In my twenty-six years as a free writer, I have worked for newspapers, magazines and the Internet sites.
I have reviewed the famous people, and criticized the political characters. Yet along my journalistic journey there have been several interviews that remain deeply in my memory. For not only did the characters of those specific people impress me, they actually influenced my life.
Lynn R. Taylor is such a special person.
Born in Buffalo, New York, on May 2, 1962, Lynn Taylor was just like all the other kids in her neighborhood. At the age of three she was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor, a cancer of the kidneys. Given a “no-chance” prediction, doctors completely removed one of Lynn’s kidneys and part of another. They then predicted that if she survived to the age of five, she might possibly make ten.
In the decade that followed, Lynn Taylor met and surpassed all medical experts’ gloom-and-doom predictions. At the age of fourteen she was in full remission(缓解), and by seventeen, she was considered cured. Yet in this case, Lynn’s medical history was far from closed.
Over the next twenty-three years, Lynn earned her undergraduate degree and master’s degree in economics. Then she was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Sussex in England. There she was invited to teach and earned her second master’s degree. Upon returning to Buffalo, the successful young woman engaged in a variety of high level jobs, including head of Multicultural Affairs at a local college.
Recently Lynn has added a new activity to her schedule----that of a cancer hospital volunteer. It is her wish to provide living proof for patients that cancer is not necessarily a death sentence but rather, as she has proved, something to overcome.When Lynn Taylor was diagnosed with cancer, the doctors __________.
| A．tried their best to make her live until then |
| B．thought it was a wonder that she could live to three |
| C．thought that she couldn’t live long |
| D．believe that she could survive |
Lynn is working as a cancer hospital volunteer mainly to __________.
| A．help the cancer patient to recover |
| B．encourage the patients to fight cancer bravely |
| C．help the doctors and nurses as a reward |
| D．entertain the cancer patients |
What can we learn about Lynn’s condition now?
| A．she is still not strong enough to do much work. |
| B．she is learning medicine at a college. |
| C．she still can’t do without medicine. |
| D．she is fully recovered. |
The purpose of the writer is to tell us __________.
| A．his experience as a free writer. |
| B．a special person who influenced his life. |
| C．there is a cure for Wilms Tumor. |
| D．how Lynn Taylor fought against cancer. |
Last month, students from one hundred and three universities in eighty-eight countries took part in an international computer programming contest, which took place in Harbin, China. Three-person teams from each school had five hours to solve eleven real world problems.
The students first listed the problems in order of difficulty. Then they figured out the requirements of each. They designed ways to test their solutions. And they wrote the needed software systems. Even the winning team from Shanghai Jiaotong University in China was not able to solve all the problems within the given limit. Stanford’s team solved five problems and finished in fourteenth place. Stanford was one of twenty-one American universities that took part in the contest this year.
The official name of the Battle of the Brains is the ACM International Collegiate Contest. The first final competition was held in 1977 at the Association for Computer Machinery Computer Science Conference. Today, a network of universities holds area competitions that send the winners to the world finals, now organized by IBM.
Contest spokesman Dong Heintzman says the world champions receive prizes and scholarships. They are also guaranteed an offer of employment or internship(实习) with IBM. He said, “We have had past world champions that IBM has gone and employed in our Zurich research laboratory and are now working on some of the leading edge materials in science and physics. We have a world finalist from China who’s been working on the Watson Supercomputer that in the near future will be playing Jeopardy(一种超级计算机名称)against the best Jeopardy players in the world. So this competition is an opportunity to be recognized and to be recruited(招聘) by some of the top technology and research firms around the world.” From the first paragraph we can figure out there were _______ programmers taking part in the contest.
| A．3 | B．88 | C．246 | D．a lot of |
From the last paragraph we know that _______.
| A．the winners will be offered a job in IBM |
| B．this contest provides a chance for the universities |
| C．this competition is held every four years |
| D．many big companies are short of programmers |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．The Best Top Contest |
| B．The Battle of the Brains |
| C．The Difficult Competition |
| D．Courage and Wisdom Needed |
Zoe, Damacela, 19, didn't have nice clothes when she was young. It wasn't easy for Zoe’s hard-working single mother to make ends meet. They moved in and out of homeless shelters.
Everything changed for Zoe in grade nine. At that time, she heard about a sewing(缝纫) class at her school. She signed up and couldn't wait to turn her designs into clothes. The color of the first dress she made was white-black strips. Soon the clothes she wore were all made by her. Other girls at school loved her designs too. They asked her if they could buy dresses from her. Zoe sold her first dress for $13. Unfortunately, it cost her $25 to make the dress. “I had the creativity in designs," says Zoe. “But I really had no idea about business.”
Zoe kept selling the clothes she designed. Her business was booming, and even the girls who had ever teased her became her customers. In the eleventh grade, Zoe took a business class. She learned how to price her clothes so that she could be sure to make a fair profit.
