Seventy years ago I was quite a small little girl, the baby of the family, with an older brother and sister. My father was very ill at the time, and my mother took in sewing(缝纫) of any kind so we could live. She would sew far into the night with an old sewing machine. She never complained even when the food would be very scarce. She would sew until the early hours of morning.
Things were very bad that particular winter. Then a letter came from where her sewing machine was bought, saying that they would have to pick up her machine the next day unless payments were brought up to date. I remember when she read the letter I became frightened; I could picture us starving to death and all sorts of things that could come to a child‘s mind. My mother did not appear to be worried, however, and seemed to be quite calm about the matter. I, on the other hand, cried myself to sleep, wondering what would become of our family. Mother said God would not disappoint her, that he never had. I couldn‘t see how God was going to help us keep this old sewing machine.
The day when the men came for our machine arrived. There was a knock at the kitchen door. I was frightened as a child would be, for I was sure it was those men who would take away our sewing machine. Instead, a nicely dressed man stood at our door with a darling baby in his arms.
He asked my mother if she was Mrs. Hill. When she said she was, he said, "I‘m in trouble this morning and you have been recommended by the druggist and grocer down the street as an honest and wonderful woman. My wife was rushed to the hospital this morning, and since we have no relatives here, and I must open my dentist office, I have nowhere to leave my baby. Could you possibly take care of her for a few days?" He continued, "I will pay you in advance." With this he took out ten dollars and gave it to my mother.
Mother said, "Yes, yes, I will be glad to do so," and took the baby from his arms. When the man left, my mother turned to me with tears streaming down a face that looked as though a light was shining on it. She said, "I knew God would never let them take away my machine."The turning point in the story may refer to ______.
| A．a letter to the family |
| B．the man’s coming for help |
| C．the man’s wife being rushed to the hospital |
| D．the nicely dressed man’s trouble |
Why did the man turn to the writer’s mother for help?
| A．The people around him recommended the mother to him. |
| B．He was familiar with the mother. |
| C．The mother had sewn for him. |
| D．The mother was hired by the man. |
According to the text all the following are true to the man EXCEPT _____.
| A．his wife stayed in hospital |
| B．he was confused when in trouble |
| C．he had few men to turn to for help |
| D．he was a dentist |
What does mother mean by saying “I knew God would never let them take away my machine?”
| A．God can solve all the problem. |
| B．The sewing machine is my only support. |
| C．Never give up when in trouble. |
| D．Everybody should believe in God. |
How to make friends with people from a different culture? T
he rules are as follows:
Appreciate the Person.
Most Americans like to be recognized as individuals as someone special with unique personalities. Therefore, never say, “You’re from America so I want to be your friend.” Also don’t imply that the reason why you approached them is that you wanted someone to practice your English with. That t
urns people off. Instead try saying,” You seem like a real nice and interesting person and I would like to get to know you better.” This way, they are much more inclined to be friendly because you see them as a three dim
ensional person and appreciate them for who they are in the inside. And by doing so, you not only learn about Americans and practice your English, but also gain a r
eal friend in the process.
Quit Calling Us Foreigners.
Please avoid calling a foreigner a foreigner especially in his face. The word makes people feel like an outsider, and even unwelcome, suggesting separation and insurmountable differences, widening an already existing gap in the situation. When Americans travel, they rarely say, “ I’m foreign to your place.” They tend to say, “ I’m new in town. I’m new here.” The reason is because new and unfamiliar things can become old and familiar. But can foreign things become native? Aha? You catch my drift.
Just Do It.
Some students like to be told about American culture but are less interested in spending the time and the effort to actually experience it. As Americans always say, “ Get your hands dirty.” You should have first hand and hands on experience, or you’ll never really know anything.
Find that Common Language.
