Every month, Julia and her cousins would go to visit their grandparents. They would be excited because their grandfather would give them a few coins. Then they would buy toys or sweets. The grandparents commented that, behaving like this, the children would never learn to manage their money. So they planned a special test, in which the children would have to show, over the course of a year, just what they could manage to get with those few coins.
Some thought that they would save their money, but Ruben and Nico continued spending it all on sweets. So they give up saving.
Monty decided to manage his money by exchanging it: buying and selling things, or betting (打赌) it with others. Soon he surprised the whole family. He had accumulated (积聚) lots of money. However, Monty was not very careful, and he got involved in more and more risky deals. A few months later he became penniless after a losing bet. Alex, had a will of iron. He saved the money and at the end of the year he had collected more money than anyone. Even better, with so much money, he managed to buy sweets at a reduced price, so that on the day of the competition he was presented with enough sweets for much more than a year. And even then, he still had enough left over for a toy. He was the clear winner, and other children learned the advantages of knowing how to save and how to wait.
There was also Julia. Poor Julia didn’t enjoy the competition, because even though she had had a wonderful secret plan, she had spent her money without giving her plan enough time to work. However, she was so sure that her plan was a good one, that she decided to carry on with it, and maybe change the expressions on her relatives’ faces, who had seemed to be saying “What a poor girl shel is. She couldn’t manage to save anything”.
When she was about to complete the second year of her plan, Julia surprised everyone by turning up at the grandparents’ house with a violin and a lot of money. She did it really well.Who saved nothing at the end of the first year?
| A．Ruben, Julia and Alex | B．Ruben, Nico and Monty |
| C．Ruben, Monty and Julia | D．Ruben, Nico and Alex |
Why did the grandparents plan a test on the children?
| A．Because they wanted the children to learn to spend money. |
| B．Because they wanted the children to learn to save money. |
| C．Because they wanted the children to learn to manage money. |
| D．Because they didn’t want the children to buy toys and sweets any more. |
From Monty’s story, the children learned ______________________.
| A．to save and to wait. |
| B．to buy and to sell things |
| C．to set a achievable goal. |
| D．to be careful and self-disciplined |
The underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph means ______________.
| A．Julia will bring disasters to herself and her family. |
| B．Julia is not good at managing money. |
| C．Julia is too stupid to do anything well. |
| D．Julia has so many secrets that nobody likes her. |
It was graduation day at Etihad Training Academy, where the national airline of the United Arab Emirates holds a seven-week training course for new flight attendants.
Despite her obvious pride, Ms.Fathi, a 22-year-old from Egypt, was amazed to find herself here.“I never in my life thought I’d work abroad,” said Ms.Fathi, who was a university student in Cairo when she began noticing newspaper advertisements employing young Egyptians to work at airlines based in the Persian Gulf.
Twenty years ago, unmarried Arab women like Ms.Fathi, working outside their home countries, were rare.But just as young men from poor Arab nations poured into the oil-rich Persian Gulf states for jobs, more young women are doing so.
Flight attendants have become the public face of the new mobility for some young Arab women, just as they were the face of new freedoms for women in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s.They have become a subject of social anxiety and fascination in much the same way.
For many families, allowing a daughter to work may call her virtue into question.Yet this culture is changing, said Musa Shteiwi, a sociologist at Jordan University in Amman.“We’re noticing more and more single women going to the gulf these days,” he said.“It’s still not exactly common, but over the last four or five years it’s become quite an observable phenomenon.”
Many of the young Arab women working in the Persian Gulf take delight in their status as pioneers, role models for their friends and younger female relatives.Young women brought up in a culture that highly values community, have learned to see themselves as individuals.The experience of living independently and working hard for high salaries has forever changed their beliefs about themselves, though it can also lead to a painful sense of separation from their home countries and their families.
—From New York Times (December 22, 2014)It can be inferred from the passage that young Arab women _________.
| A．go to work abroad after American women’s example |
| B．didn’t start to work abroad until the late 20th century |
| C．are commonly used to living and working separately |
| D．expect to take the same family responsibilities as men |
According to the passage, the Arab women flight attendants can be described as _________.
| A．proud, homesick or independent |
| B．honest, outstanding or optimistic |
| C．mature, enthusiastic or energetic |
| D．painful, desperate or conservative |
How do the public respond to young Arab women’s new mobility?
| A．The public think highly of it. |
| B．The public care very little about it. |
| C．The public show both interest and anxiety. |
| D．The public are strongly against it. |
The author intends to tell the readers that __________.
| A．Arab women can hardly find any work |
| B．flight attendants are badly needed in the gulf |
| C．flight attendants lead quite a different life |
| D．young Arab women’s values are changing |
Spring is coming, and it is time for those about to graduate to look for jobs.Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices.Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not.
A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos (纹身）nose rings, or certain dress styles.It is true you can’t judge a book by its cover, yet people do “cover” themselves in order to convey (传递) certain messages.What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are.Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances, so do companies.Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept.
Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money.Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees (雇员), because those people represent the companies to their customers.
As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers.There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers.Even though I am open-minded, I can’t expect all our customers are.
