Like lots of small-business owners, Lola Gonzalez had to decide to cut down her company’s nine-person staff (员工) when the economic recovery began to fail last spring. Unlike other companies, she picked an unlikely employee to lay off (解雇): herself.
Her business began to have problems in 2008 after going through her books (账簿)
One day, her husband, Marcos, told her she had to reduce her payroll（薪金总额）by one person. Gonzalez said at a meeting, “I want you all to know that I have to lay somebody off and it’s been a very difficult decision. And that person is me.” Employees first froze in amazement and then burst into laughter until they realized she was serious. Gonzalez ’s employees said they were grateful for her kindness.
Her reason was simple. Although she ran the business and her employees did the legwork (跑腿), she thought she could find work more easily than her staff. Sure enough, she soon got a job as a social worker for a non-profit organization called Devereux Kids. She enjoys her social-worker job now, but the salary (薪水) cut has required some lifestyle changes. She and Marcos no longer eat out daily; they no longer pay for their son’s car and mobile phone, and they changed their car to a smaller one to save $300 a month.
Her business has picked up a bit recently and Marcos has begun to work part-time at Gonzalez’s company. Gonzalez says she has no plan to return to work at her company until the economic situation becomes better, perhaps in a year. Her employees, however, will get Christmas bonuses (奖金) this year.
1.How many workers are there in Gonzalez’s company at present?
A. 8. B. 9. C. 10. D. 11.
2.How did her employees feel at first when they heard Gonzalez’s decision?
A. Happy. B. Grateful. C. Surprised. D. Unbelievable.
3.After leaving her company, _____________.
A. Gonzalez sold her car and went to work by bus
B. Gonzalez always had meals in a restaurant
C. Gonzalez’s son helped her a lot
D. Gonzalez changed her lifestyle a lot
4.From the text, we can learn that ___________.
A. Gonzalez will not return to her company in future
B. Gonzalez’s business has improved a little lately
C. Gonzalez got her social-worker job with great difficulty
D. Marcos lost his job and had to work at Gonzalez’s company
Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English ruler tried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English, Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two "Irelands". Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people will work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were "the greatest talkers since the Creeks". Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
1.What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?
A. How the Irish fought against the English.
B. How Ireland gained independence.
C. How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.
D. How two “Irelands” came into being.
2.We learn from the text that in Ireland________.
A. food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population
B. people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside
C. it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker
D. different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments
3.The last paragraph is mainly about________.
A. the Irish character B. Irish culture
C. Irish musical instruments D. a famous Irish writer
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A. Life in Ireland B. A very difficult history
C. Ireland, past and present D. the independence of Ireland
My wife and I used to feel that it was impossible to be a true friend to someone whose name we didn't know. How wrong we were! Years of Sunday-morning bus trips through the city with the same group of “nameless” people have changed our thinking. Before the bus takes off, we all join in a conversation: where’s the silent woman who sits up front and never responds to our cheery greetings? Here she comes. Her worn clothing suggests she doesn't have much money to spare, but she always takes an extra cup of coffee for the driver.
We get smiles from a Mexican couple as they get on the bus hand in hand. When they get off, they’re still holding hands. The woman was pregnant late last year, and one day her change of shape confirmed that she’d delivered the child. We even felt a little pride at the thought of our extended family.
For many months, our only sadness lay in our inability to establish the same friendship with the silent woman at the front of the bus. Then, one evening, we went to a fish restaurant. We were shown to a table alongside someone sitting alone. It was the woman from the bus.
We greeted her with friendly familiarity we’d shown all year, but this time her face softened, then a shy smile. When she spoke, the words escaped awkwardly from her lips. All at once we realized why she hadn’t spoken to us before. Talking was hard for her.
Over dinner, we learned the stay of a single mother with a disabled son who was receiving special care away from home. She missed him desperately, she explained. “I love him… and he loves me, even though he doesn’t express it very well,” she murmured. “Lots of us have that problem, don’t we? We don’t say what we want to say, what we should be saying. And that’s not good enough.” The candles flared on our tables. Our fish had never tasted better. But the atmosphere grew pleasant, and when we parted as friends—we shared names.
1.All the following statements can describe the woman except ______.
A. poor B. warm -hearted C. silent D. cold
2.The underlined word “establish” in the 3th paragraph has the same meaning as_________.
A. keep B. discover C. set up D. accept
3.The woman had the same problem with her son in the way that ______.
A. they both disabled people
B. they both had some difficulty in expressing
C. they both liked bus travel
D. they both brought interest to the passengers
4.Which of the following might be the best title of this passage?
A. Friends of the Road B. The Silent Woman on the Bus
C. Going to Work by Bus D. Different Kinds of Friendship
I was working as a consultant(顾问) in a beer company, helping the president and senior vice-presidents with something important. It was a big 16 . At the same time, my mother was in the 17 stages of cancer. .
I worked during the day and 18 40 miles home to be with her every night. It was 19 and stressful, but it was what I wanted to do. My promise was to continue to do excellent consulting during the day, 20 my evenings were very hard. I didn’t want to 21 the president with my situation. 22 I felt someone at the company wanted to 23 what was going on. So I told the vice-president of Hunan Resources, asking him not to 24 the information with anyone.
A few days 25 , the president called me into his office. I 26 he wanted to talk to me about one of the many issues we were 27 on. When I entered, he asked me to sit down. He faced me from across his large 28 , looked me in the eye and said, “I 29 your mother is very ill.”
I was totally 30 by surprise and burst into tears. He just looked at me, let my 31 subside(平息)，and then he 32 said a sentence I will never forget: “Whatever you need.” That was it. His 33 and willingness to both let me be in my pain and to offer me 34 were qualities of compassion(同情) that I 35 with me to this day.
1.A.honour B. success C. challenge D. task
2.A.previous B. final C. fine D. developing
3.A. walked B. rode C. ran D. drove
4.A.tiring B. exciting C. boring D. frightening
5.A.as if B. after all C. even though D. now that
6.A. help B. puzzle C. cheat D. bother
7.A.or B. yet C. and D. so
8.A.know B. realize C. hear D. announce
9.A.enjoy B. learn C. share D. hide
10.A.after B. ago C. before D. later
11.A.knew B. figured C. doubted D. found
12.A.working B. getting C. living D. going
13.A.room B. office C. desk D. computer
14.A.guess B. hear C. believe D. think
15.A.hit B. got C. made D. caught
16.A.crying B. explaining C. talking D. worrying
17.A.suddenly B. sadly C. gently D. carefully
18.A.happiness B. understanding C. excitement D. sadness
19.A.everything B. anything C. nothing D. something
20.A.take B. bring C. help D. carry
--- Do you think it’s a good idea to make friends with your students？
--- _____, I do. I think it’s a great idea.
A. Really B. Obviously C. Actually D. Generally
Caroline __________ staying at home, doing nothing at all. So she has made up her mind to find a job for herself.
A. is fond of B. is tired of C. is proud of D. is aware of
