In order to increase their job chances after college, Chinese students are turning to a special practice—Eiffel Tower nose jobs (鼻整形手术). The latest trend in plastic surgery promises to create a nose that is similar to the curve of the Eiffel Tower.
Surgeon Wang Xuming said: “We are influenced by the beauty of the Eiffel Tower. We are not content to just add something to the nose; we reconstruct it.” The surgery costs about US$ 10,000 and involves the enlarging of the nose using tissue from the forehead.
Hundreds of posters advertising the procedure are put up all over Chongqing city, where surgeon Xuming runs his private practice. They show a western-looking woman with an almost-too-perfect nose, against an outline of the Eiffel Tower.
Interestingly, many young women in China are eager to achieve a western appearance, as they believe it will give them an advantage in the highly competitive job market. “Some students face a lot of employment pressure after graduation. If their facial features are good, they’ll have more chances of finding a job,” said surgeon Xuming. “We’ve had students getting the Eiffel Tower nose; it’s helped them a lot.”
Apparently, Chinese employers are quite particular about appearances and prefer attractive candidates. Some of them even go as far as putting height and weight requirements in their employment ads. Plastic surgeons across the country are reporting an increase in the number of students choosing beauty “improvement”.
According to a Mr. Li, hospital manager at surgeon Xuming’s clinic, most of their customers are female and the bill is taken care of by the family. “They usually come in with their mothers, and tend to be from well-off backgrounds.” he said.
Personally, I don’t think it so important to “improve” our appearance as long as we are skilled at our jobs. We can’t decide how we look, but we can decide how well we live and work.
1.Why do Chinese college students choose to have a nose operation?
A. To have more chances of getting a job.
B. To gain a real westerner appearance.
C. To Take good care of their family.
D. To look like the Eiffel Tower.
2.What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 3?
A. The city of Chongqing.
B. A plastic surgery procedure.
C. The posters advertising the surgery.
D. Xuming’s private practice.
3.What can we learn from Mr. Li’s words?
A. Most families can’t afford the expensive operation.
B. Their customers are usually from wealthy families.
C. Patients can be well looked after at the clinic.
D. The number of plastic surgeons is increasing.
4.Which of the following will the author probably agree with?
A. Chinese employers only care about their employees’ appearance.
B. Chinese students are content with the shape of their noses.
C. A western face looks prettier than a Chinese one.
D. Skills at work speak louder than appearance.
Seated in a convertible (敞篷车) with the top down at 60 miles an hour, Mary looked at the flies that sat on top of Mark’s hair. How could they stay there? She wondered.
Mary had not seen Mark in years, until the other day when he came into the café where she worked. His appearance was different from when he was in high school. Now, he was a bit fat and thick glasses covered his eyes. However, that didn’t change Mary’s feelings for him at all. He had just bought a brand new red sports car and asked her if she would like to go for a ride and then have dinner with him. Her heart beat with excitement as he opened the door for her. She noticed something very strange as Mark got into the car and started to drive away. On the hair was a group of flies just sitting there.
Mary stared in amazement. It seemed the faster they drove, the more determined the flies were to stick to his hair.
Mary remained silent. She leaned forward and turned the radio on, to try to divert her attention away from the flies, but she couldn’t help thinking about them. She looked up at Mark, who was completely devoted to what was going on and continued to sing to the music while driving merrily along.
Finally, Mark pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road beside a diner and looked in the mirror and said, “Mary, I would like to comb my hair before we get something to eat. Could you reach under the seat and give me my hair cream?”
Mary reached under the seat and pulled out a camping backpack, which contained a round jar and started to laugh wildly as she pointed to the label (商标).
“That’s not hair cream on your hair, Mark! It says it’s Fly Trap Glue!”
1.What can we learn from the text?
A. Mark had bought a new sports car for Mary.
B. Mark used to be a thin, handsome boy.
C. Mark and Mary had been in love for years.
D. Mary felt strange when she saw the red car.
2.What does the underlined word “divert” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Replace. B. Absorb. C. Take. D. Recover.
3.Why did Mary burst into laughter?
A. Because Mary played a trick on Mark.
B. Because their ride wasn’t well prepared.
C. Because Mark had prepared a jar of hair cream for her.
D. Because Mark had mistaken Fly Trap Glue for hair cream.
4.What can be the best title for this passage?
A. Stuck on you. B. Unchanged love.
C. A hair trick. D. A wonderful ride.
Assistant Professor, Musical Theatre Dance
Wichita State University seeks a full-time, 9-month assistant professor, beginning in August. Applicants are required to have a degree in dance area, teaching experience at a professional or college level, ability to direct and teach stage movement. The salary depends on qualifications and experience.
For complete information, visit http://finearts.wichita.edu.
Full Professor in Theatre and Dance
The Department of Theatre & Dance at the University of California at San Diego (http://www-theatre.uscd.edu) is seeking an experienced theatre artist in lighting design. Applicants must work for us for at least one year. Significant professional experience is required. This position is expected to teach at both graduate and undergraduate levels.
A review of applications will start on June 1st. Application deadline: September 1st.
