题目内容
America has long been considered the land of opportunity(机遇)by those from other countries. Americans, too, believe that the United States gives almost limitless opportunity for those who want to open business on their own.
Today, Americans are still fond of trying their hand at becoming small business people, even though only one out of two survives in the first two years. Many of these people start their business for the wrong reason: to get away from the paper work of their present jobs or to exchange the responsibility(责任)of their present jobs for free life styles. But more, not less paper work and responsibility come with the ownership of a small business .
Not all small businesses succeed. Fifty percent of the 4,550,000 that start in the United States ever fail(失败). Still ninety-five percent of businesses in the U.S. can be regarded as small, and these businesses altogether produce forty percent of America’s total national products.
1. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. People from other countries and Americans think there are a lot of opportunities in the
U.S.
B. Only the Americans think the U.S. can give them many opportunities.
C. Both people from other countries and Americans believe they have many opportunities in
the U.S so that they can do whatever they like.
D. People from other countries and Americans all think the U.S. the place where they can
realize their dreams.
2. From this passage, we know that ____.
A. many people from other countries think that in the past there were many opportunities in
the U.S. but not now
B. now Americans don’t believe the U.S. can give them a lot of opportunities
C. people from other countries still think they have more opportunities in the U.S. than in
their own countries
D. Americans think they have more opportunities to start their own business than those from
other countries
3. According to this passage, many American people like to start their own business because
____.
A. they want to become rich soon
B. they not only dislike their present job but also want a free life style
C. they don’t want to do paper work
D. they want to have more chances
4. From this passage, we can get the idea that ____.
A. it is easy to do business successfully in the U.S.
B. it is easy to start a business but hard to make it successful
C. there are more big businesses than small businesses in the U.S.
D. only big businesses can succeed in the U.S.
1. 选【A】。由文中第一段可知,美国人及其他国家的人都认为美国充满机遇,即开始自己
的事业的机遇。
2. 选【C】。A、D项文中未提及,而B项与第二段第一句矛盾。故选C。
3. 选【B】。文中第二段列举了这一原因。惟B项符合原文。
4. 选【B】。通读全文,可知美国虽然充满机遇,但成功的机会并不大。
Michael was a farmer in Texas.His parents moved to the USA from Ireland in the 1940’s, and they became very rich.Michael decided to go back to Ireland to meet his old grandfather, who was still living on the same farm.
Michael booked his ticket,flew to Shannon airport,hired a car and drove to the small village where his parents had been born.He asked for directions to the Ohagan farm,and in the end he drove up a bumpy path.He was shocked by what he saw:a small field,and in the middle of it was an old house,which looked as if it was falling down.Animals were wandering in and out of the front door,and on the porch an old man was smoking a pipe.
“Are you Mr. Ohagan?”asked Michael。
“Yes,”replied the old mall.
“I'm your grandson,Michael,”said Michael.
“A--ha,”replied the old man.
“Is this your farm?”asked Michael.
“Yes,all the way to the wall over there,”said the old man.
Michael was astonished.“Grandfather,”he said,“I have a farm in Texas.I can get into my car and drive all day and I still haven’t reached the end of the farm.”
“Yes,”said his grandfather.“I used to have a car like that.”
【小题1】Michael’s parents _______.
A.still lived in Ireland alone | B.owned a small farm in Texas |
C.returned to their birthplace | D.were Irish immigrants(移民)in America |
A.The farm was small | B.The old house looked like his own. |
C.Living conditions were poor in the fields. | D.Animals were free in the fields. |
A.owned a small farm, which extended only to the wall not far away |
B.had so large a farm that he couldn’t cover it in a day |
C.hadn’t his modern car any longer |
D.used to have as good a car as his grandson’s |
A.Michael owned a large farm in Ireland. |
B.Michael’s car was in such poor condition that it couldn’t reach the end of the farm within a day. |
C.Michael’s farm was too large for a car to reach its end in a day. |
D.Michael didn’t know what to say to his grandfather |
A.the old man really had a car like that |
B.the old man knew his son’s farm in the US was quite large |
C.the old man misunderstood what Michael said |
D.the old man wanted to buy a car like that |
Do you want to live a happier, less stressful (有压力的) life?
Try laughing for no reason at all. That’s how thousands of people start their day at Laughter Clubs around the world – and many doctors now think that having a good laugh might be one of the best ways to stay healthy.
The first Laughter Club was started in Mumbai, India, in 1995 by Dr Madan Kataria. “Young children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh between 7 and 15 times a day,” says Dr Kataria. “Everyone’s naturally good at laughing – it’s the universal language. We want people to feel happy with their lives.” There are now more than 500 Laughter Clubs in India and over 1,300 worldwide.
Many doctors are also interested in the effects (效果) of laughter on our health. According to a 5 – year study in the body. Laughter improves our health against illness by about 40%.
So, what happens at a Laughter Club? I went along to my nearest club in South London to find out. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the class, to be honest – I wasn’t interested in laughing with a group of strangers, and I was worried about looking stupid. Our laughter teacher told us to clap our hands and say “ho ho ho, ha ha ha,” while looking at each other. However, our bodies can’t tell the difference between fake laughter and real laughter, so they still produce the same healthy effects.
Surprisingly, it works! After ten minutes everybody in the room was laughing for real – and some people just couldn’t stop! At the end of the class I was surprised by how relaxed and comfortable I felt. So if you’re under stress, then start laughing. You might be very pleased with the results!
【小题1】In which country was the first Laughter Club started?
A.Britain. | B.America. | C.Australia. | D.India. |
A.Surprised. | B.Pleased. | C.Nervous. | D.Stressful. |
A.After a few minutes. | B.After a few hours. |
C.After a few seconds. | D.After a few days. |
A.Fake laughter and real laughter are both good for health. |
B.40% of the people in Laughter Clubs are good friends. |
C.Adults laugh more often than children in a day. |
D.Laughing is the best way to prevent illness. |
Section B
Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A.additional |
B.producing |
C.regular |
D.predicted E. identified |
E atmosphere G. matched H. reducing I. carried J. increase
Forests in the northern half of the globe could be growing faster now than they were 200 years ago as a result of climate change, according to a study of trees in eastern America. The trees appear to have faster growth rates due to longer growing seasons and higher concentrations (浓度) of carbon dioxide in the ___41___.
Geoffrey Parker, a scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre in Edgewater. Maryland, said that the increase ha the rate of growth was unexpected and might be ___42___ to the higher temperatures and longer growing seasons documented in the region. The growth may also be influenced by the significant ___43___ in atmospheric CO2, he said.
"We made a list of reasons these forests could be growing faster and then excluded half of them," Dr. Parker said. Their study suggests that northern forests may become increasingly important in ___44___ the influence of man-made CO2 on the climate.
Dr. Parker and his colleagues have ___45___ out a detailed record of the trees on a(n) ___46___ basis since 1987. They calculated that due to the global warming the forest is producing ___47___ tons of wood each year.
The scientists ___48___ the land with trees at different stages of growth and found that both young and old trees were showing increased growth rate. More than 90 per cent of the tree groups had grown by between two and four times faster than the scientists had ___49___ from estimates of the long-term rates of growth.