As society advances and basic needs are most often being met, things that were not considered important in the past have taken priority(优先). In the past, people could easily get a job and progress pretty well, as long as they were hard-working; education was important but not as crucial(关系重大) as it is today.
Nowadays, just as clothes are important to first impressions, degree is important to a person’s first job interview or even a job with a good salary. Although experience is important to survive in any trade or profession, the first thing that companies look for is that piece of paper before looking at one’s experience.
A passport into the world of any profession is what having a degree means today, especially for professions that have need of certification and pay well, such as architects, doctors, lawyers, and teachers.
That piece of paper, the degree, is also a passport to jobs in top or middle management in any company, especially so for multi-national corporations(跨国公司). Having a degree opens up opportunities that one would not have had if one did not have any kind of degree. A degree simply proves that one has gone through the necessary training and understanding of how to carry out a job.
Although there are many that may say having a degree may not necessarily equal to success, it would most definitely help any person achieve success in shorter and easier steps. Success cannot simply be a result of hard work and/or depending on one’s experience or degree alone; it is the art and knowledge of how to work that determines one’s success. Therefore, it should not be for the sake to get a degree, but the quality of the degree and experiences that one can learn from that matter as well.
1. What would be the best title for this passage?
A. People used to be hard-working
B. How important is the degree?
C. How can we enter the top management?
D. Degree surely leads to success
2.Why does the author mention clothes in the second paragraph?
A. To prove the importance of the first impression.
B. To stress the importance of job interviews.
C. To show the importance of clothes.
D. To explain the importance of degree.
3.What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?
A. Having a degree
B. Success
C. Necessary training
D. Having an opportunity
It was getting dark and snow was coming down. Joe was driving home. He’d been unemployed since the factory closed. Most of his friends had left, but he stayed on. After all, he was born here.
Suddenly he saw a lady standing on the side of the road and pulled up. She was worried. No one had stopped to help her. Was he going to hurt her? He looked poor and hungry. Joe knew how she felt and said, “My name is Joe and I’m here to help you.” All she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Joe changed the tire, but he got dirty and his hands were hurt. She wanted to pay Joe and said any amount would have been all right. Joe never thought twice about the money and there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed.
Later the lady went in a dingy-looking restaurant to grab a bite to eat. The cash register was like the telephone of an out-of-work actor----it didn’t ring much. The waitress, who was nearly eight months pregnant, brought a clean towel to her with a sweet smile. The old lady remembered Joe. After the waitress brought the change from a 100-dollar bill, she found the lady gone and something written on a piece of paper, “Someone once helped me out----the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, don’t let the chain of love end with you.”
That night the waitress gave her sleeping husband a soft kiss and whispered, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Joe.”
1.What do we know about Joe from this passage?
A. On his way home after work, he helped an old lady.
B. He had worked in a factory in his hometown before.
C. He would move away to fulfill his dream soon.
D. Though he was poor, he didn’t care about money at all.
2.The saying “she wanted to pay Joe and said any amount would have been all right” in Paragraph 2 suggests that _____.
A. the old lady was very grateful to Joe’s timely aid
B. the old lady was much worried to be hurt by Joe
C. the old lady wanted to show off her fortune to Joe
D. the old lady’s car was very difficult to repair for Joe
3. Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?
A. The restaurant was not only light but also clean.
B. The old lady did have a big meal in the small restaurant.
C. The waitress was more than eight months pregnant.
D. The old lady left the remaining money to the waitress.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Acts of luck B. A warm-hearted man
C. The chain of love D. A generous lady
Language is a way to communicate with each other. We started to learn language when we were born. However, people are used to speaking their native language, so immigrants are having many problems between the first generation and the second generation because they don’t have the same native language. Also, the second generation is losing their identity. Especially in America, there are many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States. Because they suffer in lots of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English, they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to be more successful. Because of this situation, their children are losing their identity and, even more, they are ignoring their parents whose English is not very good. I think most immigrants are trying to preserve their native language in their new country, but this doesn’t help very much in getting a good job. My aunt taught Korean to her children not to help them succeed in the U.S. She did so, hopefully, to help them establish a Korean identity. Though the second generation was born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity because they look different from others, and also, if they visit their parents’ country, they will probably feel different from other people there too. My cousins told me that when they visited Korea a few years ago, they felt different from other Koreans. They could even feel it just strolling around the street because they wore different clothes and walked differently. We must realize that language is important and valuable for many reasons. Immigrants should make an effort not to be ignored by their children and let them understand their background by teaching them the parents’ language. This is very important, not only for the harmony of the family, but also in helping the second generation establish their identity.
