It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, " a brilliantly (精彩地）written book " . However, he then went on to talk about Mr. Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.
And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven't. In the World Book Day's " Report on Guilty Secrets " ，Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I'm not one to lie too often ( I'd hate to be caught out)，I'll admit here and now that I haven't read the entire top ten. But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell's 1984. I think it's really brilliant.
The World Book Day report also has some other interesting in-formation in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven't read him, but haven't lied about it either) and Herman Melville.
Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress “someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in-depth!
But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella ( ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story ( Til come clean ： I do this and am astonished that 58 per-cent said they had never done so). How did the author find his friend a book liar?
| A．By judging his manner of speaking. |
| B．By looking into his background. |
| C．By mentioning a famous name. |
| D．By discussing the book itself. |
Which of the following is a “guilty secret “according to the World Book Day report?
| A．Charles Dickens is very low on the top-ten list. |
| B．42% of people pretended to have read 1984. |
| C．The author admitted having read 9 books. |
| D．Dreams From My Father is hardly read. |
By lying about reading, a person hopes to _________.
| A．control the conversation | B．appear knowledgeable |
| C．learn about the book | D．make more friends |
What is the author's attitude to 58% of readers?
| A．Favorable. | B．Uncaring. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Friendly. |
Graham and his friends preferred to shoot up in their arms, necks and legs. A dealer once said Graham was the type who would never be able to turn back and that he expected him to die from the drug. Wendy feared the same, but didn’t know how to save her son. “ Once, after he’d disappeared for more than a month, I found him at a friend’s house with a bunch of other users,” she said, “I got down on my hands and knees, begging him to come home. He did, but the next morning he was gone. I don’t know what made him do it, but I drove 20 miles to the nearest train station. Graham was headed for Seattle, his pockets full of drugs. If I hadn’t gotten there in time, I would never have seen him alive again.”
The turning point came in 2007, after Graham was arrested yet again for possession. Wendy got a call from the Montana Drugs Project, which works with local law enforcement（强制执行） to keep track of youth-related crimes so it can help families in trouble. Following a counselor’s advice, Wendy hired two men to come to her home in the middle of the night, tie Graham and take him to a treatment program in Thompson Falls, Montana. “I was high when they came and really angry with my mom,” he said, “But if she hadn’t done that, drugs would have killed me.” After six months of treatment, Graham, now 19, came back to Kalispell, where he’s grown close to Wendy once again. “I still have the desires every day and attend support meetings every night,” he said, “But life is worth living again. My mom thinks that’s a miracle. I guess she is right.”The underlined phrase “shoot up” in paragraph 1 probably means_________.
| A．increase very quickly and suddenly |
| B．put illegal drugs into the body by using a needle |
| C．kill or injure someone by using a gun |
| D．try to achieve a particular aim |
When the two men came to their home in the middle of the night, Graham _______.
| A．had just taken drugs and was in the state of excitement. |
| B．was sleeping in a high bed above the ground. |
| C．had just taken drugs and was in the state of suffering. |
| D．was quarrelling with his mother. |
What conclusion can be drawn from the end of the passage?
| A．Graham is still using drugs now. |
| B．Graham hates his mother very much. |
| C．Graham thinks he can’t be saved. |
| D．Graham has come off drugs now. |
Want to live longer? Win an Oscar.
A new study says that actors who received the award earn more than larger paychecks.
So when 94-year-old Katharine Hepburn once remarked that she was respected internationally “like an old building”, she had no idea that her four Oscars directly influenced her longevity(长寿).
The study says winning actors will live 3.9 years longer than their losing counterparts (对手). Actors who have won more than once, like Hepburn, live up to six years longer than those who were nominated (提名) but never won.
“We found that they died from the same things we all die from—cancer, heart disease, but they fought them a bit longer and diseases came a bit later,” says Dr. Donald Redelmeier, the leading author of the study. Redelmeier says the sense of success and satisfaction makes one’s soul become more full of life.
“We are not saying that you will live longer if you win an Oscar,” explains Redelmeier, “or that people should go out and take acting courses. Our main conclusion is simply that social factors are important.” The study’s implied conclusion, he says, is that doctors should ask about their patients’ personal feelings because mental well-being is related to physical health.
Redelmeier says he got the idea for the study when he watched a glowing Gwyneth Paltrow win an Oscar in 1999 for her role in Shakespeare in Love. Redelmeier says, “She looked more full of life than anyone I had seen.”
“We found, too, those that had multi-nominations and no win had the same life expectancy as those with just a single nomination and no win,” Redelmeier adds. The longevity of Oscar winners mainly has something to do with___________.
| A．the big money that was awarded |
| B．mental factors |
| C．rich and colorful lives |
| D．respect from others and better treatment |
Tom had five Oscar nominations but win no Oscar and Peter had only one nomination and won no Oscar either. We can tell__________.
| A．Tom probably will have a longer life than Peter. |
| B．Peter probably will have a longer life than Tom |
| C．Both Tom and Peter probably will have the same life expectancy |
| D．Both Tom and Peter probably will have a long life. |
According to the passage, we know __________.
| A．When Katharine Hepburn was 94, she knew her long life had something to do with her 4 Oscar prizes |
| B．In general the number of Oscar prizes has nothing to do with a person’s life expectancy. |
| C．That Gwyneth Paltrow’s full of life made Redelmeier decide to do the study. |
| D．If you want to live a happy and long life, you should take acting courses and win Oscars. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Most Oscar Winners Live Longer Lives |
| B．How to Get a Long Life |
| C．A New Study about Long Lives |
| D．An Amazing Finding |
When people ask me what Down Syndrome(唐氏综合症) is, I tell them it’s an extra chromosome(染色体). A doctor would tell you the extra chromosome causes an intellectual disability that makes it harder for me to learn things.
