This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers (young people aged from 13-19) from all over the world will spend about ten months in U. S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study, the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected-much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual(个人). Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car. “Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize (批评) American schools”, he says. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe you schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”This year _____ teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.
| A．over three thousand | B．thirteen hundred |
| C．twenty three hundred | D．less than two thousand |
The whole exchange programme is mainly to _____.
| A．have teen-agers learn new languages |
| B．send students in America to travel in Germany |
| C．help teen-agers in other countries know the real America |
| D．let students learn something about other countries |
Fred and Mike agreed that _____.
| A．American food tasted better than German food |
| B．Americans and Germans were both friendly |
| C．German schools were harder than American schools |
| D．There were more cars on the streets in America |
What is particular in American schools is that _____.
| A．students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car |
| B．there are a lot of after-school activities |
| C．students usually take fourteen subjects in all |
| D．there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings |
After experiencing the American school life, Mike thought _____.
| A．German schools trained students to be better citizens |
| B．a better education should include something good from both America and Germany |
| C．American schools were not as good as German schools |
| D．the easy life in the American school was more helpful to students |
While success is surely sweeter than failure, it seems failure is a far better teacher, and organizations that fail miserably often flourish (繁荣) more in the long run, according to a new study by Vinit Desai, assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Researchers have found that people missing their goals perform much better in the long run. That is because they gain more knowledge from their failures than their successes and the lessons are more likely to stay longer in their minds.
“We found that the knowledge gained from success was often fleeting while knowledge from failure stuck around for years,” said professor Desai, who led the study. “But companies often ignore failure. Managers may fire people or turn over the whole workforce while they should treat the failure as a learning opportunity.”
Prof Desai compared the flights of the space shuttle Atlantis and the Challenger. During the Atlantis flight last year, a piece of insulation (绝缘体) broke off and damaged the left solid rocket booster (助推火箭) but didn’t influence the program. There was little investigation. The Challenger was launched next and another piece of insulation broke off. This time the shuttle and its seven–person crew were destroyed. The disaster led to a major investigation resulting in 29 changes to prevent future disasters.
The difference in response in the two cases came down to this: Atlantis was considered a success and the Challenger a failure.
“Despite crowded skies, airlines are extremely reliable,” he said. “The number of failures is extremely small. And past researches have shown that older airlines, those with more experience in failure, have a lower number of accidents.”
Prof Desai doesn’t recommend finding out failure in order to learn. Instead, he advises organizations to analyze small failures to collect useful information rather than wait for major failures.Why did experts pay little attention to the problem of Atlantis?
| A．Because it worked perfectly. |
| B．Because the right booster was still OK. |
| C．Because nothing serious happened then. |
| D．Because fewer people died in the flight. |
Fewer accidents happen to older airlines in that ________.
| A．their planes couldn’t fly high in the sky |
| B．they gained much from experience in failure |
| C．their planes were often checked by the experts |
| D．they were unpopular among passengers |
The passage is written mainly to ________.
| A．show failure is a better teacher than success |
| B．explain why Challenger failed |
| C．introduce something about Prof Desai |
| D．tell managers how to achieve success |
Which writing strategy is NOT used in developing the passage?
| A．Giving definitions. |
| B．Making comparisons. |
| C．Analyzing causes. |
| D．Providing different examples. |
Wanted
Project Management Assistant
Responsibility:
Provide service for the project in Chongqing.
Provide assistance to the project manager for everyday work.
Responsible for file management, customer service for students & parents.
Requirements:
College degree and above.
Good English and computer skill.
Related working experience in an international organization.
Patient, careful, supportive. Have strong team work spirit.
English Teacher
Responsibility:
Conduct English teaching according to British education system.
Requirements:
University degree and above in English major or normal English.
Eager to learn and open-minded with creativity.
With deep understanding for different cultures.
(Warmly welcome the fresh graduates to apply for this position.)
Marketing Assistant
Responsibility:
Responsible for the local management of marketing & sales activities according to the instructions from the head office.
Collect related information to the head office.
Develop relationship with local media and customers.
Requirements:
College degree and above with good English (speaking & writing).
With basic idea of sales and marketing, related experience is preferred.
Working experience in the international organizations is a must.
Good communication and presentation skills
Accountant
Responsibility:
Accountant work for Chongqing office and project.
Perform the finance management locally according to the rules & policy of the company.
Requirements:
College degree and above in finance area.
