Turning on the TV, a wonderful scene comes to your eyes — a group of men, tall, strong and handsome, and women, young, beautiful and attractive, too. Together they eat in the finest restaurants, traveling everywhere around the world by luxurious planes and pleasure ships. They are models.
Do you envy them? What sort of life are models leading? Is it a wonderful life for a young lady or a young man?
A few models are well-known actors or actresses who can make a lot of money only by showing themselves off in commercials. But the majority of them are just curious to see what it is like. They’d like to be models just because they are attracted by what they imagine — models earn a lot of money and lead a glorious life. This is true for those who are very successful. However, most models find it difficult to get work. Very few can earn enough to live on, and for all models their expenses are high. Their agents claim about 20% of the earnings, and no model will get very far without a clever agent. Besides, they have to buy good clothing. They also have to pay to travel to interviews and reach the places where the work is to be done.
Interviews for a model job are known as cattle-markets in the modeling world, and not without a good reason. A top model can choose his or her work, demand and receive high fees and has his or her expenses paid. But for most models, the situation is quite different. And agent or employer inspects each model much as a farmer inspects cattle at a market. Intelligence, qualifications and personal characteristics count for little against good looks and tight figures. For all except the very few lucky ones, the life of a model is a continual search for work, trying to sell himself or herself in the face of fierce competition and, sometimes, not particularly moral standards on the part of some employers.
Immigration officials at airport look suspiciously at a girl whose passport shows her occupation as “Model”, and these are men and women of considerable experience of the world. It comes no surprise to find that some models prefer to put “Secretary” or “Businessman” as their jobs in their passports.
Modeling is a changeable world with great rewards for a tiny minority but not for the majority.For models, their good looks and tight figures are _____________, compared with their intelligence and qualifications.
A.more important | B.less needed |
C.less essential | D.more looked down upon |
Which of the following can lead you to believe according to the passage?
A.A model’s traveling expenses are usually paid by his employer. |
B.To be a model, good looks are the most important qualification. |
C.Most models have a fairly easy way of life with high pay. |
D.A model can hardly be successful without a good agent. |
Models often put “Secretary” or “Businessman” instead of “Model” in their passports because __________________.
A.they want to avoid being stopped to sign their names by fans |
B.a person with the occupation of a model is easily attacked by black societies |
C.models are sometimes looked down upon |
D.secretaries and businessmen are free of custom duty |
What may be the author’s attitude towards modeling?
A.It is a worthwhile life for a young lady or a young man. |
B.He is in favor of young people to try modeling. |
C.Before being crazy about a model job, young people should be aware of the difficulties. |
D.It is a field in which everyone has a great chance to succeed. |
The underlined word “suspiciously” can most probably be replaced by _________________.
A.doubtfully | B.excitedly |
C.proudly | D.Sadly |
There were three brothers. They each decided to find a precious treasure and meet a year later.
One year later, the three brothers gathered again. They each boasted about the treasure they had.
The oldest brother brought a telescope. "I found a telescope which can see far away."
The second brother brought a flying carpet." I found a flying carpet that can be anywhere."
The third brother said." I found an apple that cures all diseases."
The brothers were amazed at the treasures they found. "Let's see what we can do with our treasures now." The brothers all nodded.
The oldest brother looked through his telescope and saw a palace in the distance. A princess was lying in bed sick. The second opened his carpet and said. "Let's ride this carpet and go to the palace." The three brothers went to the palace on the flying carpet to save the sick princess.
The three brothers met the king and told him why they had come. The king said. "If you cure the princess, I will let one of you marry the princess." The youngest brother gave the princess the apple he found.
The princess had been sick for a long time, but with one bite of the apple, she was cured.
The king hugged the princess with joy. "Okay, as promised, one of you can marry the princess." The brothers each wanted the other to marry the princess. No matter how pretty and princess was, the brothers thought their loyalty was more important.
The king was moved and gave them gold and silver and high positions. The three brothers lived happily ever after.Which of the following phrases can take the place of the words underlined?
