A woman renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office was asked to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.
"What I mean is," explained the recorder, "do you have a job, or are you just a. . . "
"Of course I have a job," said Emily. "I'm a mother."
"We don't list in mother' as an occupation... in housewife' covers it," said the recorder.
One day I found myself in the same situation. The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title. "What is your occupation?" she asked.
The words simply came out. "I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations. "
The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in mid-air.
I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest, "just what you do in this field?"
Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn't), in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother disagrees?) , and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it) . But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money. "
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out.
As I drove into our driveway, feeling happier by my attractive and exciting new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants-aged 13, 7 and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6-month-old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and essential to mankind than "just another mother".
Motherhood... What a glorious career! Especially when there's a title on the door.What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?
| A．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was. |
| B．The recorder was impatient and rude. |
| C．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society. |
| D．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced. |
How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?
| A．Puzzled. | B．Curious. |
| C．Upset. | D．Frightened. |
How did the author feel when describing her job to the clerk?
| A．Angry. | B．Calm. |
| C．Unconfident. | D．Annoyed. |
Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?
| A．Because the author cared little about rewards. |
| B．Because she admired the author's research work in the lab. |
| C．Because the author did something she had little knowledge of. |
| D．Because she thought the author did admirable work. |
What is the author's purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To show that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect. |
| B．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it. |
| C．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily. |
| D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work. |
A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the farmer asked for his qualifications(资历), he said, “I can sleep when the wind blows.”
This puzzled the farmer. But he liked the young man, and hired him.
A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things to see if all was safe from damage. They found that the doors of the farmhouse had been safely fastened, and a lot of wood had been set next to the fireplace.
The young man slept soundly.
The farmer and his wife then looked at their property (财产) carefully. They found that the farm tools had been placed in the storage room, safe from the bad weather. The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn was properly locked. Even the animals were calm. All was well.
The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man’s words, “ I can sleep when the wind blows.”
The farmhand did his work loyally. When the sky was clear, he had prepared for the storm in case it broke. So when the wind blew, there was no need for him to be afraid. He could sleep in peace. The underlined word “fastened” in Para. 3 can be replaced by ______.
| A．closed | B．damaged | C．taken | D．moved |
From the passage, we can learn that ______.
| A．at first the farmer understood his words well |
| B．the young man was awakened in the night by a violent storm |
| C．the young man had prepared for the storm before it came |
| D．the young man was too sleepy to wake up in the night |
The best title for this passage is ______.
| A．Sleeping in peace through the storm | B．A violent storm |
| C．A young man and his dream | D．A clever farmer |
Which of the following proverbs can best explain the story?
| A．Lookers-on see more than players |
| B．Two heads are better than one |
| C．A stitch（针）in time saves nine |
| D．No man can do two things at a time |
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| A．rent a beautiful flat of her own in Happy Valley |
| B．find another lady to share the cost to rent a flat |
| C．share her room in a flat with whoever has no pet |
| D．find a maid to look after herself |
According to the advertisements, you may.
| A．buy an old picture for $140 | B．call 25720836 to see a beautiful park |
| C．buy two armchairs for $400 | D．hire a maid by paying $6800 |
If you want to buy some old furniture, you should.
| A．get in touch with NOVA ELECTRONICS |
| B．call 2524-5867 any day except Monday |
| C．do it before you move to another place |
| D．call either 2524-5867 on Monday or 2521-6011 on Saturday |
Once you get a part-time job in NOVA ELECTRONICS, .
| A．you will be given 14 days off each year besides weekends |
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| C．you have to work at least 4 hours a day |
| D．you should write a letter of application to Mrs. G. Chan |
A young woman was driving through the lonely countryside. It was dark and raining. Suddenly she saw an old woman by the side of the road, holding her hand out as if she wanted a lift.
“I can’t leave her out in this weather,” the woman said to herself, so she stopped the car and opened the door.
