Watson entered Mr. Smith's office. The boss was a hard man. He fired people who didn't do well without giving them a second chance.
"Watson," said Mr. Smith, "this past year your department hasn't earned money. We're going to drop that department. It's finished. I’m sorry, —but you'll have to go." "But, sir — if I just had a little more time. For the moment I need the job to keep my son at Riverside School."
"What's that!" said the boss. "Riverside! I didn't know you had a boy there. That's an expensive school for a man with your salary."
"I know, sir. But he likes it there so much! He's a star athlete and the best boxer in the school. The boys call him Champ (冠军)there."
The boss sat perfectly still for a long time — a faraway (恍惚的) look in his eyes. Then, suddenly, he said, "We've got to close your department, Watson. But you'll take over a new job in another department. It means longer hours—maybe more pay. Now get out. You're here for life."
Watson got out, with surprise on his face. Then the boss took a letter from the top drawer of his desk. It was Herbie's last letter from Riverside School —written a few days before he died. He had read it over and over again with sick pain. The letter read:
I can’t say the boys here are any nicer to me than the others were. I guess it's the same everywhere when you're a cripple (跛脚的人). But don't worry about me, Dad. They've got a good chemistry department here. And there’s one boy here who is really great. He's a track star and boxing champ and just tops in chemistry. The boys call him Champ. He made them stop throwing my books around. And he knocked a boy down who hit me. He is the best friend I ever had. Dad, when I grow up, I want to do something for Champ. Something big — that he won’t even know about.
Your son,
HerbieMr. Smith wanted to fire Watson because _____.
| A．Watson would take over a new job in another department |
| B．Watson had his son study in Riverside School |
| C．Watson's son knocked a boy down who hit Herbie |
| D．Watson's department didn't earn money that year |
We can learn from the text that _____.
| A．Mr. Smith didn't know that Champ was Watson's son at first |
| B．Mr. Smith was told not to fire Watson by Herbie |
| C．Mr. Smith decided to give Watson another chance in no time |
| D．Mr. Smith wanted to realize Champ's dream |
According to the text, which words can best describe Mr. Smith?
| A．Sympathetic and grateful. | B．Selfish and greedy. |
| C．Hardworking and strict. | D．Easy-going and optimistic. |
The author wrote the text in order to _____.
| A．make our children enjoy life |
| B．share a moving story with us |
| C．provide us with tips on work |
| D．help us to deal with our boss |
A
A rock group called the Rocket Crew is on tour. Their agent (经纪人) has asked the town officials about Wilbour City on the tour. The stadium in the town is large enough to hold the expected crowd. Ticket sales in the area would be good because several towns are around Wilbour City. However, many people in the town don't want a rock concert because they fear the damage the crowd might cause. To settle the problem about whether or not to invite the group to appear, the mayor took a poll(民意测验). The results are:
Would buy tickets Would not buy tickets Undecided 6180 (41.2％) 5914 (39.4％) 2920 (19.4％) Fear the damage Not fear the damage Undecided 3043 (20.3％) 8746 (58.3％) 3225 (21.4％) Thought it would help the city Didn't think it would help the city Undecided 9412 (62.7％) 2085 (13.9％) 3517 (23.4％)
56. The mayor took the poll among _____ people.
A. 15,014 B. 6,180 C. 9,412 D. 8,746
57. From the results of the poll, we know that half of the people or more _____.
A. would buy the tickets for the concert
B. haven't yet given their own opinions
C. are against the invitation to the group
D. are for the invitation to the group
58. The concert is probably to be held in _____.
A. a cinema B. a stadium C. a theatre D. a concert hall
59. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A Poll B. The City of Wilbour C. Rocket Crew D. A Rock Concert
Grandpa Nybakken loved life—especially when he could play a trick on somebody. At those times, his large Norwegian frame shook with laughter while he pretended innocent surprise, exclaiming, “Oh, forevermore!” But on a cold Saturday in downtown Chicago, Grandpa felt that God played a trick on him, and grandpa wasn’t laughing.
