I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.

I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.

It takes confidence to make a new start — there’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a novel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.

Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.

The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal—that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.

It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck—of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract（合同）of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding（有回报的）.

1.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?

2.The author decided to write a novel ______ .

3.How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?

4.What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?

While small may be beautiful，tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems，particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.

The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB)，which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall，has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants.Beds that are too small，shower heads that are too low，and restaurant tables with hardly any leg?room all make life difficult for those of above average height，it says.

But it is not just the extra?tall whose needs are not being met.The average height of the population has been increasing yet the standard size of beds，doorways，and chairs has remained unchanged.

“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it，so even a king?size bed at 6′6″ (6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men，while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population，” said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy，“Seven?foot beds would work fine.”

Similarly，restaurant tables can cause no end of problems.Small tables，which mean the long?legged have to sit a foot or so away from them，are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.

Some have already taken note，however.At Queens Moat Houses’ Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh，6′6″ beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors，particularly Americans.????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? (2011·新课标全国，B)

1.What is the purpose of the TPCGB campaign?

A．To provide better services.

B．To rebuild hotels and restaurants.

C．To draw public attention to the needs of the tall.

D．To attract more people to become its members.

2.Which of the following might be a bed of proper length according to Phil Heinricy?

A．7′2″.? B．7′.? C．6′6″.? D．6′3″.

3.What may happen to restaurants with small tables?

A．They may lose some customers.

B．They may start businesses elsewhere.

C．They have to find easy chairs to match the tables.

D．They have to provide enough space for the long?legged.

4.What change has already been made in a hotel in Edinburgh?

A．Tall people pay more for larger beds.

B．6′6″ beds have taken the place of 6′3″ beds.

C．Special rooms are kept for Americans.

D．Guest rooms are standardized.

A recent study, published in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how risky it is to get a lift from a teenage driver. Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a fatal accident as a teenager driving alone. By contrast, the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases with each additional passenger.

The authors also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased dramatically after 10 p.m., and especially after midnight. With passengers in the car, the driver was even more likely to die in a late-night accident.

Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience. “The basic issue”, he says, “is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled task the driving is.”

Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to mitigate (减轻) the problem is to have states institute so-called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a multistage process. A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself capable of driving in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving with passenger restrictions, before graduating to full driving privileges.

Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies. About half of the states now have some sort of graduated licensing system in place, but only 10 of

those states have restrictions on passengers. California is the strictest, with a novice (初学者) driver prohibited from carrying any passenger under 20 for the first six months.

46. Which of the following situations is most dangerous according to the passage?

A. Adults giving a lift to teenagers on the highway after 10 p.m.

B. A teenager driving after midnight with passengers in the car.

C. Adults driving with three or more teenage passengers late at night.

D. A teenager getting a lift from a stranger on the highway at midnight.

47. According to Robert Foss, the high death rate of teenage drivers is mainly due to _________.

A. their lack of driving experience???    B. their frequent driving at night

C. their improper way of driving???     D. their driving with passengers

48. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?

A. Teenagers should spend more time learning to drive.

B. Driving is a skill too complicated for teenagers to learn.

C. Restrictions should be imposed on teenagers applying to take driving lessons.

D. The licensing authorities are partly responsible for teenagers' driving accidents.

49. A suggested measure to be taken to reduce teenagers' driving accidents is that _________.

A. driving in the presence of an adult should be made a rule

B. they should be prohibited from taking on passengers

C. the licensing system should be greatly improved

D. they should not be allowed to drive after 10 p.m.

50. The present situation in about half of the states is that the graduated licensing system _______.

A. is under discussion?????           B. has been put into effect

C. is about to be set up??????         D. has been perfected

I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.

I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.

It takes confidence to make a new start — there’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a novel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.

Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.

The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.

It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract（合同）of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding（有回报的）.

1.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?

2.The author decided to write a novel ______ .

3.How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?

4.What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?

Tsai Chin Chung is one of Taiwan’s most famous cartoonists, and his cartoons are enjoyed by people in many different countries in Asia. His books of cartoons have now become best sellers in Singapore, Malaysia, and even Japan.

   As soon as he could hold a pencil, Tsai Chin Chung lived only for drawing. Every day he practised drawing people and things around him and from his favorite stories.

   When he was only 15 years old, he left home to work for a publisher in Taipei. He worked hard to draw pictures for books. Two years later, he left his job and started to work on drawing cartoon series, which he liked better. He made up his mind to succeed as a cartoonist.

   Now Tsai Chin Chung has achieved something unusual for a modern cartoonist. He has become extremely successful at changing Chinese literature (文学) and philosophy (哲学) into humorous comic stories. In this way, he has made the Chinese classics (古典文学) known to thousands of people.

    Because of his great achievement, several years ago Tsai Chin Chung was given a prize as one of the 10 Outstanding Young People of Taiwan. Since then, he has won many prizes, and his cartoons have become popular throughout Asia, America and Europe. So far, he has published more than 20 comic books. Ten of these are about ancient Chinese philosophers based on Chinese historical and literary classics.  

   Many of Tsai Chin Chung’s books of cartoons and comics have now been published in English in countries like Singapore. His books have also been translated into several other languages, including Japanese, Korean and Thai. Even publishers in France and Indonesia have recently signed agreements for permission to publish his cartoon series.

Tsai Chin Chung first worked as ________.

A. a book seller                    B. a cartoonist    

C. a writer of Chinese stories          D. an artist drawing pictures for books

Tsai Chin Chung left his first job because he ________.

A. preferred drawing cartoons           B. wanted to go back to school

C. enjoyed drawing pictures for books  D. wanted to be famous

Tsai Chin Chung first became interested in drawing when he _______.

A. left school      B. was a very small child  C. was 15  D. started to be a cartoonist

Half of the books he has published are related to _______.

A. Chinese and foreign comics       B. countries in Asia, America and Europe

C. foreign languages learning           D. Chinese history and literature

Because of his great achievements, Tsai Chin Chung _______.

A. travelled a lot in Asia and Europe           B. went to live in Singapore C. won an important prize in Taiwan           D. has become famous in Africa.