My first full-time job after high school was selling vacation packages(旅行产品) via the telephone for a well-known company. One day, I was put throughto a man who sounded a bit out of breath. I started with my normal pitch (音高), expecting to hear the normal reply —"I don’t want any."

Instead, he spoke in a faint, weak voice and told me how he wished to take a vacation I was offering, but he couldn’t because he was dying of illness. He explained how he was lacking in oxygen then, and it took almost all his energy to answer the call. He asked if I smoked, which I did, and begged me to stop. He told me smoking was what was killing him. He told me to spend every day with my loved ones, and tell them how much I love them. At this point, I couldn’t control myself. We ended the call, but I held on my phone to prevent another call coming in so I could collect myself.

I wrote down his name and address, and sent him a card appreciating(感谢)his advice and praying for him and his family. Shortly after, I received a letter from Frank, along with a picture of him and his wife. We continued to write back and forth over the next few months, and became very fond of each other. He was old enough to be my grandfather, and in many ways, I felt as if he was.

About a year later I received a letter from his wife. When I started to read, tears came to my eyes. She told me how Frank’s battle with the disease had finally come to an end, and he passed away shortly before the Christmas. She wanted to thank me for the letters to Frank, and explained how Frank touched(感动) many lives over the years. At his funeral, to show just that, they read the 1st letter I had written to Frank to show how he affected a 19-year-old boy he’d never met.

1.The author was then probably working for ______.

A. a travel agency

B. a cigarette company

C. an e-shopping store

D. a vacation school

2.The underlined part "collect myself" in the second paragraph probably means "_______".

A. gather together

B. disappoint myself

C. cheer myself up

D. calm down

3.What can we infer from the text?

A. Frank was in hospital while answering the phone.

B. Frank is actually the author’s grandfather.

C. There was something wrong with Frank’s lung.

D. The author asked Frank to travel and he took his advice.

4.We can learn from the text that the author ________.

A. took down Frank’s name and address to visit him in person

B. was warmly welcomed by her customers when she called them

C. didn’t stop smoking even though Frank asked him to

D. kept in touch with Frank through letters until he died

5.At Frank’s funeral the author’s 1st letter to Frank was read in order to ____.

A. encourage people to fight against disease and live bravely

B. show that Frank touched(触动)many people’s hearts

C. show the good relationship between Frank and the author

D. make the author remember the letter

Researchers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes.“Shoes convey useful information about their wearers,”the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality.

Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style,cost,color and condition of someone's shoes. In the study,63 University of Kansas researchers looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants. Volunteers in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes,and then filled out a personality questionnaire.

Some of the results were expected:People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes,and flashier shoes were typically worn by outgoing people. However,some of the more specific results are strange enough. For example,“practical and functional”shoes were generally worn by more“pleasant”people,while ankle boots were more linked with“aggressive”personalities. The strangest of all may be that those who wore“uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to have “calm” personalities. And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take extreme care of them,you may suffer from“attachment anxiety”,spending lots of time worrying about what other people think of your appearance. There was even a political calculation in the mix with more liberal(主张变革的)types wearing“shabbier and less expensive” shoes.

The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personalities,but researchers noted that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were showing the deep side of their personalities.

1.What does this text mainly tell us?

A. Shoes can hide people's real personalities.

B. Shoes convey false information about the wearer.

C. People's personalities can be judged by their shoes.

D. People know little about their personalities.

2.The participants were asked to__________________.

A. provide pictures of their shoes

B. look at pictures of different shoes

C. design a personality questionnaire

D. hand in their commonly worn shoes

3.Which of the results is beyond people's expectation?

A. Wealthy people often wear expensive shoes.

B. Pleasant people like wearing uncomfortable shoes.

C. Aggressive people are likely to wear ankle boots.

D. Flashier shoes are typically worn by outgoing people.

4.People suffering from “attachment anxiety” tend to_______________ .

A. wear strange shoes B. worry about their appearance

C. have a calm character D. become a political leader

5.The author wrote the text in order to_____________ .

