Famous as “the king of chefs and the chef of kings,” Auguste Escoffier helped raise the position of cooking from a laborer’s task to an artist’s job. Escoffier was born on October 28, 1846, in the small village of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, France. Among the key figures in the boy’s life was his father, who worked primarily as a blacksmith（铁匠）. His grandmother, an enthusiastic cook, was perhaps more responsible than anyone for introducing the boy to an appreciation of the delights of cooking.
Young Escoffier attended the local school until age 12, upon which time his father thought it necessary that the boy learn a trade. In school he had shown a talent for drawing, yet he was told to regard this art only as a hobby, and to find his career in a more practical profession. Thus his father took him to Nice in 1859, where he would work as an apprentice（学徒）in his uncle’s restaurant, the respectable Le Restaurant Francais.
At Le Restaurant Francais, Escoffier was not treated as the close relative of the boss. Rather, he experienced a classically demanding apprenticeship. For this strictness of training he would later, in his memoirs（回忆录）, express gratefulness. During this time Escoffier also attended night school, and had to deal with his studies as well as the demands of a promising career.
When Escoffier was 19 and had taken on yet more responsibilities in his uncle’s restaurant, a customer recognized his skills and offered him work in Paris. This was the owner of Le Petit Moulin Rouge, one of the finest restaurants in Paris, where Escoffier was to become a sous-chef, ranking below the head chef. After three years in this position, he rose to the level of head chef, wearing the respected chef’s hat. It was his __________ who first influenced Escoffier to be interested in cooking.
| A．father | B．mother | C．uncle | D．grandmother |
We can infer that as a schoolboy, Escoffier might hope to be __________.
| A．a chef | B．a businessman | C．an artist | D．a blacksmith |
According to Paragraph 3, Escoffier __________.
| A．was badly treated by his uncle | B．showed great interest in writing |
| C．disliked working as an apprentice | D．was thankful for the strict training |
Which of the following can best describe Escoffier?
| A．Hard-working. | B．Honest. | C．Warm-hearted. | D．Modest. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．How to become a chef in France. | B．The influence of Auguste Escoffier. |
| C．What an apprentice is required to do. | D．The early life of a famous French chef. |
Today，people all over the world are moving out of small villages in the country to go and live in big，noisy cities.They are moving from the peaceful hills，mountains，fields，rivers and streams of the countryside to the busy world of streets，buildings，traffic and crowds.This movement from rural areas to urban_areas has been going on for over two hundred years.
In many countries，the main reason why people come to live in towns and cities is work.After one or two large factories have been built in or near a town，people come to find work，and soon an industrial area begins to grow.There is usually a residential area nearby，where the factory workers can live.The families of these workers need schools，hospitals and shops，so more people come to live in the area to provide these services and a city grows.
In every major city in the world，there is a business district where the big companies have their main offices.In the United States，this area is usually in the city centre.It is here that you can see the huge skyscraper office blocks.The people who work here often travel a long way to work each day.Many of them live in the suburbs of the city，far away from the industrial area and the city centre.Some suburbs are very pleasant，with nice houses and big gardens.There are usually parks for children to play in and large department stores where you can buy all you need.
But what is the future of the big cities? Will they continue to get bigger? Perhaps not.Some major cities have actually become smaller in the last ten years，and it is quite possible that one day we will see people moving out of the major cities and back into smaller towns and villages.We can easily know that the underlined phrase “urban areas” means________.
| A．areas of the countryside |
| B．areas of a town or city |
| C．areas near the countryside |
| D．areas near a town or city |
Why do people move to live in cities or towns?
| A．Because they can live more comfortably there. |
| B．Because they prefer a noisy life to a peaceful life. |
| C．Because they want to find work. |
| D．Because they are sure of having a better life there. |
In a residential area，you can see________.
| A．rows of houses，schools and shops |
| B．many offices and factories |
| C．a lot of factories and farms |
| D．many houses with offices and factories |
In the United States many people work in the centre of a big city________.
| A．while living on the faraway edge of the city |
| B．and live there |
| C．but live in another city |
| D．but live far away out of the city |
Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York—he in computers, she in special education.“Teaching means everything to us，” Tim would say. In April 1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.
Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton's foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. “I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire，”Tim recalls. He placed the brochure on his desk，“as a reminder.”
Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library .com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts.
The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a looksee. “We didn't want to give the children rubbish，” says Linda. The books reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama series.
Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: “This program introduces us to books I've never heard of .”
The Richters spend about $400 a month sending books to 200 children. “Some people sit there and wait to die，” says Tim. “Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left.”What let Tim think seriously about the meaning of life?
| A．His health problem. | B．His love for teaching. |
| C．The influence of his wife. | D．The news from the Web. |
What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?
| A．Give out brochures. | B．Do something similar. |
| C．Write books for children. | D．Retire from being a teacher. |
According to the text，Dolly Parton is________.
| A．a wellknown surgeon | B．a mother of a fouryearold |
| C．a singer born in Tennessee | D．a computer programmer |
Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?
| A．To avoid signing up online. |
| B．To meet Dollywood board members. |
| C．To make sure the books were the newest. |
| D．To see if the books were of good quality. |
Sure，it's good to get along well with your teacher because it makes the time you spend in the classroom more pleasant.
And yes，it's good to get along well with your teacher because，in general，it's smart to learn how to get along well with the different types of people you'll meet throughout your life.
In fact，kids who get along well with their teachers not only learn more，but they're more comfortable about asking questions and getting extra help.This makes it easier for them to understand new materials and do their best on tests.When you have this kind of relationship with a teacher，he or she can be someone to turn to with problems，such as problems with learning or school issues.
