Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers fried 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 songs 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 two “Irelands” came into being. |
| D．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. |
The last paragraph is mainly about____.
| A．the Irish character | B．Irish culture |
| C．Irish musical instruments | D．a famous Irish writer |
We learn from the text that in Ireland _____.
| A．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments |
| 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．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Life in Ireland |
| B．Ireland, Past and Present |
| C．A Very Difficult History |
| D．The Independence of Ireland |
Sixteen-year-old Karlos Dearman’s future is looking much brighter than he might previously have imagined. “I love bikes, but I’ve never thought I’d end up with working with them,” he says. “This program has changed my life.”
Karlos is learning to refurbish (翻新) old bicycles in the workshop (车间) of ReCycle Bikes, an independent non-profit bike project in Sheffield. It provides training chances for young people aged 14 to 16 with the help of the local government, particularly those struggling in mainstream education or rejected from school.
“It’s about engaging young people with education and youth training by teaching them work and life skills,” explains Des Pearce, workshop training manager. “These young people have so much potential, but often don’t realize it.”
Founded in 2001, ReCycle Bikes repairs bicycles donated by the public, which are sold for ￡20 after refurbished. Abandoned bikes supplied by the government make sure a steady flow of bikes, but a recently formed partnership with Sheffield University should improve the further development.
“The student population presents a large and ready market,” says Pearce. “So we approached the university last year and offered to host bike sales on the campus (校园) . They thought it was a great idea, and agreed to provide us with more support. This means we can train young people to repair extra 500 bikes over three years.”
Having set up ReCycle Bikes on his own, Pearce now has the staff and resources to track the profession development of those who have passed through his workshop. “But we are planning exit interviews with the young people to make sure what they plan to do, and these will allow us to check on their progress,” says Pearce.
That most of the teenagers enjoy the work is, according to Pearce, easily explained. “Most kids have ridden a bike and know how to oil a chain or mend a flat tyre. As low-cost transport, cycling gives the young and old a sense of freedom and independence, and the effect on their well-being is big. Add to that a growing concern for the environment, and it’s no surprise that bike sales are on the increase.”From the passage, we know ReCycle Bikes ______.
| A. is a popular brand of bikes |
| B. provides training chances for young people |
| C. is a training project offered by the government |
| D. aims at making money by selling refurbished bicycles |
How did ReCycle Bikes run at the beginning?
| A. By working together with Sheffield University. |
| B. By selling bicycles supplied by the government. |
| C. By getting money from teenagers aged between 14 and 16. |
| D. By repairing bicycles donated by the public and selling them. |
ReCycle Bikes has formed a partnership with Sheffield University because _____.
| A. students at Sheffield University can be their potential customers |
| B. Sheffield University donates a lot of money to ReCycle Bikes |
| C. teenagers at ReCycle Bikes can study at Sheffield University |
| D. Sheffield University offers to host bike sales on the campus |
According to Pearce, why do most of the teenagers enjoy the work?
| A. They’d like to change their lives. |
| B. They want to learn how to repair bikes. |
| C. They don’t have enough money to buy cars. |
| D. They are familiar with bikes and interested in them. |
Throughout my 41 years at General Electric, I've experienced a lot．In the media, I've gone from prince to pig and back again．And I've been called many things．
In the early days, some called me a crazy, wild man．When I became CEO two decades ago, Wall Street asked, "Jack who?"
When I tried to make GE more competitive by cutting back our workforce in the early 1980s, the media called me "Neutron Jack．" When they learned we were focused on values and culture at GE, people asked if "Jack has gone soft．" I've been No．1 or No．2 Jack, Services Jack, Global Jack, and, in more recent years．Six Sigma Jack and e-Business Jack．
When we made an effort to acquire Honeywell in October 2000, and I agreed to stay on through the transition （ 过渡期 ） , some thought of me as the Long-in-the-Tooth Jack hanging on by his fingertips to his CEO job．
Those characterizations said less about me and a lot more about the stage our company went through．Truth is, down deep, I've never really changed much from the boy my mother raised in Salem, Massachusetts．
When I started on this journey in 1981 , standing before Wall Street analysts for the first time at New York's Pierre Hotel, I said I wanted GE to become " the most competitive enterprise on earth．" My objective was to put a small-company spirit in a big-company body, to build an organization out of an old-line industrial company that would be more high-spirited, more adaptable, and more flexible than companies that are one-fiftieth our size．I said then that I wanted to create a company " where people dare to try new things ?where people know that only the limits of their creativity and drive, their own standards of personal excellence, will be the ceiling on how far and how fast they move．"
I've put my mind, my heart, and my courage into that journey every day of the 40-plus years I've been lucky enough to be a part of GE．According to the first two paragraphs, the author ______．
| A．had many ups and downs |
| B．had a poor image in public |
| C．became CEO of GE 41 years ago |
| D．suffered from some mental illnesses |
As the author sees it, the many nicknames of him indicate ______．
| A．the change of his character with the time |
| B．the various opinions of different journalists |
| C．his company's different stages of development |
| D．his popularity among his friends and relatives |
According to the author, GE in 1981 ______．
| A．should seek broader space for development |
| B．was the most competitive company in the world |
| C．differed from many old-line industrial companies |
