It was late in the afternoon, and I was putting the final touch on a piece of writing that I was feeling pretty good about. I wanted to save it, but my cursor(光标) had frozen. I tried to shut the computer down, and it seized up altogether. Unsure of what else to do, I yanked (用力猛拉) the battery out.
Unfortunately, Windows had been in the midst of a crucial（紧要关头） undertaking. The next morning, when I turned my computer back on, it informed me that a file had been corrupted and Windows would not load. Then, it offered to repair itself by using the Windows Setup CD.
I opened the special drawer where I keep CDs. But no Windows CD in there. I was forced to call the computer company's Global Support Centre. My call was answered by a woman in some unnamed, far-off land. I find it annoying to make small talk with someone when I don't know what continent they're standing on. Suppose I were to comment on the beautiful weather we've been having when there was a monsoon(季风) at the other end of the phone? So I got right to the point.
"My computer is telling me a file is corrupted and it wants to fix itself, but I don't have the Windows Setup CD."
"So you're having a problem with your Windows Setup CD." She has apparently been dozing and, having come to just as the sentence ended, was attempting to cover for her inattention.
It quickly became clear that the woman was not a computer technician. Her job was to serve as a gatekeeper. Her only duty, as far as I could tell, was to raise global stress levels.
To make me disappear, the woman gave me the phone number for Windows' creator, Microsoft. This is like giving someone the phone number for, I don't know, North America. Besides, the CD worked; I just didn't have it. No matter how many times I repeated my story, we came back to the same place. She was calm and polite.
When my voice hit a certain decibel (分贝), I was passed along, like a hot, irritable potato, to a technician.
"You don't have the Windows Setup CD, ma'am, because you don't need it," he explained cheerfully.
"Windows came preinstalled on your computer!"
"But I do need it."
"Yes, but you don't have it." We went on like this for a while. Finally, he offered to walk me through the use of a different CD, one that would erase my entire system. "Of course, you'd lose all your e-mail, your documents, your photos." It was like offering to drop a safe on my head to cure my headache. "You might be able to recover them, but it would be expensive." He sounded delighted. "And it's not covered by the warranty (产品保证书)!" The safe began to seem like a good idea, provided it was full.
I hung up the phone and drove my computer to a small, friendly repair place I'd heard about. A smart, helpful man dug out a Windows CD and told me it wouldn't be a problem. An hour later, he called to let me know it was ready. I thanked him, and we chatted about the weather, which was the same outside my window as it was outside his.
1.Why did the author shut down her computer abruptly?
A．She had saved what she had written.
B．She couldn't move the cursor.
C．The computer refused to work.
D．The computer offered to repair itself.
2.Which of the following is the author's opinion about the woman at the Global Support Centre?
A．She sounded helpful and knowledgeable.
B．She was there to make callers frustrated.
C．She was able to solve her computer problem.
D．She was quick to pass her along to a technician.
3.According to the passage, the solution offered by the technician was_________________.
A．effective B．economical C．unpractical D．unsatisfied
4. "It was like offering to drop a safe on my head to cure my headache" in the last but one paragraph means that_____________________.
A．the technician's proposal would make things even worse
B．the technician's proposal could eventually solve the problem
C．files stored on her computer were like a safe
D．erasing the entire system was like curing a headache
5.It can be inferred from the passage that the differences between the Global Support Centre and the local repair shop lie in all the followings except ________________.
A．efficiency B．location C．setup CDs D．attitude
假定你是李华，你的英国笔友Helen正在写一篇关于各国中学生课外阅读情况的调查报告。她给你发了一封电子邮件，想了解相关情况。请你根据以下提示，给她回一封电子邮件。
1．你校学生课外阅读的现状；
2．原因分析；
3．你的看法。
注意： 1．根据所给提示，适当发挥, 要求内容充实，语意连贯。
2．词数120左右。开头和结尾已经写好，不计入总词数。
3．邮件中不得提及考生所在学校及本人姓名。
Dear Helen,
Thank you for your email. Now I would like to tell you something about the extracurricular reading in our school. ______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Best wishes!
Yours
Lihua
下面短文中有10处语言错误。请在有错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写上该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写上修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11除起）不计分。
This morning I was riding a bicycle on my way to school while suddenly a shower of heavy rain began to pour down. The wind is blowing hard and the road became very slippery. Just then I saw an elderly woman walking with difficult in the street. She was on her way back to home after shopping, carried a large basket full of vegetables. Suddenly she fell down in the mud. And she was very worn out that she couldn’t get up. Seeing this, I immediate rode over to her and tried my best to support her up. Then I helped picking up the vegetables, and put them into her baskets. After that, I took off my raincoat, put on her and took her home.
