Astudyshowsthatabouttwothirdso-优题课

Taking the train is a wonderful way to see America. In the 19th century, train routes appeared from coast to coast, carrying both people and goods Today, a long-distance Amtrak train trip is a different way to experience the United States.
The long-distance Amtrak trains have lots of room. Coach seats have lots of leg room and wide aisles(走廊),sightseeing lounges(休闲室) have large windows, and sleeping areas can provide a good night’s rest. On a train trip, there’s time to talk, play cards or board games, and read to one another. On a car trip, parents have to drive while on a train, parents can sit back and watch the scenery go by. Unlike an airplane, traveling by train is not the quickest way to arrive at your destination; the train is the destination in itself.
Amtrak manages long-distance trains that run through the United States. Routes have different names, such as Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Sunset Limited and Southwest Chief. The long-distance trains have double-decker cars(Superliners), sightseeing lounges, and a real dining car. On shorter trains, such as from New York to Washington. DC, the cars are single level and only have a snack bar. In the Superliner trains, the sightseeing lounge is lined with windows on the second level while on the lower level a snack bar and tables can be found. In the evening, videos are shown in the lounge car—either entertaining movies or documentaries.
Tip: As delays are common on Amtrak trains, always call the station before you go there. Otherwise, you may be cooling your heels(脚后跟) for hours.
What’s the advantage of seeing America by train?

A．There are more services on the train than any other

B．Traveling by train is the quickest way to reach your destination.

C．Traveling by train gives people more time to see and do things.

D．The trains like Amtrak allow people to enjoy the journey cheaply.

Which of the following can be found on short-distance Amtrak trains?

A．Sleeping areas.

B．Snack bars.

C．Sightseeing lounges.

D．Coach seats.

What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A．You will have to wait.

B．You make your heel cool.

C．You will have no place to stand on the train.

D．Your feet will be hurt on the train.

Which of the following about Superliners is true?

A．There are lines of windows on the lower level.

B．The snack bar is on the higher level.

C．A sightseeing lounge is on the upper level.

D．Both levels are equipped with videos.

As we all know sewing-machine(缝纫机) repair is one of the fastest growing businesses in the world today. Newspapers, women’s magazines, high schools and colleges are all encouraging millions of American women to do their own sewing, not only to make their own shirts and sweaters, but also to make nice clothes for their husbands, sons, or boyfriends. The lattes figures(数字) show that over 89 million American women, because of the high costs of ready-to-wear clothing are now making almost all of their families’ clothes. Most of these women get great satisfaction from making the family clothes on their own sewing machines. So it is natural that the demand(要求) for excellent service of sewing machines is growing.
Think of it! 89 million or more sewing machines, not including another 10 million sewing machines in schools of all kinds, need service at least once a year, and quite possibly four or more times each year. I know some women who return their sewing machines to repairmen time after time to get them fixed properly. I’ve seen sewing machines come out of repair shops in worse condition than they were when they went in.
So I’ve decided to write an introduction book to sewing-machine repair and teach people how to repair their own sewing machines at home. It’s not that difficult. In the book, I will teach you everything you need to know about how to repair your sewing machine.
The author wrote the passage to.

A．teach women to repair their sewing machines.

B．explain his or her purpose in writing the book

C．introduce the reasons for doing one’s own sewing

D．tell us that sewing-machine repair is a fast-growing business

American women make clothes by themselves because.

A．they cannot buy the clothes they see in magazines

B．their husbands or boyfriends want them to do so

C．ready-to-wear clothes cost a great deal of money

D．they can’t get great satisfaction from buying clothes

We learn from the passage that sewing machines.

A．aren’t very difficult to be repaired

B．cannot work well after one year

C．don’t easily get broken

D．need service 4 times a month

It can be inferred from the passage that.

A．the book will also show you how to make nice clothes

B．there are not enough sewing-machine-repair shops in America

C．over 99 million sewing machines need service at least once a year

D．the demand for excellent service of sewing machines grows the fastest in America

Can you imagine exchanging the pleasure of city life for a quiet life in the countryside?
Many people want to move from the country to the city because they think that life in the city is more exciting and better than that in countryside, especially young people who like new, modern things. People like popular things and feel that they can only find the latest styles in the city.
However, it is possible to enjoy the higher quality of country life and still enjoy some of the advantages of living in the city.
Nowadays, traveling is fast and easy, and information can be found on the Internet, so many people are able to do their work in home offices. Because they have e-mail and personal computers, they don’t have to be in big cities to manage their businesses. It is not important where they actually work because the results of their work can be sent everywhere with e-mails. Therefore, there is no need to put up with all of the disadvantages of the city. Now they can escape busy city life to enjoy the quiet country life and still be able to have successful jobs.
Other people are interested in technological things and high-tech jobs and think they can only find them in big cities. If they want to find a job, especially a good position in a company, they think that they have to live in a city. For these jobs, they are willing to put up with many of the disadvantages of city life, such as crime, heavy traffic, and pollution.
The main idea of this passage is that.

A．life in the city is different from life in the countryside

B．people prefer living in the city to living in the countryside

C．cities have more disadvantages than the countryside

D．more and more people like living in the city

With the development of,people can enjoy life in the countryside as comfortably as they can in the city.

A．e-mail technology	B．personal computers
C．transportation and computers	D．business

According to the passage, what does the countryside have but cities don’t have?

A．Technology.

B．Traffic.

C．Education.

D．Natural environment.

What is the author’s attitude towards city life?

A．He is for it.	B．He is against it.
C．He likes neither.	D．He shows no opinion.

　　Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person's intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.
　　It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random(随机地) from the population,it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical (完全相同的) twins they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
　　Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth playsa part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.
Which of these sentences best describes the writer’s point in Para. 1?

A．To some extent, intelligence is given at birth.

B．Intelligence is developed by the environment.

C．Some people are born clever and others born stupid.

D．Intelligence is fixed at birth, but is developed by the environment.

It is suggested in this passage that_______.

A．unrelated people are not likely to have different intelligence

B．close relations usually have similar intelligence

C．the closer the blood relationship between people, the more different they are likely
　　　to be in intelligence

D．people who live in close contact with each other are not likely to have similar degrees

　　　of intelligence
In Para. 1, the word "surroundings" means_______.

A．intelligence	B．life
C．environments	D．housing

The best title for this article would be_______.

A．On Intelligence

B．What Intelligence Means

C．We are Born with Intelligence

D．Environment Plays a Part in Developing Intelligence

　　Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.
　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.
　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.
　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?
　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.
　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.
　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”
According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?

A．It is always difficult to find a job.

B．Everyone can find a job in good times.

C．Contrary to popular belief, it is easier to find a job in bad times.

D．It is possible to find a job even in times as bad as now.

What is it that leads to their winning the prize?

A．They have found the reason for unemployment.

B．They have put forward a set of ideas to deal with unemployment.

C．They have found out why people don’t want to be employed.

D．They have long studied the problem of unemployment.

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Pissarides thinks his work surprising.

B．The work of Pissarides has influenced many economists.

C．Some of the winners’ ideas have been put into practice.

D．It is probable that unemployed young people in Britain benefit from Pissarides’ work.

According to Pissarides, _________ is effrctive in dealing with unemployment.

A．spending large sums of money on training

B．teaching some knowledge of economics

C．providing work experience

D．keeping people unemployed for some time

A．shopping online	B．Internet use in China
C．the typical Chinese netizens	D．popular search engines

A．likes to send e-mails	B．likes to buy goods online
C．likes to pay for entertainment	D．likes the games sites