(二十六)

A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin (顽童) was walking around the shining car. "Is this your car, Paul?" he asked.

Paul answered, "Ye, my brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was surprised. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it did cost you nothing? Paul, I wish ......" He hesitated (犹豫). Paul thought of course he knew what the boy wanted, but what the boy said surprised him greatly. " I Wish, " the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that. " Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, "Would you like to take a ride in my car? " " Oh yes, I'd love to. " The boy answered.

After a short ride, the boy turned with his eyes shining and said, "Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house? "

Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. " Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked.

   He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled (残疾) brother. He sat down on the step and pointed to the car.

    "There he is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm going to give you one just like it ... then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I've been trying to tell you about."

    Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining - eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three began an unforgettable holiday ride.

1.The street urchin was very surprised when ________.

A. Paul received an expensive car

B. Paul told him about the car

C. he met Paul

D. he was walking around the car

2. From the story we can see the urchin _______.

A. wished to give his brother a car

B. wanted Paul's brother to give him a car

C. wished he could have a brother like Paul's

D. wished Paul could be a brother like that

3. The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house _______.

A. to show his neighbors the big car

B. to show he had a rich friend

C. to let his brother ride in the car

D. to tell his brother about his wish

4. We can find from this story that _______.

A. The urchin wished Paul to give his car to Buddy

B. The urchin had a deep love for his brother

C. The urchin wished to have a rich brother

D. The urchin's wish came true in the end

5. The best name of the story is ________. 

A. Christmas Present

B. A Street Urchin

C. A Brother Like That

D. An Unforgettable Holiday Ride

                        

 

 

 

                          (二十七)

                        Flight Time Table

Flight No.	Departure (离开)	Arrival (到达)	From	To Stop	Stop
CA907	0745	1210	Beijing	Moscow	Chengdu
CA981	0185	1835	Beijing	New York	Shanghai
CA158	1020	2310	Beijing	London	Chengdu
CA149	1235	2210	Beijing	Sydney	HongKong
CA923	1235	1710	Beijing	Moscow	/
CA167	1315	0240	Beijing	Paris	Moscow
CA147	1555	1015	Beijing	Sydney	Guangzhou
CA949	1725	735	Beijing	Paris	Shanghai
CA173	1920	0150	Beijing	Moscow	Urnmuqi
CA937	2125	0810	Beijing	London	HongKong

 

1. You will go to Australia and only take ________ when you reach Beijing Airport at   eleven forty.

  A. CA923      B. CA149       C. CA167       D. CA147

2. If you go to France and spend fourteen hours and ten minutes, you should stay in ________ on the way.

  A. Hong Kong   B. Shanghai     C. Moscow     D. Chengdu

3. It will take you _______ to reach England if you stop in Hong Kong.

  A. nine hours and twenty         B. twelve hours and fifty

  C. ten hours and thirty five        D. ten hours and forty five

4. You'd better take the ________ plane if you want to spend least time to get to Russia.

  A. one fifteen                   B. twelve thirty-five

  C. seven forty-five               D. seven twenty

5. You ________ in Beijing if you want to go to America.

  A. may take one plane            B. may take two plane

  C. may take three plane           D. may not take any planes   

                         

                              (二十八)

    Most people want to work , but it has become more difficult in today’s world to find work for everybody. The economics(经济) of the world need to grow by 4 % each year just to keep the number of the jobs for people. Often this is not possible, and so more people are without work. Some people have no jobs now because new machines can do the work of many people in a shorter time. Also, machines do not ask for more money and longer holidays. In all of the countries of the world machines are taking work from people, not only in factories but also on the farms. One machine can often do the work of forty people, About 75,000 people are moving to the cities a day to look for jobs, but only 70% of them can find jobs.    

