Martha had been working for Miller Laboratories for two years, but she was not happy there. Nothing significant had happened in the way of promotions or salary increases. Martha felt that her supervisor, a younger and less experienced person than she, did not like her. In fact, the supervisor often said unpleasant things to her.
One day, while talking with her friend Maria, she mentioned how discouraged she was. Maria gave her the name of a cousin of hers who was director of Human Resources Department for a large chemical company. Martha called him the next day and set up an interview on her lunch hour.
During the interview, Mr. Petri said, “You’re just the kind of person we need here. You’re being wasted in your other job. Give me a call in a day or two. I’m sure we can find a place for you in our organization.” Martha was so happy she almost danced out of the building.
That afternoon, Ruth Kenny, her supervisor, saw that Martha had come in ten minutes late from her lunch hour and she said, “Oh, so you finally decided to come back to work today?”
This was the last straw. She could not take another insult. Besides, Mr. Petri was right: she was being wasted in this job.
“Look,” she said angrily, “if you don’t like the way I work, I don’t need to stay here. I’ll go where I’m appreciated! Good-bye!” She took up her things and stormed out of the office.
That night she called Maria and told her what had happened and then asked Maria, “What do you think?”
“Well,” said Maria carefully, “are you sure about the other job?”
“Well, not exactly, but…”
Maria continued, “Will you be able to get a recommendation from Mrs. Kenny if you need one?”
“A recommendation?…from Mrs. Kenny?” hesitated Martha, in a worried tone.
“Martha, I hope you didn’t burn your bridges.” Maria said. “I think I would have handled it differently.”Martha is unhappy in her job because _____.
A.she has not advanced |
B.the work is not significant |
C.her supervisor is younger than she |
D.there is too much work with little payment |
Which of the following statement is NOT true?
A.At her supervisor’s criticism, Martha lost her temper. |
B.Mr. Petri felt Martha was not valued in her present job. |
C.Martha’s interview with the director was on her lunch hour. |
D.Martha got the name of the director through her cousin. |
The phrase “the last straw” probably refers to _____.
A.the last opportunity |
B.the straw that saves Martha’s life |
C.the last reminder |
D.the final unpleasant thing |
What does Maria think of Martha’s decision?
A.Martha has handled the matter properly. |
B.Martha shouldn’t have set the bridge on fire. |
C.Martha should have found a new job before leaving. |
D.Martha shouldn’t have lost her temper with her supervisor |
They wear the latest fashions with the most up-to-date accessories (配饰). Yet these are girls in their teens or twenties but women in their sixties and seventies. A generation which would once only wear old-fashioned clothes is now favoring the same high street looks worn by those half their age.
Professor Julia Twigg, a social policy expert, said, “Women over 75 are now shopping for clothes more frequently than they did when they were young in the 1960s. In the 1960s buying a coat for a woman was a serious matter. It was an expensive item that they would purchase only every three or four years — now you can pick one up at the supermarket whenever you wish to. Fashion is a lot cheaper and people get tired of things more quickly. ”
Professor Twigg analyzed family expending(支出)data and found that while the percentage of spending on clothes and shoes by women had stayed around the same—and 5 or 6 per cent of spending—the amount of clothes bought had risen sharply.
The professor said, “Clothes are now 70 per cent cheaper than they were in the 1960s because of the huge expansion of production in the Far East. In the 1960s Leeds was the heart of the British fashion industry and that was where most of the clothes came from, but now almost all of our clothes are sourced elsewhere. Everyone is buying more clothes but in general we are not spending more money on them. ”
Fashion designer Angela Barnard, who runs her own fashion business in London, said older women were much more affected by celebrity(名流) style than in previous years.
She said, “When people see stars such as Judi Dench and Helen Mirren looking attractive and fashionable in their sixties, they want to follow them. Older women are much more aware of celebrities. There’s also the boom in TV programmes showing people how they can change their look, and many of my older customers do yoga to stay in shape well in their fifties. When I started my business a few years ago, my older customers tended to be very rich, but now they are what I would call ordinary women. My own mother is 61 and she wears the latest fashions in a way she would never have done ten years ago. ”Professor Twigg found that, compared with the 1960s, _______.
A.the price of clothes has generally fallen by 70% |
B.the spending on clothes has increased by 5% or 6% |
C.people spend 30% less than they did on clothes |
D.the amount of clothes bought has risen by 5% or 6% |
What can we learn about old women in terms of fashion?
A.They are often ignored by fashion designers. |
B.They are now more easily influenced by stars. |
C.They are regarded as pioneers in the latest fashion. |
D.They are more interested in clothes because of their old age. |
It can be concluded that old women tend to wear the latest fashions today mainly because
A.they get tired of things more quickly |
B.TV shows teach them how to change their look |
C.they are in much better shape now |
D.clothes are much cheaper than before |
Which is the best possible title of the passage?
