A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start. ”
The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail. ”
“I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you do not exist. And who doesn’t exist cannot have the job. ”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do, with only ten dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he can survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an e-mail. ”
The broker answered curiously, “You don’t have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”Why can’t the man have the job at Microsoft?
| A．Because he was lazy. | B．Because he didn’t pass the test. |
| C．Because he didn’t have an e-mail. | D．Because he didn’t have a computer. |
The underlined word “triple” can be replaced by ______.
| A．become large | B．become 3 times |
| C．increase quickly | D．decrease quickly |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The man is one of the biggest food retailers in the world. |
| B．The man didn’t give up though he failed the interview. |
| C．He started his career by selling tomatoes in the supermarket. |
| D．Those who have e-mails can work at Microsoft. |
The man can be described as _______.
| A．helpful and considerate | B．positive and generous |
| C．smart and hardworking | D．stubborn and unselfish |
Which proverb can best describe the story?
| A．Misfortune may be an actual blessing. | B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．Accidents will happen. | D．No pains , no gains. |
At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a holdup（持枪拦劫）,” the man said rudely. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part – close to six thousand dollars. The robber snatched them and turned to leave.
Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly.
The door was shut a
nd the bank robber was gone. George fainted (晕倒).
As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were examining the bank’s records, George was called into Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks 
being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can be robbed too. I have retired (退休), but I’m always thinking of our bank. That’s why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes (保持警觉). Now, I have put the money back in your money-box— all six thousand.” George was happy because ______.
| A．he didn’t lose his money box | B．he wasn’t killed by the robber |
| C．he got eight thousand dollars | D．he was introduced to Mr. Carruthers |
What did George do when he was taken to the bedroom?
A
. He counted money. B. He examined the bank’s record.
C. He put some money into his pocket. D. He lifted the top part of the money box.Who might be the robber?
| A．George. | B．Mr. Burrow. | C．A retired lady. | D．Mr. Carruthers. |
Over the last 25 years, British society has changed a great deal. In some ways, however, very little has changed. Ideas about social class whether a person is “working-class” or “middle-class” are one area in which changes have been extremely slow.
In the past, the working-class tended to be paid less than middle-class people, such as teachers and doctors. As a result of this and also of the fact that workers’ jobs were generally much less secure, distinct differences in life-styles and attitudes came into existence. The typical working man would collect his wages on Friday evening and then give them to his wife, leaving a little for drinking or betting.
The type of what a middle-class man did with his money was perhaps nearer the truth. He was and still is likely to take a longer-term view. Not only did he regard buying a house to provide him and his family with security. Only in very few cases did workers have the opportunity (or the education and training) to make such long-term plans.
Nowadays, much has changed. In a large number of cases factory workers earn as much. Social security and laws have made it less necessary than before to worry about “tomorrow”. Working-class people seem slowly to be losing the feeling of inferiority(自卑感)they had in the past. In fact there has been a growing tendency in the past few years for the middle-classes to feel slightly ashamed of their position.
The changes in both life-styles and attitudes are probably most easily seen among younger people. They generally tend to share very similar tastes in music and clothes. They spend their money enjoying themselves, and save for holidays or longer-term plans when necessary. There seems to be much less difference than in precious generations. Nevertheless, we still have a wide gap between the well-paid and the low-paid. As long as this gap exists, there will always be a possibility that new problems will appear between different groups.Which of the following is seen as the main cause of class differences in the past?
| A．Life style and occupation. |
| B．Attitude and income. |
| C．Income and job security. |
| D．Job security and hobbies. |
The writer seems to suggest that _______.
| A．the description of middle-class ways of spending money is quite real |
| B．working-class ways of spending the weekend remain the same |
| C．working-class drinking habits differ from the past |
| D．middle-class attitudes towards their positions have changed greatly |
According to the passage, what was the typical feature of the middle–class in the past?
| A．They had to save money for security. |
| B．They couldn’t make long-term plans. |
| C．They could make as much money as they do now. |
| D．They didn’t have the sense of inferiority. |
Working-class people's sense of security has increased as a result of all the following factors EXCEPT that _______.
