Where we live，on the eastern shore of Maryland，the gentle waters run in and out like fingers slimming at the tips.
The Canada geese know this place，as do the white swans and the ducks. In autumn，they come home for the winter. Once or twice each year，snow and frozen rain move into the area. When this happens，if the river is at its narrowest，there is a freeze which hardens the water to ice.
One morning，a friend of mine set the breakfast table beside the huge window，which overlooked the Tred Avon River. Suddenly she leaned forward and cried out，“There is a goose out there.”
We saw the figure of a large Canada goose，very still，its wings folded tight to its sides，its feet frozen into the ice.
Then from the dark skies，she saw a line of swans. They floated from the top of the sky downward and at last landed on the ice. My friend was on her feet now，with one hand against her mouth，unbelieving. As the swans surrounded the frozen goose，she feared that life it still had might be pecked(啄) out by those great swan bills.
Instead，those bills began to work on the ice. The long necks were lifted and curved down，again and again. It went on for a long time. At last，the goose’s head was lifted. Its body was pulled. Then the goose was free and stood on the ice. And the swans stood in the air watching. Then，as if it had cried，“I cannot fly.” Four of the swans came down around it. Their powerful beaks chipped off the ice held in the feathers. Slowly，the goose spread its wings as far as they would go，and moved slowly into the sky.
This is a true story. I just think of it in the bad moment，and from it comes only one hopeful question：If so for birds，why not for man？Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Why Not for Man? | B．Graceful Swans |
| C．Swans’ Brave Act | D．I Just Couldn’t Believe It! |
What happened to the Canada goose?
| A．It was deserted by other geese. |
| B．It was stuck in the ice. |
| C．It was wounded and couldn’t fly. |
| D．It was lost in the water. |
At first the author’s friend was worried that________.
| A．the swans would not help the Canada goose |
| B．she didn’t care about this matter any more |
| C．the swans wouldn’t identify with the Canada goose |
| D．the swans would peck the Canada goose to death |
What did the swans do when they saw the Canada goose couldn’t fly?
| A．They chipped off the ice held in its feathers. |
| B．They waited patiently for the ice held in its feathers to melt. |
| C．They came down and lifted it up to the sky together. |
| D．They stayed with it and protected it. |
A nine-year-old kid was sitting at his desk when suddenly there was a puddle （/JC^C）between his feet and the front of his trousers was wet．He thought his heart was going to stop because he couldn't possibly imagine how this had happened．It had never happened before, and he knew that when the boys found out he would never hear the end of jt. When the girls found out, they would never speak to him again as long as he lived．
He prayed this prayer, "Dear God, I need help
now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat!" He looked up from his prayer and here came the teacher with a look in her eyes that said he had been discovered．As the teacher was walking toward him, a classmate named Susie was carrying a goldfish bowl full of water．Susie tripped （绊倒） in front of the teacher and dumped （倒） the bowl of water in the boy's lap．The boy pretended to be angry, but all the while was saying to himself, "Thank you．Lord!"
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy was the object of sympathy．The teacher rushed him downstairs and gave him gym shorts to put on while his trousers dried out．All the other children were on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk．The sympathy was wonderful．But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his had been transferred （转移） to someone else—Susie．She tried to help, but they told her to get out．
When school was over
, the boy walked over to Susie and whispered, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispered back, "I wet my trousers once, too!"T
he underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means ____ .
A．the boys would never play with him |
| B．the boys would treat him as usual |
| C．he would hardly hear any praise from the boys |
| D．he would be laughed at by the boys endlessly |
After Susie dumped water in his lap, the boy was in a state of ___
| A．excitement | B．relief | C．anxiety | D．anger |
What did the other kids do after the incident?
| A．They offered him dry clothes． |
| B．They laughed at the boy rudely, |
| C．They helped the boy do the cleaning． |
| D．They urged the boy to get out angrily, |
Why did Susie dump water in the boy's lap?
| A．The boy asked her to do so． |
| B．She just did it by accident． |
| C．The teacher tripped her on purpose． |
| D．She knew the boy's embarrassment． |
The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.
“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.
Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he’d been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste.
“I’m disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little gray-haired man.
“Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It’s the first time I’ve ever done such a thing,” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man’s sympathy.
