When middle-aged Alex gave up his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell surely whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test-even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadow land （虚幻世界） of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．
One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．" $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a fulltime writer．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly.
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"
Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence （坚毅） it takes to stay the course (坚持到底)in the shadow land．
【小题1】Why did Alex give up his job?

A．Because he didn't like the working conditions．

B．Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living．

C．Because he felt he had no potential in his job．

D．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer．

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland （虚幻世界） of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．
One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．" $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer ?full time．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I'm going to stick it out and write．"
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"
Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence （坚毅） it takes to stay the course （持续到底） in the shadowland．
【小题1】Why did Alex give up his job?

For many businessmen online education has been a dream. Now it has come true. The investment (投资) in higher education, whether financial or in terms of time, has long been impossible for many of them. But well-known educational institutions have chosen to deliver an internet-based program, and these barriers have been lifted.
That is good news for people eager to improve themselves and is more attractive to employers. It is also a benefit to industry with better qualified candidates applying for jobs at every level.
Having the benefits of a higher qualification without going to the university campus is attractive to many students. Campus study means greater cost, while online programs are flexible and save time, whether at home or at work. Students can achieve their degrees without causing too much disruption to their career or home life.
In addition to affordable, flexible classes and greater convenience, students also have access to the online learning resources of many of the world’s top educational institutions. They can also communicate with their tutors no matter what time it is or whether either party is away for any reason.
This has opened up the possibility of getting a qualification from a university or college that many students could only have dreamed of in the past. It also allows specialists to get the precise qualifications and focus on their studies. As well as seeing the increase of applicants from lower-incomes and housewives, studying online in the US is even becoming popular with younger people of college age.
Employers have become increasingly welcome and positive to online qualifications as more candidates earn them, especially if they’re properly approved by the US Department of Education.
US institutions have led the way in online education provision. Many top US colleges and universities offer a range of online programs that are highly respected and in every way perfectly fit for adults who need to combine their studies with a working life.
【小题1】According to Paragraph 1, many US colleges and universities      .

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
Time, a faithful company of our life, is a universal topic. People are always curious about what it is, how it travels and who it meets.
Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s smartest physicists, once said. “I’m fascinated by time.”
Many of us are, and the popularity of time travel novels, movies and TV series has proved that. After Palace and Startling by Each Step achieved astonishing ratings last year, Palace 2 aired on January 20, attracting time travel fans back to TV.
Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris achieved great success. It was nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Art Direction for the 2012 Academy Awards.
Dream of heroism
Time travel TV series and movies connect both today and the past, thus offering room for imagination. Imagination creates a chance for the young to fulfill a dream that is hard to achieve in reality.
Chinese writer Xi Juan is a pioneer of time-travel stories in China. In 1993 she published a love story about a young woman time traveling to ancient times. The leading role’s modern personality and perception of love help her win the heart of a cool, handsome martial art master. Such a plot satisfies female fans’ love fantasy.
Starting from the late 1990s, novels about men traveling back to the past prevailed (盛行), with a Step into the Past as the most popular example. In these stories, the male leading roles accomplish great things with their modern skills and wisdom.
It is usually “a dream of heroism come true”, along with enviable romances.
Eye candy
“I’m hooked by the shows because they are characterized by dramatic and poetic love and have eye-pleasing actors,” Xia Xiaoyan, who works for a foreign-owned enterprise in Shanghai, explained her love for time travel TV series.
Her comment echoes a 2011 survey by Creat Marketing Research Co Ltd in China. When asked about what is so appealing about time travel TV series, 21 percent of respondents answered, “These attractive characters.”
A bigger reason behind the popularity of time travel stories, however, is the relaxation they offer, according to the survey.
Cai Yinong agrees. “Many people are facing tremendous pressure in their fast-paced lives, so this genre is more relaxing than other shows as it provides people with a terrific outlet to escape reality,” Cai told China Daily.
Cultural homesickness
“Which dynasty would you like to live in if you could travel to the past?” asked a survey launched by Shanghai University and Shanghai Social Sciences Association last December.
About 60 percent of the 2,543 respondents chose Tang Dynasty, while Qing Dynasty, and the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were the other top two destinations.
The survey results reflects people’s definition of the good days: prosperous economy and culture, steady society, fair and uncorrupted politics, and opening up to the outside world.
As for the movie Midnight in Paris, it features modernity versus cultural homesickness. The New York Times commented, “The past seems so much more vivid, more substantial, than the present. The good old days are so attractive because we were not around, however much we wish we were.”

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，共30分）

      阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出可以填入空白出的最佳选项。

?After 42-year-old guy Tom had quitted his job, he began to make up his mind to become a freelance (self-employed) writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a(n)  21  typewriter and settled down to work．

    After a year or so, however, Tom began to  22  himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by  23  what he wrote．But Tom determined to put his dream to the test —  24  it meant living with uncertainty and fear of  25 ．This is the shadowland of hope, and  26  with a dream must learn to live there．

    One day Tom got a call, “We need a(n)  27 , and we’re paying $6,000 a year．” $6,000 was  28  money in 1960．It would enable Tom to get a nice apartment, a used car and more． 29 , he could write on the side． 30  the dollars were dancing in Tom’s head, something  31  his senses．He had dreamed of being a  32  — full time．“Thanks, but no,” Tom said  33 ．“I’m going to stick it out and write．”

    After Tom got off the phone, he  34  everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Tom put the cans and cents into a  35  bag, saying to himself, “There’s everything you’ve made of yourself so far．”

　　Finally his work was  36  in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that  37  writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into limelight．

　　Then one day, Tom  38  a box filled with things he had owned years before． 39  was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he  40 himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Tom, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland．

1.A．excellent        B．used           C．expensive      D．priceless

2.A．regret           B．hate           C．doubt          D．trust

3.A．selling          B．buying         C．reading        D．appreciating

4.A．Now that         B．What if        C．As if          D．Even though

5.A．success          B．failure        C．perspiration   D．loss

6.A．someone          B．none           C．nobody         D．anyone

7.A．boss             B．assistant      C．manager        D．writer

8.A．false            B．little         C．real           D．high

9.A．However          B．Still          C．Besides        D．Therefore

10.A．As              B．But            C．If             D．Because

11.A．hurt            B．destroyed      C．cleared        D．struck

12.A．driver          B．assistant      C．writer         D．dancer

13.A．hesitantly      B．firmly         C．slowly         D．hurriedly

14.A．pulled out      B．pulled apart   C．pulled back    D．pulled down

15.A．cloth           B．metal          C．plastic        D．paper

16.A．written         B．published      C．completed      D．punished

17.A．few             B．great          C．famous         D．poor

18.A．sought          B．searched       C．found          D．picked

19.A．Above           B．Below          C．Outside        D．Inside

20.A．called    B．pictured C．described    D．reminded