Grandpa worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some boxes for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage abroad. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. He remembered putting them there that morning, so he drove back to the church. His search proved fruitless.
Suddenly, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the boxes, which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for China!
The Great Depression was at its height, and Grandpa had six children. He had spent twenty dollars for those glasses that very morning.
“It’s not fair,” he told God as he drove home in frustration. “I’ve been very faithful in giving of my time and money to your work, and now this.”
Several months later, the director of the orphanage was on vacation in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him, so he came to speak on Sunday night at my grandfather’s small church in Chicago. Grandpa and his family sat in their usual seats among the small congregation(教堂会众).
“But most of all,” he said, “I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year.”
“Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my co-workers and I were much in prayer about this. Then your boxes arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on the top.” After a long pause, he continued, “Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom-made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that!”
The people listened, happy for the amazing glasses. But the director surely must have confused their church with another, they thought, there were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas.
But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.
( ) 56. Which of the following is NOT true about Grandpa Nybakken according to the passage?
A. He was an outgoing man and held an active attitude towards life.
B. He had a large family to support.
C. He was a carpenter working in the church.
D. He was a loyal Christian.
( ) 57. Grandpa spent much of his time and money in church mainly to ________.
A. help the priest do some religious work
B. help those people in need
C. make some woodwork for the church
D. seek some help from God
( ) 58.
The people in the church but Grandpa felt confused at what the director said because ________.
A. Grandpa didn’t tell the director that he was the owner of the glasses
B. the director wanted to return the glasses even though he liked it
C. the director could not get such glasses in their own country
D. the glasses were not included in the donation list
( ) 59. Who does “the Master Carpenter” in the last paragraph probably refer to?
A. Grandpa’s master. B. One of Grandpa’s friends.
C. God. D. Grandpa’s co-worker.
( ) 60. Which can be the best title of the passage?
A. Grandfather’s life B. The Helpful Donation
C. The Perfect Mistake D. An Impressive Speech
There are many kinds of friends. Some are always 1 you, but don't understand you. Some say only a few words to you, but understand you. Many people will step in your life, but only 2 friends leave footprints (脚印).
I shall always recall (回忆) the autumn and the girl with the 3 . She will always bring back the friendship between us. I know she will always be my best friend.
It was the golden season. I could see the yellow leaves 4 on the cool 5 . In such a season, I liked walking alone in the leaves, 6 to the sound of them.
Autumn is a 7 season and life is uninteresting. The free days always get me 8 . But one day, the sound of a violin 9 into my ears like a stream (小溪) flowing in the mountains. I was so surprised that I jumped to see what it was. A young girl, standing in the wind, was 10 in playing her violin.
I had 11 seen her before. The music was so nice that I listened quietly. Lost in the music,① I didn't know that I had been 12 there for so long but my existence (存在) did not seem to disturb her.
Leaves were still falling. Every day she played the violin in the corner of the building 13 I went downstairs to watch her performance. I was the only listener. The autumn seemed no longer lonely and life became 14 . 15 we didn't know each other, I thought we were already good friends. I believe she also loved me.
Autumn was nearly over. One day, when I was listening carefully, the sound suddenly 16 . To my astonishment (惊讶), the girl came over to me.
“You must like violin.” she said.
“Yes. And you play very well. Why did you stop?” I asked.
Suddenly, a 17 expression appeared on her face and I could feel something unusual.
“I came here to see my grandmother, but now I must leave. I once played very badly. It was your listening every day that 18 me.” she said.
“In fact, it was your playing 19 gave me a meaningful autumn,②” I answered, “Let's be friends.”
The girl smiled, and so did I.
I never heard her play again in my life. I no longer went downstairs to listen like before. Only thick leaves were left behind. But I will always remember the fine figure (身影) of the girl. She is like a 20 —so short, so bright, like a shooting star giving off so much light③ that it makes the autumn beautiful.