There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer.No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply because he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal.Which of the following is the newspaper editor’s opinion according to Paragraph 2?
| A．People’s appearances carry messages about themselves. |
| B．Customers’ choices influence dress standards in companies. |
| C．Candidates with tattoos or nose rings should be fairly treated. |
| D．Strange dress styles should not be encouraged in the workplace. |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Candidates have to wear what companies prefer for an interview. |
| B．What to wear is not a matter of personal choice for companies. |
| C．Companies sometimes have to change to respect their candidates. |
| D．Hiring managers make the best impression on their candidates. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Employees Matter |
| B．Personal Choices Matter |
| C．Appearances Matter |
| D．Hiring Managers Matter |
Top lists are lecturing people on everything from"100 books to read ".Aren't you just tired of being told what to do with your time?
Now you have a list to end all lists!
Take a look at the following two examples from the list of "101 things not to do":
Swim with Dolphins（海豚）?
Swimming with dolphins is one of the world’s most profitable tourist activities.However, every dolphin will welcome having their busy, tiring day interrupted by tourists screaming pushing around them in the water.Worse yet, when dolphins get too near to the boats loaded tourists, they could get caught up in ropes and killed by propellers(螺旋桨).
Here’s a little secret.Dolphins look like smiling at you, but actually they’re just opening mouths.
Go to See the Mona Lisa?
There must be something about the mysterious(神秘的) smile.The 6 million people who visit the lady in the Louvre every year can’t all be wrong after all.But they can be quite annoying standing in front of you, holding up their cameras to prevent you from seeing anything.In fact, it is hard for you to see the painting clearly because you have to stay away from it for security reasons.After queuing for hours, many tourists can remain in front of the painting only for 15 seconds most.
If the mysterious lady in the picture knew her fate, she wouldn’t just be smiling, she laughing.
So, still long to see the Mona Lisa? If you want to find out more about the list, read 101 Tings NOT to Do Before You Die.Visit www.not2dobeforeidie.co.uk and buy the book at a 20% discount.According to the passage, swimming with dolphins________.
| A．is the world’s most popular tourist activity |
| B．gives fun to both tourists and dolphins |
| C．will make tourists busy and tired |
| D．can cause danger to dolphins |
what does the author think about going to see the Mona Lisa?
| A．It is wrong to go and see the mysterious smile. |
| B．It is not as satisfying as expected. |
| C．Fifteen seconds in front of the painting is enough. |
| D．Queuing for hours is worthwhile. |
The list of “101 things not to do” is made most probably because its author_______.
| A．thinks it boring to do the things suggested by other lists |
| B．believes other lists are not humorous enough |
| C．intends to persuade people to read more lists |
| D．wants to provide a list different from other lists |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To advertise a book |
| B．To introduce a website |
| C．To comment on popular lists |
| D．To recommend tourist activities. |
Cold weather can be hard on pets, just like it can be hard on people.Sometimes owners forget that their cats are just as used to the warm shelter (住所) as they are.Some owners will leave their animals outside for a long period of time, thinking that all animals are used to living outdoors.This can put their pets in danger of serious illness.There are things you can do to keep your animal warm and safe.
Keep your pets inside as much as you can when the weather is bad.If you have to take them out, stay outside with them.When you’re cold enough to go inside, they probably are too.If you must leave them outside for a long time, make sure they have a warm, solid shelter against the wind, thick bedding, and plenty of non-frozen water.
If left alone outside, dogs and cats can be very smart in their search for warm shelter.They can dig into snow banks or hide somewhere.Watch them closely when they are left outdoors, and provide them with shelter of good quality.Keep an eye on your pet’s water.Sometimes owners don’t realize that a water bowl has frozen and their pet can’t get anything to drink.Animals that don’t have clean and unfrozen water may drink dirty water outside, which may contain something unhealthy for them.What do we learn about pets from Paragraph 1?
| A．They are often forgotten by their owners. |
| B．They are used to living outdoors. |
| C．They build their own shelter. |
| D．They like to stay in warm places. |
Why are pet owners asked to stay with their pets when they are out in cold weather?
| A．To know when to bring them inside. |
| B．To keep them from eating bad food. |
| C．To help them find shelter. |
| D．To keep them company. |
If pets are left on their own outdoors in cold weather, they may ___.
| A．run short of clean water |
| B．dig deep holes for fun |
| C．dirty the snow nearby |
| D．get lost in the wild |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To solve a problem. |
| B．To give practical advice. |
| C．To tell an interesting story. |
| D．To present a research result. |
One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift.Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap(包装).
On September11th.1958.Mum gave birth to Richard.After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying."I promised you a gift, and here it is." What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own.I played with it day and night.I sang to it.I told it stories.1 told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty.My doll was gone! I cried for it.Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital.It had a fever.For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless", "pitiful", and "dying", which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming."Don’t expect any presents this year." Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room."If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough." As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears.I'd never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning.Dad jumped out of bed to answer it.From my bedroom I heard him say."What? He's all right?" He hung up and shouted upstairs."The hospital said we can bring Richard home!" "Thank God.'" I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car.I had never seen them happy.And I was also full of joy.What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home.I downstairs.My sacks still hung there flat.But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!what happened to the author on September 11 1958 ?
| A．He got a baby brother |
| B．He got a Christmas gift |
| C．He became four years old |
| D．He received a doll |
What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
| A．Impossible. | B．Boring |
| C．Difficult | D．Fearful |
Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?
| A．Excitement. | B．Happiness. |
| C．Sadness. | D．Disappointment. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A sad Christmas day |
| B．Life with a lovely baby |
| C．A special Christmas gift |
| D．Memories of a happy family |