In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget. But none of these jobs was as terrible as my job in an apple plant(工厂). The work was hard; the pay was poor; and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible.
First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength. For ten hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck. Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night.
I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time—two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible. I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than $ 100 a week.
But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy were the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.
I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked. By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again.Why did the writer have to take many jobs at that time?
| A．To gain some experience |
| B．To save for his future |
| C．To support his family |
| D．To pay for his schooling |
The following facts describe the terrible working conditions of the plant EXCEPT ______.
| A．loading boxes in the freezing cold |
| B．having limited time for breaks |
| C．getting no pay for lunch time |
| D．working and studying at the same time |
What is the topic discussed in the text?
| A．The writer’s hard work in an apple plant. |
| B．The writer’s eagerness to earn money. |
| C．The writer’s experience to earn money. |
| D．The writer’s unhappy school life. |
How is the text organized?
| A．Topic—Argument—Explanation |
| B．Opinion—Discussion—Description |
| C．Introduction—Supporting examples—Conclusion |
| D．Main idea—Comparison—Supporting examples |
Although man has known asbestos （石棉） for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H.W.Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for the opening of that first mine．
Mr.Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy． He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands.How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all．You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials． However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr.Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein（岩脉）, in the province of Quebec in Canada．
Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen．When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be．When it is separated, a strange thing happens: the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres．
Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads, but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”．Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?
| A．Asbestos mined in Canada | B．Fireproof matter |
| C．A “wonder” mineral | D．A new roofing material |
Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______．
| A．going into roofing business | B．carrying asbestos from Italy |
| C．sending a trained scientist | D．showing the use of asbestos gloves |
Which is the most important characteristic of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
| A．It is like thread． | B．It feels soapy． |
| C．It burns easily． | D．It is unusually heavy． |
The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______．
| A．show the need for more scientists |
| B．compare asbestos with other minerals |
| C．increase the sales of asbestos |
| D．present facts about asbestos |
Nuclearpowered aircraft carriers are considered one of the most important marine weapons in the 20th century. So far, only two countries in the world, the USA and France, have ever produced them. But these fearful fighting machines are about to enter Asia.
The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclearpowered aircraft carriers will be sent to Japan to replace the diesel(柴油)powered carrier Kitty Hawk in 2008. In an agreement on October 30, the two countries also planned to level up their military (军事的) cooperation and the USA called for Japan to take a larger role in military alliance (同盟) moves.
It will be the first time that a nuclearpowered carrier is based in Japan. Bombed by US forces in World War Ⅱ at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only world country to have been attacked by a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclearpowered weapons are based.
“A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause billions of dollars in damage，” said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka. His group has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan opposed to the nuclear carrier.
The 44yearold Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's oldest active ship, has been based in Yokosuka since 1998. It had returned to the US to be decommissioned(使退役) in 2008. The new carrier, yet to be unveiled, will travel faster, be capable of supporting longer operations and carry with it the Navy's most modern technology.
Experts pointed that this change is not only to strengthen the USJapan military alliance but also to keep the military power of China and North Korea within limits. However, even Japanese experts don't believe that the two countries are threats to the region.
“There is no need for Japan to have a nuclear carrier as defense，” said Tetsuo Maeda, an international relations professor at Tokyo International University. He said that the change of ship indicates an increased military capability in the region, much more than what is needed.With such a fearful weapon to enter its country, Japanese citizens ________.
| A．are aware of its benefits to the country |
| B．are anxious about its potential danger |
| C．are curious about the advanced technology |
| D．are against where the carrier will be based |
The replacement of the aircraft carrier is intended to________.
| A．set up a kind of base in Japan |
| B．strengthen the USJapan military alliance |
| C．show Japan's greater military capability |
| D．get rid of the dated marine weapon |
From the story, we learn that________.
| A．no other countries except the USA and France possess aircraft carriers |
| B．Japan has long planned to increase its military capability with new weapons |
| C．Japan will be the first country in Asia to have a nuclear aircraft carrier |
| D．Japan will be the third country to produce a nuclearpowered aircraft carrier |
The underlined word “unveiled” in the fifth paragraph probably means________.
| A．perfected | B．discussed about |
| C．produced | D．brought to view |
I still remember --- my hands and my fingers still remember --- what used to lie in store for us on our return to school from the holidays. The trees in the school yard would be in full leaf again and the old leaves would be lying around like a muddy sea of leaves.
“Get that all swept up!” the headmaster would tell us. “I want the whole place cleaned up, at once!” There was enough work there, to last over a week. Especially since the only tools with which we were provided were our hands, our fingers, our nails. “Now see that it’s done properly, and be quick about it,” the headmaster would say to the older pupils, “or you’ll have to answer for it!”
So at an order from the older boys we would all line up like peanuts about to cut and gather in crops. If the work was not going as quickly as the headmaster expected, the big boys, instead of giving us a helping hand, used to find it simpler to beat us with branches pulled from the trees. In order to avoid these blows, we used to bribe(贿赂) the older boys with the juicy cakes we used to bring for our midday meal. And if we happened to have any money on us, the coins changed hands at once. If we did not do this, if we were afraid of going home with an empty stomach or an empty purse, the blows were redoubled. They hit us so violently and with such evil enjoyment that even a deaf and dumb person would have realized that we were being whipped so much not to make us work harder, but rather to beat us into a state of obedience(服从) in which we would be only too glad to give up our food and money.
