I have been teaching in the United States for three semesters. During this time, I have been very impressed with the hardworking American students. Tuition fee (学费) in American universities are pretty expensive. Most American students receive little, if any, financial support. As a result, they have to work hard to pay for their tuition and other basic expenses. Tertiary (高等) education is a necessity in today’s workforce. Young people with higher education are rewarded with a good career and better salary. So how do American students support themselves?
All my American students have to work to pay for their tuition. For this reason, most universities provide limited jobs for students who need economic help. They also help students search for jobs in the community. I have been touched to see some students are so worn out from their jobs that they doze in my classroom. In addition to taking part-time jobs, students are also expected to take part in various social and sporting activities and, in fact, those who do not take part in are often looked down upon by their peers.
A number of American university students are married with families, or are single parents. These students are faced with the additional burden of raising a family. They have to spend much time, money and energy caring for their children and family. Most American university professors are strict. They test students on every unit in their course, in addition to mid-term and final exams in each semester. A lack of preparation by students may result in their failure. This means the loss of a lot of money and possibly future employment opportunities for these students. For this reason, many American students will study or stay up all night before an exam, in an effort to pass.
In contrast, Chinese students have a much easier time, because most Chinese parents pay for their kids’ tertiary education. Moreover, Chinese students do not need to worry about raising children or maintaining a family. So, Chinese students have no reason for not studying hard and achieving good marks.Which of the following is not the difficulty American students have to face?
| A．They have to work hard to pay for the high tuition fee. |
| B．Many American students have a burden of a family. |
| C．They need a better education to get a best job. |
| D．They have to pass strict tests to complete their education. |
Which of the following statement is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．American students have no time to think of physical exercise. |
| B．Sporting activities are popular among American students. |
| C．American students should take part in various social activities. |
| D．Those who don’t participate in social and sporting activities are usually unpopular with their peers. |
Compared with American students, Chinese university students __________.
| A．have no difficulty in raising a family |
| B．live an easy life in universities |
| C．don’t have to take full-time jobs |
| D．have more duty to make greater progress |
This passage mainly deals with __________.
| A．part-time jobs chosen by American students |
| B．the high fees of American universities |
| C．difficult lives American students have to face |
| D．different opinions on American universities |
An idea that started in Seattle’s public library has spread throughout America and beyond.The concept is simple:help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit(追求) to be enjoyed by all,the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus,as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools.The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched the “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” project in 1998.Her original program used author visits,study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book,but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities,and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago,the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the “One Book,One Chicago”program.As a result,reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city.Across the US,stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.
The only problem came up in New York,where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population.This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns,where a greater sense of unity can be achieved.Or it may show that New Yorkers missed the point,putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Ultimately,as Nancy points out,the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book ,but by how many people are enriched by the process,or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?
| A．To invite authors to guide readers. |
| B．To encourage people to read and share. |
| C．To involve people in community service. |
| D．To promote the friendship between cities. |
Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?
| A．They were too busy to read a book. |
| B．They came from many different backgrounds. |
| C．They had little interest in reading. |
| D．They lacked support from the local government. |
According to the passage,where would the project be more easily carried out?
| A．In large communities with little sense of unity. |
| B．In large cities where libraries are far from home. |
| C．In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached. |
| D．In medium-sized cities with a diverse population. |
The underlined words “shared a word”in Paragraph 5 probably mean______.
| A．discussed the meaning of a word |
| B．exchanged ideas with each other |
| C．gained life experience |
| D．used the same language |
According to Nancy,the degree of success of the project is judged by____.
| A．the number of people who benefit from reading |
| B．the careful selection of a proper book |
| C．the growing popularity of the writers |
| D．the number of books that each person reads |
Betty and Harold have been married for years.But one thing still puzzles old Harold.How is it that he can leave Betty and her friend Joan sitting on the sofa,talking,go out to a ballgame,come back three and a half hours later,and they’re still sitting on the sofa?Talking?
What in the world,Harold wonders,do they have to talk about?
Betty shrugs.Talk?We’re friends.
Researching this matter called friendship,psychologist Lilian Rubin spent two years interviewing more than two hundred women and men.No matter what their age,their job,their sex,the results were completely clear:women have more friendships than men,and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships is “marked and unmistakable.”
More than two-thirds of the single men Rubin interviewed could not name a best friend.Those who could were likely to name a woman.Yet three-quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend,and almost always it was a woman.More married men than women named their wife/husband as a best friend,most trusted person,or the one they would turn to in time of emotional distress(感情危机).“Most women,”says Rubin,“identified at least one,usually more,trusted friends to whom they could turn in a troubled moment,and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives.”
“In general,”writes Rubin in her new book,“women’s friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support,but men’s relationships are marked by shared activities.”For the most part,Rubin says,interactions(交往)between men are emotionally controlled-a good fit with the social requirements of “manly behavior.”
