1 . Computer programmer David Jones earns $35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank ready to let him have a credit card. Instead he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18. The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David’s firm releases two new games for the fast growing computer market each month.
But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot, he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage, or get credit cards. David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels 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. David spends some of his money on records and clothes and gives his mother 50 pounds a week. 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” David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”
1. In what way is David different from people of his age?| A．He often goes out with friends. | B．He graduated with six O-levels. |
| C．He lives with his mother. | D．He has a handsome income. |
| A．He will soon lose his job. | B．He is too young to get a credit card. |
| C．He has no time to learn driving. | D．He has very little spare time. |
| A．He was good at playing computer games. |
| B．He had done well in all her exams. |
| C．He had learnt to use computers at school. |
| D．He had written some computer programs. |
| A．He lost interest in school studies. | B．He received lots of job offers. |
| C．He wanted to earn his own living. | D．He was eager to help his mother. |
2 . Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou helped by ancient Chinese remedy
Tu Youyou, in China, is being called the ”three noes“ winner: no medical degree, no doctorate (博士头衔), and she’s never worked overseas. However, it was she that was the first female Chinese scientist who had won the Nobel Prize. When it comes to her work, she is totally devoted.
In 1967, malaria (疟疾) spread by mosquitoes was killing Chinese soldiers fighting Americans in the jungles of northern Vietnam. A secret research unit was formed to find a cure for the illness and Tu was instructed to become the new head of Mission 523. She went to the southern Chinese island of Hainan to study how malaria threatened human health. For six months, she stayed there, leaving her four-year-old daughter at a local nursery. Her husband had been sent away to work at the countryside at the height of China’s Cultural Revolution, a time of extreme political disorder.
Despite much failure, finally, she with her team members found a brief reference to one substance, sweet wormwood (in Chinese Qinhao), which had been used to treat malaria in China around 400 AD.
The team tested the drug but they didn’t succeed until Tu Youyou returned to the original ancient text. After another careful reading, she heated the extract without allowing it to reach boiling point.
Without any hesitation, Tu Youyou volunteered to be the first human recipient of the new drug.“As the head of the research group, I had the responsibility,” she explained to the Chinese media. Tu Youyou is typically described in China as a “modest”woman. Her work was published anonymously (匿名地) in 1977, and for decades she received little recognition for her research.
In any case, Tu Youyou is consistently praised for her drive and passion. One former colleague says Ms Tu is “unsociable and quite straightforward”, adding that “if she disagrees with something, she will say it”.
Another colleague who has worked with Tu Youyou for more than 40 years, describes her as a “tough and stubborn woman”.
She is actually stubborn enough to spend decades piecing together ancient texts and apply them to modern scientific practices. The result has saved millions of lives.
1. The “three noes” in the first paragraph refers to the fact that __________.| A．Tu Youyou has no noble family background |
| B．Tu Youyou has no good interpersonal relationship |
| C．Tu Youyou has no top recognition in science |
| D．Tu Youyou has no overseas working experience |
| A．She was instructed to be the head of Mission 523. |
| B．She got the chance to study how malaria threatened human health. |
| C．She had to leave her four-year-old daughter at a local nursery. |
| D．She could go to work with her husband at the countryside. |
| A．they had not read the ancient books carefully |
| B．they had not followed Tu’s suggestions |
| C．they had lacked sufficient economic support |
| D．they had heated the extract to the boiling point |
| A．To be warmhearted enough to help her colleagues at work |
| B．To work hard whenever she come across any difficulty |
| C．To be devoted to her career and full of passion |
| D．To be stubborn enough to spend decades researching |
