Americans do many different things during their vacations. Some people stay at home and enjoy time with their families. They may go to a local swimming pool, zoo or museum. Other people travel to enjoy large national parks, the mountains, the ocean, or large amusement parks. Many people visit interesting American cities or historic areas. Some people visit family members in other states. Still other Americans visit foreign countries.
Recently there is a new use for vacation time — learning about a new kind of job. This program is called Vocation Vacations. People pay between six hundred and five thousand dollars to work at a job for a few days or a week.
Brian Kurth of Portland, Oregon, started Vocation Vacations. He says it serves a valuable purpose. It gives people a chance to try out a job they always wanted without leaving their present job.
People use Vocation Vacations to try many kinds of jobs around the United States. These are jobs that anyone can learn to do. For example, they can learn how to make beer, wine, cheese or cakes. They can help train dogs or horses. They can learn how to be a hunting and fishing guide or a gardener. They can work with a sports announcer, television producer, wedding planner or photographer. Or they can learn how to operate a very small hotel, called a “bed and breakfast”.
Vocation Vacations recently added several new jobs. They include comedians, dog-sled (雪橇) drivers and hair stylists. The company says the most popular job so far is winemaking.
The Vocation Vacations Website recently asked visitors what prevents them from working at their dream job. More than two thousand people answered. Forty-two percent said the main block is money. Lack of the right education or experience was the answer given by twenty-five percent. Other answers included fear of failure and lack of family support.From the first paragraph we can learn that on holiday .
| A．Americans often try out new jobs |
| B．Americans prefer to travel |
| C．what Americans usually do |
| D．how Americans enjoy themselves at home |
What is “Vocation Vacations” according to the passage?
| A．The best way of enjoying time with one’s family. |
| B．A program of learning a new job on holiday. |
| C．A chance to learn how to operate a hotel. |
| D．The most popular jobs around the US. |
It seems that most of the jobs in Vocation Vacations are .
| A．difficult | B．boring |
| C．expensive | D．enjoyable |
When people take the jobs in vocation vacations, .
| A．they can choose many kinds of them |
| B．they can get some money for their work |
| C．they must have much experience |
| D．they must have a lot of money |
Lakes, ponds, and beaches mean summer fun and cool relaxation from hot weather．But water also can be dangerous for kids if you don't take great care．Nearly 1,000 kids die each year by drowning．
Here are some tips to keep your kids safe in the water:
At the Lake or Pond
○Don't let little kids swim alone without adult supervision— lakes or ponds may be shallow near the bank and are suddenly deep sharply further out from shore．
○Ponds and lakes may hide jagged（锯齿状的）rocks, broken glass, or rubbish．
○Make sure kids wear foot protection; even in the water, they should wear socks or water shoes．
○Watch out for weeds and grass in the water that could trap a leg or arm．
○Most boating accidents, particularly among teenagers, are related to alcohol（饮酒）．Be sure teens know about the dangers of alcohol, on and off the water．
At the Beach
○Teach kids to always swim when and where a lifeguard is on duty．Unlike the calm waters of a swimming pool, the beach has special dangers like currents and tides（暗流）．Check with the lifeguard when you arrive to find out about the water conditions．
○Tell kids never to stand with their back to the water because a sudden wave can easily knock a child over．
○Teach kids that if they're caught in a dangerous wave, they should swim parallel（顺行地）to the shore or should tread （踩）water and call for a lifeguard's help．
Whether at the lake or at the beach, teach your child to get out of the water during bad weather, especially lightning．Which is the right behavior when swimming at the beach?
| A．Go off the water without a lifeguard on duty |
| B．Go on swimming in a heavy rain |
| C．Go off the water before checking the water conditions |
| D．Call for help if caught in a dangerous wave |
A child should_________ at a lake．
| A．swim on his/her own |
| B．be careful about weeds and grass |
| C．swim without shoes on |
| D．drink only a little wine |
Swimming at a beach is more dangerous than in a pool because．
| A．there are no lifeguards at a beach |
| B．there are currents and tides at a beach |
| C．the waters of a beach are more calm． |
| D．the waters of a pool are warmer |
The passage is probably written for ．
| A．students at school |
| B．kids who want to learn swimming |
| C．parents with little children |
| D．coaches who teach kids to swim |
In which column（栏目）of a magazine can you find this passage?
| A．Education | B．Science | C．Entertainment | D．Sports |
If you are a human, you can’t help but experience the time when everything seems to be going wrong and you feel as if your life is completely out of control．It is during the low time that words of encouragement from family, friends, coworkers or even strangers can boost your spirits．It is also during the low time that destructive words can be devastating（毁灭性的）and make you sink deeper and deeper into depression．
For example, consider this story about a group of frogs who were traveling through the woods when two of them fell into a deep pit（深坑）．All of the other frogs gathered around the pit．When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two unfortunate frogs they would never get out．
The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump out of the pit．The other frogs kept telling them to stop．Finally, one of the two frogs took notice of what the other frogs were saying and simply gave up．He died．The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could．Once again the crowd of frogs shouted at him to stop the pain．The more they shouted, the harder he jumped and finally he made it．
When he got out, the other frogs asked him why he continued to jump when they were all shouting at him to tell him to give up．The frog explained to them that he was a little bit deaf．He thought they were encouraging him the whole time．
Every time you have a chance to say either something positive or negative to another human being, do choose the chance to say something positive! Don’t let those opportunities get away from you．Your words have a large amount of power．Use them wisely．You really never know just how much they can mean to someone else．Why did the frog that succeeded in jumping to safety neglect（忽视）the other frogs’ comments?
