All things change except barbers, the ways of barbers, and the surroundings of barbers. These never change. What one experiences in a barber’s shop the first time he enters one is what he always experiences in barbers’ shops afterward till the end of his days.
I got shaved this morning as usual. A man approached the door from Jones Street as I approached it from Main--a thing that always happens. I hurried up, but it was of no use; he entered the door one little step ahead of me, and I followed in and saw him take the only empty chair, the one headed by the best barber. It always happens so. I sat down, hoping that I might sit in the chair belonging to the better of the remaining two barbers, for he was a bit ahead. I watched the probabilities with strong interest. When I saw that No. 2 was gaining on No. 1, my interest grew to solicitude (担心). When No. 1 was gradually losing the race, my solicitude rose to anxiety. When No. 1 caught up again, and both were about to finish and say “Next!” first, my very breath stood still with the suspense. But when I saw that he had lost the race by a single instant, I rose angrily and quitted the shop, to keep from falling into the hands of No. 2; for I have none of that firmness that enables a man to look calmly into the eyes of a waiting barber and tell him he will wait for his fellow-barber’s chair.
I stayed out fifteen minutes, and then went back, hoping for better luck. Unfortunately, all the chairs were occupied now, and four men sat waiting, silent, and looking bored, as men always do who are waiting their turn in a barber’s shop. I sat down and waited.
At last my turn came. A voice said “Next!” and I give in to No. 2, of course. It always happens so. I smiled and said that I was in a hurry, and it affected him as strongly as if he had never heard it.
He explored my hair with his claws and suggested that it needed trimming(修剪). I said I did not want it trimmed. He explored again and said it was pretty long for the present style. I said I had had it cut only a week before. He stopped for a moment, and then asked “who cut it?” I stared at him from the mirror and replied “You did!”. Then a dog-fight attracted his attention, and he ran to the window and stayed and watched it…The author left the barber’s shop mainly because ___________.
| A．he would like to wait for “No. 1” outside |
| B．he would rather be served by the best barber |
| C．he lacked the courage to tell “No. 2” his intention |
| D．he was angry at the slow speed of “No. 1” |
What is the change of the author’s attitude from the moment he went into the barber’s to the moment he left it?
| A．Disappointed---Anxious---Hopeful---Angry. |
| B．Disappointed --Hopeful---Anxious---Angry. |
| C．Hopeful--- Sad --- Anxious ---Angry. |
| D．Hopeful--- Anxious --- Angry --- Sad. |
The underlined word “suspense” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ________.
| A．loneliness | B．excitement |
| C．anxiety | D．hope |
What is likely to happen next?
| A．The author lost his temper. |
| B．“No. 2” ran out of his patience. |
| C．The author was well-served by “No. 2”. |
| D．The author also went to see the dog-fight. |
A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin （顽童） was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?” he asked．
Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas．” The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…” He hesitated．
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He wished he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly．
“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that．” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”
“Oh yes, I’d love that．”
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again．“Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked．
He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled （残疾） brother．He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car．
“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent．And some day I’m going to give you one just like it… Then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I’ve been trying to tell you about．”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride．The street urchin was very surprised when __________．
| A．he saw the shining car |
| B．Paul told him about the car |
| C．he was walking around the car |
| D．Paul received an expensive car |
From the story we know that the urchin __________．
| A．wished to give his brother a car |
| B．wished Paul’s brother to give him a car |
| C．wished Paul could be a brother like that |
| D．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s |
The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ______．
| A．to show he had a rich friend |
| B．to show his neighbors the car |
| C．to let his brother ride in the car |
| D．to tell his brother about his wish |
We can infer from the story that __________．
| A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin |
| B．the urchin’s wish came true in the end |
| C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother |
| D．the urchin had a deep love for his brother |
The best title for the story probably is __________．
| A．A Christmas Present | B．A Street Urchin |
| C．A Brother Like That | D．An Unforgettable Ride |
Doctors have known for a long time that extremely loud noises can cause hearing damage or loss．The noise can be the sound of a jet airplane or machines in factories of loud music or other common sound at home and at work．A person only needs to hear the noise for little more than one second to be affected．
An American scientist has found that using aspirin （阿斯匹林） increase the temporary （暂时的）hearing loss or damage from loud noise．He did an experiment using a number of students at a university who all had normal hearing．He gave them different amounts of aspirin for different periods of time, then he tested their hearing ability．He found that students who were given four grams of aspirin a day for two days suffered much greater temporary hearing loss than those who did not use aspirin．The hearing loss was about two times as great．
