请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个恰当的单词。(答案填在答题纸上)
Becoming a fireman is a challenging and competitive job today. A fireman’s main duty is decided by the fighting and extinguishment(熄灭) of fire which definitely requires being a strong man, both mentally and physically.
The duty of a fireman includes protection of life and property of the public. They are the servicemen who are decisively selected by an organization to deal with situations like fire. Such type of jobs is one of those few jobs where service is provided for innocent people when they need help immediately. This may include rescuing people from a building at fire, providing them with medical facilities, extinguishing fire in a house or in a large commercial building. Serving people is the main purpose of these professionals（职业）. The satisfaction which a fireman gets from this type of job cannot be compared to any other profession in the world.
Such profession requires top-level commitment and professionalism from those who have chosen it as a career. Fireman should have the highest level of courage and patience to put their lives in danger for the sake of others. They undergo lessons of maintaining patience for long hours and go through complete preparation to become successful and well-organized professional firemen. There are certain tests that are recommended before becoming a fireman.
It’s not that easy to become a fireman nowadays. A fireman is supposed to deal with unexpected situations, and they should be skilled at communicating with others and be self-disciplined at the same time.
In order to be a good fireman, one must undergo（经历、接受） strict local fire department’s training program after passing all the tests. All the fire departments conclude a two-to-four-month course, including classroom training and practical training that cover firefighting techniques, fire avoidance, dangerous materials and urgent situation medical actions. Completing this training, trainees go through the department’s trial period of service that can last from three to six months, depending on the methods of selection.
Firemen usually work both indoors and outdoors. They have to be on duty at all times and mostly work in shifts of at least 8 hours. They are also provided with several benefits which include medical aid plan, pension fund, annual leave and many more.
Title: Fireman
| Definition |
The servicemen decisively selected by an organization to ( |
| ( |
● Helping innocent people ( ● Rescuing people from a building at-fire and providing them with medical facilities. ● ( |
| Requirements |
● Having top-level commitment and professionalism. ● Being courageous and ( ● Being strong both in body and ( ● Having good ( ● Being self-disciplined. |
| ( |
● Firefighting techniques, fire avoidance, dangerous materials and urgent situation medical actions. ● The department’s trial period of service which possibly ( |
| ( |
Medical aid plans, pension fund, annual leave and many more. |
As I was reading a recent story in Slate on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled children who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment: my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we too are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the Slate story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought, what planet is she living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old in the story despairs(绝望) that he can’t afford to get a Ph.D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations are slowly adjusting, but today’s 20-somethings grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be expanding. Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments. “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner.
This recession(衰退) will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful－for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day－than on longing for some kind of luxury life.
68. What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
A. They expect everything to be easy for them.
B. They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans.
C. They are reluctant to face all of the challenges.
D. They are burdened by student loans.
69. The underlined word “fertility” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.
A. baby production B. pleasant C. baby comfort D. essential
70. What’s the author’s attitude towards the 20-somthings with high expectation in Paragraph 5?
A. Intolerant. B. Negative. C. Unbelieving. D. Understanding.
71. What is the best title for this passage?
A. How Young People Afford to Continue Their Study
B. Why Young People Can’t Afford to Buy a House
C. When Young People’s High Hopes Create Despair
D. What the 20-somethings’ High Expectations Are
CONGRATULATIONS
We’ve organized the following information to help you prepare for your arrival at Boston College. Please feel free to contact our Admissions Office at any time over the coming months with any questions.
Your First Steps…
Please return the Acknowledgment Form sent with your acceptance letter to Dean Robert Howe, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, McGuinn Hall 221,140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.
■For Ph. D. Acceptances and Master’s Acceptances with funding, we ask you to reply by April 25, 2008.
■For Master’s Acceptances without funding and Non-degree Acceptances, we ask you to reply by May 31, 2008.
■You should also contact your department to receive any department information.
Over the Coming Months…
Get informed about services around campus. We have provided links for you to the following offices.
■Student Services
After you return your Acknowledgment Form, you should receive a letter containing your BC Username and Eagle ID number. With this information you can reach email and Agora. In Agora, BC’s online community, you can update your student information, check your student account, and register (登记) for classes.
The Office of Student Services issues (发行) your BC Eagle One Card. This ID card acts as your campus library card and meal card.
Student Services’ website offers a complete listing of courses for the school year, as well as student forms and other important student information. The Office of Student Services also handles billing.
■Housing
…CLICK HERE for more information.
If we can be of any more help to you, just contact us. Congratulations again! We look forward to you joining our University!
64. The above page can most probably be read ________.
A. on the Boston College website B. in the Boston College newspaper
C. on BC Eagle One Card D. at Student Services
65. The information above is particularly useful for those ________.
A. who want to apply for Boston College
B. who want to know about Boston College
C. who’ve been admitted to Boston College
D. who’ve decided to pay a visit to Boston College
66. If you want to study for your master’s degree with funding, you will have to ________.
A. return your Acknowledgment Form by May 31, 2008
B. send back your Acknowledgment Form by April 25, 2008
C. email your Acknowledgment Form to Admissions Office by May 31, 2008
D. return your Acknowledgment Form to Student Services by April 25, 2008
67. If you want to decide what courses for the school year you’d better ________.
A. call up the Office of Student Services B. get in touch with the Admissions Office
C. read your acceptance letter D. visit Student Services’ website
Companies can increase the money with which they run their business in a number of ways. One way is borrowing money, and another way is buying things with the agreement that payment would be made later. There are also other processes for providing money for use by a company. Two of these processes are described here.
