Britain has laws to make sure that women have the same chances as men in education, jobs and training. But it’s still unusual to find women doing dirty or heavy jobs.
Nikki Henriques is a car maintenance engineer in London. She used to be a secretary. Barty Philips, a journalist with “The Observer”, a Sunday newspaper, asked her why she wanted to work with cars.
“My first reason was independence(独立),” she said. “I also wanted to use my hands, and I like learning about how things work. Many people prefer to have a woman repair their cars, too.”
Nikki didn’t find it easy to become a car maintenance engineer. She went to a Government Skill Centre—a special sort of college where people can learn a new job for twenty weeks. “For ten weeks I was the only woman among four hundred men, and some of them were rude to me. It was also very tiring—from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, with only 30 minutes for lunch.”
Now Nikki works free-lance, that is, she’s self-employed, working for herself and not for a garage or a company.
Barty Phillips also spoke to Rose, who works as a general builder in Sheffield, an industrial town in the north of England. Like Nikki, Rose used to be a secretary. “I didn’t enjoy it at all.” she said. “I wanted to do more practical work, and I wanted to be self-employed.”
Rose joined a women’s building co-operative, and she learnt her job from other people and from experience. However, many of the women in her group have been specially trained. Most of the jobs they do are improvements to buildings and general repairs.
“People often say, ‘Oh, women aren’t strong enough,’ but I don’t think strength is important.” said Rose, “The important thing is to get used to doing a different sort of work.”
Rose would like more women to come into the building industry. “Everything built at the moment is a product of man’s world. If women become builders, they will be able to understand the production of their house and their towns.” There are laws in Britain to help women _____.
| A．get higher pay than men |
| B．enjoy more freedom than men |
| C．do whatever they like to do |
| D．have equal chances with men in education and work |
The job of a car maintenance engineer is to _____.
| A．make cars | B．sell cars |
| C．repair cars | D．keep cars for others |
According to Rose, a woman wishing to be a general builder _____.
| A．must be specially trained |
| B．should be strong enough |
| C．can learn her job either from others or by experience |
| D．must get used to doing a different sort of work |
The best title for this passage might be _____.
| A．Nikki Henriques, a car maintenance engineer |
| B．Rose, a General Builder in Shefield |
| C．Women at Work |
| D．British Women |
Li Denghai, with his muddy boots and tanned(晒黑的) face, may not look like he is one of China’s famous agricultural pioneers. But the 61-year-old man from Shandong Province has made scientific breakthroughs(突破), which made great contributions to China’s food security(安全). His main work has been in achieving the higher output of corn production.
Li, who holds the world record for the highest output of summer corn, once says, “Corn has a life; it sings and dances. If you listen clearly, it can speak to you.” He started his research in 1969 when he was 20 and just dropped out of a high school. He then read an article which pointed that corn output per mu in the USA was six times higher than that in China. He was shocked and set out to work on just a small piece of land round the clock to see if he could increase the output. He often went to the field with a flashlight late at night, if he had been away during the day. By careful nurturing (照料) he managed to double the output.
Li Denghai was awarded the “China Award for Significant Contribution to the Maize (玉米) Industry” in 2005, and the same year the company named after his own name came into the market on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Li, however, is never happier than when he is in the middle of his cornfields. “I can forget my tiredness when talking to my corns,” he says.When Li Denghai began the study of corn, .
| A．he just graduated from an ordinary high school |
| B．he was shocked that the corn output in China was so low |
| C．he was only in his thirties |
| D．he wasn’t really fond of his work |
The underlined phrase “round the clock” means.
| A．day and night | B．sooner or later | C．face to face | D．now and then |
From Mr. Li’s words in this passage, we can learn that.
| A．he is not good at communicating with people |
| B．he is too tired to go to the corn fields |
| C．he talks to his corn when feeling lonely |
| D．he loves his career deeply |
In 1933 an unknown American called Clarence Nash went to see the film-maker Walt Disney. He had unusual voice and he wanted to do work in Disney’s cartoon films for children. When Walt Disney heard Nash’s voice, he said, “Stop! That’s our duck!”
The duck was the now-famous Donald Duck, who first appeared in1934 in the film The Wise Little Hen. Donald lived in an old houseboat and wore his sailor jacket and hat. Later that year he became a star after an eight-minute Mickey Mouse film. The cinema audiences liked him because he was lazy and greedy, and because he lost his temper very quickly. And they loved his voice, when he became angry with Mickey’s eight nephews. Soon Donald was more popular than Mickey Mouse himself, probably because he wasn’t goody-goody like Mickey.
In the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Donald and his friends Mickey, Goofy and Pluto make hundreds of Disney cartoons. He also made educational films about the place of the USA in the world, and safety in the home. Then in 1966 Donald Duck and his voice disappeared—there were no more new cartoons.
