题目内容

The new mayor of Hillsdale, Michigan, is a man of the people, ready to listen to their problems, but only until 6 p.m. Then he has to do his homework. Michael Sessions, 18, beat former mayor Douglas Ingles, 51, by just two votes and became the new mayor of Hillsdale. He is America's youngest mayor.

As Sessions was too young to enter the election in the spring of 2005, he registered to vote on Sept, 22, one day after his 18-year-old birthday. The day after that he started his write-in campaign, which means he should persuade voters to remember his name and write it by hand on the voting ballots(选票).

To help get his name known, Sessions earned$700 by selling apples over the summer. He spent the money on posters and put them on the Hillsdale's lawns.

Sessions' month-long campaign included going door to door, explaining his ideas of the town's future in the kitchens of his neighbors. "They'd look at me, and say‘How old are you again? How much experience do you have?' And I say ‘I'm still in high school', " he said. Sessions promised Hillsdale's voters he would renew local economy. “I was hopeful the whole time, ” he explained. One day he spent so long out on the streets knocking on the doors that he ended up in a hospital emergency room.

Sessions said that his schoolwork will not get in the way of his job as a mayor. “From 7:50 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., I'11 be a student. From 3 to 6, I'11 be the mayor of Hillsdale," he said.

“He did a very brave thing that couldn't have been easy for him to do, "said Jack Vettel, a councilman in Hillsdale, a city of 8,200 about 75 miles southwest of Detroit. " He does care about this town. He's been here all his life.”

Sessions will receive $3, 600 a year during this four-year term, and will work out of his bedroom since the town does not provide the mayor with an office.

1.What is TRUE of Sessions' election campaign according to the text?

A.Sessions launched his election campaign on Sept, 22.

B.Sessions worked so hard that he once tried to persuade people in a hospital.

C.Sessions won the election campaign by a very close outcome (结果).

D.Sessions felt disappointed when asked about his age and experience.

2.In order to gain more support from the voters Sessions had to do all these things EXCEPT ________.

A.put up postersB.renew the economy

C.sell applesD.talk to neighbors in kitchens

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A.American mayors usually work from 3 p. m. to 6 p. m.

B.In America, young people are encouraged to get involved in politics.

C.All teenagers are allowed to enter political elections.

D.American mayors receive a salary of 3, 600 a year during their 4-year term.

4.Which of the following would best summarize the text?

A.Schoolboy becomes American's youngest mayor.

B.How to become a teenage mayor.

C.Hard work is the ticket to success.

D.Never too young to shake the world.

练习册系列答案
相关题目

Back in the days when I wrote my first songs, I hated my voice. I saw myself as a songwriter and guitarist but never a singer! I continued to write songs, and to search for the perfect singer. After a few years I did discover a singer, so we started a project together. We held a few concerts, and put a lot of work into it. She forces me to sing some songs at concerts myself, so I started going to a bar to practice them. This was my first, small breakthrough.

One day she came round to my flat and informed me that she could no longer work with me, and also that the bar owner at the open mic venue(麦克风场地) had replaced us at short notice because some New York jazz star happened to be in town, and was available that evening to perform. The first bit of news made me sad and disappointed, but the second made me angry.

However, that same evening, with as much determination as I could muster (集合), I resolved to play three new songs at the bar, just as I had planned before. I was quite nervous, but I dragged myself down to the bar and sang those songs! I never felt so liberated(无拘束的). That night I couldn’t get to sleep. I was simply astonished, hardly believing that I was a person who acted so courageously, and that I’d been able to sing my songs myself.

Since then I’ve begun to encourage others to adopt a similar approach when they aren’t able to see their own potential. One example is an amateur fiddler (小提琴手) who could barely bring herself to lift her instrument to play in front of people. I forced her to ignore her fear, and simply get on with it. Now, a year or two later, she is a passionate, happy performer in front of any crowd!

Once you get the ball rolling in yourself, you can start inspiring those around you.