Here is a question：what if you don't get along well with your teachers? In fact，teachers want to get along well with you and enjoy seeing you learn.But teachers and students sometimes have personality clashes(个性冲突)，which can happen between any two people.If you show your teacher that you want to make the situation better，he or she will probably do everything possible to make that happen.By dealing with a problem like this，you learn something about how to get along with people who are different from you.
However，if a certain teacher isn't your favorite，you can still have a successful relationship with him or her，especially________.Here are some of those responsibilities：
Attend class ready to learn.
Be prepared for class with the right pencils，books，and completed assignments.
Listen when your teacher is talking.
Do your best，whether it's a classroom assignment，homework，or a test.The passage is written for________.
| A．teachers | B．advisers | C．students | D．parents |
According to the passage，getting along well with your teachers will make you________.
| A．get the best scores in the exams |
| B．have more pleasant time in the classroom |
| C．have no problems with study |
| D．get a better seat in the classroom |
The underlined word “that” in the fourth paragraph refers to________.
| A．getting along very well with classmates |
| B．the disappearance of personality differences |
| C．a better relationship between you and your teacher |
| D．the happy time you have in the classroom |
“________” can be filled in the blank.
| A．if you fulfill your basic responsibilities as a student |
| B．if you are easygoing and helpful |
| C．if you know some basic social skills |
| D．if you are thought of as a good student |
To most of us，school means classes，teachers，schedules，grades，and tests.But for the children at Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts，school is very different.
Firstly，there are no lessons.All the children，aged between 4 and 19，do whatever they want.There are no teachers—only “staff members”．The idea behind this is that you do not need to make children learn，because children want to learn anyway.“You do not need to say to a three yearold，‘Go explore your environment.'You can't stop them！” says Daniel Greenberg，a founder of the school.“But if you make children do what you want all day，they will lose all taste for learning.”
At Sudbury Valley School，you will permit children to talk，read，paint，cook，work on computers，study French，play the piano，climb trees or just run around.Two boys spent three years just fishing!
The other way that Sudbury Valley School is different is that the children can decide the rules.Every week，there is a school meeting where both children and staff have one vote each—even the fouryearolds.They decide the school rules，how to spend the school budget，and even which staff they want and do not want any more.
When the school first opened in 1968，people said it would never work.But today，the school has 200 students，and 80%of its students go on to college. Even the two boys who went fishing all the time have successful careers today.One of them is a musician and the other is a computer scientist.What is the main topic of the article?
| A．An unusual school. | B．Children's hobbies. |
| C．A school without rules. | D．Education in the US. |
What does the school believe?
| A．Teachers cannot teach children Well. |
| B．Children learn best when they do what they want to do. |
| C．Learning is for adults—children should only play. |
| D．Children should only learn about one thing at a time. |
What does Daniel Greenberg say about threeyearolds?
| A．They love learning. |
| B．They are very naughty. |
| C．They want to be outside all the time. |
| D．They are too young to learn anything. |
Who has the most power in the school meetings?
| A．The older children have more power than the younger children. |
| B．A child has more power than an adult. |
| C．The younger children have more power than the older children. |
| D．Everybody has equal power. |
JANE AUSTEN(1775—1817)is often regarded as the greatest of English women novelists on the strength of her six completed novels．Known particularly for their social comedy and accurate description of human relationships，they are still as widely read today as they have ever been．
The seventh child of a country priest(牧师)，Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon in Hampshire．Her father ,the Reverend George Austen，was an intelligent and sensitive man who encouraged Jane in her love of reading．From an early age she was familiar with the works of Henry Fielding，Sir Walter Scott，Richardson，Frances Burney and the poet George Crabbe．Her early attempts at writing include burlesques(滑稽作品)of popular romances．When her father retired in 1801 the family moved to Bath，which was later to feature in her novel Northanger Abbey(published in 1818)．After his death in 1805 the family moved first to Southampton and then in 1809 to Chawton in Hampshire．where Jane Austen is known to have written her last three novels：Mansfield Park(1814)，Emma(1816)and Persuasion(also published in 1818)．Although her other novels were written much earlier ,it was not until 1811 that Sense and Sensibility was first published．Pride and Prejudice，which followed in1813,features Jane Austen’own favourite hero，Elizabeth Bennet．
Surrounded by her lively and warm family and wholly buried herself in her writing and housework，Jane Austen led a life often known for its lack of events．She did，however ,attract several admirers and even accepted a proposal of marriage from one admirer-only to change her mind the following morning．Jane Austen’s independent life often seems reflected in her novels，which seem to display the world in miniature(缩影)．Sir Walter Scott praised Jane Austen for‘that unique touch which makes ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting’，while Somerset Maugham claimed that she had at her command ‘the most precious gift a novelist can possess’s that of keeping the reader’s interest．Jane Austen died in 1817．The underlined word“touch” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to
| A．style | B．contact | C．taste | D．attitude |
Which of Jane Austen’s novels were published after her death?
| A．Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park． |
| B．Northanger Abbey and Persuasion． |
| C．Pride and Prejudice and Emma． |
| D．Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion． |
We can infer from the passage that Jane Austen had a gift for
| A．attracting admirers |
| B．reflecting her own life in all her novels |
| C．making dull things and characters interesting |
| D．holding the readers’ interest |
This passage is most probably a
| A．collection of women novelists and their works |
| B．comment on Jane Austen and her works |
| C．brief introduction of Jane Austen |
| D．description of Jane Austen’s road to success |