and often avant – garde (标新立异) productions. It can claim to be the oldest dance company in Britain and at the same time one of the most modern!If a person wants to learn classical ballet, he or she will go to .
| A．the Ballet Rambert | B．a ballroom teacher |
| C．a world champion | D．a qualified school |
The underlined phrase “new talent” in Para. 3 probably means .
| A．new programs | B．new audiences |
| C．avant – garde productions | D．skilled young dancers |
From the passage we know that the Ballet Rambert .
| A．has succeeded in making modern dance popular |
| B．wanted to become the oldest dance company |
| C．was once a popular dance company |
| D．changed old dance into new ones |
This passage is mainly about .
| A．the popularity of modern dance |
| B．the introduction to new modern dancers |
| C．the development of the Ballet Rambert |
| D．the high standard of dance performances |