1.What was the author’s first breakthrough?

A. She found the perfect singer.

B. She started a project with her partner.

C. She started to practice songs at a bar.

D. She was able to sing all of her songs.

2.How did the author feel when she heard that her partner could no longer work with her?

A. Sad and disappointed.B. Sad and angry.

C. Disappointed and angry.D. Astonished and angry.

3.The amateur fiddler is mentioned in the last but one paragraph in order to show that the author ________.

A. has a good relationship with her

B. encourages others to see their potential

C. can perform in front of any crowd

D. is very interested in making friends

4.What’s the passage mainly about?

A. How to work with other singers.

B. The story of the author and an amateur fiddler.

C. How the author became a singer through her fighting spirit.

D. How to write beautiful songs.

As the labor market becomes more attractive, more companies are sending their employees to school. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is the latest company to use tuition assistance for employees — which for decades has been a part of many business’ benefits packages — as part of a renewed effort to bring in and cultivate talent. And while the impact of such programs has yet to be fully assessed, many see it as a positive — although gradual-movement.

“For workers, it gives them a better opportunity for development,” says Colleen Flaherty Manchester, a professor. “For firms, they are able to recruit the type of employees who have value education and are less likely to turn over, and thus have a higher level of retention(保留).”

In all, 56 percent of US organizations offer undergraduate educational assistance while 52 percent offer graduate assistance.

Largely driving the trend are Millennials, who happen to be the fastest-growing people in the US workforce today and to whom the idea of tuition support from employers is especially appealing. Nearly 60 percent of Millennials surveyed said they would choose a job with strong professional-development potential over one with regular pay raises. Employers are absolutely adapting to Millennials in the workplace. They recognize that they need more experience, more knowledge, more mentoring to be successful. And they’re asking for it.

Of more than 140,000 Starbucks employees, only about 4,000 have signed up for the company’s College Achievement Plan. What the long-term effects such programs might have for companies’ retention and turnover rates remain unclear. But, the pluses of these programs are more important than the minuses. We’re going to see a lot more of this in the future.

1.Using tuition assistance for employees ________.

A. has attracted a large number of talents

B. is a trend that formed recently

C. has existed for scores of years

D. is well received by employees

2.What can we learn from what Colleen Flaherty said?

A. It is merely beneficial to employees

B. It is a win-win event for employees and employers.

C. Valuing education has become a trend for all companies.

D. It turns out to be tough for firms to find suitable employees.

3.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A. regular pay raises.

B. more chances to be successful

C. educational support

D. professional–development potential

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the programs?

A. The programs can guarantee the employees a good job.

B. The impact of the programs remains to be estimated.

C. Employees will benefit more from the programs than companies.

D. It’s less likely that employees will remain in the same company after receiving the programs.

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

A Race Against Death

It was a cold January in 1925 in North Alaska. The town was cut off from the rest of the world due to heavy snow.

On the 20th of that month, Dr. Welch ________ a sick boy, Billy, and knew he had diphtheria, a deadly infectious (传染的) disease mainly affecting children. The children of Nome would be ________ if it struck the town. Dr. Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick. ________, the closest supply was over 1, 000 miles away, in Anchorage.

How could the medicine get to Nome? The town’s ________ was already full of ice, so it couldn’t come by ship. Cars and horses couldn’t travel on the ________ roads. Jet airplanes and big trucks didn’t exist yet.

________ January 26, Billy and three other children had died. Twenty more were ________. Nome’s town officials came up with a(n) ________. They would have the medicine sent by ________ from Anchorage to Nenana. From there, dogsled (狗拉雪橇)drivers—known as “mushers”—would ________ it to Nome in a relay(接力).

The race began on January 27. The first musher, Shannon, picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night. ________ he handed the medicine to the next musher, Shannon’s face was black from the extreme cold.