The scientist said millions of persons in the U．S．use much larger amounts of aspirin than were used in his experiment．He said these persons face a serious danger of suffering hearing loss from loud noise．Doctors have long known that__________．
| A．one may lose his hearing when he hears a terribly loud noise． |
| B．one may become deaf when he hears a loud noise． |
| C．loud noises can cause damage to the hearing of the young people only |
| D．common sounds at home are not harmful to the ear |
This passage suggests that one’s hearing________．
| A．will be damaged even if he has heard a loud noise for only little more than one second |
| B．will be damaged even if he has heard a loud noise less than one second |
| C．will not be damaged if he has heard a loud noise for only little more than one second |
| D．will not be damaged if he has little more than one second to get ready |
One conclusion you can draw from the passage is that aspirin________．
| A．makes hearing damage from loud noise worse |
| B．should never be taken more than four grams |
| C．can damage one’s hearing when it is given more than four grams daily |
| D．always increases hearing loss by two times |
Millions of Americans are in danger of suffering hearing loss because they__________．
| A．take too much aspirin |
| B．often take air trips |
| C．like listening to loud music |
| D．have too much loud noises at home and at work |
The American scientist did his experiment in order to find ________．
| A．how much aspirin would affect a person’s hearing |
| B．how much aspirin should be given in the treatment of the patients with hearing damage from loud noise |
| C．whether aspirin would increase the temporary hearing damage from loud noises |
| D．whether the people who had hearing damage should use aspirin |
Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children．Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia．They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will learn a musical instrument or ballet or other classes which will give them a head start in life．The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is．So the parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education．Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter．
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap．
Parents can see that their children’s skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others．What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack （缺乏） self-respect and self-confidence．
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents aren’t teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever．
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing housework．
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life．Cooking demands patience and time．It’s an enjoyable but difficult experiment．A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually to finish his job successfully．His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence．
Some old machines , such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your children to play with will make him curious （好奇） and arouse his interest He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up．These activities aren’t merely teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind．And that is more important．Parents in China, according to this passage, _________．
| A．are too strict with their children |
| B．are too rich to educate their children |
| C．have some problems in educating their children correctly |
| D．are too poor to educate their children |
Generally speaking, children’s skills_______．
| A．come from their parents |
| B．have nothing to do with their education |
| C．may be different |
| D．have something to do with their marks in the exams |
The writer of this passage doesn’t seem to be satisfied with_______．
| A．the parents’ idea of educating their children |
| B．the education system |
| C．children’s skills |
| D．children’s hobbies |
Doing some cooking at home helps children_________．
| A．learn how to serve their parents |
| B．learn how to become strong and fat |
| C．benefit from it and prepare themselves for the future |
| D．make their parents believe that they are clever |
According to the last paragraph, we can conclude that_________．
| A．broken radios and television sets are useful |
| B．one’s curiosity may be useful for his later life |
| C．an engineer must fix many broken radios |
| D．a good student should spend much time repairing radios |
Having driven almost thirty hours, I decided to stay in South Carolina for a few days. The next morning, I purchased a three-day fishing license and bait (饵料) before heading to the lake.
Opening my trunk, I carefully took out my fishing gear (用具), put it on the lake’s edge, baited up and began to fish.
“Good morning,” said someone, walking up from behind me.
Turning around, I saw a game warden (猎场管理员) with a clip-board.
“Good morning,” I said, nodding my head.
“Catch any fish?” he asked.
“No sir, just relaxing and killing time.”
“Can I see your fishing license?”
I handed him the license I had purchased at the bait shop.
“Can I see your driver’s license, too?” he requested.
“I see the name on the driver’s license is spelled Kiser and the name on the fishing license is Kaiser,” said the warden.
“The gentleman at the bait shop must have written it wrong,” I told him.
“Well, I’m afraid I’ll have to write you up for fishing with an invalid license and take away your fishing gear.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I responded, with a surprised look on my face.
Sure enough I was written up and my fishing gear taken away. I was told that I would have to pay a fine and that my stuff would be sold at auction（拍卖）.
I stood there almost in tears as he drove away. Those rods and reels were very special to me. I had used them over twenty years, fishing with my friends, who were now all dead.
After returning home in Georgia, I telephoned South Carolina trying to explain the situation, but no one would listen. I was told that the Department of Fish and Game had a “zero tolerance” for fishing and hunting violations. Finally, in tears I paid the fine and gave up the fight.
