The Writers' Strike：Making the Best of the Worst

    By now you are probably feeling the effects of the TV writers’ strike---the decision of television writers to stop working. With few new TV shows, I present to you a list of shows available on DVD worth your viewing time to keep you going during this painful period.

    Arrested Development is one of the funniest and most clever shows ever to have appeared on network TV. With a most perfect cast(全体演员), the show sets out to cover the daily happenings of the Bluth family, a group of selfish staff who manage to still put family first.

For more comedy goodness, I recommend one of the sharpest comedies to have ever broadcast, 30 Rock. Starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, two stars with impressive comic timing, the show gives you a glimpse into the making of a sketch show (幽默短剧),similar to Saturday Nigth Live, from the funny writers to the self-centered cast all the way up to the boss.

If you are looking for something more serious, or perhaps Friday Night lights might be more to your liking. If you are a fan of football, this show is probably for you. If you are a fan of great drama, both soapy and serious, this show is probably for you, If you are a fan of good-looking people, this show is definitely for you .

If those shows were not enough for you, might I recommend a show with a more heart-pounding excitement? The Amazing Race, after twelve seasons, still remains one of the most exciting shows on TV. Teams of two travel the globe with little to no money and experience far-out adventures in an attempt to remain the last team standing.

If you are fond of soapy TV shows, you will probably choose to watch       .

    A. Friday Night Lights                 B. 30 Rock

    C. the Amazing Race                  D. Saturday Night Live

From the DVD shows listed above, we can learn that　　　.

    A. two teams won the amazing race

    B. football fans enjoy the Amazing Race

    C. the Bluths care about their family though selfish

    D. 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live have nothing in common

The author writes the passage to tell us that        .

    A. the effects of the TV writers’ strike are great

    B. the strike puts TV shows in the worst situation

    C. watching DVD is a good choice during the strike

    D. we should choose DVD shows according to our tastes

The passage is most probably taken from       .

    A. a book review    B. a newspaper     C. a film poster     D. a DVD menu

A few months ago, I was picking up the children at school. Emily, another mother that I knew well, rushed up to me. She was full of __41__.

“Do you know __42__ you and I are?” she asked. __43__ I could answer, she gave out the reason for her question. She had just returned from renewing her driver’s license at a government office. The woman __44__ desk asked her what her “occupation” was. Emily hesitated, __45__ how to answer it. “What I mean is,” explained the woman, “do you have a job, or are you just a ...?” “Of course I have a job,” answered Emily. “I’m a (an) __46__.” “We don’t __47__ ‘mother’ as an occupation ... ‘housewife’ covers it,” she said.

I forgot all about her story __48__ one day I found myself in the same situation. This time it was at our own Town Hall. The clerk was a woman.

“And what is your occupation?” she asked. What __49__ me say it, I do not know. The words simply jumped out. “I’m ... a (an) ___50___ in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”

The clerk stopped, her ball-point pen ___51__ in mid-air. She looked up __52__ she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly.

“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “just what you do in your ___53__?” Coolly, I heard myself ___54__, “I have a continuing program of research in the

laboratory and in the field. I’m working for my masters (the whole family) and already have __55__ credits (令人增光的人或事物) (all daughters). I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). The job is more challenging than most jobs and the __56__ are in satisfaction rather than just money.”

There was an increasing note of __57__ in the clerk’s voice as she __58__ in the form. As I drove into our driveway(私家车道), I was __59__ by my lab assistants — ages 13, 7, and 3. Inside the house I could hear our new experimental model (six months) in the child-development program.

I felt successful. Motherhood...what a great __60__.

1. A. surprise          B. anxiety          C. anger            D. excitement

2. A. who               B. what             C. how          D. why

3. A. When              B. As               C. Before           D. Since

4. A. at                B. after                C. by           D. around

5.A. nervous            B. sure             C. anxious      D. uncertain

6.A. mother         B. worker               C. teacher      D. doctor

7. A. think             B. list             C. expect           D. give

8. A. since             B. unless               C. until            D. when

9.  A. got              B. caused               C. permit       D. made

10. A. researcher           B. manager          C. expert           D. scholar

11. A. dropped          B. floated              C. frozen           D. broke

12. A. so that          B. even though      C. as though        D. because of

13.A. family            B. subject              C. study            D. field

14. A. words                B. reply                C. shout            D. whisper

15. A. two              B. three                C. four         D. five

16. A. rewards          B. awards               C. profits          D. benefits

17. A. interest         B. respect              C. doubt            D fear

18.A. explained         B. passed               C. completed        D. filled

19.A. accepted          B. greeted          C. recognized       D. refused

20. A. person           B. award                C. career           D. business

The Writers' Strike：Making the Best of the Worst
By now you are probably feeling the effects of the TV writers’ strike---the decision of television writers to stop working. With few new TV shows, I present to you a list of shows available on DVD worth your viewing time to keep you going during this painful period.
Arrested Development is one of the funniest and most clever shows ever to have appeared on network TV. With a most perfect cast(全体演员), the show sets out to cover the daily happenings of the Bluth family, a group of selfish staff who manage to still put family first.
For more comedy goodness, I recommend one of the sharpest comedies to have ever broadcast, 30 Rock. Starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, two stars with impressive comic timing, the show gives you a glimpse into the making of a sketch show (幽默短剧),similar to Saturday Nigth Live, from the funny writers to the self-centered cast all the way up to the boss.
If you are looking for something more serious, or perhaps Friday Night lights might be more to your liking. If you are a fan of football, this show is probably for you. If you are a fan of great drama, both soapy and serious, this show is probably for you, If you are a fan of good-looking people, this show is definitely for you .
If those shows were not enough for you, might I recommend a show with a more heart-pounding excitement? The Amazing Race, after twelve seasons, still remains one of the most exciting shows on TV. Teams of two travel the globe with little to no money and experience far-out adventures in an attempt to remain the last team standing.
【小题1】If you are fond of soapy TV shows, you will probably choose to watch      .

A．Friday Night Lights	B．30 Rock
C．the Amazing Race	D．Saturday Night Live

_____, I couldn’t find a solution to the problem.

A. Might I as try    B. As I might try    C. I might as try         D. Try as I might

A woman renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.
“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”
“Of course I have a job,” said Emily. “I’m a mother.”
“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation…‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.
One day I found myself in the same situation. The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title. “What is your occupation?” she asked.
The words simply popped out. “I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”
The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.
I repeated the title slowly, then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”
Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t), in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out.
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (鼓舞) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal（嗓音的） pattern.
I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”
Motherhood…What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door.
【小题1】What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?