| A．they are provided with social security |
| B．they can get much income |
| C．better jobs are available for all of them |
| D．the government offers legal protection |
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
| A．Changes are slowly taking place in all aspects of the British society. |
| B．The difference between working-class and middle-class young people is narrowing. |
| C．The gap in income between the two classes will still remain. |
| D．Middle-class people may sometimes feel a little inferior. |
We all, at one time or another, have pretended to be a rock star, singing and dancing along to our favorite song. Most of us have done this in the privacy of our own room when we were kids and as adults, in the privacy of our homes. Me? I love to do that when I drive! I turn on the radio, find a song that I can sing along too and pretty soon my arms are in the air and I am moving along to the rhythm. Most of the time, I do this on my way to work.
Yes, that is true. I will be in my nice work clothes, jamming while driving or stopped at a traffic light. I get weird looks from some people and others laugh. Personally, I love to get lost in the rhythm of a song which leads me to share with you the importance of being silly!
The definition for the word silly, according to the dictionary is: stupid, foolish and nonsensical. I know many people do not want to look foolish. So they walk around all serious, which in all honesty, is foolish!
No one is perfect, I repeat: no one is perfect. I don’t care how educated, how thin, how beautiful, how simple, how frugal, how rich, and so on… No one is perfect! So why pretend to be something you are not?
Life is so short… You never know when this beautiful journey will be over, so why waste a single second on being so full of rigidity(呆板)? Here is a quote by Souza, that I think says it all and is a great recipe for life:
"Dance as though no one is watching you,
Love as though you have never been hurt before,
Sing as though no one can hear you,
Live as though heaven is on earth."
When we were kids, we had no idea of what limitations were and we had no care in the world so we could do things without worrying about how we appeared to others. However, as we grew up, we lost that childlike innocence.
So don’t lose the child that still lives within you. The next time you feel down, go turn on your favorite song, and sing and dance along like there is no tomorrow. Or watch something that makes you laugh. Laughter is the best medicine to whatever ails you and nothing is better than laughing so hard that your tummy hurts. Trust me, you will feel a whole lot better, and who doesn’t want to feel good? According to the passage, what does the writer usually do?
| A．He pretends to be a rock star. | B．He dances in his own home. |
| C．He sings songs while going to work. | D．He gets jammed on his way to work. |
What do other people think of the writer?
| A．They think that the writer is strange. | B．They look down upon the writer. |
| C．They believe that the writer is lonely. | D．No one is interested in the writer. |
What is the writer’s opinion about the people who look very serious?
| A．They are honest. | B．They are silly. |
| C．They are perfect. | D．They are educated. |
The writer quotes Souza to show that _______.
| A．life is a beautiful journey | B．life is full of rigidity |
| C．life is like a great recipe | D．life is to be treasured |
The underlined part “the child” in the last paragraph probably refers to _______.
| A．the writer | B．any child |
| C．the feeling of being a child | D．the time of being a child |
The World’s Most Impressive Subways
| The Tokyo Metro And Toei Lines |
The Tokyo Metro and Toei lines that compose Tokyo’s massive subway system carry almost 8 million people each day, making it the busiest system in the world. The system is famous for its oshiya— literally, “pusher”— who pushes passengers into crowded subway cars so the doors can close. And you think your ride is hell. |
| The Moscow Metro |
The Moscow Metro has some of the most beautiful stations in the world. The best of them were built during the Stalinist era and feature beautiful lamps, marble moldings and fantastic wall paintings. With more than 7 million riders a day, keeping all that marble clean has got to be a burden. |
| The Hong Kong MTR |
The Hong Kong MTR has the distinction of being one of the few subway systems in the world that actually turns a profit. It’s privately owned and uses real estate development along its tracks to increase income and ridership. It also introduced “Octopus cards” that allow people to not only pay their fares electronically, but buy stuff at convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and even parking meters. It’s estimated that 95% of all adults in Hong Kong own an Octopus card. |
| Shanghai Metro |
Shanghai is the third city in China to build a metro system, and it has become the country’s largest in the 12 years since it opened．Shanghai Metro has 142 miles of track and plans to add another 180 miles within five years. By that point, it would be three times larger than Chicago “L”. The system carries about 2.18 million people a day. |
| The London Metro |
Londoners call their subway the Underground, even though 55 percent of it lies above ground. No matter when you access the oldest mass-transit system in the world, you can call it anything you like. Trains started in 1863 and they’ve been running ever since. Some 3 million people ride each day, every one of them remembering to “Mind the gap”. |
Which of the following can provide the riders with some wonderful decorations at the stations?
