A job is more than just a job，especially to the older generation.“It’s not the money that matters，but the sense of self?worth，” 56?year?old Cheng Wonlan said.So，every day Ms Cheng carries a bag of parcels，letters and documents of all shapes and sizes and does her rounds in North Point.She’s a courier(快递人员)．

Five years ago，Ms Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic.She had worked there for almost 30 years but was made jobless when the doctor migrated(移居)．It was extremely difficult for her to find another job.“People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am，” she said.After two years of searching，the mother of two eventually found another nursing job.But then after two years，she quit.Why?

“My colleagues were young and they didn’t understand me because of my age.They often asked me，‘You are so old；what are you working for？’ I was very unhappy.” she said.So while the rest of her family left for work，she was left to lonely boredom at home.The urge to work drove her to suffering.Then，one of Ms Cheng’s neighbours told her about Employee’s Retraining Board (ERB) offering retraining courses for older people on specific occupations，such as convenience store assistants，junior clerks and so on.

“I was interested in courier work.I didn’t think my age was a barrier because I was fit and healthy.So I thought why not give it a try.” she said.Upon graduation from the ERB，Ms Cheng was offered a job by the Speeding Shuttle Courier Service Company Limited.But then Ms Cheng was faced with a conflict：she was caught between honour and employment.It took Ms Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind and eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong or embarrassing about doing the job.So she took heart and went off to work as a courier.

Ms Cheng’s employer is delighted with her，“Ms Cheng has been working with us for two months and has shown a good responsible attitude to work.”Anthony Chong，who runs the company，said.Currently，Mr Chong has 60 couriers working for his company：five of them are over fifty，four of whom have been through the ERB plan.Mr Chong said he hired older people because they were able and reliable.“Age is not an important factor but attitude is.Many old people are more capable than the youngsters.They will not run from difficulties but the young ones will，” he said.“It is not easy to recruit (招募) young people since they shy away from hardship and challenges.”

1.Why was it difficult for Ms Cheng to find another nursing job?

A．Nursing clinics were hard to find.

B．People thought that old people couldn’t be trusted.

C．People thought she was too old to take on a new job.

D．People didn’t think she had enough working experience.

2.Ms Cheng left her second nursing job because ________.

A．she was bored

B．it was too difficult

C．she was too old to do the job

D．the other staff made her feel uncomfortable

3.Employee’s Retraining Board is a plan for ________.

A．finding jobs for older people

B．teaching new skills to older people

C．training older people to be couriers

D．giving older people something to do in their spare time

4.When Ms Cheng was offered the courier job she ________.

A．took it straight away

B．thought it over and then accepted it

C．thought about it and then refused it

D．refused it straight away but then changed her mind

Parents are often amazed at how fast their child grows and develops. New research has determined that the ability to quantify may develop much sooner than most parents realize.

Kristy vanMarle, professor of the University of Missouri, has determined that contrary to what previous studies have shown, infants（婴儿）are able to quantify substances（物质）—like sand or water—as early as 10 months. As long as the difference between the two substances is large enough, infants will choose the larger amount, especially when it comes to food.

With the assistance of her team researchers, vanMarle tested the quantifying skills of babies by presenting them with two cups: one containing a small amount of food, and one containing a larger amount. Consistently, the babies chose the larger amount.

“Several studies throughout the last 15 years have shown that infants are very good at telling how many objects they see; however, infants don’t seem to count things like water or sand,” vanMarle said. “What we’re saying is that they can quantify substances; it’s just much harder. The infants can see how much food goes into each cup and compare that in their memories. They decide which amount is larger, and they almost always select the larger one.”

This information further refutes（驳斥）the long-held idea that babies “know nothing of the world,” vanMarle said.

“Since psychologists have begun studying infants with sensitive measures, we’ve discovered a lot of early abilities. I think for parents, it should be exciting to know that there’s somebody in there that has some fundamental and basic knowledge of the world, and that knowledge is guiding their development,” vanMarle said.

In the future, vanMarle says this kind of study could be linked to a child’s progress in math-related skills, although programs marketed to increase those abilities, such as “Baby Einstein,” still have mixed reviews when it comes to academic study.

The quantifying ability refers to the ability to     .

A. choose between different substances

B. get much knowledge of the world

C. describe the quantity of something

D. obtain math-related skills

What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 4?

A. The process of doing research.

B. The scientific findings.

C. The final choice of infants.

D. The observation of infants’ behavior.

Babies choose the larger amount of food     .

A. by saying numbers                  B. with the help of parents

C. on personal preference                    D. through their natural abilities

What’s the best title of the text?

A. Breakthrough in Baby Studies

B. Amazing Baby-training Ideas

C. Early Human Abilities

D. Unique Quantifying Methods

Parents are often amazed at how fast their child grows and develops. New research has determined that the ability to quantify may develop much sooner than most parents realize.

Kristy vanMarle, professor of the University of Missouri, has determined that contrary to what previous studies have shown, infants（婴儿）are able to quantify substances（物质）—like sand or water—as early as 10 months. As long as the difference between the two substances is large enough, infants will choose the larger amount, especially when it comes to food.

With the assistance of her team researchers, vanMarle tested the quantifying skills of babies by presenting them with two cups: one containing a small amount of food, and one containing a larger amount. Consistently, the babies chose the larger amount.

