In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely----a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “Creative voice.”
“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”
Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?
A.She had seven brothers. | B.She felt herself a nobody. |
C.She was too shy to go to school. | D.She did not have any good teachers. |
A.work for a school magazine | B.run away from her family |
C.make a lot of friends | D.develop her writing style |
A.Her early years in college. | B.Her training in the Workshop. |
C.Her feeling of being different. | D.Her childhood experience. |
A.It is quite popular among students. |
B.It is the only book ever written by Cisneros. |
C.It wasn’t success as it was written in Spanish. |
D.It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine. |
2 . Boys’ schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.
Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity (阳刚), the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to obey a stereotype (陈规旧俗), a US study says.
Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to obey the “boy code” of hiding their emotions to be a “real man”.
The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys’ learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with “boy-focused” approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given “hands-on” lessons where they are allowed to walk around. “Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine (女性的) and prefer the modern type in which violence and sexism are major themes,” James wrote.
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to obey a stereotype that men should be “masterful and in charge” in relationships. “In mixed schools boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means,” the study reported.
1. The author believes that a single-sex school would ______.A.force boys to hide their emotions to be “real men” |
B.encourage boys to express their emotions more freely |
C.help to cultivate masculine aggressiveness in boys |
D.naturally reinforce in boys the traditional image of a man |
A.perform relatively better | B.grow up more healthily |
C.behave more responsibly | D.receive a better education |
A.It fails more boys than girls academically. |
B.It focuses more on mixed school education. |
C.It fails to give boys the attention they need. |
D.It places more pressure on boys than on girls. |
A.teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys |
B.boys can focus on their lessons without being distracted |
C.boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in |
D.teaching can be designed to promote boys’ team spirit |
A.They enjoy being in charge. | B.They obey stereotypes. |
C.They are violent and sexist. | D.They have sharper vision. |
The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year,1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas.
People interested in jobs in Beijing’s rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www. Bjbys. com from February 1 through March 15.
“We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers,” Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency.
The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan
( $ 250) in the first year, 2,500 yuan ($ 320) the second year and 3,000 yuan ($ 385) the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards, Sun said.
Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside. After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Beijing's Pinggu District. For one project, Wang contacted people at the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting. Her efforts paid off. The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year.
Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education.
The ministry predicts that 4. 95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year. About 1.4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate.
In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year. Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to the personnel bureau.
1. The underlined word “recruit” in the first paragraph probably means______.
A.employ | B.force | C.encourage | D.train |
A.once you are hired as a junior official, you can get an endlessly rising salary |
B.the government guarantee a gradually high salary for the successful candidates |
C.working as junior officials is easy but very meaningful |
D.the competition for the job as junior officials is very fierce |
A.the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful |
B.local farmers can get big harvests if they learn more knowledge |
C.university graduates can also realize their value in rural areas |
D.Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers planting organic strawberries |
A.more and more graduates will work as junior officials |
B.the universities should not have so many students |
C.there are more and more graduates in recent years |
D.it is not easy for graduates to find jobs nowadays |
A.What is the best career? |
B.Graduates go to the countryside. |
C.Job hunting for university graduates. |
D.A good choice for university graduates. |
4 . Summer school is something a kid will never forget. For some, it’s a way to advance past their classmates. For most, summer school is a requirement in order to graduate with their classmates. I can remember being forced into taking a summer school course. It was not the school that forced me into this awkward situation; it was my mother.
I was a 16-year-old kid in a new school. My school did not offer summer courses so I had to take my course at an alternative school in the city. It was an experience I will never forget. I was not concerned with making friends. I was there to get credit (学分) for a course that I should have received credit for the previous semester. It was my doing that landed me in the situation and it was important that I understood this.
The fees were lowest but the experience was amazing. I enjoyed. I didn’t miss the day. The course was from Monday to Friday for an entire month. I passed the course with an A. I was thrown into an awkward situation and actually enjoyed it. My friends didn’t even know I took the course. Most of them were still sleeping by the time my course ended each day.
Awkward situations are so important for personal growth. This situation made me feel more independent. I made friends. I finally understood what sacrifice and hard work were all about. While attending college, I remembered how much I enjoyed summer school and I chose to take summer school in my first three years of college. Some kids get pushed too much but some don’t get pushed enough. I was never pushed enough.
Enable your children to struggle for success. If your child needs summer school you explain to them why it’s important. Some parents are surprised by the situation and may want to be more involved in their children’s education. Follow through and follow up.
1. Most students go to the summer school in order to ______.A.find good jobs after graduation | B.become top students in their class |
C.have a chance to make more friends | D.graduate successfully on time |
A.What he had done. | B.His mother’s wish. |
C.His own requirement. | D.Study competition. |
A.It helped him get rid of bad habits. |
B.It helped him make new friends. |
C.It helped him understand what sacrifice and hard work were. |
D.It increased his independence. |
A.does not like summer school at all even though it is useful |
B.thinks summer school is unnecessary for children |
C.encourages parents to make their children attend summer school |
D.is against forcing children to attend summer school |
A.He thinks it is awkward. | B.He thinks it is significant. |
C.He doesn’t think it is suitable. | D.He thinks nothing of it. |
5 . If you have to miss a meal a day, which meal will cause you fewest health problems if you don’t eat it? If you have to make a decision of this type, most people (especially very busy people) will choose to skip breakfast.
