Right now you probably spend most of your time in school． Do you wonder what you are going to do after junior high school？ Will you continue to go to school？ Will you learn a trade？ Perhaps it is time to think about your choices and to prepare for them． Someday work will be a big part of your life．
What kind of job would be right for you？ Think about your interests and your skills． You may like to listen to music． dance． play basketball． or work with computers． You may know how to drive a car or how to get along with people． Knowing both your interests and skills will help make a better plan for your future job．
To get an idea of what work you would like to do． make a list of your interests and skills． Think about what you have done to be successful in your interests． After that． brainstorm a list of job choices that might match your interests and skills． You can later keep your lists with the projects and records that can help you get the job you want． They can help you know more clearly about your achievements in school and in the world of work．
Laura Zhang． an art designer． finds her work satisfying because it allows her to use her interests and skills． She enjoyed imagining something in her mind while she was in school． She took art． design． and computer lessons． and also learned about taking photos on her own．
Here is what she says about the meaning of work："If you have a job you like． work means much more than just making money． It means using your talents． making a contribution （贡献）． and getting a real sense of satisfaction from doing a job． "
（1）Who is the passage most probably written to？
| A． |
Students． |
| B． |
Teachers． |
| C． |
Parents． |
| D． |
Designers． |
（2）How does the writer introduce the topic at the beginning of the passage？
| A． |
By listing facts． |
| B． |
By giving examples． |
| C． |
By asking questions． |
| D． |
By explaining differences． |
（3）What might Laura Zhang be most interested in when she was at school？
| A． |
Singing songs． |
| B． |
Creating pictures． |
| C． |
Playing basketball． |
| D． |
Playing computer games． |
（4）What's the passage mainly about？
| A． |
The real meaning of work． |
| B． |
The importance of interests and skills． |
| C． |
The journey off Laura's life． |
| D． |
The way of preparing for the future job． |
Many years ago, I had my first chance to visit Russia. "Russians are a very polite people," I had been told before my arrival. One of my friends explained that a gentleman will pour the lemonade for the ladies and show other good manners.
Toward the end of my three-week trip, I was invited by my Russian friend Nicolai Vasilevich and his wife Yulya out to dinner. At the end of a wonderful meal, Yulya asked if I would like a banana. I politely declined(婉谢) and thanked her, and explained I was most satisfied with the meal. But my mind was racing: "What should I do? Should I offer her a banana though they are as close to her as they are to me? What is the polite thing to do?"
"Would you like a banana?" I asked Yulya.
"Yes," she smiled, but didn't try to take any of the three bananas in the fruit basket.
"Which one would you like?" I asked again.
"That one," she pointed at one of the bananas. So thinking about Russian politeness, f picked the banana Yulya had pointed at. Then I peeled it half way and handed it to her.Smiles on Yulya's and Nicolai's faces told me I had done the right thing. Alter this experience, I spent much time letting the world know that in Russia, the polite thing was to peel bananas for ladies.
However, sometime during my third trip i learned I was wrong.
"Oh no, David," a Russian politely corrected me. "In Russia, when a man peels a banana for a lady, it means he has a romantic interest in her."How embarrassed (尴尬) I felt.
So to communicate properly with people of different cultures, we should watch carefully how people of the same culture communicate with each other. Besides, don’t be afraid to ask questions about their culture.Before his first visit to Russia, the writer learned Russian gentlemen are polite to____.
| A．foreigners | B．strangers | C．friends | D．women |
The underlined word "peeled" in Paragraph 6 means "_________".
| A．took the skin off something |
| B．put something hack |
| C．made something clean |
| D．cut something in two |
Which of the following seems to be true according to the passage?
| A．The writer's third trip lasted about three weeks. |
| B．Russian gentlemen never peel bananas for ladies. |
| C．The writer tried to follow Russians~ behavior in Russia. |
| D．Yulya was pleased with the writer's behavior but Nicolai wasn't. |
The writer wrote the passage mainly to___________.
| A．show us how polite Russian people are |
| B．tell us his funny experience in Russia |
| C．ask us to care about cultural differences |
| D．remind us what we should do in Russia |
When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, “Well, it’s so-and-so’s mistake.” or “I know I’m late, but it’s not my mistake; the bus was late.” It is probably not your mistake, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop paying attention to whom to blame and start paying attention to how to improve the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming(克服) problems. For example, if you were late because the bus was late, maybe you need to leave home early. Or, you might call a taxi or call friends for help when in need. For another example, if your workmate causes you problems on the job for short of responsibility(责任心) or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or leave this person with some simple jobs. You should accept that the person is not reliable(可靠的) and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your workmate fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges(挑战) and chances to develop their own talents. So, stop paying attention to “whose mistake it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.According to the passage, winners .