| A．The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines. | B．The Moscow Metro. |
| C．The London Metro. | D．The Hong Kong MTR. |
According to the passage, the only subway that can bring more financial gains is _______.
| A．the Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines | B．the Moscow Metro |
| C．the London Metro | D．the Hong Kong MTR |
We can learn from the passage that Shanghai Metro _______．
| A．carries the most people each day |
| B．is the world’s largest |
| C．may be larger than the Chicago Subway in the future |
| D．is the busiest in the world |
What do we know about the Hong Kong MTR?
| A．It is not owned by the government. |
| B．It has become the country’s largest subway since it opened. |
| C．It carries the most people every day. |
| D．It is the busiest system in the world. |
This passage mainly tells us the _______ of the five subways.
| A．features | B．development | C．background | D．system |
With eco-tourism on the rise, eco-hotels are fast becoming the darling of the travel industry. These days, however, staying at an eco-hotel doesn’t necessarily mean vacationing in a tree house in the Costa Rican jungle, although that is certainly a choice.
The majority of eco-hotels fall into one of several categories: hotels and resorts that conserve ecologically important habitats; “green” hotels that reduce, recycle, minimize waste, and protect water; sustainable hotels that harvest food from gardens on the hotel property or get part or all of their power from renewable energy; hotels that encourage community involvement such as guests taking part in trail clearing; and hotels that offer some form of environmental education to their guests.
As such, eco-hotels are a various group. Stylish urban hotels like the Willard Inter-Continental Washington focus on energy conservation whereas the Rosario Resort & Spa on Orcas Island in Washington State offers a wildly popular “green” vacation package where guests can “take a hike, clear a trail”.
No matter what you call them, eco-hotel, eco-lodge, eco-resort, or green hotel, they’re all part of the “greening” of the tourism industry.
Part of what drives this greening of the hotel industry is no doubt competition. Going green is yet another way to distinguish a hotel from the mass of other excellent hotels that consumers have to choose from. But for many hotels, it’s also part of their philosophy. With the concept of “going green” firmly rooted in consumers’ minds, eco-hotels have taken it to the next level, and whether or not money is the driving factor behind the greening of the hotel industry doesn’t matter so much as it’s good for the planet.The underlined part in the first paragraph means _______.
| A．lovers like staying at an eco-hotel when traveling |
| B．eco-hotels are very popular in the travel industry |
| C．eco-hotels are where young people love to live |
| D．romantic love stories often happen in eco-hotels |
According to the passage, which of the following can match the idea of eco-hotel?
| A．It uses renewable energy. |
| B．It is comfortable and fashionable. |
| C．It has walls of glass. |
| D．It is home to endangered species. |
From the passage, we know the Rosario Resort & Spa is a kind of hotel that _______.
| A．protects important habitats |
| B．harvests food from its own garden |
| C．has courses on the environment for its guests |
| D．encourages its guests to participate in its greening activities |
From the last paragraph, we can learn that _______.
| A．money is the driving force behind eco-hotels |
| B．eco-hotels have no advantages in competing for guests |
| C．eco-hotels teach their guests the philosophy of eco-hotels |
| D．the hotel industry cares more about money than the environment |
People who choose to stay at eco-hotels _______.
| A．love to take a hike |
| B．have environmental awareness |
| C．want to live comfortably |
| D．enjoy the green atmosphere |