Zoe Chambers was a successful PR(Public Relations)consultant and life was going well－she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London．Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work．The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through．" she said．"After everything I'd done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn't feel like looking for another job．I hated everything about the city and my life．"
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay．Kathy and her husband had just bought a farm in north-west Wales．Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm．
"The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay．" said Zoe．"Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless．"
Zoe has been working on the farm since then and says she has no regrets．"It's a hard life, physically very tiring．" she says．"In London 1 was stressed and often mentally exhausted．But this is a good, healthy tiredness．Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and Kathy's wonderful dinners．"
Zoe has never felt bored on the farm．Every day brings a new experience．She has learned how to ride a horse and drive a tractor．She has been helping with the lambing．"Watching a lamb being born is one of the most moving experiences for me．I could never go back to city life now," she says．
(1)
When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a ________ life．
[ ]
A．
satisfying
B．
tough
C．
meaningless
D．
boring
(2)
The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy's farm is that ________．
[ ]
A．
Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant
B．
Kathy persuaded her to do so
C．
Zoe got tired of the city life
D．
Zoe loved Wales more than London
(3)
How does Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
Tiresome and troublesome．
B．
Romantic and peaceful
C．
Mentally exhausting but healthy
D．
Physically tiring but rewarding．
(4)
Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?
Zoe was just two weeks old when she was spotted wandering in a village market near Kenya’s Tsavo National Park in December 1995．Zoe’s mother had died and the baby was left alone．So she was trucked to a most unusual orphanage in Nairobi, run by a woman named Daphne Sheldrick．
Daphne’s husband, David Sheldrick, founded Tsavo National Park．Daphne has been working with wild animals for some 60 years, and in 1977 she opened the elephant orphanage at her home in Nairobi．As of 1997, the orphanage, which depends on private contributions, has saved more than 100 babies．
Zoe was rather healthy when she was found, and once under the care of the orphanage she was very happy．After a year in the orphanage with the constant companionship of her human family, Zoe was taken to a refuge at Tsavo National Park．There her keepers have gradually introduced her to the ways of the wild, helping her to find food and water．Zoe lives together with other elephant youngsters in a protected area．It may take some years, but the final aim is to allow all of them to go to a wild herd．
Daphne said that her dream for the future is to see ivory(象牙)banned, all stored ivory destroyed and no one wearing an ivory ornament ever again．“There will always be competition for land,” she explained, “but we can protect elephants in the parks and give the young a chance．”
(1)
Zoe was trucked to an elephant orphanage because ________．
[ ]
A．
she could not find her way home
B．
Daphne wanted to keep her as a pet
C．
Tsavo National Park needed a baby elephant
D．
she was very young when she lost her mother
(2)
The elephant orphanage is ________．
[ ]
A．
supported by the government
B．
operated with personal funds(专款)
C．
located inside Tsavo National Park
D．
used as a home to many kinds of animals
(3)
At Tsavo National Park Zoe has been ________．
[ ]
A．
taught to be suited to life in the wild
B．
allowed into a wild herd to be protected
C．
allowed to wander in the village market
D．
accompanied(陪伴)all the time by her keepers
(4)
According to the passage, Daphne would like to ________．
[ ]
A．
set up as many orphanages as possible
B．
make elephants live in their own groups
C．
sell ivory for maintaining the orphanage
D．
send Zoe to a zoo in America or in Europe
阅读理解
Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been made illegal．But one popular form continues to exist, that is alphabetism(字母排序法)．This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames(姓氏)begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet．
It has long been known that the cars of a taxi firm called AAAA have a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers look through their phone directories．Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbot has in life over Zoe Zysman．English names are fairly spread between the halves of the alphabet．Yet a quite large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K．
Thus the American presidents and vice-presidents have surnames starting with Band C separately and 26 of those before George Bush took office(including his father)had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half．Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G 7rich countries are alphabetically advantaged(Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chretien and Koizumi)．The world's three top central bankers(Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami)are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters．The same case are the world's five richest men(Gates, Buffet and so on)．
Can this merely happen by chance? At the start of the first year in primary school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names．So shortsighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is seldom asked the improving questions by those teachers．At that time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape．Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly．
The unfairness continues．At university graduation parties, the ABCs proudly get their awards first．However, by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are a little tired．Lists of job interviews and conference speakers and attendees all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their readers lose interest as they plough through them．
(1)
What does the author intend to show with AAAA cars and Zodiac cars?
[ ]
A．
An example of competition of two kinds of cars．
B．
Some advantages of AAAA cars in the taxi firm．
C．
An example of unfairness caused by alphabetism．
D．
Some disadvantages of Zodiac cars in the taxi firm．
(2)
What can we infer from the first three paragraphs?
[ ]
A．
The alphabet is to blame for the failure of Zoe Zysman．
B．
In both East and West, names are important to success．
C．
Customers often pay a lot of attention to companies' names．
D．
The discrimination in alphabetism can be found in many areas．
(3)
The fourth paragraph suggests that ________．
[ ]
A．
alphabetically disadvantaged students often escape from class
B．
teachers should pay equal attention to all their students
C．
questions are often put to the more intelligent students
D．
students should be seated according to their eyesight
(4)
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
VIPs in the western world gain a great deal from alphabetism．
B．
People with surnames beginning with N to Z are often ill-treated．
C．
Putting things alphabetically may lead to unintentional unfairness．
D．
The movement to get rid of alphabetism still has a long way to go．
阅读理解
Exploring a Range of Motions
By MELENA RYZIK
Published：March 29,2007
“FIRST time for fear, second time for fun” is the unofficial motto of this trapeze(吊秋千)and acrobatics(杂技)academy．The brightly colored studio may be short of amenities(no locker room or towels), but it's a place for newcomers who want to overcome their addiction to gravity in small group classes．
First, there's “ground school” where we learned the proper jumping-off stance(姿势)(hips forward, chest up, one arm extended)and “the trick”：hanging, knees around the bar．
After a mere 10 minutes of practice on the floor and a low-hanging trapeze, you fasten a rope to your waist and climb a ladder to a platform 18 feet high．Two instructors wait there to walk you through steps．Before you realize you're ready, they call out “Hep!(行进时为使步伐一致的吆喝声)”and you jump．Twenty minutes after class started, I was, to my own surprise, flying through the air upside down and backward．
Wow! Or “Whoooooo!” as Zoe Muntaner put it her first time．As an experienced skydiver, she also felt shaky．“It's exactly the same fear,” she said．
The few students got plenty of practice through turns．Randy Kohn, an instructor, told us when to bend our knees and release our arms．At first, the hour-long class seemed more mentally than physically challenging; the only thing that hurt were my palms, though later my upper body ached．But apparently, swinging works your trapezoids(小多角骨), legs and core．“You always have to stay tight for everything, otherwise none of the tricks will work,” Mr．Hedglin said．
Flying may build strength．But it's the rush that will bring me back．
(1)
MELENA RYZIK is most likely to be the name of ________．
[ ]
A．
a student of the trapeze and acrobatics academy
B．
an instructor of the trapeze and acrobatics academy
C．
an official of the trapeze and acrobatics academy
D．
an experienced skydiver of a certain team
(2)
The first thing the students in the class learned was ________．
[ ]
A．
how to hang with their knees around the bar
B．
when to bend their knees and release their arms
C．
how to fasten a rope to the waist
D．
the proper jumping-off stance
(3)
It seems that the writer will come again to the studio ________．