Now I must stress the importance of finding a common language. By that I don’t mean Engli
sh, Chinese, German, French, etc. I mean finding something you have in common with another person on a spiritual and philosophical level: likes, dislikes, worldviews, ways of thinking , and attitudes toward life. And to start, you must first enhance your knowledge of the particular culture from which your potential new friend comes form.The underlined sentence “ Get your hands dirty” means.
| A．get involved | B．start with dirty work |
| C．talk about American culture | D．don’t wash your hands too often |
Americans prefer to make friends with those who.
| A．avoid talking about their homeland |
| B．recognize their personalities |
| C．obey rules of communicating with friends |
| D．needn’t practice English while playing together |
According to the passage, which of the following is friendly?
| A．I am longing to make friends with an American. |
| B．This is my friend Tom, who is a foreigner. |
| C．There must be a gap between us in many things. |
| D．You’ve got a great personality. |
A woman whose sports car was stolen with her dog in it put up notices all over the area that made it clear getting back her pet was more important than her cat．
“Whoever did this can keep my car．Please let Benjerman come home，”the notice said．
It is not known whether the thief showed any pity，but al-most 30 hours after the 1 pm theft Friday，Atkins and Benjerman，a 12-year-old black retriever(猎犬)，were reunited after the police located them in Barrington．
“He’s hungry，he’s dirty，but he’s very happy to be home．”Atkins said．
The car was found at about 5 pm Saturday off Route 125 in a swampy area frequented by off-the—road cars and dirt bikes．However，the police couldn’t control Benjerman, and they had to call Atkins to come and get him．
Atkins said the thief cared for Benjerman a little by providing him with some dry cat food．She believed Benjerman ended up drinking some muddy warer in the area．She said they have been together for nearly 1 l years after she took him back from a society shelter in Dallas．Texas．
Before Benjerman was found．Atkins and several friends put up notices all over the city and in Somersworth．They also contacted animal shelters throughout southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts．The notice stated there was a reward and also that the dog needed medication．Any caller could remain anonymous(匿名的)．
Atkins had parked the car outside a hardware store with the keys inside and gone in to rent a carpet cleaner．
“It was 10 minutes and I came out and my car was gone along with Benjermma in broad daylight．”Atkins said．The car thief threw Atkins’ wallet and other personal items out of the car before escaping from the scene．Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened?
a．Notices were put up saying there was a reward．
b．Atkins
saw Benjerman again．
c．The police found Atkins' car．
d．Atkins took Benjerman back from a society sheher．
e．Atkins hired a carpet cleaner in a hardware store．
| A．d，e，a，b，c | B．d，e，a．c．b |
| C．e，a，d，b，c | D．e，a，c，d，b |
We can infer from the passage
A．the dog was treated extremely badly by  the thief |
| B．car stolen accidents happen frequently nowadays |
| C．the dog was found because of the reward |
| D．the thief stole the car easily |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Benjerman was sent back immediately after Atkins put up the notices． |
| B．Atkins and her friends made a great effort to look for Benjerman． |
C．The thief gave the dog back b ut kept the spots car. |
| D．The dog was back at 1 pm on a Friday． |
As late as 1800, women’s only place was in the home. The idea of woman in the business world was unthinkable. Men were certain that no woman could do a good job outside her home. This was such a widely accepted idea that when the well-known Bronte sisters began writing books in 1864, they had to sign their books with men’s names instead.
Teaching was the first profession open to women soon after 1800. But even that was not an easy profession for women to enter because most schools and colleges were open only to men. Oberlin College i
n Ohio was the first college in America to accept women.
Hospital nursing became respectable work for women only after Nightingale became famous. Seeing that she was not only a nurse but also a rich and well-educated woman, people began to believe it was possible for women to nurse the sick and still be “ladies”. Miss Nightingale opened England’s first training school for nurse in 1860.
The invention of the typewriter in 1867 helped to bring women out of the home and into the business world. By 1900, thousands of women were working at 
real jobs in schools, hospitals and offices in both England and America. Some women even managed to become doctors or lawyers. The idea that women could work in the business world had been accepted. Why couldn’t women become teachers easily? Because___________
| A．the first profession open to them was writing. |
B．most sch ools and colleges were open only to men. |
| C．they wanted to be nurses instead. |
| D．they had to work in the business world. |
The article is mainly about __________.
| A．women are in the business world |
| B．the famous Bronte sisters |
| C．schools and colleges in America |
| D．rights for American women |
Which fact does the article lead you to believe?
| A．The Bronte sisters thought that they were men. |
| B．England’s first training school for nurses was in Ohio. |
| C．There are more men than women in professional jobs. |
| D．Women find it necessary to work harder than before. |
Hundreds of people lined up at Grand Central Terminal yesterday, but they weren’t there to catch a train. They came to New York City’s famous railroad station to trade in old dollar bills for the new George Washington Presidential $ 1 coin.
