I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a major insurance(保险业) company. I told him honestly why I wanted the job----I needed to keep my family in Boston. My wife recently died of a heart attack. A job in Boston would help me reduce some of the extreme trauma (精神创伤) and pain of the loss for my 16-year-old daughter. It was important for me to keep her in her high school. I could still hardly talk about the loss of my wife.
Bruce, the interviewer, was politely empathetic, but he didn't probe any further. He admitted my loss and with great respect, moved on to another subject. After the next round of the interview, Bruce took me to lunch with another person. Then he asked me to take a walk with him. He told me that he, too, had lost his wife. And, like me, he had also been married 20 years and had three children.
In his sharing, I realized that he had experienced the same pain as I had -----a pain that was almost impossible to explain to someone who had not lost a beloved one. He offered his business card and home phone number and suggested that, if I need help or just want someone to talk to, I should feel free to give him a call.
Whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I ever needed help. When he had no idea if we would ever see each other again, he helped our family deal with one of the greatest losses. He turned the normally cold business interview into a caring support for another person in need. The writer took part in the interview because __________.
| A．hehad lost his job and wanted to find a new one. |
| B．he had to support his family in Boston. |
| C．his wife had recently died of a heart attack. |
| D．his daughter needed money for schooling. |
The underlined word "empathetic" in the second paragraph means ____.
| A．善良的 | B．容易相处的 | C．聪明的 | D．同情的 |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Bruce invited the writer to lunch later. |
| B．Bruce shared his life experience with the writer. |
| C．Bruce was willing to help the writer. |
| D．Bruce finally gave the job to the writer. |
We can infer(推断) from the passage that ______.
| A．Bruce and the writer saw each other often. |
| B．the writer got little help from Bruce. |
| C．the writer learned much from the job interview. |
| D．the writer had a better life afterwards. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．An Act of Kindness | B．A Pleasant Interview |
| C．The Same Experience | D．An Important Lesson |
In China，people born in and after the 1980s are called the post-80s generation(一代人)．Most of them come from single-child families. However，this generation is playing a more and more important part in China，and their image in people’s minds is changing．Han Han,a popular youth writer,is one of them．
Han Han was born in 1982 in Shanghai．His talent for writing was clear at an early age．When he was 17,he drew the public’s attention with the article Viewing the People through the Glass. The article won first prize in the national New Concept Composition Competition．Later，Han Han again surprised the public by leaving high school. “I did poorly in Grade One of high school and failed to move up to the next grade. I tried my best to improve my studies，but failed ,so I gave up. However ,I am always learning, since learning and going to school are two different things.” Han Han said.
Han Han’s first novel Three Folded Gates sold very well in China．Later the book wastranslated(翻译)into several languages and sold abroad．
In the following years,Han Han wrote a lot of books. All of them were welcomed by the market．In 2006，he started blogging(写博客)and had great success. Today，Han Han’s blog has become one of the honest blogs on the Internet． The post-80s generation__________．
| A．have changed China’s image |
| B．are playing an important role in China |
| C．are very good at writing |
| D．are people who are more than 80 years old |
What can we learn from Han Han’s words in the second paragraph?
| A．He was good in all his subjects． |
| B．He never studied hard at school． |
| C．His school life was interesting and colourful |
| D．He didn’t stop learning after he left school． |
When did Han Han begin to write a blog?
| A．When he was seventeen. | B．When he was fourteen |
| C．When he was twenty | D．When he was twenty-four. |
Which of the following is TRUE，according to the passage?
| A．Three Folded Gates was only sold in China． |
| B．Nobody was surprised that Han Han left high school． |
| C．Han Han was not liked by the post-80s generation． |
| D．Han Han’s blog is very popular on the Internet． |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The post-80s generation． |
| B．Han Han ,a popular post-80s writer． |
| C．Blogging on the Internet． |
| D．Popular books written by Han Han． |
Best Sellers(畅销书) of the Week
The New York Times
| This Week |
Title / Writer / Price / Story |
Weeks on List（上榜周数） |
| 1 |
The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. $15.85. From England to Australia and back, two women try to solve a family problem. |
18 |
| 2 |
The Help, by Helen Scott. $22.95. A young white man helps two black boys. |
58 |
| 3 |
Spoken From the Heart, by Laura Bush. $30.00. Wife of U.S. President George W. Bush tells the stories of being the first lady. |
24 |
| 4 |
Best Friends Forever, by Carol Brown. $19.95. Childhood friends meet again years later when one needs help. |
6 |
| 5 |
Run For Your Life, by James Clark. $27.85. A New York policeman alone must stop a bad man killing people. |
10 |
The information about the Best Sellers of the Week is provided by __________.
| A．China Daily | B．21st Century |
| C．The New York Times | D．Washington Post |
The book which has stayed on the list for the longest time is __________.
| A．The Forgotten Garden | B．The Help |
| C．Spoken From the Heart | D．Best Friends Forever |
Nancy wants to buy the top three books on the list this week. She has to pay __________.
| A．$68.80 | B．$70.75 | C．$77.80 | D．$80.80 |
David likes to read detective stories, so he can try __________.
| A．The Forgotten Garden | B．The Help |
| C．Best Friends Forever | D．Run For Your Life |
Sarah is interested in the family life of American President. She can choose the book written by __________.
| A．Kate Morton | B．Helen Scott | C．Laura Bush | D．Carol Brown |
Parents should stop blaming themselves because there’s not a lot they can do about it. I mean the teenager problem. Whatever you do or however you choose to deal with it, at certain times a wonderful, reasonable and helpful child will turn into a terrible animal.
