On the night of November 14, 1978, a six-year-old Korean boy was flying to the United States. All he knew was that he was on a plane heading for somewhere. The plane landed at Kennedy International Airport, where he was greeted by a family. This young boy was me.
I have grown up in a town where there were few Asians, so I stuck out in the crowd. I made friends quickly and they treated me just like anyone else. You may ask if anyone made fun of my appearance. Well, of course, I met that kind of person. I just shrugged it off.
As an adopted child, I have something that others don't have. I have had the benefit of two families. I'm lucky to have got a chance to start a new life. But we must try never to forget our past. Someday I will go back to Korea to find out what kind of culture I left behind.
There is only one thing that I regret about being adopted. When I argue with my parents and they realize they are losing the argument, they sometimes wonder what I would be doing if I were back in Korea. I don't understand this because I thought the purpose of adopting someone was to give them a better chance of growing up in a family. Some day when I am older, I want to adopt a girl and raise her the way my parents have raised me, but I would do it better, for I know what went well and what did not.We learn that when the writer was on the way to his new family, ______.
| A．he was with his own parents |
| B．he was very happy and excited |
| C．he was about ten years old then |
| D．he didn't know he was going to be adopted |
If someone sticks out in the crowd, it means that he/she_______.
| A．is very good-looking |
| B．is very kind-hearted |
| C．is easily noticed by others |
| D．is disliked by others |
When the writer was made fun of by others, he _______.
| A．was deeply hurt |
| B．wanted to go back to Korea |
| C．didn’t care about it that much |
| D．tried to make friends with them |
What does the writer want to do when he is older?
A Go back to live with his parents in Korea.
B. Tell his parents what they have done wrong.
C. Find out how to raise children in a better way.
D. Adopt a girl and raise her in a good way.
A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery （火红的） ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.
The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am.”
She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.
It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold, too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on— it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.
She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said, “Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but — where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different... she wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her snug bed in her pajamas （睡衣）.
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, “Are you feeling better now? You know you got us very, very scared.”What does “This thought” in the fourth paragraph refer to?
| A．The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater. |
| B．Her worry about her parents. |
| C．The idea of going back home. |
| D．The feeling of getting back home safely. |
Her father didn’t take care of the garden because _______.
| A．he had to look after his wife |
| B．he was busy looking for her |
| C．he was not strict in his job |
| D．he no longer enjoyed working there |
How did Jennifer probably feel when she came back home?
a. worriedb. crazyc. tired d. disappointed e. shocked f. excited
| A．a, c, e | B．a, b, c | C．b, c, e | D．d, e, f |
What can we conclude from this passage?
| A．In fact Jennifer’s mother had been sick for days. |
| B．As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared. |
| C．Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was really warm and safe for her. |
| D．When she found the garden deserted, she realized she got cross. |
With your workload growing, you may be telling yourself a vacation is one luxury you can’t afford. A vacation allows you the opportunity to recharge your physical and motional batteries, disconnect from everyday concerns, and return to work rested and refreshed. Some facts have proved employees are more productive after a vacation than before one. Here are some tips for you to plan your vacation to make sure that your time away from the office is worry free.
Time is right. A Robert Half survey shows that July and August are the most favorable months for employees to take a break because these months offer ideal beach weather and many businesses slow down during this time. For instance, if a big task is planned for the summer, you may consider postponing your trip until the fall.
Ask others for assistance. Your supervisor can help you determine who is the most qualified for a particular task.
Let your contacts know. Give colleagues and customers you frequently work with a few weeks’ notice before you start off.
Conduct a technical review. Before you leave, make sure there is plenty of room in your e-mail inbox so you don’t exceed (超越) your storage limit while you’re out of the office, which might prevent you from sending messages when you return.
In short, taking vacation is necessary and beneficial for your job. But you must plan your vacation properly in order to work free and worry free on holiday.
| A．Ask trusted colleagues to handle your projects while you’re away. |
| B．A summertime beach vacation includes so much more than what you desire these days. |
| C．But the truth is that you can’t afford not to take one. |
| D．This will give them enough time to plan for your absence. |
E. Also make sure passwords won’t expire(期满) while you are away.
F. What’s more, find your pet a temporary home when you are on vacation.
G. When planning your vacation, remember to take into account any activity that your department will be focused on during that time.
