Getting paid to talk about the World Cup is a great job. I’m not a football commentator(评论员), though-just an English teacher in Japan.
I come to Japan two years ago, and didn’t think I would stay, but Japan has that effect on you. People often end up living here longer than they planned. I think it’s best to teach in a bigger city where there are other foreigners to mix with, rather than a small town where English teachers often complain of feeling like a goldfish in a bowl. Many people choose to live in Tokyo, of course, which is good for the nightlife factor. But I’d say that for general quality of living, cities of neither too large nor too small, like Sapporo where I live, are better choices.
I teach English privately, which means I’m my own boss. If you want to devote yourself to private teaching, it’s well worth doing a TEFL course first, because your lessons will be much better for it. The problem with private teaching is finding students; it took me a year to build up a full schedule(日程表) of private lessons, so I started out teaching in schools part-time.
Most of my foreign friends here work full-time for big English conversation schools. The salary is fine to live on, but whether you can save money depends on how much going out and traveling you do here.
The schools are unwilling to take time off –even teachers with tickets for the England-Argentina game had trouble getting the day off.
1. From the passage we know in Japan the writer likes to live in ________.
A．Tokyo B．a small town
C．a city of middle size D．a big city
2.According to the writer, one had better _______ first to do private teaching better.
A．give a TEFL course B．decide his or her own lessons
C．find students D．build up a full schedule
3.The underlined sentence in the second paragraph implies that _______.
A．there are many foreigners in Japan
B．Japan is good for nightlife
C．they can teach English privately in Japan
D．Japan has something more attractive than expected
4.After reading the passage, we can see _________.
A．the writer travelled a lot and saved much money in Japan.
B．the writer teaches English in more than one school as a part-time job.
C．the writer enjoys watching football games
D．the writer spent one year in finding students for his private teaching.
My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him, but the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card （成绩报告单）arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six failing grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I'm giving the whole thing up to you.” Just then, I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster, “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands.” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time” and hung up.
Karl’s next report card showed a great improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll（光荣榜）. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home，he said, “Mum，remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”
1.By saying “Karl became withdrawn” the author means that the boy changed entirely and ________.
A．he preferred to stay at school
B．he stayed at home all day
C．he refused to talk to his mother
D．he began to like his life
2.There was silence on the other end of the line because ________.
A．the speaker was too moved to say anything to his mother
B．the speaker waited for the mother to finish speaking
C．the speaker didn't want the mother to recognize his voice
D．the speaker didn’t want to interrupt the mother
3.What is the main idea of this passage?
A．Children in single-parent families often have mental problems.
B．Mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life.
C．Being understood by parents is not necessary to teenagers.
D．School education is a failure.
4. Which is not true according to the article?
A．Karl changed a lot after his father died.
B．What Karl did at school showed that he didn’t love his mother.
C．Karl’s mother tried many ways to help him.
D．Karl’s teachers were surprised at his change.
No one can change the weather. Nobody can control the weather. But if we read correctly the signs around us, we can tell what the more important changes in the weather will be. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following day or two is called weather forecasting.
For many centuries and in all countries, people have studied the weather and tried to make weather forecasting. Rings around the sun are a sign of coming rain. That many people feel their joints(关节) hurt is a sign of wet weather. Some birds fly high if the weather is fine, but they fly near the ground if rainy or stormy weather is on the way. If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, this is a sign that the weather will become clear and fine. Such rainbows come in the evening. If the stars twinkle clearly at night, then fine weather will continue. If a fog appears in the morning just above a river, then the day will be warm. If the sunset is mostly red in colour, then the following day will be fine. If a rainbow appears in the morning, rainy weather will probably come.
Most of the above sayings have been made by the people who have used their eyes and brains to make weather forecasting.
1.Which is true about weather forecasting?
A．Weather forecasting is a way of telling what the weather will be like.
B．Weather forecasting is a report about the weather.
C．Weather forecasting is a sign of coming rain.
D．People can change the weather forecasting.
2.Which of the following can be used here to replace the underlined phrase “on the way”?
A．continuing B．reducing. C．coming. D．disappearing.
3.Which of the following signs can tell the weather will probably be rainy?
A．Some birds fly high.
B．A rainbow appears in the morning.
C．The sunset is mostly red in colour.
