Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves. That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?
We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch .someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.
Fortunately, .some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.
A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbours and had her children deliver it and visit. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.
The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.
Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”
Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.Now in an American family, people can find that ________.
| A．children never live with their parents. |
| B．aged people are supported by their grandchildren. |
| C．not all working people live with their parents. |
| D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents. |
The reason why old people are left alone may be that ________.
| A．the old don’t like to live in a big family. |
| B．the young can’t get enough money to support the old. |
| C．the old are too weak to live with the young. |
| D．different generations have different lifestyles. |
The fact that the reporter told us shows that _______.
| A．old people are easy to get along with. |
| B．old people in America enjoy banana bread. |
| C．she had no time to take care of her children. |
| D．old people in America lead a hard life. |
By saying “Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure” the author means________.
| A．old people had never seen her baby before |
| B．the baby was clever and beautiful |
| C．the baby brought old people the image of life |
| D．the baby’s mother would take care of them |
Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an expensive French restaurant in Denver. The ice cream he was serving fell onto the white dress of a rich and important woman.
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can not get the memory out of his mind, nor the woman’s kind reaction(反应). She was shocked, regained calmness and, in a kind voice, told the young Odland. “It is OK. It wasn’t your fault.” When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO(总裁) with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.
Odland isn’t the only CEO to have made this discovery. Instead, it seems to be one of those few laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up. It’s hard to get a dozen CEO’s to agree about anything, but most agree with the Waiter Rule. They say how others treat the CEO says nothing. But how others treat the waiter is like a window into the soul.
Watch out for anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like, “I could buy this place and fire you,” or “I know the owner and I could have you fired.” Those who say such things have shown more about their character(人品) than about their wealth and power.
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He wrote a best-selling book called Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management. “A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person,” Swanson says. “I will never offer a job to the person who is sweet to the boss but turns rude to someone cleaning the tables.” What happened after Odland dropped the ice cream onto the woman’s dress?
| A．He was fired. |
| B．He was blamed. |
| C．The woman comforted him. |
| D．The woman left the restaurant at once. |
Odland learned one of his life lessons from ________.
| A．his experience as a waiter. |
| B．the advice given by the CEOs |
| C．an article in Fortune |
| D．an interesting best-selling book |
According to the text, most CEOs have the same opinion about ________.
| A．Fortune 500 companies | B．the Management Rules |
| C．Swanson’s book | D．the Waiter Rule |
From the text we can learn that ________.
| A．one should be nicer to important people |
| B．CEOs often show their power before others |
| C．one should respect others no matter who they are |
| D．CEOs often have meals in expensive restaurants |
The underlined word “rude”here means________
| A．bad | B．unfriendly | C．terrible | D．friendly |
Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so.“Health is the greatest wealth(财富),” wise people say. You can’t be good at your studies or well when you are ill.
If you have a headache, toothache, backache, earache or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure, I think you should go to the doctor.
The doctor will examine your throat, feel your pulse, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, test your eyes, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed. After that he will advise some treatment, or some medicine. The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice.
Speaking about doctor’s advice, I can’t help telling you a funny story.
An old gentleman came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease.
He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is.” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day.
A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office. He looked cheerful and happy. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man.
“But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age.”The writer thinks that .
| A．health is more important than wealth |
| B．work is as important as studies |
| C．medicine is more important than pleasure |
| D．nothing is more important than money |
The doctor usually tells his patient what to do .
| A．without examining the patient |
| B．after he has examined the patient |
| C．if the patient doesn’t take medicine |
| D．unless the patient feels pain |
The underlined part means “ ”.
| A．he was feeling better than ever |
| B．he wasn’t a healthy man |
| C．he was feeling worse than before |
| D．he will be well again |
This passage is developed by _____________.
| A．giving time order | B．giving examples |
| C．giving tips | D．giving cause and effect |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Wealth is more important . |
| B．The doctor does not examine his patients carefully |
| C．If you have a fever, just stay at home. |
| D．The doctor’s advice usually works. |
Many people influenced various aspects of my life, based on their personal characteristics, accomplishments and values. I have been fortunate to have had numerous teachers and professors who I respect for their patience and intelligence. There are artists that have inspired me by their natural talents and original creativity. I value many political leaders, who have inspired me by their contributions to society, and their ability to change our futures. But of all the people I have known in my life, the person I admire most is my father.
As the youngest girl in my family, I always considered myself to be “Daddy's little girl”. While I grew up, it always made me sad to see so many of my friends and neighbors without a father or father-like figure around. This helped me appreciate how my father always takes an interest in his children's lives. In every aspect of my life my father continuously pushes me to excel, so I could accomplish my work outstandingly among my people. Whenever I feel like giving up, or have a question or a concern, I know I can always call on him for advice. From him I have also learned that sometimes you have to put others' needs ahead of your own, but you should make sure you are not taken advantage of by others. His strength seems to be unbreakable during hard times, and he is extremely determined to accomplish anything he sets his mind on, no matter how tiny it is. I highly respect him for how he stands up for what he believes in, and will never back down. I have always admired his open mind, compassion(同情) for people, and sense of understanding. He is a very reserved(保守的) man, but to everybody's surprise, he has a great sense of humor, and always knows how to put a smile on the faces of his wife, his children and his friends.