Technical Director in Performing and Fine Arts
DeSales University’s Performing and Fine Arts Department seeks a highly skilled, professional technical director. The position is a 10-month staff position with the possibility of summer employment with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Professional experience is required; MFA is preferred.
Please email materials to john.bell@desales.edu. Screening of applications begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled.
Assistant Director— Media Resources Center
Maryland Institute College of Art is seeking an Assistant Director of Media Resources Center in the Academic Affairs Division.
Qualifications for the position include a degree in Art History or related fields with knowledge of art and design history, library experience, excellent interpersonal and communication skills and familiarity with photoshop and scanning.
A review of applications will begin immediately; job announcements will remain open until the position is filled. Applicants are required to work for us at least 11 months. They can send emails to jobs@mica.edu. The salary differs depending on your experience. Please include your desired salary in your application letter.
1.What ad may an applicant pay close attention to if he/she has 9.5-month free time?
A. Technical Director in Performing and Fine Arts.
B. Assistant Director— Media Resources Center.
C. Assistant Professor, Musical Theatre Dance.
D. Full Professor in Theatre and Dance.
2.Which can you apply to if you have excellent interpersonal and communication skills?
A. Maryland Institute College of Art.
B. The University of California.
C. DeSales University.
D. Wichita State University.
3.What can we learn from the advertisements?
A. All the job announcements will remain open until the positions are filled.
B. All the reviews of applications will begin immediately.
C. All the jobs mentioned above promise a good salary.
D. All the jobs mentioned in the text require experience.
书面表达
假设你是李华，上个月去英国参加了一次夏令营活动，活动期间一直住在Mr. Smith家中。他们给你提供了很多帮助，请写一封感谢信表达对他们的感谢。
内容要点：1. 感谢Smith夫妇；
2. 你的感受；
3. 邀请Smith夫妇来华旅游。
注意: 1. 词数：100字左右。开头和结尾已给出，不计入词数；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith,
How are you doing?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
In this constantly changing world, how to put the knowledge 1. (gain) every day into 2. (real) has interested numerous people. As a proverb goes, “Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key 3. it.” Apparently, this saying 4. (try) to deliver the message 5. we ought not to stop practicing it if we 6. (true) want to master the knowledge we learn,
There are several reasons 7. (account) for this statement. To begin with, human beings are forgetful beings; therefore, only when we use knowledge, make 8. (mistake), and try to use it again will we be able to remember it by our heart. Moreover, knowledge has become growingly complicated and we can seldom grasp the essence of it if we do not practice it again and again.
Practicing, to sum up, 9. (be) of greatest importance for those who are determined to learn knowledge well. As a student, I hope that the young can focus more attention on practicing 10. they learn.
完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was in my third year of teaching creative writing at a high school in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Micky, gave me a note from his mother. It ___________ his absence from class the day before.
I had seen Micky himself writing the note at his desk. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my ___________ . The forged(伪造的) excuse notes made a large pile, with writing that ranged from imaginative to crazy. The ___________ of those notes didn’t realize that honest excuse notes were usually ___________ : “Peter was late because the alarm clock didn’t go off.”
The students always said that it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject, but when they ___________ excuse notes, they were brilliant.
So one day I gave the excuse notes to my classes, saying, “They’re ___________ to be written by parents, but actually they are not. True, Micky ? ” The students looked at me ___________ .
“Now, this will be the first class to study the ___________ of the excuse notes --- the first class, ever, to practice writing them. You’re so ___________ to have a teacher like me who has taken your best writing and turned it into a ___________ worthy of study. ”
Everyone smiled as I went on, “You used your ___________. So try more now. Today I’d like you to write ‘An Excuse Note from Adam/Eve to God’.” ___________ went down. Pens raced ___________ paper. For the first time ever I saw students so ___________ in their writing that they had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.
The next day everyone had excuse notes. ___________ discussions followed. The headmaster entered the classroom and walked ___________ , looking at papers, and then said, “I’d like you to see me in my office.” My heart ___________ .
When I stepped into his office, he came to ___________ my hand and said, “I just want to tell you that that lesson, that task, whatever the hell you were doing, was ___________ . Those kids were writing on the college ___________. Thank you. ”
1.A. explained B. described C. introduced D. announced
2.A. parents B. students C. teachers D. partners
3.A. editors B. readers C. writers D. speakers
4.A. true B. false C. easy D. dull
5.A. produced B. considered C. imagined D. delivered
6.A. designed B. collected C. supposed D. improved
7.A. eagerly B. nervously C. excitedly D. coldly
8.A. form B. difficulty C. meaning D. art
9.A. lucky B. helpful C. lovely D. active
10.A. talent B. habit C. product D. subject
11.A. devotion B. imagination C. concentration D. information
12.A. hands B. eyes C. heads D. ears
13.A. across B. with C. against D. behind
14.A. curious B. careful C. casual D. calm
15.A. Separated B. Surprising C. Heated D. Lasting
16.A. day and night B. in and out C. now and then D. up and down
17.A. sank B. rose C. flew D. hurt
18.A. watch B. touch C. shake D. catch
19.A. sure B. dim C. tough D. great
20.A. base B. level C. paper D. theme