“Several studies throughout the last 15 years have shown that infants are very good at telling how many objects they see; however, infants don’t seem to count things like water or sand,” vanMarle said. “What we’re saying is that they can quantify substances; it’s just much harder. The infants can see how much food goes into each cup and compare that in their memories. They decide which amount is larger, and they almost always select the larger one.”

This information further refutes（驳斥）the long-held idea that babies “know nothing of the world,” vanMarle said.

“Since psychologists have begun studying infants with sensitive measures, we’ve discovered a lot of early abilities. I think for parents, it should be exciting to know that there’s somebody in there that has some fundamental and basic knowledge of the world, and that knowledge is guiding their development,” vanMarle said.

In the future, vanMarle says this kind of study could be linked to a child’s progress in math-related skills, although programs marketed to increase those abilities, such as “Baby Einstein,” still have mixed reviews when it comes to academic study.

The quantifying ability refers to the ability to     .

A. choose between different substances

B. get much knowledge of the world

C. describe the quantity of something

D. obtain math-related skills

What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 4?

A. The process of doing research.

B. The scientific findings.

C. The final choice of infants.]

D. The observation of infants’ behavior.

Babies choose the larger amount of food     .

A. by saying numbers                         B. with the help of parents

C. on personal preference                    D. through their natural abilities

We can learn from the text that     .

A. some parents don’t care about their kids

B. people used to think the world is known to babies

C. little research has been done on infants

D. scholars disagree on baby-training programs

What’s the best title of the text?

A. Breakthrough in Baby Studies

B. Amazing Baby-training Ideas

C. Early Human Abilities

D. Unique Quantifying Methods

There is a saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” What one person considers beautiful may not be beautiful to another. When we talk about beauty in people, we often refer to their physical attractiveness. Of course, a beautiful or handsome face is pleasant to look at. But to me beauty is not only something that pleases the eyes.  but also pleases the other senses and the mind. I think true beauty makes you see beyond the lovely sight. It will give you insight (深刻的了解) or realization of something interesting beyond just the outward appearance.
The most memorable “beautiful people” are those who have attractive personalities behind the pretty faces. In one of my previous classes, there were two beautiful girls. Sue and Lin. Both had almost perfect faces and slender(纤细的) figures. But Lin was used to getting her own way. She felt that her looks could help her get anything she wanted, especially among the boys. Sue, on the other hand, treated her beauty in a matter of-fact way and she was nice to everyone. She was also a member of the debating team. Her personality was mostly accepted by others and it made her a more outstanding beauty than Lin.
Inner beauty is another kind of beauty that attracts people greatly. People who have this kind of beauty have attained(获得) inner peace. They care about their fellowmen, and try to right the injustices in this world, Two well-known personalities who exemplify this are Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa.  Mandela is willing to sacrifice his life and freedom to obtain equal rights for the blacks in South Africa. Mother Theresa’s mission is to help the poorest of the world’s poor. This inner beauty makes the world a better place.
60. When we talk about beauty in people, we often refer to ________.
A. the beauty of eyes                             B. something beyond the lovely sight
C. something that pleases our eyes           D. inner beauty
61. What does the underlined sentence “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” mean?
A. Beauty is a matter of a person’s taste and judgement.
B. Beautiful people are very popular.
C. Everybody hopes for beauty.
D. Beauty attracts people’ s eyes.
62. According to the passage, why did the author think Sue was more beautiful than Lin?
A. Sue had a perfect face                      B. Sue had a good character.
C. Sue became more and more slender.     D. Lin treated her beauty in a matter-of-fact way.
63. What’s the author’s opinion on beauty?
A. Beauty is a perfect face and a slender figure.
B. Beauty is something that pleases the eyes.
C. Beauty is an attractive personality behind the pretty faces.
D. Inner beauty doesn’t attract people.

Parents are often amazed at how fast their child grows and develops. New research has determined that the ability to quantify may develop much sooner than most parents realize.
Kristy vanMarle, professor of the University of Missouri, has determined that contrary to what previous studies have shown, infants（婴儿）are able to quantify substances（物质）—like sand or water—as early as 10 months. As long as the difference between the two substances is large enough, infants will choose the larger amount, especially when it comes to food.
With the assistance of her team researchers, vanMarle tested the quantifying skills of babies by presenting them with two cups: one containing a small amount of food, and one containing a larger amount. Consistently, the babies chose the larger amount.
“Several studies throughout the last 15 years have shown that infants are very good at telling how many objects they see; however, infants don’t seem to count things like water or sand,” vanMarle said. “What we’re saying is that they can quantify substances; it’s just much harder. The infants can see how much food goes into each cup and compare that in their memories. They decide which amount is larger, and they almost always select the larger one.”
This information further refutes（驳斥）the long-held idea that babies “know nothing of the world,” vanMarle said.
“Since psychologists have begun studying infants with sensitive measures, we’ve discovered a lot of early abilities. I think for parents, it should be exciting to know that there’s somebody in there that has some fundamental and basic knowledge of the world, and that knowledge is guiding their development,” vanMarle said.
In the future, vanMarle says this kind of study could be linked to a child’s progress in math-related skills, although programs marketed to increase those abilities, such as “Baby Einstein,” still have mixed reviews when it comes to academic study.
【小题1】The quantifying ability refers to the ability to     .

A．by saying numbers	B．with the help of parents
C．on personal preference	D．through their natural abilities