“Do you want a lift?” she asked. The old woman nodded and climbed into the car. After a while, she said to the old woman, “Have you been waiting for a long time?” The old woman shook her head. “Strange,” thought the young woman. She tried again. “Bad weather for the time of year,” she said. The old woman nodded. No matter what she said, the hitchhiker (搭便车的人) gave no answer except for a nod of the head or a shrug.
Then the young woman noticed the hitchhiker’s hands which were large and hairy.
Suddenly she realized that the hitchhiker was actually a man! She stopped the car. “I can’t see out of the rear screen,” she said. “Would you mind clearing it for me?”
The hitchhiker nodded and opened the door. As soon as the hitchhiker was out of the car, the terrified young woman raced off.
When she got to the next village she pulled up. She noticed that the hitchhiker had left his handbag behind. She picked it up and opened it. She gave a gasp — inside the bag was a gun.The young woman stopped the car because ______.
| A．“the old woman” asked her to |
| B．she recognized “the old woman” |
| C．she knocked “the old woman” down |
| D．she wanted to help “the old woman” out in the bad weather |
The young woman asked the hitchhiker to clear the rear screen because _______.
| A．this was the way she thought of to get rid of him |
| B．she couldn’t see out of the rear screen |
| C．the hitchhiker was very helpful |
| D．the rear screen was covered with dirt |
The hitchhiker left the bag with a gun in it behind because _______.
| A．he wanted to give the young woman a warning |
| B．he had not expected that the young woman would leave him behind in the rain |
| C．it was his present for the young woman |
| D．he wanted to kill the young woman with the gun |
What might the man be?
| A．a policeman | B．a soldier | C．a robber | D．an actor |
For thousands of years, man has enjoyed the taste of apples. Apples, which are about 85 percent water, grow almost everywhere in the world but the hottest and coldest areas. Among the leading countries in apple production are China, France and the United States.
There are various kinds of apples, but a very few make up the majority of those grown for sale. The three most common kinds grown in the United States are Delicious, Golden Delicious, and McIntosh..
Apples are different in color, size and taste. The color of the skin may be red, green or yellow. They have various sizes, with Delicious apples being among the largest. The taste may be sweet or tart(酸的). Generally, sweet apples are tasted fresh while tart apples are used to make applesauce(果酱).
Apple trees may grow as tall as twelve meters. They do best in areas that have very cold winters. Although no fruit is yielded during the winter, this cold period is good for the tree.It can be learned from the text that Delicious apples are_______.
| A．grown in France | B．sold everywhere | C．very big | D．quite sweet |
Cold winter weather is good for________.
| A．the growth of apple trees | B．producing large apples |
| C．improving the taste of apples | D．the increase of water in apples |
China, France and the United States are considered to_______.
| A．be small producers of apples |
| B．be large producers of applesauce |
| C．have the longest history in apple production |
| D．have the coldest winter among apple production |
The word yielded in the last sentence means________.
| A．improved | B．increased | C．produced | D．sold |
Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again．They want to bring water to the deserts，so people can live and grow food．They are learning a lot about the deserts．But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time．Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time．
Why is more and more land becoming desert？Scientists think that people make deserts．People are doing bad things to the earth．
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain． But they still don’t become deserts． This is because some green plants are growing there． Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places． Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier． Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away． When a bit of rain falls， the plants hold the water． Without plants， the land can become desert more easily． Deserts ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．never have any plants or animals in them |
| B．can all be turned into good land before long |
| C．are becoming smaller and smaller |
| D．get very little rain |
Smallgreenplantsareveryimportanttodryplaces because ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．they don’t let the sun make the earth even drier |
| B．they don’t let the wind blow the soil away |
| C．they hold water |
| D．All of the above． |
Landisbecomingdesertlittlebylittlebecause ＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．plants can’t grow there |
| B．there is not enough rain |
| C．people haven’t done what scientists wish them to do |
| D．scientists know little about the deserts |
Why is more and more land becoming desert according to this passage？
| A．Earthquakes make deserts. | B．Wind makes deserts. |
| C． Lack of water makes deserts. | D．People make deserts． |