Like many lovers of books, Mary and her husband, Richard Goldman, seldom walked past a bookstore without stopping to look inside. They often talked of opening their own store one day.
When Mary was in hospital with heart trouble in 1989, they decided it was time to get serious. Richard, who worked for a business company, expected to work for himself, and Mary needed to slow down from her job.
They started by talking to bookstore owners and researching the industry(产业). “We knew it had to be a specialty(专业) store because we couldn’t afford enough money,” says Mary. One idea came to her: She’d read somewhere that about 20 percent of books sold were mysteries, and many buyers spent more $300 a year on books. She and Richard were themselves mystery readers.
On Halloween 1992, they opened the Mystery Lovers Bookshop and Café near their home. With three children in college, the couple could not spend all the family’s money to start a shop. To pay the $100,000 cost, they drew some of their savings, borrowed from friends and from an bank.
The store only broke even in its first year, with only $120,000 in sales. But Mary was always coming up with new ways to attract(吸引) buyers. The shop had a coffee bar and it offered gifts to mystery lovers and provided dinners for book clubs that met in the store. She also invited some writers to discuss their stories.
Today Mystery Lovers makes sales of about $420,000 a year. After paying taxes, business costs and the six part-time sales workers, Richard and Mary together earn about $34,000.
“The job you love may not go hand in hand with a million-dollar income(收入)” says Richard. “This has always been about a pleasant life for ourselves, not about making a lot of money.”When Mary was in hospital, the couple realized that ____.
| A．they had to put their plan into practice |
| B．health was more important than money |
| C．heart trouble was a serious illness |
| D．they both needed to stop working |
After Mary got well from her illness they began _____.
| A．to study how to open a bookstore |
| B．to buy and read more mystery books |
| C．to do market research on book business |
| D．to work harder to save money for the bookstore |
How did their bookstore do in the first year?
| A．They had to borrow money to keep it going. |
| B．They made just enough to pay all the costs. |
| C．They succeeded in making a lot of money. |
| D．They failed though they worked hard. |
According to Richard, the main purpose of opening the bookstore is _____.
| A．to pay for their children’s education |
| B．to get to know more writers |
| C．to set up more bookstores |
| D．to do what they like to do |
Mr and Mrs Smith have just opened a small restaurant. In order to attract customers, they put a notice in front of the restaurant, which said: "Meals on the house for three days."
A foreign student who didn't know much English passed by the restaurant on the second day. It was lunchtime and he felt hungry. "Well, here is a restaurant. I'm going to have something to eat," he said.
He saw the notice when he walked towards the restaurant. "American people are really strange. They even eat dinners on the house! But how can I get onto the top of the house?" he asked himself
He looked around and found a ladder(梯子)against a tree nearby. He was very glad. But as he reached the top, he heard someone shouting at him, "Hey, what are you doing up there?" Mr Smith was looking at him angrily. Beside him was a policeman.
‘Doesn't your notice say 'Meals on the house for three days'? Is it just a joke?" the foreign student answered.
On hearing this, both Mr Smith and the policeman burst into laughter.
Do you know the meaning of on the house"?The Smiths have____.
| A．opened a restaurant | B．built a house |
| C．climbed onto the top | D．been policemen |
Why do Mr and Mrs Smith put up the notice?
| A．Because they wanted to attract policemen |
| B．Because they wanted people to eat on the roof |
| C．Because they wanted to attract more customers |
| D．Because they liked to play jokes |
The student walked past the restaurant.
| A．when the Smiths started their business |
| B．when the Smiths put on the notice |
| C．when the policeman came to the restaurant |
| D．when it was time to have lunch |
The studentso Mr Smith shouted at him.
| A．was very hungry | B．knew little about English |
| C．climbed onto the top of the house | D．took away the ladder |
"On the house" may mean that the meal
| A．is taken on the house | B．is paid on the house . |
| C．is made on the house | D．is free for the customers; |
阅读短文，根据要求完成下面各小题。
A good way to pass an exam is to work hard every day in the year．【3】You may fail in an exam if you are lazy for most of the year and then work hard only a few days before the exam．If you are taking an English exam, do not only learn rules of grammar．
Try to read stories in English and speak in English whenever you can．A few days before the exam, you should start going to bed early．Don’t stay up late at night studying and learning things．Before you start the exam, read carefully over the question paper．【4】Try to understand the exact meaning of each question before you pick up your pen to write．When you have at last finished your exam, read over your answers．Correct the mistakes if there are any and make sure that you have not missed anything out．
A）根据短文内容简要回答问题。Learning rules of grammar is enough to pass the English exam, isn’t it?
____________________________________________________________________.What should you do a few days before the exam?
____________________________________________________________________.
B）将短文中划线的句子译成汉语。_______________________________________________________________.
_______________________________________________________________.
C）请给短文拟一个适当的标题。_________________________________________________________________
In one way, it may be thought that failure（失败）is a part of life. In another, failure may be regarded as a step towards success.
