BUNOL, Spain (AFP) — Tens of thousands of people from around the world threw tons of ripe tomatoes at each other in an annual food fight that painted the eastern Spanish town of Bunol red.
More than 40,000 people, including many visitors from Australia, Britain and the United States, took part in the food fight known as the “Tomatina”, now in its 64th year, a spokeswoman for Bunol’s town hall said.
They were provided with over 100 tons of tomatoes by the town council for the battle which lasted about one hour and left participants covered in red.
Many men were shirtless while others wore old clothes, hardhats, goggles or protective plastic sheets.
Shopkeepers put up huge plastic covers on their store fronts or boarded them up to protect their properties from the sea of red mush (糊状物).
After the battle, governmental workers and local residents used “giant hoses” to clear the walls and streets of the tomato pulp in just half an hour while the participants headed to a nearby river where temporary showers were set up.
The event cost the town of some l0, 000 residents 40,000 dollars, and Spanish media reported.
The “Tomatina” is held each year in Bunol, located in a fertile (富饶的) region about 40 kilometers north of the coastal city of Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city, on the last Wednesday in August.
The origins of the event are unclear although it is thought to have its roots in a food fight between childhood friends in the mid-1940s in the city.
It has grown in size as international press coverage brought more and more people to the festival.
1.To keep their stores safe, the shopkeepers _____.
A. kept their store fronts covered B. hung plastic sheets on the walls
C. closed all the doors and windows D. stopped people throwing at them
2.Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the underlined word “pulp” (in Paragraph 6)?
A. skin. B. color. C. mush. D. value.
3.It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
A. the “Tomatina” brings in huge profits
B. the festival attracted more tourists this year
C. no one knows the history of the festival
D. tourism plays an important role in Bunol
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. It is fun to throw tomatoes B. An exciting story about tomatoes
C. Fighting and sightseeing in Bunol D. Spanish town painted red in tomato fight
As the economy begins to recover, salary increases should do the same.
In the past few years, employers have raised workers’ salaries by about 4 percent per year--except for 2009, when the figure dropped to a historically low 2.1 percent, according to a survey of World at Word. About one-third of companies froze raises altogether.
For 2010, World at Work’s survey projects an average salary increase budget of 2.7 percent, a figure that shows the situation has improved but the job market is still weak. Between 10 percent and 15 percent of companies said they would freeze raises--far fewer than in 2009, but still more than in most years.
How can you get a raise? Avalos and others offer the following tips:
* Do your job well. This means producing high-quality work, of course, but also keeping the big picture in mind.
“It really comes down to positioning yourself as a high performer, somebody who is aware of business goals and helps the company meet their goals as an organization”, Avalos said
* Be visible. When times are tough, some workers think. “I’m going to hunker down and hope that nobody notices me, because I don’t want to be on a layoff list,” said Richard Phillips, owner of Advantage Career Solutions. This is a mistake, because you’re unlikely to get a raise if no one knows what you have accomplished. “If anything, what you want to do is be more visible.”
* Make your boss’s life easier. This means everything from having a good attitude to taking on extra tasks. If you don’t know how you can help your boss, ask.
* Ask for a raise. Talk to your boss and present your case: Here’s what I’ve done, here’s how it fits with the company’s goals, and here is why I think it’s worth a salary increase. In some cases, even if your company has an official raise freeze, you can get a raise if you make good case.
If the answer is no -- or if you’re not ready to ask directly -- Phillips suggests asking, “What would you like to see from me that would put me in line for a raise?”
A question like this can improve your standing. “Just asking the question says to the boss, ‘I’m thinking about where I fit in here, what I can do,” Phillips said, “That in and of itself has value.”
1.The passage is mostly from a\an________.
A. novel B. science fiction
C. magazine D. biography
2.Employers have raised workers’ salaries by about _______percent in 2007.
A. 4 B. 2.1 C. 2.7 D. 10
3.If you want to get a raise, the most important thing you should keep in your mind is to ______.
A. have your job done well B. be visible everywhere as possible as you can
C. ask your boss for a raise directly D. change your job
4.All the statements are true except________.
A. the situation has improved but the job market is still weak
B. salary increases should recover as the economy does
C. producing high-quality work will surely help you get a raise
D. that in and off an employee makes no difference
One warm May day, two eighteen – year – old students from San Francisco State College decided to cool off with a swim at Bakers’ Beach. The two students were named Robert Kogler and Shirley O’Neill. They headed out to sea for a distance of 50 meters. Robert was in front.
