Computer programmer David Jones makes 35,000 pounds a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a credit card (信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.
The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David’s firm puts two new games on the home market each month.
But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. In spite of his salary, made by inventing new programs within a quite short period of time, the bonus payments and profit-sharing (奖金和分红), he cannot drive a car, get some money from a bank to buy a house, or get credit cards.
He lives with his parents in their house in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver. His firm has to pay £150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive.
David got his job with the firm a year after leaving school with six 0-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.
“I suppose 35,000 pounds sounds a lot but actually that’s not good enough. I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 20 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I know what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway.”
David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement (退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”
36. Why is David different from other young people of his age?
A. He earns a very high salary.
B. He has not a job.
C. He does not go out much.
D. He lives at home with his parents.
37. David’s greatest problem is ____________.
A. making the banks treat him as a grown-up
B. inventing computer games
C. spending his salary
D. learning to drive
38. He was hired by the firm because ____________.
A. he had worked in a computer shop
B. he had written some computer programs
C. he worked very hard
D. he had learned to use computers at school
39. He left school after taking six 0-levels because ____________.
A. he did not enjoy school
B. he wanted to work with computers and staying at school did not help him
C. he was afraid of getting too old to start computing
D. he wanted to earn a lot of money
40. Why does David think he might retire early?
A. One has to be young to write computer programs.   
B. He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire.
C. He thinks computer games might not always sell so well.
D. He thinks his firm might go bad.

It was graduation day at the university where I work and a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor.On that cold day years ago, as we watched the students walking into the hall, one of my colleagues turned to me and said, "Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest time of your life." At my inquiry, he answered, "Because the students you have gotten to know have to leave."
As years went by, my previous confusion about my colleague's words no longer existed.When I came across naughty students, I have had to rethink why I chose to be a teacher.It obviously isn't the money.Once a former computer science student of mine called me, asking me if I wanted to have a change.He was working at Nintendo Corporation.His salary was higher than my current one, though I have more education and have worked for over a decade.With my programming skills, he said he could get me hired.I thanked him, but declined his kind offer.
A few days before this current graduation, while working on final grades, I found a note a student had slipped in with her homework.She thanked me for being her teacher and said the things she had learned in my class—not about math, but about life—would be things she would remember long after the math skills had faded away.As I finished reading, I remembered why I had become a teacher.
Now, on this sunny graduation day, as I again observed the sea of blue hats and gowns, I did so with renewed dedication (奉献) and a deeper sense of satisfaction—I will always be grateful that I am a teacher.
【小题1】Hearing his colleague's description of graduation for the first time, the author __________.

A.quite agreed with his colleague
B.was very puzzled
C.thought it very funny
D.was very sad
【小题2】The computer science student called up the author because he___________.
A.wanted to inform the author of his present job
B.tried to persuade the author to work with him
C.wanted the author to share his joy and satisfaction
D.thought the author wasn't fit to be a teacher
【小题3】The underlined part “blue hats and gowns” refers to___________.
A.university colleaguesB.graduates' clothes
C.life memoriesD.decorations in the hall
【小题4】The author wrote this passage to __________.
A.express his devotion to being a teacher
B.compare two different graduation ceremonies
C.talk about the meaning of graduation
D.give advice on how to be a good teacher


第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题,每题2分,满分40分)
A
It was graduation day at the university where I work and a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor. On that cold day years ago, as we watched the students walking into the hall, one of my colleagues turned to me and said . “Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest time of your life.” At my inquiry, he answered, “Because the students you have gotten to know have to leave.”
As years went by, my previous confusion about my colleague’s words no longer existed. When I came across naughty students, I have had to rethink why I chose to be a teacher. It obviously isn’t the money. Once a former computer science student of mine called me, asking me if I wanted to have a change. He was working at Nintendo Corporation. His salary was higher than my current one, though I have more education and have worked for over a decade. With my programming skills, he said he could get me hired. I thanked him, but declined his kind offer.
A few days before this current graduation, while working on final grades. I found a note a student ahd slipped in with her homework. She thanked me for beign her teacher and said the things she had learned in my class—not about math, but about life—would be things she would remember long after the math skills had faded away. As I finished reading, I remembered why I had become a teacher.
Now, on this sunny graduation day, as I again observed the sea of blue hats and gowns, I did so with renewed dedication and a deeper sense of satisfaction – I will always be grateful that I am a teacher.
56. How did the author feel when he heard his colleague’s description of graduation for the first time?
A. He quite agreed with his colleague.        B. He was very puzzled.
C. He thought it very funny.                D. He was very sad.
57. The computer science student called up the author because he ___________.
A. wanted to inform the author of his present job
B. thought the author wasn’t fit to be a teacher
C. wanted the author to share his joy and satisfaction
D. tried to persuade the author to work with him
58. What does the underlined part “blue hats and gowns” in the last paragraph refer to?
A. University colleagues                B. Life memories.
C. Graduates’ clothes.                  D. Decorations in the hall.
59. The author wrote the passage to _________.
A. express his devotion to being a teacher    B. compare two different graduation ceremonies
C. talk about the meaning of graduation      D. give-advice on how to be a good teacher

