I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought that I would never have that sort of career.
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too hard at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I have got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career even if you aren’t top of the class at school.
47. What is the author’s present job?
A. Working part-time in a college.                     B. Taking care of children in a family.
C. Helping children with their schoolwork.  D. Looking after children at a kindergarten.
48. When staying with the two girls’ family, the author _______.
A. was paid for extra work                      B. often worked long hours
C. got much help from her boss             D. took a day off every other week
49. What has the author learned from her own experiences?
A. Less successful students can still have a career.
B. Qualifications are necessary for a career.
C. Hard work makes an excellent student.
D. One must chose the job she likes.
50. What does the underlined sentence probably mean?
A. The boss didn’t go out to work very often.
B. The boss often failed to keep his agreement with the writer.
C. The writer couldn’t go out to find another job.
D. The writer seldom had any chance to work outside.

I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought that I would never have that sort of career.

I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.

I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too hard at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.

One Sunday, I was in the park with the children and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family and got work helping out at a kindergarten.

Now I have got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career even if you aren’t top of the class at school.

47. What is the author’s present job?

A. Working part-time in a college.                     B. Taking care of children in a family.

C. Helping children with their schoolwork.  D. Looking after children at a kindergarten.

48. When staying with the two girls’ family, the author _______.

A. was paid for extra work                      B. often worked long hours

C. got much help from her boss             D. took a day off every other week

49. What has the author learned from her own experiences?

A. Less successful students can still have a career.

B. Qualifications are necessary for a career.

C. Hard work makes an excellent student.

D. One must chose the job she likes.

50. What does the underlined sentence probably mean?

A. The boss didn’t go out to work very often.

B. The boss often failed to keep his agreement with the writer.

C. The writer couldn’t go out to find another job.

D. The writer seldom had any chance to work outside.

I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought that I would never have that sort of career.

I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.

I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too hard at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.

One Sunday, I was in the park with the children and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family and got work helping out at a kindergarten.

Now I have got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career even if you aren’t top of the class at school.

47. What is the author’s present job?

A. Working part-time in a college.                     B. Taking care of children in a family.

C. Helping children with their schoolwork.  D. Looking after children at a kindergarten.

48. When staying with the two girls’ family, the author _______.

A. was paid for extra work                       B. often worked long hours

C. got much help from her boss              D. took a day off every other week

49. What has the author learned from her own experiences?

A. Less successful students can still have a career.

B. Qualifications are necessary for a career.

C. Hard work makes an excellent student.

D. One must chose the job she likes.

50. What does the underlined sentence probably mean?

A. The boss didn’t go out to work very often.

B. The boss often failed to keep his agreement with the writer.

C. The writer couldn’t go out to find another job.

D. The writer seldom had any chance to work outside.

I really like reading and writing short stories. My favourite collection of short stories is a book called The Story Giant by Brian Patten, in which a giant , alone in a crumbling （将倒塌的）castle, knows all the stories in the world except one. He gets four children from different parts of the world to tell him stories in the hope that he will find the last story so he can stay alive. Do you think he finds the last story?

I also like reading novels. One of my favourite novels is called Life of Pi. It is written by a Canadian called Yann Martel and is about an Indian boy who spends a long time at sea after a shipwreck（海难）alone with nobody but a tiger.

Not many people read plays these days but many people still enjoy watching them at the theatre or on television. As for me, I read scripts（剧本）much more often than I go to see live theatre. I like plays which are either about great people and great events or about something from everyday life which is funny.

Perhaps the least popular form of literature is poetry. This is because many poems are very difficult to understand and often seem to be written by very clever people to be read by very clever people too. In my native England though there is a poet called Roger McGough who writes very funny and interesting poems which anybody can understand. Most of them are about everyday events and ordinary people. I wish I could write poems like him

1．In writing this passage, the author probably intends to ________

       A．develop students’ interest in books      B．recommend some excellent books

      C．express his /her love for literature     D．stress the importance of reading

2．According to Paragraph 1, what will happen if the last story can’t be found?

     A The story giant will die                      B．The kids will be killed. 

     C．The castle will disappear.                 D．There will be a shipwreck

3．According to the author, which of the following have the smallest number of readers ?

     A．Short stories      B．Novels               C．Plays                 D．Poems 

4．From the passage , we can know that the author was born in ________.

      A．Canada          B．Britain             C．India              D．the US

       I can’t remember a winter being as cold as this in Pennsylvania, but I’m sure    

there were colder days.

       Even though the daylight hours are growing longer minute by minute, it’s easy to find an excuse not to go out unless you absolutely must, but then again I often have to push myself to accomplish things.

       People I speak to have been in all kinds of nasty moods. They say they’re “under the weather,” not feeling good about this time of year.

       As I stood outside with my two dogs yesterday, it was so cold that my nose and face felt frozen and my ears were stinging.

       Of course, that doesn’t matter to Ricky and Lucy. They have a routine they must go through to find just the fighting spot no matter how cold or hot it is.

       So I wait.

       But this time it was different. As cold as it was, I suddenly was excited thinking about how wonderful this extreme cold really was.

       Then the sun broke through the clouds and memories of summer’s extremely hot days flashed through my mind. I could remember standing in the heat of the afternoon, with sweat pouring down my brow and the hot, burning sun against my face. I reminded myself then and there that in the cold of the winter I would wish I had this heat.

       I was grateful for the extremes. Without the extremes in my life, I would never appreciate the days when things were just right. Without the extremes, life would be boring.

       It’s being pushed to one of the extremes that makes us appreciate the middle more. Health challenges remind us that we need to pay more attention to how we live. Financial extremes remind us that when things go smoothly it’s also time to save for raining days.

       I’ve come to the conclusion that all too often I find a reason not to be happy with where I am at that moment.

       Whether it’s hot or cold, good health or bad, in the money or out of it, I always want it to be different.

       I’m tired of being “Under the Weather!”

31. What is the author’s attitude towards the extremes in life?

       A. Grateful.                                                     B. Critical.                  

       C. Negative.                                                     D. Unconcerned.

32. That day the writer waited in the terrible cold because ______.

       A. his dogs wanted to hunt

       B. he wanted to face the cold bravely

       C. his dogs had a routine

       D. he wanted to be different

33. The underlined word “nasty” (Paragraph 4) can be replaced by ______.

       A. unpleasant                                                   B. violent                    

       C. favorable                                                   D. unusual

34. At last the author drew a conclusion that ______.

       A. happiness cannot be gained by complaints

       B. things will be different whatever the situation is

       C. happiness will fail to come to you if you can find a reason

       D. he is disappointed with his present situation

35. What is the best title for this passage?

       A. Follow the Routine   B. Two Extremes in Life

       C. Changes should be Expected                         D. Weather Information