Occasionally one of us, worn out by such calculated cruelty, would have the courage to complain to the headmaster. He would of course be very angry, but the punishment he gave the older boys was always very small --- nothing compared to what they had done to us. And the fact is that however much we complained, our situation did not improve in the slightest. Perhaps we should have let our parents know what was going on, but somehow we never dreamed of doing so; I don’t know whether it was loyalty or pride that kept us silent, but I can see now that we were foolish to keep quiet about it, for such beating were completely foreign to our nature.The statement “my hands and my fingers still remember” (Para.1) means that___________.
| A．the author’s hands were severely injured in the cleaning up |
| B．the author seldom did such hard work as the cleaning up |
| C．the author was bullied by the big boys in the cleaning up |
| D．the author’s hands were his only tool for the cleaning |
The headmaster asked the older boys to_____________.
| A．beat those who worked slowly |
| B．treat the small boys as peanuts |
| C．take charge of the process of the cleaning |
| D．do the cleaning all by themselves |
According to Para. 3, if the author had any money on him, he most probably_________.
| A．gave it to the big boys so as to please them |
| B．gave it as a bride to the headmaster |
| C．spent it all on his midday meal |
| D．spent it buying midday meals for the big boys |
When receiving complaints, the headmaster would deal with the big boys by means of _________.
| A．slight punishment | B．strict criticism |
| C．complete indifference | D．good beating |
There is a wonderful story about a young girl who had no family and no one to love her. One day， feeling very sad and lonely， she was walking through a grassland when she noticed a small butterfly caught in a thorn （荆棘） bush. The young girl carefully released the Butterfly. Instead of flying away， the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy. The young girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
“For your wonderful kindness，” the good fairy said to the girl， “I will give you any wish you would like.” The little girl thought for a moment and then replied， “I want to be happy.” The fairy leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. Then the fairy disappeared.
As the little girl grew up， there was no one in the land as happy as she. Everyone asked her secret of happiness .She would only smile and answer， “The secret of my happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl.”
When she was very old and on her deathbed， the neighbors all gathered around her， that her unbelievable secret of happiness would die with her. “Tell us， please，” they begged， “Tell us what the good fairy said.” The lovely old woman simply smiled and said， “She told me that everyone， no matter how secure they seemed， no matter how old or young， how rich or poor， had need of me.”Noticing the butterfly was caught by the thorn， the orphan girl ______.
| A．helped the butterfly escaped from the thorn |
| B．felt sorrow，but she didn’t go up to help it |
| C．fell down on it too |
| D．failed to help it release from the thorn |
The butterfly ______ after it was saved by the little girl.
| A．flied away | B．still died |
| C．changed into a fairy | D．was more beautiful than before |
The only thing that the little girl wanted was________.
| A．to be rich | B．to have her own parents |
| C．to have a lot of friends | D．happiness |
The neighbors all gathered around the old happy woman when she was dying， because ______.
| A．they loved this woman deeply and they didn‘t wanted her to die |
| B．the woman had lots of money to be shared as soon as she died |
| C．they wanted to know the secret of her lifetime happiness |
| D．they wanted to pray for her after her death |
Cats are very smart. They are one of the smartest animals. The brain of a cat is large. It is highly developed. This may be why cats have good memories. Cats remember kindness and cruelty. It is a good idea to treat a cat well. Cats can “speak” too. They meow for attention. Often they stand by a door. Then they meow. Then they look over their shoulders. They want to see if their owners are coming. Cats make other noises also. They purr(猫发出的咕噜声)when they are happy. They hiss when they are angry.
Cats have a lot of pride. They don’t usually do silly tricks. Almost all cats want to have their own way. They are mostly true to only one person. They don’t switch loyalty easily. Cats were free in the wild. They want to stay that way. They like to be their own masters. When a cat is left alone, it can go back to caring for itself. It can live in the wild again. This is different from dogs. Dogs will switch their loyalty. At one time dogs were loyal to the leaders of their packs. Now, they will transfer allegiance(忠诚)to their owner. They do not like to be alone.
With kindness, a cat can be trained. Cats can learn to do many things. Some cats can learn to open doors. Some can ring doorbells. Some can even turn on water tap. Then they take a drink. Cats are very smart. Before drinking, they put a paw in the water. They test whether the water is hot or cold.What is the best title for this passage?
| A．The Difference Between Dogs and Cats. | B．The Characteristics of Cats. |
| C． Loyal Animals. | D． How to Keep Cats? |
It’s interesting to have cats around ourselves because ________.
A.they always switch their loyaltyB. they like to do silly tricks
C. they will hiss when they are happy D they are smart and have good memoriesThe last paragraph mainly shows that ________.
| A．cats can test whether the water is cold or not |
| B．cats know how to turn on the water tap |
| C．cats are smart |
| D．cats know how to open a door |