The other day I heard a few local musicians talking:
"I hate all the pianos in this town and I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They cannot even understand rhythm (韵律)."
"Nobody wants to pay musicians anything. I’m sick of all the people who want you to play without paying you."
One younger musician said, "There are several clubs who want me to play for a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also planning to join in several summer festivals this year."
I really liked what the younger musician said so I made friends with him.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive (积极的) or negative (消极的), they’re all rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who are always complaining or blaming (责备) others, it is possible that you will start doing the same as well. If you spend lots of time with people who don’t support (支持) your dreams, it is time to take a look at the people you call "friends".
There is an easy exercise you can try. Make a list of the people who you often stay with, and simply stop spending time with the negative ones on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Of course, this exercise is entirely different from making friends only for the good of oneself. We really should try to help and spend time with those who are working towards a goal or dream.The musicians’ conversation at the beginning is there to show that ______.
| A．musicians’ living conditions are not good |
| B．people in that town have poor taste in music |
| C．young people are more likely to succeed |
| D．different people have different attitudes |
The underlined part "they’re all rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 6 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead |
| B．they’ll help you realize your dreams |
| C．they’ll keep you from moving on |
| D．they’ll have an influence (影响) on you |
Why did the author want to make friends with the younger musician?
| A．He is more active than the others. |
| B．He can earn more than the others. |
| C．His attitude is more positive than the others. |
| D．He has more things to do than the others. |
We can get the following information from the passage EXCEPT ______.
| A．the younger musician is a positive person and would be a good friend |
| B．one should avoid (避免) making friends with people who have lots of difficulties |
| C．the exercise can help you keep close to really helpful Friends |
| D．one will start complaining if one spends too much time with negative people |
When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games, Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them we always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, ”Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet, she went everywhere with us .People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she’d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull her hair. she never barked(吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us.What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?
| A．Look at them sadly. | B．Keep them company. |
| C．Play games with them. | D．Touch them gently. |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie__________.
| A．world eat anything when hungry |
| B．felt sorry for her mistake |
| C．loved playing hide-and-seek |
| D．disliked the author’s dad |
Why does the author say that Brownie was more than just a family pet?
| A．She was treated as a member of the family. |
| B．She played games with anyone she liked. |
| C．She was loved by everybody she met. |
| D．She went everywhere with the family. |
Which of the following best describes Brownie?
| A．Shy | B．Polite | C．Brave | D．Caring |
Thank you for choosing Yale University housing. The following information should answer questions you may have about housing services.
Housing office
There is a housing office in the New Residence Hall and is open seven days a week, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., for check-in and check-out. You can call the assistants there for any questions about housing. Telephone: 436-4119. Or if you are moving in, you can call Housekeeping at 436-4108 and ask to have your rooms cleaned.
Common Room and Meeting Rooms
The building has a common room (BO77) for the use of guests for studying and gathering. Do not leave personal things in the common room. Close any windows you open when you leave the room. The meeting rooms 223 (for 10 people) and 323 (for 18 people) each have a television and a VCR. You don’t need to reserve(预定) the common room and for reservation of meeting rooms, please call the Housing Office.
Computer Rooms
There are two computer rooms (221 &421) in the building. They offer Macintoshes, Windows computers, and printing to guests. These computers are maintained(维护) by Yale University’s Computing Assistants (www.yale.edu/cas Tel:436-5990). If you have any problems, for example, if there’s no printer paper, please report it to the housing office.
Telephone Service
Each room is equipped with a telephone. Your telephone number is 436-4 followed by your room number (for example, Room 112, tel.436-4112). To call a university number, press the last five numbers only. To make a call outside the university, press 9 first and then the number. When you want to book a room in the New Residence Hall, you should call .
| A．436-4119 | B．436-5990 |
| C．436-4112 | D．436-4108 |
If you can’t find any printer paper in the computer room, which number should you dial?
| A．436-4119 | B．436-5990 |
| C．436-4112 | D．436-4108 |
You should go to Room ______when you’re giving a birthday party for 11 people.
| A．BO77 | B．323 |
| C．221 | D．119 |
How would you make the call when you want to call a friend at 738-9087 while staying in Room188?
| A．Press9, then 738-9087 | B．Dial 9 first, then 8908 |
| C．Press 89087 | D．Ring 9087 |
To the untrained eye it might seem like just a bit of a monkey trick. But when Milly the mandrill (山魈, 西非洲产的大狒狒) covers her face with her hand she is actually sending a serious message to her fellows: “Leave me alone!”
Experts believe the 15-year-old mandrill invented the gesture to warn other monkeys at Colchester Zoo to give her some space. And, surprisingly, the signal has been picked by other members of the group, who use it when they too require solitude.
Biologist Mark Laidre believes the behavior is evidence of social culture among the mandrills. Importantly, the sign language is unlikely to have been influenced by human activities because mandrills do not copy humans. Mr. Laidre expects further research will uncover other monkeys using cultural gestures — the ability to communicate with the hands in a meaningful way. “By covering their eyes with their hands, possibly conveyed to others that they wanted to be left alone and this message may have been respected as a ‘do not disturb’ sign,” said Mr. Laidre.
While the hand is in place, other monkeys are not likely to approach or touch the monkey. Those who rank lower in the social order also use the technique to avoid attacks from more powerful group members. As the discovery appears to be unique to Colchester Zoo, it suggests it is a local phenomenon that arose naturally in the community of 25 mandrills.
