When Boris left school, he could not find a job. He tried hard and pestered (纠缠) his relatives, but they had problems of their own. He answered advertisements until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. Boris grew annoyed, then depressed, then a little hardened. Still he went on trying and still he failed. He began to think that he had no future at all.
“Why don't you start your own business?” one of his uncles told him. “The world is a money-locker. You'd better find a way of opening it.”
“But what can I do?”
“Get out and have a look round.” advised his uncle in a vague sort of way. “See what people want; then give it to them, and they will pay for it.”
Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of a waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer. He worked hard, made friends with his customers and gradually managed to build up his goodwill and profit. A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself. He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good: in the wrong position, too expensive or with some other snag(障碍). But at long last, he managed to find an empty shop on a new estate where there were plenty of customers but no competition.
Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair scooters and motor-cycles. Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed. At last, Boris had managed to open the money-locker and found bank notes and gold coins inside.

1. 1.

   Which of the following best describes Boris' job hunting experience?

   1. A.
      Surprising.
   2. B.
      Encouraging.
   3. C.
      Boring.
   4. D.
      Disappointing.
2. 2.

   Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      Goodwill is the key to success
   2. B.
      The world is a money-locker
   3. C.
      No education, no future
   4. D.
      Difficulty of starting a small business
3. 3.

   Boris started his career by       .

   1. A.
      repairing cycles
   2. B.
      developing a waste ground
   3. C.
      cycling around the town
   4. D.
      buying empty shops
4. 4.

   Boris finally chose an empty shop on a new estate because       .

   1. A.
      it was not so expensive
   2. B.
      he had a lot of old customers there
   3. C.
      there were good opportunities there
   4. D.
      he could make good use of his skills there
5. 5.

   We can infer from the last paragraph that Boris     .

   1. A.
      still couldn't make good profits
   2. B.
      found a lot of gold coins by accident
   3. C.
      set off in a successful career
   4. D.
      had great difficulty running his business

When a rather dirty, poorly dressed person kneels at your feet and puts out his hands to beg for a few coins, do you hurry on, not knowing what to do, or do you feel sad and hurriedly hand over some money? What should our attitude to beggars be? There can be no question that the world is full of terribly sad stories. It must be terrible to have no idea where our next meal is going to come from. It seems cruel not to give some money to beggars.
Certainly, most of the world’s great religions (宗教) order us to be open-hearted and share what we have with those less fortunate than ourselves. But has the world changed? Maybe what was morally (道德方面) right in the old days, when one knew exactly who in the village had suffered misfortune and needed help, is no longer the best idea. Quite a few people will not give to beggars. Let us look at their arguments.
First, some believe that many city beggars dress up on purpose to look pitiable and actually make a good living from begging. Giving to beggars only encourages this sort of evil (恶行). Secondly, there is the worry that the money you give will be spent on beer, wine or drugs. Thirdly, there is the opinion that there is no real excuse for begging. One might be poor, but that is no reason for losing one’s sense of pride and self-dependence.
Related to this is the opinion that the problem should be dealt with by the government rather than ordinary people. Some people think beggars should go to the local government department and receive help.
It is hard to come to any final conclusion; there are various cases and we must deal with them differently. A few coins can save a life in some situations, and even if the money is wasted, that does not take sway the moral goodness of the giver

1. 1.

   What is mainly discussed in the passage?

   1. A.
      Moral deeds of people
   2. B.
      Religious activities of the church
   3. C.
      Moral goodness of the giver
   4. D.
      Arguments on giving to beggars
2. 2.

   What can we infer from the sentence “But has the world changed?” in the second paragraph?

   1. A.
      People no longer know who suffers misfortune in the village
   2. B.
      Some people will not do what was morally right in the past
   3. C.
      We don’t meet with those who need help any more
   4. D.
      Now it is the government’s duty to help the beggars
3. 3.

   Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

   1. A.
      Some people dress up to pretend to be beggars
   2. B.
      Some beggars want money to help their children go to school
   3. C.
      Some beggars use the money to buy drugs
   4. D.
      Some beggars have no excuse for begging
4. 4.