I’ve seen friends deal with it in all kinds of different ways. One strict mother insisted that her son, right from a child, should stand up whenever anyone entered the room, open doors and shake hands like a gentleman. I saw him last week when I called round. Sprawling himself on the sofa in full length, he made no attempt to turn off the loud TV he was watching as I walked in, and his greeting was no more than a quick glance at me. His mother was ashamed. “I don’t know what to do with him these days,” she said. “He’s forgotten all the manners we taught him.” He hasn’t forgotten them. He’s just decided that he’s not going to use them. She confessed(坦白) that she would like to come up behind him and throw him down from the sofa onto the floor.
Another good friend of mine let her two daughters climb all over the furniture, reach across the table, stare at me and say, “I don’t like your dress; it’s ugly.” One of the daughters has recently been driven out of school. The other has left home.
“Where did we go wrong?” her parents are now very sad. Probably nowhere much. At least, no more than the rest of that unfortunate race, parents. This text is most probably written by ______.
| A．A specialist in teenager studies. |
| B．a headmaster of a middle school |
| C．a parent with teenage children |
| D．a doctor for mental health problems |
The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to ______.
| A．the change from good to bad that’s seen in a child |
| B．the way that parents often blame themselves |
| C．the opinion that a child has of his parents |
| D．the advice that parents want their children to follow |
The boy on the sofa would most probably be described as ______.
| A．lazy | B．quiet | C．unusual | D．rude |
From the second example we can infer that the parents of the two daughters ______.
| A．pay no attention to them |
| B．are too busy to look after them |
| C．have come to hate them |
| D．feel helpless to do much about them |
What is the author’s opinion about the sudden change in teenage children?
| A．Parents have no choice but to try to accept it. |
| B．Parents should pay still more attention to the change. |
| C．Parents should work more closely with school teachers. |
| D．Parents are a fault for the change in their children. |
It's over three years since I began to learn English. I am glad that I am getting on well with it. I find English very interesting, but quite difficult. When I first started, I thought I had only to remember the new words and learn some grammar. I know little about English idioms(习语). I thought each English word had a word with the same meaning in Chinese. When I learned to say "I see a book on the desk", I thought the English word "see" was just like the Chinese word "kan". So one day when my teacher asked me, "What are you doing?" I answered, "I'm seeing a book." "That's wrong," the teacher said. "You don't see a book. You read a book. You can't use an English word like a Chinese one. Be sure not to make the same mistake again."
After that I began to pay more attention to the differences between Chinese and English. For example, in English we say a "high mountain", but a "tall man". In Chinese we use the same word "gao" for both. Again in English we say "take part in the sports meeting", "attend a meeting" and "join the army", while in Chinese we can use "can jia" for all the three. It's interesting, isn't it? So to study English doesn't only mean hard work, it can be great fun, too! We not only have to pay attention to pronunciation, grammar, spelling and handwriting, we also have to understand English idioms. We can learn English well only in that way!
But all this is only a beginning and I still have a long way to go. I'll try my best and work even harder than before. I must speak and listen to English more both in and out of class. I must read and write more, too. I must learn English well so that I can work well when I grow up.When I first started learning English, I thought __________.
| A．I couldn’t learn it well because it is quite difficult |
| B．I could learn it well if I had remembered the new words and learned some grammar |
| C．English is interesting and easy to learn |
| D．each English word couldn't find a Chinese word with the same meaning |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the text?
| A．To understand English idioms is a useful way to learn English. |
| B．To pay attention to pronunciation and grammar helps us learn English well. |
| C．To read and write more is helpful in learning English. |
| D．To study English only means working hard. |
Which is the best topic of the passage?
| A．How to study English well |
| B．The importance of English |
| C．English idioms |
| D．Do more reading |
All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy, happy and help them to live longer．
Sports change with the season. People play different games in winter and summer. Games and sports often grow out of people’s work and everyday activities. The Arabs use horses or camels in much of their everyday life; they use them in their sports, too. Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for them. Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. Some sports or games go back to thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese boxing, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet. People are inventing new sports or games all the time．
People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game they often become good friends. Sports help to train a person’s character. One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace(体面) According to this passage we know that _____．
| A．people began to play about one hundred years ago |
| B．about 100 years ago people ran or jumped when they played |
| C．basketball has a longer history than volleyball |
| D．not all the games have a long history |
The writer didn’t tell us in this passage that _____．
| A．basketball was invented in America |
| B．sports change with the season |
| C．games and sports often grow out of people’s work and everyday activities |
| D．football is played all over the world |
People all over the world enjoy sports because _____．
| A．sports are interesting |
| B．sports help to keep people healthy, happy and to live longer |
| C．sports help to train one’s character |
| D．all of the above |