1. According to the text, what is the problem of the first generation immigrants?
A. They have lost their identity.
B. Their children are losing their identity.
C. Their children speak different languages.
D. They cannot speak their native language.
2. My aunt taught her children Korean__________.
A. so that they knew they were of Korean origin.
B. so that they would be more successful in the U. S.
C. because she didn’t want them to speak English
D. because she wanted them to respect her
3.The writer’s cousins felt different in their parents’ country because they_________.
A. had never been there before
B. behaved quite differently
C. couldn’t understand the language
D. had different facial appearance
4.According to the text, the native language is important and valuable to immigrants because________.
A. it gives them self-confidence and better chance
B. it makes the second generation love motherland
C. it helps the second generation to understand their parents
D. it strengthens the family ties and reminds them of their identity
I didn’t realize how short I was until I started school. There, a few kids picked on(欺负)me, calling me names. Then I knew. After that, I began to hate the first day of school each year. I didn’t know who was new and would stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs. Some of the kids would point and say, “Look at that kid. Look at her.”
As time went on, I just tried to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I was determined to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. My friends became increasingly protective. They’d help me up the bus steps. If people were cruel, they would take them aside and correct them.
What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality----my ability to laugh, even at myself. For example, one time I was reaching into the washing machine at my parents’ house to grab the wet clothes. I fell all the way in and yell for Mother, who was sitting nearby reading the paper. Watching feet flying everywhere, she laughed quietly and said, “I should leave you in there.” I laughed with her.
I’m 47 now, and the stares have not decreased as I’ve grown older. People ask my friends if I live in a dollhouse. They look in disbelief when they see me get out of my car on the driver’s side. During those times, I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, “Look what else I have----a great family, nice friends…”
1.What is the main idea of the second and third paragraphs?
A. How the writer changed her disadvantage to advantage.
B. The writer’s friends and mother loved her deeply.
C. The writer had many friends helping her.
D. The writer had the ability to laugh.
2.By saying “the stares have not decreased” in the last paragraph, the author suggests that____.
A. she is able to live a happy life like a normal person
B. she isn’t afraid of being noticed by others any more
C. some people still don’t treat her as a normal person
D. more and more people treat her with respect now
3.How is the author feeling now about her situation?
A. Quite optimistic.
B. Very satisfied.
C. Deeply upset.
D. Rather anxious.
4. We can infer that the author believes that_________.
A. society should help the disabled as much as possible
B. only your parents and friends can help you
C. what people say about you is none of your business
D. all people should be treated with respect
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-55所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
While attending a conference, I returned to my motel room late one rainy evening. The overhead light outside my door was 16 and I had difficulty finding the keyhole. When I finally 17 to open the door, I 18 around the wall for a light switch. I found a 19 where a switch was once installed… but no switch.
No discouraged easily, I remembered seeing a 20 by the bed when I put away my luggage 21 in the day. I found the bed in the dark and felt around until I found the lamp, but when I switched it on, 22 happened! Now what?
Though I knew that it was dark outside my window 23 the outdoor light was burned out, I thought that 24 if I opened the curtains I might be able to use the light from the 25 to find another lamp. So I 26 my way slowly across the room to the curtains and… no draw-string!
I finally stumbled（跌跌撞撞） around until I found a desk lamp that actually 27! That evening I discovered in a whole new way just how dark the world can be and how necessary 28 is.
But even more necessary than 29 light is the light that shines from people----the light of love, sympathy and 30. Because, for many people, the world is a dark and 31 place.
It is the shining that is important, for someone today just may be stumbling in discouragement or fear and in 32 of some light.
So let your light shine. Whatever light you 33 may be a beacon（灯塔） of hope and encouragement in someone’s darkness. And if you feel that your light is 34 a candle in a forest, remember this----there isn’t enough darkness in the world to 35 the light of one small candle.
1. A. burning B. broken C. shining D. disappeared
2. A. managed B. attempted C. succeeded D. meant
3.A. touched B. turned C. felt D. looked
4. A. light B. plate C. lamp D. signal
5.A. lamp B. switch C. desk D. window
6. A. later B. earlier C. sooner D. first
7.A. something B. everything C. nothing D. anything
8.A. when B. unless C. since D. although
9.A. certainly B. surely C. absolutely D. perhaps
10.A. stars B. street C. room D. shop
11.A. forced B. struggled C. made D. pushed
12.A. worked B. failed C. did D. closed
13.A. love B. thinking C. dream D. light
14.A. spiritual B. physical C. mental D. inner
15. A. faith B. soul C. help D. attention
16. A. mixed B. fancy C. lonely D. complicated
17.A. lack B. need C. favor D. face
18.A. devote B. receive C. offer D. throw
19.A. only B. event C. ever D. much
20.A. give out B. leave out C. take out D. put out
-----May I serve your dishes, sir?
-----_____________.
A. No, go ahead B. Yes, help yourself C. Hurry up D. Yes, please