Nine months later, I received a letter. I had no idea who it was from as there was no return address. On a plain piece of notebook paper was written “Auction for the Department of Fish and Game held this Saturday at 11:00 am.”
On Saturday, at six in the morning I headed to South Carolina. By ten o’clock I had found the auction. There were numerous boats and piles upon piles of fishing equipment. All at once, there it was—my wonderful stuff all thrown in a pile as if it was worth nothing.
As the auction began I took my seat. In my wallet was twenty-seven dollars. For more than an hour I waited for my property to be brought to the auction block.
“We have three rods and reels here. I guess we will sell this as a unit,” said the auctioneer.
“50 dollars,” yelled someone in the crowd.
“51 dollars,” yelled another man.
I rose from my seat and walked out of the auction.
“66 dollars,” I heard as the bidding continued.
“100 dollars,” came another bid. The auction became silent.
“100 dollars once, 100 dollars twice, 100 dollars three times. Sold for 100 dollars,” went the auctioneer.
I walked to my truck, got in and just sat there. Suddenly I heard something hit the side of my truck. Turning around, I saw the back of a man putting my three rods and reels into my truck. It was the same game warden who wrote me the ticket almost a year ago!
As I got out of the truck he stuck out his hand and said, “I wasn’t wrong. It’s the law that is wrong.”
I shook his hand, thanked him and drove away. I cried as I crossed the South Carolina Georgia state line. Who wrote a letter to the writer telling him about the auction?
| A．The Department of Fish and Game. | B．The game warden. |
| C．A person unmentioned in the passage. | D．The auction organizers. |
Why did the writer walk out of the auction while it was going on?
| A．He realized he was unable to get back his fishing gear. |
| B．He was too nervous to stay inside till the auction ended. |
| C．He couldn’t bear hearing people selling his fishing gear. |
| D．He knew the game warden was waiting for him outside. |
What did the game warden mean by saying “It’s the law that is wrong”?
| A．It didn’t make any sense to prohibit people from fishing freely in South Carolina. |
| B．The writer did break the law by fishing with an invalid license whatever the reason. |
| C．The writer should have been allowed a chance to explain and get his things back. |
| D．The auction should not have been held to sell the boats and fishing equipment. |
After successfully serving their term for 4 years, military service men and women are given the choice to stay in the military or return to civilian（平民）life.
For some, having to readjust to civilian life is one of the most challenging assignments our returning soldiers and marines（水兵）will ever have to undertake. While people may think readjusting should be simple, they must take into consideration all the physical and mental stress our servicemen went through.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder（创伤后应急障碍）, or PTSD, is a mental disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat（打仗）.
Most survivors of trauma return to normal given a little time. In the military, the marines are given a two-week course on how to return to civilian life.
Unfortunately, some will have stress reactions that do not go away on their own, or may even get worse over time. These individuals may develop PTSD.
People who suffer from PTSD have difficulty sleeping because they are often reliving the experience through nightmares（梦魇）and flashbacks, and feel deserted or often stand off, and these symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly damage the person’s daily life.
Fullerton College, like most colleges, has its own Veteran’s（老兵）Office. Ray Bustos has been running the office for 3 years. Bustos acts as a liaison（联络） for the school and the veteran students. He makes sure the veterans returning to school get the right benefits. There are various types of financial aid for soldiers and marines. He strongly encourages the use of the Veterans Affairs website.
The website is very informative and extremely helpful for veterans as well as for friends and relatives of veterans who want to learn more.One purpose of the writer in writing the passage is ________________.
| A．to introduce some methods to cure PTSD |
| B．to instruct PTSD patients to return to civilian life |
| C．to recommend a website for veterans and people concerned |
| D．to give military service men and women advice on civilian life |
What problems will some returning soldiers and marines meet with?
| A．How to readjust to civilian life. | B．How to get rid of mental diseases |
| C．How to get along with PTSD patients | D．How to return to school for benefits. |
Which of the following is true about Ray Bustos?
| A．He’s a veteran who has just come back from a military combat. |
| B．He runs Fullerton College with a veteran office. |
| C．He’s in charge of an office dealing with veteran affairs. |
| D．He provides a lot of financial aid for soldiers and marines. |
The best title for the passage is __________.
A. PTSD: Killer of A Civilian Life. B. The Last Assignment For All Military Persons
C. How to Overcome PTSD. D. Ready for a Civilian Life?