题目内容
Getting paid to talk about the World Cup is a great job. I’m not a football commentator(评论员), though-just an English teacher in Japan.
I come to Japan two years ago, and didn’t think I would stay, but Japan has that effect on you. People often end up living here longer than they planned. I think it’s best to teach in a bigger city where there are other foreigners to mix with, rather than a small town where English teachers often complain of feeling like a goldfish in a bowl. Many people choose to live in Tokyo, of course, which is good for the nightlife factor. But I’d say that for general quality of living, cities of neither too large nor too small, like Sapporo where I live, are better choices.
I teach English privately, which means I’m my own boss. If you want to devote yourself to private teaching, it’s well worth doing a TEFL course first, because your lessons will be much better for it. The problem with private teaching is finding students; it took me a year to build up a full schedule(日程表) of private lessons, so I started out teaching in schools part-time.
Most of my foreign friends here work full-time for big English conversation schools. The salary is fine to live on, but whether you can save money depends on how much going out and traveling you do here.
The schools are unwilling to take time off –even teachers with tickets for the England-Argentina game had trouble getting the day off.
【小题1】 From the passage we know in Japan the writer likes to live in ________.
A.Tokyo | B.a small town |
C.a city of middle size | D.a big city |
A.give a TEFL course | B.decide his or her own lessons |
C.find students | D.build up a full schedule |
A.there are many foreigners in Japan |
B.Japan is good for nightlife |
C.they can teach English privately in Japan |
D.Japan has something more attractive than expected |
A.the writer travelled a lot and saved much money in Japan. |
B.the writer teaches English in more than one school as a part-time job. |
C.the writer enjoys watching football games |
D.the writer spent one year in finding students for his private teaching. |
【小题1】C
【小题2】A
【小题3】D
【小题4】B
解析试题分析:文章介绍作者在日本做英语老师的经历。
【小题1】细节理解题。由第二段But I’d say that for general quali~of living,cities of neither too large nor too small,like Sa- pporo where I live,are better choices.可知本题应选C。
【小题2】细节理解题。由第三段第二句话可知答案为A。
【小题3】句子理解推理题。句子意为:“人们实际居住的时间比计划的时间要长。”由此可推理得知句子含义是日本比预料的有更多的吸引人的东西。选D。
【小题4】推理题:从第三段的句子:The problem with private teaching is finding students; it took me a year to build up a full schedule(日程表) of private lessons, so I started out teaching in schools part-time.可知作者在不止一个学校做兼职工作。选B。
考点:考查故事类短文
点评:这篇阅读理解集中考查了细节理解题,要求考生仔细阅读全文,做好相应的标志,以提高阅读的效率和速度,做题时要审清题干,发觉和把握试题中有效的提示性信息,确认命题的角度、阅读范围和答题方式。
My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(几率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:
In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them.
【小题1】It can be learned from the article that ________.
A.the Mega Millions jackpot is the last lottery to win in the world |
B.a judge in that country can’t talk about lottery because it is illegal |
C.the writer doesn’t buy lottery, for he never hopes to become rich |
D.In spite of little possibility, a lot of people spend money on lottery |
A.show chances that those things take place are fewer |
B.support the writer’s arguments on the lottery tickets |
C.indicate no one can win the Mega Millions jackpot |
D.say shark attack death will seldom happen this year |
A.If one has mathematical odds, he can win the prize more easily. |
B.Only those who have irrationality buy hundreds of lottery tickets. |
C.The Mega Millions jackpot is very popular in the writer’s country. |
D.Winning lottery is a shortcut to achieve the dream of being rich. |
A.effective | B.ridiculous | C.contradictory | D.astonishing |
A.The Popular Mega Millions Jackpot | B.Lottery is Merely a Trick |
C.Mega Million is Like a Shark Attack | D.Be rich, Buy Lottery Soon |