For many years, women could only be seen on the seat behind the men operating the two-wheeled motorcycle. Now more and more women are taking the front seat. More than twenty million people in the United States ride motorcycles.
Since 1998 the number of female（女性）bikers has risen sharply. Lady Sport Riders began in 1999 in Washington. The women formed the organization to share their love of motorcycle riding. But later it wanted to be more than just an organization for women to gather and ride motorcycles, so it started to organize events that help national health organizations and women’s shelters. It also permits women to share a strong sisterhood, and gives financial awards to poor students. Like other motorcycle clubs, the members of Lady Sport Riders also help their community.
Different from male riders, female riders ride for more than fun. This sport gives women a sense of freedom and control. Female riders have helped change motorcycle culture. More than five years ago manufacturers began making equipment especially for women. Some bikes now have smaller, softer seats and controls that are easier to reach. Modern clothes for riding now look good and still provide protection. In the past, women rode motorcycles that traveled at a moderate speed. Now theirs are as powerful as the ones men ride. Safety is very important when riding because the risk (危险) of injury is high. So the women wear protective clothing and equipment at all times, especially for the head.
Lady Sport Riders believes women have earned their place in the sport of motorcycle riding. When speaking of male motorcyclists, the members of the club say, “They Made the Game. We Came to Play!”
What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．The number of female motorcyclists is now larger than that of male riders. |
| B．Motorcycle riding used to be considered a male sport. |
| C．Female motorcyclists are more skilled at riding than male riders. |
| D．More and more women have an adventurous spirit. |
In the beginning, Lady Sport Riders was organized to .
| A．allow women to take up motorcycling |
| B．offer help to national health organizations |
| C．share their great interest in the sport of motorcycling |
| D．supply financial help to poor students |
What do men motorcyclists mainly expect to get from motorcycling?
| A．Strength and power. |
| B．Pleasure from this sport. |
| C．Money and fame. |
| D．A sense of freedom. |
Compared with the past, the present equipment makes riding more ______ for women.
| A．difficult | B．expensive |
| C．risky | D．pleasant |
He’s an old cobbler(修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven’t time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street; he’ll fix them for you right away.”
But I’d had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman(手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”
“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” — without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap(鞋带), you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn’t give in, and he smiled. He looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.”
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption(消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?
| A．He was equipped with the best repairing tools. |
| B．He was proud of his skills. |
| C．He was the only cobbler in the Marais. |
| D．He was a native Parisian. |
The underlined sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” shows that ______.
| A．it was difficult to communicate with this man |
| B．the man was very strange |
| C．nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him |
| D．the man was too old |
According to the author, many people work just to ______.
| A．make money | B．realize their abilities |
| C．gain happiness | D．gain respect |
This story wants to tell us that ______.
| A．craftsmen make a lot of money |
| B．craftsmen need self-respect |
| C．whatever you do, do it well |
| D．people are born equal |
Life-long learning is the concept that “It’s never too soon or too late for learning.” — a philosophy that has taken root in a larger number of different organizations. Life-long learning is an attitude — learners believe that one can and should be open to new ideas, decisions, skills or behaviors. Life-long learning throws the well-known rule “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” out of the door. Life-long learning provides the general public with learning opportunities at all ages and in different ways: at work, at home and through leisure activities, not just through formal channels such as school and higher education.
Life-long education is often achieved through distance learning or e-learning, continuing education, home schooling, etc. It also includes training programs for those who want to improve their qualifications, bring their skills up to date or retrain for a new line of work. In later life, especially in retirement, continued learning takes various forms, crossing traditional academic limits.