| A．have responsible and able workmates |
| B．meet with fewer difficulties in their lives |
| C．blame themselves rather than others |
| D．deal with problems rather than blame others |
When your workmate brings about a problem, you should .
| A．blame him for his lack of responsibility |
| B．find a better way to overcome the problem |
| C．tell him to find the cause of the problem |
| D．ask a more able workmate for help |
When problems happen, winners take them as .
| A．excuses for their mistakes |
| B．difficulties to greater power |
| C．chances for self-development |
| D．challenges to their workmates |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage？
| A．A Winner’s Secret | B．A Winner’s Problem |
| C．A Winner’s Chance | D．A Winner’s Achievement |
My parents quarreled a lot, and I was really worried about it. I didn’t know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house. Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was packing up my things when suddenly the power (电) went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on.
I was really disappointed(失望的) because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored(恢复). He was quite happy and said.
“Great chance.”
“What is?” I asked.
“To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a one-to-one little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we’re going to do with ourselves and the situation we are in now.”
“But we can’t do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I was.
And that is how the most amazing friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feelings and fears of life from how fast things change to how they sometimes don’t change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be.
Suddenly, the lights all came back on. “Well,” he said, “I guess that means you’ll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!”Why was Grandpa happy to see the writer?
| A．Because he felt quite lonely. |
| B．Because he could discuss the problem with him. |
| C．Because he was afraid of darkness. |
| D．Because he had not seen him for a long time. |
In which order(顺序) did the story happen?
a. The lights came back on.
b. The writer went to his grandpa’s room and stayed with him.
c. The power in the neighbourhood suddenly went out.
d. The writer worried about the parents’ disagreement and wanted to leave his home.
e. The writer had a talk with his grandpa and started the most amazing friendship between them.
| A．d-b-e-c-a | B．a-b-e-c-d | C．c-d-b-e-a | D．d-c-b-e-a |
What can be inferred(推断) from the story?
| A．The lights would go out again. |
| B．The writer wanted to leave very much. |
| C．They would have more chats. |
| D．It would no longer be dark. |
People often said Thomas Edison was the greatest genius(天才) of his age. There are only a few men in all of history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be pleased only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such a thing as genius,” Edison said. He thought what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a thinker as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. He tried to understand them, and then he tried to learn what he could usefully do with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people would do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking could give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand why anyone could not be interested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what idea he had about life. “Work,” he answered, “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.What is genius according to Thomas Edison?
| A．Hard thinking. | B．Hard work. | C．Useful ideas. | D．Useful inventions. |
How did Edison always deal with the secrets of nature after exploring them?
| A．To write down what he had learned. |
| B．To carry out a new experiment. |
| C．To make them useful in life. |
| D．To share them with others. |
What does the last sentence in the passage mean?
| A．Edison was born to be a great inventor. |
| B．Edison was able to live another 100 years. |
| C．Edison was ready to make his 100th invention. |
| D．Life was too short for Edison to work for human beings. |
More and more people think it necessary to study in an English-speaking country and it didn’t take long at all for me to decide to come and study in UK.
I have been used to school life since I came here two months ago, and I am starting to enjoy most of my time in here. School starts at 9 o’clock every morning, and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have long days, in which we have 9 lessons and school finishes at 4 o’clock. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we have short days, in which we have only 6 lessons and finish at 1 o’clock. After lessons, we have 2 hours of activity time, when you can choose from a number of activities, including many sports, such as rugby(英式橄榄球) , football, basketball and tennis.
As a boarder(寄宿者), the quality of food is something I consider very important, and Merchiston has not let me down. The school kitchens are run by a professional company, and the quality of food is excellent, and they are always trying to make the diet healthy. One of the obvious advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school, which means we don’t have to pull ourselves out of bed as early as the day pupils!How many lessons do the students have every week in this school?
| A．15 | B．45 | C．27 | D．18 |
The passage mainly tells us about __________________.
| A．the writer’s school life in the UK as a boarder |
| B．the writer’s opinion of the school life in the UK |
| C．the differences in school life between China and the UK |
| D．the boarder life in a British middle school |
Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined phrase “ let me down” in the passage?
| A．made me blue | B．cheered me up |
| C．encouraged me | D．made me surprised |