You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.
It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. At times, the dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last.
Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Time magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine(重新定义) the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.
Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And entrepreneurship(创业) is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.
So what has led to this huge change?
Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity and social stagnation(停滞),”noted The Daily Beast.
“The rate of 16-to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree,” Time reported.
The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation’s ladder”.
Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations. “This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennias are feeling they can only attain a day-today lifestyle that suits them.”
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．Meaning of American Dream |
| B．Redefinition of American Dream |
| C．Value of Achieving American Dream |
| D．History of Changing American Dream |
The underlined word “cornerstone” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to “ ”.
| A．growth | B．balance | C．purpose | D．basis |
According to the passage, what has changed Millennials’ view of the American Dream?
| A．A lack of confidence in themselves |
| B．Fierce competition in the job market |
| C．The discouraging economy and unemployment |
| D．Their dissatisfaction with the government |
Dan Kadlec thinks Millennials’ new definition of the American Dream is ______.
| A．understandable | B．beautiful |
| C．worrying | D．Positive |
Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 
What does the phrase “green shoots” mean in “Green shoots have begun to appear in different markets”?
| A．Signs of recovery. | B．High prices. |
| C．Environmental protection. | D．Change in policy. |
Fill in the blank in the sentence “I can’t believe this is Joshua—he’s ______ since we last met!”
| A．shot out | B．shot through | C．shot up | D．shot down |
When you are talking about unimportant things, we say you are ______.
| A．shooting yourself in the foot | B．shooting the breeze |
| C．shooting your mouth off | D．shooting questions at somebody |
Choose a word to complete the sentence “The ______, which killed a policeman and wounded a passer-by, was reported to have lasted only 13 seconds.”
| A．shooter | B．shoot | C．shot | D．shooting |
Being the head of a high school for many years, I grew tired of budget meetings, funding cuts, and many other administrative chores(杂务). I started to dream of retirement. Sitting in traffic on a weekday morning, I would find my mind wandering. I would imagine spending time with my grandchildren, quiet evenings with my wife, traveling, or rediscovering some great books. I told myself that I wouldn’t sign myself up for any committees, any classes, or anything requiring a schedule.
My first day of retirement came at last! I cooked a great breakfast fo
r my wife and me, leisurely read the paper, cleaned a bit of the house, and wrote a few letter
s to friends. On the second day, I cooked breakfast, read the paper… On the third day, … This is retirement? I tried to tell myself that it was just the transition(过渡), that those golden moments were right round the corner, and that I would enjoy them soon enough. But something was missing.
A former colleague asked a favor. A group of students was going to Jamaica to work with children in the poorest neighborhoods. Would I interrupt my newfound “happiness” and return to the students, just this once? One trip. That’s all. My bags were packed and by the door.
The trip was very inspiring. I was moved not only by the poverty I saw but also by the sense of responsibility of the young people on the trip. When I returned home, I offered to work one day a week with a local youth organization. The experience was so positive that I was soon volunteering nearly full-time, working with
students across North America to assist them in their voluntary work.
Now, it seems, the tables have turned. Some days I am the teacher, other days I am the student. These young people have reawakened my commitment(责任感) to social justice issues by challenging me to learn more about the situation in the world today, where people are still poor and suffer because of greed, corruption and war. Most important, they have given me the opportunity to continue to participate in helping to find solutions. In return, I help them do their charitable projects overseas. I’ve gone from running one school to helping oversee the construction of schools in twenty-one countries!
What did the writer expect to do after he retired?
| A．To write some great books. |
| B．To stay away from busy schedules. |
| C．To teach his grandchildren. |
| D．To plan for his future. |
Why did the writer decide to go to Jamaica?
| A．He wasn’t satisfied with his retired life. |
| B．He couldn’t refuse his colleague’s favor. |
C．He was concerned about  the people there. |
| D．He missed his students in that country. |
The underlined part “the tables have turned” (Paragraph 5) most probably means that the writer ______.
| A．improved the situation in his school |
| B．felt happy to work with students again |
C．c hanged his attitude toward his retirement |
| D．became a learner rather than a teacher |
What does the writer think of his retired life now?
| A．Meaningful. | B．Troublesome. |
| C．Relaxing. | D．Disappointing. |
I start to wonder what else had changed since I’d been gone.My parents are in an awkward puzzle, wondering how to treat me now----whether to treat me—still their daughter—as one of them, an adult, or as the child they feel they sent away months earlier.
I run into two of my best friends from high school; we stare at each other,expressionless. We ask the simple questions and give simple answers.It’s as if we have nothing to say to each other.I wonder how things have changed so much in such a small amount of time.We used to laugh and promise that no matter how far away we were, our love for each other would never change.Their interests don’t interest me anymore, and I find myself unable to relate my life to theirs.
I had been so excited to come home, but now I just look at it all and wonder: Is it me? Why hadn’t the world stood still here while I was gone? My room isn’t the same, my friends and I don’t share the same promise, and my parents don’t know how to treat me—or who I am, for that matter.
