In conclusion, I should like to propose a toast the bide and b ______.

       In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget. But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant. The work was hard; the pay was poor and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible.

      First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength. For ten hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck. Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night.

      I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time— two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible. I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than $100 a week.

      But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.

     I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked. By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again.

49. Why did the writer have to take many jobs at that time?

A. To pay for his schooling.                                     B. To save for his future.

C. To support his family.                                         D. To gain some experience.

50. The following facts describe the terrible working conditions of the plant EXCEPT_______.

A. loading boxes in the freezing cold                        B. having limited time for breaks

C. working and studying at the same time                 D. getting no pay for lunch time

51. What is the subject discussed in the text?

A. The writer’s unhappy school life.                   B. The writer’s eagerness to earn money.

C. The writer’s experience as a full-time worker. D. The writer’s hard work in an apple plant.

52. How is the text organized?

A. Topic-Argument-Explanation                        B. Opinion-Discussion-Description

C. Main idea-Comparison-Supporting examples   D. Introduction-Supporting examples-Conclusion

    In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget. But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant. The work was hard; the pay was poor; and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible.

    First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength. For then hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck. Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night.

    I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time—two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible. I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than $ 100 a week.

    But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.

    I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked. By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again.

49. Why did the writer have to take many jobs at that time?

  A. To pay for his schooling.

B. To save for his future.

  C. To support his family

D. To gain some experience

50. The following facts describe the terrible working conditions of the plant EXCEPT ______.

  A. loading boxes in the freezing cold                     B. having limited time for breaks

  C. working and studying at the same time        D. getting no pay for lunch time

51. What is the subject discussed in the text?

  A. The writer’s unhappy school life.               B. The writer’s eagerness to earn money.

  C. The writer’s experience to earn money.      D. The writer’s hard work in an apple plant.

52. How is the text organized?

  A. Topic—Argument—Explanation

B. Opinion—Discussion—Description

  C. Main idea—Comparison—Supporting examples

D. Introduction—Supporting examples—Conclusion

In spite of the uncertainty of the economy, the movie industry has been stricken by a box-office outburst. Suddenly it seems as if everyone is going to the movies, with ticket sales this year up 17.5 percent, to $1.7 billion.

And it is not just because ticket prices are higher. Attendance has also jumped, by nearly 16 percent. If that pace continues through the year, it would amount to the biggest box-office increase in at least two decades.

Americans, for the moment, just want to hide in a very dark place. People want to forget their troubles, and they want to be with other people. Helping feed the outburst is the mix of movies, which have been more audience-friendly in recent months as the studios have tried to adjust after the discouraging sales of more serious films.

As she stood in line at the 18-screen Bridge theater complex here on Thursday to buy weekend tickets for “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” Angel Hernandez was not thinking much about escaping reality. Instead, Ms. Hernandez, a Los Angeles parking lot attendant and mother of four young girls, was focused on one very specific reality: her wallet.

    “Spending hundreds of dollars to take them to Disneyland is ridiculous right now,” she said. “For $60 and some candy money I can still be a good mom and give them a little fun.”

A lot of parents may have been thinking the same thing Friday, as “Jonas Brothers” sold out more than 800 theaters, and was expected to sell a powerful $25 million or more in tickets.

The film industry appears to have had a hand in its recent good luck. Over the last year or two, studios have released movies that are happier, scarier or just less

depressing than what came before. After poor results for a rush of serious dramas built around the Middle East, Hollywood got back to comedies.

Which of the following is not a reason for the improvement of the movie industry?

A. A growing number of people are going to the cinema.

B. People are richer with the development of economy.

C. More comedies are made than serious films.

D. People have to pay more to watch a movie.   

Ms. Hernandez purchased the movie tickets because ________.

A. she tried to escape reality                           B. she was a crazy movie fan

C. she was fond of Disneyland                        D. she wanted to please her kids

．According to the text, which of the following number is not used to describe the shooting up of the movie industry?

A.17.5%              B. $1.7 billion                C. $60                 D. $25 million

The passage is developed mainly by ________.

A. presenting the effect and analyzing the causes       

B. following the order of time

C. describing problems and drawing a conclusion             

D. making comparison of ideas

In Japan’s capital city of Tokyo, earthquake danger limits（限制）the height of buildings. The city has spread out so far and the traffic has become so heavy that it is very difficult to go from one place to another. The price of the land, too, has skyrocketed. All these explains why a group of Japanese land developers came to the conclusion（结论）that there was nowhere to go but down. So far they have dug out space underground for fifteen shopping centres.

    What are some of the advantages（优势）of shopping and eating underground? Clean air is one of them. The city of Tokyo has one of the most serious smog problems in the world.                Another advantage is that you escape the ever-present threat（威胁）of traffic accidents on the city’s busy streets. Still another is the convenience（便利）of getting around: you are usually right next to, or even in, a subway station. And you can even spend the night underground if you like. The Kibosh station, for example, in downtown Tokyo, has a hotel with a bar, restaurant, and barbershop.

The reason why buildings can not be very high in Tokyo is ____.

  A. that the information about high buildings is limited in Tokyo

  B. that the workers haven’t mastered enough modern science and technology

  C. the earthquake            

D. the heavy traffic

What’s the meaning of “skyrocket”? It means “____”.

  A. go up sharply              B. be as high as that of a rocket

  C. fall rapidly                 D. be as low as that of a rocket

So far how many shopping centers underground have there been?

  A.15       B.50       C. More than 15      D. More than 50

What are the advantages of shopping and eating underground

  A. Less air pollution, the convenience of shopping.

  B. Less air pollution, the convenience of shopping, and less traffic accidents.

  C. Clean air and the convenience of getting around.

  D. Clean air, less accidents’ threat, and the convenience of getting around.

The passage mainly tells us______.

  A. the capital of Japan                            B. the land and its limits

  C. the use of space underground in Tokyo    D. how to make full use of the land