“Suddenly, I heard him scream,” Shirley recalls. “I looked round and saw this great grey thing going up in the air. The water seemed to be alive.”
Robert screamed again. “It’s a shark! Get out of here!”
An eye – witness, Army Sergeant Leo P. Day was on guard at the nearby army post. He saw exactly what happened next. “I could see this boy struggling with the shark in the water,” he said. “The sea was red with blood. He was shouting and signaling someone to go back, go back. Then I saw the girl. She was swimming towards him. She completely ignored his warning.”
Shirley reached Robert, and tried to take his hand.
“When I pulled, all I could see was his arm, handing by a thread,” she said.
So she put her arm about Robert’s back, and started to swim towards the shore. She kept praying “Don't’ let it attack again!” That journey to the shore seemed to last for hours. At last, as they neared the shore, a fisherman threw them a line, and pulled them both the rest of the way.
The young man had lost a lot of blood, and died two and a half hours later. From the teeth marks, experts identified the attacker as a Great White Shark.
For what Sergeant Day called “the greatest exhibition of bravery I have ever seen,” the President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.
1.When Robert was attacked by a shark Shirley ? .
A．was swimming in the sea
B．was watching him on the shore
C．was on guard at the nearby army post
D．was shouting and struggling with a shark, too
2.Choose the right time order of the following events in the story.
a. Army Sergeant saw the girl swimming to the boy.
b. Shirley saw a great grey thing.
c. They headed out to sea.
d. Robert died.
e. A fisherman threw them a line.
f. He saw a boy struggling with a shark.
A．b, c, e, d, f, a B．c, a, f, d, e, b C．b, c, f, a, d, e D．c, b, f, a, e, d
3.We can learn from the passage that ______. .
A．the two students were brave and considerate
B．the fisherman was adventurous and helpful
C．the experts didn’t do much research on sharks
D．the Sergeant cared too much about his own life
4. Which of the following is true?
A．The President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.
B．They were swimming in a lake.
C．There is no eye – witness.
D．Shirley saved Robert’s life.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born.
One day the child asked God: “You are going to send me to 21 tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and 22 ?” God replied：“ 23 the angels, I have chosen 24 for you, she will be waiting there and 25 you.”
“But,” said the child:” Leave me here in Heaven. I don’t want anything else 26 sing and smile. That’s what I need to be happy!” God said: “Your angel will sing and smile for you. And you will feel your 27’ s love and be happy.” How am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don’t know the language that 28 talk?” “That’s easy”, said God: “Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet 29 you will ever hear, and 30 much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to 31 .”
The child looked up at God 32 : “And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?” God smiled: “Your angel will place your 33 together and will teach you how to pray.” The child said: “I’ve heard on earth there are 34 men. Who will protect me?” God put his arm around the child, saying: “Your angel will defend you－ 35 it means risking life!” “But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.” God 36 the child: “Your angel will always talk about me and will teach you the way to 37 to me, even though I will always be 38 you.”
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven. But voices from earth could already be heard. The child, in a hurry, asked softly: “Oh God, if I 39 leave now, Please tell my Angel’s name!” God replied: “Your angel’s name is of no importance…you will 40 call her MOMMY!”
21. A. the earth B. earth C. heaven D. the heaven
22. A. helpless B. alone C. sad D. tiny
23. A. in the middle of B. in C. among D. between
24. A. the one B. ones C. the ones D. one
25. A. make fun of B. take care of C. do with D. arrange with
26. A. besides B. none other than C. but D. except for
27. A. angel B. mother C. father D. parents
28. A. women B. boys C. girls D. men
29. A. voice B. words C. songs D. poems
30. A. in B. through C. by D. with
31. A. dance B. write C. speak D. sing
32. A. said B. saying C. to say D. say
33. A. hands B. legs C. fingers D. toes
34. A. ugly B. considerate C. bad D. criminal
35. A. though B. in spite of C. no matter how D. even if
36. A. shook B. hugged C. slapped D. patted
37. A. call back B. look back C. come back D. go back
38. A. next B. on C. in front of D. close to
39. A. was going to B. have to C. will D. would
40. A. simply B. largely C. proudly D. happily
—Tom, you the lazy bone! You left the dishes unwashed again!
—_______? Mom isn’t at home and she can’t hear you.
A. Why B. So what C. For what D. How come
The famous writer’s play, ________ in one of my books, was published in 1963.
A. to mention B. mentioned C. to be mentioned D. mentioning