Even though I have Down Syndrome, my life is a lot like yours. I read books and watch TV. I listen to music with my friends. I’m on the swim team and in chorus at school. I think about the future, and I like the one who I’ll marry. And I get along with my sisters---except when they take CDs without asking! I’m a hard worker, a good person, and I care about my friends.
Some of my classes are with typical kids, and some are with kids with learning disabilities. I have an aid who goes with me to my harder classes, like math and biology. She helps me take notes and gives me tips on how I should study for tests. It really helps, but I also challenge myself to do well. For instance, my goal was to be in a typical English class by 12th grade. That’s exactly what happened this year!
It’s true that I don’t learn some things as fast as other people do. But that won’t stop me from trying. I just know that if I work really hard and by myself I can do almost anything.
I can’t change the fact that I have Down Syndrome, but one thing I would change is what people think of me. I’d tell them, “Judge me as a whole person, not just the person you see. Treat me with respect, and accept me for who I am. The most important---just be my friend.”A person with Down Syndrome ____________according to the passage.
| A．can learn things almost as fast as normal people do |
| B．has one more chromosome than normal people |
| C．is hard to get along with |
| D．is easy to get along with |
The writer tries to picture himself as a __________teenager.
| A．normal | B．perfect | C．lovely | D．special |
The writer feels ________about his life.
| A．confused | B．hopeful | C．unhappy | D．curious |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To prove people with Down Syndrome are a lot like healthy ones |
| B．To show the writer’s honesty and optimism |
| C．To change people’s attitude towards people with Down Syndrome |
| D．To describe the life of a student with learning disabilities |
Health & Social Care Teacher
Our client, an 11-18 mixed comprehensive school in Ealing, West London, is currently seeking a teacher for Health & Social Care. The position will be a full-time post until July 2014. We require an energetic teacher to develop the learning potential of students. We are seeking someone with excellent subject knowledge who can combine academic strictness and achievement with enjoyment of teaching Health & Social Care.
Receptionist Administration
Full Time
A receptionist is required from 1st June 2014 at Dartford Science & Technology College. The position is only from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Thursday and 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Friday, with an hour’s break for lunch every day. The successful applicant must have a good telephone manner, good interpersonal skills and proficient IT skills.
Cleaner
Part Time, Term Time
We are seeking to appoint a hardworking person to join our cleaning team. Previous experience would be an advantage but it is not essential. 10 hours per week are required during term time and the extra 3 weeks are added in the summer holidays or as directed by the Business Manager to ensure the needs of the school are met.
Closing date: 12th May 2014, 12 noon. Please return the completed application forms to the school.
Science Technician
Term time plus 10 days, 37 hours per week
We are looking for a technician to provide a technical support service for science teaching staff. Applications are to be received no later than midnight on 10thJune 2014.
If you are keen to work, visit our website via the button below.A school in Ealing, West London is looking for _________.
| A．a full-time science teacher |
| B．a teacher with the ability to get along with people |
| C．a technician who can provide a technical support service |
| D．a teacher with excellent knowledge about Health & Social Care |
The receptionist to be employed will work ______________.
| A．10 hours a week | B．34.5 hour a week |
| C．39.5 hours a week | D．37 hours a week |
To work as a cleaner, you must___________.
| A．work full-time |
| B．have previous working experience |
| C．work the whole summer holidays |
| D．hand in the application form before 12 noon on May 12th 2014 |
The text is most likely to appear _________.
| A．in a novel | B．in a magazine |
| C．on the Internet | D．in a newspaper |
When a tornado hit the small town of Otwell, Indiana years ago, Kathryn Martin, 32, who lived 60 miles away in Evansville, couldn’t get the news out of her mind. “I kept thinking, ‘Those poor people. Somebody’s got to help them,’” she says. She knew firsthand what they were going through.
Six months earlier, a tornado had struck her town, taking the lives of her 2-year-old son, C.J. and her mother-in-law. “It was the most terrible experience of my life,” she says. “That grief will never go away, and it broke my heart to think about what these families were going through in Otwell.”
So Kathryn loaded her car with juice boxes, snacks and toys and drove to Otwell. She gave the items to the Red Cross, and as she was leaving, she saw a couple sorting through the ruins of their home while their children were watching. So Kathryn stopped and gave a few toys to the kids and played with them for a while. “The parents couldn’t thank me enough for what I did for their children,” she says.
On the drive back to Evansville, Kathryn came up with an idea to help more kids. She talked her family, friends and neighbors into joining her and spent the next few months organizing fundraisers. Finally, in August 2007, she showed C.J.’s Bus, a 35-foot school bus that was turned into a mobile playroom.
In the following years, stocked with video games and DVDs, toys, crafts, books and more, the bus traveled to disaster-torn towns, giving the children there a safe place to play. So far, C.J.’s bus has traveled to three states affected by tornadoes or floods, cheering up more than 756 children, aged 3-13.When she heard that Otwell was hit by a tornado, Kathryn Martin__________.
| A．felt it was the most terrible experience of her life |
| B．wanted to do something for the people there |
| C．was afraid that a tornado would strike her home |
| D．was extremely worried about her family members |
What does the underlined word “grief” in paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．Sadness | B．Worry | C．Disaster | D．Influence |
What do we know about C.J.’s Bus?
A. It is a school bus that can take children to travel.
B. It is a bus giving homeless children a safe place
C. It travels to a place to offer help when a disaster hits it.
D. It is aimed at raising money for places affected by disasters.