Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.
They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.
The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.
There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.
“We have to got and help her,” whispered Amy.
“What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.
“Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.
Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”
The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as thy could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.Why were the children hiding in the tree?
| A．They wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely. |
| B．They were playing a hide-and-seek game |
| C．They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true |
| D．They were pretending to be spies |
Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when____
| A．her front steps were clean |
| B．she noticed the children in the tree |
| C．she was ready to take a flight |
| D．she heard the hen cackling |
Ben did not rush in help Mrs. Tailor because_____
| A．he thought that she could be tricking them |
| B．he knew that they could not have been in the tree |
| C．he did not see the old lady fall down |
| D．he was afraid of the three-legged cat |
Which of these old sayings best suits the story’s lesson for us?
| A．Make hay while the sun shines. |
| B．Never judge a book by its cover. |
| C．People in glasshouses should not throw stones. |
| D．A bird in the hands worth two in the bush. |
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong．A day may begin well enough，but suddenly everything seems to get out of control．It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen．Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time．The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning．While you are on the phone，the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table，destroying your half-prepared meal．You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby．Meanwhile，the meal gets burnt．As if this were not enough to bring you to tears，your husband arrives,unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner．
Things can go wrong on a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue．The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner．She suddenly got into a panic(恐慌)and stopped her car．This made the driver following her stop suddenly．His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake．As she was thrown forward，the cake went right through the window and landed on the road．Seeing a cake flying through the air，a truck-driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden．The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck on the road．This led to yet another angry argument．Meanwhile，the traffic piled up behind．It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again．In the meanwhile，the truck-driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles.Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident，for they were happily having what was left of the cake．It was just one of those days!In the writer’s opinion .
| A．accidents may happen anytime |
| B．troubles always come in groups |
| C．a small matter may cause great trouble |
| D．anyone may have trouble any day |
What did the police do after the accident?
| A．They helped the driver clean up the road． |
| B．They helped the drivers to go on with their journey． |
| C．They tried to stop the people from arguing． |
| D．They would find out who should be responsible for(有责任的)the accident． |
When the telephone rings .
| A．you’d better have your baby a little distant from your table before going to answer the phone |
| B．you’d better just let it ring all the way |
| C．you should never go to answer it in a hurry |
| D．you should answer it right away |
From the story we can see_________．
| A．some drivers are too careless |
| B．such accidents are rather strange |
| C．such accidents are very common |
| D．we don’t know why such accidents happen |
Range
At present，there are five network firms---China Telecom，China Unicom，Jitong Communications，China Netcom and China Mobile---that are allowed to operate IP services in China．Each company has its advantages in service.
Charge
As the Ministry of Information Industry co-ordinates，the charges of IP calls of the five companies are the same，0.30 yuan per minute for DDD calls．4．80 yuan per minute for IDD calls，2.50 yuan for calls from the mainland to Hong Kong，Macao，and Taiwan，and 1.50 yuan from Shenzhen to HK，Zhongshan and Zhuhai to Macao．IP callers don’t enjoy discounts on holidays．
China Telecom has the widest coverage．All cities in China with telephone access and most countries in the world are open to China Telecom’s IP card．
China Unicom’s IP card can reach 29 cities nationwide and more than 130 countries and regions worldwide．Jitong IP can access(接通)12 cities in China and over 70 countries and regions worldwide．
China Netcom’s IP card can reach 14 cities in China and 149 countries and regions in the world.
China Mobile’s IP card is open to only six cities nationwide but can access more than 200 countries and regions worldwide.
Voice quality
China Telecom realizes its IP service by the public Intermet,therefore net congestion(拥挤)and voice delay may sometimes disturb conversations.The other four companies have their private data networks，which help to increase transmission speeds and improve voice quality.
Other services
China Telecom，Jitong and China Mobile offer account transfer services．Users can transfer the remaining sum of money on one card to another card.