“Even when a man is said to be a best friend,”Robin writes,“the two share little about their innermost feelings.Whereas a woman’s closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage, it wasn’t unusual to hear a man say he didn’t know his friend’s marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa.”What old Harold cannot understand or explain is the fact that_____.
| A．he is treated as an outsider rather than a husband |
| B．women show little interest in ballgames |
| C．women have so much to share |
| D．he finds his wife difficult to talk to |
Rubin’s study shows that for emotional support a married woman is more likely to turn to _____.
| A．a male friend | B．her parents | C．a female friend | D．her husband |
According to the text,which type of behavior is NOT expected of a man by society?
| A．Ending his marriage without good reason. |
| B．Complaining about his marriage trouble. |
| C．Spending too much time with his friends. |
| D．Going out to ballgames too often. |
Which of the following statements is best supported by the last paragraph?
| A．Women are more serious than men about marriage. |
| B．Men keep their innermost feelings to themselves. |
| C．Men often take sudden action to end their marriage. |
| D．Women depend on others in making decisions. |
The research done by psychologist Rubin centers around_____.
| A．friendships of men and women |
| B．happy and successful marriages |
| C．emotional problems in marriage |
| D．interactions between men and women |
The Apple iPhone’s impact was widely evident (明显的) at the Consumer Electronics Show, as new touch－screen devices could be found everywhere.
The consumer electronics industry came unbuttoned in Las Vegas this week. At the annual Consumer Electronics Show, companies from around the world unveiled many devices boasting (以拥有…而自豪) touch – sensitive technology, rather than traditional push-button controls.
Motorola, Sony, and LG Electronics all showed off touch-screen phones this week. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates praised and offered a touch-screen computer, the Surface, related to a flat panel TV for a tabletop. Even camera makers, such as Kodak，included touch-screen LCDs in their devices. Touch-screen tech has been in use for years，but the push to develop and weave it into consumer electronics gathered steam with the June introduction of Apple’s iPhone. “The touch-screen industry is really getting hot,” says Jennifer Colegrove, a senior analyst at iSuppli. “Since the iPhone came out, there are a lot of companies that did not have a relationship with touch screens before that decided, ‘OK, I want to make a touch screen, too.’”
The touch－screen tech ecosystem now includes more than 100 companies specializing in everything from smudge-proof (防污的) screens to sensors (传感器) able to detect fingers before they even contact the screen. Sales of leading touch-screen technologies，such as those used in mobile phones and navigation (航行) devices，are expected to rise to $ 4.4 billion in 2012, up from $ 2.4 billion in 2006，according to iSuppli estimates.What did the writer think about the Apple iPhone？
| A．The Apple iPhone was beautiful. |
| B．The Apple iPhone was popular. |
| C．The Apple iPhone was expensive. |
| D．The Apple iPhone was attractive. |
What is the meaning of the underlined word “unveiled” in the second paragraph？
| A．Invented. | B．Unlocked. |
| C．Discovered. | D．Showed. |
The touch-screen tech was used in consumer electronics mainly because of _______.
| A．traditional push-button controls |
| B．Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates |
| C．the introduction of Apple’s iPhone |
| D．the touch-screen tech ecosystem |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The touch-screen technology will disappear. |
| B．The touch-screen technology will be replaced by traditional push-button controls. |
| C．The touch-screen technology will be as important as traditional push-button controls. |
| D．The touch-screen technology will be more widely used in electronics devices. |
33 Chilean miners were trapped nearly a half-mile underground after the mine accident. They had no real hope that they’d ever be found. Luckily, though, the men had Luis Urzua. They were rescued to safety on October 13, 2010.Urzua, 54, was the shift leader at the time of the disaster, and used all his wisdoms and his leadership talents to help his men stay calm and in control for the 17 terrible days it took for rescuers to make their first contact with them.
It was no surprise that Urzua was the last of the 33 miners to leave the mine.
Urzua --- after shaking hands with rescue workers ---- climbed into a capsule barely wider than a man’s shoulders at 9:46 and was hauled up (拖上来) from a narrow hole drilled through 2,000 feet of rock. He arrived at the top 11 minutes later.
“We have done what the entire world was waiting for,” he told Chilean President Sebastian Pinera immediately after his rescue. “The 69 days that we fought so hard were not in vain.” Pinera greeted Urzua, saying “You have been rescued, coming out last like a good leader… You have no idea how all Chileans share with
you your hardships, your hope, and your joy. You are an inspiration.” With Urzua by his side, the president led the crowd in singing the national anthem.Robinson Marquez once worked with Urzua in a nearby mine. He described Urzua as a calm, professional person and a born leader. “He is very protective of his men and obviously loves them. He wouldn’t have left until all of his men were safely above ground,” Marquez said.
Under Urzua’s leadership, the men stretched an emergency food supply meant to last just 48 hours over two and a half weeks, taking tiny sips of milk and bites of fish every other day.He described the difficulties of the first days, saying that it took about three hours for the dust to settle before the men could inspect where tons of collapsed rock sealed off (堵住) the main way out. When the rescuers first made contact by drilling a narrow hole into their refuge (避难处), the miners were so excited that everyone wanted to hug the drill hammer.After the collapse, Urzua was the first to speak to Pinera and to urge him not to let him and his men down. “Don’t leave us alone,” he asked the president, who assured the workers that they would not be abandoned, telling them he would do everything he could to get them back to the surface.The mine collapsed on ____.
| A．March 2 | B．June 3 | C．August 5 | D．October 13 |
Which word can’t be used to describe Urzua?
| A．Selfish | B．Calm | C．Optimistic | D．Talented |
What do you know about the capsule?
| A．It is very spacious. | B．It is very narrow. |
| C．It is made by Urzua. | D．It is used in space. |
The emergency food supply was designed to last ____.
| A．over two and a half weeks | B．five days |
| C．one week | D．two days |
In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They had to move back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.
| A．want to be as rich as their neighbours |
| B．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
| C．don’t want others to know they are rich |
| D．want to be happy |
It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.
| A．live outside New York City | B．live in New York City |
| C．live in apartments | D．live with many neighbours |
What’s the author’s attitude to keeping up with the Joneses?
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Objective. |