One of the reasons why life-long education has become so important is the rapid progress of modern science and technology. Although the period of primary, secondary and university education is increased, the knowledge and skills gained there are usually not sufficient for a professional career spanning(跨越) three or four decades.The philosophy of life-long learning goes against the concept that “ ______”.
| A．It’s never too late to learn. |
| B．Whoever cares to learn will always find a teacher. |
| C．A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. |
| D．You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. |
What is the main idea behind life-long education?
| A．To force people to keep in learning new skills throughout their working life. |
| B．To provide teachers with extra income. |
| C．To allow people to have chances to receive education throughout their life. |
| D．To prevent students from learning at school. |
The underlined word “sufficient” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “______”.
| A．popular | B．well-educated |
| C．well-informed | D．enough |
It can be inferred that ______.
| A．life-long education is the requirement of fast development of education |
| B．the increased period of school education is a supplement（补充） to life-long learning |
| C．the education system is failing to keep pace with rapid technology development |
| D．life-long education is intended for retired workers at home |
“I would almost rather see you dead,” Robert S. Cassatt, a leading banker of Philadelphia, shouted when his twenty-year-old eldest daughter announced that she wanted to become an artist. In the 19th century, playing at drawing or painting on dishes was all right for a young lady, but serious work in art was not. And when the young lady’s family ranked(位列) among the best of Philadelphia’s social families, such an idea could not even be considered.
That was how Mary Cassatt, born in 1844, began her struggle as an artist. She did not tremble before her father’s anger. Instead, she opposed(抗拒)him with courage and at last made him change his mind. Mary Cassatt gave up her social position and all thought of a husband and a family, which in those times was unthinkable for a young lady. In the end, after long years of hard work and perseverance(坚持), she became America’s most important woman artist and the internationally recognized leading woman painter of the time.How did Mr Cassatt react when his daughter made her announcement?
| A．He feared for her life. | B．He warned her. |
| C．He nearly killed her. | D．He was very angry. |
What in fact was Mr Cassatt’s main reason in opposing his daughter’s wish?
| A．Drawing and painting was simply unthinkable among ladies in those days. |
| B．He did not believe his daughter wanted to work seriously in art. |
| C．Ladies of good families simply did not become artists in those times. |
| D．He believed an artist’s life would be too hard for his daughter. |
What made Mary Cassatt’s “struggle” to become a recognized artist especially hard?
| A．Her father opposed her. |
| B．She was a woman. |
| C．She had no social position. |
| D．She did not come from an artist’s family. |
What do we know about Mary Cassatt’s marriage?
| A．She never married because she did not want to be just a wife and mother. |
| B．Her marriage failed because she never gave a thought to her husband and family. |
| C．After marriage she decided to give up her husband rather than her career. |
| D．She didn’t marry because for a lady of her social position to marry below her was unthinkable. |
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病). Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it — the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success — you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological(心理的) tool”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
| A．He overcame the bad influence of illness to win. |
| B．Specialists offered him medical advice. |
| C．Training helped him defeat his disease. |
| D．Difficulties influenced his career. |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
| A．Her daily happenings. | B．Her training schedule. |
| C．Her achievements. | D．Her sports career. |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to？
| A．Activities that turn one’s attention away. |
| B．Ways that help one to focus. |
| C．Words that help one to feel less tense. |
| D．Habits that make it hard for one to relax. |
According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?
| A．Courage. | B．Self-confidence. |
| C．Devotion. | D．Hard work. |
Choose Your One-Day-Tours!
Tour A - Bath &Stonehenge: including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge -￡37 until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter.
Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum, Stonehenge is one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.
Tour B - Oxford & Startford including entrance fees to the University St Mary's Church Tower and Anne Hathaway's -￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter
Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England's oldest university city and colleges. Look over the "city of dreaming spires(尖顶）"from St Mary’s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.
Tour C - Windsor Castle &Hampton Court including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace -￡34 until 11 March and ￡37 thereafter.
Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry VILL's favorite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle(entrance fees not included).With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫)where it is easy to get lost!
Tour D -Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great -￡33 until 18 March and ￡37 thereafter.
Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?
| A．Tour A |
| B．Tour B |
| C．Tour C |
| D．Tour D |
Which of the following tours charges the lowest fee on 17 March?
| A．Windsor Castle & Hampton Court |
| B．Oxford & Stratford |
| C．Bath & Stonehenge |
| D．Cambridge |
Why is Hampton Court a major tourist attraction?
| A．It used to be the home of royal families |
| B．It used to be a well-known maze |
| C．It is the oldest palace in Britain |
| D．It is a world-famous castle |