When Steve Jobs was born on Febuary24, 1955, in San Francisco , California, his unmarried mother decided to put him for adoption because she wanted a girl. So in the middle of the night, his mother called a lawyer named Paul Jobs and said, “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” But his mother told his future parents to promise that they would send Jobs to college. After Steve Jobs graduated from high school, he went to college but decided to drop out because it was so expensive that he had to sleep on the floor in his friends’ rooms.
At 20, he and a friend(Steve Wozniak) started a company in a garage on April 1, 1976. Jobs named their company ----Apple in memory of a happy summer he had spent as an orchard (果园) in Oregon.
After 10 years of hard time and failures, starting from two kids working in a garage, Apple computer eventually grew into a big company with over 4000 employees.
At 30, Jobs , however, was fired from the company he co-founded. But after he had to leave the company, Apple was under heavy pressure from rival (对手) Microsoft and in 1996 posted billions of dollars in losses. Apple needed Steve Jobs and he was appointed as Apple’ CEO in1997. Under his leadership, Apple returned to profitability and introduced new products such as tthe iPhone and the iPad.
Steve Jobs once said, “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick, Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.Which of the following is right according to paragraph 1?
| A．Jobs’ unmarried mother adopted him. |
| B．Paul Jobs was a college teacher. |
| C．Jobs’ finished his education. |
| D．Jobs’ unmarried mother wanted a girl. |
Steve Jobs didn’t finish his college education because he ______.
| A．wanted to start a company. |
| B．had financial problems. |
| C．took no interest in his major. |
| D．hated to share rooms with his friends. |
It can be inferred that Apple____.
| A．was founded in Oregon |
| B．developed from a garage |
| C．had a difficult beginning |
| D．had a successful beginning |
What can we learn from what Steve Jobs said?
| A．Interest is key to success. |
| B．Hope helps us succeed. |
| C．Attitude is everything. |
| D．Courage goes with confidence. |
Deborah Cohen is a senior natural scientist at the Rand Corp and the author of the book A Big Fat Crisis: The Hidden Forces Behind the Obesity Epidemic and How We Can End It. According to the book, there are lots of misunderstandings of obesity.
1. If you’re obese, blame your genes.
Obesity rates have increased. Yet, between 1980 and 2000, the number of Americans who are obese has doubled—too quickly for genetic factors to be responsible.
At restaurants, a dollar puts more calories on our plates than ever before, because restaurant meals usually have more calories than what we prepare at home, so people who eat out more frequently have higher rates of obesity than those who eat out less.
2. If you’re obese, you lack self-control.
Research shows that if we are faced with too much information, we have a tendency to make poor dietary choices. Our world has become so rich in temptation that we can be led to consume too much in ways we can’t understand. Even the most vigilant(警觉的) people may not be up to the task of controlling themselves.
3. Lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables is responsible for obesity.
Although the US Department of Agriculture estimates that fewer than 5 percent of Americans live in the “food deserts”, about 65 percent of the nation’s population is overweight or obese. For most of us, obesity is not related to access to more fresh fruits and vegetables, but to the choices we make in supermarkets.
4. The problem is not that we eat too much, but that we don’t exercise.
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign is based on the idea that if kids exercise more, childhood obesity rates will decrease. But there was no significant decrease in physical activity levels as obesity rates climbed in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, although a drop in work-related physical activity may account for up to 100 fewer calories burned, leisure physical activity appears to have increased. The problem is that we eat too much.The author mentioned Deborah Cohen’s book in Paragraph 1 to _______.
| A．introduce the topic |
| B．draw readers’ attention |
| C．introduce the author of the book |
| D．advertise the book |
What is the relationship between obesity and the place where you eat?
| A．The less you eat out, the higher rates of obesity you have. |
| B．The less you eat at home, the lower rates of obesity you have. |
| C．The more you eat out, the higher rates of obesity you have. |
| D．The more you eat at home, the higher rates of obesity you have. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Four misunderstandings of obesity. |
| B．Four rules to help you avoid obesity. |
| C．Obesity leads to a big fat crisis. |
| D．Lacking self-control leads to obesity. |
Einstein, a great scientist of the age, was almost as strange as his Theory of Relativity.
Once, while riding a street car in Berlin, he told the conductor that he had not given him the right change. The conductor counted the change again and found it to be correct, so he handed it to Einstein, saying, “The trouble with you is that you don’t know your figures.”
Einstein said that there were only twelve people living who understood his Theory of Relativity although a good many books had been written to explain it.
He had nothing but contempt（藐视）for the things most people set their hearts on—for fame and riches（财富）and luxury（奢华）.
