One morning more than thirty years ago, I entered the Track Kitchen, a restaurant where everyone from the humblest(卑微的) to the most powerful came for breakfast. I noticed an empty chair next to an elderly, unshaven man, who looked somewhat disheveled. He was wearing a worn-out hat and was alone. I asked if I might join him. He agreed quietly and I sat down to have my breakfast.
We cautiously began a conversation and spoke about a wide rang of things. We never introduced ourselves. I was concerned that he might have no money and not be able to afford something to eat. So as I rose to go back to the counter and buy a second cup of coffee, I asked,
“My I get you something?”
“A coffee would be nice.”
Then I bought him a cup of coffee, we talked more, and he accepted another cup of coffee. Finally, I rose to leave, wished him well, and headed for the exit. At the door I met one of my friends. He asked,
“How did you get to know Mr. Galbreath?”
“Who?”
“The man you were sitting with. He is chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs.”
I could hardly believe it. I was buying, offering a free breakfast, and feeling pity for one of the world’s richest and most powerful men!
My few minutes with Mr. Galbreath changed my life. Now I try to treat everyone with
respect, no matter who I think they are, and no matter another human being with kindness and sincerity. What does the underlined word “disheveled” mean?
| A．Unfriendly. | B．Kind. | C．Elegant. | D．Untidy. |
The author bought coffee for the old man because .
| A．he wanted to start a conversation | B．he thought the old man was poor |
| C．he intended to show his politeness | D．he would like to thank the old man |
How did the author probably feel after he talked with his friend?
| A．Surprised. | B．Pitiful. | C．Proud. | D．Regretful. |
What is the message mainly expressed in the story?
| A．We should learn to be generous. |
| B．It is honorable to help those in need. |
| C．We should avoid judging people by their appearances. |
| D．People in high positions are not like what we expect. |
I used to work in an office, which had a Iocust tree growing outside the window. It had
grown into a tall tree and must have been there for a long time. The tree blocked the view and made the office seem dull. Unfortunately, this happened to be the room assigned to me, and l was dep
ressed by it for quite some time.
When the first spring came, everything was green except the locust tree.I felt very happy because I had thought it had died!
One morning, when I opened the window for some fresh air, I unexpectedly smelt a familiar sweet scent floating into my office which I could not name. Suddenly,I realized it was the locust tree!The tree that I thought dead was in full bloom!
From then on, I usually came to the office very early to see dew forming on the locust tree blossoms, and was eager to see spring again every year.
During summer, the green leaves provided shade protecting me from the harsh sunlight, but allowing enough light in to make it pleasant. In autumn, the leaves turned many different colors. Its beauty touched my soul. Many times, I thought to take photos but never did. Then, I had to leave in a hurry. Later in life, it became a great regret that I had not done so.
Actually, many times in our lives we think we own something and thus do not value it. We don't feel regretful until we lose it one day! Moreover, sometimes, we have to accept the things we don't want and need to discover the hidden beauty to find unexpected joy! The locust tree first attracted the author most by____.
| A．the way it blocked the view | B．its height |
| C．the smell of its flowers | D．its green leaves |
In which season do you think the author paid the least attention to the locust tree?
| A．Spring. | B．Summer | C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
Which of the following statements is true of the author according to the passage?
| A．He would have regretted if the locust tree had died as he had thought it had. |
| B．The locust tree turned out to be a lovely memory for him. |
| C．He felt unhappy as he had forgotten to take the photos with him. |
| D．His work in the office changed with the seasons every year. |
It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
| A．the locust tree died soon after the author left the office |
| B．the author worked in the office for at least a few years |
| C．it was summer when the author took his job in the office |
| D．the weather was dry when the author first saw the tree |
What advice does the author intend to give us?
| A．Treasure what we've owned. | B．Look before you leap. |
| C．Treat everything calmly. | D．Never forget the past. |
BEIJING---The Beijing government has set out to recruit thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city's employment problems.
The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year, 1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas.
People interested in jobs in Beijing's rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www. bjbys, com from February 1 through March 15.
"We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers," Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency.
The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan( $ 250) in the first year, 2,500 yuan ($ 320) the second year and 3,000 yuan ($ 385) the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards, Sun said.
Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside. After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Beijing’s Pinggu District. For one project, Wang contacted people at the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting. Her efforts paid off. The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year.
Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education.
The ministry predicts that 4．95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year. About 1.4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate.
