Sam was a fifteen-year-old boy living with his little sister, Julie. Their parents had passed away long ago. Sam had taken care of Julie by himself.
One day, Sam woke up at three in the morning as usual. When Julie was sleeping alone. Sam left their little house to send newspapers. When he found an old man sitting in front of their house. Sam was so surprised that he stopped to look at him closely. It was an icy morning and he looked very old.
The poor old man didn't have anything to cover himself with. Sam went into his house to get the old man a blanket. However, there were no extra blankets, so Sam thought hard and took his father's coat. It was the only thing of his father's that he had left. Sam wrote a short note."Sir, I found you sleeping in front of my house. This is my father's coat. I hope it fits you well."He put the note in a pocket of the coat, and covered the old man with the coat. Then he went to work. When he came back three hours later, both the man and the coat were gone. Sam thought that it was the best thing he could have done with his father's coat.
That afternoon, Sam hurried home after school because Julie was at home alone. However, Julie and the old man were standing in front of the house, and Julie shouted to Sam, "Brother! He's our grandfather!"
The grandfather smiled and said, "Sam . Thank you for giving me the coat and letting me know how good my grandson is. This coat was the one I gave my son a long time ago!"How was the weather when Sam saw an old man in front of his house?____.
| A．Hot and sunny | B．Rainy |
| C．Icy and cold | D．Windy |
Sam's morning job was to ____.
| A．take care of his sister | B．go to school |
| C．send newspapers | D．look for his grandfather |
"Their parents passed away long ago" means" Their parents ____ long ago."
| A．died | B．went on |
| C．left home | D．passed by |
Sam covered the old man with his father's coat because ____.
| A．his father's coat fitted the old man well |
| B．the coat was the only thing that his father had left |
| C．he knew the old man was his grandfather then |
| D．he had no extra blanket |
A passenger（旅客）told an air hostess that he needed a cup of water to take his medicine when the plane just took off. She told him that she would bring him the water in ten minutes.
The air hostess was kept so busy that she forgot to give him the water. As a result, the passenger was held up(延误) to take his medicine. Thirty minutes later, when the passenger’s ring for service sounded, she hurried over to him with a cup of water, but he refused.
In the following hours on the plane, each time the air hostess passed by the passenger, she would ask him with a smile whether he needed help or not. But the passenger never answered a word.
When he was going to get off the plane, the passenger asked the air hostess to hand him the passengers’ booklet（小册子）. She was very sad. She knew that he would write down sharp words, but with a smile she handed it to him.
Off the plane, she opened the booklet, and smiled, for the passenger put it. “On the flight, you asked me whether I needed help or not for twelve times in all. How can I refuse your twelve sincere smiles?”
That’s right! Who can refuse twelve sincere smiles from a person?Ten minutes later, the passenger didn’t get the water because _________.
| A．the plane didn’t take off |
| B．the air hostess was kept busy and forgot it |
| C．it wasn’t allowed to take medicine during the flight |
| D．there wasn’t enough water on the plane |
The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refers to（指的是）the _________.
| A．medicine | B．water | C．cup | D．booklet |
At last the passenger was _______.
| A．satisfied with the air hostess |
| B．unhappy with the air hostess |
| C．angry at what the air hostess had said |
| D．too tired to blame the air hostess |
Most people graduate from school and then get a job. Everyone wants a job that pays well. How much money can you make? Ask yourself these questions: What can I do? What skills do I have? Also ask yourself: How much education do I have? For most jobs, the higher your education, the higher your earning power.
In the United States, high school graduates make about $18,600 a year. If you do not finish high school, you make only $10,800 a year. You can make $7,800 more each year by staying in high school!
If you stay in school, then you can make more money. A person with a high school degree makes about $18,600 a year. If that person goes to college and gets a bachelor’s degree (学士学位), he can make $42,000. With a master’s degree (硕士学位), he can make about $53,000. If the person gets a PhD (博士学位), he can make almost $79,000 or more a year.
We can learn a very important thing from this information. If you want to work and make more money, get a good education.The passage mainly talks about ___________.
| A．how education and pay are connected |
| B．high paying jobs |
| C．jobs for high school students |
| D．good schools |
According to the passage, “earning power” means the ability to ___________ money.
| A．save | B．spend | C．pay | D．make |
Each year a person with a PhD can make ___________ more than a person who does not finish high school.
| A．$37,000 | B．$68,200 | C．$60,400 | D．$26,000 |
请认真阅读下面短文，并根据短文内容回答问题。
Microblogs: a two-sided blade(双刃剑)
Micro-blogging has been growing quickly over the past year. As a result, many other forms of social networking are no longer popular, even if they just came into being several years ago. However, micro-blogging is a two-side blade. It helps, but it also hurts.
