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Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the united kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?

A.How the Irish fought against the English.
B.How Ireland gained independence.
C.How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.
D.How two “Irelands” came into being.

We learn from the text that in Ireland            .

A.food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population
B.people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside
C.it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker
D.different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments

The last paragraph is mainly about          .

A.the Irish character
B.Irish culture
C.Irish musical instruments
D.a famous Irish writer

What can be the best title for the text?

A.Life in Ireland
B.A Very Difficult History
C.Ireland, Past and Present
D.The Independence of Ireland
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People are being lured(引诱) onto Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service, and don’t realize that they’re paying for it by giving up loads of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data(资料) to advertisers that want to send targeted (目标的)messages.
Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook, because people don’t really know what their personal details are worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you could keep everything private. That was the great thing about Facebook—you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things—your city, your photo, your friends’ names—were set, by default(默认), to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
According to Facebook’s vice president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a “less satisfying experience.”
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. Who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites. “I think the senators rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them,” Schrage admits.
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade(侵犯)our privacy, it’s only the beginning,which is why I’m considering deactivating(撤销) my account(账号). Facebook is a handy site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t trust. That is too high a price to pay.
What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph?

A.It is a website that sends messages to targeted users.
B.It makes money by putting on advertisements.
C.It earns money by selling its user’s personal data
D.It provides a lot of information to its users

What does the author say about most Facebook users?

A.They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook
B.They are unwilling to give up their personal information
C.They don’t identify themselves when using website
D.They care very little about their personal information

Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?

A.To help its users make more friends
B.To obey the Federal guidelines
C.To make money by attracting more users
D.To offer better service to its users

What does Senator Charles Schumer argue for?

A.Setting guidelines for advertising on websites
B.Setting rules for social-networking sites
C.Stopping sharing user’s personal information
D.Removing ads from all social-networking sites

Why does the author plan to stop using his Facebook account?

A.He is dissatisfied with its service.
B.He finds many of its users untrustworthy.
C.He doesn’t want his personal data badly used.
D.He is upset by its frequent rule changes.

With more and more cars on the road, traffic jams are inevitable. Traffic jams can lead to increased accidents as there are more cars, with more people trying to get to their destination, all the while getting worse. Although it’s impossible to avoid traffic jams altogether, there are some tips you can follow to reduce the amount of time on the road.
Check for traffic jams before you leave. You can listen to the radio for traffic news, or check on the Internet to get up-to-minute information on traffic. If the route you want to take is heavy with traffic, you can choose another.
Look for a different route all the time. Most traffic jams happen on busy roads. Using country roads could see you avoiding a lot of traffic. Although the distance you may have to travel is further, it can work out quicker.
Set your car radio to receive traffic bulletins. Many new car stereo systems (汽车音响系 统) are equipped with a radio system by which you can hear the traffic channel. This way you can get the latest traffic information and change your journey if necessary.
__________ Most traffic jams usually occur during rush hour, so try to avoid this time period if possible. Some jobs offer flexible working hours so that you can travel to work outside of rush hour. Some jobs even allow you to work at home so as to avoid moving altogether. Ask your manager to see what you can do if traffic is a problem for you.
Use public transport alternatives where available. The easiest way to avoid traffic jams is to take buses or the underground instead of driving your own car. Not only will you avoid traffic jams but you will most likely be saving money as the cost of motoring rises.
The underlined word “inevitable” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.

A.hard to accept B.impossible to avoid
C.getting less serious D.seen everywhere

The author wrote the text in order to ______.

A.explain why there are traffic jams
B.tell us how to save time on the road
C.tell us what we can do on the road
D.tell us the negative effects of traffic jams

To get the latest traffic information, you could do the following EXCEPT ______.

A.surfing the Internet
B.listening to the radio for traffic news
C.listening to the traffic channel
D.turning to other drivers for information

Which of the following can be put in the blank in the text?

A.Choose a job that has flexible working hours
B.Make friends with your manager
C.Try traveling at different time
D.Work from home

According to the author, we should use public transport because __________.

A.it is cheaper and can avoid traffic jams
B.it is useful to us
C.it is environmentally-friendly
D.it is completely free from traffic jams