One process the company may use is to issue bonds(债券). Bonds are a special kind of promissory note. They are issued in different values, in the forms of money used in different countries, such as the pound in England or the euro in Europe. These bonds can easily be sold again to other people or to other companies. The company that issues the bonds promises to pay a particular amount of money as interest regularly for a certain period of time. This continues until when the company has to pay back the principal(本金) of the bond. Payments of principal and interest must be made on time whether the company has been earning money or not. If these payments are not made on time, it means that the company has not done what it agreed to do and can be sued(控告，起诉).
Another process companies may use is to issue other forms of promissory notes called stocks(股票). Bonds and stocks are opposite methods of providing money for a company. The people who buy stocks provide money that is earned and take part in deciding how the company will conduct its business. They must also take part in the losses. The people who own stocks receive dividends only after the company has paid all of its debts to the people who own bonds. On the other hand, the persons who own bonds have no right, according to the law, to help decide how the company will handle its business, unless it is bankrupt or in danger of becoming so.
60. Which of the following statement is not the way for companies to increase their capital?
A. Borrowing money. B. Buying materials without paying.
C. Issuing bonds D. Issuing stocks
61. As to bonds, we know from the passage that ________.
A. they are cheques like bank notes
B. the company only pays back the principal
C. they are issued in the forms of money
D. if a company is bankrupt, it needn’t pay back the interest
62. According to this passage, who have the legal control over the decisions of the business?
A. Stockholders B. Bondholders
C. The government D. The workers in the company
63. It can be inferred from this passage that ________.
A. to issue bonds is a better way than to issue stocks
B. stockholders can sue the company when it is bankrupt
C. bondholders have the same rights as stockholders
D. investing in stocks has more risk than in bonds
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
As China’s women’s gymnastics team enjoyed the glory of winning the country’s first team Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games，the young gymnasts took the opportunity to remind the world that they are old enough to compete．
Weeks before the Beijing Games, some international media raised questions about the ages of some of the members of China’s gymnastics team, particularly He Kexin and Jiang Yuyuan. They said the girls might be younger than 16, the minimum age for the Olympics. But the Chinese Gymnastics Association quickly provided copies of the gymnasts’ ID cards and passports, proving they are indeed old enough to compete.
In the final, He Kexin gave a clean performance on her favorite uneven bars（高低杠）, earning the second highest score after falling from the bars during qualification. “Although I fell down in the qualification, I became more confident today to make up for my mistake and I finally made it.”She said. It was a great moment for head coach Lu Shanzhen. “Our team made history today and proved to the world that we are the best.” the coach said, “The gold medal is not only for the gymnastics team，but also for the whole Chinese delegation at the Beijing Games.”
The coach owed the team’s success to a series of reforms. The Chinese team used to train a 1ot, but competed less, which led to poor results in international competitions. To improve their ability to compete and to strengthen their psychological power, the Chinese team sent more team members to compete abroad, so they could bring a competitive spirit back to the team. All six gymnasts in the Olympic team final were selected from fierce competition, and they proved themselves today.
56. Before the Beijing Games started，some international media doubted whether ________.
A. Chinese women gymnasts could win the team gold medal
B. He Kexin would fall from the bars during qualification
C. Chinese women gymnasts could make history at the Beijing Games
D. some Chinese women gymnasts were old enough for the Games
57. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. The international media’s doubts proved to be true.
B. He Kexin’s fall in the qualification had no bad effect on her performance in the final competition.
C. Chinese women gymnasts’ success at the Beijing Games proved that the reforms did work.
D. Each team is made up of 6 members to compete for the team gold medal in women gymnastics.
58. In the opinion of Lu Shanzhen, the key to achieving success for athletes is to________.
A. practice harder than ever B. experience more competitions abroad
C. have strong psychological power D. have a competitive spirit
59. The main purpose of the text is to________.
A. tell a story B. provide evidence C. give a report D. compare opinions
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a
woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy — who could not have been more than seven or eight years old — replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed (确认) my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed
”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.
Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development is depended not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation (诱惑) , many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.
71. According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.
A. a sure sign of a mental problem in a child
B. a mental state present in all humans, including children
C. something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development
D. something hardly to be expected in a young child
72. Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________.
A. through connection with society
B. gradually and under guidance
C. naturally without being taught
D. through watching television
73. According to the author, that today’s children seem adultlike results from ________.
A. the widespread influence of television
B. the poor arrangement of teaching content
C. the fast pace of human scientific development
D. the rising standard of living
74. What does the author think of communication through print for children?
A. It enables children to gain more social information.
B. It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.
C. It helps children to read and write well.
D. It can control what children are to learn.
75. What does the author think of the change in today’s children?
A. He feels their adultlike behavior is so funny.
B. He thinks people should pay attention to the change.
C. He considers it a rapid development.
D. He se
ems to be upset about it.