Forest guards in western India are using cell phones with ringtones of cows mooing, goats bleating and roosters crowing to attract leopards that have wandered into human settlements, officials said on Monday.
The wild cats in the state of Gujarat often get into villages near forests in search of food, say officials, adding that this results in attacks on people. But rather than use methods such as live bait(诱惑物) like goats tied to trees to lure the leopards, which then fall into large pits dug by guards, officials say they have found a safer method to trap the cats.
“The moos of a cow, bleating of a goat from the phone has proved effective to trap leopards,” said D. Vasani, a senior forest official in Gujarat. “This trick works.” Vasani said forest guards have downloaded the sounds of over a dozen animals as ringtones on their mobiles which they attach to speakers and fix behind a cage. They then play the ringtone continuously for up to two hours until the curious leopard appears and moves into the cage looking for its easy meal.
At least five leopards have so far been lured from villages since the new ringtone method was introduced three months ago. The cats have all been released back into forest areas.
Wildlife activists welcomed the new initiative saying that previous methods of trapping the cats using pits often resulted in the animals getting injured. What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Cell Phones to Hunt Animals |
| B．Practical Uses of Cell Phones |
| C．Wildlife and New Technology |
| D．Phone Ringtones to Catch Leopards |
Forest guards in India try to catch leopards mainly because ______.
| A．leopards attack villagers |
| B．they want leopard fur |
| C．leopards attack animals |
| D．they have new ringtones |
What will be needed to trap the leopards using the new method?
① cell phones②animals③ sounds of animals④ cages⑤large pits
| A．①②③④ | B．①③④ | C．①④⑤ | D．②③⑤ |
There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external (外在的) result or a product that can easily be identified and measured．The worker who gets a rise, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language—all these examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts．
By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way．The process is not the road itself, but the attitudes, feelings people have , and their caution or courage, as they meet with new experiences and unexpected difficulties．In this process, the journey never really ends；there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept．
In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to face the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first．How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is necessary for our ability to grow．Do we see ourselves as quick and curious? If so, we tend to take more chances and be more open to unfamiliar experiences．Do we think we’re shy and indecisive? Then our sense of fear can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and we think we are slow to adapt change or that we’re not smart enough to deal with a new challenge．Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all．
These feelings of insecurity (不安全) and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow．If we protect ourselves too much, then we stop growing．We become trapped inside a shell of our own making．In the author’s eye, one who views personal growth as a process would ______．
| A．succeed in climbing up the social ladder |
| B．grow up from his own achievements |
| C．face difficulties and take up challenges |
| D．aim high and reach his goal each time |
Which of the following can be viewed as the process of personal growing?
| A．Our manager was always willing to accept new challenges． |
| B．Jane won the first prize in the speech competition． |
| C．Jerry picked up French during his stay in Paris． |
| D．Father’s salary rose from 5, 000 to 7,000． |
For personal growth, the author is in favor of all the following EXCEPT _______．
| A．being curious about more changes |
| B．being quick in self-adaptation |
| C．having an open mind to new experiences |
| D．staying away from failures and challenges |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．It is not so easy to measure personal growth |
| B．To try and fail on the new road facing the unknown is unavoidable |
| C．There are only two ways to see a person’s growth |
| D．If you are too shy to take any risks in life, you cannot grow up |
She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.
The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre museum(卢浮宫博物馆)where it is housed.
“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed the changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state.
Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision(视觉)is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”
However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519.
In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later.
During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.
Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means the Mona Lisa ________.
| A．is losing its value |
| B．is being damaged after so many years |
| C．is getting more valuable with years passing |
| D．will rot away |
Experts haven’t any repairs on the Mona Lisa because______.
| A．it is now in a poor chemical state |
| B．they don’t know how to replace the wooden panel |
| C．they don’t have the materials Da Vinci used |
| D．they are afraid it will be done further damage. |
The smile of the Mona Lisa can only be seen_______.
| A．by indirect vision |
| B．at a distance |
| C．by direct vision |
| D．in shadows |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that______.
| A．many interesting stories have been written about the Mona Lisa |
| B．people are interested in the stories about the Mona Lisa. |
| C．some mysteries still remain to be solved about the Mona Lisa. |
| D．Many more stories will be told about the Mona Lisa. |