When I was fifteen, I announced to my English class that I was going to write and illustrate my own books. Half the students sneered. The rest nearly fell out of their chairs laughing. “Don’t be silly, only geniuses can become writers,” the English teacher said, “And you are getting a D this semester.” I was so humiliated(羞辱) that I burst into tears.
That night I wrote a short sad poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the Capri’s Weekly newspaper. To my astonishment, they published it and sent me two dollars. I was a published and paid writer. I showed it to my teacher and fellow students. They laughed. “Just plain dumb luck,” the teacher said. I tasted success. I’d sold the first thing I’d ever written. That was more than any of them had done and if it was just dumb luck, that was fine with me.
During the next two years I sold dozens of poems, letters, jokes and recipes. By the time I graduated from high school, with a C minus average, I had scrapbooks filled with my published work. I never mentioned my writing to my teachers, friends or my family again. They were dream killers and if people must choose between their friends and their dreams, they must always choose their dreams.
I had four children at the time, and the oldest was only four. While the children slept, I typed on my ancient typewriter. I wrote what I felt. It took nine months, just like a baby.
A month later Crying Wind, the title of my book, became a best seller, was translated into fifteen languages and Braille and sold worldwide. I appeared on TV talk shows. I traveled from New York to California and Canada on promotional tours. My first book also became required reading in native American schools in Canada.
People ask what college I attended, what degrees I had and what qualifications I have to be a writer. The answer is: “None.” I just write. I’m not a genius. I’m not gifted and I don’t write right. To all those who dream of writing, I’m shouting at you: “Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Don’t listen to them.” I don’t write right but I’ve beaten the odds. Writing is easy, it’s fun and anyone can do it. Of course, a little dumb luck doesn’t hurt.
Why did many students laugh after hearing what the writer said?

A.Because they didn’t like him
B.Because they wished he could be successful as a writer
C.Because their teacher laughed, too
D.Because they felt it impossible for him to succeed

When the writer graduated from high school, ___________.

A.he had become a famous writer
B.he had made progress in his studies.
C.his classmates and teachers changed their attitudes towards him
D.he decided he wouldn’t become a writer

What prevented him telling others about his writing?

A.The characters in his story. B.His teacher.
C.His early experience. D.His parents.

What can we infer from the passage?

A.It is difficult for a person, who cares about what others say, to succeed.
B.It is important for a person to tell others what he wants to do.
C.It is necessary for a person, who wants to succeed, to take others’ advice.
D.It is impossible for an ordinary person to be a writer in the future.

Which of the following is the best title?

A.A famous writer
B.I Hate My Classmates and Teachers
C.I Never Write Right
D.A Genius Can Be a Writer

In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some hold an optimistic attitude. They value it highly, believing that it is a natural outcome of social progress and prosperity(繁荣)and that anyone who wants to be outstanding has to keep the pace. Others think otherwise. They say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that the unfriendly relationship between people because of competition.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth depended on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit(追求)of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others have an opposite opinion. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. They have no choice. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try”. What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs compared with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear is overcome can discover a new meaning in competition.
What does this passage mainly talk about?

A.Competition helps to set up self-respect.
B.Opinions about competition are different among people.
C.Competition is harmful to personal quality development.
D.Failures are necessary experience in competition.

Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?

A.It pushes society forward.
B.It builds up a sense of duty.
C.It improves personal abilities.
D.It encourages individual efforts.

The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means.

A.those who try their best to win
B.those who value competition most highly
C.those who are against competition most strongly
D.those who rely on others most for success

What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?

A.One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others.
B.One’s success in competition needs great efforts.
C.One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.
D.One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.

Which point of view may the author agree to?

A.Every effort should be paid back.
B.Competition should be encouraged.
C.Winning should be a life-and-death matter.
D.Fear of failure should be removed in competition.

While income worry is a rather common problem of the aged, loneliness is another problem that aged parents may face. Of all the reasons that explain their loneliness, a large geographical distance between parents and their children is the major one. This phenomenon is commonly known as “Empty Nest syndrome”.
In order to find better chances outside their countries, many young people have gone abroad, leaving their parents behind with no clear idea of when they will return home. Their parents spend countless lonely days and nights, taking care of themselves, in the hope that someday their children will come back to stay with them. The fact that most of these young people have gone to Europeanized or Americanized societies makes it unlikely that they will hold as tightly to the value of duty as they would have if they had not left their countries. Whatever the case, it has been noted that the values they hold do not necessarily match what the actually do. This geographical and cultural distance also prevents the grown-up children from providing response in time for their aged parents living by themselves.
The situation in which grown-up children live far away from their aged parents has been described as “distant parent phenomenon”, which is common both in developed countries and in developing countries. Our society has not yet been well prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”.
According to the passage, the loneliness of aged parents is mainly caused by ________.

A.their earlier experience of living alone
B.the poor living conditions in their native countries
C.the common worry that they have not saved much money
D.the distance between where parents live and where their children live

Many young people have gone abroad, leaving their aged parents behind, to ________.

A.realize their dreams in foreign countries
B.seek a better place for their aged parents
C.live in the countries with more money
D.continue their studies abroad

If young people go abroad, ________.

A.they do not hold to the value of duty at all
B.they can give some help to their parents back home
C.they cannot do what they should for their parents
D.they believe what they actually do is right

From the last paragraph, we can infer that ________.

A.the situations in the developed and developing countries are different
B.“Empty Nest Syndrome” has arrived unexpectedly in our society
C.children will become independent as soon as they go abroad
D.the aged parents are not fully prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”

The society discussed in the passage is most probably ________.

A.France B.America C.China D.Britain

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