Doyouknowthatafastreadercanget-优题课

Among rich countries, people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour worked is the same in the United States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.
In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words, they have decided to “spend” a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in the United States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be greatly lower taxes in America, which increase the rewards（回报）to work.
Another may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal lives.
Longer hours do of course increase the GDP(国民生产总值). So the United States has produced more per worker than, say, France. The United States also has more of its people at work, while in France many more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that American GDP per head is 40% higher than in France, even though productivity per hour worked is the same.
It is not clear which of the two situations is better. As we have seen, work has to be compared with other values like family life, which often get lost in its interest. It is too early to explain the different trends(趋势) in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States happiness has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in the work-life balance (平衡)？
1. From the text we know that the author_________.
A. believes that longer working hours is better
B. prefers shorter working hours to longer ones
C. says nothing certain about which pattern is better
D. thinks neither of the patterns is good
2. Which of the following countries has more of its people at work?
A. Spain. B. France.
C. Germany. D. America.
3. In the last paragraph, the underlined word “which” refers to ________.
A. family life B. situations
C. other values D. trends
4. What message can we get from the text?
A. The GDP of Europe is higher than that of America.
B. Two possible reasons are given for working longer hours in the US.
C. People all over the world choose to work less when they are richer.
D. Americans are happier than Europeans.
5. Which of the following would be the best title for the text？
A. Americans and Europeans B. Staying at Home
C. Work and Productivity D. Work and Happiness

第三部分：阅读（共两节，满分40分)
阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，
并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The phone is ringing at the other end of the line and it clicks as it is being answered．A voice says quickly, “Hello, will you hold, please?” then there is another click, followed by silence．It seems like hours before someone comes back on the line — that is, if you don’t hang up first．
Office calls are, perhaps, the most difficult and the most important part of a secretary’s work．The first impression that a client（顾客）receives about a business is often through a telephone contact．A caller who is left hanging on “hold” will get the feeling that he or she has been forgotten or ignored．If a call is answered rudely, the caller may become angry．And if the call is not routed directly to the right person, the caller may feel that he or she is getting the “run-around”．
Laura Needham is a secretary in the executive offices of a large manufacturing company．As a good office secretary, Laura knows that all phone calls must be answered quickly and handled efficiently．She knows that a secretary must be pleasant and helpful, no matter how busy she is or what kind of mood she may be in．she knows she must keep calm if a caller gets impatient or becomes angry; also, of course, she knows she can never allow herself to lose her temper．If she does not have the information the caller asks for, she must know who does have the information．Finally, she knows that one of her most important responsibilities is to “screen” telephone calls and to know which calls to refer to her boss, which calls to refer to other people, and which calls to handle herself．
A well-handled telephone call will give the caller a good impression of the company he or she is dealing with．For this reason, an office secretary who can handle telephone calls cheerfully, tactfully（机敏）, and efficiently is a valuable asset（财富）to any organization．
1．The underlined phrase “run-around” probably means __________________.
A．a strange experience B．a flat refusal
C．a not-so-warm welcome D．a cold response
2．Laura knows quite well that a secretary must be______________________.
A．quick and busy
B．pleasant and helpful
C．calm and patient
D．both B and C
3．The underlined word “screen” means __________________.
A．give an answer to
B．show something on a piece of cloth
C．separate things of one sort from those of another
D．watch something on the screen
4．According to this passage a secretary can never be a good one unless she ________.
A．knows how to please her clients(委托人)
B．often asks her boss how to deal with telephone calls
C．has the information her clients need
D．can keep calm and never loses her temper
5．This passage is mainly about __________________.
A．well-handled telephone calls
B．the importance of handling office calls
C．a good secretary called Laura Needham
D．a secretary being a valuable asset to her company

第二节: 信息匹配 (共5小题;每小题2分，满分10分）
下面是一篇应用文及其应用场合的信息，请阅读下列应用文和相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。
The people below are all looking for a hotel in Scotland for their holidays. After the description of these people, there is information about six Scotland hotels A~F. Decide which hotel would be most suitable for the people mentioned in questions 56~60 and then mark the correct letter (A~F) on your answer sheet. There is one extra paragraph about one hotel which you don’t need to use.
56．Two women friends who want to do several all-day hikes in the mountains during the spring. They like a place with traditional decorations and superb views
57．A woman with two children aged six and ten, who will spend July in Scotland. The children are interested in animals and plants and the mother enjoys fashions.
58．A handicapped lawyer who must use a wheelchair but drives her own car. She enjoys concerts, museums, fine architecture and swimming. She will spend the first two weeks of October in Scotland.
59．A writer, a teacher and their one-year-old daughter. They want to be in a quiet place during August. They enjoy good food, and like to take long walks (the baby rides in a back-pack).
60．An old couple, aged 65 and 68. They love mountain scenery and still take easy walks by the lakeside when they can. They hope to enjoy fresh air and some relaxing activities.
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A．Edinburgh. Post House
A popular base for visitors to Edinburgh, this fine hotel stands next to the zoological Gardens within easy reach of the many famous sights, shops and entertainments of one of Europe’s most elegant capitals.

B．Gatehouse of Fleet. Cally Hotel
This impressive hotel, well-known for its good Scottish cooking, is an ideal choice for a relaxing family holiday. Set in 100 acres of private grounds, the Cally, a former stately home, has something for everyone including its own fishing lake, outdoor heated swimming pool, green lawn, tennis court, children’s playground and sauna baths.

