Tryingtoleaveworkattheofficeis-优题课

Some of the United States’ biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive schools, even as they continue to extend government-backed loans to students at eh nation’s top universities.
Citibank has been among the most active in rebuilding the list of colleges it serves. JPMorgan Chase, PNC and SunTrust say have not dropped whole loan plans, but are cutting colleges. Some less-selective four-year colleges, like Eastern Oregon University and William Jessup University, say they have been dropped by some lenders.
The practice suggests that if the credit crisis and poor conditions in the student loan business continue, some of the nation’s neediest students will be hurt most. The difficulty of borrowing money may keep them from attending school or force them to take a semester（学期） off. For those who have got student loans, they will end up with less attractive terms and may run a greater risk of dropping out if they have to change lenders in the middle of their college year.
Tuition and loan amounts can be quite small at community colleges. But these institutions, which are a stepping stone to other educational programs or to better jobs, often draw students from the lower ranks of the economic classes. According to the most recent data, about a third of US graduates took out loans, a majority of them guaranteed by the government.
“If put too many obstacles in their way to get a loan, they ’ll take a third job or use a credit card,” said Jacqueline K. Bradley, assistant director for financial aid at Mendocino College. “That almost guarantees that they won’t be as successful in their college career.”
Some loan companies have stopped the students loan business entirely, viewing it as unprofitable in the current environment. Students attending first-class, expensive, public and private four-year universities can expect to remain plentiful. The banks generally say these loans are bigger, more profitable, and less risky, perhaps in part because the banks expect graduates from these universities to earn more.
So far, financial aid administrators say they have been able to find some lenders that students can switch to, but this is costly to students--- in money and time.
59. Who will be the most upset at the news?
A. A poor students at a top university. B. A poor students at a community university.
C. A bank clerk dealing with student loan business.
D. A teacher from a for-profitable university.
60. With too many obstacles in their way to get a loan, students will probably __________.
A. switch to top universities B. cancel their credit cards
C. fail in their exams D. win a scholarship
61. When they say something is “government-backed”, you mean it is ___________.
A. guaranteed by the government B. dropped by the government
C. against government D. for government
62. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The students loan business in America. B. Banks and universities in America.
C. Student loans start to drop colleges. D. Credit crisis starts to affect loans.

……
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She is a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons, because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America: the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "we shall overcome." Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there’s so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves, if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
(From Obama’s victory speech, 2008 )
56. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Ann Nixon Cooper was once a slave. B. Ann Nixon Cooper is a black woman.
C. Ann Nixon Cooper knows Obama and his family very well.
D. Ann Nixon Cooper contributed much to the changes of America.
57. What does the underlined part“cast her ballot”in the first paragraph probably mean?
A. expressed her happiness B. worked for Obama
C. voted in the election D. celebrated the victory
58. What message does this part of Obama’s speech mainly send?
A. Ann Nixon Cooper has experienced the best time and the darkest hours of America in the last century.
B. America has undergone great development in the last century and is looking forward to more great changes.
C. Ann Nixon Cooper has witnessed the development and democracy of America.
D. This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations.

Ben Southall, from Britain, got the world’s best job, as an island caretaker on Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia. Towards the end of his six-month contract, he had an incident. Please read his blog issued on Dec. 29, 2009 to find out more about the incident.
Now I’ve spent nearly six months here in Queensland and so far I thought I’d done particularly well at avoiding any contact with any of the dangerous critters that consider this part of the world their home. I’ve avoided being boxed by a kangaroo, nibbled by a shark and bitten by a spider or a snake—but then in my final few days on Hamilton Island I seemed to be punished by a little creature known as an Irukandji.
Irukandji jellyfish are tiny and extremely poisonous jellyfish that are in the tropical waters of the Queensland coast between early October and May, and which cause symptoms collectively known as Irukandji syndrome(综合症). Its size is roughly no larger than a fingernail of an adult’s little finger.
I was enjoying a post Christmas jetski session with some friends at a quiet beach on Hamilton Island. As I climbed off the back of the ski and onto the beach I felt a small bee-like sting on my forearm. I didn’t think too much of it at the time at it disappeared very quickly and left the beach to head to a sports massage appointment I had. As I arrived I noticed that my feet and hands were tingling(刺痛) slightly. The member of staff immediately suggested that I get the symptoms checked out and within minutes had the security there to escort(陪同) me to the doctor’s room, only a few hundred metres away.
I was feeling pretty hot and sweaty, had a headache and felt pretty sick too, together with pain in my lower back and a tightness in the chest and really high blood pressure all classic symptoms of Irukandji syndrome! This was not what I’d wanted at all and had caught me a little off guard to say the least--I’m supposed to be relaxing in my last few days on Hamilton Island.
The doctor knew instantly what it was and straight away started the course of treatment to get me on the mend. I had a couple of injections which immediately took away the uncomfortable pain I was feeling and I slipped into a comfortable sleep after an hour or so, waking to say hello to a couple of friends who came to see if I was OK! Bre was there the entire time tending to me like a little Florence Nightingale!
Once I’d recovered sufficiently I was discharged that evening and allowed to go home to sleep the effects off and only really knew what had happened when Bre told the full story the next morning--I had been very lucky.
I’d had a minor brush with what can be a very serious jellyfish and has led to people being hospitalized for a number of days, my slight knock was enough to tell me that it’s not something to be messed around with and I really should have been wearing a full stinger suit, as it recommended at all beaches here at this time of year.., even if you’re in the water for just a couple of seconds as I was!
66. We now know that people who suffer from Irukandji syndrome usually ___________.
A. have headache, backache, chest pain, sweat heavily and feel sick
B. have headache, backache, chest pain, breathe quickly and cough a lot
C. is not very painful in the beginning, but can be very painful the next day
D. play with these beautiful jellyfish while swimming in the sea
67. What have we learnt from Ben’s blog EXCEPT that _______________?
A. Ben Southall knows how to take care of himself
B. Ben Southall doesn’t look after himself well enough
C. Ben Southall has been in hospital for some days
D. Ben Southall’s friend, Bre tends to him well
68. What lesson can we learn from Ben’s incident?
A. All rules must be strictly obeyed all the time.
B. All recommendations should be seriously taken into consideration.
C. Always have yourselves covered when you are in the sea.
D. Never play with creatures in the sea.
69. Which of the following is the correct order of the events?
a. Keep an appointment b. See a doctor c. Go jetskiing d. Get home
A. a,c,d,b B. c,a,b,d C. c,b,a,d D. d,b,a,c
70. How do islanders deal with Ben Southall’s incident?
A. Politely, certainly and successfully. B. Nicely, slowly and carefully.
C. Hopefully, carefully and skillfully. D. Kindly, quickly and efficiently.

