I met him first in 1936. I rushed into his ugly little shop to have the heels of my shoes repaired. I waited when he did it. He greeted me with a cheerful smile. “You’re new in this neighborbood, aren’t you?”
I said I was. I had moved into a house at the end of the street only a week before.
“This is a fine neighborhood,” he said. “You’ll be happy here.” He looked at the leather covering the heel sadly. It was worn through because I had failed to have the repair done a month before. I grew impatient, for I was rushing to meet a friend. “Please hurry,” I begged.
He looked at me over his spectacles. “Now, lady, we won’t be long. I want to do a good job. You see, I have a tradition to live up to.”
A tradition? In this ugly little shop that was no different from so many other shoe repair shops on the side streets of New York?
He must have felt my surprise, for he smiled as he went on. “Yes, lady, I inherited a tradition. My father and my grandfather were shoemakers in Italy, and they were the best. My father always told me, ‘Son, do the best job on every shoe that comes into the shop, and be proud of your fine work. Do that always, and you’ll have both happiness and money enough to live on.’”
As he handed me the finished shoes, he said: “These will last a long time. I’ve used good leather.”
I left in a hurry. But I had a warm and grateful feeling. On my way home I passed the little shop again. There he was, still working. He saw me, and to my surprise he waved and smiled. This was the beginning of our friendship. It was a friendship that came to mean more and more to me as time passed.
Every day I passed his shop, we waved to each other in friendly greeting. At first I went in only when I had repair work to be done. Then I found myself going in every few days just to talk with him.
He was the happiest man I’ve ever known. Often, as he stood in his shopwindow, working at a pair of shoes, he sang in a high, clear Italian voice. The Italians in our neighborhood called him la luce alla finestra—“the light in the window”.
One day I was disappointed and angry because of poor jobs some painters had done for me. I went into his shop for comfort. He let me go on talking angrily about the poor work and carelessness of present-day workmen. “They had no pride in their work,” I said. “They just wanted to collect their money for doing nothing.”
He agreed. “There’s a lot of that kind around, but maybe we should not blame them. Maybe their fathers had no pride in their work. That’s hard on a boy. It keeps him from learning something important.” He waited a minute and said “Every man or woman who hasn’t inherited a prideful tradition must start building one.”
“In this country, our freedom lets each of us make his own contribution. We must make it a good contribution. No matter what sort of work a man does, if he gives it his best each day, he’s starting a tradition for his children to live up to. And he is making lots of happiness for himself.”
I went to Europe for a few months. When I returned, there was no “light in the window”. The door was closed. There was a little sign: “Call for shoes at shop next door.” I learned the old man had suddenly got sick and died two weeks before
I went away with a heavy heart. I would miss him. But he had left me something—an important piece of wisdom I shall always remember: “If you inherited a prideful tradition, you must carry it on; if you haven’t, start building one now.” The shoemaker looked sadly at the shoes because __________
| A．they were of poor quality. |
| B．he didn’t have the right kind of leather |
| C．he thought they were too worn to be repaired |
| D．the author hadn’t taken good care of them. |
The author was surprised when she heard that the shop had a tradition because the shop ________.
| A．looked no different from other shoe repair shops |
| B．had a light in the window |
| C．was at the end of a street |
| D．was quite an ugly and dirty one |
What does the underlined word “inherit” mean in paragraph 6 mean?
| A．develop | B．receive | C．learn | D．appreciate |
The author later frequently went into the little shop __________.
| A．to repair her worn shoes |
| B．only to chat with the shoemaker |
| C．to look at the new shoes there |
| D．only to get comfort from the shoemaker |
Why was the shoemaker called “the light in the window” by his neighbors?
| A．Because he always worked late at night. |
| B．Because he always put a light in the window. |
| C．Because he was always guiding the others. |
| D．Because he was always happy and cheerful. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．A Proud Shoemaker | B．A Prideful Tradition |
| C．The Light in the Window | D．Treasure Your Shoes |
|
Tailors English Language Preparation 2010
taylorscollege. edu. au/ telp●The first double hand transplant patient in the US has left a hospital after medicine cleared up
small red spots on his skin that signaled he might be rejecting his new hands. Jeff Kepner, a 58-year-old former chief cook in a restaurant, lost his hands and feet a decade ago to a bacteria infection. The donor was a 23-year-old man.