He didn’t want money or praise. He made his own happiness out of such simple things as his work and playing the violin and sailing his boat. Einstein’s violin brought him more joy than anything else in life. He said that he often thought in music. The conductor thought Einstein .
| A．wasn’t good at maths | B．had good memory |
| C．was either mad or strange | D．liked to make trouble |
Einstein meant that many people .
| A．knew his Theory of Relativity well because they could explain it |
| B．had written to have grasped his theory correctly |
| C．pretended to have grasped his abstract theory |
| D．admired him very much |
The underlined part “set…hearts on” means .
| A．believe | B．have | C．love | D．hate |
Most people know that the United States is made up of fifty states. However, few people know a lot about all fifty of them. Sufjan Stevens is a young American musician. He wants to change this situation.
Sufjan Stevens plans to make an album about each of the fifty American states. During college he played in several musical groups and recorded an album of his own music. However, he wanted to be a writer, not a musician. So after college he moved to New York City to study writing.
In New York. Stevens had trouble writing stories. He discovered that he missed music. He also discovered that most of the stories he did write were about his home state of Michigan. So, Sufjan Stevens decided to make an album of songs about Michigan.
Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State was released in 2003. The album was a big success. Many young people and music critics liked it. Before long, Stevens announced that he wanted to make an album for every state. He called it his “fifty states project”.
Stevens chose Illinois as his next state. He read many books about Illinois. He studied police documents and old newspapers. He talked to people who live in the state. The CD Illinois was released in 2005. Critics loved the album. It won many awards. Illinois became popular at colleges throughout the United States. People said the CD sounded different from anything else they had ever heard.
Sufjan Stevens is keeping his next state a secret from reporters. People have said that he is writing about Oregon, Rhode Island, or Minnesota. However, no one but Stevens knows for sure.Why does Sufian Stevens plan to make an album about each of the American states?
| A．To excite the music talent in ordinary Americans. |
| B．To record an album of his own music. |
| C．To let people know more about all the American states. |
| D．To go on writing stories. |
What did Sufjan Stevens do to make an album of songs about a state?
| A．He played in several musical groups. |
| B．He studied documents and newspapers and talked to people there. |
| C．He moved to New York City to study writing. |
| D．He kept his next state a secret from reporters. |
Which of the following can serve as the proper title for the passage?
| A．Fifty States Project |
| B．The Fifty States in America |
| C．Songs About American States |
| D．Sufjan Stevens and Michigan |
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries, saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before. People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity(人性) as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.Why was the bike so important to the couple?
| A．The man’s job was bike racing. |
| B．It was their only possession. |
| C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed. |
| D．They used it for work and daily life. |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．the couple worked 60 hours a week |
| B．people were busy before Christmas |
| C．the stranger brought over the bike |
| D．life was hard for the young family |
How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
| A．From radio broadcasts. | B．From a newspaper. |
| C．From TV news. | D．From a stranger. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The author's husband often parked the bike outside the back door. |
| B．The author used to get to work by bike. |
| C．Several strangers offered bikes to them, but they only accepted one of them. |
| D．Somebody had stolen their bike before, but soon returned it to the author. |
“China now has 350 million smokers, accounting for one-third of the world total. Chinese smokers now become addicted to nicotine at the age of 19, five years earlier than the average starting age of 24 in 1997,” a report said a couple of years ago.
Of the 1.1 billion smokers all over the world. more than 800 million are in developing countries. And as the world's largest developing country, China also has the largest number of smokers.
Some frightening facts start to appear when we examine who China’s smokers are. Of the 350 million addicts, more than 100 million are under the age of 18, while more than 50 percent of male teachers and doctors are smokers.
Such a high rate of addicts among male teachers and doctors will certainly have a bad impact on the young generation.
Teachers are usually expected to be role models for students who tend to consider whatever they do is right and follow their example. It is very likely that the number of teenage smokers will increase in the near future unless measures are taken to forbid teachers from smoking in front of their students or designate schools as no-smoking zones.
What is truly puzzling is why so many doctors smoke. They are aware of the results of the habit, such as high blood pressure and lung cancer. Their example only helps justify the addiction of so many others.
If educated people set an example by stopping smoking at least in public places. it would be much easier to drive home the notion that it is uncivilized to smoke in public places.
In China, there should also be a national law to ban smoking in public places. These would make a massive contribution to cutting the number of people in China who are smoking themselves into early grave.Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?
| A．Time to Kick the Habit |
| B．China Bans Smoking in Public Places |
| C．Smokers in China |
| D．Make People Aware of Smoking |
In developing countries, China has the largest number of smokers, which covers.
| A．one-third of its total |
| B．one-eighth of its total |
| C．1ess than half its total |
| D．more than half its total |
In the writer's opinion, who have influenced young smokers, especially those under l8?
| A．Parents. | B．Teachers only. |
| C．Advertisements. | D．Teachers and doctors. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．In China. those who get into the habit of smoking seem to be younger and younger. |
| B．More than half of the teachers and doctors are smokers in China. |
| C．The writer suggests schools should be designated as no-smoking zones. |
| D．It is of great benefit to forbid smoking in public places. |