A.Age Is No Barrier for Fashion Fans |
B.The More Fashionable, the Less Expensive |
C.Unexpected Changes in Fashion |
D.Boom of the British Fashion Industry |
For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course. the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped
In this article. I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right, It doesn’t matter what the topic is –politics. The taws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg –the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong. for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something —and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progressWhy does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?
A.Both can continue for generations. |
B.Both are about where to draw the line |
C.Neither has any clear winner |
D.Neither can be put to an end |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict. |
B.The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict |
C.The teens cause their parents of misleading them |
D.The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents |
Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________.
A.give orders to the other |
B.know more than the other |
C.gain respect from the other |
D.get the other to behave properly |
What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
A.Causes for the parent –teen conflicts |
B.Examples of the parent –teen war. |
C.Solutions for the parent –teen problems |
D.Future of the parent-teen relationship |
It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.
On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape. After all,it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it ——there aren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale——actually as big as our boat——was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves. ”She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side, ”my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, some-times rising from the water right beside us to breathe——and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day, Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.The author says “I’m so glad I did. ”(in Para. 2)because __________.
A.he witnessed the whole process of fishing |
B.he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea |
C.he experienced the rescue of the whales |
D.he spent the weekend with his family |
The harbour survived the storm owing to____________.
A.the shape of the harbour |
B.the arms of the bay |
C.the still water in the channel |
D.the long coast line |
The mother whale failed to help her baby because__________.
A.she had stayed in the polluted water for too long |
B.the whirlpools she had made were not big enough |
C.she had no other whales around to turn to for help |
D.the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction |
what is the theme of the story?
A.Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness |
B.Fishing provides excitement for children |
C.It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals |
D.It’s vital to protect the environment |
How words came into being is unknown.All we assume is that some early men invented cortain sounds,in one way or another,to express thoughts and feelings,actions and things,so that they could talk with each other.Later they agreed upon certain signs,called letters,which could be put together to show those sounds,and which could be written down.Those sounds,whether spoken or written in letters,are called words.
The power of words,then,lies in their associations-the things they bring up to our minds.Words become filled with meaning for us by experience;and the longer we live,the more certain words bring back to us the happy and sad events of our past;and the more we read and learn,the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which have powerful effects on our minds and feelings.This clever use of words is what we call literary style.Above all,the real poet is a master of words.He can express his meaning in words which sing like music,and which by their position and association can move men to tears.We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use then correctly,or they will make our speech silly and common.We learn from the text that language might have begun with( )
A.expressions |
B.actions |
C.signs |
D.sounds |
What is mainly discussed in Faragraph 2?
A.The ……of new words |
B.The importance of old words |
C.The relation of human experience with words |
D.The gradual change and development of words |
In the last paragraph,what does the anthor suggest that we should do?
A.Use words skilfully |
B.Make musical speeches |
C.Learn poems by heart |
D.Associate with listeners |
Coolest Hotels in the World
Ariau Amazon Towers
The Ariau Amazon Towers hotel lets you sleep in a tree house. Eight towers make up this hotel that offers over 300 rooms. If you really want to get into the spirit, book the Tarzan suit which is large enough for a big family. You’ll be thirty feet up in the air and can travel between the towers through their wooden walkways.
Prices, starting at $300 one night for each person for a regular room and going all the way up to$3000 for the Tarzan Suite.
For more information, visit the website:http://www.ariautowers.com
The Ice Hotel
Every winter in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden kind of hotel called the Ice Hotel is built. Each year,world-famous artists are invited to design and produce works of art from the ice, many of which can be found in the rooms. You’ll have your choice between hot or cold romms,but you will be well advised to stay at least one night in a cold room for a true experience.
Prices: starting at $318 one night for each person for either a cold room or a warm one.
For more information, visit the website:http://www.icehotel.com
Propeller Island
Propeller Island City Lodge is a very special hotel that was designed by a German tist. Each room provides you with the promibility of living in a work of art. Every single piece of furmiture in the thirty rooms of the hotel has been hand-made and each room is completely different. You’ll be able to choose a room based on your own personal tastes.
Prices:starting at just $91 a night,and an additional person for only 20 extra dollars.
For more information , visit the website:http://www.propeller island.com
For information about other cool hotels in the world ,visit the website:
http://www.bahamabeachclub.comWhat is special about the Ariau Amazon Towers hotel?
A.You can sleep in the houses |
B.You can choose any of the towers |
C.It is designed for big families |
D.Every room has a walkway |
For two persons spending a night in one of these hotels,they have to pay at least
A.$111 |
B.$182 |
C.$600 |
D.$636 |
Which website should you visit if you want to find out whether there exists a hotel the sea?
A.http://www.icehotel.com
B.http://www.ariautowers.com
Chttp://www.propeller-island.com
D.http://www.bahamabeachclub.comWhich hotel would invite artists to come to work every year?
A.Propeller Island City Lodge |
B.Ariau Amazon Towers |
C.The Ice Hotel |
D.Bahama Beach Club |