However, many experts in the field of health consider breakfast (the meal which “break” you “fast”) 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 stay hopeful with good honor. However, many people skip breakfast or substitute a cup of coffee for a well balanced meal. What happens if we don’t pay attention to the importance of breakfast?
One recent study conducted in the United States tested a large number of people. Participants included both males and females in ages from 12 to 83. The results showed that if a person eats an good breakfast, he or she will work more efficiently and more productively than if he or she skips breakfast or eats a very poor breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person’s work involves mental activities. The study showed that if school-children 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 is poor.
The study also showed that 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 want to lose weight, skipping breakfast will not help you. You will likely lose more weight if you decrease your other meals.
1. According to experts, breakfast is the most important meal of the day because __________.A.a good breakfast breaks you down fast | B.you’ll lose weight quickly if you skip breakfast |
C.breakfast provides what a person needs to work | D.after a long night, you’ll feel very hungry |
A.to exchange a cup of coffee for a well-balanced meal. |
B.To drink a cup of coffee instead of a well-balanced meal. |
C.To change a cup of coffee into a well-balanced meal. |
D.To regard a cup of coffee as a well-balanced meal. |
A.school-children will be quick and attentive all day if they eat breakfast |
B.a proper breakfast will make mental workers more efficient |
C.fruit, eggs, bread and milk are the best breakfast for mental workers |
D.school-children who have breakfast are much brighter than those who don’t |
A.Some people skip breakfast because they want to be slimmer. |
B.Most people who skip breakfast actually eat more for lunch. |
C.People put on weight because they eat too much breakfast. |
D.Skipping breakfast won’t help people who want to lose weight. |
A.How to Lose Weight | B.What’s a Healthy Diet |
C.Surprising Results of a Study | D.Breakfast—A Meal That Breaks You Fast |
6 . Soon it would be the holidays, but before that, there were year exams. All the
As she was falling asleep, Jane was afraid that she might oversleep. Her
A.teachers | B.students | C.classmates | D.schools |
A.prepare | B.miss | C.join | D.pass |
A.succeeded | B.failed | C.ended | D.called |
A.but | B.so | C.and | D.because |
A.excited | B.frightened | C.worried | D.pleased |
A.early | B.late | C.heavily | D.eagerly |
A.insisted | B.hoped | C.ordered | D.wished |
A.sleeping | B.resting | C.exciting | D.breathing |
A.him | B.her | C.them | D.herself |
A.hand | B.eye | C.mind | D.body |
A.her sister | B.her parents | C.the lessons | D.the medicine |
A.result | B.marks | C.desk | D.paper |
A.The teacher | B.The students | C.No one | D.Everyone |
A.If | B.Though | C.So | D.How |
A.with | B.about | C.on | D.to |
A.watch | B.textbook | C.sister | D.subject |
A.gave up | B.put off | C.look around | D.think over |
A.examining | B.leaving | C.copying | D.crying |
A.raised | B.woke | C.stood | D.cheered |
A.nice | B.wonderful | C.terrible | D.special |
Mark was one with the latter. Restricted to a
His classmates
When the day came, Mike, Andy and Lucas
The final event of the day was the 400 meter race.
When Mike, Andy and Lucas reached the finish line, they
Mike, Andy and Lucas looked at each other, and a silent
The progress was
Years later, I’m still cheering them on.1.
A.partners | B.friends | C.students | D.classmates |
A.bed | B.machine | C.wheelchair | D.desk |
A.So | B.However | C.Otherwise | D.Therefore |
A.protected | B.satisfied | C.respected | D.loved |
A.sports | B.practice | C.studies | D.expression |
A.interests | B.body | C.habits | D.mind |
A.wonder | B.trust | C.stress | D.reset |
A.trained | B.played | C.operated | D.prepared |
A.bringing | B.holding | C.cheering | D.moving |
A.Someone | B.Nobody | C.Anybody | D.Everyone |
A.entire | B.different | C.average | D.equal |
A.fell | B.paused | C.rushed | D.rested |
A.center | B.front | C.end | D.top |
A.left | B.ignored | C.passed | D.helped |
A.continue | B.jog | C.walk | D.cover |
A.demand | B.thought | C.action | D.relief |
A.back | B.along | C.again | D.on |
A.while | B.although | C.since | D.as |
A.boring | B.great | C.slow | D.relaxing |
A.leaves | B.finds | C.keeps | D.makes |
That’s because job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much as job turnover data. After all, existing jobs open up every day due to promotions, resignations, terminations, and retirements. (Yes, people are retiring even in this economy.) In both good times and bad, turnover creates more openings than economic growth does. Even in June of 2007, when the economy was still humming along, job growth was only 132,000, while turnover was 4.7 million!
