1 . Computer programmer David Jones earned ￡35,000 a year designing new computer games,yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a check card.Instead,he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18.
He works for a small firm in Liverpool,where most young people of his age are finding jobs.David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money.Though he has high payment,he cannot drive a car,or get credit cards(信用卡).
David got his job four months ago,a year after leaving school with six O-levels(普通成绩) and working for a time in a computer shop.“I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,”he said.
“I suppose ￡35,000 sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year.”He spends some of his money on records and clothes,and gives his mother ￡20 a week as he lives with his parents.But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately,computing was not part of our studies at school,”he said.“But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time.I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school.Most people in this business are fairly young,anyway.I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement(退休) is a possibility.You never know when the market might disappear.”
1. Why is David so different from other young people of his age?| A．He earns an extremely high payment. | B．He has got a job. |
| C．He lives at home with his parents. | D．He does not go out much. |
| A．he can’t be treated as an adult |
| B．he doesn’t make as many games as he wishes |
| C．he doesn’t know what to buy with the money |
| D．he is too young to drive a car |
| A．he had worked in a computer shop |
| B．he had written some computer programs |
| C．he is clever and works hard at his lessons |
| D．he had learnt to use computers at school |
| A．he was afraid of getting too old to start computing |
| B．he did not enjoy school |
| C．he wanted to work with computers |
| D．he wanted to earn a lot of money |
| A．He thinks computer games might not always sell so well. |
| B．He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire. |
| C．One has to be young to write computer programs. |
| D．He thinks his firm might close down. |
2 . It was already dark when an old man came to a small town.He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night.After he had gone to his room,the owner said to his wife,“Look at his bag,dear.I’m sure there are lots of valuable things in it.I want to steal it when he is asleep.”
“No,no,” said the woman.“He must look for his bag tomorrow morning.Then he’ll take you before the judge.”They thought and at last the woman had an idea.“We have forgetful grass,” said the woman,“Why not put some into his food?If he has the food,he will forget to take his bag away.”“How clever you are!” said the owner,“Don’t forget it when you prepare supper for him.”
The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed.The next morning,when the owner got up,he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag.He woke his wife up and said angrily,“What a fool!Your forgetful grass isn’t useful at all.”
“No,no,” said the woman.“I don’t think so.He must forget something.”
“Oh,I’ve remembered!”The owner cried out suddenly,“He forgot...”
1. The old man came to the inn .| A．in the morning | B．in the afternoon |
| C．in the evening | D．at night |
| A．get the man’s bag | B．steal the man’s money |
| C．make the man pay them more | D．hide the man’s bag |
| A．the old man always forgot something |
| B．they wanted to make the food better |
| C．they hoped the old man would leave the bag in the inn |
| D．they wanted to know if the grass was useful |
| A．to take his bag away | B．to tell the owner when he left |
| C．to close the door when he went to sleep | D．to pay them the inn money |
| A．Both the owner and his wife were clever. |
| B．The owner of the inn got nothing from the old man. |
| C．The old man left the inn without his bag. |
| D．The woman forgot to put the forgetful grass into the food. |
3 . That the Leaning Tower of Pisa no longer leans quite so much after a ￡20 million project to save it has proved to be a great success.The tower,which was on the edge of collapse,has been straightened by 18 inches,returning it to its 1838 position.
“It has straightened a little bit more than we expected,but very little helps,”said Prof.John Burland,the only British member of the rescue committee.“The tower is still very slightly moving towards being upright.”
The tower,which has been leaning almost since building work first began in 1173,was closed to the public in 1990 because of safety fears.The 183-foot tower was nearly 15 feet off vertical and its structure was found to have been weakened by centuries of strain(作用力).
Prof.Burland said it could have collapsed “at any moment”.However,it took nine years of quarrelling before any work was done.The last attempt at straightening the tower was carried out.Concrete(混凝土) was poured into the foundations,but the result was that the tower sank further into the soil.
The straightening work involved digging out around 70 tonnes of earth from the northern side of the tower,causing it to sink on that side.Before the digging started,the tower was fixed with steel ropes and 600 tonnes of lead weights.
However,halfway through the project,concerns at the ugliness of the lead weights led to their removal and the tower leaned greatly.The weights were hurriedly reattached.One night,the tower moved more than it had averaged in an entire year.The tower’s stonework has also been restored.
The Italian government stepped in after a tower collapsed in Pavia in 1989,killing four people.Experts suddenly realized that the tower at Pisa,which was similarly built and on the same sort of earth,could do the same.
