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. |
Even a child knows that nodding(点头) the head means “Yes”. But some people will probably be puzzled when they first come to India. When they talk to an Indian, he often shakes his head. They might think that the Indian does not like what he said, but on the contrary he is expressing agreement.
The Indians have a habit of shaking their heads slightly when they talk to somebody. It doesn’t mean “No”, but “Yes”.
If a person 
doesn’t know this, it might cause misunderstanding.
At one time a foreigner in India told his driver who was an Indian to take him to his office. The driver shook his head. The foreigner repeated his request and the driver shook his head again. At last, the foreigner shouted angrily, “Drive me to my office at once!” The driver said in a low voice, “Yes, sir,” smiling and shaking his head again at the same time. According to the habit of India, if someone agrees with you, he will _______.
| A．nod his head |
| B．shake his head |
| C．neither nods his head nor shakes his head |
| D．either nod his head or shake his head |
Why did the Indian driver shake his head when the foreigner asked him t
o drive him to his office? Because _______.
| A．the Indian driver has something important to do |
| B．the foreigner promised to give him only a little money |
| C．The driver felt uncomfortable at that time |
| D．In India shaking the head means agreement |
Why did the foreigner become angry? Because _______.
| A．the Indian driver didn’t want to send him to his office |
| B．He misunderstood the meaning of shaking the head in India |
| C．he asked the driver to send him to his office, but the India driver didn’t say any words |
| D．the Indian driver asked him for a lot of money |
The phrase “on the contrary” means _______.
| A．just the opposite |
| B．clear difference between two things |
| C．doing what you want to do |
| D．on the other hand |
Are you intere
sted in country music? I like it very much! It will take me away for a while after I am tired .The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields.
Country music usually talks of everyday life and feelings. It’s the spirit of America, easy to understand, slow and simple.
Country music developed in the Southern United States. It was the folk music of American countryside. Many of songs tell about the lives of
famers .They talk about love, crops or death.
The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in country music are often sad. At first, people played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later. In the 1920s, people played country songs on the radio, and they made them into records.
When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America.
John Denver was one of America’s most f
amous country singers in the 1970s.His song “Take Me home, Country Roads” is well-known and people still play it today.Country music is usually about _______.
| A．everyday life and feelings |
| B．farmers’ feelings |
| C．the lives of workers |
| D．the lives of farmers |
People began to make country song records _______.
| A．in the 1920s | B．in 1920 |
| C．in the 1970s | D．in 1970 |
Why did Country music become popular in America?
| A．Because city people liked the music. | |
| B．Because farmers moved to cities with their music and it continued to change. | C．Because country music talked about city people’s lives. |
| D．Because country music developed in the Southern Africa |
Who is famous for the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads”?
| A．A farmer in the countryside. |
| B．A person who moved to towns |
| C．John Denver. |
| D．John Denver’s brother |
You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience study here.
In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, I didn’t know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut.
When I first studied English, I was told to say, “I am fine.” when people say “How are you?” But in the US, I found that people say, “I am good.” or “I’m tired.”
One day, someone greeted me with “What’s up?” It made me confused. I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn’t know what to say.
Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures.
To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan. However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or “whiter.” I also surprised by how hard-working US students are. In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that’s it. But here, a “good” student gets good grades, does a l
ot for the public and plays sports or music.
The kids here are so talented, I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports. What does the word “tan” in the sixth paragraph mean in Chinese?
| A．晒黑 | B．晒白 | C．能量 | D．保护 |
A good US student spends his/her time ________.
| A．only in doing homework |
| B．only on sports |
| C．only on music |
| D．on studies, sports or music and public work |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The writer is now in US. |
| B．American girls love to have white skin. |
| C．American girls love to have brown skin. |
| D．US students are talented and hard-working. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．My Own Travel in the US |
| B．My Studying in the US |
| C．My Opinion about the US |
| D．My Studying in China |
Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact，it’s likely some of these things have already happened to you．Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a girlfriend，a marketing company, a boss，a policeman or a criminal. Whoever it is，they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen — the 21st century equa
l to being caught naked (裸露的).
