阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1—20各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Billy, a hard – working student, is fourteen years old and in the ninth grade. He has a part – time job that ________ him up every morning at five o’clock, when most people are still ________ asleep. He is a newspaper boy.
Each morning, Billy leaves the house at 5:15 to go to the ________ where the newspapers always are. The newspapers were ________to the corner by truck at midnight. He always takes a wagon to ________them.
In the winter it is still dark ________ he gets up every day, but during the rest of the year it is ________ . Billy must send the newspapers to the houses of people on his ________ in all kinds of weather. He tries to put each paper on the porch (门廊) where it will be ________ from wind and rain or snow. Sometimes his customers give him tips, ________ him very excited.
Billy earns about $ 70 per month through hard ________ , and he is saving some of the money to go to ________ where he has always been longing to go. Besides that, he ________ the rest of the earnings on records and clothes. Once a month, he has to collect the ________ at night since many of the people work during the day. That is when he is ________ so that he is full of excitement. Luckily, he gets ________ supported by his family. Sometimes, when Billy is sick, his brother offers to deliver the newspapers for him. Once, his father was too ________ to help him.
Billy has seventy customers now, but he doesn’t feel ________ about the number.
He dreams that he will get ________ customers as possible some day. ________ , he might win a prize for being an outstanding newspaper boy. He wants to win a trip to Europe, but he will be happy if he wins a new bicycle.
1.A．wakes B．takes C．gets D．picks
2.A．sound B．falling C．fall D．soundly
3.A．corner B．street C．room D．department
4.A．given B．addressed C．handed D．delivered
5.A．carry B．bring C．send D．load
6.A．at which B．while C．that D．when
7.A．short B．black C．light D．long
8.A．road B．way C．route D．path
9.A．protected B．stopped C．kept D．prevented
10.A．making B．letting C．leading D．causing
11.A．attempt B．job C．work D．struggle
12.A．abroad B．company C．college D．hospital
13.A．costs B．spends C．pays D．uses
14.A．paper B．money C．newspapers D．records
15.A．depressed B．energetic C．fulfilled D．moved
16.A．very B．great C．greatly D．a lot of
17.A．likely B．reluctant C．tired D．willing
18.A．satisfying B．pleasant C．contented D．happy
19.A．many more B．as much C．as many D．much more
20.A．If that B．If so C．Besides D．What’s more
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Building Trust in a Relationship Again
Trust is a learned behavior that we gain from past experiences. 1. Trust is a risk. But you can’t be successful when there’s a lack of trust in a relationship that results from an action where the wrongdoer takes no responsibility to fix the mistake.
Unfortunately, we’ve all been victims of betrayal（出卖，背叛）. Whether we’ve been stolen from, lied to, misled, or cheated on, there are different levels of losing trust. 2. They’ve been too badly hurt and they can’t bear to let it happen again. It’s understandable, but if you’re willing to build trust in a relationship again, we have some steps you can take to get you there.
●Learn to really trust yourself. Having confidence in yourself will help you make better choices because you can see what the best outcome would be for your well-being.
● 3. If you’ve been betrayed, you are the victim of your circumstance. But there’s a difference between being a victim and living with a “victim mentality”. At some point in all of our lives, we’ll have our trust tested or violated.
● 4. Once trust is lost, what is left? Instead of looking at the situation from this hopeless angle, look at everything you still have and be thankful for all of the good in your life. 5. Instead, it’s a healthy way to work through the experience to allow room for positive growth and forgiveness.
A. You didn’t lose “everything”
B. It is putting confidence in someone.
C. Stop regarding yourself as the victim.
D. Sometimes people simply can’t trust any more.
E. Remember that you can expect the best in return.
F. This knowledge carries over in their attitude toward their future relationships.
G. Seeing the positive side of things doesn’t mean you’re ignoring what happened
When should people be made to retire? 55? 65? Should there be a compulsory age limit?
Many old people work well into their 70s and 80s, running families, countries or corporations. Other people,however, despite being fit and highly talented, are forced to retire in their fifties or even earlier because of the regulations of a company or the nation. This essay will examine whether people should be allowed to continue working as long as they want or whether they should be encouraged to retire at a particular stage.
Some people think there are several arguments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able. First of all, older employees have an immense amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire. A second point is that older employees are often extremely loyal employees and are more willing to carry out company policies than younger less committed staff. However, a more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people. To force someone to resign or retire at 60 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that effectively their useful life is over. Age is irrelevant to a working life, surely if older employees are told they cannot work after 60, this is age discrimination. That they become old does not necessarily mean they are going to be sick. Old people could be more aware, experienced and committed than some youngsters.
Others, however, think that allowing older people to work indefinitely is not a good policy. Age alone is no guarantee of ability. Old people are only ambitious workaholics who are too selfish and self-centered to believe that a younger person could do better. Actually, many younger employees have more experience or skills than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area or unit for most of their working lives. Having compulsory retirement allows new ideas in an organization. In addition, without age limits, however, many people would continue to work purely because they did not have any other plans or roles. A third point of view is that older people should be rewarded by society for their life’s labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy their leisure. We now have youngsters who can’t find jobs because old people are choosing not to retire. Old people are not retiring because this new generation of “old people” think they will never die due to modern advances in medicine.
