Although I had left school against the advice of my teacher， I had， without telling anyone， tried to continue my studies in literature at evening classes. It was a tiresome walk from one end of the city to another and to sit among adults was uninteresting. I was the youngest in the class， so the friendship I knew at school was absent， I put up with it for a short period. It was too long a walk on cold winter’s nights and it was hard to put my heart into Shakespeare with wet shoes and trousers. So I continued reading books and started writing poetry at home.
By chance， I won some prizes and rewards for literature. A young woman from a TV company came to the college one day. She wanted to make a short film about me， to which I said， “No， I couldn’t do that.” Not that I had any real excuse， I was just frightened. In the end she persuaded me that I should do it the following day.
So I did. They made a short film of me reading one of my poems and I became more interested in literature than ever. I wondered what I should do after this， and decided some weeks later that I could not imagine myself spending the rest of my days dealing with machines. So one evening， I hesitatingly（支吾其词地） told my parents that I wanted to return to school. They wanted to know if I was sure， if I knew what it meant and whether I realized that if I gave up my job training， it would be very difficult to get a good job. But nothing could stop me， and they asked about the matter on future.Which of the following has most probably been discussed in the paragraphs above this text?
| A．The writer’s unhappy childhood. |
| B．The poor teaching quality of the writer’s school. |
| C．The writer’s leaving school against his teacher’s advice. |
| D．Whether it was worth leaving school for job training. |
The writer did NOT feel comfortable at the evening school because __________.
| A．he found it difficult to make friends with his classmates |
| B．he had to walk a long distance to the evening school |
| C．he could not put his heart into reading books after he was caught in the rain |
| D．all of the above |
After his success， he __________.
| A．decided to get a good job |
| B．decided to continue his studies in literature at the evening school |
| C．decided to return to the school he once left |
| D．began to feel very important and proud |
We have a terrible school trip last weekend. Some students were late. Then we waited half an hour for the school bus, but it didn’t arrive. Finally, our teacher took us to take the subway. It took us about an hour. After we got off the subway, we walked and got lost. When we finally arrived at the zoo, we were tired and hungry. We wanted to see dolphins, but there weren’t any. There were some really smart seals, but we didn’t see the show because we arrived too late. We left our camera at school, so we didn’t take any photos. Then it started to rain, and no one had an umbrella. So we went for lunch. My friends had some ice cream. But I didn’t have any, because I don’t like it. We didn’t see many animals because of the rain. Finally we went back to school. We were wet, tired and stressed out(紧张). I didn’t enjoy my school trip at all.What did the writer think of the school trip?
| A．Terrible | B．Great | C．Fun | D．Exciting |
The students werewhen they arrived at the zoo.
| A．excited | B．tired | C．happy | D．lucky |
How was the weather?
| A．Sunny | B．Cloudy | C．Windy | D．Rainy |
Everyone should work hard more and succeed but it is not wise to get success at the cost of family and health.
There was once a hard-working father. He tried his best to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings attending classes, hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better-paid job. He hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to ①his family ①the best things that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained, he said that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
②The day came when the father was offered a good job. It paid quite well.
However, the family still did not get to see the father for most of the week. He went on working hard, hoping to get the position(职位) of manager.
The father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted(提升). Excitedly, he decided to hire a maid(女仆) so his wife did not have to do the housework any more. He also felt that their three-room house was no longer big enough. It would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the comfort of a large house. The father decided to further his studies.
As expected, the father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful house. He told his family that he had decided not to work so hard. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.
The next day, the father did not wake up.
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Making sense of how the US shows humor
Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak.
One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.
The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.
Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.
As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.
It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs.
| A．teaching people how to give a speech |
| B．calling on people to protect the environment |
| C．giving a singing show in public |
| D．criticizing the US government |
| A．会唱歌的人 | B．真诚的人 | C．虚伪的人 | D．爱护环境的人 |
| A．many US people like to laugh at others |
| B．many US people are friendly and humorous |
| C．the US people get angry at others easily |
| D．the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak |
| A．The writer went to America and protect the environment. |
| B．Americans show humour in a different way from China. |
| C．It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place. |
| D．Tailor Swift is an American famous singer. |
| A．Differences between the Chinese and the US people. |
| B．In what way the US people speak in public. |
| C．How to get used to life in the US. |
| D．A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US. |
We all have our own ways of sharing our life experiences with others.
Photographers use cameras, artists use brushes, musicians use songs and writers use stories.
Spencer Johnson’s story Who Moved My Cheese? shows changes exist in(存在于)our life. Life changes and so we do. We must change ourselves to face the changing environment, or we will fail.
Just look at the cycle(循环)of the seasons. Trees bud(发芽)in spring and in summer their leaves turn green. In autumn, their leaves start to fall onto the ground. When winter comes, there are no leaves on trees. Next spring the cycle begins again. Since we know there are cycles in nature, we can prepare for them. We know it is colder in winter and hotter in summer, so we can dress properly.
Since we accept the cycles of nature, we should also accept the changes in our life.
We can prepare ourselves for changes by becoming more flexible(灵活的). We can regard the changes in our life as chances. As we keep changing ourselves, we can keep up with the changes in our life.
| A．Stories. | B．Newspapers. | C．Basketballs. | D．Pianos. |
| A．changes exist in our life |
| B．we should move others’ things |
| C．we should use books to share our life experiences |
| D．there are difficulties in our life |
| A．we should wear warm clothes in winter |
| B．we should accept the changes in our life |
| C．we should prepare for the weather |
| D．leaves turn yellow in autumn |
| A．I have no chance to pass the test. |
| B．Exams are hard for me. |
| C．I have bad luck. |
| D．It’s good for me because I know there are more to learn. |
| A．Weather changes in different seasons. |
| B．Who Moved My Cheese? is a good book. |
| C．We should change ourselves when life changes. |
| D．We should not lose heart when we meet with difficulties. |
Many people say that they are working too many hours. They don’t have enough time to relax or to stay with their family.
Work hours are different from one country to another. In France, people spend about 1,646 hours a year at work. In Japan, however, people work about 2,159 hours a year. That means a Japanese worker works 513 more hours a year than a French worker.
Why do people work so many hours? Some people work extra hours because they want to make more money. However, many companies don’t pay overtime. Their workers don’t get more pay for more work. Some people think it’s their duty to work more hours. Some are afraid of losing their jobs if they don’t work more hours.
Many people say that their vacations are too short. In France, people get five weeks of paid vacation a year. In Germany, they get four to six weeks, and in the United States, two weeks. One study shows fewer than half of workers used all their vacation days. In Great Britain, there is a saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” If that is true, there must be a lot of dull people in the world.
| A．513 | B．1,646 | C．2,159 | D．3,805 |
| A．税费 | B．加班费 | C．学费 | D．冷饮费 |
| A．France | B．Germany | C．the United States | D．Great Britain |
| A．No companies offer vacations to their workers. |
| B．Many people say they have enough time to relax. |
| C．Not all companies pay their workers for more work. |
| D．More than half of workers use all their vacation days. |
| A．Many workers have to work long hours. |
| B．Many people have vacations long enough. |
| C．Work hours are the same around the world. |
| D．There are a lot of dull people in the world. |