The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before a huge pile of troublesome things they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.
The clock struck 12. “Oh, dear!” I cried, “ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched(可怜的) creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I had learnt. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were heavy, so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were_____ .
| A．asleep | B．working | C．outside | D．watching TV |
Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him at all because ____________.
| A．he thought it was useless doing this at night |
| B．his parents were not able to help him |
| C．his eyes were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open |
| D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination |
What do you suppose happened to the author later？
| A．He went to a church to pray again |
| B．He passed the exam by luck |
| C．He failed in the exam |
| D．He was punished by his teacher |
Last winter ,when I was heavily pregnant , I was visiting my sister and brother-in –law’s house and had to park in a nearby parking lot because they didn’t have accessible parking .The snow was extremely heavy and there was lots of ice on the ground –not many people had ventured out that evening !
When I returned to my car around 11pm, I noticed that I was the only car left. Nervously, I hopped into the car and let it warm up a bit. When I finally tried to drive away, my wheels began to spin. I was stuck! I spun and spun and wondered what to do.
All of a sudden, in my rear view mirror, I saw four teen-aged boys approaching my car. They were walking side by side in a line and dressed a bit like gang members --- at least I thought that's what they looked like. My car was in a very isolated area and I began to panic. I was certain they were coming to my car to harm me. Terrified, I just froze. One of the young men tapped on my window and said "Excuse me, Ma'am, can we help you? You seem stuck." Still afraid and fearing the worst, I said "I am stuck." And the young man said "It's okay, stay in your car and we'll push you out of the snow." And they did!
When they finally got me out of the snow, they smiled and waved. I rolled down my window and thanked them, embarrassed to have judged them so poorly.Why did the author just freeze when the four young men walking toward her car?
| A．Because she was afraid of being harmed. |
| B．Because she sat in her car for too long a time. |
| C．Because she was cold indeed in that freezing evening. |
| D．Because she knew they would rob her of the car. |
Which of the following words can best describe the four young men?
| A．Impolite |
| B．Ill-mannered |
| C．Unfriendly |
| D．Warm-hearted. |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．One of the four teenagers was a gang member. |
| B．The kids wanted to help the author out of trouble. |
| C．The author would have a baby in her car. |
| D．The young men enjoyed pushing cars out of the snow. |
The best title for the text would be___________．
| A．Every man has his faults |
| B．Fortune favors those who use their judgment |
| C．Don't judge a book by its cover |
| D．Think twice before you do |
At the top of a three-storey brick house Sue and Johnsy had their studio. In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia(肺炎), touched one here and there with its icy fingers. Johnsy was struck down, and she lay, hardly moving, on her bed looking through the window at the blank side of the next brick house.
One morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway(走廊).
“She has one chance in ten,” he said, “And that chance is for her to want to live. She has made up her mind that she’s not going to get well. I will do all that I can. But whenever my patient begins to count the carriages in her funeral procession(队列), I subtract 50 percent from her chance to live.”
After the doctor had gone, Sue went into the workroom and cried. Then she came into Johnsy’s room with her drawing board, whistling.
Johnsy lay hardly moving with her face toward the window. Sue stopped whistling, thinking she was asleep.
She arranged her board and began a drawing. As Sue was sketching, she heard a low sound. She went quickly to the bedside.
Johnsy’s eyes were open wide. She was looking out the window and counting backward.
“Twelve,” she said, and a little later “eleven”; and then “ten”, and “nine”; and then “eight” and “seven”, almost together.
Sue looked out the window. What was there to count? There was only the blank side of the brick house twenty feet away. An old ivy vine(常春藤) climbed halfway up the brick wall. Its branches clung(紧紧缠着), almost bare, to the bricks.
“What is it, dear?” asked Sue.
“Six,” said Johnsy, in almost a whisper. “They’re falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost a hundred. There goes another one. There are only five left now”.
“Five what, dear? Tell me.”
“Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls, I must go, too. Didn’t the doctor tell you?”
“Oh, I never heard of such nonsense,” said Sue. “What have old ivy vine leaves to do with your getting well? Why, the doctor told me this morning that your chances for getting well real soon were ten to one! Try to take some soup now.”
“There goes another. No, I don’t want any soup. I want to see the last one fall before it gets dark. Then I’ll go , too.”