The gold-colored coin is the first in a new series by the U.S. Mint（造币厂）that honors former U.S. Presidents. The Mint will issue four Presidential $ 1 coins a year through 2016. Like the popular 50 State Quarters(纪念币) program, which issues coins in the order in which each state joined the Union, Presidential $ 1 coins will come out in the order in which each President served. The George Washington coin is the first to be release
d. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison coins will come out later this year.
The Presidential $ 1 coins will be the same size and color as the Sacagawea Golden Dollar. However, there is an important difference. For the first time since the 1930s, there is an inscription（题字）on the edge of each coin. Each coin will show a different President on its face, or head side. It will also show the President’s name, the order in which he served and his years in office. The other side of the coin will show the Statue of Liberty and the inscriptions “United States of America” and “$ 1”.
There will be one Presidential $ 1 coin for each President, except Grover Cleveland. He will have two! Cleveland is the only U.S. Preside
nt to have served two nonconsecutive（不连续的）terms.
The last President scheduled to get a coin is Gerald Ford because a President must have been dead for two years before he can be on a coin. Hundreds of people lined up at the railway station in order to ____________.
| A．exchange money | B．visit a coin show |
| C．book train tickets | D．do some shopping |
. What may you find on the head side of the new US $ 1 coin?
| A．The Statue of Liberty | B．The name of a U.S. president |
| C．The year when the coin was made | D．The inscriptions “ United States of America” |
Why will Grover Cleveland have two coins ?
| A．He is the only one who has served two terms |
| B．He is the most famous President in the U.S. |
| C．He served longer than any other President. |
| D．He served two terms but not continuously. |
From the passage we can infer that_________.
| A．the new presidential coin can buy more than the old coin. |
| B．the U.S. Mint has issued all the presidential coins by now. |
| C．no presidential coin has been released for president Obama |
| D．the coins are issued to honor the greatest presidents in America |
Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature. Ms. Müller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987. She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Günter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901. She is the 12th woman to gain the l
iterature prize. But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V. S. Naipaul, Ms. Müller is unknown inside of literary circles in Germany.
“I am very surprised and still cannot believe it,” Ms. Muller said in a statement released by her publisher in Germany. “I can’t say anything more at the moment.”
She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels “The Land of Green Plums” and “The Appointment.”
At a news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms. Müller, wearing all black, appeared overwhelmed(不知所措) by all the cameras in her face.
When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Böll, Ms. Müller remained philosophical(达观的). “I am now nothing better and I’m nothing worse,” she said, adding: “My inner thing is writing. That’s what I
can hold on to.”
Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter Englund, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms. Müller was honored for her “very, very distinct special language” and because “she has really a story to tell about…and growing up as a stranger in your own family.we can learn from the passage that Ms. Muller is_______.
| A．the 1st writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature since 1999 |
| B．the 12th winner for the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1901 |
| C．the 13th woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature |
| D．a German citizen since she moved to German in 1987 |
Ms. Müller was surprised at the news about her winning the award because ____.
| A．she was born a Romanian person |
| B．she had failed many times in winning it |
| C．she had never wanted to win the prize |
| D．she was only an unknown writer |
The underlined expression “in the same breath” is the nearest in meaning to ____.
| A．instead of | B．at the same moment |
| C．in a breath | D．under the same roof |
We can infer according to the passage that ____.
| A．her honored works are based on her own experience |
| B．most of Ms. Müller’s novels are unsuccessful works |
| C．Ms. Müller is feeling much better after she becomes the award winner |
| D．Ms. Müller was honored because she’s described the Germans’ life vividly |