Do you ever run out of great books to read? So what should I read next? Is fast-paced crime fiction your thing? Try the new Patricia Cornwell book, Scarpetta (Putnam). She is such an able writer and handles complex forensic(法庭的) intelligence with ease. You need to be prepared, though, for the world you're entering—this isn't for the faint of heart, let's say.
If peace is more your thing, try Mary Pipher's wonderful new book, Seeking Peace:Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World (Riverhead). Mary is a lovely, comfortable writer who takes the reader through her personal awakening after reputation and fortune came her way. Even if you've never experienced life as a bestselling writer (as she has done, in her book years back, Reviving Ophelia), you'll totally understand and sympathize with her renewed need for privacy, distance and quiet.
What if you want a straightforward, totally thrilling read with vivid characters, set about World War II? You cannot go wrong with Jim Lehrer's new novel, Oh, Johnny (Random House), about a young Marine whose life is changed forever when he meets a woman on his way to war. His relationship with her lasts him through danger and hardship, and there's an impressive ending. See our interview with the productive novelist/newsman in the current issue of Reader's Digest (March, on stands now), by the way, for insight into the very talented Mr. Lehrer and what interests him.
Well, what about something wickedly funny and totally offbeat? Does the name Carrie Fisher do anything for you? Try her vivid and new life in Hollywood and elsewhere, Wishful Drinking (Simon & Schuster). Be prepared for humor as sharp as knives.
【小题1】 In which column will you probably find the above passage?

A．Seeking Peace.	B． Reviving Ophelia.
C．Wishful Drinking.	D．Oh, Johnny.

Do you ever run out of great books to read? So what should I read next? Is fast-paced crime fiction your thing?

    Try the new Patricia Cornwell book, Scarpetta （Putnam）．She is such an able writer and handles complex forensic（法庭的） intelligence with ease． You need to be prepared, though, for the world you're entering--this isn't for the faint of heart, let's say.

    If peace is more your thing, try Mary Pipher's wonderful new book, Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World （Riverhead）．Mary is a lovely, comfortable writer who takes the reader through her personal awakening after reputation and fortune came her way．Even if you've never experienced life as a bestselling writer（as she has done, in her book years back, Reviving Ophelia）, you'll totally understand and sympathize with her renewed need for privacy, distance and quiet.

    Well, what about something wickedly funny and totally offbeat? Does the name Carrie Fisher do anything for you? Try her vivid and new life in Hollywood and elsewhere, Wishful Drinking（Simon & Schuster）．Be prepared for humor as sharp as knives.

1．In which column will you probably find the above passage?

       A． Advice.             B．News story.       C．Advertisement.      D．Comments.

2．What does the writer intend to tell us by the underlined sentence?

       A．The world is complex and hard．

       B．Scarpetta is a thriller.

       C．The fiction is hard to understand．

       D．Society is hard to fit into.

3．Which of the following is true of Mary Pipher?

       A．She is an adventurous writer.

       B．She doesn't care about fortune.

       C．Her books normally sell well.

       D．She can help you achieve writing skills.

4．To get further information about Jim Lehrer, you may          .

       A．go to Reader's Digest issued in March

       B．go to Random House

       C．analyse the characters in Oh, Johnny

       D．read the novel Oh, Johnny

5．Which book isn't directly based on the writer's own life?

       A．Seeking Peace．                        B．Reviving Ophelia．

       C．Wishful Drinking．                    D．Oh, Johnny.

As you are probably aware, the latest job markets news isn’t good: Unemployment is still more than 9 percent, and new job growth has fallen close to zero. That’s bad for the economy, of course. And it may be especially discouraging if you happen to be looking for a job or hoping to change careers right now. But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think.

That’s because job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much as job turnover(人员更替) data. After all, existing jobs open up every day due to promotions, resignations, terminations(解雇), and retirements. (Yes, people are retiring even in this economy.) In both good times and bad, turnover creates more openings than economic growth does. Even in June of 2007, when the economy was still moving ahead, job growth was only 132,000, while turnover was 4.7 million!

And as it turns out, even today — with job growth near zero — over 4 million job hunters are being hired every month.

I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job. It’s true that if total employment were higher, it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from (and compete for). And it’s true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening, regardless of whether it’s a new one or not.

But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated. They’re willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills; be creative about where and how to look; learn how to present themselves to potential employers; and keep going, even after repeated rejections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.

So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up. Four million people get hired every month in the U.S. You can be one of them.

1.The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate ______.

A．discourages many people from landing jobs

B．prevents many people from changing careers

C．should not stop people from looking for a job

D．does not mean the U.S. economy is worsening

2.Where do most job openings come from?

A．Job growth.                            B．Job turnover.

C．Improved economy.                     D．Business expansion.

3.What does the author say about overall job growth?

A．It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers.

B．It increases people’s confidence in the economy.

C．It gives a ray of hope to the unemployed.

D．It doesn’t mean greater job security for the employed.

4.What is the key to landing a job according to the author?

