?

Forever Young?

  It's Girls Night Out:Mom Edition, and I'm a player in a whole new game. It occurs to me that I really don't know these 36 women. We've been circling 37  for about three years, ever since our kids started 38 .We'd bump into each other in the parking 39 ,at Valentine's Day parties, and later as one or the other shyly 40 we all sign our kids up for softball, gymnastics or dance. Who knows 41 the five of us clumped together more than 42 of us clumped with other mothers. I suppose it happens 43 ,friendship circles spiraling in and around and about and anew.?

This is the 44 time we've gathered without the kids, and I am having a 45 time saying “Janice”, as opposed to “Zoe's mom” or “Susan”, 46  “Kaitlin's mom”, and so I have decided, for tonight, not to 47 any names at all.?

The 48 has already taken our drink order. I can't believe nobody 49 beer.Nope, this is a Diet Coke and iced tea crowd. In the back of my mind I'm 50 if I'm going to be the naughty 51 who corrupts this group.?

There is so much 52 to take care of when you are just getting to 53 people as people. One of the things we are doing is 54 dates, the years that each of us 55 from this or that. I see where this is going.?

36. A. five      B. three   C. Four   D. two?

37. A. each other    B. one another       C. all of us     D. some of us?

38. A. primary school    B. university   C. high school D. preschool?

39. A. lot       B. Station       C. line     D. square?

40. A. said      B. suggested   C. informed    D. found?

41.A. what     B. that     C. how    D. why?

42. A. some    B. none   C. any     D. all?

43. A. all the time  B. all of a sudden   C. at the same time D. once and for all?

44. A. last      B. first    C. Usual  D. only?

45. A. spare    B. good   C. difficult     D. pleasant?

46. A. instead of    B. as well as   C. in case of   D. in the name of?

47. A. call      B. use     C. forget D. tell?

48. A. kid              B. mother       C. Friend D. waitress?

49. A. brought       B. liked   C. ordered      D. drank?

50. A. wondering   B. fearing       C. Speaking    D. asking?

51. A. girl      B. mother       C. One    D. kid?

52. A. trouble B. business     C. time    D. food?

53. A. regard  B. name  C. Find   D. know?

54. A. comparing   B. making      C. Deciding    D. discussing?

55. A. came    B. changed     C. graduated   D. got??

It was a beautiful day at the beach—blue sky, gentle wind, calm sea.I knew these things because a man sitting five feet from me was shouting them into his mobile phone, like a play-by-play announcer (实况解说员).

“IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY,” he shouted.“THE SKY IS BLUE, AND THERE’S A GENTLE WIND, AND THE WATER IS CALM, AND…”

Behind me, a woman, her mobile phone pressed to her ear was walking back and forth.

“She DIDN’T,” she was saying.“No.She DIDN’T.She DID? Really? Are you SERIOUS? She did NOT.She DID? No she…”

And so on.This woman had two children, who were playing in the sea.I found myself watching them, because the woman surely was not.A huge squid could have caught and snatched the children, and this woman would not have noticed.Or, if she had noticed, she’d have said, “Listen.I have to go, because a huge squid just……No! She didn’t ! She DID? No! She……”

And next to me, the play-by-play man would have said: “…AND A HUGE SQUID JUST ATE TWO CHILDREN, AND I’M GETTING A LITTLE SUNBURNED, AND …”

It used to be that the major trouble at the beach was the fellow who brought a boom box (便携式录音机) and turned it up so loud that the bass notes caused seagulls to explode.But at least you knew where these fellows were; you never know which beachgoers have mobile phones.You’ll settle next to what appears to be a sleeping sunbather, or even (you hope) a corpse , and you’ll lie happily on your towel, and you’ll get all the way to the second sentence of your 467-page book before you fall asleep to the hypnotic surge of the surf (催人入梦的潮声), and …

BREEP! BREEP! The corpse sits up, feels urgently for its mobile phone, and shouts “Hello! I’m at the beach! Yes! It’s nice! Very peaceful! What? She did? No, she didn’t! She DID? No, she…”

Loud mobile-phoners never seem to get urgent calls.Just once, I’d like to hear one of them say, “Hello? Yes, this is Dr.Johnson.Oh, Dr.Smith.You’ve opened the abdominal cavity (腹腔)? Good! Now the appendix should be right under the … What? No, that’s the liver.Don’t take THAT out, ha ha! Oh, you did? My God! OK, now listen carefully…”

From the passage we can know that the writer of the passage _____.