It’s Friday morning in the year of 2050, and you’re running late. You got distracted(分心) watching the music video that was playing in the corner of your bathroom mirror while you were brushing your teeth. How will you get to your office on time?
A quick check of your internet-connected refrigerator magnet tells your train, which travels at speeds up to 230 miles an hour, is a bit behind schedule, too. So you decide to drive your environmentally-friendly hydrogen fuel cell car instead, or rather, let your car drive you. It’s programmed to know the way, and it will get you there without speeding, getting lost, or crashing.
Settling into your office chair, which changes colour to match what you’re wearing, you pick up yesterday morning’s newspaper. Printed on reusable electronic paper, it instantly rewrites itself with today’s headlines. Now it’s time for your big meeting. Uh-oh! You’ve left your handwritten notes at home. No problem. The digital ink pen you used has stored an electronic copy of what you wrote.
Your wristwatch videophone suddenly rings. Your best friend’s face pops up on the organic light-emitting diode screen asking what you’re doing this weekend. “Will you slap on your 3-D contact lenses and play virtual soccer with the US Olympic team?” “No, no,” Your friend says, “I want to take the elevator which is made of microscopic fibers many times stronger than steel to get into space.”
Could this scene really take place in just a couple of decades? The researchers who are currently developing all this stuff think so. These gadgets(器械) may be as common in 20 years as cell phones and DVD players are today.
63. According to the passage, __________.
A. your office colour will change to that of what you’re wearing
B. newspapers will go electronic C. you usually go to work by car
D. the digital ink pen makes writing so easy
64. You decide to use your hydrogen fuel cell car because __________.
A. it is safe, quick and comfortable B. it is environmentally-friendly
C. your train is late for some reason D. you are too late to catch your train
65. What will life be like in the year of 2050 according to the passage?
A. Space tourism will be a reality. C. Transportation will be trouble-free.
B. Videophones will replace face-to-face communication.
D. People will have more time to go in for their hobbies.

If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.
It’s good to make mistakes. That’s not a typo, folks, and I have not lost my mind. It is good to make mistakes, and here’s why.
First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you expand? How can you innovate? The simple answer is, “You can’t.” Look around you. With very few exceptions, either everything you see in your physical world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new.
Another good thing about mistakes is this, when you are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb. When asked how he felt to fail that many times, he remarked that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work.
Finally, when you make a mistake you are that much closer to success. Why? Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some finite number of things before you succeeded. Every time you made a mistake you eliminated(消除) one of those things and are one step closer.
But this all doesn’t mean that you should forge ahead with disregard for the consequences of a mistake. Quite the contrary, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that, in the event that it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you will be in a position to try again.
We all have limited resources in the form of time and money, so don’t blow them all on one approach to a problem. Realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time and allocate these resources appropriately so you can learn, modify, and try it again. Only by embracing and using your mistakes in this way can you make significant advances in your business and your career.
There is an old axiom that goes, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.”
So go forth and make mistakes. And learn. And grow, And prosper.
59. Which of the following isn’t suitable for the passage?
A. Mistakes suggest that people are trying something new.
B. People can draw lessons from their mistakes.
C. Mistakes mean that people are getting closer to success.
D. People can afford to make mistakes as long as they limit them.
60. The underlined word “typo” means ___________.
A. printing mistake B. computer error C. poor handwriting D. bad typing
61. It’s good to make mistakes as long as _________.
A. people use them positively B. people avoid them quickly
C. they help people get well D. they don’t have side effects
62. What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage as far as mistakes are concerned?
A. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. They are unavoidable.
B. Try your best to make fewer mistakes. They are expensive.
C. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. They are beneficial.
D. The more mistakes you make, the more advances you’ll make.