The "spider-story" is often told as an example of this. Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a hole on a hill from the English. He watched a spider(蜘蛛) making a web. Bruce is said to have got confidence from this and to have gone on to beat the English. Edison, too, the inventor of the light bulb(电灯泡) , made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one.
So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were you in high spir¬it then? What can you change so that things will go right the next time?
Second, is the goal(目标) you are trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about this question: "If I am successful in this, where will it get me?" This may help to prevent failure in the things you shouldn't be doing anyway.
The third thing to remember about failure is that it's a part of life. Learn to "live with yourself” even though you may have failed. Remember, "You can't win them all. “Robert Bruce was mentioned in the passage to show that .
| A．people who fail are not lonely |
| B．animals can help people sometimes |
| C．nature will help us if we are hard-working |
| D．confidence is important for one to be successful |
Edison's example shows us that .
| A．he liked to do other kinds of work |
| B．he invented many kinds of light bulbs |
| C．failure may be a way towards success |
| D．he was a man of many important inventions |
If you are not sure about what success will get you, you'd better .
| A．change your goal | B．go on with your goal |
| C．not care for that | D．work even harder on your goal |
It can be learned from the passage that .
| A．one should try not to fail |
| B． one's failure is another's success |
| C．one should take failures seriously |
| D．one should learn lessons from failures |
This passage is mainly about .
| A．two great men |
| B． two sides of failure |
| C．ways to keep away from failure |
| D． the right attitude(态度) towards failure |
It’s so beautiful outside that spending the day in the office would be very boring. So why not take the vacations(假期)off? A new survey(调查)found that 31﹪of U.S workers don’t always take all of their vacation days. Americans have 12 vacation days on average(平均)each year, but they give back an average of 3 vacation days each year.
So why don’t they use up their vacation days? Some say they would rather get money back for their unused days; some busy workers say they just can’t leave their work. Americans have fewer vacation days than workers in any other country surveyed.
The French take their vacations seriously. French workers get an average of 39 vacation days, and 40﹪ plan to take at least one there-to-four-week vacation.
Workers in Sweden receive an average of 25 vacation days a year, but they can’t find time to use them all. More workers there return vacation days than any other country surveyed.
British workers have the longest working week in Europe(欧洲),with 23 vacation days --the shortest vacation. So they feel overworked.75﹪ say their weekends or vacations are too short and 40﹪ would sacrifice a day’s pay(工资)for one more vacation day. ____________ U.S workers don’t always take all of their vacation days.
| A．All | B．Most | C．Some | D．Few |
How many vacation days do Americans have on average each year in fact?
| A．9 | B．12 | C．15 | D．23 |
Which country has the most workers working during the vacation days?
| A．America. | B．France. | C．Sweden. | D．Great Britain. |
What does the word “sacrifice” mean in the last sentence?
| A．Use up. | B．Put up. | C．Take up. | D．Give up. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Some American workers are too busy to leave their work. |
| B．French workers can take one Three-to-four week days. |
| C．Swedish workers can enjoy all of their vacation days. |
| D．British workers have the shortest vacation days of all the countries surveyed. |
Useful Information in Australia
Useful Numbers
All the telephone numbers are useful and free.
。Fire/ Police/ Ambulance(救护车)—000 Telephone information—12455
。Medical(医学的) Care—1300369359 Taxi—1800421113
Surfing the Internet
With so many Internet tearooms and public libraries, it’s easy to surf the Internet in Australia.
Also it’s very cheap for you to surf the Internet.
。Public libraries offer free Internet every day even during public holidays.
。Many travel managers provide connection which is cheap or free.
Post Service
All post offices around the country offer post services(服务) so you can receive mails as you travel around the whole country.
。Post offices are usually open from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.
。It costs 50 cents to send a standard（标准的） letter in Australia.
Public Holidays
On public holidays all shops are closed across Australia, so are banks and post offices.
。New Year’s Day—1st January
。Australia Day—26th January
。Christmas Day—25th DecemberIf there is a fire, you can call________ in Australia.
| A．1300369359 | B．180042113 | C．000 | D．12455 |
Which is the right time to send a letter in a post office in Australia?
| A．At 8:30 on Tuesday. | B．At 9:30 on Sunday. |
| C．At 8:30 on Saturday. | D．At 9:30 on Monday. |
Mr. Green lives alone in Australia and he isn’t in good health. He needs a nurse to look after him. What should he do?
| A．Go to an Internet tearoom. |
| B．Send a letter to his son. |
| C．Call 1300369359. |
| D．Go to a hospital. |
Which one might be open on public holidays?
| A．Public libraries. | B．Shops. | C．Banks. | D．Post offices. |
Which one is not right according to（根据）the above passage?
| A．Surfing the Internet is cheap in Australia. |
| B．It costs 50 cents to send a standard letter. |
| C．Australians go to work on 26th January. |
| D．Australians don't go shopping on public holidays. |