Mr Carr’s brow furrowed as he reached for the phone, “Do you take me for a fool? Let’s see what the police have to say. But first I’ll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”
“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted her to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police.
Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs Higgins finally arrived. She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.
“He’s been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.
Mrs. Higgins put out her hand and touched Mr. Carr’s arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr. Carr?”
The woman’s calm and gentle manner disarmed the once-angry store-owner. “I was going to get a cop. But I don’t want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again, and I’ll let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins’s hand.
Mrs. Higgins thanked the old man for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”
In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother’s actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.
His mother’s face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. There were tears in her eyes.
This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．It was the first time Alfred had stolen anything. |
| B．Alfred tried to sound big to hide his fear. |
| C．Mr. Carr set a trap to catch Alfred stealing. |
| D．Mr. Carr had planned to forgive Alfred from the beginning. |
What does the underlined word “disarmed” probably mean?
| A．annoyed | B．made less angry |
| C．convinced | D．got over |
What was the mother’s attitude toward Alfred?
| A．She felt disappointed with him. | B．She was very strict with him. |
| C．She was supportive of him. | D．She was afraid of him. |
What impressed Alfred most about his mother at the drugstore was ________.
| A．how angry she was | B．that she didn’t cry |
| C．that she was able to save him | D．how effectively she handled Mr. Carr |
From the last paragraph, we know that Alfred ________.
| A．was no longer a youth | B．felt proud of his mother |
| C．wanted his mother to be happy | D．felt guilty and regretful for his deed |
A different sort of generation gap is developing in the workplace. Someone --- specifically the father-daughter team of Larry and Meagan Johnson --- has figured out that on some American job sites, five generations are working side by side.
In their new book about generations in the workplace the pair argue that while such an age difference adds a lot of texture and a variety of life experiences, it can also bring tensions and conflicts.
The Johnsons are human-resource trainers and public speakers. Dad Larry is a former health-care executive; daughter Meagan is a onetime high-level sales manager.
Here are the oldest and youngest of the five generations they identify:
They call the oldest group Traditionals, born before 1945. They were heavily influenced by the lessons of the Great Depression and World War Two. They respect authority, set a high standard of workmanship, and communicate easily and confidently. But they’re also stubbornly independent. They want their opinions heard.
At the other extreme are what the Johnsons call Linksters, born after 1995 into today’s more complicated, multi-media world. They live and breathe technology and are often social activists.
You won’t find many 15-year olds in the offices of large companies, except as volunteers, of course, but quite old and quite young workers do come together in sales environments like bike shops and ice-cream stores.
The Johnsons, Larry and Meagan, represent a generation gap themselves in their work with jobsite issues. The Johnsons’ point is that as the average lifespan continues to rise and retirement dates get delayed because of the tight economy, people of different generations are working side by side, more often bringing with them very different ideas about company loyalty and work values.
The five generations are heavily influenced by quite different events, social trends, and the cultural phenomena of their times. Their experiences shape their behavior and make it difficult, sometimes, for managers to achieve a strong and efficient workplace.
Larry and Meagan Johnson discuss all this in greater detail in a new book, “Generations, Inc.: From Boomers to Linksters --- Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work,” published by Amacom Press, which is available in all good bookstore from this Friday.The type of generation gap in paragraph 1 refers to the difference in beliefs ________.
| A．between managers and workers | B．among family members |
| C．among employees | D．between older and newer companies |
Which of the following statements is NOT true about Traditionals?
| A．They’ve learned much from war and economic disaster. |
| B．They’re difficult to work with as they are stubborn. |
| C．They respect their boss and hope to be respected. |
| D．They’re independent workers with great confidence. |
According to the passage, the Linksters are usually ________.
| A．found working in the offices of large companies |
| B．influenced by media and technology |
| C．enthusiastic multi-media activists |
| D．ice-cream sellers |
According to the passage, modern workforces are more diverse because ________.
| A．people want to increase their average lifespan |
| B．many young people are entering the workforce |
| C．employees with different values can benefit their companies |
| D．retirement dates are being delayed for economic reasons |
What’s the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To promote a new book by Larry and Meagan Johnson. |
| B．To describe the five different workplace generations. |
| C．To introduce the Johnsons’ research about diverse workforces. |
| D．To identify a major problem in modern workforces. |
A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100,000 people a month. Salman Khan’s voice is heard every day on the net --- by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help learning math. He has posted 1,200 lessons on YouTube ... lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.
Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his “Khan Academy” four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. With Khan’s help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.
Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. “It feels like my voice in their head. You’re looking at it and it feels like someone’s over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you,” he said.
When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person --- he immediately connected to the students there.
The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. “I think the teachers are good, but they can’t teach at a speed that’s perfect for everyone,” she said. “I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind and actually getting a deeper understanding of it.”
Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions. Now, he thinks short is better. “Education researchersnow tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off,” he said.
For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he’s ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well.What gave Khan the idea of teaching math online?
| A．His success in helping his cousin learn math. |
| B．His discovery that many students found learning math difficult. |
| C．A suggestion made to him at a local high school. |
| D．His interest in Internet teaching. |
Why does Khan never go on camera?
| A．He’s too shy to show his face on camera. |
| B．It’s restricted by YouTube for education videos. |
| C．He wants to keep distance from the viewers. |
| D．He wants to create a more relaxed learning atmosphere. |
From the passage, we know that ________.
| A．Khan travels to many schools to promote his lessons |
| B．Khan plans to include more subjects in the future |
| C．Khan gives live math lessons every day for free |
| D．Khan set up the Khan Academy with his wife |
Why does Bridget Meaney like Khan’s lessons?
| A．Khan teaches seventh grade math better than her teacher. |
| B．The lessons can be watched repeatedly until fully understood. |
| C．She can perfectly follow the pace of Khan’s teaching. |
| D．She cannot concentrate when learning in class. |
What does Khan mean by “short is better” in the 6th paragraph?
| A．Keeping the lessons short can ensure better concentration. |
| B．YouTube recommends short lessons for its site. |
| C．Short lessons encourage students to return to the website. |
| D．Students enjoy short mathematics lessons more. |
AHeading off to college this year? Here are some fashion tips from our experts you should keep in mind:
Dress to impress: Stylist and business consultant Daniela Smith says, “Girls should keep in mind that your college professors will often be the bridge that connects you to your future career and your classmates will become your professional network. You don’t need to dress like you’re going to the office, but you should display an ability to properly present yourself with appropriate maturity and confidence, and look put together.”
Logo mania (品牌狂热症): Wearing the logos of brands aimed at younger customers physically identifies you as part of that age group, so consider the targeted age group of the stores you shop at. It’s tempting to load up on logos, especially well-known logos that signify high-end brands. But consider this: college is a time of self-discovery, a chance to develop your own personal style. Instead of wearing logos head to toe, “walking advertisement”-style, why not express who you really are?
Wear real pants! The combination of leggings and baggy shirts is all too common on college campuses. Smith points out that leggings, yoga pants, and sweatpants are entirely unacceptable in public unless you’re exercising. Although leggings worn as pants are a common trend among high school and college girls, they are not an appropriate choice for daywear. As a young woman, your style choice should begin to reflect your maturity level. So, get rid of leggings and wear real pants!
Keep the cute factor to a minimum: Stay away from sweaters and T-shirts with smiling animals, cartoon characters, or Hello Kitty on them. Sure, kittens might be cute, but they’re not doing you any favors in the style department. Dressing too cutesy can take years off your look, and not necessarily in a good way! The second paragraph indicates the importance of ________.
| A．impressing professors | B．getting on well with classmates |
| C．creating a professional image | D．dressing appropriately |
The author believes that college girls should ________.
| A．choose a logo that suits their age |
| B．try to load up on well-known logos |
| C．use logos to show who they are |
| D．find their identity by trying different logos |
The author recommends wearing real pants because ________.
| A．leggings and baggy shirts are too common |
| B．yoga pants and sweatpants are not as comfortable |
| C．real pants can present you with appropriate maturity |
| D．people like real pants better than the other pants |
What’s the writer’s attitude towards sweaters with animals on them?
| A．They make people look lovely. |
| B．They are very fashionable these days. |
| C．They will show you’re an animal lover. |
| D．They are not suitable for college-aged students. |
In which magazine would you most likely find this passage?
| A．Business Week. | B．Parents. | C．In style. | D．Travel & Leisure. |