-
Chances
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 I would never have that sort of career（职业）.
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 bad 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（资格证书）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 on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I’ve 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.
1.What is the author’s present job?
A. Working part-time in a college.
B. Taking care of children for a family.
C. Helping children with their schoolwork.
D. Looking after children at a kindergarten.
2.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
3.Why did the author leave her first job?
A. She found a full-time job.
B. She was fed up with children.
C. She decided to attend a part-time course.
D. She needed a rest after working extra hours.
4.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 choose the job she like.
-
Good tool design is important in the prevention of overuse injuries. Well-designed tools and equipment will require less force to operate them and prevent awkward（别扭的）hand positions. They will allow the worker to keep the elbows（肘）next to the body to prevent damage to the shoulder and arm.
Overuse injuries can therefore be prevented or reduced if the employer provides, and workers use:
●power tools rather than having to use muscle（肌肉）power
●tools with specially designed handles that allow the wrist（手腕）to keep straight （See figure 1）. This means that hands and wrists are kept in the same position as they would be if they were hanging relaxed at a person’s side
Figure1. Bend the tool, not the wrist
●tools with handles that can be held comfortably by the whole hand. This means having a selection of sizes—remember that tools that provide a comfortable firm Hold for a person with a very large hand may be awkward for someone with a very small hand. This is a particularly important consideration for women who may use tools originally designed for men.
●tools that do not press fingers (or flesh) between the handles, and whose handles do not have sharp edges or a small surface area.
1.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Good tool Design for Women
B. Importance of Good Tool Design
C. Tool Design and Prevention of Injuries
D. Overuse of Tools and Worker Protection
2.Which of the following describes a well-designed tool?
A. It’s kept close to the body.
B. It fully uses muscle power.
C. It makes users feel relaxed.
D. It’s operated with less force.
3.What is Figure 1 used to show?
A. The effective use of the tool.
B. The way of operating the tool.
C. The proper design of the handle.
D. The purpose of bending the wrist.
4.In choosing tools for women, _____of the handle is the most important.
A. the size
B. the edge
C. the shape
D. the position
-
How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments－mostly for entertainment purposes－is fair and respectful?
Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. How ever, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats (栖息地). Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural bones.
Zoos claim (声称) to educate people and save endangered species(物种), but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range(分布区). The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs.
The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusual and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding(圈养繁殖)of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.
1.How would the author describe the animals’ life in zoos?
A. Dangerous.
B. Unhappy.
C. Natural.
D. Easy.
2.In the state of zoochosis, animals _________.
A. remain in cages
B. behave strangely
C. attack other animals
D. enjoy moving around
3.What does the author try to argue in the passage?
A. Zoos are not worth the public support.
B. Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals.
C. Zoos should treat animals as human beings.
D. Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment.
4.The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by _____.
A. pointing out the faults in what zoos do
B. using evidence he has collected at zoos
C. questioning the way animals are protected
D. discussing the advantages of natural habitats
5.Although he argues against zoos, the author would still agree that _______.
A. zoos have to keep animals in small cages
B. most animals in zoos are endangered species
C. some endangered animals are reproduced in zoos
D. it’s acceptable to keep animals away from their habitats
-
Language as a System of Symbols
Of all systems of symbols(符号), language is the most highly developed. It has been pointed out that human beings, by agreement, can make anything stand for anything. Human beings have agreed, in the course of centuries of mutual(相互的)dependency, to let the various noises that they can produce with their lungs, throats, tongues, teeth, and lips systematically stand for certain happenings in their nervous systems. We call that system of agreements language.
There is no necessary connection between the symbol and that which it stands for. Just as social positions can be symbolized by feathers worn on the head, by gold on the watch chain, or by a thousand other things according to the culture we live in, so the fact of being hungry can be symbolized by a thousand different noises according to the culture we live in.
However obvious these facts may appear at first glance, they are actually not so obvious as they seem except when we take special pains to think about the subject. Symbols and the things they stand for are independent of each other, yet we all have a way of feeling as if, and sometimes acting as if, there were necessary connections. For example, there are people who feel that foreign languages are unreasonable by nature; foreigners have such funny names for things, and why can’t they call things by their right names? This feeling exhibits itself most strongly in those English and American tourists who seem to believe that they can make the natives of any country understand English if they shout loud enough. Like the little boy who is reported to have said: “Pigs are called pigs because they are such dirty animals,” they feel that the symbol is inherently(内在地) connected in some way with the things symbolized.
1.Language is a highly developed system of symbols because human beings ______.
A. have made use of language for centuries
B. use our nervous systems to support language
C. have made various noises stand for any events
D. can make anything stand for anything by agreement
2.What can we conclude from Paragraph 2?
A. Different noises may mean different things.
B. Our culture determines what a symbol stands for.
C. The language we use symbolizes our social positions.
D. Our social positions determine the way we are dressed.
3.In Paragraph 3, “take special pains” probably means “_____”.
A. try very hard
B. take our time
C. are very unhappy
D. feel especially painful
4.The example of the little boy is used to show that _____.
A. adults often learn from their young
B. “pig” is a dirty word because pigs are dirty
C. words are not connected with the things they stand for
D. people sometimes have wrong ideas about how language works
-
1.What does Passage①tell us about the boy?
A. He was injured in the head when he was 14.
B. He has waited for the payout for a long time.
C. He has lived in the same place since the accident.
D. He was run over by a taxi when riding on the pavement.
2.What can we learn about Lee and Collier counties from Passage②?
A. They both became safe places.
B. They won the same place in a race.
C. They had the same number of accidents.
D. They joined hands in reducing accidents.
3.Which passage would give more information on the prevention of road accidents?
A. ① B. ② C. ③ D. ④