       A.had a wonderful holiday at the beach

       B.must have suffered a lot because of the terrible weather

       C.is only interested in talks by doctors about operation

       D.experienced an unhappy holiday at the beach

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

       A.The writer often spends his holidays at the beach.

       B.A huge squid ate two children while their mother was not watching.

       C.Some people used to play boom box while spending their holidays at the beach.

       D.Some people often make loud mobile phone calls without caring for others.

The underlined word“ corpse”in this passage has the closest meaning to________.

       A.a dead body           B.a loud mobile phone        

       C.a sound sleeper        D.a sleep lover

In the past the fellow who brought a boom box_________.

       A.turned it up to make the seagulls happy

       B.turned it up to cause the seagulls to explode

       C.might cause less trouble than the beachgoers with mobile phones

       D.might cause more trouble than the beachgoers with mobile phones

We can infer from the passage that _______.

     A.the writer is interested in mobile phone.

     B.the writer hates people using mobile phone

     C.the writer hates to be disturbed while enjoying holidays on the beach.

     D.the writer seldom finishes reading a book before going to sleep.

I believe in leaving work at five o’clock. In a nation with such a strict work ethic(道德规范) , this is considered strange. Working only 40 hours a week? I just don’t know many people who punch out (打卡下班) at five o’clock anymore.

My father tried to teach me the importance of hard work, long hours and devotion to a career. But then there are the things he taught me unintentionally, like when he arrived home from work for the last time and crawled up the stairs.

My father, a self-employed sales trainer, was that sick, that tired. His body was wracked with liver cancer, and he suffered the effects of a diabetic ulcer(糖尿病). Despite all this, he insisted on traveling a long way to give a lecture. He probably earned a lot of money that day, but he paid the price. He returned to the hospital soon afterwards and was dead within three months, aged just 58.

It’s been 10 years since I saw my father come home that night and since then, I’ve thought a lot about work. I’ve decided something: I will never crawl up the stairs exhausted. As much as I love my job as a newspaper reporter, I will never work myself into the ground, physically or emotionally. Not taking my work home didn’t come easily to me at first. After all, I am my father’s daughter. In college, I was the girl who sat on the library steps each morning, waiting for the doors to open. I even dreamt about schoolwork.

My dad once told me he was unable to just gaze at a sunset; he had to be doing something as he looked at it—writing, reading, playing chess. You could say he was a success: He was a published author, an accomplished musician, fluent in many languages. That’s an impressive list, but the thing is I want to gaze at sunsets. I don’t want to meet a deadline during them or be writing a column at the same time, or glance at them over the top of a book.

This raises the question: If I leave work at five o’ clock to watch the sunset, what are the consequences? Do I risk not reaching the top of my profession? Maybe, because honestly, knocking off after eight hours probably won’t earn me the best promotion. But hey, leaving work at five o’ clock means I eat dinner with my family. I get to hop on my bike and cycle through the streets of my hometown when there is no traffic.

And I get to take in a lot of sunsets. That’s got to be worth something.

1.Which of the following about the author’s father is true?

A. He set a good example to his daughter.

B. He tried to force his values on his daughter.

C. He gained much pleasure from his work.

D. He achieved great success at the expense of his health.

2.What does the author mean by saying “Not taking my work home did not come easily at first” in Paragraph 4?

