Steve Jobs made technology* fun. The co-founder of Apple died on October 6th 2011 at the age of fifty-seven. He had fought for years against cancer. Thousands of people gathered outside his house in California, and Apple stores around the world.
Steve Jobs didn’t finish his college when he was young. His parents supported his early interest in electronics*. He and his friend started Apple Computer -- now just called Apple – at the age of 21. They stayed at the company until 1985. That year, his friend returned to college and Steve Jobs left in an argument with the CEO.
Mr. Jobs then set up his own company, called NeXT Computer. He rejoined* Apple Computer in 1997 when it was in bad time and then made it to one of the most valuable* companies in the world today.
Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple's CEO in August because of his health. He died a day after the company released* the new iPhone 4S.
President Obama said in a statement*: "By building one of the world’s most successful companies from his garage*, he explained the spirit of American. By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the technology not only convenient, but fun."When was Steve Jobs born?
| A．1955 | B．1952 | C．1958 | D．1959 |
At the age of 21, Jobs_____
| A．finish his college | B．started Apple Computer |
| C．set up NeXT Computer | D．left Apple Computer |
Jobs left Apple Computer because ______.
| A．the Apple Computer was in bad time |
| B．he wanted to set up his own company |
| C．he argued with the CEO |
| D．he hoped to return to college |
Why did President Obama call Jobs the spirit of American?
| A．He built one of the world’s most successful companies from his garage |
| B．His father was very famous |
| C．He made the technology not only convenient, but fun. |
| D．He had fought for years against cancer. |
Get a Life is a website that helps middle school students answer the question —What do you want to be when you grow up?
"It encourages teenagers to have a big dream; it tries to find out what is possible; it makes a plan for children to get where they want to go," said Combs, one of the persons who set up the website.
Get a Life suggests teenagers let their hobbies and interests decide what to do in the future. It encourages them to look for activities that help them try to do some jobs and get important knowledge and skills. It also offers information about fast-growing and well-paid jobs, and provides job training for teenagers.
"Middle school is the perfect time for students to find out their interests, to have many different experiences and do something for their future jobs," a middle school teacher said. "Our world will become a better place if we make our horizons wide and try new things. Our students can’t wait until high school or university to begin building their dreams. Right now is the right time to get a life."
"This website is exactly what these children need for a better future. If our children can make better plans for their future, it is more possible for them to succeed," Combs said.The underlined word "horizons" most probably means _________.
| A．视野 | B．地平线 | C．国界 | D．时间 |
According to the passage, the website is _______________ for children.
| A．boring | B．helpful |
| C．colorful | D．serious |
Which of the following about Get a Life is NOT true?
| A．It helps teenagers to have a big dream. |
| B．It helps teenagers to prepare for their classes. |
| C．It provides information about jobs for teenagers. |
| D．It tells teenagers how to choose future jobs. |
We can’t learn that ___________ from the passage.
| A．Combs set up the website with other people |
| B．Get a Life is a website that helps teenagers to have a better future |
| C．middle school students don’t need to have big dreams |
| D．teenagers who have plans for their future are easier to be successful |
There was once a violinist who said he was not afraid of animals that are dangerous. He said in a proud way, “Even a bear would be as quiet as the friendliest cat when hearing my music.” But he had never played, and no one believed him.
A chance to show his words arrived just when a circus (马戏团) came to the town. The musician came to the ringmaster (领班) and told what he could do.
“Wow, that’s interesting.” The ringmaster said. “We just have three new lions and they haven’t worked with the lion tamer (驯兽师) yet. Let’s see what you can do with them.” The violinist agreed and the whole town crowded the hall to see what would happen.
The violinist was standing quietly in the center of the ring with a smile. Then the ringmaster opened the door of the cage (笼子) and jumped out angrily a huge lion, shouting and showing his teeth. Everyone was too nervous to breathe.
Still with the smile , the violinist began to play. The beautiful music rose , then the lion sat down and began to enjoy the music. Everyone lost themselves in the music. The lion did, too. For the second lion, ______________.
Then it’s the third lion’s turn to appear and everyone there was waiting for the lion to be quiet just like the other two . But the lion ran up to the man and ate him.