A.figured out | B.worked out |
C.showed off | D.complained about |
Which the following sentence is true?
A.The three brothers didn’t get along well with each other. |
B.All the brothers wanted to marry the princess. |
C.The king didn’t want to keep his promise. |
D.None of the three brothers married the princess. |
Who saved the princess?
A.The oldest brother | B.The second brother |
C.The youngest brother | D.The three brothers |
Which of the followings is the best title?
A.A precious treasure | B.A beautiful princess |
C.The three happy brothers | D.A brilliant palace |
The cost of college textbooks has risen sharply from 2002 to 2014. As a result, students have to look for other less expensive options(选择) , such as renting books. Now, they find another way, that is, using textbooks on the Internet, uploaded by other students. It is hard to know how popular this practice will be, but many college students around the country are uploading their expensive college textbooks onto the Internet, so that other students can download them for free and avoid the big fees.
A year ago, a student wrote a blog called Children of the Stars about a professor who insisted that students buy the newest edition of a specific sociology(社会学) book for more than $200 and didn’t allow them to purchase an older paperback(平装本) edition of the same book for $5. The student wrote, “The newest edition of the book is so expensive. Fortunately, we found the electronic one online, which is very cheap. This is why we downloaded. ” The blog is followed by a list of websites where people can download books.
Curious about how varied the selection of books was and how easy it was to download them, Vocativ.com decided to do an experiment. The workers of it picked five typical and important courses of freshmen and tried downloading all these textbooks on the websites offered by the student who wrote Children of the Stars. They typed the titles of these textbooks into a computer, and found them immediately. Within minutes, they had four textbooks on their hard drive.
It is illegal to upload or download copyrighted materials without permission, but students still do it due to its advantages. Besides, schools haven’t taken action to stop it.According to the passage, why do many students choose to download textbooks?
A.Because it is lower in cost. |
B.Because it is required by their teachers. |
C.Because it can help them gain the latest knowledge. |
D.Because it can do less harm to the environment. |
What did Vocativ.com find out from its experiment?
A.Downloading textbooks was easy. |
B.Downloading textbooks was illegal. |
C.Downloading textbooks was expensive. |
D.Downloading textbooks was impossible. |
What’s the author’s attitude towards downloading textbooks?
A.Uninterested | B.Doubtful |
C.Objective | D.Disappointed |
The passage is most probably taken from a(n) ________ .
A.health report | B.education report |
C.art report | D.technology report |
When people imagine a classroom, they usually think of older people teaching younger ones. But when it comes to learning about high-technology devices, the opposite can often be true. A training program called the 50 Plus Center in the eastern American city of Columbia, Maryland offers free technology classes to adults over 50.
The training program also offers many other kinds of lectures from Qigong and Tai Chi to yoga and Latin jam dance. There are a lot of exercise programs including playing cards and physical exercises where many people just relax and spend some time together.
Myra Stafford is 73 years old. She signed up for the class to learn how to use her iPad. She is learning quickly with the help of the young and she enjoys learning from them. She says she is more confident today than she was before. Working with young people makes her feel wonderful because they don’t make her feel that she is old or dumb.
Eleven-year-old Zhion Perekins is a teacher of the technology class. He says some of the older adults know nothing about high-technology devices and they are very anxious, so patience is very important when working with them.
He gains more than just social skills from teaching older residents. He has learned a lot on how to communicate with people. He used to be a shy person, but now he has become outgoing.
There is a huge growing population over 60. The training program offers an opportunity for the old people to buy products online using high-technology devices. As senior citizens get more excited about what they want to buy, it is likely that they will go into the market and buy it, so that could lead to an increase in economy.Who usually act as the teachers in the 50 Plus Center?
A.The young. | B.Adults over 50. |
C.The older people. | D.High-technology devices. |
What can we learn about the 50 Plus Center?
