I will never forget what my old headmaster told me. Normally when you are only 15 years of age you do not remember most of the things that are preached by your teachers. But, this particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of this story.
It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and he was addressing the students on important things in life and about committing ourselves to what is important to us.
This is how the story went:
An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.
His house was filthy, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled horrible. The neighbours could not stand the smell any more, so they summoned the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.
The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.
He said nothing at all. he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.
Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing, commitment(专心，敬业). We should remain true to our course, although it may mean committing ourselves to things that people around us would normally disapprove. Just keep it in mind that commitment attracts wealth. Why did the headmaster tell us the story?
| A．To enjoy ourselves. |
| B．To teach us how to make money. |
| C．To tell us the importance of commitment. |
| D．To tell us not to look down upon beggars. |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The old man made a living by begging. |
| B．The old man was excited to be a millionaire. |
| C．The old man became a millionaire by begging every weekday. |
| D．The old man planned to become a millionaire. |
Why did the police officers clean the old man’s house?
| A．Because the old man hired them to. |
| B．Because they wanted to know how much money the old man had begged. |
| C．Because the old man wanted to live comfortably. |
| D．Because the neighbours could not stand the smell coming out of the old man’s house. |
Play is the basic business of childhood, and in recent years research has shown the great importance of play in the development of a human being. From earliest infancy (婴儿), every child needs opportunity and the right materials for play, and the main tools of play are toys. The main function of toys is to suggest, encourage and play. To succeed in this, they must be good toys, which children will play with often, and will come back to again, and again. Therefore it is important to choose suitable toys for different stages of a child’s development.
In recent years research on infant development has shown that the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited (遗传的) abilities, is largely determined in the first three years of his life. So a baby’s ability to benefit from the right play materials should not be underestimated. A baby who is encouraged, talked to and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully.
In the next stage, from three to five years old, curiosity knows no bounds. Every type of suitable toys should be made available to the child, for trying out, experimenting and learning, for discovering his own particular ability: Bricks and jigsaws (七巧板) and construction toys; painting, scribbling (涂鸦) and making things; sand and water play;toys for imaginative and pretending play — the first social games for learning to play and get on with others.
But at the third stage of play development — from five to seven or eight years old — the child is at school. But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school. It is easier to see which type of toys the child most enjoys.
Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same to a child. But once reading has been mastered, then books become the main source of learning. Toys are still interesting and valuable, which lead up to new hobbies, but their significance has changed — to a child of nine or ten years old, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun.according to the first passage we know that as a child grows up________.
| A．he should be allowed to choose his own toys |
| B．he should be given the same toys |
| C．he should be given different toys |
| D．he should be given fewer and fewer toys |
according to the passage, the abilities a child has inherited from his parents________.
| A．determine his character |
| B．will not change after the age of three |
| C．partly determine the standard he is likely to reach |
| D．to a large extent determine the choice of toys |
We learn from the passage that a child has boundless curiosity________.
| A．when he is two | B．when he is around four |
| C．when he is six | D．when he is eight |
The passage is mainly about________.
| A．the importance of pre-school education | B．the importance of schooling |
| C．the role of play in a child’s development | D．the choice of toys for youngster |
It gives me great pleasure today to say a few words in praise of a man we will all miss very much. To be honest, I can’t imagine we will do without him when he’s gone. Bill Masters almost single-handed built up our sales force in the Houston area and developed the market position that we enjoy today. In only six years, he has brought the firm from a very low fifth position in the area sales to the point where we now outsell all but one of our competitors. Not only have we got 37 per cent of the market under Bill’s leadership; we are increasing our share with each passing month.
As you know, the company has moved Bill to northern California to work his sales magic in one of this company’s competitive areas. But we know that if anyone can do it, Bill Masters can, and I know you all join me in wishing him the best of luck in his new work. The speech was made ________.
| A．at a welcome meeting | B．after someone died |
| C．when somebody was leaving | D．when they had a new manager |
How long did Masters work there?
| A．37 years. | B．Less than 5 years. |
| C．About six years. | D．Since he began to work. |
When Bill started to work in Houston area, he had to help him.
| A．many people | B．nobody | C．about 37 people | D．very few people |
Bill increased the company’s sale________.
| A．by 37 per cent every month | B．to the second largest in the area |
| C．to be the fifth largest in the area | D．five times as much as before |
You are a German living in Berlin. One day you’ re walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger comes up with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device (装置) close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English," Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?" What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or (c) Listen closely for the device to say in German," Konnen Sie mir bitte sagen, welches sauerkraut haufen kann?"
The most proper answer would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The device is said to be the world’s first portable(便携的) translator — a hand-held microcomputer that at the same time translates one spoken language into another. The four-pound, battery-operated product is called the Voice, and it is the invention of Advanced Products and Technologies, an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the Unite States in late April — at a price of (1,500 — it will be used to translate spoken English into Italian, German, French and Spanish. The product comes with separate cartridges(盒式存储器) for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. It will be sold in Europe soon after the US introduction, with cartridges that translate Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.