   In the last paragraph, the writer thinks that it is hard to come to any final conclusion, because       

   1. A.
      the cases can be so different
   2. B.
      there are so many beggars
   3. C.
      there is so much money wasted
   4. D.
      there are so many different arguments

When he was alive, the old scientist used to say that knowledge ＿＿＿＿from practice and he gained his experience by doing a lot of practical work.

A.was coming     B.had come  C.comes     D.would come

When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks (挫折) to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University. And her amazing story has inspired a movie, “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story”, shown in late April.

Liz Murray, a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower(意志) and determination. Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted(吸毒) parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it.

Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. “What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding，by understanding that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night.

She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that “next to nothing could hold me down”. She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University. But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. “I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time.”

Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is “as simple as making a decision”.

Her mother died when Liz was ____________.

A. 9 years old    B. 15 years old     C. 22 years old     D. studying in high school

In which order did the following things happen to Liz?

a. Her mother died of AIDS.

b. She worked at a petrol station.

c. She got admitted into Harvard.

d. The movie about her life was put on.

e. She had trouble finding a place to sleep.

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

The main idea of the passage is ________.

A. how Liz managed to enter Harvard University

B. what a hard time Liz had in her childhood

C. why Liz loved her parents so much

D. how Liz struggled to change her life

What actually made her go towards her goal?

A. Envy and competition.          B. Willpower and determination.

C. Decisions and understanding.     D. Love and respect for her parents.

When she wrote “What drove me to live on...I had only experienced a small part of the society”, she meant that ________.

A. she had little experience of social life    

B. she could hardly understand the society

C. she would do something for her own life  

D. she needed to travel more around the world

When 47-year-old volunteer Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent and announced she was unemployed, had never been married and “never been kissed, actually”, few in the audience would have wondered why. This Ms Boyle, looking unfashionable, from a village in Scotland, shocked the three judges and the audience with the song I dreamed a dream from the musical Les Miserables on a show of Britain’s Got Talent, one of the hottest reality shows in Britain.

She couldn’t hide the awkwardness when walking to the center of the stage in a housedress, and everyone — including the judges — seemed laughing at her when she said she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige. As soon as she began singing, however, everyone in the auditorium fell silent, then rose within seconds to applaud her incredible voice as the celebrity judges sat open-mouthed, and remained standing to the end.

After her performance, one of the judges Piers Morgan said, “Without doubt that was the biggest surprise I’ve had in three years of this show. When you stood there everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now. That was amazing.” Actress Amanda Holden followed, “I’m so thrilled because I know that we everybody were against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical (愤世嫉俗的) and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever.”

Susan obviously won over the hearts of millions around the world with sensation spreading across the Atlantic. Hollywood actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore — who between them have nearly 1.5 million followers — speak highly of her. Kutcher posted a link to the video clip (片段). The Scottish talent made her live American debut via satellite connection on CBS’s The Early Show, doing an interview and singing live from her room. And she already accepted an invitation from talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

Now Boyle has become one of the world’s hottest celebrities. The video clip of her performance has been viewed more than 50 million times on Youtube, becoming a hit on the Internet.

We learn from the passage that Susan Boyle ______.

A. rose from a low social class

B. had an unhappy marriage

C. lived with a dog alone on a farm

D. won the championship in the Britain’s Got Talent show

At the beginning of the show, almost everybody ______.

A. looked forward to her wonderful performance

B. was attracted by her beautiful dress

C. looked down upon her

D. placed great hope on her

We can infer that ______ contributed most to her global popularity.

A. the judges   B. the Internet   C. the newspaper   D. the advertisement

The 4^th paragraph intends to tell us ______.

A. how Susan Boyle achieved her success

B. the comment made by American actor Ashton Kutcher

C. Susan Boyle’s influence in the USA

D. Oprah Winfrey’s invitation to Susan Boyle