下面文章中有5处需要添加小标题。请从以下选项（A、B、C、D、E和F）中选出符合各段意思的小标题，并在答题纸上将相应选项的标号涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。
A. Network.
B. Do things alone.
C. Become a local.
D. Join a gym or club.
E. Join a Business Group
F. Be polite to People You Meet
Moving to a new city can be both exciting and scary. Whether you are moving for a job, school or just to start over somewhere new, it can function as a fresh start. However, leaving behind old friends and finding new ones is not always easy. Maintaining a positive attitude and being open to new situations and people will make the adjustment easier.
1.________
Trying new things will always put you in the position to run into new people. However, chances are, if you are by yourself instead of with a group of friends, other people will be more comfortable approaching you because they are less likely to feel as though they are bothering you or intruding. Go for walks by yourself, read a book in the park or have dinner at a restaurant alone. Doing things alone can also make you appear confident and interesting to others.
2.________
Visit the same coffee shops or restaurants as often as possible. Talk to the employees and be friendly. Over time, the people that work there will recognize you and you can build relationships with them that way. This can also help you feel like you blend in and belong in your new neighborhood. Ask the employees for suggestions on things to do. They are great resources to find out the latest activities and events happening in your city, and they may even join you.
3.________
You will not meet new people sitting in your house, so you will want to put yourself in situations with other people. Joining a gym, club or other social group can be a low pressure way to meet new people who have the same interests as you. Moving to a new city is a great time to try a new activity you are interested in, such as yoga or martial arts.
4.________
If you moved for a job or school, you will be surrounded by new people. Even if they are not necessarily the type of people you would normally be friends with, try to keep an open mind. Common interests provide the start of many wonderful friendships. Your coworkers or fellow students will likely be able to introduce you to other people you may get along with as well.
5.________
Sites like Linked In and Yahoo offer several online forums (论坛) that can help expand networking opportunities. You could become friends with someone through one of the online discussions and then meet in person later. Linked In lists several groups it feels you might enjoy. Get involved with the groups that meet in person with things like business book groups, networking events, or social mixers. To join a Yahoo group, click on “groups,” then “business and finance.” Type in the name of your city in the search screen, and scroll through the list of local groups that appear.
Amy returned to her small apartment at midnight, exhausted. Pushing the key into the lock, she quietly opened the door so as not to wake her younger brothers. She stepped into the front room and froze. The apartment was a mess: plates of half-eaten food were scattered in front of the TV; toys littered the floor; clothes, shoes and homework were strewn everywhere. Amy’s eyes welled with tears. This is just way too much for me, she thought. Her worst fears began to race through her mind. Would the court（法院）tell her she couldn’t care for her family anymore? Would the kids go through the bitterness once more of being split up and sent away? She was so young, almost a child herself, and yet Amy knew everything depended on her. At that moment, she wondered if she would ever find the strength to see it through
Amy had been born dead. Doctors fought and saved this smaller twin of a drug-taking mother, and she’d had to fight for everything in life ever since. From earliest childhood, Amy took care of her younger brothers. Jan, their mother, only added to the family disorder and confusion. Sometimes they lived in apartments, sometimes in shelters.
One afternoon Amy was called to the high school, where a social worker was waiting for her. “We know your mother has been staying with you,” the social worker said. “We’re going to have to put you guys in foster （收养)）care.” “No! Don’t split us up!” the girl cried out. “Can’t you just leave it the way it is?” The social worker shook his head. Amy’s voice then rose like the howl of a lioness protecting her babies: “Why can’t I take them? I take care of them all the time anyway.” The social worker hesitated, and then said, “Maybe. Once you’re 18, you could apply to become their relative caretaker. Then you’d be their foster mother until we find a home where all of you can be together.” “I’ll do it,” Amy said.
One month later, Amy was named guardian（监护人）of her brothers for a six-month trial period. It was a remarkable victory for an 18-year-old girl. Her brothers didn’t make her task any easier in the months ahead. However，Amy’s efforts were rewarded when the court allowed her to continue as guardian. Amy’s relief at remaining the kids’ guardian was at risk of being taken away by the pressure she always felt to measure up. Social workers still looked regularly over her shoulder and asked the boys shameful questions: “Does she feed you? Does she ever try to harm you?” Then one day a visiting social worker came over. “We’d like to get the boys out of foster care and adopted into homes,” she said. Sensing that the family was about to be split apart yet again, Amy replied, “Fine, then. Call it adoption if you want, but they’re not going anywhere.” To her surprise, the social worker took her remark seriously. She explained that if Amy were to adopt the boys, they would become like any other family.