A. There was so much work to do.    

B. All her colleagues took work home.

C. She was educated to be a workaholic.

D. She wanted a promotion in her work.

3.What’s the author’s attitude toward promotion?

A. She doesn’t care about it at all.

B. She is eager to get promoted

C. She thinks it’s for the ambitious people

D. Getting promoted at all costs is not worthwhile

4. This text is developed________.

A. by giving examples                         B. by making comparisons

C. by describing process                       D. by order of time

5. What does the writer intend to tell us?

A. To praise his father’s diligence

B. To ask us to take time off work to enjoy life

C. To complain about the strict work ethic

D. To stress the importance of hard work

 

High school graduation is worth celebrating. It marks a big change in the lives of young adults. However, it ought to mean even more. It ought to mean that the graduate is ready for college or career.

In a report issued last year, we found that almost half of recent Illinois high school graduates required remedial courses(补习课) upon enrolling(注册) a community college. These courses require time and money to complete, yet offer no credits toward a degree. Too often, students never get through those remedial courses and end up dropping out of college.

Why is the remediation rate so high? A large part of the reason is that we have not set high enough standards for what our students need to learn from kindergarten to high school. They simply aren’t equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

The same is true for careers. In Illinois, good jobs continue to go vacant(空缺) even while we are trying hard to go through tough economic times. This is due largely to the mismatch between the skills and knowledge we provide our students with and what employers in a modern economy need workers to know.

The good news is that in Illinois we have a plan to help get our students ready for life in the real world. We have already taken an important first step by becoming one of the 45 states to adopt the Common Core State Standards and have begun introducing them to classrooms this year. The new standards provide fewer, clearer and higher benchmarks(标准) for academic progress. They focus on deeper knowledge required at each grade level, give teachers the opportunity to explore topics fully and ensure students can apply what they’ve learned.

Research shows that when expectations are raised, students rise to meet them. Adapting to higher standards and raising expectations may prove challenging, but they are the steps we must take so that our students are successful in high school and prepared for college and careers. Readiness is worth a celebration.

1.According to the passage, in most cases, students taking part in remedial courses ___.

A.come from wealthy families

B.leave college before finishing their courses

C.are offered credits toward a degree

D.are likely to develop their academic interest

2.The author uses the third and fourth paragraphs to __.

A.provide solutions to the rising remediation rate

B.show the present situation of unemployment in Illinois

C.suggest knowledge learned in school be put into practice

D.explain why students aren’t prepared for college and a career

3.Which of the following statements about the Common Core State Standards is TRUE?

A.They were first adopted in Illinois.

B.More benchmarks are required.

C.They benefit teachers as well as students.

D.They ensure students’ success in college.

4.Based on the last paragraph, what is the author’s attitude to raising expectations of students?

A.Supportive                            B.Critical

C.Doubtful                              D.Worried

 

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not.He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work.

After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself.He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote.But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure.This is the shadowland (虚幻世界) of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.

One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year." $ 6,000 was real money in 1960.It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more.Besides, he could write in his spare time.As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses.He had dreamed of being a writer ?full time."Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I'm going to stick it out and write."

After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents.Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far.I'm not sure I ever felt so low."

Finally his work was published in 1970.Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience.The shadows had turned into focus of attention.

Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before.Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents.Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room.It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence (坚毅) it takes to stay the course (持续到底) in the shadowland.

1.Why did Alex give up his job?

A.Because he didn't like the working conditions.

B.Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living.

C.Because he wanted to be a full-time writer.

D.Because he felt he had no potential in his job.

2.What did Alex express when he answered the call?

A.He refused the job offer.

B.He was willing to give them a hand.

C.He expected them to pay him more money.

D.He would write in his spare time.

3.What kind of person is Alex?

A.Determined.

B.Modest.

C.Shy.

D.Brave.

4.Which of the following can summarize the passage best?

A.Look before you leap.

B.Two heads are better, than one.

C.Hold on to your dream, and it will come true.

D.A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网