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I was bleeding now. My ears were red, my nose was broken, and the pain of failure was beginning. I had lost. It was over. The match was stopped. The world seemed to stand still for a moment as I looked at who had beaten me. “I’ve lost,” I said in m mind. “The last chance to win and I had lost.” It was the final round of wrestling. It was my last year at camp and I wanted to have an undefeated season. But now, I had lost in the tournament（锦标赛）.
My coach came over to help me up. He saw that my nose was broken and realized that the match had to be stopped. He helped me up and I got small applause from my teammates. People on the other team just stared. Coach walked me over to the locker room to work on my nose.
“I’ll stop the bleeding,” Coach Matt said. His voice was cold and empty. He had expected me to win—he knew I could have won—but now he saw it was over. I had lost.
“Hey, Steve. You did good, man, He, well, he just…” my friend Paul couldn’t find what to say.
“Forget it, man.” I said, my nose still bleeding.
“Don’t talk or it won’t stop bleeding. Just relax and breath through your mouth.” Coach Matt’s voice was still cold, but warming slowly. He was like a father to me. He had been there through all my years of wrestling, all my wins and losess , all my hopes and dreams—and now he was there, fixing my smashed nose.
“This must have happened during that last throw. You fell too much on your face. You should’ve turned and tried to escape. You gotta think more.” Coach Matt began, his voice now warm like an old friend trying to give good advice.
“I wanted this so badly.” I said.
“Maybe we can get another contest because of the nose. You can still go undefeated! You can still do it…” Paul continued.
No, I lost. Nothing was left for me to do this year. This was supposed to be the year—no loses.” I said, cutting him off before he finished.
“Steve, you did your best. Come on. Let’s go and get your medal,” Coach said. He looked at me right in the eyes. “You gave it your all. You deserved that trophy(战利品), not the silver medal. You deserve it, but he is getting it. You really won and the whole team is proud.”
I walked up to get my medal, my head held high. I shook the hands of the judges and my opponent, took m medal and saw that, in the eyes of everyone, I had really won. No matter what trophy or medal my opponent took home, no matter what. He may have had my trophy, but he could never have my will.
1. The word “applause” in the second paragraph means _____.
A. cheers and hand—clapping B. shouts and crying
C. screaming and laughingD. noises and whistling
2. “You gave it your all.” means that _____.
A. you tried to win but you failedB. you have done your best to do it
C. you never gave up doing itD. you succeeded in everything
3. The hero lost his match. Both his coach and friends thought that _____.
A. he really showed his strength in it
B. he shouldn’t be encouraged and thought highly of
C. he could not match his opponent
D. he had lost heart at the end of the competition
4. According to the hero, at the end of the passage, we can suppose that____.
A. he had made up his mind to win all the matches the next season
B. he looked down upon his opponent and though nothing of it
C. he had strong will to become the best wrestler in the world
D. he wanted to end his career as a professional wrestler
Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants. But in the executive circle, beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman.
Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success.
Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck.
All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes.
Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine and an attractive man more manly than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally' female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly" qualities required.
This is true even in politics. "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently," says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of
women, ir o_nler of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.
51. The word "liability" most probably means
A. disadvantage B. advantage C. misfortune D. trouble
52. In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness
A. makes women look more honest and capable
B. strengthens the feminine qualifies required
C. is of no importance to women
D. often enables women to succeed quickly
53. Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to polities, attractiveness
A. turns out to be a disadvantage to men
B. is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women
C. affects men and women alike
D. has as little effect on men as on women
54. It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often
A. practical B. supportive C. old-fashioned D. one-sided
55. The author writes this passage to
A. give advice to job-seekers who are attractive
B. discuss the disadvantages of being attractive
C. demand equal rights for women
D. state the importance of appearance