Good English and good computer skill.
Have sense of finance management.
At least 2 years’ experience as an accountant in an international organization is a must.
Self-management, hardworking, independent and able to deal with pressure.
You can go to http:// www. 51job.com for more information.
Please mail or fax your resume (both in English & Chinese), diploma, training certificates and expected salary to the following address within two weeks. No personal visit or telephone call before that. Your materials will be kept in ACE files.
Add: Room 1806 Plaza Building Yuzhong District Chongqing 40010
Fax No: 023- 63728428
Email: acercq @ cta.cq.cnIf you have just graduated from a university, you should apply for the position as _______.
| A．a project management assistant |
| B．an accountant |
| C．a marketing assistant |
| D．an English teacher |
If you want to get the position as the project management assistant, in your resume you’d better say ___________.
| A．you always have new ideas and can’t wait to see them realized |
| B．you can decide everything for yourself and have your plan carried out |
| C．you are good at persuading others to follow you and becoming a good leader |
| D．you are always ready to listen and help carry out good decisions |
If you want to apply for a position, you can _________.
| A．go to the company or make a telephone call at any time |
| B．tell the company how much money you want for your position |
| C．go to acercq @ cta.cq.cn for the information about the employment |
| D．write about yourself either in English or in Chinese |
The sun is shining when I get on No. 151 bus. We passengers sit jammed together in heavy clothes. No one speaks. That’s one of the unwritten rules of Chicago commuting. Although we see the same faces every day, we prefer to hide behind our newspapers. The phenomenon is striking: people who sit so close together are using those thin sheets of newsprint to keep their distance.
As the bus approaches the Magnificent Mile, a voice suddenly rings out: “Attention! Attention!” Papers rattle (发出细小声). Necks crane (伸长). “This is your driver speaking.”
We look at the back of the driver’s head. His voice has authority.
“All of you put your papers down.”
The papers come down, an inch at a time. The driver waits. The papers are folded and placed on our laps.
“Now, turn and face the person next to you. Go ahead.”
Amazingly, we all do it. Still, no one smiles.
I face an older woman, her head wrapped tightly in a red scarf. I see her nearly every day. Our eyes meet. We wait, unblinking, for the next order from the driver.
“Now, repeat after me…” It is a command, delivered in the tones of a drill sergeant (操练军士). “Good morning, neighbor!”
Our voices are weak and timid. For many of us, these are the first words we have spoken today. But we say them at the same time, like schoolchildren, to the strangers beside us.
We smile and can’t help it. We have said it; the barrier has been broken. Good morning, neighbor. It is not so hard after all. Some of us repeat it. Others shake hands. Many laugh.
The bus driver says nothing more. He doesn’t need to. Not a single newspaper goes back up. I hear laughter, a warm sound I have never heard before on bus No. 151. This day is starting off better than most.On hearing the sudden utterance of “Attention!”, the passengers ___________.
| A．stopped reading and put down their newspapers immediately |
| B．looked up from the newspapers to see who was speaking |
| C．sat still without response |
| D．were frightened |
The underlined word “commuting” in Paragraph 1 most probably means ___________.
| A．daily traveling between home and work |
| B．long-distance ride |
| C．communication technology |
| D．behavior patterns |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The passengers on the crowded bus were so absorbed in reading their newspapers that no one spoke. |
| B．The passengers were physically close together but mentally they kept each other at a terrible distance. |
| C．The passengers didn’t follow the driver’s instruction at first. |
| D．When the bus driver said nothing more, the passengers picked up and read their newspapers again. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The Warmth of Communication |
| B．The Exchange of Information |
| C．The Power of Observation |
| D．The Attitude to Loneliness |
The novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, born 200 years ago, was a poor housewife with six children, who suffered from various illnesses. And yet, driven by a passionate hatred of slavery, she found time to write “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which became the most influential novel in American history and aroused radical change both at home and abroad.
Today, however, the book has a different reputation, owing to the popular image of its character, Uncle Tom-whose name has become a saying for a cowardly black man who betrays his race.
But this view is wrong: The original Uncle Tom was physically and morally strong, an inspiration for blacks and other oppressed people worldwide.
Indeed, that’s why in the mid-19th century Southerners attacked “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as a dangerously destructive book, while Northern reformers-especially blacks-often praised it.