Jitong and Netcom Link their services with bank cards．One can enjoy IP’s service without an IP card．Bank card users can make IP phone calls with their bank card numbers，so they needn’t buy new IP cards and remember the new numbers again and again．
As for customer service，China Telecom，China Unicom and China Mobile provide free hot line service，while Jitong and Netcom charge for their services.Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?
| A．China Unicom charges IDD calls more than the other four firms． |
| B．China Mobile’s coverage is the least of the five firms． |
| C．China Telecom accesses many more cities nationwide than the other four． |
| D．China Netcom is the only one to be allowed to operate IP service． |
If we want to access more foreign countries and regions with better voice quality，we’d better choose IP card．
| A．China Unicom’s | B．China Netcom’s | C．China Mobile’s | D．China Telecom’s |
When enjoying IP service， .
| A．Jitong users needn’t buy IP cards |
| B．China Telecom users needn’t buy new IP cards |
| C．Netcom users have to link with a bank |
| D．China Mobile users have to pay for their hot line service |
The passage mainly talks about .
| A．differences between the five IP fims |
| B．foundation of China’s five IP firms |
| C．development of China’s five IP firms |
| D．organization of the five IP firms |
It seems that some people go out of their way to get into trouble．That’s more or less what happened the night that Nashville Police officer Floyd Hyde was on duty.
“I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville．As I got onto Highway 40，blue lights and sirens(警笛)going.I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed to take off quickly down the highway．The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me．He was going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder．”
But Hyde couldn’t go after him．Taking care of injured people is always more important than worrying about speeders，so the officer had to stay on his way to the accident．But he did try to keep the Firebird in sight as he drove，hoping another nearby unit would be able to step in and stop the speeding car．As it turned out，keeping the Firebird in sight was not that difficult．Every turn the Pontiac made was the very turn the officer needed to get to the accident scene.
Hyde followed the Pontiac all the way to his destination(目的地)．At that point he found another unit had already arrived at the accident scene．His help wasn’t needed.Now he was free to try to stop the driver of the Firebird，who by this time had developed something new to panic about．
“Just about that time，” Hyde said，“I saw fire coming out from under that car，with blue smoke and oil going everywhere.He’d blown his engine．Now he had to stop．”
“After I arrested him．I asked him why he was running．He told me he didn’t have a driver’s license(执照)．”
That accident cost the driver of the Firebird plenty---a thousand dollars for the new engine---not to mention the charges for driving without a license，attempting to run away，and dangerous driving．The underlined word“panicked”in Paragraph 2 means .
| A．feared | B．hated | C．excited | D．satisfied |
The driver of the Firebird suddenly speeded down the highway because .
| A．he was racing with another driver on the road |
| B．he realized he had to hurry to the accident scene |
| C．he thought the police officer wanted to stop him |
| D．he wanted to overtake other cars on the shoulder |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Someone else was taking care of the injured person． |
| B．The Pontiac reached its destination at the accident scene． |
| C．Hyde knew where he was going by following the right car． |
| D．The policeman was running after a speeder on Highway 40 |
Choose the best title for the passage．
| A．Going My Way? | B．Help on the Way? |
| C．Fun All theWay? | D．Losing His Way? |
So you have been called for an interview---well done?Your effort has been paid off? You will feeI better at the interview if you show an understanding of the nature of the organization．
Ask someone who already does it，or check it with one of the advisers．
Ask a member of your family or a friend to act as the employer and to give you an unreal interview．Be as realistic as possible，answer the questions seriously．Afterwards discuss how it went．Think about how the employer would prefer to see your look．Remember---the majority of employers are over 30.