In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year. Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to the personnel bureau.The underlined word "recruit "in the first paragraph probably means_____________.
| A．force | B．employ | C．encourage | D．train |
From the story of Wang Lina we can learn that________________.
| A．the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful. |
| B．local farmers can get big harvests if they learn more knowledge. |
| C．university graduates can also realize their value in rural areas. |
| D．Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers planting organic strawberries. |
The last two paragraphs aim to tell us that________________.
| A．more and more graduates will work as junior officials |
| B．the universities should not have so many students |
| C．there are more and more graduates in recent years |
| D．it is not easy for graduates to find jobs nowadays |
Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A．Job hunting for university graduates. |
| B．Go to the countryside. |
| C．What is the best career? |
| D．A good choice for university graduates. |
Besides calling 911, here is what to do in some life-threatening emergencies when no oneis
|
around to help.
Lost in the wilderness
|
Choking
Aim to hit the top of the chair against your stomach, in the soft part
|
Severe bleeding
Use your hand or clean cotton, or paper towels, or a scarf,
|
If you surprise a bear, don’t run away. That invites an attack.
Instead, stand up and back away slowly, without looking the| A．someone is bleeding | B．someone is choking |
| C．someone is lost | D．someone is attacked by a bear |
If you are still choking after six tries, you should .
| A．keep a sense of humor | B．call 911 and leave the line open |
| C．use your hand our clean cotton | D．lie down with your hands behind your neck |
Don’t tie around your bleeding leg tightly, or you could .
| A．stop bleeding | B．reduce stress |
| C．lose your foot | D．cause breathlessness |
The passage is mainly teaching us how to .
| A．survive the emergencies | B．avoid a bear attack |
| C．deal with a choke | D．find our way |
A recent study, published in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how risky it is to get a lift from a teenage driver. Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a fatal accident as a teenager driving alone. By contrast, the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases with each additional passenger.
The author also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased dramatically after 10 p.m., and especially after midnight, with passengers in the car, the driver was even more likely to die in a late-night accident.
Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience. “The basic issue.” he says, “is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is.”
Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to mitigate (使……缓解)the problem is to have states institute so-called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a multistage process. A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself capable of driving in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving with night of passenger restrictions, before graduating to full driving privileges.
Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies, About half of the states now have some sort of graduated licensing system in place, but only 10 of those states have restrictions on passengers, California is the strictest, with a novice (新手)driver prohibited from carrying any passenger under 20(without the presence of an adult over 25)for the first six months. Which of the following situations is most dangerous according to the passage?
| A．Adults giving a lift to teenagers on the highway after 10 p.m. |
| B．A teenager getting a lift from a stranger on the highway at midnight. |
| C．Adults driving with three or more teenage passengers late at night. |
| D．A teenager driving after midnight with passengers in the car. |
According to Robert Foss, the high death rate of teenage drivers is mainly due to ________.
| A．their frequent driving at night |
| B．their lack of driving experience |
| C．their improper way of driving |
| D．their driving with passengers |
According to Paragraph 3．which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The licensing authorities are partly responsible for teenagers' driving accidents. |
| B．Driving is a skill too complicated for teenagers to learn. |
| C．Restrictions should be imposed on teenagers applying to take driving lessons. |
| D．Teenagers should spend more time learning to drive. |
The most suitable measure to be taken to reduce teenagers' driving accidents is that ________ .
| A．driving in the presence of an adult should be made a rule |
| B．they should be prohibited from taking on passengers |
| C．the licensing system should be improved |
| D．they should not be allowed to drive after 10 p.m. |
Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask. But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history. Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history.
The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past. I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures. However, as the unfortunately true statement goes "the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't seem to learn from history." Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this.
A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context. We can- not even understand why we are and where we are without history, much less (更不必说) try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be.
I teach my children history, for one more reason. I purchased a set of historical audio (录音机) tapes for our children. My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over. It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself. I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. if, in doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplishe D．I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for.What message can we get from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 ?
| A．Many people fail to make good use of history and make the same mistakes. |
| B．Many people aren't clever enough to learn well from the past. |
| C．Many people feel it hard to understand history. |
| D．Many people have no interest in studying history. |
Some historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show ______________.
| A．people can be inspired to do good, while also learning to fight against evil |
| B．people may also learn from bad historical figures |
| C．more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements |
| D．today’s people can also achieve what they achieved |
What would be talked about in the following paragraph?
| A．How to teach history effectively. |
| B．How to get more people to study history. |
| C．Some negative reasons for studying history. |
| D．Some bad historical figures. |
The main purpose of this passage is to ____________.
| A．inspire the parents to teach their children history |
| B．show the importance of history in politics |
| C．explain the reasons why children study history |
| D．introduce the writer' s own way of teaching history |
