“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you can carry on, one day something good will happen.”

After graduating from college in 1932, I decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer(播音员). I took the bus to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station. But I was refused every time. In one studio, a nice lady told me that big stations didn’t want to accept inexperienced persons. “Go to the countryside and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,” she said.

I returned home, Dixon in Illinois. While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Smith Ward had opened a store and wanted a local sportsman to manage its sports department. Since I had played high school football in Dixon, I applied(申请). The job sounded just right for me. But I still failed in the interview. At that moment, mom’s words came to my mind: “Everything happens for the best.” Dad offered me a car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport in Iowa. The program director, named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.

As I left his office, I felt sad. I asked aloud, “How can a man become a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?”

I was waiting for the lift when I heard MacArthur calling, “What did you say about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he made me stand before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game. As a result, I did a wonderful job and was told to broadcast Saturday’s game!

On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words again: “Everything happens for the best if you carry on. One day something good will happen.”

1.After the writer graduated from college, he tried to look for a job in at first.

A. Chicago B. Dixon

C. Davenport D. Illinois

2.The writer couldn’t find a job in Dixon because .

A. he had played high school football

B. he did not pass the interview

C. he had no working experience

D. he had no interest in the job

3.Which sentence below is TRUE?

A. In all, the writer went to three cities to look for the job.

B. The writer took the train to different places to look for the job.

C. The writer gave up finally when he was refused again and again.

D. MacArthur gave the writer a chance to broadcast Saturday’s game directly.

4.The passage mainly tells us that .

A. it is hard to find a job

B. mother’s help is necessary

C. we should hope for the best

D. life is full of disappointment

Lu Xun is one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century. Besides his famous stories, he also wrote many influential articles about the living conditions of Chinese people.

Born in 1881 to a wealthy family, Lu Xun had a happy childhood. In 1893, however, his grandfather, a senior government official, was put into prison for taking money. At the same time, his father became seriously ill. From that time on, his family was no longer accepted by their relatives and friends. These early experiences greatly influenced his writing.

By the time Lu Xun arrived in Nanjing to study at university in 1899, he already believed that Chinese society had to change and become modern. In 1902 he went to study in Japan. There he began writing articles for several Chinese student magazines. He showed a gift for writing and translating and he even wrote several books, although none was popular. He returned to China in 1909 because he was in need of money.

After working for several years as a teacher in Beijing, Lu Xun again returned to writing. In 1918, he wrote his famous short story Diary of a Madman. It was the first Chinese novel published using the everyday language that people spoke, which helped make it a great success. This, together with his novel The True Story of Ah Q(1921), made Lu Xun a leading Chinese writer.

Although successful, Lu Xun still worried greatly about China’s future. In 1927, he moved to Shanghai and gave up writing stories in order to devote himself to what he called “pen warfare”. He only wrote articles which called on the people to fight against the government. For this, the government stopped him from publishing any more books. He was forced to write his articles using false names.

Since his death in 1936, Lu Xun’s importance and influence have grown. Today, many of his writings are included in school textbooks and his works are read by millions of people around the world.

1.Which of the following greatly influenced Lu Xun’s writing according to the passage?

A. The people he met in Japan.

B. The experiences in his early life.

C. Working as a teacher in Beijing.

D. His father’s being put into prison.

2.According to the passage why was Lu Xun’s story Diary of a Madman so popular?

A. It was based on Lu Xun’s diary.

B. It was the first novel to use everyday language.

C. Its story took place in modern times.

D. It was written using a western style.

3.The underlined word “This” (Paragraph 4) refers to ____.

A. the success of Diary of a Madman

B. the use of everyday language

C. the first Chinese novel

D. The True Story of Ah Q

4.After moving to Shanghai, Lu Xun mainly wrote ____.

A. funny stories

B. articles about himself

C. articles against the government

D. stories about government officials

In some science fiction movies, evil robots refuse to die, no matter how hard people fight back.

Now science fiction has become science fact. For the first time, scientists have made a robot that can take a beating (挨打) and keep on going. Scientists from Cornell University made the robot, which looks like a spider with four legs.

Until now, even the most advanced (先进的) robot was almost certain to break down when it was damaged. That is because its computer inside simply doesn’t know how to make the machine work after its shape has changed.

To deal with this problem, the scientists put eight motors (发动机) and two sensors (传感器) that read how the machine is working. They all give signals to the machine’s software. Using this information, the computer can then figure out the machine’s shape at any moment.

The new technology is a big advance in robot-making, scientists say, and it’s far from scary. It may someday help scientists create better artificial (假的) arms and legs and give new freedom to people who lose them. It might also help scientists understand how people and animals figure out their own sense of place in space.

“It has been difficult to design robots that can work well when the environment changes or when it’s damaged,” says Olaf Sporns of Indiana University in US. “With this work, we are nearer to solving this problem.”

1.Why do robots easily break down when they are damaged?

A. They cannot repair themselves.

B. The computer has changed a lot.

C. They have no computers inside.

D. The computer cannot work if the robot changes.

2.The new technology allows the robot to _________.

A. do house work for humans

B. keep working after being damaged

C. remember a lot of information

D. tell people where it is

3.The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 5 refers to ________.

A. sensors

B. robots

C. arms and legs

D. scientists

4.How do the sensors in the robot work?

A. They can replace the computer when it’s broken.

B. They can find out where the damage comes from.

C. They help the computer learn the robot’s condition.

D. They can send signals to the person who uses the robot.

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