Curator （园长） Sarah Forsyth said: “We believe Milly made up the signal and over the past five years some of the younger mandrills have picked it up. We’re not sure why she started doing it but it could be as simple as ‘I can’t see them, so they can’t see me’. It really does show you how intelligent mandrills are.” What’s the text mainly about?
| A．How humans influenced monkeys. |
| B．A monkey invented a gesture. |
| C．A new social culture was discovered. |
| D．How experts made the new discovery. |
What does the underlined word “solitude” in the second paragraph mean?
| A．Aloneness. | B．Comfort. |
| C．Protection. | D．Respect. |
According to Mark Laidre, _____.
| A．human activities affect mandrills’ sign language |
| B．animals are slow in picking up information |
| C．mandrills’ social culture has nothing to do with humans |
| D．mandrills are the largest species of monkey in the world |
The monkeys can also use the “do not disturb” sign to _____.
A. protect themselves from being harmed
B. struggle against more powerful group members
C. show humans how intelligent they areWhat can be known from the text?
| A．Milly invented the gesture when she was 15. |
| B．Mandrills are best known for their social ability. |
| C．Why Milly first used the sign language is known to experts. |
| D．Only the mandrills in Colchester Zoo use the gesture. |
It’s high time someone spoke up for today’s college students. They’re probably the most hardworking, ambitious people in America and their problems are not properly appreciated.
People like the Secretary of Education simply don’t know what they’re talking about when they knock students. Nor do those who complain about falling academic standards.
The vast majority of the nation’s 12 million students are struggling to pay for their educations. They are part of the invisible workforce. Many hold down full-time jobs. They’re frying hamburgers, photographing weddings, working in construction, and waiting on tables. The fact that they even show up for classes is a wonderful event.
The financial situation of most students explains a lot about what is happening in schools. Why are the traditional courses so unpopular? Why are students flocking to accounting and computer science and any professional programs that seem to lead to careers?
Answer: Today’s working student has been forced into a kind of premature matter-of-fact way of viewing things. Romance is gone. The notion of transforming one’s self through study alone has disappeared. Today’s students seek freedom from manual labor, and the status conferred by a good job.
There are other consequences. Today’s students don’t have much time or energy to be devoted, and carry out independent research or even do serious homework. That’s the secret behind falling academic standards. Students have become consumers. They want grades and certifications. Their professors can’t be expected to give a grade of failure to students who are clearly tired from the effort to pay their bills.
There’s a lot wrong with this situation. It’s twisting the definition of education out of shape. Worse, it’s creating a generation that is totally unpleasant. The brightest students turn out to be yuppies (雅皮士). The vast majority are, at least, good-natured semi-literates.
The time has run out for philosophical debates about fixed courses of study. What this country needs is someone to stand up and say that being a full-time student during one’s formative years is an honorable calling worthy of support. If families can’t or won’t give it to their children, then the government should. The author’s purpose in writing this article is to __________.
| A．awaken the whole society to the problems today’s college students face |
| B．warn Americans that academic standards are falling |
| C．advise college students to study hard |
| D．provide a suggestion that only full-time students be enrolled |
The most suitable word to describe the author’s feelings about today’s college students
is _________.
| A．criticize | B．sympathize |
| C．complain | D．urge |
Which of the following CANNOT be learned from the passage?
| A．Many students are often absent from classes. |
| B．Traditional courses are not popular. |
| C．Students commit crimes with computers. |
| D．Students don’t devote much time and energy to their homework. |
By saying “Romance is gone” in paragraph 5, the author means ____________.
| A．today’s students do not believe in love stories any more |
| B．today’s students become more practical in dealing with things |
| C．students think there is no affection any more and break up with their lovers |
| D．today’s students hold matter-of-fact opinions on love |
Which of the following suggestions will the author not agree with?
| A．We should encourage students to give up full-time jobs. |
| B．Families should offer their children more help financially. |
| C．We should stand up and say something for today’s college students. |
| D．We should make more strict regulations to force students to study hard. |
Although the United States covers so much land and the land produces far more food than the present population needs, its people are by now almost entirely an urban society. Less than a tenth of the people are engaged in agriculture and forestry(林业), and most of the rest live in or around towns, small and large. Here the traditional picture is changing: every small town may still be very like other small towns, and the typical small town may represent a widely accepted view of the country, but most Americans do not live in small towns any more. Half the population now lives in some thirty metropolitan areas(large cities with their suburbs ) of more than a million people each – a large proportion than in Germany or English, let alone France. The statistics(统计) of urban and rural population should be treated with caution because so many people who live in areas classified as rural travel by car to work in a nearby town each day. As the rush to live out of town continues, rural areas within reach of towns are gradually filled with houses, so that it is hard to say at what moment a piece of country becomes a suburb. But more and more the typical American lives in a metropolitan rather than a small town environment.If now America has 250 million people．how many of them are engaged in agriculture and forestry?
| A．About 25 million． | B．More than 25 million． |
| C．Less than 25 million． | D．Less than 225 million． |
Which of the following four countries has the smallest proportion of people living in metropolitan areas?
| A．United States | B．Germany | C．France | D．England |
What’s the meaning of the word “metropolitan” in the middle of the passage?
| A．Of a large city with its suburbs． |
| B．Of small and large towns． |
| C．Of urban areas． |
| D．Of rural areas． |
According to the passage，what can we learn about small towns in the United States?
| A．Most small towns become gradually crowded． |
| B．Small towns are still similar to each other． |
| C．As the traditional picture is changing，towns are different． |
| D．Small towns are turning into large cities． |
Why is it hard to say when a piece of country becomes a suburb?
| A．Because they are the same． |
| B．Because the rush takes place too quickly． |
| C．Because the process is gradual． |
| D．Because more and more Americans live in metropolitan areas． |