Like lots of small-business owners, Lola Gonzalez had to decide to cut down her company’s nine-person staff (员工) when the economic recovery began to fail last spring. Unlike other companies, she picked an unlikely employee to lay off (解雇): herself.
Her business began to have problems in 2008 after going through her books (账簿)
One day, her husband, Marcos, told her she had to reduce her payroll（薪金总额）by one person. Gonzalez said at a meeting, “I want you all to know that I have to lay somebody off and it’s been a very difficult decision. And that person is me.” Employees first froze in amazement and then burst into laughter until they realized she was serious. Gonzalez ’s employees said they were grateful for her kindness.
Her reason was simple. Although she ran the business and her employees did the legwork (跑腿), she thought she could find work more easily than her staff. Sure enough, she soon got a job as a social worker for a non-profit organization called Devereux Kids. She enjoys her social-worker job now, but the salary (薪水) cut has required some lifestyle changes. She and Marcos no longer eat out daily; they no longer pay for their son’s car and mobile phone, and they changed their car to a smaller one to save $300 a month.
Her business has picked up a bit recently and Marcos has begun to work part-time at Gonzalez’s company. Gonzalez says she has no plan to return to work at her company until the economic situation becomes better, perhaps in a year. Her employees, however, will get Christmas bonuses (奖金) this year.How many workers are there in Gonzalez’s company at present?
| A．8. | B．9. | C．10. | D．11. |
How did her employees feel at first when they heard Gonzalez’s decision?
| A．Happy. | B．Grateful. | C．Surprised. | D．Unbelievable. |
After leaving her company, _____________.
| A．Gonzalez sold her car and went to work by bus |
| B．Gonzalez always had meals in a restaurant |
| C．Gonzalez’s son helped her a lot |
| D．Gonzalez changed her lifestyle a lot |
From the text, we can learn that ___________.
| A．Gonzalez will not return to her company in future |
| B．Gonzalez’s business has improved a little lately |
| C．Gonzalez got her social-worker job with great difficulty |
| D．Marcos lost his job and had to work at Gonzalez’s company |
The first robots were invented in the 1920s. Robots have appeared in Hollywood films such as Robocop and The Terminator. The robots in these films are stronger, faster and more intelligent than people.
In real life, robots are mainly used in factories. They do many different jobs. Usually these jobs are too dangerous, difficult or boring for humans.
Robots also help disabled people and people who cannot look after themselves. For example, scientists are making a robot to help blind people. Nowadays many blind people have a dog to help them. This dog is called a guide dog. In the future, robot dogs might take the place of these guide dogs.
One robot guide dog is called Meldog. It has wheels. It usually “walks” in front of its owner. It is very clever. It knows the speed of its owner’s walk. Meldog talks to its owner by radio. The owner wears a special belt. This belt sends instructions to the owner from Meldog such as “Stop here”, “Turn left” and “Turn right”.
In the United States, another type of robot helps disabled workers. This robot, called Kilroy, helps disabled computer operators. The robot hears the sound of its owner’s voice. It follows instructions such as “Turn the page” and “Make a cup of coffee”. This robot will bring its owner tissue paper when he or she sneezes!
Robots are also used in American hospitals. They can do simple jobs. For example, they shave patients and brush their teeth and take meals from the kitchen to the patients’ rooms. They never get lost because they have a map of the hospital in their computer memory.
Some robots in real life are .
| A．dangerous | B．boring |
| C．film stars | D．factory workers |
Some disabled people need robots to .
| A．make robots | B．become scientists |
| C．look after themselves | D．do dangerous jobs |
Meldog is a .
| A．blind dog | B．robot scientist |
| C．real dog | D．robot guide dog |
The robots used in American hospitals can do the following except .
| A．make a map |
| B．shave patients |
| C．brush the patients’teeth |
| D．take meals from the kitchen to the patients’ rooms |
Language is a way to communicate witheach other. We started to learn language when we were born. However, people are used to speaking their native language, so immigrants(移民) are having many problems between the first generation and the second generation because they don’t have the same native language. A1so, the second generation is losing their identity. Especially in America, there are many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States. Because they suffer in lots of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English, they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to be more successful.
For example, my aunt, who has been living in Chicago for fifteen years, has three children and they were all born in the States. The eighteen-year-old daughter speaks English as a native language and she speaks Korean very well too. She has no problem talking with her parents, but she still doesn’t understand Korean jokes, and they are sometimes misunderstandings. The second daughter is fourteen years old, and she doesn’t want to speak Korean. My aunt often gets upset with her because she is very Americanized and they cannot understand each other. Even when my aunt punishes her, this daughter does not understand what my aunt is talking about.
My aunt taught Korean to her children not in order to help them succeed in the U. S.; she did so, hopefully, to help them establish a Korean identity(身份). Though the second generation is born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity because they look different from others, and also, if they visit their parents’ country, they will probably feel different from other people there, too.
