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. |
Eleven-year-olds are to learn Shakespeare using the approaches taken by actors, and English teachers will be encouraged to let pupils walk around the classroom rather than read the plays while pupils are sitting at their desks.
Within the English curriculum(课程) you tend to look at a play text as a piece of literature rather than performance. But you can’t possibly understand Shakespeare’s language if you’re just reading it in your head. Shakespeare is difficult; it’s not a 21stcentury text. You have to use different ways to understand it.
The new teaching way focuses on how actors come to understand Shakespeare’s language. In fact actors have the same nervousness about Shakespeare’s language as young people in schools do. But in six to eight weeks they get to a place of complete confidence about the play. Pupils can do as well.
Exercises devised are to let children aged 11 to 14 imitate the methods of professional actors. Written and oral assessments developed alongside the lessons will show how well students have understood the texts.
In one task pupils will work on creating four key physical figures of king, warrior(勇士), lover and joker, finding which lines of their chosen character go with those features first and then acting them out. Through this they can examine how a character such as Macbeth can switch dramatically within one scene from soldier to kingly figure to trick planner. It’s really creative but you’re still getting a really wonderful model of understanding. It’s miles away from a “chalk and talk” method.
Educators think Shakespeare should be a central part of every young person’s education. Developing a love of Shakespeare at a young age often leads to a lifelong passion for literature and helps to improve a child’s reading and writing.How will young people learn Shakespeare?
| A．Reading them aloud. | B．Reciting them. |
| C．Cooperating with actors. | D．Acting them out. |
You cannot understand Shakespeare’s words easily because________.
| A．they are pieces of literature | B．their expressions are different |
| C．ordinary people cannot understand them | D．they are performances |
The underlined sentence “It’s miles away from a ‘chalk and talk’ method.” In Paragraph 5 means_____.
| A．Chalk and talk are far away from each other |
| B．It is much better than the traditional way |
| C．Chalk and talk are quite different |
| D．By chalk and talk we can understand Shakespeare |
What’s the best title of the reading passage?
| A．The New Approach to Shakespeare |
| B．The Introduction to Shakespeare |
| C．How to act Shakespeare’s plays |
| D．Shakespeare’s works in the English curriculum |
Counterfeit ( 假的) medicines are a widespread problem in developing countries. Like other counterfeits, they look like real products. But counterfeit drugs may contain too little or none of the active ingredients of the real thing.
People do not get the medicine they need. And in some cases counterfeits cause death. Twenty children in Bangladesh died last year after being given acetaminophen(醋氨酚). The medications contained ingredients that looked, smelled and tasted like the real thing. The medicine was produced by a local drug company that used a dangerous substitute to save money.
The problem of counterfeit medicines is especially serious in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The W.H.O. estimates that up to thirty percent of medicines on sale in many of those countries are counterfeit. The problem is less widespread among industrialized countries. The W.H.O. says counterfeits make up less than one percent of the illegal drug market in countries like the United States, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand.
But the agency also says as much as fifty percent of the medicine sold on the Internet is counterfeit.
Much is being done to fight counterfeit drugs. Several companies are developing ways to make counterfeits easier to identify. And there are existing methods, like a machine that can quickly identify chemicals in pills to confirm if the pills are real. Other ideas include things like special tracking codes for drug packages. People could send a text message with the code and get a message back, which proves that what they bought is listed in a database. Some drug makers and other companies put three-dimensional images called holograms (全息图)on their products as a security device.Last year twenty children in Bangladesh died because of _____.
| A．online medicines | B．unreal drugs |
| C．acetaminophen | D．unclean water |
We can draw a conclusion from the passage that______.
| A．it is very cheap and convenient to buy medicines online. |
| B．medicine companies don’t pay much attention to counterfeit drugs. |
| C．more and more people will buy products online. |
| D．we had better not buy medicines online. |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．It reveals the reasons why counterfeit drugs are widespread. |
| B．Some measures are being taken to fight counterfeit drugs. |
| C．Special tracking codes for drug packages are used to identify counterfeits. |
| D．It shows the danger of counterfeit drugs. |
Which of the following country may have serious problems of counterfeit medicines?
| A．Canada. | B．Japan. | C．New Zealand. | D．India. |
Being that I worked in a grocery store for 7 years, I know quite a bit about impulsive purchases. In fact, I helped (sadly to say) push certain products by placing them in a certain fashion. Through said experience, I tend to know some of the best ways to counter the impulsive nature of buying things that are unnecessary.
The following is a 3- point list to counter the need to buy something shoved in your face…
Don't bring the kids.
You wouldn't believe (or maybe you parents would) how much more junk parents buy for their kids that is completely impulsive. Working as a checker at a grocery store, I quickly learned that most of the time kids were with their parents, the parents would buy something else within 10 feet of the check stand.
Bring exact cash.
I like to use my debit card because I am able to track every penny better, but holding and letting go of cash is much tougher for me personally. So, if I am going through a tough time budgeting properly, I will bring the allotted (限定的)amount of cash to the place of business and only allow that to be used.
Ignore salesman.