The book was influential overseas, too.In Russia it inspired Vladimir Lenin, who recalled it as his favorite book in childhood. It was the first American novel to be translated and published in China, and it fueled antislavery causes in Cuba and Brazil.
The book’s progressive appeal was the character of Uncle Tom himself: a strong man who is notable because he does not betray his race; one reason he gave up escaping from his plantation is that he doesn’t want to put his fellow slaves in danger. And he is finally killed because he refuses to tell his master where two runaway slaves are hiding.
Unfortunately, these themes were lost in many of the stage versions of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”.
The play, seen by more people than those who read the book, remained popular up to the`1950s and still appears occasionally. But in the play Stowe’s revolutionary themes were drowned.
But it doesn’t have to be that way; indeed, during the civil rights era it was those who most closely resembled Uncle Tom-Stowe’s Tom, not the sheepish one of popular myth-who proved most effective in promoting progress. Both Stowe and Tom deserve our reconsideration and our respect.Harriet Beecher Stowe managed to write “Uncle Tom’s Cabin because __________.
| A．she wanted to earn money to support her family |
| B．she hated slavery from the bottom of her heart |
| C．she tried to set an example to her six children |
| D．she had the similar life experiences with Tom |
As for the influence of the book, __________.
| A．it was the first American novel to be translated into Russian |
| B．it was the most influential book for Vladimir Lenin in his life |
| C．it also gave rise to the causes of anti-slavery in the distant Africa |
| D．its character Tom inspired the blacks and other oppressed people in the world |
What is true of the character Uncle Tom in the book?
| A．He is a black man who betrays his race. |
| B．He manages to escape from the plantation. |
| C．He doesn’t put his fellow slaves in danger. |
| D．He kills himself instead of giving away the slaves. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The theme on revolution and progress in the book were lost in the play. |
| B．The book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” has more readers than the stage versions. |
| C．The play was very popular and nowadays it is still put on now and then. |
| D．It is the Uncle Tom in the book that promotes the progress of mankind. |
Last Sunday, Aron Ralston, an experienced hiker and mountaineer, set off to walk alone through the Bluejohn desert canyon (峡谷) in Utah. He was planning an eight-hour, 21–kilometer hike. While he was climbing through a narrow part of the canyon, a big stone weighing about 400 kilos fell and trapped his right arm.
When he failed to return to the mountain camp where he was staying that night, people simply thought he had decided to camp out somewhere in the canyon. When he still had not returned by Tuesday, the alarm was raised, A search party set out on Wednesday evening, but there we no sign and his family began to fear the worst.
In fact, Ralston, 27, was lying trapped in the canyon. By Tuesday, he had run out of water. By Thursday, he realized that he would not survive unless he took unusual action, so he used his pocket knife to cut his arm below the elbow (肘). He then climbed down to the bottom of the canyon. There he met two other hikers, who helped him back to safety. He received some help at a local hospital before being carried to St. Mary’s hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado for surgery.
Ralston’s astonishing survival brought equal amounts of praise and criticism. While praising the climber for his bravery and calm, experts also pointed out he had broken the first rule of outdoor pursuits. He had failed to leave words with anyone of where he was going that day.
This was in fact Ralston’s second near-death experience. In February, he was buried up to the neck in snow by an avalanche (雪崩) while skiing in the Colorado Rockies. Ralston not only managed to dig himself out but he also rescued his skiing companion, who had been completely buried in the snow. Ralton rescued himself and his friend in less than 15 minutes.According to the passage, a “hiker” is probably someone who _______.
| A．enjoys walking short distances |
| B．enjoys walking long distances |
| C．climbs rocks and mountains |
| D．likes adventure |
When a big stone trapped his right arm, ________.
| A．he went on climbing the canyon |
| B．he managed to return to the mountain lodge |
| C．he cut off part of his arm to survive |
| D．two other hikers helped him out |
Why did Ralston’s survival bring criticism?
| A．Because this was his second near-death experience. |
| B．Because he was brave and calm. |
| C．Because he told no one where he was going when he set off. |
| D．Because he amputated his arm below the elbow. |
Which of the following describes what happened to Aron Ralston?
a.A large heavy stone hit him and landed on his arm.
b.He had to cut off part of his arm to get it out
c.He was going through a narrow valley.
d.A search party set out to look for him
e.He climbed down to the bottom of the canyone.
| A．c,a,d,b,e | B．c,e,a,d,b |
| C．c,a,b,d,e | D．c,e,a,b,d |