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In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a
legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first
in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made
the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream
would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopted
and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3. In 2003, I
gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our
home was a complete zoo — a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college
full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That
meant taking as few as one class each semester.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often
wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I
should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get
my college degree!
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big
challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps
add up to big dreams.
1.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be_________.
A. a writer B. a doctor
C. a judge D. a journalist
2.Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?
A. Her grandma asked her to withdraw from college.
B. She fell in love and got married.
C. She had so many children to support that she was too busy to continue her college.
D. She decided to look after her grandma.
3.What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
A. Failure is the mother of success.
B. Little by little, one goes far.
C. Every coin has two sides.
D. Well begun, half done.
4.Which of the following can best describe the author?
A. Caring and determined.
B. Honest and responsible.
C. Ambitious and sensitive.
D. Innocent and single-minded.
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Winners Club
You choose to be a winner!
The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account (交易账户) where you receive a key – card so you can get to your money 24/7 – that's 24 hours a day, 7 days aweek!
It's a club with impressive features for teenagers:
●No account keeping fees!
You're no millionaire so we don't expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!
●Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow. The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits (储蓄) without taking them out in a month.
●Convenient
Teenagers are busy – we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet ... You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part – time job!
●Mega magazine included
Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money. There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.
The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form. You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian (so we can organize that cool key-card) but it is easy. We can't want to hear from you. It's the best way to choose to be a winner!
1.The Winners Club is a bank account intended for _________.
A. parents B. teenagers
C. winners D. adults
2.The Winners Club provides magazines which _________.
A. encourage spending
B. are free to all teenagers
C. are full of adventure stories
D. help to make more of your money
3.If you want to be a member of the Club, you must _________.
A. be an Internet user
B. be permitted by your parent
C. have a big sum of money
D. be in your twenties
4.Which of the following is TRUE about the Winners Club?
A. Special gifts are ready for parents.
B. The bank opens only on work days.
C. Services are convenient for its members.
D. Fees are necessary for the account keeping.
5.What is the purpose of this text?
A. To set up a club.
B. To provided part – time jobs.
C. To introduce a new banking service.
D. To organize key – cards.
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C
People are being lured(引诱) onto Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service, and don’t realize that they’re paying for it by giving up loads of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages.
Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook, because people don’t really know what their personal details are worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you could keep everything private. That was the great thing about Facebook—you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things—your city, your photo, your friends’ names—were set, by default（默认）, to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
According to Facebook’s vice president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a “less satisfying experience.”
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. Who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites. “I think the senators rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them,” Schrage admits.
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade（侵犯）our privacy, it’s only the beginning，which is why I’m considering deactivating（撤销） my account. Facebook is a handy site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t trust. That is too high a price to pay.
1.What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph?
A. It is a website that sends messages to targeted users.
B. It makes money by putting on advertisements.
C. It earns money by selling its user’s personal data
D. It provides a lot of information to its users
2.What does the author say about most Facebook users?
A. They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook
B. They are unwilling to give up their personal information
C. They don’t identify themselves when using website
D. They care very little about their personal information
3.Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?
A. To help its users make more friends
B. To obey the Federal guidelines
C. To make money by attracting more users
D. To offer better service to its users
4.What does Senator Charles Schumer argue for?
A. Setting guidelines for advertising on websites
B. Setting rules for social-networking sites
C. Stopping sharing user’s personal information
D. Removing ads from all social-networking sites
5.Why does the author plan to stop using his Facebook account?
A. He is dissatisfied with its service.
B. He finds many of its users untrustworthy.
C. He doesn’t want his personal data abused.
D. He is upset by its frequent rule changes.
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D
Many years ago, I went through a tough time. One afternoon, I picked my girls up. It was late when we returned home. I went to unlock the door and found my key wouldn’t go in. I kept trying while my daughter went to get a flashlight. When she returned with it we found somehow the lock had been “stuffed” with sunflower seed shells. Thinking that one of the neighborhood children had been up to no good, I really didn’t give it much consideration.
I found all windows were locked up tight. So I returned to the back door. Oh my God, I will never forget the shock of that moment. The house was empty! Other than a few things remaining on the back porch, everything was gone! Then I heard a car pull into the driveway and found two policemen walking up. They inquired why I had broken into the house. They then asked me for proof that I lived at that address, so I asked them to wait a minute while I went to get my rent receipt and identification from inside the house. I explained the matter to them and showed them the door lock.
At this point they were not buying any of my story. I could tell from their actions and tone of voice that they thought I was breaking into an empty house for somewhere to sleep.
I asked a neighbor for the phone number of house owner and the officer made a call. The owner was quite shocked to hear my story. She said that my roommate had been going through an eviction(驱逐) process with the court when I moved in with her and had lost the case. She had been ordered to move by 10 am on that date. The court order had been issued the same day I had paid her 1/2 of the rent and a deposit of $300,000.
The owner was very kind and understanding but there was nothing she could do. The house had been rented already and the people were to move in the following weekend.
The officers let me go and I went to gather my girls into the car. They were both exhausted and old. Also very frightened, because they thought their mamma was going to jail. I had to pull over because the tears took control. I couldn’t believe it! Everything we owned was gone, I had used up all our money moving in and paying my “friend” our share of costs. I knew very few people in town, as we had just moved there recently.
I went to sit back in the car with the girls, I talked to the girls, explaining our situation to them so that they wouldn’t be afraid. During this time there was a “street person” with a bag, looking in the garbage for cans, bottles, and anything that might bring him some cash. But I didn’t pay much attention to him. I decided to get the girls something to eat for breakfast. We grabbed some bread, and chips and returned for a “picnic”. When we got there, I noticed that the man was not alone. He was with a small group of others like him and they were passing a hat amongst themselves.
I was busy setting up our little “picnic” when I heard a voice saying, “MaAm, please excuse… but…well…I overheard the situation you are in, and well… I and the fellows took up a collection for you and your little girls. It’s not very much, but maybe it’ll help a little.” I looked up at this man---dirty, needing a shave ----and saw the face of an angel. I started crying. The man tried to hand me $30. I folded his hand back over the money and just hugged him as tight as I could. I told him, “Thank you for your more than generous offer, but we are going to be just fine.” He didn’t believe me at first, but I convinced him that it was okay.
Later that afternoon I went to the market and bought the making for a barbecue and off to that little park. It didn’t take us very long to find those gentlemen and invite them to join us for lunch. I had a wonderful afternoon that day, sitting there with those old guys, singing songs. They had some of the most entertaining stories and they shared the dreams they once had. They shared themselves… from the heart.
1.The writer couldn’t open the door because ________
A. she didn’t have the right key
B. there was something else in the lock
C. someone had changed the lock
D. the owner of the house refused her living there
2.How did the writer come into the house?
A. She came in with the help of the policemen.
B. She came in by breaking the glass.
C. She came in with the help of a flashlight.
D. She came in from the back door.
3.When the writer came into her house, she must feel _____
A. excited B. confused
C. shocked D. frustrated
4.The writer was not allowed to stay at the house because ____
A. she was cheated by her roommate and the house had been rented to others
B. the house owner was angry about her breaking the glass of the house.
C. she hadn’t paid her share of rent.
D. she was ordered to move out by the court
5.The underlined sentence “At this point they were not buying any of my story” may mean
A. the policemen didn’t have enough money
B. the policemen didn’t believe the writer’s words
C. the policemen helped the writer to break the window
D. the policemen wanted to get rent receipt
6.Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
A. The street person was poor and didn’t dress well
B. The writer accepted the money the street person gave her
C. The street person didn’t know the writer before
D. The writer got along well with the street person and his fellows
