I was not happy, for I wanted to travel.I wanted to see the world known to me only from books.My dream came  1 .I left my native land and started  2  a journey  3 the Atlantic to the New World.I was young and my mind was full of noble ideas.

In the month of January 1853 I arrived in New Orleans.An hour  4  my arrival, I was already walking about the streets of the city, staring with interest at the new  5  around me.But soon my  6  turned to other things.

As I walked about the streets I began to understand my own  7  .I had been one of the best students in college.But could I use the dry  8  I had received?

I had been taught the classic language. Now, in real life, they seemed useless to me. I  9   that I was  10  man, but mow understood that I really knew nothing.

The first six months I spent in New Orleans were a good school for me. I learned more of life   11  I had learned during many years of study at college.  12  the end of those six months I had very little money.After paying  13  my room I had only twenty-five dollars  14 in my pocket.I  15  to write home for more money and wait for  16 .This would  17  many weeks, because there were no Atlantic steamers at the time.

I wanted to find a  18 , but my classic education had not  19  me for any kind of useful work. St. Louis seemed to be the best place and I thought I would go there.I had enough money for the passage, though I did not know  20  I would live afterwards.

1. A. to itself                B. true               C. to a reality           D. down

2. A. for                       B. on                  C. about               D. to

3. A. over                     B. across             C. from               D. above

4. A. ago                      B. before             C. after                      D. later

5. A. buildings              B. situation                C.scenes                    D. conditions

6. A. thoughts               B. head                  C. ideas           D. memory

7. A. carelessness        B. mistakes               C.shortcomings     D. uselessness

8. A. experience            B. knowledge          C. practice         D. skill

9. A. thought                B. wished             C. had thought      D. had wished

10. A. a learning            B. an educated           C. an honest         D. a perfect

11. A. as                      B. than                      C. though           D. after

12. A. In                      B. To                        C. On              D. By

13. A. for                     B. back               C. off              D. out

14. A. remained            B. existed                  C. staying           D. left

15. A. used                   B. hoped                  C. ought            D. had

16. A. a telegram           B. the bill                   C. an answer         D. the note

17. A. mean                  B. wait              C. spend             D. take

18. A. place                  B. job               C. way              D. friend

19. A. prepared             B. fitted              C. served            D.practiced

20. A. how                    B. for what          C. however            D. where

When their parents were children, they imagined a future standing in front of a class of pupils or doing the rounds (巡诊) as a doctor.

     But today’s British teenagers, a survey suggests, seem to have set their sights only on becoming the next Leona Lewis or Wayne Rooney.

     Researchers questioned 3,000 teenagers about their ambitions (strong desire to achieve sth.) and also asked parents about their youthful career hopes.

     According to the survey, youngsters dream of a celebrity (明星) lifestyle, perhaps after finding fame through shows such as the X Factor, and of being actors or sports stars.

     Copying the likes of Rooney and David Beckham was the top career ambition of today’s teenagers, cited (说到) by 12 percent.

     Almost as many, 11 percent, wanted to be pop stars, and the same proportion (比例) dreamed of being actors.

     The success of celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay is likely to explain why becoming a chef is now the dream of 5 percent, a career ambition which did not figure in the list of 25 years ago.

     A quarter of a century back teaching was the top career choice, cited by 15 percent. These days the job is chosen by only 4 percent.

     Of the traditional professions (职业), only law has risen in popularity.

     The survey also suggests that more girls dream of becoming doctors and boys want careers as astronauts or firefighters.

     Child psychologist Laverne Antrobus said the findings reflect(反映)today's celebrity culture and warned children against unrealistic dreams.

     “Children see footballers, pop stars and actors on TV and their lives look exciting, glamorous (光鲜的) and fun,” she said. “It is hard for them to realize that they are the end product of a lot of ingredients including talent, determination and years of hard work. Wayne Rooney is not on the pitch (球场) by chance.”

     As Antrobus pointed out, there is absolutely nothing wrong with children having big dreams, but “these have to be based on reality,” she said.

UK career ambitions of two generations

Today % citing

1. sports star 12

2. pop star 11

3. actor 11

4. astronaut 9

5. lawyer 9

6. emergency services worker7

7. medicine 6

8. chef 5

9. teacher 4

10. vet 3

25 years ago % citing

1. teacher 15

2. banking/ finance 9

3. medicine 7

4. scientist 6

5. vet 6

6. lawyer 6

7. sports star 5

8. astronaut 4

9. hairdresser 4

10. archaeologist

1.The study suggests that today's British teenagers want to ______ sports stars, pop stars and actors.          

A.have the talent of                B.work as hard as

C.enjoy the celebrity lifestyles of     D.become successful by chance like

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE? 

A.12 percent of British teenagers surveyed wanted to become chefs.

B.22 percent of British teenagers surveyed wanted to be pop stars or actors.

C.None of the traditional professions are favored by today's British teenagers, the survey suggests.

D.Teaching, though less popular, seems to remain one of the top career choices on the list.

3.What does the underlined sentence “Wayne Rooney is not on the pitch by chance.” mean?

A.Wayne Rooney does not get to play much today.  

B.Wayne Rooney didn't get into sport by chance.

C.Wayne Rooney doesn't believe in luck when he is playing.

D.Wayne Rooney didn't become successful by luck.

4.The expert quoted in the article believes ______.

A.there's no point in teenagers having dreams  

B.it is wrong to desire to live the life of a celebrity

C.young Britons have the same ambitions as their parents

D.children should set practical goals when they think of their career

“We don’t have rush hours any more”, said Mr. Charles Mac Lean, who runs the nation’s busiest road.“We have rush periods, and they keep getting longer and longer.”

Mac Lean was describing Chicago’s 235 miles of expressway. But the same might be said about almost any of the expressways that have become an important part of American city life—and about the heavy traffic that often blocks them.In Chicago, a computerized system has been developed that controls traffic on the city’s seven expressways.Now one man—a controller—can follow the movement of Chicago’s traffic by looking at a set of lights. The system uses electronic sensors that are built into each expressway, half a mile apart.Several times a second, the computer receives information from each sensor and translates it into green, yellow, or red lights on a map in the control room.A green light means the traffic is moving forty-five miles an hour, yellow means thirty to forty-five miles an hour and red means heavy  traffic—cars standing still or moving less than thirty miles an hour.

“See that red light near Austin Avenue?” the controller asked a visitor.“That’s a repair truck fixing the road, and the traffic has to go around it”.

At the Roosevelt Road entrance to the expressway, the light kept changing from green to red and back to green again.“A lot of trucks get on the expressway there,” the controller explained. “They can’t speed up as fast as cars.”

The sensors show immediately where an accident or a stopped car is blocking traffic, and a truck is sent by radio to clear the road.The system has lowered the number of accidents by 18 percent. There are now 1.4 deaths on Chicago’s expressways for each one hundred million miles traveled, while in other parts of the country there are 26.

Traffic experts say that the Chicago system is the “coming thing”.Systems like Chicago’s are already in use on some expressways in Los Angeles and Houston.“Chicago has taken the lead,” says New York City’s traffic director; and he adds, “We are far behind…”

1.How does the controller follow Chicago’s traffic?

      A. By controlling the traffic lights.

B. By operating a computer in the control room.

C. By sending a truck to clear the roads.

D. By looking at a set of lights on the map in the control room.

2.The underlined word “it” in paragraph 3 refers to ____________.

      A. a truck which needs repairing      B. a red light

C. Austin Avenue                  D. a truck doing repairs on the road

3.Which of the statements is true about the computerized system in Chicago?

      A. It changes rush hours into rush periods.

B. It saves a lot of labor and at the same time prevents some deaths.

C. It is the first system of this kind in America.

D. It will soon be followed by New York City.

4.What might be the best title for this passage?

      A. Computerized Traffic Control System   B. Rush Periods Getting Longer

C. No Rush Hours Any More            D. Sensors on Expressways

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