A. inform us of a new study

B. introduce a research method

C. teach how to choose shoes

D. describe different personalities

Well, more and more companies are beginning to create products and services for teenagers. The Disney Company sells the Hannah Montans television show, music, film and merchandise(商品) to teenagers and their parents. You can get everything from branded lunchboxes and mobile phone covers, to monthly fan magazines and clothing. The High School Musical series of films is also intended for a teenage audience. So, it’s all about sales, which tells us teenagers must have more money, freedom and influence upon their parents than they’ve ever had before.

UK teenagers never used to be worried about spending money on clothes and fashion accessories(附加物). That’s changed. Now, they are much more fashion conscious and concerned about their image. In a world of television programmes that promise overnight success and fame at a young age (for example, the shows Britain’s Got Talent and American Idol), some people think it’s extremely important to look fashionable.

So what does teenage fashion look like? Well, it’s quite horrible really, but then I’m a bit too old to appreciate it, I suppose. It’s lots of brightly coloured materials, particularly pink, and usually plain, not patterned. There are plenty of bows, necklaces and bracelets(手镯), too. It’s all very cute(可爱的), if that’s your taste.

Surely none of the above is a good thing, is it? Can it really be healthy for us to encourage kids to be like adults at such a young age? Are we stealing childhoods in return for a bit of profit? Well, the UK government is certainly concerned, and for that reason has strict laws preventing companies from explicitly(明确地) marketing their products and services at children.

Even the rest of UK society is concerned. Now that people are aware of the problem, there is a popular backlash(强烈反应) against the exploitation(利用) of children by commercial marketing.

1.It can be inferred from the passage that the teenagers nowadays .

A. often ask their parents to buy things for them

B. always have more than enough money on their clothes

C. can’t enjoy their childhood though they are rich in material

D. are satisfied with their material life and worry about nothing

2.The author of the passage .

A. supports teenage fashion quite a lot

B. is fond of brightly colored materials that are to his taste

C. thinks it illegal to make profits by selling things to kids

D. is strongly against marketing products and services at children

3.The passage is mainly about .

A. British teenagers who are interested in fashions

B. UK companies targeting products at children

C. a social problem concerning teenagers in the UK

D. products that aim at young people in England

At 23, I was fresh out of graduate school and working in a nursing home, trying to decide my next path in life. My job involved wheeling residents (居民) to the community hall for activities. Elizabeth would wave from her darkened room but refuse to join the gatherings. Nearly blind, and requiring oxygen, she never left her bedside. I soon learned, though, that she loved books, and every day after work I would read to her.

In dim (微暗的) light we made our way through "King Lear," "Henry IV, .... Jane Eyre," the poems of Rupert Brooke.

Two golden hours might pass before I’ d pack up to return to my apartment. Before I could leave she’ d press my hand, saying, "Child -- my literary child. You bring me such joy." Elizabeth’ s husband had died a decade earlier, and their only child, a daughter, was estranged (疏远的) for what heartbreaking reason I never knew.

One day an old friend of hers visited and brought her some soup. Smiling broadly, Elizabeth squeezed my arm. "Tomorrow, child,we shall feast."

The next evening I found Elizabeth’ s bed empty. "I’ m sorry," the nurse whispered. She handed me a box and nodded. "She left everything to you." At home I unpacked it, finding two white sweaters, the dozen leather-bound books and, at the bottom, the can of soup.

That summer I decided my path. I returned to school to study literature.

And for 26 years the soup has stayed in my kitchen. It’s remained unopened and now is rusted (生锈的). But the memories are preserved.

1.Why did Elizabeth refuse to join the gatherings? -

A. She had many books to read.

B. She was not a very social person.

C. She was restricted in her movements.

D. She had no interest in those activities.

2.What do we know about Elizabeth?

A. She loved writing poems.

B. She often visited her friends.

C. She got divorced ten years ago.

D. She had little contact with her daughter.

3.What can we know about the author?

A. She used to be a doctor.

B. She was inspired by Elizabeth.

C. She taught literature for 26 years.

D. She didn’t like the taste of the soup.

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A. A book-loving friend

B. An unforgettable literary journey

C. An interesting nursing experience

D. A short-term job and its lifelong impact

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