1. It was       for people to find work in the past than it is today.

A.      more difficult  B. easier  C. not possible  D. hard

2. If the economies of the world grow by 4% each year,      .

A.      people will have no jobs 

B.      4% of the people will have jobs, too

C.      people can have the same number of jobs as before

D.     96% of the people will have jobs

3. One machine can do as much work as      .

A.      40 people                B. 75,000 people 

C.70% of the people           D.4% of the people in the world

4. How many people outside cities go into cities to look for jobs each day?

A.      More than 75,000.

B.      70% of the people

C.      About 4% of the people in the world.

D.     About 75,000

5. Which of the following statements is wrong?

  A.  Most people want to have jobs.

A.      Machines need more money and longer holidays.

B.      Now more people are without work.

  D. Machines are working instead of people not only in factories but also on the farms.                        

                            

                                (二十九)

The laptop(便携式) computer is popular all over the word as it is small enough for us to use on our laps while seated. People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms.

Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do school work anywhere they want. Within five years, each of the 1,500 students at the college will get a laptop. The laptop are part of a $10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college. The students with laptops will also have access(通路) not only to the Internet but also to libraries. In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to “speak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families. However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs. They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees-anywhere at all.

At Westlake College, more than 90 percent of the students use computers, either desktop or laptop, but the laptop users can work and study in any of the places. Just as one of the Westlake teachers said, “Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world.”

1. What’s the passage mainly about?

   A. Westlake college’s plan to use laptops.

   B. The old history of Westlake College.

            C. Laptop computers are more powerful.

D. Desktop computers are out of date.

2.The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each students

  a laptop to ________.

  A. use for their school work    B. access the Internet

  C. work at home             D. connect them to libraries

3.Why is the word “speak” in the second paragraph in quotation marks?

  A. They don’t really talk       B. They use the computer language.

  C. Laptops have speakers      D. None the above reasons is correct.

4. Which of the following is true about Westlake College?

A.    All teachers use computers.

B.     1500 students have laptops.

C.    It is an old college in America.

  D. Students there can do everything.

5. A window on the world in the last paragraph means that students can ________ .

  A. attend lectures on information technology

  B. travel around the world

  C. get information from around the world

  D. have free laptops

                               

                                (三十)

There are stock markets (股市) in large cities in many countries. Stock markets in Paris, London, Tokyo, Shanghai and New York are among the largest and most well-known. The stock market also called stock exchange (交易所), is a place where people can buy or sell shares of a factory or company. And each share means certain ownership (所有权) of a factory or company.

Different people go to stock markets. Some are rich, who want to get more money than they have. Others are not very rich, who buy stocks to try to become rich. Still others buy stocks as part of their plan to save money.

Of course, investing (投资) money in a stock market is not the safest way to make money. No one can tell exactly whether the shares will be doing well. The factory or company may do badly. The stock will go down, and the investors will lose money. The stock may go up or down for a number of untold reasons. Everyone wants the stock to go up, but sometimes even if a factory or company does a good job, the stock may still go down.

No wonder going to the stock market is often compared to gambling (赌博). All are eager to make money by “gambling” in the stock market. Factories and companies that need money are please that so many people are willing to “gamble”. Indeed, the stock market is an attractive (有吸引力的) and complex part of the business world.

1. If you are a good investor, you ________ in the stock market.

A.    can always make money       

   B. may sometimes lose money

C.      your gambling is always safe 

   D. can tell exactly when the stock goes up or down

2. The passage mainly wants to us _______.

   A. ABC of stock markets

   B. How to buy or sell shares

   C. The stock market is like gambling

   D. Investing money in the stock market is not the safest way

3. Which of the following is NOT right?

A.    The stock market is like gambling.

B.     People buy or sell stocks in the hope of marking money.

C.    People who are not rich may become rich by buying or selling stocks.

D.    The stock will always go up if factory or company does a good job.

4. Factories and companies are pleased that so many people like  “gambling”

A.    they can make them rich

B.     some people won and some lose

C.    they need their money to do business

   D. they need more people to work for them

5. The word “complex” in the last sentence probably means _______.

   A. modern      B. worthy      C. difficult      D. complete