When I was at University I studied very hard. But a lot of my friends did very little work. Some did just enough to pass exams. Others didn’t do quite enough. Fred Baines was one of them. He spent more time playing than working in the library.
Once at the end of the term, we had to take an important test in chemistry. The test had a hundred questions. Beside each question we had to write “True” or “False”. While I was studying in my room the night before the test, Fred was watching TV. Fred usually worried a lot the night before a test. But on that night he looked perfectly calm. Thenhe told me of his plan. “It’s very simple. There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty correct to pass the test. I’ll just toss（掷）the coin to decide the answers. That way, I’m sure I’ll get half the questions right.”
The next day, Fred came happily into the exam room. As he sat tossing a coin for half an hour he marked down his answers. Then he left, half an hour before the rest of us.
The next day, he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor. “Oh, good,” he said to the teacher, “Have you got the result of the test?” The teacher reached into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it into the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it.
“I’m terribly sorry, Fred,” he said, “You failed!”This story mainly wants to tell us .
| A．chemistry is really hard to learn |
| B．there are many questions for students to prepare. |
| C．good exam results really need studying hard |
| D．tossing a coin can not always decide the result |
Fred Baines was one of those who .
| A．did just enough to pass an exam |
| B．didn’t work hard enough for their studies |
| C．had more important work to do than study |
| D．were quite good at passing exams |
Fred came happily into the exam room because .
| A．he had got ready for the exam |
| B．he knew the answers already |
| C．one excellent student would help him |
| D．he had his special way to finish the exam |
Which of the following about the chemistry exam is TRUE?
| A．The chemisty exam was not very difficult at all. |
| B．It in fact took an hour to finish the chemisty exam |
| C．The chemisty exam had more than one hundred questions. |
| D．The chemisty exam needed to be done by tossing a coin. |
The professor tossed a coin to tell Baines that .
| A．he was satisfied with Baines’ way for the exam |
| B．he wanted to make friends with Baines |
| C．Baines’ way for the exam would never work |
| D．the exam result depended on the coin |
Not many things in life can be more irritating: you are having a conversation with friends, but they check their phones and begin replying to texts or checking their emails. The Guardian (卫报) described the scene of a friend’s face buried in a screen as “a distinct 21st-century problem”. A new word has been created to describe this --- phubbing. It is the act of looking at your mobile phone instead of paying attention to others during a social interaction. Like pointing at one’s nose, phubbing is widely considered rude behavior. People everywhere are beginning to lose patience with the phenomenon.
A “Stop Phubbing” campaign group has been started in Australia and at least five others have sprung up in its wake as anger about the lack of manners grows. The campaign’s creator, Alex Haigh, 23, from Melbourne, said, “A group of friends and I were chatting when someone raised how annoying being ignored by people on mobiles was.” He has created a website where companies can download posters to discourage phubbing.
Phubbing is just one symptom of our increasing dependence on mobile phones and the Internet, which is replacing normal social interaction. A survey found that one out of three Britons would answer the phone in a restaurant and 19% said they would while being served in a shop. The survey came after a supermarket assistant in south London refused to serve a woman until she stopped using her phone. A poll, for a Sunday paper, also found that 54 percent of people checked Facebook, Twitter or other social media every day, with 16 per cent checking more than ten times a day. An unsurprising 63 per cent of people carry their phone with them “almost all, or all of the time”, it found.
Phil Reed, a professor of psychology at Swansea University who has studied the Internet addiction disorder, said many phubbers show symptoms of addiction to their mobile phones.
Time magazine once pointed out, “Phubbing has a much greater potential harm to real-life connections by making people around us feel like we care more about posts than their presence.”
In the UK, Glamour magazine even imagined how novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817) would have written about people with bad mobile phone manners: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man or woman in possession of a good mobile phone must be in want of manners.”Phubbing has come about because _______.
| A．distrust has already been everywhere among people |
| B．the friendship between people is becoming fragile |
| C．people are getting dependent on attraction online |
| D．there has been a lack of means of communication |
Which of the statements is TRUE about the “Stop Phubbing” campaign?
| A．It was first started in America and then it spread to Melbourne. |
| B．Companies can update posters against phubbing on the website. |
| C．Alex Haigh, 23, was the first one to find phubbing annoying. |
| D．Up till now, at least six groups have claimed to support it. |
The supermarket assistant refused to serve the woman mainly because _______.
| A．the woman buried her face in the mobile phone screen for a very long time |
| B．the woman ignored respect and manners by focusing only on her phone |
| C．the assistant lost his patience with the woman who was using her phone |
| D．it is rare for customers to answer the phone while being served in shops |
In the last paragraph, the writer wants to tell readers that ______.
| A．one with a mobile phone should mind his/her manners |
| B．Jane Austen must have worked for Glamour magazine |
| C．phubbing is going to be forbidden immediately in the UK |
| D．people with good manners must have good mobile phones |
Extracts (摘录) From Information Booklet For Car Ferry Passengers
CAR DECKS
Car drivers are advised to use the handbrake before leaving their cars, to lock all doors and to take with them all belongings that may be needed during the crossing.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE
We regret that there are no facilities aboard for the exchange of cheques of any kind but most European currencies together with Euro cards and various types of international credit cards are accepted for payment in restaurants, shops, cinemas, etc. and to carry out other transactions (交易) on board.