If you are at a department store and someone asks if you need help, try to ignore their push as much as possible. Sure, if you know nothing about laptops, get their advice, but even then I suggest doing your research pre-shop. Salesman could care less what you want. It's all about what their quota or commission is. Ignore them.Why does the author write the passage?
| A．To talk about her own shopping experiences. |
| B．To give readers some advice about resisting buying unnecessary things. |
| C．To complain about some bad experiences. |
| D．To tell us she has the habit of buying things that are unnecessary. |
Why does the author like to use debit card?
| A．Because her debit card is convenient. |
| B．Because she has not much cash. |
| C．Because she can know where every her penny goes. |
| D．Because she has many debit cards. |
Which statement about the passage is WRONG?
| A．Parents always bring something else for their children. |
| B．The author will bring the exact cash to buy things when going through a tough time. |
| C．Salesmen care much about what you want, so you can follow their advice. |
| D．The author worked in a grocery store for 7 years. |
Charlie Chaplin was one of the greatest and widely loved silent movie stars. From “Easy Street” (1917) to “Modern Times” (1936), he made many of the funniest and most popular films of his time. He was best known for his character, the naive and lovable Little Tramp. The Little Tramp, a well meaning man in a raggedy suit with cane, always found himself wobbling into awkward situations and strangely wobbling away. More than any other figure, it is this kind-hearted character that we associate with the time before the talkies (sound films).
Born in London in 1889, Chaplin first visited America with a theater company in 1907. Appearing as “Billy” in the play “Sherlock Holmes”, the young Chaplin toured the country twice. On his second tour, he met Mack Sennett and was signed to Keystone Studios to act in films. In 1914 Chaplin made his first one-reeler, “Making a Living”. That same year he made thirty-four more short films, including “Caught in a Cabaret”, “Caught in the Rain”, “The Face on the Bar-Room Floor”, and “His Trysting Place”. These early silent shorts allowed very little time for anything but physical comedy, and Chaplin was a master at it.
Though Chaplin is of the silent movie era, we see his achievements carried through in the films of today. With the appearance of the feature-length talkies, the need for more subtle acting became apparent. To maintain the audience’s attention throughout a six-reel film, an actor needed to move beyond constant comedy. Chaplin had demanded this depth long before anyone else. His strictness and concern for the processes of acting and directing made his films great and led the way to a new, more sophisticated, cinema.Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．“The little Tramp” was the only character that Charlie Chaplin acted. |
| B．Charlie Chaplin signed to Keystone Studios in 1906. |
| C．Charlie Chaplin made five short films in 1914. |
| D．Charlie Chaplin has a great effect on today’s sound film. |
What is the right order according to the passage?
a. Charlie Chaplin made the film “ Easy Street”.
b. The film “Caught in the rain” was made.
c. Charlie Chaplin first visited America.
d. Charlie Chaplin met Mack Sennett.
e. “Modern Times” was made.
A. d, c, a, e, b B d, c, b, a, e C. c, d, b, a, e D. c, d, a, b, eWhich word can best describe Charlie Chaplin according to the passage?
| A．lovable | B．kind-hearted | C．strict | D．awkward |
What do you think is the passage about?
| A．Life of Chaplin | B．Works of Chaplin |
| C．Characters of Chaplin | D．An introduction of Chaplin |
Sometimes you may have a strong desire to do something strange or terrible. However, chances are that you don’t act on your impulse (冲动), but let it pass instead. You know that to take the action is wrong in some way and that other people will not accept your behavior.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the phenomenon of taboo behavior is how it can change over the years, how certain behavior and attitudes once considered taboo can become perfectly acceptable and natural at another point in time. Topics such as death, for example, were once considered so upsetting that it was a taboo to even talk about them. Now with the publication of important books such as On Death and Dying and Learning to Say Goodbye, people have become more aware of the importance of expressing feelings about death and, as a result, are more willing to talk about this taboo subject.
One of the newest taboos is the topic of fat. Unlike many other taboos, fat is a topic that people talk about constantly. It’s not taboo to talk about fat; it’s taboo to be fat. The “in” look is thin, not fat. In the work world, most companies prefer youthful-looking, slim manager to sell their image as well as their products to the public. The thin look is associated with youth, vigor, and success. The fat person, on the other hand, is thought of as lazy and lacking in energy, self-discipline and self-respect. After all, how can people permit themselves to become fat? In an image-conscious society, thin is ‘‘in”, fat is “out”.
It’ s not surprising that millions of people have become obsessed (着迷) with staying slim and “in shape”. The pursuit of a youthful physical appearance is not, however, the only reason for people’s obsession with diet and exercise. Recent research has shown the importance of diet and exercise for personal health. As in most technologically developed nations, the life-style of people has changed since last century. Modern machines do all the physical labor. Cars and buses transport us quickly from point to point. As a result of inactivity and disuse, people’s bodies can easily become weak. In an effort to avoid such a fate , millions of people are spending more of their time exercising. Parks are filled with joggers and bicyclists, and many companies are providing special exercise equipment for their employees to use during the work day.What does the word “taboo’’ refer to in the passage?
| A．Behavior considered unacceptable to the society. |
| B．An unfavorable impression left on other people. |
| C．A strong desire to do something strange or terrible. |
| D．A crime committed on impulse. |
What does the underlined phrase “in” look probably mean?
| A．The hidden look. | B．The fashionable look. |
| C．The usual look. | D．The inside look. |
According to the passage, the common belief is that _________.
| A．fat people are full of energy | B．fat people prefer to have fat bosses |
| C．thin people are more successful | D．thin people are less image-conscious |
People pay more attention to diet and exercise because of _________.
| A．their need to kill time | B．their love for sports |
| C．their belief in hard work | D．their concern for health |