We must realize that language is important and valuable for many reasons. Immigrants should make an effort not to be ignored by their children and to make their children understand their heritage(传统) by teaching them the parents’ language. This is very important, not only for the harmony(和谐) of the family, but also in helping the second generation establish their identity.What do you think this article is about?
| A．Learning a second language. |
| B．Immigrants who become homesick in the U. S. |
| C．Language and its effect on the identity of immigrants. |
| D．Schools attended by immigrants to the U. S. |
Which of the following is NOT true about the 18 year old daughter?
| A．She was born in the U. S. |
| B．She speaks only English very well but her Korean is poor. |
| C．She gets along better with her parents. |
| D．She doesn’t understand Korean jokes well. |
To whom does the mother speak Korean?
| A．Her oldest daughter only. | B．All of her children. |
| C．Her two daughters only. | D．Only to her son. |
Why did the author’s aunt try to teach her children to speak Korean?
| A．To help them succeed in the U. S. |
| B．To help them find a good job. |
| C．To help them establish a Korean identity. |
| D．To help her improve her Korean language skills. |
— __________ do you call up your parents?
— Mostly once a week, but this week I haven’t done that, because I’ll go back this weekend.
| A．How long | B．How far |
| C．How often | D．How soon |
There are good Santas and there are bad Santas. The good Santas all realize one thing: In the mind of a child, Santa Claus is perfect. That’s difficult. And so they come from around the world to attend the Charles W. Howard School in Midland, Mich. The school offers a three-day, 40-hour course for Santas hoping to be excellent. A former Macy’s Santa named Charles Howard founded the Michigan school in 1937. “Many people will think if you have a suit and you’re a Santa,” said Tom Valent, the school’s current dean. “It’s more than that.” The school teaches everything from breathing techniques for carol singing to the beard maintenance. There are lessons in child psychology, sign language and even media training for talk-show appearances and call-in shows. Santas also need to make sure they know all the names of the reindeer(驯鹿). What’s harder to deal with, however, is children who ask for Christmas gifts like bringing daddy home or making mommy happy again. After spending time in the classroom, Weir went to the mall to test his training. However, at one point, his hat fell off, and he was unsure how to react. “You’re the real Santa,” Valent said. “Pick that hat up, slip it back on, keep smiling and do your job. You’ve got to stay on top of your game. Even the last one at night, when you’re tired, you’ve got to remember: This one’s forever, so do a good job.”According to the passage, good Santas should be the ones that ______.
| A．can offer the children some gifts |
| B．help adults look after their children |
| C．have ability to make children happy |
| D．should be perfect in the mind of children |
The Michigan school was founded by Charles Howard with the purpose to ______.
| A．train the pet reindeer for the Santas |
| B．earned money from its students |
| C．train perfect Santas for the world |
| D．show the world’s concern to the poor |
According to Weir’s performance, we can conclude that ______.
| A．Weir was short of experience |
| B．Weir was not fit for the job as a Santa |
| C．Weir did very badly in the game |
| D．Weir was not a good student in school |
When the famous dancer Fred was interviewed for a job by a Hollywood producer , the movie Expert turned him down, saying,”Can’t sing. Can’t act. Dances a little.” Here’s another stupid mistake. When the great scientist Albert Einstein was at school, his teachers considered him rather dull. And a final story, the famous Polish pianist Paderewski was told by a teacher that he’d never be a success as a performer because the middle finger on each hand was too short.
What lessons can be drawn from these three experiences? First, true genius (天才）cann’t be suppressed(压抑）．For some reason or other it works its way out. Second, early judgments of a person’s abilities may be unfair or just wrong. Third, when there is a real determination to succeed, obstacles fall by the wayside.
The famous motto “ad astra per aspera” can be translated as “ To the stars through hardships”. Astaire, Einstein and Paderewski proved their critics wrong.Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
| A．Fred Astaire was a famous dancer. |
| B．True ability will always make itself known. |
| C．Some people never get discouraged. |
| D．Albert Einstein prove his teachers wrong. |
When Paderewski’s teacher told him he’d never be a success, the teacher was .
| A．Being humorous | B．Cheerful, though concerned |
| C．Somewhat hesitant | D．Seriously mistaken |
“Ad astra per aspera” is used in the passage .
| A．As a motto for the three men’s lives |
| B．To show the value of Latin |
| C．To send the reader to the dictionary |
| D．To point out that genius is always recognized early |
The writer of the passage thinks that the reader .
| A．Knows that the three men were successful men |
| B．Dreams to become like one of the men some day |
| C．Sympathizes with (同情） the poor teachers of the three men |
| D．Knows that Fred Astaire was an actor famous for performing Shakespeare’s plays |