PASSENGER FACILITIES ON BOARD
The following are a small selection of those available.
PROMENADE DECK(散步甲板): Here you can enjoy a pleasant stroll, go for a jog, or sit or lie back in the sunshine in adaptable reclining seats(躺椅). We would however suggest passengers that decks may be slippery in wet or freezing weather.
VIEWING BRIDGE: This is situated below the Captain's Bridge and offers a view over the bow of the ship. The viewing bridge is reached from the promenade deck via the foremost stairway.
A LA CARTE RESTAURANT: This serves the same breakfast buffet as the main dining room. Scandinavian and international specialties are available at lunch and dinner times. No reservations required.
DUTY-FREE SHOP: This is a supermarket offering Scandinavian and international goods, foodstuffs, spirits, tobacco goods, sweets etc.
OPENING TIMES: The opening times of the various shops, restaurants and other facilities are shown on the relevant entrance doors as well as on the boards in the main halls on Decks 4.Passengers to the A La Carte restaurant _______.
| A．can enjoy a buffet free of charge |
| B．cannot reserve a place for lunch or dinner |
| C．can have the full menu whenever they like |
| D．can sit wherever they like when they come in |
According to the information given, the promenade deck can be used for _____.
| A．exercise and relaxation |
| B．enjoying the view over the sea |
| C．taking exercise in all kinds of weather |
| D．spending the night |
Which of the following car ferry passengers might have trouble or difficulty on the ferry?
| A．A British standing on the viewing bridge below Captain's Bridge. |
| B．An Australian taking with him all his belongings in the car. |
| C．A Canadian with only banknotes from his own country. |
| D．A German going for a walk on promenade deck. |
The trouble with school is that you can’t choose the people you get to see every day. If you’re unlucky enough to be stuck with classmates who don’t really “get” you, you’ve just got to try to make the best of it.
But that doesn’t mean you need to “fit in”, or at least in the way that people think. If you try to transform yourself into a clone of everyone else, it won’t help you make friends. It’ll just make you feel like a fake.
You also shouldn’t shut down or refuse to be friends with everyone who doesn’t like you. If you do that, you’ll just make yourself miserable. Instead, you’ve got to work on being comfortable and confident with whom you are while ignoring all the haters. Keep on speaking up, asking questions and getting to know people better. If you send out positive energy, then people will generally send some back to you. A couple of them will stay the same, and you’re allowed to forget about them.
If you feel like you’re doing all that but still not getting anywhere, then don’t give up. Just expand your circle. Get a part-time job at a cool-looking place, join an after-school art class or youth group—do whatever it takes to find a couple of like-minded people to connect with. Even if you don’t find anyone right away, you’ll still be getting some more social experiences under your belt, and that’s always a good thing.
A fun book called Uncool, by Erin Elisabeth Conley, has some tips for folks like you who want to stay positive at school while being true to your personality:
·Throw caution to the wind.
·Don’t tolerate others’ mistakes.
·Have patience with people who are different from you.
·Don’t change just because someone else thinks you should.
·Know that even though you may be a misfit, there’s always some place where you will be welcomed in the world.According to the author, what should you do if you meet people who don’t appreciate you?
| A．Just give up. |
| B．Ask someone else for help. |
| C．Show positive attitude toward them. |
| D．Try your best to fit in with them. |
The author agrees that you should take part in more activities in order to __________.
| A．get more chances of making friends |
| B．lay a better foundation for your future jobs |
| C．transform yourself into a clone. |
| D．make you feel like a fake. |
In the book Uncool, Erin Elisabeth Conley thinks you should _________.
| A．always be kind to your friends |
| B．keep your own personality |
| C．tolerate others’ mistakes |
| D．help improve characters of others |
This passage was written mainly for _______.
| A．doctors | B．scientists |
| C．students | D．Teachers |
Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on July 21st, 1899. Influenced by his father, he enjoyed camping, fishing and hunting at his early age. In 1917, after graduation from high school, Hemingway began his writing career with The Kansas City Star. And then, after being rejected for army service in World War I because of poor vision, he volunteered to serve as a driver for an American ambulance unit in France. In 1918, he transferred to duty on the Italian front, where he was seriously wounded in an explosion. After his recovery, he returned home. He worked for The Toronto star, covered the Greco-Turkish war as a foreign reporter, and then returned to Paris, which was a city full of intellectual life, creativity, and genius after the war. In Paris, where he accomplished a revolution in literary style and language, his first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems, appeared in 1923, and was followed by a short story collection In Our Time, which marked his entry to American literature in 1925.