C．Glenborrodale. Glenborrodale Castle Hotel
There can be few better places for a refreshing holiday than this picturesque hotel set in its own 120 acres of beautiful countryside by charming Lake Sunart on the Ardnamurchan Peninsular（半岛）. Boating and fishing are both available here.

D．Inverness. Royal Hotel!

A unique feature of the Royal is its fine collection of antique (年代久远并有价值的) furniture, china and glass. This friendly comfortable hotel, a favourite meeting place for the townspeople, is an excellent base for getting to know the Highlands — Lake Ness, Great Gien and Culloden Moor are all within easy reach.
E．Peebles. Tontine Hotel
The Tontine had a fascinating beginning-it was built in 1808. This homely hotel has been extended to make it a really comfortable base for exploring the Tweed Valley and the attractive Lowland country.
F．North Berwick. Marine Hotel
This fine hotel overlooks the famous West Links golf course and is close to several sandy beaches. The Marine has its own open-air swimming pool and putting green as well as tennis courts, squash courts and saunas. Edinburgh, well-know for its art festivals, is only some 24 miles away.

To master a language，one must be able to speak and understand the spoken language as well as to read and write．Lenin and his wife Krupskaya translated a long English book into Russian．But when they went to England in 1890, English people couldn’t understand what was said to them．These days more foreigners are coming to China and more and more Chinese are going out to foreign countries to work or study．So the spoken language is becoming more and more important．
Speaking, of course, can’t go without listening．If you want to pronounce a word correctly, first you must hear it correctly．The sounds of the Chinese and English language are not exactly the same．If you don’t listen carefully, you’ll find it difficult or even impossible to understand the native speakers．
Well, what about writing? Like speaking, it’s to exchange ideas．People generally use shorter words and shorter sentences in their writing．The important thing is to make your idea in your head and then to write it in clear lively language．
Chinese students read far too slowly．If you read fast, you understand better．If you read too slowly, by the time you have reached the end of a page you have forgotten what the beginning is about．When you meet with new words, don’t look them up in the dictionary．Guess the meaning from the context．You may not guess quite correctly the first time, but as new words come up again and again in different contexts, their meaning will become clearer and clearer．If you look up every word, you’ll never finish a book．
Students of a foreign language need a particular knowledge, the knowledge of the life, history and geography of the people whose language they’re studying．They should study these subjects in the foreign language, not only in translation．In this way one can kill two birds with one stone: learn a foreign language and get some knowledge of the foreign country at the same time．
1．How many points are there in the passage?．
A．Two B．ThreeC．Four D．Five
2．In his first point the writer told us．
A．how to speak English
B．how to read and write
C．why spoken English is important
D．why English people couldn’t understand Lenin
3．In his last point the writer advised us．
A．to kill two birds with one stone
B．to learn two languages at a time
C．to study all the subjects in a foreign language
D．to get some knowledge of the foreign country whose language you are studying．
4．In the fourth paragraph , the writer gave some advice on．
A．how to read faster
B．how to guess the meaning from the context
C．how to look up new words in the dictionary
D．how to grasp the general meaning of a passage
5．“To kill two birds with one stone” means．
A．to get some particular knowledge B．to get more than what one pays
C．the stone is too big D．the birds are blind enough

Every artist knows in his heart that he is saying something to the public．Not only does he want to say it well, but he wants it to be something which has not been said before．He hopes the public will listen and understand he wants to teach them, and he wants them to learn from him．
What visual（视觉的）artists like painters want to teach is easy to make out but difficult to explain, because painters translate their experiences into shapes and colours, not words．They seem to feel that a certain selection of shapes and colours, out of the countless billions possible, is exceptionally interesting for them and worth showing to us．Without their work we should never have noticed these particular shapes and colours, or have felt the delight which they brought to the artist．
Most artists take their shapes and colours from the world of nature and from human bodies in motion and repose（动态和静态）, their choices indicate that these aspects of the world are worth looking at, that they contain beautiful sights．Contemporary（当代的）artists might say that they merely choose subjects that provide an interesting pattern that there is nothing more in it．Yet even they do choose entirely without reference to the character of their subjects．If one painter chooses to paint a gangrenous（坏疽性的）leg and another a lake in moonlight, each of them is directing our attention to a certain aspect of the world．Each painter is telling us something, showing us something, emphasizing something all of which means that, consciously or unconsciously, he is trying to teach us．
1．It is hard to explain what a painter is saying, because．
A．most painters do not express themselves well
B．a painter uses unusual words and phrases
C．a painter uses shapes and colours instead of words
D．many painters do not say anything
2．A painter chooses certain shapes and colours because he feels that they．
A．have been used frequently in the past B．are easy to work with
C．are worth showing to the public D．will be most attractive to the public
3．The writer says that contemporary artists might say their choice of subject．
A．carries a message to the public B．only provides interesting patterns
C．has no pattern or form D．teaches the public important truths
4．Compared with a painter of unpleasant subjects, a painter who draws a lake in moonlight is．
A．having more meaningsB．pointing out different things
C．more skilled D．giving less information
5．Implied（暗示）but not stated:．
A．A painting is more easily understood than a symphony（交响乐）
B．Art is merely the arranging of shapes and colors
C．Every artist tries to say something to the public
D．One must look beyond shape and colour to find what the artist is saying

A．the method that you like	B．your reading material
C．your reading purpose	D．both B and C

A．reading very fast	B．looking carefully
C．reading only the main points	D．reading some parts of the material