| D．was a big company with a small-company's spirit |
You know what it’s like．You've just arrived in Toronto after a long flight, and all you really want to do is to lie down and relax in your hotel room．But first you have to make a few quick notes for tomorrow's meeting, then check your e-mails, and perhaps print out a few things．And you need to make a few local telephone calls, and one call home to your family．
And what do you usually get? Your desk is just about big enough for a cup of coffee; there's no desk lamp; the stationery （办公用品） is a couple of sheets of headed notepaper; and a pen doesn't work．Printing has to be arranged with the Reception, and when you try to use your cell phone you find that it won't work in Canada．
Well, Harmony is different．Just tell us in advance what you're going to need, and we'll see that it's waiting for you when you arrive．There will be a printer in your room if you want one, and a cell phone that really works．All you have to pay for is the calls you make．
We can also arrange a room for business meetings, and, using the very best employment agency, even supply a secretary to take minutes．All we ask is a few days' notice．
All our-rooms are of the same high standard, and we guarantee not to increase prices in the next twelve months．But book now, because we're already filling up fast, and we'd hate 1:0 disappoint you．
Harmony-the hotel you ye always wanted; but never been able to find-until now.The advertisement is intended for
| A．airline staff |
| B．business people |
| C．secretaries |
| D．tourists |
What must the guest do if he wants a secretary?
| A．Inform the hotel in advance． |
| B．Tell the Reception on arrival． |
| C．Call an employment agency． |
| D．Put up a notice in the hotel． |
Why is it best to book now?
| A．The best rooms go first． |
| B．Prices might increase soon． |
| C．It ensures high standard rooms． |
| D．Rooms may become unavailable． |
What is special about Harmony^
| A．It offers telephone calls for free． |
| B．It provides printing at the Reception． |
| C．It gives high standard information services． |
| D．It makes arrangements to meet guests' needs． |
Fear may be felt in the heart as well as in the head, according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.
Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting（收缩）and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggested that the
heart is able to influence how the brain responds to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.
Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said, “Our study show for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart.
The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr. Garfinkel said, “The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed. Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don’t see---and guide whether we see fear.”
To further understand this relationship, the scientists also used a brain scanner（扫描仪）to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person’s feeling of fear.
“We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain ‘speak’ to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear” Dr. Garfinkel said.
“We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety disorders, and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder.” What is the finding of the study?
| A．One’s heart affects how he feels fear. |
| B．Fear is a result of one’s relaxed heartbeat. |
| C．Fear has something to do with one’s health. |
| D．One’s fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear. |
The study was carried out by analyzing .
| A．volunteers’ heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures |
| B．the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions |
| C．volunteers’ reactions to horrible pictures and data from their brain scans |
| D．different pictures shown to volunteers and their heart-brain communication |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to “mechanism” in Paragraph 6?
| A．Order |
| B．System |
| C．Machine |
| D．Treatment. |
This study may contribute to .
| A．treating anxiety and stress better |
| B．explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety |
| C．finding the key to the heart-brain communication |
| D．understanding different fears in our hearts and heads |
Sharing Beauty
It was in October. I was aimlessly wandering down the street, heading into a most gloriously beautiful sunset. I had an urge to speak to someone on the street to share that beauty, but it seemed everyone was in a hurry.
I took the next-best action. Quickly I ducked into a department store and asked the lady behind the counter if she could come outside for just a minute. She looked at me as though I were from some other planet. She hesitated, and then seemingly against her better judgment, she moved toward the door.
When she got outside I said to her, “Just look at that sunset! Nobody out here was looking at it and I just had to share it with someone.”
For a few seconds we just looked. Then I said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.” I thanked her for coming out to see it; she went back inside and I left. It felt good to share the beauty.
Four years later my situation changed greatly. I came to the end of a twenty-year marriage. I was alone and on my own for the first time in my life. I lived in a trailer park which, at the time, I considered a real come-down, and I had to do my wash in the community laundry room.
One day, while my clothes were going around, I picked up a magazine and read an article about a woman who had been in similar circumstances. She had come to the end of a marriage, moved to a strange community, and the only job she could find was one she disliked: clothing sales in a department store.
Then something that happened to her changed everything. She said a woman came into her department store and asked her to step outside to look at a sunset. The stranger had said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world,” and she had realized the truth in that statement. From that moment on, she turned her life around. The author asked the woman to go outside to ______.
| A．admire the sunset |
| B．cheer her up |
| C．offer some help |
| D．have a chat |
Four years later, the author______.
| A．found her dream job |
| B．put an end to her marriage |
| C．worked in a laundry room |
| D．lived in the same community |
After reading the article in the magazine, the author was probably ______.
| A．disappointed |
| B．puzzled |
| C．inspired |
| D．overjoyed |