On January 31, a musher named Seppala had to ________ a frozen body of water called Norton Sound. It was the most ________ part of the journey. Norton Sound was covered with ice, which could sometimes break up without warning. If that happened, Seppala might fall into the icy water below. He would ________, and so would the sick children of Nome. But Seppala made it across.

A huge snowstorm hit on February 1. Amusher named Kaasen had to brave this storm. At one point, huge piles of snow blocked his ________. He had to leave the trail (雪橇痕迹) to get around them. Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to ________ the trail again. The only hope was Balto, Kaasen’s lead dog, Balto put his nose to the ground, ________ to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail. If Balto failed, it would mean disaster for Nome. The minutes passed by. Suddenly, Balto began to ________. He had found the trail

At 5:30 am on February 2, Kaasen and his dog ________ in Nome. Within minutes, Dr. Welch had the medicine. He quickly gave it to the sick children. All of them recovered.

Nome had been ________.

1.A. examinedB. warnedC. interviewedD. cured

2.A. harmlessB. helplessC. fearlessD. careless

3.A. MoreoverB. ThereforeC. OtherwiseD. However

4.A. airportB. stationC. harborD. border

5.A. narrowB. snowyC. busyD. dirty

6.A. FromB. OnC. ByD. After

7.A. tiredB. upsetC. paleD. sick

8.A. planB. excuseC. messageD. topic

9.A. airB. railC. seaD. road

10.A. carryB. returnC. mailD. give

11.A. ThoughB. SinceC. WhenD. If

12.A. enterB. moveC. visitD. cross

13.A. shamefulB. boringC. dangerousD. foolish

14.A. escapeB. bleedC. swimD. die

15.A. memoryB. exitC. wayD. destination

16.A. findB. fixC. passD. change

17.A. pretendingB. tryingC. askingD. learning

18.A. runB. leaveC. biteD. play

19.A. gatheredB. stayedC. campedD. arrived

20.A. controlledB. savedC. foundedD. developed

Age has its privileges in America, and one of the more prominent of them is the senior citizen discount. Anyone who has reached a certain age — in some cases as low as 55 — is automatically entitled to dazzling array of price reductions at nearly every level of commercial life. Eligibility is determined not by one’s need but by the date on one’s birth certificate. Practically unheard of a generation ago, the discounts have become a routine part of many businesses — as common as color televisions in motel rooms and free coffee on airliners.

People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them; yet, millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent(有支付能力的). Businesses that would never dare offer discounts to college students or anyone under 30 freely offer them to older Americans. The practice is acceptable because of the widespread belief that “elderly” and “needy” are synonymous (同义的). Perhaps that once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the rest of the population. To be sure, there is economic diversity within the elderly, and many older Americans are poor. But most of them aren’t.

It is impossible to determine the impact of the discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other cases the discounts are given at the expense, directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant in what some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations.

Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits, which mostly involve a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is another sore point. Buoyed (支持) by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job — thereby lessening employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers.

Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a formidable economic privilege to a group with millions of members who don’t need them.

It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that older people can’t take care of themselves and need special treatment; and they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fighting against — discrimination by age.

Outline

Details

Introduction

Age determines whether an American can be given a discount, which is a common 1.________________in American business life today.

Origin of senior citizen discount

●Since the senior citizens are often treated as people who are in 2.____________, they are given such priority.

3.__________

situation

●The situation has changed a lot where the majority of the elderly are not poor at all.

●Younger Americans were at a/an 4.__________ directly or indirectly due to the discounts given to the elderly, thus leading to conflicts between generations.

●The number of older Americans 5.___________ to work rather than retire is on the increase, which means 6.__________ opportunities for young workers.

●It is no longer a kind of charity because millions of senior citizens don’t need the priority 7.__________.

Conclusion

It’s unwise to offer discount priority to the elderly.

●It will mislead people to think they are unable to 8._____________ to themselves.

●People may think that they are ungrateful and they’re hurting the 9._____________ of other age groups.

●Actually senior citizen discounts, to some extent, 10. ___________against their age.

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