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限时阅读训练 (1)

词数: about 290     难度: ★   建议用时: 3.5 minutes
    On my first day in a college classroom, I felt like an overgrown child returning to civilization, after having been lost in the forest for thirty years. There I sat, old enough to be a father to most of the students in the room, yet insecure enough to be their baby brother. We were crowded elbow (肘) to elbow, listening to a professor who looked even younger than the students did. I felt uncomfortable and out of place as the professor carefully explained what she expected us to learn.
    As I listened, I couldn’t help but think of my own oldest daughter who was now beginning her freshman year in college, just like me. I recalled (回忆) how hard I had tried to instill (逐步培养) self-confidence in her and my other children. So why did I suddenly feel like a scared child myself? When I walked out of that classroom, I had serious doubts about my ability to make it through college. Not until late that night did my thinking change. It was a long-distance telephone call from my daughter that did the trick. She was certain that she’d never succeed at college. How familiar her worries sounded!
    In my confident parental voice, I said, “Doing your best is all the world asks.” The next day in class, those words still echoed in my head. When the professor posed (提出) a question for the class, nobody, including me, dared answer. When I looked around at the fear and uncertainty on the young faces in that room, I knew exactly what I had to do: my best. That’s all the world asks. So I raised my hand, and the professor called on me. I spoke.

1. The main purpose of the author in writing the story is to ______.
   A. tell us how he overcame his self-doubt and anxiety as a college freshman
   B. recall the poor conditions in college when he was a student
   C. describe his feeling of being frightened in class when asked a question
   D. talk about the time when a class had students of very different ages
2. When the author says “that did the trick”, he means ______.
   A. the telephone call worked to help him change his thinking
   B. his daughter played a trick on him by pretending to leave college
   C. the telephone reminded him of his previous school experience
   D. his daughter’s difficulties made him realize his parental responsibilities
3. The underlined word “echoed” in Paragraph 2 means “______”.
   A. understood    B. repeated     C. imagined     D. warned

词数: about 230    难度: ★★  建议用时: 3 minutes
    Australia has a very colourful multicultural society. Part of the population were born overseas, most of whom were made up of children of at least one parent who was born overseas. In this mix of people, there are about 200 languages and many different religious.
    The Australia government holds to policy that welcomes people from all cultures: each Australian has the right to “keep and celebrate, within the law, their culture, language, or religion”. By following four key principles, Australia hopes to keep its culturally diverse society successful, open to new ideas and united to a shared future as a nation.
    The first principle emphasizes the duty of each Australian to follow and uphold the laws and principles for protecting freedom and equality for all.
    The second principle points out the importance of respecting other people. This means that not only does each Australian have the right to have his own beliefs and culture, but that he must also give the same right to others.
    The third principle stresses that each person is equal and therefore should be treated with equal fairness. There should be no discrimination against people because of their culture, religion, language, nationality, gender, etc.
    The fourth principle is a reminder that all Australians get some benefit from having a strong society. Multiculturalism offers great benefits to all, not only cultural, but social and economic as well.

1. Australia is a culturally diverse society because ______.
   A. some foreigners travel there
   B. some people were born abroad
   C. most natives marry foreigners
   D. the natives can understand different languages
2. The underlined word “uphold” in Paragraph 3 means “______”.
   A. set      B. change      C. disobey      D. support
3. The passage mainly tells us about ______.
   A. Australia’s multicultural policy
   B. Australia’s colourful society
   C. Australia’s great population
   D. Australia’s government