All the people were surprised. The other two lions asked angrily, “What have you done ! We were enjoying the music!” The third lion put his paw(爪子 ) to its ear and said, “Sorry, I can’t hear you. I have been deaf for 5 years.”The violinist said that he _________.
| A．was very friendly to the animals |
| B．could train wild animals in town |
| C．could make dangerous animals quiet |
| D．was not good at playing the violin at all |
The people felt so ________ that they couldn’t breathe when seeing the first lion.
| A．angry | B．scared | C．nervous | D．bored |
Which of the following is the missing sentence in Paragraph 5?
| A．the lion came out and ate the violinist |
| B．the same story happened again |
| C．the people felt bored and left |
| D．the lion ran to the people |
Why did the third lion run to the man and eat him?
| A．Because he hated the violinist. |
| B．Because he didn’t think the music was beautiful. |
| C．Because he couldn’t hear the music at all. |
| D．Because he was very hungry. |
YOU might go to a museum to look at old cars or something about an ancient civilization (文明). Would you like to see ice cream?
Believe it or not, there is a museum of ice cream in Iowa in the United States. Visitors can see a video that tells all about the history of the delicious snack.
It seems that ice cream goes back to about 2000 years ago , when the Chinese mixed together ice, milk and sugar. Spending an afternoon looking at how to make ice cream can make you a little hungry. No problem, the museum has its own ice cream store, where you can taste some of them.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, there is a museum of childhood. The museum shows objects about the lives of children in Scotland, past and present. You can expect toys, dolls, teddy bears and train sets. But there are also videos which tell you what it was like to be a kid in Scotland in old times.
You can hear children reading their multiplication tables (乘法表): "Seven sevens are 49, eight sevens are 56." You can also watch documentary movies of the games kids played in Edinburgh in the 1950s, look at the clothes they wore and get to know what their schools were like.
It will be wonderful to visit the Children's Discovery Museum in Bangkok (曼谷), Thailand. The museum has parts of nature, environment, technology and kids' activities. In this museum, you get to take part in the kids’ activities. You can dress up to be a fireman in a fire truck. It is interesting.The museum of ice cream is in _____________.
| A．Scotland | B．Bangkok | C．America | D．China |
We can’t know about _______________ in the museum of childhood.
| A．the games kids played |
| B．the clothes kids wore |
| C．the food kids ate |
| D．the schools kids studied in |
It is interesting that _______________ in the Children's Discovery Museum.
| A．you can taste the ice cream |
| B．you can become a kid in old times |
| C．you can be a fireman in a fire truck |
| D．you can wear old clothes |
Which of the following is NOT right?
| A．Chinese people invented ice cream first about 2000 years ago. |
| B．The Children's Discovery Museum in Thailand is about childhood. |
| C．You can learn about the children’s lives in the old times from the museum in Edinburgh. |
| D．There is an ice cream store in the ice cream museum where you can taste one. |
Special Offers
A book is 40 yuan at Xinhua Bookstore. How much should you pay if you show this ticket to buy it?
| A．40 yuan. | B．44 yuan. | C．36 yuan. | D．28 yuan. |
What can Tom get for free after he has spent 7 yuan at Mike’s Cafe?
| A．A soft drink. | B．The best hamburgers. |
| C．The best snacks. | D．A delicious meal. |
How long can you park your car for free at most after spending 118 yuan in RT-Mart?
| A．1 hour. | B．5 hours. | C．6 hours. | D．7 hours. |
Computer programmer David Jones earned $ 150,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a check card . Instead, he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18.
He works for a small firm in Liverpool, where most young people of his age are finding jobs. David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Though he has high payment, he cannot drive a car, or get credit cards.
David got his job four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-Levels(普通成绩) and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said. “I suppose $150,000 sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother $20 a week as he lives with his parents. But most of his spare time is spent working. “Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “ But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway. I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.why is David so different from other young people of his age?
| A．He has got a job. |
| B．He lives at home with his parents |
| C．He does not get out much. |
| D．He earns a high payment |
David’s greatest problem is that _____.
| A．he can’t be treated as an adult (grown-up) by the bank |
| B．he can’t make as many games as he wishes |
| C．he doesn’t know what to buy with the money |
| D．he is too young to drive a car |
He was employed by the company because _____
| A．he had worked in a computer shop |
| B．he had written some computer programs |
| C．he is clever and works hard at his lessons |
| D．he had learnt computer from books and magazines |
He left school after taking six O-Levels because ____.
| A．he was afraid of getting too old to start computing |
| B．he didn’t enjoy school |
| C．he wanted to work with computers |
| D．he wanted to earn a lot of money. |
Why does David think he might retire early?
| A．He thinks computer games might not always sell so well. |
| B．He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire. |
| C．One has to be young to write computer programs |
| D．He thinks his firm might close down. |