A famous foreign company that invested in China wanted to employ a reception secretary for its public relation department.

    A beautiful girl with a master degree in electric engineering became a winning candidate(候选人) through the difficult process of employment. At its last stage she faced an oral test together with another girl who was her equal not only in good looks but also in education standard. The girl we talk about was confident in herself and successful in the oral test. It seemed that she would get the chance. The examiner told her on behalf of the company that she could come to office of company next Monday as a new employee. At last he asked her, “Have you anything else to say? Shocked by the unexpected question, the beautiful girl was quite at a loss, saying with hesitation(犹豫不决),”“I have to talk with my parents before I give an answer.”Surprised, the examiner said calmly,“In that case, let’s wait till you are ready.”

    The next day the girl came to tell that her parents agreed to her beginning work next Monday. But the examiner said regretfully,“Sorry, the job position is filled by another suitable candidate. You had better have a try in another place.”The beautiful girl was surprised. She asked for an explanation and was told,“What is needed here is a person who knows her own mind.”

 That was how a good opportunity slipped away right under the nose of a beautiful girl.

What did the examiner value most?

A．One’s beautiful looks.    B．One’s knowledge.

C．One’s young age.          D．One’s independence.

It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．the other girl who failed at the last oral test was most likely to get the job

B．another girl chosen in next test held the company

C．the company lost its best employee

D．the examiner was surprised at his first choice

Why did the beautiful girl want to ask her parents for advice?

A．She didn’t know what to do.

B．She couldn’t answer the question.

C．She hadn’t expected the examiner would ask such a question.

D．Her parents would scold her if she agreed without their permission.

The best title of this passage probably is ________.

A．Make your decision quickly    B．Have your own judgment

C．Seize your chance in time      D．Hesitation leads to failure     

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, and 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 (依托) 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 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.

What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?

       A．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was.

       B．The recorder was impatient and rude.

       C．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced.

       D．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society.

How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?

       A．curious        B．indifferent    C．puzzled             D．interested

How did the author feel when describing her job to the clerk?

     A．calm     B．panic-stricken      C．confident      D．cool

Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?

       A．Because the author cared little about rewards.

       B．Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab.

       C．Because she thought the author did admirable work.

       D．Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of.

What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

       A．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it.

       B．To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect.

       C．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily.

       D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work．                                   

A businessman had two sons. While he gave the younger son a lot of love and gifts, he neglected (忽视) the elder son. It was completely puzzling (令人费解) and no one knew why.

When the boys grew up, they were asked to manage the father’s business. The elder son was absorbed in the business. From morning till late in the evening, he was busy working. Within a few years, he ran the business very well and even expanded (扩大) it.

What about the younger son? He didn't have much to do except have a good time. But the father believed that his favorite son would be a success. If the elder son could be a successful businessman, surely the younger one, with a higher education, would do much better.

A few years later, the results of his decision became clear. Uninterested in business, the younger son continued spending his time enjoying himself. And he went out of business. But the elder son’s far smaller share (份) of business had expanded and he had proved himself to be a good decision maker.

Ashamed at the turn of events, the father met the elder son and was angry with the younger one. The elder son, who was listening to all this quietly, suddenly said he wanted to set up an independent business and live on his own.

“Why?” asked the father.

“I blame (责备) one person for the way my brother has turned out, and it’s not him. You can’t blame children for the faults (过失) of their parents, can you?” asked the elder son.

Before the younger son went into the father’s business, he______.

A. was interested in business          B. had achieved great success

C. often looked down upon his brother  D. was well-educated at school

Why did the father treat the two sons differently?

A. the elder son didn’t work hard      B. no one knew why he did it

C. the younger son was hardworking   D. he wanted to do an experiment

Which is NOT the reason for the younger son’s going out of business?

A. he himself didn’t work hard

B. his father didn’t educate him properly

C. he was not interested in business at all

D. he was busy working every day

What does the text really want to teach us?

A. Parents are responsible for children’s development.

B. Once something is done, you should do it well.

C. Interest is the most important for success.

D. One has responsibility for what he himself has done.

A new study finds that the animal known as man’s best friend can also be a good friend to the heart. Researchers in California say they have found that even just a short visit with a dog helped ease the worries of heart patients.               