That night at dinner Amy told the boys about the idea. “Cool!” Joey said. He threw a piece of corn at Adam. His brother flicked it back, and pretty soon corn was flying. Amy rolled her eyes. They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family. As the proceedings（程序）ended, Amy thanked everyone. “No,” the judge responded, “thank you. You saved three kids. Not many family members would do what you’re doing, especially for this many children. I’m very proud of you.”
On a lazy spring day, in a modest suburban neighborhood, Amy stood in front of a neatly kept one-story house. She watched her brothers playing basketball, and heard the playful bark of their dog, Tahoe. The young lady had made good on her promise: they had rented a home, a real home, and the boys had gotten their dog. Amy continues to raise her family alone, but has begun taking courses in business management at a nearby community college. Eventually, she hopes to become a child psychologist.
1.Which of the following best describes Amy?
A．Crazy and tough. B．Firm and stubborn.
C．Enthusiastic and generous. D．Abnormal and aggressive.
2.What was bothering Amy most in the passage?
A．The mess in her apartment.
B．Her family being split up again.
C．Working hard to support the family.
D．Her young age to take care of her brothers.
3.From the Paragraph 3, we can learn that __________.
A．The social worker gave in to Amy.
B．The social worker tried to adopt Amy’s brothers.
C．Amy tried to apply for the guardian of the brothers.
D．Amy had no idea how to face her family being split up.
4.By saying “They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family”, the writer means________.
A．they will live in the same area as other families.
B．they made a deep impression on the neighborhood.
C．Amy is able to take good care of the family.
D．Amy and her brothers would be already just like a family.
5.The best title for this text would be___________.
A．Standing On Two Feet B．Growing Up Alone
C．A Lifelong Fight D．A Teen Hero
As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That’s partly because most people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and put more effort, to achieve those goals.
What’s far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting. Newspapers convey daily accounts of goal-setting widespread in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street, yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-advocated practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis, and immoral behavior in general.
“Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to put more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in immoral behaviors,” says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Penn’s Wharton School. His paper, titled “Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Praised Goal Setting,” appears in the February issue of the Academy of Management Perspectives.
“It turns out there’s no financial benefit to just having a goal---you just get a psychological benefit” Schweitzer says. “But in many cases, goals have financial rewards that make them more powerful.”
A major example Schweitzer and his colleagues give is the 2004 breakdown of energy-trading giant Enron( 德国安然公司), where managers used financial rewards to motivate salesmen to meet specific goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is that the actual trades were not profitable.
Other studies have shown that burdening employees with unrealistic goals can force them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears（西尔斯公司）placed a sales quota (销售限额) on its auto repair staff. It inspired employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.
Schweitzer admits his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that praises the many benefits of goal-setting. Advocates of the practice have argued with his team’s use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-praised.
In a rebuttal (反驳) paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes: “Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot grow without being focused on their desired end results any more than an individual can grow without goals to provide a sense of purpose.”
But Schweitzer argues the “evidence” linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help draw attention to issues that deserve attention and further investigation. “Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects,” he says.
The debate is likely to get heated on in future papers, and the practice of setting goals no doubt will continue. For now, though, the lesson seems to be to put more thought into setting goals.
“Goal-setting does help motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful management, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harmful to the organization,” Schweitzer says.
1.What does Maurice Schweitzer want to show by mentioning the example of Enron?
A．Setting realistic goals can turn a failing business into success.
B．Businesses are likely to succeed without realistic goals.
C．Companies are certain to meet specific goals with financial rewards.
D．Goals with financial rewards have strong motivational power.
2.How did Sears’ goal-setting affect its employees?
A．They had to work more hours to increase their sales.
B．They competed with one another to attract more customers.
C．They turned to immoral practice to reach their goals.
D．They improved their customer service on a companywide basis.
3.The underlined words “runs counter to” (Paragraph 7) can be replaced by ________.
A．agrees with B．goes against C．fits in with D．applies to
4.What is Edwin Locke’s argument against Schweitzer?
A．The practice of setting goals only helps people to develop.
B．Goal-setting is of no use motivating people to accomplish their tasks.
C．The positive effects of goal-setting outweigh its negative effects.
D．Studying goal-setting can contribute to successful business practices.
5.According to the passage, the author tries to convey ___________.
A．the goals that most people set are unrealistic.
B．all people can improve their work quality by setting goals.
C．setting goals can provide people with a sense of purpose.
D．people should not ignore the negative effects of goal-setting.