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, though it's important to reveal (透露) yourself to friends，family and lovers in stages, at 
appropriate times. Actually few boundaries remain. The digital breadcrumbs (面包屑) you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are，where you are and what you like. In some cases，a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter? For many Americans, the answer apparently is “no”.
When opinion polls (民意调查) ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found a majority of people are pessimistic (悲观的) about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”
But people say one thing and d
o another. Only a small part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to protect their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费亭) to avoid using the EZ — Pass system that can track (跟踪) automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquits has run a series of tests that reveal people will submit personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券).
But privacy does matter — at least sometimes. It’s like health; when you 
have it, you don’t n
otice it
. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it... What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?
| A．There should be a distance even between friends. |
| B．There should be fewer quarrels between friends. |
| C．Friends should always be faithful to each other. |
| D．Friends should open their hearts to each other. |
.. Why does the author say “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret”?
| A．There are always people who are curious about others’ affairs. |
B．Many search engines profit by revealing people’s identities. |
| C．People leave traces around when using modem technology. |
| D．Modem society has finally developed into an open society. |
.. What do most Americans do to protect privacy?
| A．They change behaviors that might disclose their identity. |
| B．They talk a lot but hardly do anything about it. |
| C．They rely more and more on electronic equipment. |
| D．They use various loyalty cards for business deals. |
.．We can infer from Paragraph 2 that _________.
| A．criminals are easily caught on the spot with advanced technology |
| B．people tend to be more frank with each other in the information age |
| C．in the 21st century people try every means to look into others’ secrets |
| D．people’s personal information is easily accessed without their knowledge |
.．According to the passage，privacy is like health in that _________.
| A．its importance is rarely understood | B．it is something that can easily be lost |
| C．people will make every effort to keep it | D．people don’t treasure it until they lose it |
Bexley Middle School eighth-graders won the grand prize at the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition (TM) on Feb. 18 in Washington, D.C. They competed with 37 other schools across the country.
The students qualified for the national competition by winning a regional competition on Jan. 17 in Columbus. By winning the national event, the students earned an all-expenses paid trip to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., according to a Bexley school district news report.
Future City aims to stir (激发) interest in science, technology, engineering and math among young people. Bexley team members were Tom Krajnak, Abby Sharp, Wyatt Peery, Elizabeth Maher, Aaron Hutchinson and Truman Haycock. They work in teams under the guidance of a teacher, Margaret Englehardt, and a volunteer engineer, Mark Sherman, design and build a city of tomorrow. Mayor John Brennan presented the students during a recent Bexley City Council meeting. Each team in the Future City competition plans its city using Sim City software and creates a model to show a physical representation of one section of the city. Team members must write both an essay about the yearly theme and an abstract about their city. They also must make a presentation to judges.
Focusing on eco-responsibility, the Bexley team built “Novo-Mondum,” an Icelandic city in the year 2171. Krajnak said the team’s project included a new water system for each resident unit and a 500-word essay on using bacteria to purify water. “We used our essay and abstract (摘要) to build a model,” he said. “It was hard to organize which building would go where, what each building does and how to make it look good.”
Englehardt said her students did a good job answering impromptu (即席) questions during the regional competition. “They can think on their feet,” she said. Principal Harley Williams said the school is very proud of the students’ performance... From the passage we can learn that the grand prize winners will _________.
A．receive scholarship for further studies  |
| B．get a free trip to Space Camp in Huntsville |
| C．earn a large sum of money for their designs |
| D．be admitted to universities without exams |
.The goal of the Future City competition is to _________.
| A．make the Sim City software popular |
| B．test the students’ knowledge of city planning |
| C．select future engineers from young students |
| D．make students become interested in engineering |
. Each team must do the following EXCEPT _________.
| A．write brief abstracts describing their city |
| B．present and defend their designs before judges |
| C．build a future city in Iceland by themselves |
| D．create model cities using the Sim City software |
. According to Margaret Engl
ehardt, the students _________.
| A．always stand still in the competition |
| B．react very quickly to the questions |
| C．prepare for the questions in advance |
| D．take pride in the advisers’ performance |