And as it turns out, even today — with job growth near zero — over 4 million job hunters are being hired every month.
I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job. It’s true that if total employment were higher, it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from (and compete for). And it’s true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening, regardless of whether it’s a new one or not.
But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated. They’re willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills; be creative about where and how to look; learn how to present themselves to potential employers; and keep going, even after repeated rejections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.
So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up. Four million people get hired every month in the U.S. You can be one of them.
1. The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate ______?
A.deprives many people of job opportunities. |
B.prevents many people from changing careers. |
C.should not stop people from looking for a job. |
D.does not mean the U.S. economy is worsening. |
A.Job growth |
B.Job turnover |
C.Improved economy |
D.Business expansion |
A.It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers. |
B.It increases people’s confidence in the economy. |
C.It gives a ray of hope to the unemployed. |
D.It doesn’t mean greater job security for the employed. |
A.Education |
B.Intelligence |
C.Persistence |
D.Experience |
A.They clearly indicate how healthy the economy is. |
B.They provide the public with the latest information. |
C.They warn of the structural problems in the economy. |
D.They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job. |
The field of medicine has not traditionally distinguished between someone who is merely “not ill” and someone who is in excellent health and pays attention to the body’s special needs. Both types have simply been called “well”. In recent years, however, some health specialists have begun to apply the terms “well” and “wellness” only to those who are actively striving to maintain and improve their health. People who are well are concerned with nutrition and exercise, and they make a point of monitoring their body’s condition. Most important, perhaps, people who are well take active responsibility for all matters related to their health. Even people who have a physical disease or handicap (缺陷) may be “well” in this new sense, if they make an effort to maintain the best possible health they can in the face of their physical limitations. “Wellness” may perhaps best be viewed not as a state that people can achieve, but as an ideal that people can strive for. People who are well are likely to be better able to resist disease and to fight disease when it strikes. And by focusing attention on healthy ways of living, the concept of wellness can have a beneficial impact on the ways in which people face the challenges of daily life.
1. Today medical care is placing more stress on ________.
A.keeping people in a healthy physical condition |
B.monitoring patients’ body functions |
C.removing people’s bad living habits |
D.ensuring people’s psychological well-being |
A.good health is more than not being ill |
B.drinking, even if not to excess, could be harmful |
C.regular health checks are essential to keeping fit |
D.prevention is more difficult than cure |
A.does not have any unhealthy living habits |
B.does not have any physical handicaps |
C.is able to handle his daily routines |
D.is free from any kind of disease |
A.to best satisfy their body’s special needs |
B.to strive to maintain the best possible health |
C.to meet the strictest standards of bodily health |
D.to keep a proper balance between work and leisure |
A.People who have strong muscles as well as slim figures. |
B.People who are not presently experiencing any symptoms of disease. |
C.People who try to be as possible, regardless of their limitations. |
D.People who can recover from illness even without seeking medical care. |
The butcher looked carefully and was surprised to find that there was really a ten-dollar note there. So he took the money and put the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog’s mouth. The butcher was so impressed, and since it was about closing time, he decided to shut up shop and follow the dog.
So off he went. He followed the dog to a bus stop. The dog stopped and started looking at the timetable. The dog checked out the time, and then sat on one of the seats provided. Along came a bus. The dog walked around to the front, looked at the number, and went back to its seat. Another bus came. Again the dog went around to the front, looked at the number and climbed on. The butcher, by now, open-mouthed, followed it onto the bus.
The bus traveled through the town and out into the suburbs. Eventually the dog got up, and moved to the front of the bus. It stood on two back paws and pushed the button to stop the bus. Then it got off with groceries still in its mouth.
Well, the dog and the butcher were walking along the road, and then the dog turned into a house. It walked up the path, and dropped the groceries on the step. Then it walked back down the path, took a big run, and threw itself against the door. Then again, it threw himself against it. There’s no answer at the house. so the dog waited at the door.
The butcher watched as a big guy opened the door, and started shouting at it. The butcher ran up, and stopped the guy. “Why do you shout at the dog? It is really a genius.” The guy responded, “You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog’s forgotten its key.”
1. Which may be the best title of the passage?
A.A clever dog. | B.A curious butcher. |
C.A cruel owner. | D.A second lost key. |
A.Because there was a note in the dog’s mouth. |
B.Because a dog was not supposed to come into his shop alone. |
C.Because the dog was not afraid of being butchered. |
D.Because the dog could read. |
A.dogs are cleverer than man |
B.dogs are our best friend |
C.the butcher is a cruel person |
D.some people are never satisfied with what they have got |
A.it wanted to force the door open |
B.it wanted its owner to open the door |
C.it wanted to punish itself for forgetting the key |
D.it wanted to get the butcher’s help |
A.The butcher was curious so he followed the dog. |
B.The dog didn’t get on the first bus because it was the wrong number. |
C.To get off the bus, you should let the driver know by pressing the button. |
D.The dog would be driven away by the big guy. |