Hemingway’s status as a remarkable writer of his time was confirmed with the publication of A Farewell to Arms in 1929. The novel represented a farewell both for war and for love. In 1937, he became a foreign reporter covering the Spanish Civil war. Three years later, he published For Whom the Bell Tolls. Set in Spain during the Civil war, the novel restated his view of love found and lost and described the tough spirit of the common people. In 1912, the same judgment was reflected in his portrait of fisherman, Santiago, with an indomitable spirit in defeat, in The Old Man and the Sea, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. With one of the most important influences on the development of the American short story and novel, Hemingway has seized the imagination of the American public like no other twentieth-century author. He died by suicide, in Ketchum, Idaho, in 1961.Hemingway was turned down for army service in World war I because ______ .
| A．he was unlearned | B．he was in poor condition |
| C．he was inexperienced | D．he had bad eyesight |
The publication of _______ proved Hemingway one of the greatest literary lights of the 20th century.
| A．Three Stories and Ten Poems |
| B．A Farewell to Arms |
| C．The Old Man and the Sea |
| D．In Our Time |
Which is the correct order of the following events given in this passage?
a. Hemingway’s work For Whom the Bell tolls came out.
b. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
c. Hemingway’s first book was published in Paris.
d. Hemingway got wounded on the Italian front.
e. Hemingway covered the Greco-Turkish war as a foreign reporter.
| A．d, e, c, a, b | B．e, c, d, a, b |
| C．a, c, e, b, d | D．c, e, a, b, d |
The underlined word “indomitable” in the last paragraph probably means ______.
| A．unending | B．unselfish | C．unbending | D．Unchanging |
High school graduation—the bittersweet feelings are as much a part of me now as they were twenty-one years ago.
As graduation day approached, excitement increased. Being out of high school meant I was finally coming of age. Soon I would be on my own, making my own decisions, doing what I wanted without someone looking over my shoulder and it meant going to school with boys—a welcome change coming from an all-girl high school. There was never any question in my mind that I would go to a college away from home. My mother’s idea, on the other hand, was just the opposite. Trying her best not to force her preferences on me, she would mildly ask whether I had considered particular schools—all of which happened to be located in or near my hometown of Chicago. Once it was established(建立) that, as long as the expenses would not be too heavy a burden on the family budget, I would be going away anyway, my family’s viewpoint changed. Their concern switched from whether I was going away to how far. The schools I was considering on the East Coast suddenly looked much more attractive than those in California. But which college I would attend was just one of what seemed like a never-ending list of unknowns: What would college be like? Would I be unbearably lonely not knowing anyone else who was going to the same school? Would the other students like me? Would I make friends easily? Would I miss my family so much that I wouldn’t be able to stand it? And what about the work—would I be able to keep up? (Being an A student in high school seemed to offer little hope I would be able to survive college.) What if the college I chose turned out to be a terrible mistake? Would I be able to switch to another school?
Then panic set in. My feelings took a 180-degree turn. I really didn’t want to leave high school at all, and it was questionable whether I wanted to grow up after all. It had been nice being respected as a senior by the underclass students for the past year; I didn’t enjoy the idea of being on the bottom rung of the ladder again.
Despite months of expectation, nothing could have prepared me for the impact of the actual day. As the familiar melody (旋律) of “Pomp and Circumstance” echoed in the background, I looked around at the other students in white caps and gowns as we seriously lined into the hall. Tears welled up uncontrollably in my eyes, and I was overcome by a rush of sadness. As if in a daze (恍惚), I rose from my seat when I heard my name called and slowly crossed the stage to receive my diploma(毕业文凭). As I reached out my hand, I knew that I was reaching not just for a piece of paper but for a brand-new life. Exciting as the future of a new life seemed, it wasn’t easy saying good-bye to the old one—the familiar faces, the familiar routine. I would even miss that chemistry class I wasn’t particularly fond of and the long travel each day between home and school that I hated. Good or bad, it was what I knew.
That September, I was fortunate to attend a wonderful university in Providence, Rhode Island. I needn’t have worried about liking it. My years there turned out to be some of the best years of my life. And as for friends, some of the friendships I formed there I still treasure today. Years later, financial difficulties forced my high school to close its doors forever. Although going back is impossible, it’s comforting to know I can revisit my special memories any time. In this article the author mainly describes ________.
| A．the great excitement before the graduation ceremony |
| B．her mixed feelings before graduation and on the actual graduation day |
| C．her happiness to be admitted to a wonderful university |
| D．her eagerness to go to a wonderful university far away from home |
The author’s mother ________.
| A．did not care very much which college her daughter went to |
| B．was greatly disappointed at her decision to go to a college on the East Coast |
| C．willingly allowed her to go to a college of her own choice |
| D．wished that she would study at a college or university close to home |
Expectation and excitement suddenly changed into anxiety and fear. Which of the following did the author NOT mention as a reason for that change?
| A．Growing homesick might seriously affect her physical health. |
| B．She might make a wrong choice and enter a university she did not like at all. |
| C．Her being a top student at high school did not mean she could be successful at college. |
| D．It might be hard for her to make friends in the new environment. |
On the actual graduation day, ________.
| A．she sang a song “Pomp and Circumstance” |
| B．she went through the whole ceremony in a daze |
| C．she came to realize that she was the only one who had a passion for her old school |
| D．reaching out for diploma, she was aware of a new stage in life ahead of her |
The author adopts a(n)________ tone in writing this article.
| A．negative | B．serious |
| C．emotional | D．cold-blooded |