1. What would be the best title for the passage?| A．The Building of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| B．Saving the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| C．The Collapse of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| D．The History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| A．closed for the straightening work in 1990 |
| B．began to lean more than 800 years ago |
| C．has a history of more than 1,000 years |
| D．has become vertical |
| A．The development of new technology. | B．The advice of Prof.John Burland. |
| C．The expectation of the rescue committee. | D．The collapse of a tower in Pavia. |
| A．The lead weights fixed to the tower. |
| B．Restoring the stonework. |
| C．Pouring concrete into the foundations. |
| D．Digging earth from the southern side of the tower. |
| A．The position of the tower has been restored to what it was 182 years ago. |
| B．Hundreds of years of strain has weakened the tower’s structure. |
| C．The tower doesn’t lean any more after the straightening work finished. |
| D．People spent nine years in discussing about the straightening work. |
4 . A thief who dropped a winning lottery ticket at the scene of his crime has been given a lesson in honesty.His victim,who picked up the ticket and then claimed the $25,000 prize,managed to trace him,and handed over the cash.The robbery happened when maths professor Vinicio Sabbatucci,58,was changing a tire on an Italian motorway.Another motorist,who stopped “to help”,stole a suitcase from his car and drove off.The professor found the dropped ticket and put it in his pocket before driving home to Ascoli in eastern Italy.
Next day,he saw the lottery results on TV and,taking out the ticket,realized it was a winner.He claimed the 60 million lire(里拉) prize.Then he began a battle with his conscience.Finally,he decided he could not keep the money despite having been robbed.He advertised in newspapers and on the radio,saying,“I’m trying to find the man who robbed me.I have 60 million lire for him—a lottery win.Please meet me.Anonymity(匿名) guaranteed.”
Professor Sabbatucci received hundreds of calls from people hoping to trick him into handing them the cash.But there was one voice he recognized and he arranged to meet the man in a park.The robber,a 35-year-old unemployed father of two,gave back the suitcase and burst into tears.He could not believe what was happening.“Why didn’t you keep the money?”he asked.The professor replied,“I couldn’t because it’s not mine.”Then he walked off,spurning the thief’s offer of a reward.
1. The underlined sentence “Then he began a battle with his conscience.” in Paragraph 2 implies all of the following except that .| A．he knew what he should do as soon as he saw the lottery results |
| B．he hesitated about keeping the money for sometime |
| C．he thought for a moment of avenging himself on the robber |
| D．he came to realize that honesty is more important than money |
| A．wanted to make fun of him | B．hoped to get the money |
| C．knew who the robber was | D．lost the lottery ticket |
| A．Excited. | B．Frightened. |
| C．Ashamed. | D．Incredible. |
| A．accepting | B．claiming |
| C．rejecting | D．cancelling |
| A．A Thief’s Lucky Day | B．A Popular Maths Professor |
| C．A Magic Lottery | D．A Reward of Honesty |
5 . I’ve spent over a year in India,and in those 365 plus days,I’ve learned a lot about getting around Indian cities.My biggest lessons have been learned through being cheated,particularly by taxi and rickshaw(人力车) drivers,but that doesn’t mean those are bad ways to travel,as long as you know what you’re doing.Below are the best ways to get around the city of Delhi,India,and tips for how to keep from being the victim of scams(欺诈).
Taking taxis is a great way to get around the city of Delhi and chances are,if you arrive in Delhi by plane,as soon as you make it through customs,you’ll be swarmed by Indian taxi drivers.At the Delhi airport,be sure to arrange for a taxi to your hotel at one of the two Delhi Traffic Police Taxi Booths.One is inside the airport,and the other is outside.The key is to make sure to go to a booth run by the police,rather than by independent taxi drivers.
Rickshaws are one of my favourite ways to get around Indian cities,in part because it’s how the locals often travel.Auto-rickshaws are more common,but bicycle rickshaws are still used in Old Delhi.If you do have a chance to take a bicycle rickshaw,you should do it at least once for a unique experience that should only set you back about 15 rupees.Auto-rickshaw rates around Delhi range between 30 and 80 rupees,depending on the distance.
If you really want to travel around Delhi like the locals,take a public bus.Indian buses become very crowded and most do not have air conditioning.They are,however,very cheap.A bus trip won’t set you back any more than 15 rupees,as long as you stay within the city limits.Since Indian buses get so crowded,try to board the bus at the start of the route so you can get a seat.
The train is a great way to get around within the city of Delhi.Fares are reasonable,between 6 and 22 rupees.All departure announcements are in both Hindi and English,and tokens can be purchased for between 6 and 22 rupees.
1. The author is trying to in Delhi through this text.| A．give some advice of travelling | B．expect us to travel around |
| C．show his/her experiences | D．explain the difficulties of travelling |
| A．pay more to the drivers to keep safe | B．show your ticket to the driver |
| C．go to a police-run booth | D．go out of the airport |
| A．save some money | B．enjoy the comfortable trip |
| C．gain a unique experience | D．help the local rickshaw drivers |
| A．You won’t have to pay much if you travel around by bus in India. |
| B．It will be difficult for you to get a seat if you get on the bus halfway. |
| C．A rickshaw driver only charges whatever amount you give him. |
| D．You’ll have to speak English if you travel around in India. |
| A．Hotel recommendations in Delhi | B．Weather conditions in Delhi |
| C．Food and drink in Delhi | D．Car rentals in Delhi |