“Johnsy, dear,” said Sue, bending over her, “will you promise me to keep your eyes closed, and not look out the window until I’m done working? I need the light or I would draw the shade down.”
“Tell me as soon as you have finished,” said Johnsy, closing her eyes, “because I want to see the last one fall. I’m tired of waiting. I want to turn loose my hold on everything and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves.”By saying “Pneumonia touched one here and there” (in the first paragraph), the author means that _________.
| A．some people were affected by the illnesses of others |
| B．pneumonia caused damage to the ivy vine |
| C．two people became ill |
| D．many people came down with the illness |
How did Johnsy feel about the situation during the passage?
| A．confident | B．hopeless | C．tired | D．curious |
We can learn from the passage that _____________.
| A．Sue came into the room whistling perhaps because she thought Johnsy might like the music. |
| B．Johnsy’s life was compared to the carriages in a funeral procession |
| C．Sue told a lie to Johnsy about the doctor’s words |
| D．Johnsy wanted to know about the falling ivy leaves to meet her own curiosity |
The underlined word “subtract” in the third paragraph probably means “________”.
| A．reduce | B．hope | C．add | D．doubt |
The passage is probably taken out of ______________.
| A．a newspaper | B．a novel |
| C．a medical report | D．a girl’s diary |
It was an international drug dealing case, one that involved a lot of money and a lot of violence. Agents who had entered the organization had worn wires and collected evidence for years. A conviction(法庭判决) depended on an accurate translation of their tape recordings. “Five languages were involved, “says Liz Elting, 44, one of the owners of TransPerfect, the translation company chosen for the job. “The slightest mistake could mean the criminals would go free.”
When Elting started her business 18 years ago with Phil Shawe, both were attending New York University’s Stern School of Business. Neither realized just how many situations would require their services. TransPerfect’s 4,000 linguists(通晓外语的人) cover more than 100 languages.
Getting Ahead with Liz Elting
What inspired you to start TransPerfect?
When I was eight, my dad bought a KFC in Portugal. Unfortunately, the Portuguese didn’t want anything American. They thought my dad was a CIA spy! That taught me how fast things can change. I’ve studied in Spain and worked in Venezuela. This business is the perfect combination of my love for languages, cultures and business.
Is the staff multilingual?
Many are. I speak French and Spanish. My partner, Phil, who is American, likes to say he speaks English on a good day.
What languages are requested most often?
Spanish and Japanese. Chinese, Middle Eastern, Indic(South Asia), and Eastern Europeans are on the rise.
How difficult is it to manage such a diverse workforce（员工团队）?
Our challenge is to be culturally appropriate in every country. When we hand our year-end bonuses in the US, for example, we have to remember that in India, bonuses are given in the fall.
Any advice for someone starting a business?
Get started before you have kids. In the beginning, I didn’t know how to do this business on the side. I wasn’t married, didn’t have kids, and wasn’t concerned about balancing my work and personal life. Now, with strong managers in place, I can spend more time with my family (husband Michael Burlant and sons Zachary, nine and Jacob, seven), traveling and playing baseball.What is the purpose of the first paragraph?
| A．To report on an international drug dealing case. |
| B．To encourage people to start a business before they have kids. |
| C．To present the importance of learning foreign languages. |
| D．To introduce Liz Elting and her company TransPerfect. |
What does the underlined word “wires” mean in the passage?
| A．A type of clothes costing a lot of money. |
| B．A piece of equipment designed to record messages. |
| C．Thin metal worn to protect yourself against violence. |
| D．A organization symbol made of thin metal. |
Neither realized just how many situations would require their services. is ______________.
| A．a company that offers international legal services |
| B．one which has branches in countries all over the world |
| C．one whose staff all have to speak several languages. |
| D．a company whose services are in great demand. |
It can be inferred that _______________.
| A．Liz learned that love is the answer to problems of cultural misunderstanding |
| B．Liz started her company with a schoolmate at the age of 18. |
| C．The success is simply a little beyond Liz and her partner’s expectations |
| D．Liz and Phil are now strong managers with rich experience. |
Serving only adults, Ramsey House offers you professional hotel standards of accommodation and food service coupled with the friendly, relaxed atmosphere of a high-class non-smoking guest house.