●A second major storm in less than a week was blowing yesterday toward the Washington area, where federal government offices were closed for a second day and workers struggled to restore power knocked out by a weekend heavy snowstorm. The storm could leave as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) of new snow in Washington and nearly as much near Philadelphia –a Northeast travel-hub by tonight.
●British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will give evidence to a public inquiry into the Iraq War in early March, officials for the inquiry said yesterday. Brown’s appearance, just weeks before an election expected in May, could hit the ruling Labour Patry’s attempts to catch up in the polls （民意调查）behind the opposition party Conservatives. Brown, who will be questioned about his time as prime minister, will be a witness in the highest position at the inquiry since former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s appearance last month.
●The head of the UN agency aiding Palestine refugees （难民）is warning a funding shortfall and appealing for another $100 million. Filippo Grandi says the money is necessary for education, health and social services for 4.7 million Palestinian refugees scattered across Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The agency’s 2010 budget is $620 million, and it expects a shortfall of $140 million. The agency says $100 million is necessary for basic services.
64．The passage is most probably adapted from .
A．new items in a newspaper B．descriptions of the world situation
C．discussions on foreign affairs D．statements of a government report
65．It can be inferred from the passage that .
A．the man lost his hands for an unknown reason
B．the result of the transplant operation seems satisfying
C．another storm will hit Washington area in less than a week
D．the electricity supply was cut off in Philadelphia a week ago
66．According to the passage, Gordon Brown .
A．is the leader of the ruling Labour Party in Britain
B．will send army to the Iraq War in March this year
C．will compete with former Prime Minister Tony Blair
D．is now gaining more support from voters than others
67．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the fourth news?
A．$100 million should be needed for the survival of the refugees.
B．At least $100 million is to be raised for Palestinian refugees.
C．The refugees mentioned in the passage are in the Middle Africa.
D．It is a tough job for the UN agency to get money for the refugees.
On the outside Betsy Lueth’s school looks like any other in Minneapolis. Yet inside, it is
Yinghua Academy, a public school where elementary（小学）students study subjects ranging from
math to American history in Chinese.
Yinghua, the first such immersion（沉浸式）program in the Midwest is on the leading edge of
a movement that in recent years has seen Chinese language programs spread rapidly throughout the U.S.
The idea behind Yinghua is to introduce kids to the language and culture as early as possible ideally, before age 12. kindergarteners and first graders are taught in Chinese and a single period of English is introduced in second grade. By sixth grade, kids are learning half in English and half in Chinese, with the expectation of fluency in both. In Yinghua’s classrooms, the walls are covered not with ABCs but with pictures and Chinese characters.
There are many challenges at Yinghua. Most teachers come from Taiwan or mainland China, and cultural misunderstandings are very common. Lueth’s teachers are learning to be tolerant of local customs –as well as a lot more parental input than they are used to. “In China, teachers are respected. They are not questioned,” says Luyi Lien, Yinghua’s Taiwan-born director. “In America, parents are more expressive of their opinions.”
Research has shown that in the long run, immersion programs can provide benefits, including more flexible, creative thinking. Though students from the programs fall behind for a few years in English, by fifth grade they perform as well as or better than their monolingual（单语言）peers on standardized reading and math tests. For multicultural families, the psychological help can also be important. Lueth , a former teacher, co-founded the school as a way to expose her adopted Chinese daughter Lucy to her native culture. Lucy used to be annoyed when cousins asked why her skin color was different from theirs; before she started at Yinghua, she resisted exploring anything related to China. Now, Lueth says, Lucy proudly answers her cousins, “Yeah ,I was born in China.”
60．Yinghua is different from other schools in Minneapolis in the way that .
A．it offers subjects to students mostly in Chinese
B．its language program is popular in the U.S.A
C．kids there begin to learn Chinese at the age of 12
D．its students learn subjects half in English and half in Chinese
61．One of the challenges at Yinghua is that .
A．most parents do not respect its teachers
B．teachers need to get used to the local culture
C．its students are mostly from nontraditional families
D．there is misunderstanding between teachers and students
62．We can learn from the last paragraph that immersion program .