Living in his affection and instruction, I am very proud of my father. He also professes how proud he is of his children, and is still there to support us in whatever we are involved in.Which of the following could not be used to describe the author's father?
| A．Considerate and humorous. | B．Affectionate and open-minded. |
| C．Energetic and helpful. | D．Learned and fashionable. |
Which of the following can best explain the underlined word“excel”?
| A．Show off. | B．Do better than others. |
| C．Be cleverer than others. | D．Keep healthy. |
According to the underlined part, the father was telling the author to _________
| A．try to be good to those who were worth making friends with. |
| B．try to take advantage of those who were friendly to her. |
| C．think about others and help them, but not to be made use of in a negative way. |
| D．think about others and help them, so that she could make them serve her. |
What can we infer about the author?
| A．She appreciated her father because he solved all the problems for her. |
| B．She considered her father humorous and was often made to laugh by him. |
| C．She was outstanding in work because her father pushed her hard. |
| D．She had compassion for the fatherless. |
For five days, Edmonton's Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage where artists are able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate and enjoy themselves .Since its beginning in 1980, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating(纪念）the true feeling of what folk music is all about and that's the traditional togetherness(友爱）that is felt when people gather to share stories and feelings through song.
This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival. "People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation ," Riedel said. "It's really easy to relax, and it's great seeing family and friends have fun together." These families and friends come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone's musical interests.
With so many years of experience, the festival has become a well-oiled machine, and does whatever it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the venue(举办地）for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back.
The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time. But with big names such as Van Morrison and Jakob Dylan, it’s easy to see how that was going to happen. There is no parking area during the festival, so using the Park & Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended. A bike lock-up area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates open until 45 minutes after the gates close.
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug.4 with Van Morrison playing the special donation fund （基金）concert, and will finish up on Sunday, Aug.8.The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is held mainly to ___________.
| A．remind people of the real sense of folk music |
| B．gather people with different musical tastes |
| C．exhibitive good voices of great talents in folk music |
| D．collect old stories of folk music |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．It's hard for people to appreciate Blues. |
| B．Riedel has volunteered for the festival for at least 5years. |
| C．It costs people a little to fill up their cups from water stations. |
| D．People have to pay $2 for a plate of food. |
We can learn from the passenger that____.
| A．people can get tickets easily for the festival |
| B．driving one's own car to the festival is highly recommended |
| C．the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is highly recommended. |
| D．bikes are available at the festival from Wednesday to Sunday |
What would the best title for the passenger?
| A．Folk Music of Blues | B．One Festival Family Gathering |
| C．Festival for family Gathering | D．Edmonton’s Downtown Park |
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was one of the most private women in the world, yet when she went to work as an editor in the last two decades of her life, she revealed (展现) herself as she did nowhere else.
After the death of her second husband, Greek shipping magnate (巨头) Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline's close friend and former White House social secretary Letitia Baldrige made a suggestion that she consider a career in publishing . After consideration,Jacqueline accepted it. Perhaps she hoped to find there some ideas about how to live her own life .She became not less but more interested in reading. For the last 20 years of her life, Jacqueline worked as a publisher's editor, first at Viking，then at Doubleday, pursuing a late-life career longer than her two marriages combined. During her time in publishing, she was responsible for managing and editing more than 100 successfully marketed books. Among the first books were In the Russian Style and Inventive Paris Clothes. She also succeeded in persuading TV hosts Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell to transform their popular television conversation into a book, The Power of Myth. The book went on to become an international best-seller. She dealt too, with Michael Jackson as he prepared his autobiography(自传), Moonwalk.
Jacqueline may have been hired for her name and for her social relations, but she soon proved her worth. Her choices, suggestions and widespread social relations were of benefit both to the publishing firms and to Jacqueline herself. In the books she selected for publication, she built on a lifetime of spending time by herself as a reader and left a record of the growth of her mind. Her books are the autobiography she never wrote. Her role as First Lady, in the end, was overshadowed by her performance as an editor. However, few knew that she had achieved so much.We can learn from the passage that Jacqueline________.
| A．became fond of reading after working as an editor |
| B．gained a lot from her career as an editor |
| C．promoted（促进） her books through social relations |
| D．was in charge of publishing 100 books |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means that________.
| A．Jacqueline's ended up as an editor rather than as First Lady |
| B．Jacqueline's life as First Lady was more colorful than as an editor |
| C．Jacqueline's role as First Lady was more brilliant than as an editor |
| D．Jacqueline was more successful as an editor than as First Lady |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Jacqueline's two marriages lasted more than 20 years |
| B．Jacqueline's own publishing firm was set up eventually |
| C．Jacqueline's achievements were widely known |
| D．Jacqueline's views and beliefs were reflected（反映） in the books she edited |
The passage is mainly________.
| A．a brief account（叙述） of Jacqueline's career as an editor in her last 20 years |
| B．a brief description of Jacqueline's lifelong experiences |
| C．an introduction of Jacqueline's life both as First Lady and as editor |
| D．an analysis of Jacqueline's social relations in publishing |