Situated within walking distance of St David’s, the smallest city in Europe, the house stands in its own attractive gardens and has private off-road parking. In the opposite direction, there is easy access to the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, where you can see some of Britain’s most spectacular coastal scenery with its abundant bird life and wild flowers.
We have three double and three twin rooms. Each is individually furnished and decorated to 4-star standard with comfortable beds, central heating, remote control color TV, hair dryers and plenty of mirrors. All the rooms have a modern, well-lit en-suite bathroom with WC, shaver socket and electric shower.
All first-floor rooms have views of either the sea, the Cathedral or open country, and there are three ground-floor rooms with garden views, ideal for guests unable to climb stairs.
Our full Welsh breakfast offers you a great start to the day with homemade bread, cookies and preserves. We can also prepare fresh picnic lunches for your day out walking the Coast Path or on the beaches.
There is comfortable lounge with lots of books and leaflets about Pembrokeshire to help you plan your trips. Weather permitting, guests may enjoy the peace and quiet of our gardens and watch the birds feeding. Drinks are served in both the garden and lounge.
We also have secure bicycle storage, a drying room and light laundry facilities.
Nearby are some of the safest and cleanest beaches in Europe offering a variety of water sports including sailing, surfing, wind-surfing and sea angling. Visitors are welcome at St. David’s City Golf Club and several other Pembrokeshire clubs. We are also conveniently situated for easy access to the bird sanctuary islands of Ramsey, Skomer and Skokholm.
A warm welcome awaits you at Ramsey House all year round. You will find it the ideal touring center in all seasons.
House Owners: Ceri &Elaine Morgan
01437 72021According to the passage, St. David’s is the name of _________________.
| A．a Bed & Breakfast hotel | B．the Coast Path |
| C．a Welsh town | D．Ramsey House |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Guests may come to this house by car or by bike without parking problems. |
| B．Guests have to eat their lunches out on the Coast Path or the beaches. |
| C．Guests staying in the lowest-level rooms have a good view of the sea. |
| D．On the Coast Path guests can enjoy water sports and play golf. |
Which of the following tourists may not be interested in this ad?
| A．Ana, a wheelchair user, who enjoys holidays by the coast. |
| B．A married couple with two young children showing interest in Pembrokeshire. |
| C．Tina, a Ph.D graduate, who attaches great importance to travel safety. |
| D．Xavier, a bird-watching enthusiast, who knows little about the local area. |
As hand-held devices such as smartphones are becoming more common, users are reporting some new physical problems. Florida chiropractor Dean Fishman began noticing an increased number of patients talking about neck and shoulder pain. He discovered these symptoms were due to the overuse of hand-held devices, particularly the action of bending the neck, and then coined the term “Text Neck.” As if the painful symptoms weren’t bad enough, Fishman warns that an untreated case of Text Neck could lead to permanent spinal(脊椎) damage.
Other doctors have warned about “iPad Hand,” a condition that occurs when people use tablets like the iPad for hours at a time. Most people use their left hand to support the tablet and their right hand to tap or scroll. Doing this for long periods without changing positions can result in severe joint pain.
In order to avoid or reduce the possibility of getting Text Neck or iPad Hand, use the following basic ergonomic(人体工学的) principles:
Avoid awkward positioning. Don’t strain your neck, and stay aware of how you are positioned in relation to the device. Make sure that both your neck and shoulders are relaxed and that you aren’t leaning over for a long period of time.
Take frequent breaks when using any kind of mobile device. Many doctors recommend that users change their position every 15 minutes.
When using a tablet, use a case that can support the device on a table or your lap at a comfortable viewing angle.
Along with a case, use a separate keyboard with your tablet. This will be more comfortable since you’ll be resting both hands on the keyboard. And since you won’t be holding the tablet, you’ll be less likely to experience hand or arm pain.What kind of product for hand-held devices does the writer discuss?
| A．One for recording. | B．One for charging. |
| C．One for telephoning. | D．One for typing. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “coined” (Para1)?
| A．cashed | B．created | C．changed | D．completed |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．If you are holding an iPad for long periods, it could cause spinal damage. |
| B．Text Neck symptoms include long-term damage in the back. |
| C．You are advised to lean over in relation to the device. |
| D．You should rest your hands on the keyboard at times. |
In which magazine would you most likely find this article?
| A．Personal Finance | B．Science Fiction Monthly |
| C．Mind and Body | D．Smartphone World |