A．enables students pass tests more easily
B．benefits students in learning psychology
C．helps some students accept the local customs
D．contributes to the better development of students
63．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Teachers in Yinghua have difficulty in understanding the local culture.
B．Parents are discouraged to speak out their opinions of the school in Yinghua.
C．The students in Yinghua are expected to speak English and Chinese fluently.
D．Yinghua is the first school in the USA to introduce Chinese culture to students.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Today most Chinese teenagers are happy to be favored by two parents and four grandparents
in their families. But have you ever thought about how to take care of four to twelve old people
when you grow up and get married? This could be a problem for most Chinese youths as China is
entering a new stage of an aging society.
An aging society refers to one where 10 percent or more of its population is over 60. By the end of 2007, Chinese over 60 years old have made up 11.7 percent of the nation’s total population.
“China is getting old before becoming rich,” said Cai Chuang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The population increase that has powered Chinese growth for three decades will give way over the next ten years to a rapid aging of the society. This will lead to weaker economic growth, because of a lack of labor resources.
As a result of the family planning policy, it is expected that the country’s total working population will decrease after 2015.
China is not the only country getting old. More that 60 countries have become aging societies and one in three people in the European Union is a senior citizen.
However, experts said that China doesn’t have a highly developed social security network to support the old. Social security is an insurance program protecting those in need, including the old, the disabled and others.
56．An aging society is a society that .
A．less that 10% of its population is over 60
B．10% or more of its population is over 60
C．there are four old people in a family
D．most of its population is over 60
57．If China enters an aging society,.
A．there will not be enough labor resources
B．the family planning policy will be ended
C．everyone needs to take care of four to twelve old people
D．China will have a highly developed social security network
58．What does Cai Chuang mean by saying “China is getting old before becoming rich.”?
A．China will be an aging society, then be a developed country.
B．China will be a rich country before being an aging society.
C．An aging society will affect Chinese economy development.
D．China will stop developing because of its aging problem.
59．The passage mainly talks about .
A．an aging society B．Chinese social problem
C．family panning policy D．aging problem in China
What can be found in the two recent studies?
One showed that adults are much more cooperative if they work in a system based on rewards．Researchers at Harvard University in the United States and the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden did the study, which appeared last month in the journal Science．They had about two hundred college students play a version of the game known as the Prisoner's Dilemma．The game is based on the tension between the interests of an individual and a group．The students played in groups of four．Each player could win points for the group, so they would all gain equally．But each player could also reward or punish each of the other three players, at a cost to the punisher．Harvard researcher David Rand says the most successful behavior proved to be cooperation （合作）．The groups that rewarded most earned about twice as much in the game as the groups that rewarded least．And the more a group punished itself, the lower its earnings．The group with the most punishment earned twenty-five percent less than the group with the least punishment．
The other study referred to children, which was presented last month in California at a conference on violence and abuse．Researchers used intelligence tests given to two groups．More than eight hundred children were ages two to four the first time they were tested．More than seven hundred children were ages five to nine．The two groups were retested four years later, and the study compared the results with the first test．Both groups contained children whose parents used physical punishment and children whose parents did not．The study says the IQs ?or intelligence quotients—of the younger children who were not spanked were five points higher than those who were．In the older group, the difference was almost three points．Murray Strauss from the University of New Hampshire' worked with Mallie Paschall from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation．Professor Strauss has written extensively about physical punishment of children．He says the more they are spanked, the slower their mental development．He also looked at average IQs in other nations and found them lower where spanking was more common．
72．We can learn from the passage that ____．
A．the first study began last month at Harvard University in America
B．the Prisoner's Dilemma is a game that can teach you how to be cooperative
C．the study on the IQs of children was carried out by Professor Murray Strauss
D．Professor Mallie has done lots of researches on family violence
73．What study method was adopted in the two recent studies according to the passage?
A．Observation． B．Questionnaire． C．Conclusion． D．Experiment．
74．The underlined word "spanked" in the third paragraph refers to ____．
A．scolded constantly B．punished physically
C．praised frequendy D．rewarded mentally
75．Which of the following charts is TRUE according to the passage?