A.It teaches the students social skills. |
B.There are a variety of activities for students. |
C.People have to pay for attending the classes. |
D.It is popular with both the young and the old. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A.Myra Stafford is not satisfied with the classes. |
B.The training program may do good to economy. |
C.Myra Stafford is too old to learn technology well. |
D.More and more senior citizens will attend the classes. |
What’s the best title for the text?
A.A program called the 50 Plus Center |
B.Teens teach the old about high-technology |
C.How to help the senior citizens shop online |
D.The old learn to use high-technology devices |
When Caleb Forbes got his first job at an advertising company at the age of 20, he thought he would be at the company for years. But after seven months he was bored. Soon after that, Forbes moved to London. He took four different jobs at three companies over the next five years. Forbes wanted a better job and higher pay---he was never quite satisfied.
Welcome to the world of a job hopper. Forbes’s story isn’t unusual these days and such frequent movement from one job to the next will become more common. The main reason: the nature of employment is changing. There are a lot more contracts and part-time jobs or flexible employment. That leads to people having a greater number of jobs. What’s more, layoffs(解雇) and pay freezes(冻薪), among other things, have pushed people from one job to another. In some cases, a bad worldwide job market has limited opportunities for star employees, promoting them to seek new challenges at other companies.
However, employers often think that if a person jumped from his last employer after a short period, he will likely do the same again --- there is a significant financial risk in hiring someone who leaves in short order.
What’s more, moving from company to company frequently doesn’t mean workers are climbing the corporate ladder(公司官阶) faster. In 2005, Monika Hamori, a professor at Spain’s IE Business School, looked at CEOs at about 55 to see if those who moved around more frequently climbed the ladder faster.
She found that executives who stayed with one company became CEOs after 23 years, while executives who changed companies many times became CEOs after 26 years. One reason: workers within the same organization tend to be promoted more frequently and be offered better jobs.How did Forbes feel about his first job at first?
A.It was easy. | B.It was boring. |
C.It was satisfying. | D.It was dangerous. |
What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?
A.The causes for job hopping. |
B.The popularity of job hopping. |
C.The consequences of job hopping. |
D.The measures against job hopping. |
Employers usually think those who left their former job in a short time ________.
A.can do their new work better |
B.are hard-working and easy-going |
C.have more experiences |
D.will quit their new job again after a short time |
Monika Hamori’s research showed that ________.
A.old workers are more likely to move around |
B.young workers are more likely to be given better jobs |
C.the less someone moves around, the more he may be paid |
D.the more someone moves around, the more he may be paid |
International travel has become popular. So, what can we do to enjoy ourselves and also leave a lasting, good impression on the people and places we visit? It goes without saying that we should respect local customs and beliefs. Therefore, a little research into the area where you are travelling may help you.
Pay attention to how people greet each other. In Western countries such as America, it is common to shake hands and look at one another in the eyes when you are greeting someone. In other countries people prefer not to touch each other when they meet.
For example, in Thailand, it is considered to be discourteous to put your hand on someone’s head, especially children’s. The head is considered sacred(神圣的) and by touching someone on their head you can prevent their spiritual growth.
Everyone likes to relax when traveling. This can also include wearing more casual or different clothing. It is always good to keep in mind the local culture about dressing. For example, if you go to a country with strong religious beliefs such as those in the Middle East, all of above are banned. So, it is always good to dress modestly, such as in dark-colored clothes.
The better you prepare the more fun you will have. If you are aware of the special foods and customs and have learnt some simple expressions, you might be lucky enough to find yourself invited to a local festival of gathering where you can experience something very special. By meeting some local people you could also discover some special attractions or places of interest.The author raises a question in Paragraph 1 to ________ .
A.make readers answer it |
B.introduce the topic of the text |
C.help readers choose where to go |
D.prove the popularity of international travel |
According to the text, when greeting a man from America, ________ .
A.staring at him should be avoided |
B.you’d better wear dark-colored clothes |
C.you may shake hands firmly with him |
D.you are very likely to be invited to a gathering |
The underlined word “discourteous” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to “________”.
A.polite | B.evil | C.welcome | D.rude |