Clarence Nash died in February, 1985. But today’s children can still see the old cartoons on television and hear that famous voice.Walt Disney ______.
| A．played the part of Donald Duck | B．made Donald Duck films |
| C．had Donald Duck’s voice | D．drew cartoons |
Walt Disney chose Clarence Nash ______.
| A．because his voice was right for Mickey Mouse |
| B．because his voice was right for the duck in a new cartoon film |
| C．because he was fond of playing jokes |
| D．because he was quite humorous |
The first Donald Duck film ______ .
| A．appeared in 1934 | B．was shown in 1933 |
| C．was greatly appreciated in 1966 | D．was popular in 1930 |
Which of the following in NOT true?
| A．Clarence Nash had Donald Duck’s voice. |
| B．People liked Donald Duck better because he was lazy and greedy and became angry quickly. |
| C．Donald Duck’s voice disappeared in 1966. |
| D．Mickey Mouse wasn’t a goody-goody. |
If you find that your teacher is unfair to you, think about what is happening. Try to find out whether your teacher really dislikes you, or whether something else is going on. Here are some questions to ask yourself:Ask your classmates if they are having trouble with the teacher, too. If they say yes, perhaps your teacher is to blame.
Are you working up to your ability? Maybe you got a C in your last test, and your teacher told you that you could do better. And the kid sitting beside you got a C, too.Isn’t this unfair? Well, it could be that your teacher knows that you could do better if you put more effort into it.
There’s nothing wrong with being sensitive (敏感的) ，but if you react to criticism quite differently from others, this could be a reason why you think your teacher doesn’t like you.
Does your teacher seem to act unfairly all the time, or just once in a while? Think about the harsh (苛刻的) things your teacher has done to you. Are these things happening every day, or just once or twice a month? If your teacher really hates you, you would probably be picked on all the time.
| A．Are you the only person being treated badly, or is your teacher rough on the whole class? |
| B．Are you getting along well with your classmates? |
| C． Are you more sensitive than other students? |
| D． Are you interested in your lessons? |
E . If your teacher has acted unfairly only a few times, then there’s probably something else going on.
F．Teachers often grade students by different standards.
G．But the teacher didn’t say anything to him！
Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask. But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history. Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history.
The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past. I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures. However, as the unfortunately true statement goes "the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't seem to learn from history." Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this.
A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context. We can not even understand why we are and where we are without history, much less (更不必说) try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be.
I teach my children history, for one more reason. I purchased a set of historical audio (录音机) tapes for our children. My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over. It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself. I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. if, in doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplished. I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for.The main purpose of this passage is to __________.
| A．instruct the parents how to teach their children history |
| B．show the importance of history in politics |
| C．explain the reasons why children study history |
| D．introduce the writer’s own way of teaching history |
Which of the following is not the reason for studying history according to the author?
| A．One can learn from history in order not to make the same mistakes. |
| B．It can help us to understand the current political climate. |
| C．Without history, one can be nothing but a fool in every aspect. |
| D．One can know the principle of doing something and not doing something. |
Some positive historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show __________.
| A．people can be inspired to do good, while also learning to fight against evil |
| B．people may also learn from bad historical figures |
| C．more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements |
| D．today’s people can also achieve what they achieved |
What would be talked about in the following paragraph?
| A．How to teach history effectively. |
| B．Some negative reasons for studying history. |
| C．How to get more people to study history. |
| D．Some bad historical figures. |
About 97% of the world's water is salty and is found in our oceans and seas. But, as we can't drink seawater, how can it be important?
Every part of our seas and oceans contains an amazing number of animals and fish that live at different ocean depths. Most of the different species of animals and fish depend on simple plants for their food. These simple plants called algae (海藻) drift near the surface of the ocean and use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into food and oxygen. In fact, algae produce over half of the oxygen people breathe. How important seawater is!
Each plant or animal in our seas and oceans is an important link in a food chain. The algae are eaten in large amounts by microscopic animals, which are in turn consumed by larger animals. These food chains are delicately balanced.
The bad news about the food chains in the oceans is that they are under threat because of man. People once thought that the oceans were so big that it didn't matter if we dumped rubbish into them or caught huge quantities of fish and whales for food. But we now know this is not true and fish stocks in the oceans have started to drop.
Thankfully, the world is taking steps to protect the future of our oceans by introducing international agreements to protect marine habitats. Most countries have introduced fishing restrictions to protect fish stocks in the oceans and new techniques are being pioneered to cope with pollution. Finally, the importance of protecting oceans is being made known to more people. This is just the beginning of a long process to protect the oceans for our future. We depend on the oceans for fish which are an important part of the human diet. How important seawater is!People used to think that the rubbish thrown into the sea ________.
| A．wouldn't harm the fish in the sea |
| B．would change the balance of the food chain |
| C．would be broken down in the sea |
| D．wouldn't do much harm to the sea |
From the passage, we learn that ________.
| A．most fish and sea animals live at the surface of the seas |
| B．it is very difficult to break the balance of a food chain |
| C．excessive fishing has caused the decrease in fish stock |
| D．it won't be long before the problems concerning oceans will be solved |
Which of the following is NOT a way being used to protect oceans?
| A．The use of international agreements. |
| B．Forbidding fishing to protect fish stocks. |
| C．The use of new techniques. |
| D．Raising people's awareness of the need to protect oceans. |
What would be the BEST title of the passage?
A. The importance of seawater.
B. Life in the oceans.
C. How to protect food chains.