The study divided the patients into three groups. In Group A, a dog and a person visited each patient for twelve minutes. Patients in Group B received just a human visitor for twelve minutes. And members of Group C received no visitor, human or canine(犬的).

The dogs would lie on the hospital bed so the heart patients could touch them. The researchers say some patients immediately smiled and talked to the dog and the human visitor. Dogs, in her words, “make people happier, calmer and feel more loved.”

The researchers examined the patients before, during and after the visits. They measured stress levels based on blood flow and heart activity. They say they found a twenty-four percent decrease in the group visited by both a dog and a person. They reported a ten percent decrease in the group visited by a person only. There was no change in the patients without any visit. These patients, however, did have an increase in their production of the hormone epinephrine (epinephrine肾上腺素). The body produces epinephrine during times of stress.

The increase was an average of seven percent. But the study found that patients who spent time with a dog had a seventeen percent drop in their levels of epinephrine. Patients visited by a human but not a dog also had a decrease, but only two percent.

The author believes that _______.  

   A. the dog can take the place of most medicines

   B. the dog is the most popular pet for man

   C. the findings of the research cannot be trusted

   D. visits by a human work better than visits by a dog

Which of the following best shows the stress level changes in the groups of patients? BACC

From the research findings we may conclude that _______.

A. the less the body produces epinephrine, the better

B. the longer a visit lasts, the happier the patient should be

C. the patients enjoyed the dogs’ company more than the human visitors’

D. it’s impossible for heart patients to recover without dogs’ visits

Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

  A. Worried Heart Patients               B. Epinephrine and Stress

  C. Good Friend to the Heart             D. Three Groups of Patients

A lady and her husband stepped off the train in Boston. They walked without an appointment（预约）into the outer  31_ of Harvard’s president(哈佛大学校长). But they were  32  by his secretary and kept waiting. For hours, the secretary took no notice of them,  33  that the couple would finally become  34  and go away. But they didn’t. The secretary finally decided to disturb the president, though  35  .

A few minutes later, the president walked towards the couple with a  36  face. The lady told him, “We had a son that  37_ Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was  38  here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to  39  a memorial（纪念物）to him, somewhere on campus.”

The president wasn’t  40 . Instead, he was shocked. “Madam,” he said, “we can’t put up a statue for every person who studied at Harvard and died. If we did, this   41_  would look like a cemetery（墓地）,” “Oh, no,” the lady  42  quickly. “We don’t want to put up a statue. We would like to give a  43  to Harvard.” The president rolled his eyes and  44  at the couple and then exclaimed（惊叫）, “ A building! Do you have any  45_  how much a building costs? We have spent over ＄7,500,000 on the campus building at Harvard.” For a moment the lady was silent. The president was  46  , because he could get rid of them now. Then the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it costs to start a  47  ? Why don’t we just start our own?” Her husband nodded.  48_ their offer was turned down, Mr. and Mrs. Stanford traveled to California where they founded the University that bears their  49  , a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer  50  about.

A．lab         B．library     C．office          D．hall

A．watched     B．interviewedC．followed       D．stopped

A．realizing           B．finding     C．hoping          D．imagining

A．disappointed  B．surprised   C．worried         D．troubled

A．hopelessly     B．carefully   C．unwillingly      D．unexpectedly

A．cold           B．pleasant    C．funny           D．sad

A．visited       B．attended    C．studied         D．served

A．clever        B．brave     C．happy           D．proud

A．set about       B．set up       C．take down       D．take over

A．moved     B．satisfied    C．excited          D．ashamed

A．house       B．part       C．garden          D．place

A．expressed    B．explained  C．refused         D．admitted

A．building      B．yard      C．playground      D．square

A．laughed       B．glanced     C．shouted         D．called

A．suggestion   B．thought     C．idea           D．opinion

A．bored       B．astonished C．interested      D．pleased

A．department  B．university C．business        D．club

A．Once        B．While       C．Since           D．Though

A．name       B．character   C．picture          D．sign

A．talked      B．knew       C．heard           D．cared