A．Education.         B．Intelligence.        C．Persistence.       D．Experience.

5.What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the US?

A．They clearly indicate how healthy the economy is.

B．They provide the public with the latest information.

C．They warn of the structural problems in the economy.

D．They don’t include those who have stopped looking for a job.

Mars is not, it seems, the dry old planet we once believed    （1）    ．Astronauts who are     （2）    to go there in the next decade may find plenty    （3）   water to slake （消除） their thirst．And with water present the    （4）    of finding some sort of life of Mars are    （5）    brighter．

       This is the view of forty geologists who have been analyzing    （6）    of pictures and other scientific    （7）    obtained by robot explorers in the sixties and seventies．

       To begin with, scientists thought the Red planet was as    （8）    as the Moon    （9）    dust storms swirling over vast sandy    （10）    ．But now the picture is very different    （11）    mountains and valleys carved by    （12）    glaciers and rivers rushing and rumbling deep underground．

       In a report on the analysis of the Martian pictures Dr．Michael Car of the U．S．Geological Survey comments: “I am convinced    （13）    lots of water on Mars．” Any surface water will be in the    （14）    of ice．But it could save explorers from    （15）    to take so much    （16）    with them．

       The report says    （17）   Mars probably had a warmer climate in ages    （18）    due to its axis （轴） having been more tilted （倾斜） towards the sun．

       （19）     signs of plant or animal life have been detected by instruments landed on Mars,    （20）    the landing vehicles have been sent there for a few years．

1．A．it is    B．it     C．it to be    D．was

2．A．expected  B．hoped      C．required         D．sent

3．A．to      B．of    C．more       D．in

4．A．chances    B．openings         C．occasions       D．possibility

5．A．quite         B．very        C．much      D．more

6．A．a few        B．many      C．thousand        D．thousands

7．A．skills         B．news       C．intelligence     D．information

8．A．peaceful    B．quiet       C．lifeless    D．dead

9．A．of      B．with        C．for  D．through

10．A．deserts    B．mountains       C．rivers      D．seas

11．A．from       B．between         C．for  D．with

12．A．energetic        B．great       C．heavy      D．powerful

13．A．there’s    B．there’re  C．here’s     D．here’re

14．A．appearance     B．way        C．form       D．shape

15．A．have       B．having     C．carry      D．carrying

16．A．water      B．ice  C．equipment      D．oxygen

17．A．what       B．if     C．how        D．that

18．A．pass        B．past        C．ago         D．before

19．A．Not         B．No  C．Nor        D．Never

20．A．probably         B．perhaps  C．supposed        D．although

 (南昌市南昌二中高三冲刺模拟考试)

Mars is not, it seems, the dry old planet we once believed    （36）    ．Astronauts who are     （37）    to go there in the next decade may find plenty    （38）   water to slake （消除） their thirst．And with water present the    （39）    of finding some sort of life of Mars are    （40）    brighter．

       This is the view of forty geologists who have been analyzing    （41）    of pictures and other scientific    （42）    obtained by robot explorers in the sixties and seventies．

       To begin with, scientists thought the Red planet was as    （43）    as the Moon    （44）    dust storms swirling over vast sandy    （45）    ．But now the picture is very different    （46）    mountains and valleys carved by    （47）    glaciers and rivers rushing and rumbling deep underground．

       In a report on the analysis of the Martian pictures Dr．Michael Car of the U．S．Geological Survey comments: “I am convinced    （48）    lots of water on Mars．” Any surface water will be in the    （49）    of ice．But it could save explorers from    （50）    to take so much    （51）    with them．

       The report says    （52）   Mars probably had a warmer climate in ages    （53）    due to its axis （轴） having been more tilted （倾斜） towards the sun．

       （54）     signs of plant or animal life have been detected by instruments landed on Mars,    （55）    the landing vehicles have been sent there for a few years．

36．A．it is                   B．it                       C．it to be               D．was

37．A．expected            B．hoped                C．required             D．sent

38．A．to                      B．of                      C．more                 D．in

39．A．chances             B．openings            C．occasions          D．possibility

40．A．quite                  B．very                  C．much                D．more

41．A．a few                B．many                 C．thousand            D．thousands

42．A．skills                 B．news                 C．intelligence         D．information

43．A．peaceful             B．quiet                  C．lifeless               D．dead

44．A．of                     B．with                  C．for                    D．through

45．A．deserts              B．mountains          C．rivers                D．seas

46．A．from                 B．between             C．for                    D．with

47．A．energetic            B．great                  C．heavy                D．powerful

48．A．there’s               B．there’re              C．here’s                D．here’re

49．A．appearance         B．way                   C．form                 D．shape

50．A．have                  B．having               C．carry                 D．carrying

51．A．water                B．ice                     C．equipment          D．oxygen

52．A．what                 B．if                       C．how                  D．that

53．A．pass                  B．past                   C．ago                   D．before

54．A．Not                   B．No                    C．Nor                   D．Never

55．A．probably            B．perhaps              C．supposed           D．although