Micro-blogging is famous for spreading messages almost immediately. It also helps the public manage some agencies and organizations. For example, in March 2011, some micro-bloggers persuaded the Nanjing government to stop cutting 600 old trees in the downtown area; after a serious earthquake and tsunami(海啸) hit Japan, micro-bloggers called for giving a helping hand to the Japanese victims. In July, micro-bloggers made clear the “Guo Meimei” scandal（丑闻）, and brought the Red Cross Society of China under investigation.
Like everything in life, micro-blogging also has an opposite side.
Guo Meimei, who was involved in the scandal of the Red Cross Society, suffered from all kinds of online attacks, and said she was being followed up on and even threatened. Another problem is the spreading rumors（谣言）, such as the rumor that Shanxi was going to be struck by a big earthquake and “Jin Yong’s death”—Jin Yong is a Chinese novelist famous for his wuxia novels.
In the online world, large amounts of information is easily spread to a large network, but sometimes there is no official source. So it’s highly important for everyone to have the ability to tell truth from rumor. It is also suggested that Internet companies should stop the accounts of users who spread rumors.Why are many forms of social networking no longer popular?
What is micro blogging famous for?
Who persuaded the Nanjing government to save 600 old trees?
What are bad points of micro-blogging?
How can people deal with the online world?
When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, pretended（假装） not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
My mother has realized the disadvantages of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she. I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker（股票经纪人）. I said in a voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs. Tan.” And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he doesn’t send me the check. It’s already two weeks late.”
And then, in perfect English I said: “I’m getting rather anxious .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.” Then she talked more loudly. “What does he want? I’ll come to New York and say it in front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t accept any more excuses. If I don’t receive the check immediately, I have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English. When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed (使困窘) me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is clear and direct. It was the language that helped me form the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.Why was the author’s mother poorly treated?
| A．She was unable to speak good English. |
| B．She was often misunderstood. |
| C．She was not clearly heard. |
| D．She was not very polite. |
From Paragraph 2, what can we know about the author?
| A．She was good at pretending. |
| B．She was rude to the stockbroker. |
| C．She was ready to help her mother. |
| D．She was unwilling to phone for her mother. |
Even after the author made the phone call to the stockbroker,__________.
| A．they forgave the stockbroker |
| B．they failed to get the check |
| C．they moved to New York immediately |
| D．they wrote to their boss at once |
What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
| A．It’s hard for her to understand. |
| B．It embarrasses her. |
| C．It helps her understand the world. |
| D．It helps her forgive rude people. |
Soon computers and other machines will be able to remember you by looking at your eyes! The programme works because everyone’s eyes are different. So in the future you won’t have to remember a number when you want to use a machine or take money out of a bank. You’ll just have to look at the machine and it will be able to tell who you are.
The eye-recognition（识别）programme is already being tested in shops and banks in the USA, Britain, Spain, Italy and Turkey. Soon, this technology will take the place of all other ways of finding out who people are.
However, scientists are working on other systems. Machines will soon be able to know you from the shape of your face or hand or even your smell! We already have machines that can tell who you are from your voice or the mark made by your finger.
Eye-recognition is better than other kinds because your eyes don’t change as you get older, or get dirty like hands or fingers. And even twins have different eyes, so the programme can be up to 94％ correct, depending on how good the technology is. Some programmes may only be right 51％ of the time. In Britain, it was found that 91％ of people who had tried it said that they liked the idea of eye-recognition. In the future your computer will be looking at you in the eye. So smile!How does the eye-recognition programme work?
| A．You write your number. |
| B．You show your ID card. |
| C．You look at the machine. |
| D．You say your name. |
Why can the programme be up to 94％ correct?
| A．Because eyes never change. |
| B．Because hands or fingers can get dirty. |
| C．Because people like the idea of the programme. |
| D．Because the programme is widely used around the world. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The programme is being tested in Japan. |
| B．Machines with other systems can also tell who you are. |
| C．91％ of people like the idea of the programme. |
| D．Computers can remember you by looking at your clothes. |
What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Introduction to some kinds of programmes. |
| B．Introduction to the eye-recognition programme. |
| C．The way how the eye-recognition programme works. |
| D．The places where the eye-recognition programme is tested. |