| A．Because he would like to jump out of the pit． |
| B．Because he could hardly hear what the other frogs said． |
| C．Because he didn’t want to give up his hope． |
| D．Because he had a positive attitude toward life． |
What can we infer from the first paragraph?
| A．There is no way to go when we go wrong． |
| B．Life depends on encouragement． |
| C．Destructive words will lead to death． |
| D．Words are playing an important role around us． |
The writer mainly wants to tell us ________ in the last paragraph．
| A．the power of words |
| B．positive words |
| C．negative words |
| D．the opportunities to say something |
The Internet is not perfect．There are many problems with it．
The Internet is not organized．There is no one in charge of the Internet．It is sometimes difficult to find what you are looking for．It is also easy to get the wrong information on the “Net”．
Some businessmen cheat people on the Internet．Internet thieves can steal credit card numbers．Some advertisers send spam to e-mail boxes．E-mail boxes are often filled with these unwanted advertisements．
Illegal businesses can operate on the Internet．These businesses sell X-rated materials, cigarettes and alcohol to teenagers．
The Internet has websites with information about making bombs, breaking the law and terrorism．
Criminals can fool people, especially children, in chat rooms．They can spread poisonous information and attack new members．
The Internet is the greatest advance in communication since human emerged．But it can also be like a dark alley in a dangerous part of town．Parents need to set parental controls on their children when they use the Internet．This will keep some of the bad materials away from their children．
The Internet can be dangerous to computers, too．Some people who have evil intentions enjoy causing problems for other people they don’t even know．They create computer viruses．A computer can get viruses by downloading a program that has a virus in it．Some viruses come by e-mail．
A virus can destroy the data a person has saved in computer files．A virus can cause a computer to crash．A virus can also reproduce itself! It can send copies of itself to everyone on a person’s e-mail address list．Then these people’s computers will have the same problems and can’t work normally!The underlined word “spam” in the third paragraph means __________．
| A．letters | B．products |
| C．useless information | D．poisonous information |
Why can illegal businesses operate on the Internet?
| A．Because there is no one in charge of the Internet． |
| B．Because some people like to buy banned products on the Internet． |
| C．Because X-rated materials, cigarettes, alcohol and so on can be sold well on the Internet． |
| D．Because people who operate businesses on the Internet are criminals． |
Parental controls are needed when children use the Internet because __________．
| A．children can’t use the computers well |
| B．children may damage the computers |
| C．the Internet is always unsafe for the children |
| D．poisonous information may have a bad effect on children |
We can infer from the passage that the key to solving the problems with the Internet is __________．
| A．to improve the computers |
| B．to improve people’s moral level |
| C．to order people not to use the Internet |
| D．to find a medicine to kill computer viruses |
Grandpa’s hobby was making birdhouses. He always said, “A man has to keep busy to stay out of trouble.” Leigh wasn’t sure how much trouble Grandpa could get into anyway, since he was such a nice man, but Leigh tried to listen to his advice. Besides, she liked to help on his birdhouses.
Grandpa’s shop was full of well-oiled and carefully-kept tools. Whenever he used something, he put it back in exactly the right place. He had rules about how he treated his tools, because he hated buying something new if the old one still worked. He also made sure to clean up each time he worked on something.
It wasn’t too fun cleaning up, but it was nice to watch him cut boards to exact lengths. It was nice to see the drill put in holes for screws(螺丝) to go in cleanly. It was like being a doctor, but with wood. The best part of building was seeing all the pieces come together in the final form.
The last steps always included lacquer or paint, to help protect Grandpa’s hard work from the weather. His birdhouses lasted for years. If he didn’t coat them properly, the sun and rain would turn the wood gray and weak in a short period of time. No, he always made sure to do things right. Even if he put rocks or other cute decorations on them, it was done right and made to last.
Grandpa was a hard worker, but he was also smart and generous. He let Leigh keep the birdhouses sometimes, but only if he got to help hang it up or set the post for it. It had to be done just right, after all.
The birdhouses were a great way to learn about woodworking, hard work, taking care of what you have, and about birds. The best thing about building birdhouses was that Leigh spent some time with Grandpa.What’s the best title for the text?
| A．Long-lasting Birdhouses |
| B．Birdhouses Making |
| C．Birdhouses, Home for Birds |
| D．Grandpa’s Birdhouses |
What did Leigh value most?
| A．Listening to Grandpa’s advice. |
| B．Helping Grandpa on his birdhouses. |
| C．Spending some time with Grandpa. |
| D．Learning about woodworking and birds. |
We can learn from the text that Grandpa ________.
| A．was a very good carpenter |
| B．lived a very hard life |
| C．didn’t care about cleaning up |
| D．kept thousands of birds |
Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets. When connected electronically, they are away from physical reality.
People have been influenced to become technology addicted. One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices. One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol.
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life. They have successfully created a cultural disease. Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information , to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern.
I see people trapped in a pathological(病态的) relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them. I call this technology servitude（奴役）. I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money.
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question. Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology. When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology. Mae West is famous for proclaiming the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology.
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies.” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology.The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means________.
| A．advantage | B．attraction |
| C．adaption | D．attempt |
From the passage, technology companies aim to_______.
| A．attract people to buy their products |
| B．provide the latest information |
| C．improve people’s quality of life |
| D．deal with cultural diseases |
It can be inferred from this passage that people ________.
| A．consider too much technology wonderful |
| B．have realized the harm of high-tech devices |
| C．can regain freedom without high-tech devices |
| D．may enjoy life better without overused technology |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
| A．Neutral. | B．Doubt. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |