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Ruth Simmons was born in a very poor family. Today, she’s the president of a famous American university. How did she do it?
The story begins on a farm in Grapeland, Texas, in 1945. Ruth was born that year. Her parents were farm workers, and she was the youngest of their twelve children. They weren’t able to give the children many things, and Ruth never had any toys. For Christmas, she didn’t receive any presents at all except a shoebox with an apple, an orange, and some nuts. However, in Grapeland, Ruth wasn’t really aware of being poor. Then the family moved into Huston. In the city, being poor was much harder.
At the age of five, Ruth fell in love with school. She was a bright child, and she was lucky to have some excellent teachers. No one in Ruth’s family had much education, but her teachers encouraged her to go to college, and Ruth was brave enough to try. They also gave her money and even a coat to wear.
At first, Ruth studied theater. Then she studied language. Later she married, had two children, and began a career as a college teacher and administrator. Soon people began to notice her and respect her abilities.
In 1995, Ruth became president of Smith College, a famous American college for women. Ruth was the first African American to lead a college like this one. Six years later, she accepted another challenge. She became the president of Brown University.
Ruth believes in the power of education. “Learning can be the same for a poor farm kid like me as it is for the richest child in the country. It’s all about cultivating one’s mind, and anybody can do that. So it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, it doesn’t matter how much money your father has, it doesn’t matter what kind of house you live in. Every learner can experience the same thing.”
1.Which of the following words can best describe Ruth Simmons?
A. Poor but honest. B. Generous but unlucky.
C. Brave and strict. D. Intelligent and hard-working.
2.What does the underlined word “cultivating” mean?
A. organizing. B. challenging.
C. developing. D. establishing.
3.What is the last paragraph mainly about?
A. Ruth’s feelings about success.
B. Ruth’s opinions about education.
C. Ruth’s suggestions on studying.
D. Ruth’s expectations of learners.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are many things to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how hard a language is to learn is only relevant in learning a second language.
A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language can affect learning a second language. The greater the differences between a second language and our first language, the harder it will be for most people to learn a second language. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet.
Some people seem to learn languages easily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the circumstances (环境) in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner’s purpose for learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it in work, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in their day-to-day life.
No language is easy to learn well, though languages which are related to our first language are easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that does not necessarily make a language more difficult than another. In the end, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.
1.Why do many people think Chinese is hard to learn?
A. Its writing system is strange.
B. Its pronunciation is challengeable.
C. Its characters are difficult to understand.
D. It has great differences from many other languages.
2.What can we learn from the text?
A. People will learn a language faster if they use it daily.
B. There are many languages that are the most difficult in the world.
C. All the languages can be easy to learn with good teachers and circumstances.
D. The writing system of a language is more difficult to master than its pronunciation.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Most people follow others blindly just under the effect of peer (同辈) pressure or because they feel it safe to follow a large number of people. In some rare cases it might be right to follow the crowd, but in most cases this can be a big mistake. Actually there are reasons why we shouldn’t follow the crowd blindly.
According to a study, people often follow the crowd when they aren’t sure about the direction they should take. This means a large number of people could be following others without understanding what’s right and what’s wrong! This makes more people follow and as a result most people move in a certain direction even if it isn’t right.
A man who wants to be successful always hopes for others’ guidance and he usually follows the same path of most people, but the question this man never asks himself is: Are all of those people successful? Of course not! If you want to follow a crowd, then follow a successful one. However, in real life you’ll only find one successful person among hundreds of people, and that’s why following the crowd makes no sense at all.
Most people act emotionally without thinking wisely. If you always follow others because they’re greater than you in number, then sooner or later you’ll discover that you’re taking emotional decisions you might regret later.
However, should we never follow the crowd? No. I’m not trying to say you should never follow the crowd, but instead I’m just asking you to think wisely before you take a decision. If you find others are right, there is no problem in following them, but if you have doubts about the direction they’re moving in, don’t follow them blindly.
1.According to the text, most people like to follow others partly because______.
A. they don't know what to do
B. they believe they take the right direction
C. they are affected by their peers
D. they want to make good impressions on people
2.What do many people who want to succeed do before making a decision?
A. Do what most people do.
B. Follow a successful man.
C. Think twice about it.
D. Sum up the mistakes they have made.
3.What opinion does the author hold?
A. It is wrong to follow other people.
B. It takes time to think wisely.
C. You shouldn’t be sorry for what you have done.
D. You should use your brain before following others.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. Effects of following others.
B. Reasons for not following others blindly.
C. Advantages of making wise decisions.
D. Ways of finding successful people to follow.
5.Which of the following best shows the structure of the text?
(①=Para 1, ②=Para 2, ③=Para 3, ④=Para 4, ⑤=Para 5)
A.
B. 
C. 
D. 
难度: 中等查看答案及解析