Her business teacher suggested she take part in a contest for teenaged entrepreneurs (企业家). The contest was for teens from all over the United States. Zoe sent in her business plan, which explained how she planned to make her company grow. She won the second prize in the end. Zoe ’s success became a news item. Supermodel Tyra Banks heard about it and she invited Zoe to take part in her TV show. “Being recognized I felt really unreal,”says Zoe. Zoe has advice for teens who want to start their own business. “If you really work hard on it, you will be able to make it happen,” she says. “If I can do it, anyone else can.”We can learn that ______when she was in grade nine.
| A．Zoe had no interest in designing clothes |
| B．Zoe seldom wore her self-made clothes |
| C．Zoe didn' t know how to make money |
| D．Zoe attended a business course |
After winning the contest, Zoe ______
| A．considered it a reward |
| B．expected to be known |
| C．was proud of her own gift |
| D．could hardly believe it |
Zoe advised the teens ______ .
| A．to make efforts to achieve their dreams |
| B．to design and make their own clothes |
| C．to try every means to become famous |
| D．to do whatever they would like to |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How Zoe learned to design clothes. |
| B．A poor girl achieved success in business. |
| C．How Zoe got a prize in a contest. |
| D．A poor girl was invited to a TV show. |
While it is impossible to live completely free of stress，it is possible to prevent stress as well as reduce its effect when it can’t be avoided．The US Department of Health and Human Services offers the following suggestions for ways to deal with stress．
◆Try physical activity
When you are nervous, angry or upset, try releasing the pressure through exercise or physical activity. Running，walking，playing tennis，and working in your garden are just some of the activities you might try.
◆Take care of yourself
You should make every effort to eat well and get enough rest. If you easily get angry and can’t sleep well enough, or if you’re not eating properly, it will be more likely that you will fall into stressful situations．If stress repeatedly keeps you from sleeping，you should consult a doctor．
◆Make time for yourself
Schedule time for both work and entertainment．Don't forget，play can be just as important to your overall well-being as work. You need a break from your daily routine to just relax and have fun．Go window-shopping or work on a hobby．Allow yourself at least a half hour each day to do something you enjoy．
◆Make a list of things to do
Stress can result from disorganization and a feeling that “there’s so much to do，and not enough time”．Trying to take care of everything at once can be too much for you and as a result，you may not achieve anything．Instead，make a list of everything you have to do，then do one thing at a time，checking off each task as it is completed．Set out to do the most important task first．Which of the following statements shows that you have fallen into stressful situations？
| A．You can't sleep well all the time． |
| B．You have a break after work． |
| C．You always feel happy and relaxed． |
| D．You only do one thing at a time． |
According to the passage，how do you make a list of things to do?
| A．Try to take care of everything at once． |
| B．Do one thing at a time． |
| C．Only do the most important thing． |
| D．Have a break from your work． |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Deal with Stress? |
| B．How to Make Time for Yourself? |
| C．How to Take Care of Yourself? |
| D．How to Make a List of Things to Do? |
Which of the following would be the advice to deal with stress according to the passage?
| A．just lie in bed for a rest |
| B．always listen to pop music |
| C．insist on doing work |
| D．make a list to do things one by one |
I came to study in the United States a year ago. Yet I did not know the American society until I was injured in a car accident. After the accident, I had to see a doctor and go to court. When the accident happened, my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very grateful and decided to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was astonished. He said he had good reason to charge me and that if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible for my injury, I’d have to have a good lawyer. Now that he had helped me to find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.
But every time I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $115 each time. The final examination report only contained ten lines, and it cost me $215.
My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all. He knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to fire him. And he made me pay him $770.
Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Because of my inexperience, I told the insurance the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time … and I left without getting a cent.
My experiences taught me two things about America: firstly, in a country like America, money is everything. It is more important than friendship, honor or professional morality; secondly, foreigners are still being unfairly treated. So when we talk about America, we should see both its advantages and disadvantages. The author’s roommate offered to help him because ________.
| A．he felt sorry for the author. |
| B．he thought it was a chance to make some money |
| C．he knew the doctor was a very good one |
| D．he wanted the author to have a good lawyer |
A good lawyer is important for the author to _______.
| A．be properly treated |
| B．talk with the person responsible for the accident |
| C．recover before he leaves America |
| D．eventually get the responsible party to pay for his injury |
Which of the following statements is wrong according to the passage?
| A．The author has learned a lot through the experience. |
| B．Everything about America is advantageous. |
| C．The author’s roommate helped him but charged for that. |
| D．The author’s final examination report only contained ten lines but cost $215. |
What conclusion can you draw from this story?
| A．Going to court is something very common in America. |
| B．One must be very careful while driving a car. |
| C．There are more disadvantages in America than advantages. |
| D．Money is more important than other things in the US. |
七选五（共5小题，每小题2分，共10分）
(1) ____You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessarily so, however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here’s how.
Plan your time carefully. When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do. After making this list, you should make a schedule of your time. First your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. Then decide a good, regular time for studying.(2)____ A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you realize what is happening to your time.
Find a good place to study. Look around the house for a good study area. Keep this space, which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room, free of everything but study materials. No games, radios, or television. When you sit down to study, concentrate on the subject.
Make good use of your time in class. (3)____ Listening carefully in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.
Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes.Review the important points that your teacher has mentioned in class. If you know what your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read that material. (4)_____ If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you’ll remember it longer.
Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. They help you remember your new knowledge. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t be over worried.
(5)____ You will probably discover them after you have tried these.
| A．There are other methods that might help you with your studying. |
| B．Don’t forget to set aside enough time for entertainment. |
| C．Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teacher says. |
| D．No one can become a top student unless he or she works hard. |
E. Maybe you are an average student.
F. Make full use of class time to take notes of what the teacher says in class.
G. This will help you understand the next class.