Danielle Steel, America's sweetheart, is one of the hardest working women in the book business. Unlike other productive authors who write one book at a time, she can work on up to five. Her research time before writing takes at least three years. Once she has fully studied her subjects, ready to dive into a book, she can spend twenty hours nonstop at her desk.
Danielle Steel comes from New York and was sent to France for her education. After graduation, she worked in the public relations and advertising industries. Later she started a job as a writer which she was best fit for. Her achievements are unbelievable: 390 million copies of books in print, nearly fifty New York Times best-selling novels, and a series of "Max and Martha" picture books for children to help them deal with the real-life problems of death, new hobbies and new schools. Her 1998 book about the death of her son shot to the top of the New York Times best-selling list as soon as it came out. Twenty-eight of her books have been made into films. She is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for one of her books being the Times best-seller for 381 weeks straight.
Not content with a big house, a loving family, and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Danielle Steel considers her readers to be the most important resource(资源) and has kept in touch with them by e-mail. While she is often compared to the heroines(女主人公) of her own invention, her life is undoubtedly much quieter. But, if she does have anything in common with them, it is her strength of will and her inimitable(独特的) style. There is only one Danielle Steel.Children who have read "Max and Martha" picture books may know ______.
| A．how to deal with affairs at school |
| B．what to do if Max and Martha die |
| C．what to do when new babies are born into their families |
| D．how to solve the difficult problems in their writing classes |
One of Danielle Steel's achievements is that ______.
| A．some TV plays were based on her books |
| B．her picture books attracted a lot of young men |
| C．one of her books became a best-seller in 1998 |
| D．she wrote the Guinness Book of World Records |
We can learn from the passage that Danielle Steel _____.
| A．lives an exciting life | B．value her readers a lot |
| C．writes about quiet women | D．is pleased with her achievements |
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition．Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity．Others say that competition is bad, that it sets one person against another, that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people．
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills．For them, playing well and winning are often, life-and-death affairs．In their single-minded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten．
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude．In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition．Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society．Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail．They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success．By not trying, they always have an excuse: "I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try．"What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot．Such a loss would be a measure of their worth． Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves．Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others．Both are afraid of not being valued．Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve （缓解） can we discover a new meaning in competition ．What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Competition helps to set up self-respect． |
| B．Opinions about competition are different among people． |
| C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development． |
| D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition． |
Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
| A．It builds up a sense of duty． |
| B．It pushes society forward． |
| C．It improves personal abilities． |
| D．It encourages individual efforts． |
The underlined phrase "the most vocal" in Paragraph 3 means ____．
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who value competition most highly |
| C．those who are against competition most strongly |
| D．those who rely on others most for success |
What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a "desire to fail"?
| A．One's worth lies in his performance compared with others'． |
| B．One's success in competition needs great efforts． |
| C．One's achievement is determined by his particular skills． |
| D．One's success is based on how hard he has tried． |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back． |
| B．Competition should be encouraged． |
| C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter． |
| D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition． |
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 Besjing's Pinggu District．For one project, Wang contacted people at the BeijingAcadeny of Agricnitural 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．employ | B．force | C．encourage | D．train |
We can see from the passage that____．
| A．once you are hired as a junior official, you can get an endlessly rising salary |
| B．the government guarantee a gradually high salary for the successful candidates |
| C．working as junior officials is easy but very meaningful |
| D．the competition for the job as junior officials is very fierce |
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 fanners can get big harvests if they team 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．What is the best career? |
| B．Graduates go to the countryside． |
| C．Job hunting for university graduates． |
| D．A good choice for university graduates． |
Summer school is something a kid will never forget．For some, it's a way to advance past their classmates．For most, summer school is' a requirement in order to graduate with their classmates I can remember being forced into taking a summer school course．It was not the school that forced me into this awkward situation it was my mother．
I was a 16-year-old kid in a new school; My school did not offer summer courses so I had to take my course at an alternative school in the city．It was an experience I will never forget．I was not concerned with making friends．I was there to get credit （学分） for a course that I should have received credit for the previous semester．It was．my doing that landed me in the situation and it was important that I understood this．
The fees were lowest but the experience was amazing．I enjoyed I didn't miss the day． The course was from Monday to Friday for an entire month．I passed the course with an A．I was thrown into an awkward situation and actually enjoyed it．My friends didn't even know I took the course．Most of them were still sleeping by the time my course ended each day．
Awkward situations are so important for personal growth．This situation made me feel more independent．I made friends．I finally understood what sacrifice and hard work were all about．While attending college, I remembered how much I enjoyed summer school and I chose to take summer school in my first three years of college．Some kids get pushed too much but some don't get pushed enough．I was never pushed enough．
Enable your children to struggle for success．If your child needs summer school you explain to them why it's important．Some parents are surprised by the situation and may want to be more involved in their children's education．Follow through and follow up．Most students go to the summer school in order to ____．
| A．find good jobs graduation | B．become top students in their class |
| C．have a chance to make more friends | D．graduate successfully on time |
What made the author go to summer school for the first time?
| A．What he had done． | B．His mother's wish． |
| C．His own requirement． | D．Study competition． |
Which of the following was NOT the benefit got by the author through attending summer school?
| A．It helped him get rid of bad habits． |
| B．It helped him make new friends． |
| C．It helped him understand what sacrifice and hard work were． |
| D．It increased his independence． |
From the last paragraph we can learn that the author ____．
| A．does not like summer school at all even though it is useful |
| B．thinks summer school is unnecessary for children |
| C．encourages parents to make their children attend summer school |
| D．is against forcing children to attend summer school |
What does the author think of summer school?
| A．He thinks it is awkward． | B．He thinks it is significant． |
| C．He doesn't think it is suitable． | D．He thinks nothing of it． |
Water goes around and around Earth in a never ending journey called the water cycle（循环）. The sun heats up lakes, oceans, and other wet places on Earth. When the water gets warm enough, it changes into vapour. Plants also give off lots of water vapour. Some of this water vapour cools off high in the sky and becomes clouds. Then it falls back to Earth in a new place as rain or snow. This cycle happens over and over again.
The ground can absorb water like a sponge (海绵). If you could see this groundwater, it wouldn’t look like a lake or river. The groundwater is mixed in with the rocks and sand that lie in layers(层) below Earth’s surface.
Groundwater moves along slowly. How slowly? Maybe 1.5 kilometres in one century. Some of this water has been underground for thousands of years. And once groundwater is pumpedout of the ground from a deep well（井） by people, it may take hundreds of years for another water to take its place.In which order does water go around Earth?
a .Fall down as rain or snow.
b. Heated up by the sun on lakes, oceans and other wet places.
c. Cool off high in the sky.
d. Form clouds.
e. Change into vapour.
| A．dacbe | B．becda | C．caebd | D．bceda |
The groundwater seems to________.
| A．be just on the ground | B．be pure water like that in a lake or river |
| C．exist in rocks and sand | D．flow along like rivers or streams |
What conclusion（结论） can we draw from the passage?
| A．Groundwater can be quickly replaced by other water once pumped out. |
| B．Groundwater is very valuable. |
| C．Groundwater has nothing to do with human beings. |
| D．Groundwater travel in an unknown way. |
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(性格)．One learns to fight hard but fight fair，to win without pride and to lose with grace(体面)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 |
From this passage we can see that _____．
| A．sports and games are unimportant things that people do |
| B．sports and games should be treated(对待)only as amusement(娱乐活动) |
| C．sports and games are only useful to the old |
| D．none of the above is true |