The Voice uses a microchip(微型集成电路片) to translate languages. It is Started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. When the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another language. The device held by the stranger is probably a kind of________.
| A．a two-way radio | B．language translator |
| C．easily-carried speaker | D．a multi-functioned computer |
. What does the last sentence of the first paragraph mean?
| A．Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut? |
| B．Can I ask for some information from the police? |
| C．Would you like to try my device? |
| D．Would you not run away if I ask you where to buy some sauerkraut? |
When the stranger says," Can you tell... sauerkraut?" he is ________.
| A．learning German from his device |
| B．asking you the way to the sauerkraut shop |
| C．making fun of you with his device |
| D．testing his device for fun |
Which of the following is not mentioned in the text?
| A．The price of the hand-held microcomputer. |
| B．The function of the product Voice. |
| C．The producer pf the small electronic device. |
| D．The number of the device sold to the European countries. |
In 1957 a doctor in Singapore noticed that hospitals were treating an unusual number of influenzalike cases. Influenza is sometimes called “flu”or a “bad cold”. He took samples from the throats of patients in his hospital and was able to find the virus（病毒）of this influenza.
There are three main types of influenza virus. The most important of these are types A and B, each of them having several sub-groups（亚群）. At the hospital the doctor recognized that the outbreak was because of a virus group A, but he did not know the sub-group. He reported the outbreak to the World Health Organization in Geneva. W. H. O. published the important news together with reports of the same kind of outbreak in Hong Kong, where about 15％～20％ of the population had become ill.
As soon as the London doctors received the package of throat samples, they began to test them. They found that they could reproduce themselves at a very high speed. Continuing their careful tests, the doctor checked the effect of medicine used against all the known sub-groups of type A virus. On this virus, none of them was of any use.
Having separated the virus, the two doctors now made tests on some selected seleceted animals. In a short time the usual signs of the disease appeared. These experiments showed that the new virus spread easily, but that it was not a killer. Scientists, like the general public, called it simply “Asian flu”. The Asian flu mentioned in the passage ____. [ ]
| A．had something to do with a virus group B |
| B．was reported to W. H. O in Geneva by a doctor in Hong Kong |
| C．broke out not only in Singapore but also in Hong Kong |
| D．was taken from the throats of the patients in a hospital in Singapore |
London doctors considered ____. [ ]
| A．Asian flu as a bad cold |
| B．there were three main types of influenza |
| C．it was necessary to test the other groups of virus besides group A |
| D．the influenza called “Asian flu”a new one |
The Singapore doctor helped the world by ____. [ ]
| A．making those with Asian flu well again |
| B．killing the virus that caused Asian flu |
| C．finding the sub-group of the virus |
| D．reporting the outbreak of Geneva |
The Asian flu virus ____. [ ]
| A．was a killer |
| B．was very weak |
| C．could reproduce very quickly |
| D．died very fast |
Mr Reese was born in a big city. His father had several companies and got a lot of money. He could give his son all the young man wanted. He was busy with his business and never asked him how he got along with his studies. So the boy spent most time in the restaurants or cinemas. Of course he was weak at his lessons and learned nothing at school. He made many friends but none of them was good and when they knew he came from a rich family, they began to teach him to gamble（赌博）. Of course he lost much money.
Now Mr Reese was twenty and finished middle school. He could not do anything. But his father didn't mind it until one day he found the young man had sold one of his companies. He became so angry that he made him leave his house. The young man couldn't gamble any longer. His friends made him pay his debt. He had to ask his mother to help him and the woman often gave him some money. But one evening his father happened to find it. The old man stopped his wife from doing so. They began to fight in the room. The young man brought out a knife and killed his father. His mother helped him to run away, but soon after that he was caught and sentenced（判刑）to death.
It was a cold and wet day. Suddenly it began to rain hard when Mr Reese was being sent to the execution ground（刑场）. Soon both he and the soldiers were wet through. He said angrily, “Bad luck! I shall be shot in such bad weather!”
“Don't complain（抱怨）, brother, ”said one of the soldiers. ‘You're luckier than us all. We'll have to go back to the city after that!”Old Reese never wanted to know about his son's studies because ____. [ ]
| A．he was sure his son was good at his lessons |
| B．he spent all his energies on his business |
| C．he knew nothing about the education |
| D．his wife looked after their children |
The bad young men taught Young Reese to gamble in order ____. [ ]
| A．to play with him |
| B．to spend spare time |
| C．that the could get much money from him |
| D．that they could find jobs in his father's companies |
Old Reese became angry because ____. [ ]
| A．his son had learned nothing at school. |
| B．his son was weak at all his lessons |
| C．his son couldn't do anything in the companies |
| D．his son had lost one of his companies |
Mr Reese complained ____. [ ]
| A．he was sentenced to death |
| B．he would be shot |
| C．he went to the execution ground on foot |
| D．he would be shot in bad weather |