Recently I spoke to some of my students about what they wanted to do after they graduated, and what kind of job prospects they thought they had.

Given that I teach students who are training to be doctors, I was surprised to find that most thought that they would not be able to get the jobs they wanted without “outside help”. “What kind of help is that?” I asked, expecting them to tell me that they would need a relative or family friend to help them out.

“Surgery(外科手术)”, one replied.

I was pretty alarmed by that response. It seems that the graduates of today are increasingly willing to go under the knife to get ahead of others when it comes to getting a job.

One girl told me that she was considering surgery to increase her height. “They break your legs, put in special extending screws, and slowly expand the gap between the two ends of the bone as it regrows, you can get at least 5cm taller!”

At that point, I was shocked. I am short, I can’t deny that, but I don’t think I would put myself through months of agony(痛苦) just to be a few centimeters taller. I don’t even bother to wear shoes with thick soles, as I’m not trying to hide the fact that I am just not tall!

It seems to me that there is a trend toward wanting “perfection”, and that is an ideal that just does not exist in reality.

No one is born perfect, yet magazines, TV shows and movies present images of thin, tall, beautiful people as being the norm. Advertisements for slimming aids, beauty treatments and cosmetic surgery clinics fill the pages of newspapers, further creating an idea that “perfection” is a requirement, and that it must be purchased, no matter what the cost.

In my opinion, skills, rather than appearance, should determine how successful a person is in his chosen career.

1.We can know from the passage that the author works as ________.

  A. a doctor         B. a model       C. a teacher        D. a reporter

2.Many graduates today turn to cosmetic surgery to ________.

A. marry a better man\woman            B. become a model

C. get an advantage over others in job-hunt  D. attract more admirers

3.According to the passage, the author believes that ________.

A. everyone should purchase perfection, whatever the cost

B. it’s right for graduates to ask for others to help them out in hunting for jobs

C. it is one’s appearance instead of skills that really matters in one’s career

D. media are to blame for misleading young people in their seeking for surgery

4.What does the author think of his height?

A. He hates to be called a short man.

B. He tries to increase his height through surgery.

C. He just accepts it as it is.

D. He always wears shoes with thick soles to hide the fact.

5.The best title for the passage should be “________”.

A. Young Graduates Have Higher Expectation

B. Young Graduates Look to Surgery for Better Jobs

C. Young Graduates’ Opinion About Cosmetic Surgery

D. Young Graduates Face a Different Situation in Job-hunt

People often make         fun of him about his height, which makes         great difference in his life.

A. a; a                     B. a; the                       C. x; a                           D. the; a

People often make         fun of him about his height, which makes         great difference in his life.

.

In China he’s known as “the Flying Fish”; in America they call him ‘the Baltimore Bullet’.

Whatever you call him, American swimmer Michael Phelps looks destined (命中注定) to become a household name across the world after breaking the Olympic record for most gold medals in a single Games.

Phelps’s total of eight gold medals in Beijing put him one ahead of Mark Spitz’s previous record set in 1972.

Now people are already calling him the greatest Olympian of all time. But whether he is or not, what is it that makes Michael Phelps so good?

A good place to start might be his physique. Phelps has the perfect body shape for a swimmer: his arm span is longer than his height, he has very flexible joints, huge lungs, and his incredibly large feet (size 14 in the US, size 49 in China) act like flippers in the water.

To feed his huge swimmer’s body, Phelps eats an astonishing 12,000 calories a day, six times the average for a man of his age.

He then owes it to a swimsuit which has been making waves in the world of swimming. Designed by NASA, the American space agency, the suit is made of a special material which is said to help athletes swim 2% faster.

Michael Phelps should spare a thought for his mum, who first pushed him into swimming as a way of making friends, and who believed in him when one teacher said he would never be a success.

Whatever the reason for his success, Phelps admits there was perhaps also a bit of luck involved in winning his eight medals.

“I guess eight is a lucky number for me, too, now. The opening ceremony started on 8/8/08. Maybe it was meant to be.” he said.

45. How many gold medals did Mark Spitz's won?

A. 6        B. 7 C. 8 D. 9

46. What makes Michael Phelps so popular?

A. He has broken the Olympic record for most gold medals in a single Games.

B. He is equipped with the best swimsuit which is said to help athletes swim 2% faster.

C. He is a very lucky person and he has the perfect body shape for a swimmer.

D. He has a very good appetiteand he eats an astonishing 12,000 calories a day.

47. According to the passage, how many calories does a man need a day on average?

A. 4,000                     B. 3,000                     C. 2,000                            D. 6,000

48. Which of the following is the reason for his success, in Phelps’ opinion?

a. his physique                                        b. the swimsuit designed by NASA

c. his mother’s encouragement           d. good luck                       e. his confidence

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

单句填词（10分）
【小题1】He is an honest man, that is to say, what he says is always c______________ with what he does.
【小题2】In the a_______________ of evidence, the police had to let Kelly go.
【小题3】An idea that I was wasting my time s______________ me when I came out of her room.
【小题4】She r_______________ her mother in appearance but not in character.
【小题5】The table is too high for your son，so you can a______________ the table to his height.
【小题6】It is ________________(使窘迫，使尴尬) that our streets are so dirty.
【小题7】He stood silently with his arms _______________ (交叉).
【小题8】I hope what I say can  ________________（澄清）the situation.
【小题9】He was fined for breaking traffic  ___________________ (规则).
【小题10】It is  _________________ （全世界，普遍地）acknowledged that one’s thinking directs one’s actions.