Bobby Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, a tough working-class neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side. But Hell's Kitchen lies right next door to Broadway, and the bright lights attracted Bobby from the time he was a teen. Being stage-struck was hardly what a street kid could admit to his partners. Fearing their ridicule, he told no one, not even his girlfriend, when he started taking acting lessons at age 17. If you were a kid from the neighborhood, you became a cop, construction worker, longshoreman or criminal. Not an actor.

   Moresco struggled to make that long walk a few blocks east. He studied acting, turned out for all the cattle calls -- and during the decade of the 1970s made a total of $2,000. "I wasn't a good actor, but I had a driving need to do something different with my life," he says.

He moved to Hollywood, where he drove a cab and worked as a bartender. "My father said, 'Stop this craziness and get a job; you have a wife and daughter.' “But Moresco kept working at his chosen craft.

   Then in 1983 his younger brother Thomas was murdered in a mob-linked killing. Moresco moved back to his old neighborhood and started writing as a way to explore the pain and the patrimony of Hell's Kitchen. Half-Deserted Streets, based on his brother's killing, opened at a small Off-Broadway theater in 1988. A Hollywood producer saw it and asked him to work on a screenplay.

    His reputation grew, and he got enough assignments to move back to Hollywood. By 2003, he was again out of work and out of cash when he got a call from Paul Haggis, a director who had befriended him. Haggis wanted help writing a film about the country after September 11. The two worked on the writing, but every studio in town turned it down. They kept pitching it. Studio executives, however, thought no one wanted to see a severe, honest vision of race and fear and lives in collision in modern America.

Moresco believed so strongly in the script that he borrowed money, sold his house. He and Haggis kept pushing. At last the writers found an independent film producer who would take a chance, but the upfront money was too little, Moresco delayed his salary.

Crash slipped into the theaters in May 2005, and quietly became both a hit and a critical success. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three -- Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Paul Haggis and the kid from Hell's Kitchen.

   At age 54, Bobby Moresco became an overnight success. "If you have something you want to do in life, don't think about the problems," he says, "think about other ways to get it done."

1. Rearrange the following statements in terms of time order:

a. His work Half-Deserted Streets drew attention as it opened at a small Off-Broadway theater

b. Unexpectedly Crash became both a hit and a huge success.

c. He moved to Hollywood to be a taxi driver and a waiter.

d. He started learn acting in spite of hardness with the belief of doing something diiferent.

e. His younger brother Thomas was killed in conflict among bullies.

A. d; c; e; a; b      B. d; e; c; b; a    C. c; d; e; a; b    D. c; e; d; b; a 

2.Why Bobby Moresco did not tell anyone that he started taking lessons at age 17?

A. He wnted to give his girlfriend a surprise.   

B. His girlfriend did not allow him to do this.

C. He was afraid of being laughed at.

D. He had no talent for acting.

3.Which of the following sentences is NOT true?

A. His father did not support his work as a bartender.

B. Before he became an overnight success, his life experienced ups and downs.

C. His brother’s death inspired his writing Half-Deserted Streets.

D. Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen which is a few blocks east of Broadway.

4.The Studio executives turned the script Crash down because ______________.

A. they thought the script would not be popular.

B. the script was not well written.

C. they had no money to make the film based on the script.

D. they thought Moresco was not famous.

5.What’s the best title of the article?

A. The Road to Success              B. Try It a Different Way

C. A Talented man—Moresco          D. Moresco’s Perseverance

6.Which of the following can best describe Bobby Moresco?

A. initiative (主动) and persistent        B. shy but hardworking  

C. caring and brave                   D. aggressive and modest

 

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