I get back to school feeling half-satisfied, but not disappointed. I sit up in my bed in my dorm room, surrounded by my pictures, dolls.As I wonder what has happened, I realize that I can’t expect the world to stand still and move forward at the same time. I can change and expect that things at home will stay the same.I have to find comfort in what has changed and what is new; keep the memories, but live in the present.
A few weeks later, I’m packing again, this time for winter break.My mom meets me at the door. I have come home accepting the changes, not only in my surroundings, but most of all in me.
What can we infer about the writer?
| A．She is a high school student. | B．She is a college student. |
| C．She is a clerk in a school. | D．She is a traveler. |
. What surprises the writer most?
| A．The living conditions of her parents. |
| B．The decorations in her room. |
| C．The meeting with her best friends. |
| D．The things still staying the same. |
What is this passage mainly about?
| A．The writer’s curiosity about the changes. |
| B．The changes in the writer’s surroundings and in herself. |
| C．The writer’s disappointment about the changes. |
| D．The writer’s refusal to accept the changes. |
For shopoholics, the post-Christmas period means only one thing ---- sales! Across the country, prices are reducing sharply on clothing, electronics and home furniture, but London is the place for serious shopping, and you can certainly pick up some amazing bargains.
The sales start on Boxing Day — 26th December, and continue for the month of January, but the keenest bargain hunters get there early to be first through the doors. In Oxford Street queues formed outside shops ahead of before-dawn openings for the start of their sales. At Brent Cross, in north London, more than 1,000 people were queuing at 3.30 am for the ‘Next’ clothing store’s sale which began at 4 am. Some eager individuals even camped outside the shops to be first in the line.
Consumers who hit the shops were rewarded with discounts of as much as 80% as department stores joined the bargain sales. The shops are very crowded as the sales reached the boiling-point, with more than half a million people gathering on London’s West End.
Famous sales include the biggest, most popular shops such as Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty and John Lewis. Department stores are always a good bet — you’re likely to find everything you need under one roof, including much-needed food and drinks!
It’s a good time to stock up on cheap small tools, and there’s no better time to invest in some designer clothes.
Some people are taking their partners shopping with them, and buying their Christmas presents in the sale----a practical but unromantic way of making sure you get the gift you really want. For a less exciting but less stressful shopping experience, online sellers are also getting in on the act with January sales of their own.
The most organized of all are those who are already doing their present shopping for next Christmas, in the January sales!
In the sales, people can buy, at a very low price, all of the following except ______.
| A．fashionable clothing | B．bestseller |
| C．TV sets | D．bookcases |
We can learn from the passage that the sales ______.
| A．actually start before the end of December | B．generally last for two months |
| C．basically benefit none of the people | |
| D．are a time to buy Christmas gifts in a romantic way |
“Hit the shops” in the third paragraph means to ______.
| A．attack the shops | B．arrive at the shops |
| C．affect the shops | D．find the shops |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．January Sales | B．Sales in London at Christmas |
| C．Practical but Unromantic Shopping | D．Shopping under One Roof |
If you have to miss one meal a day, which meal will cause you fewest health problems if you don’t eat it? If they have to make a decision of this type, most people (especially very busy people) will choose to skip (not to eat) breakfast.
However, many experts in the field of health consider breakfast (the meal which “breaks” your “fast---- a period of time without eating anything ” which started the night before) to be the most important meal of the day. If we eat a good breakfast, they say, we will have the energy and nutrients we need to begin our working day with vigor and hopefully with good humour. But many people skip breakfast or replace it with snacks or a cup of coffee for a well-balanced meal. What happens if we ignore the importance of breakfast?
One recent study conducted in the United States tested a large number of people. Participants included both males and females who ranged in age from 12—83. During the experiment, these people were given a variety of breakfasts, and sometimes, they had to skip breakfast completely. Special tests, including blood tests and endurance tests, were set up to analyze how well the participants’ bodies functioned when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast.
The result showed that if a person eats an adequate (充足的) breakfast, he or she will work more efficiently and more productively than if he or she skips breakfasts or eats a very poor breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person’s work involves mental activity. The study showed that if schoolchildren eat fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, they will learn more quickly and will be able to concentrate on their lessons for a longer period of time than if their breakfast diet is inadequate .
The study also showed that, contrary to what many people believe, if you skip breakfast, you will not lose weight. This is because people become so hungry if they skip breakfast that they eat too much for lunch and end up gaining weight instead of losing. So remember, if you are on a diet, skipping breakfast will not help you. You will probably lose more weight if you reduce your other meals.
According to the passage, we can safely say _____.
| A．if you skip breakfast, you will not lose weight at all |
| B．if you skip breakfast, you won’t eat much for lunch either. |
| C．skipping breakfast won’t do a bit of harm |
| D．skipping breakfast will help one lose weight |
In the word “breakfast”, “fast” probably means _____.
| A．“moving quickly” | B．“going without food ” |
| C．“unlikely to go fast” | D．“fast food ” |
Special tests were organized to analyze how participants’ bodies functioned when ______.
| A．they had skipped breakfasts | B．they had had breakfasts |
| C．they had eaten special breakfasts | D．they had had all three meals |