D．Fogs appear in the morning just above a river.
4.The best title of the passage is _______.
A．Weather forecasting plays an important role in our life
B．Weather forecasting can bring people some signs of weather
C．Weather is forecasted only by eyes and brains.
D．People can predict weather by experience in daily life
My husband had just bought a new washing machine for me . I decided to use it the very day and I washed a lot of things .
Everything worked well , but I found one of my husband’s socks(短袜) missing . I looked everywhere for it , but I couldn’t find it anywhere .
The next morning , I got ready for school as usual . When the bell rang , the students came in . I greeted them and told them what we were going to do that day .
When I turned around to write on the blackboard , the class burst into a roar (大笑声)! They laughed and laughed . They laughed so much , in fact ,that I was afraid the headmaster would come in to see all this .
I asked the class to stop , but the more I talked , the more they laughed . I decided to pay no attention to them and I continued to write on the blackboard . when I did this , they roared even more .
Finally , the teacher who had the room next to mine came in to see what all the laughter was about .
“Good heavens ,” I said , “Will someone please tell me what is so funny?”
“Oh , God,” said the teacher , “You have a brown sock to the back of your skirt !”
So that’s how I found my husband’s missing sock .
“Oh , well ,” I said to the class , “Let’s just say you have had an unforgettable lesson on static electricity(静电)。”
1.What was the writer ?
A．A washer B．A student C． A headmaster D． A teacher
2.What happened when the writer turned around to write on the blackboard ?
A．The class roared with anger .
B．The class began to laugh loudly .
C．Another teacher came in
D．There was a loud noise outside the room
3.Why couldn’t she find one of her husband’s socks?
A．Because some students had hidden it .
B．Because her husband had taken it away .
C．Because she had left it in the classroom .
D．Because she never expected that it would stick to her skirt .
4.What did the writer do when she got to know why her students laughed?
A．She did nothing but laugh.
B．She got angry with the class .
C．She did nothing
D．She explained the matter in a clever way .
An old man once had an argument with his only son. He tried to __16__ many times, but the young man would not __17__. The father never__18__ because he loved his son with all his heart, but the son would not give in, __19__ he was too blinded by his pride.
Years passed and as the man lay in his deathbed, he made a __20__ attempt to reconcile (和解) with his son, but __21__ he would not listen and so the father died with a heart full of __22__.
During this time the son too had a child who had now __23__ into a young adult. To this child he never __24__ his father and when the young man asked about his grandfather he __25__ tell him never to mention him again.
One day, they two were involved in a hot __26__ and his son fled away as he did many years ago. This made the man extremely__27__ and this time he had no __28__, but felt completely isolated. (孤立的)
He was afraid that he would__29__ his son forever and for the first time after many years he realized how his father must have__30__ many years back.
He remembered how he had __31__ his old man and only at that point he realized the extent of the hurt he had caused. The __32__ he thought the more he understood how unjust he was with his old father, the man who gave him everything __33__ his life.
With these sad thoughts he felt __34__ on the couch. The next morning when he opened his eyes he found __35__ lying in his bed and in front of him stood his son. The man could not believe his eyes, and the two hugged each other while they cried together.
1. A．bend B．predict C．apologize D．seek
2. A．stop B．listen C．chose D．come
3. A．brought about B．gave up C．got in D．made up
4. A．if B．when C．thought D．because
5. A．final B．big C．latest D．useless
6. A．still B．ever C．once D．just
7. A．anger B．curiosity C．sorrow D．gratitude
8. A．left out B．grown up C．put aside D．turned up
9. A．mentioned B．hid C．praised D．forgave
10. A．would B．need C．must D．might
11. A．imagination B．room C．argument D．discussion
12. A．sad B．confused C．annoyed D．afraid
13. A．thought B．pride C．laugh D．guess
14. A．throw B．change C．return D．lose
15. A．felt B．done C．watched D．regretted
16. A．hurt B．abandoned C．disappointed D．scolded
17. A．better B．higher C．more D．older
18. A．before B．throughout C．into D．against
19. A．painful B．frightened C．relaxed D．asleep
20. A．his father B．his son C．someone D．himself
After working for two years, Tim Martin was ___ as the top manager in charge of the company.
A．ranked B．appointed C．recognized D．classified