With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers. However, this can affect the older individual’s freedom and right to work and can deprive(剥夺) society of valuable experience and insights. I feel that giving workers more flexibility and choice over their retirement age will benefit society and the individual.
1.What is the purpose of this passage?
A. To explain the compulsory age limit.
B. To discuss the retirement age.
C. To examine people’s working life.
D. To introduce a particular stage.
2.Which of the following is NOT a reason for allowing old people to continue working according to the passage?
A. Their contribution should be valued.
B. Their experience should be made use of.
C. They can help the youngsters.
D. They are loyal employees.
3.It can be inferred in the fourth passage that ______.
A. The young people have more creative spirits
B. Modern advances in medicine make old people never die
C. Pensions and freedom are not given to the old now
D. Old people believe that a younger person could do better
4.The passage is arranged as follows:
After we meet people it is up to us to make them our friends. Let us stop a moment and consider what really makes a friend. The major qualities like faithfulness, devotion, friendly company, flash through our minds. But it is the large number of very small particular qualities that make up one’s whole character, such as cheerfulness, friendliness, and punctuality (守时). After all, “ to make a friend, be a friend” is not such a big and difficult order. There are particular favorable qualities, which attract others to us, and some elements which do have an effect on people in fundamental psychology(基础心理学) or not.
If you are in the presence of a shy person, talking and asking casual (随意的) questions may bring him out of his shell. Think of what would be most acceptable to the other person, for you to talk, or to listen. Either way the goal is to make yourself pleasant.
Always remember to listen, but listen intelligently. To have anyone “ hang on our words” is the most unnoticeably clever way in the world to please somebody. For a few extremely happy seconds we are the center of attraction, but when it is our turn to be audience, let us remember how we felt as the actor, and let’s be genuinely (真正地) interested in what the other fellow is saying.
Other people will like us, if we like them. If you want friends, keep your mind and heart open to friendship. Be alive to the other person’s world.
1.This passage is mainly about_______.
A. the ways of talking to a shy person
B. some favorable qualities to be a psychologist
C. how to make yourself attractive to your listeners
D. how to make a friend and be a friend
2.The words “ bring him out of his shell” in this passage most probably mean _______.
A. make him become active
B. make him feel more nervous
C. help him understand the question better
D. help him listen intelligently
3.According to the passage, an important way in making friends is to ________.
A. attract them B. be attracted
C. listen attentively D. talk widely
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people werr not willing to work on farms along the Atlantic because they worried about the terrible storms that would destroy buildings and crops. The farmer received a steady stream of refusals at the interview for a farmhand.
Finally, a short, thin man approached the farmer. “Are you a good farmhand?” the farmer asked him.
“Well, I can sleep when the wind blows. ” answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer ，the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm ，busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly from offshore. Jumping out of bed，the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled， “ Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they are blown away! ”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows. ”
Enraged (激怒）by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot . Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement，he discovered that all of the hay had been covered. The cows were in the barn，the chickens were in the coops，and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could be blown away.
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he also returned to his bed to sleep while the wind was still blowing.
1.Why did the farmer constantly advertise for hired hands?
A. Because he needed hired hands all the year round.
B. Because there was too much work to do on the farm.
C. Because he could hardly hire a farmhand.
D. Because he offered poor conditions for the hired hands.
2. The farmer felt amazed because _______.
A. the little man was sleeping
B. everything was in safety
C. the wind was too strong
D. he could not open the doors
3. What did the man mean by saying “I can sleep when the wind blows” ?
A. He needed much sleep after working hard on the farm.
B. He was very brave and not afraid of wind
C. He enjoyed sleeping when the wind blew.
D. He would get everything done before the wind blew.
4.Which of the following statements about the little man is TRUE?
A. He was not afraid of storms.
B. He was a heavy sleeper under any condition.
C. He was hard-working and devoted to his work.
D. He was fired shortly after he tied everything down.
In 1978, I was 18 and was working as a nurse in a small town about 270 km away from Sydney, Australia. I was looking forward to having five days off from duty. Unfortunately, the only one train a day back to my home in Sydney had already left. So I thought I’d hitch a ride (搭便车).
I waited by the side of the highway for three hours but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn’t give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he assured （使…放心）me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift home afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made us sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.
Twenty-five years later, in 2003, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to hitch a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay someone for the favour I’d been given decades earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.
After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, “You haven’t changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same.”
I couldn’t remember where I’d met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.
1. The author had to hitch a ride one day in 1978 because .
A. her work delayed her trip to Sydney
B. she missed the only train back home
C. she was going home for her holidays
D. the town was far away from Sydney
2. Which of the following did Gordon do according to Paragraph 2?
A. He helped the girl find a ride.
B. He gave the girl a ride back home.
C. He bought sandwiches for the girl.
D. He watched the girl for three hours.
3.The reason why the author offered a lift to the elderly man was that .
A. she realized he was Gordon
B. she had known him for decades
C. she was going to the nearby town
D. she wanted to repay the favour she once got
4.What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?
A. Those who give rides will be repaid.
B. Good manners bring about happiness.
C. Giving sometimes produces nice results.
D. People should offer free rides to others.