It is not wise to rush out and buy new clothes.which will be worn for the first time at the interview．You’ll feel more at ease in a familiar dress．
Carelessness in any of these could cost you the job．Arrive at least 15 minutes before time，this will give you a chance to have a look around，read the notice board and get the feel of the place．Being late at the interview produces a bad impression．The first impression that the interviewer gets of you is formed as you walk through the door，so take a couple of deep breaths．
Be ready to shake hands if the interviewer offers．
Don’t take a seat until asked．Then sit comfortably．
Make eye contact when you are greeted and again if you shake hands．And during questioning,eye contact is a form of non-verbal greeting．
Remember the interviewer’s name and use it from time to time．
Be ready for the question “Is there anything you want to ask?” Before the interview you should get ready for two or three such questions．Look on these not just as a chance to get information but as a means to give your employer a better impression．Asking can show knowledge but avoid asking about holidays，pensions(养老金)and so on．It looks as if you are tired even before you begin．You can check on these later，when the hope for job is offered．
And if you fail, look upon the interview as an experience in itself．Learn from it．We wish you good luck and good job hunting．Before you go to see the employer，you’d better .
| A．find a dress you have got used to |
| B．buy some modern shoes，ties，etc． |
| C．have your hair cut |
| D．put on your newly-bought clothes |
What does the phrase“eye contact”means?
| A．A kind of greeting without words． |
| B．Shaking hands with the interviewer． |
| C．Looking at each other for a long time． |
| D．A way of getting a desirable job． |
People usually do the following things before a job interview．Which is the right order for doing them?
a．Asking a friend to give you an unreal interview．
b．Understanding the nature of the organization．
c．Paying attention to your clothes．
d．Arriving at the place of the interview ahead of time．
e．Getting some information from the advisers．
| A．a—e—b—c—d | B．d—c—b—a—e |
| C．b—e—a—c—d | D．e—d—a—b—c |
Why do you prepare yourself for some Is--there·-anything·-you·-want--to-say questions?
| A．To give the employer more information． |
| B．To get information about holiday and pension． |
| C．To impress the employer better and get further information from the company as well． |
| D．To show that you are the most knowledgeable． |
Many of us believe that a person’s mind becomes less active as he grows older．But this is not true，according to Dr．Lissy F．Jarvik，professor of psychiatry(精神病学)at the University of California，Los Angeles，and a board member of the New Center for Aging at the Veterans Hospital．She has studied the mental functioning of aging persons for several years.For example，one of her studies concerns 136 pairs of twins, who were first examined when they were already 60 years old．As Dr．Jarvik continued the study of the twins into their 70s and 80s，their minds did not generally decline(下降)as was expected．
However，there was some decline in their psycho-motor(精神运动的)speed． This means that it took them longer to accomplish mental tasks than it used to．But when speed was not a factor，they lost very little intellectual (智力的) ability over the years.In general，Dr．Jarvik’s studies have shown that there is no decline in knowledge or reasoning ability．This is true not only into the 30s and 40s，but into the 60s and 70s as well．
As for learning new things，and ability to remember，studies by Dr．Jarvik and others show that the old are equal to the young．It is true that older people themselves often complain that their memory is not as good as it once was．However，much of what we call“loss of memory”is not that at a11．
In the cases where the older person’s mind really seems to decline，it is not necessarilv a sign of a decay due to becoming old or“senility”．Often it is simply a sign of a depressed emotional state．This depression usually can be got rid of by counseling(咨询)with a psychologist，or medicine which fights depression.
In American society，when an older person loses something，we tend to call him or her“senile”．But notice that when a younger person loses something，he does not blame it on senility or loss of memory．He finds some other excuse!A long-term study of 136 pairs of twins showed that the only factor that declined over the years was .
| A．mental health | B．intellectual ability |
| C．the amount of knowledge | D．psycho-motor speed |
According to Dr．Jarvik’s studies，middle-aged and older persons should expect to .
| A．reason better | B．learn fewer new things |
| C．remember less | D．1ose little ability to remember |
The word“senility”most likely means .
| A．excellent health | B．weakness in body and mind because of old age |
| C．occasional forgetfulness | D．giving up one’s life |
Both younger and older persons should realize that .
| A．a sign of a decay due to old age or“senility’’is a common thing |
| B．older persons are wiser than younger ones because of different knowledge amount |
| C．senility or mental decay due to aging is much less common than most of us believe |
| D．a sign of a depressed emotional state is not a reason of decay |