Many years ago, there was an emperor(皇帝). One day he told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and ________ as much land area as he liked, he would give him the area of land he had covered.________ enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and _____ as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could.
He _____ riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. Even when he was _______or tired, he did not stop _______he wanted to cover as much area as possible. When he at last covered a large amount of land, he was exhausted and was _________. Then he asked himself, “Why did I _____myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only _____ a very small area to _____myself.”
The above story is _____ to the journey of our _____. We push ourselves very hard every day to make more ________, to gain power or recognition. We neglect(疏忽，忘记) our ________, time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding ______and the things we love to do. One day __________ we look back, we will ______that we don’t really need that much, ____________ then we cannot turn back time for what we have __________
Life is not about making money. Life is definitely(肯定地) not about work! Work is only _________ to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life.
1.A. use B. get C. work D. cover
2.A. Sure B. Strange C. Good D. Interesting
3.A. rode B. ran C. expanded D. struggled
4.A. gave up B. asked for C. kept on D. succeeded in
5.A. sad B. hungry C. confused D. excited
6.A. because B. so C. but D. if
7.A. dying B. arguing C. sleeping D. smiling
8.A. make B. push C. destroy D. prove
9.A. find B. have C. need D. show
10.A. live B. support C. bury D. sleep
11.A. useful B. certain C. special D. similar
12.A. future B. past C. history D. life
13.A. money B. progress C. discoveries D. friends
14.A. freedom B. career C. honor D. health
15.A. things B. condition C. beauty D. people
16.A. before B. when C. unless D. since
17.A. regret B. realize C. apologize D. explain
18.A. but B. until C. however D. or
19.A. saved B. won C. reduced D. missed
20.A. possible B. probable C. necessary D. suitable
There is distinction between reading for information and reading for understanding. 1.
The first sense is the one in which we read newspapers, magazines, or anything else. 2.Such materials may increase our store of information, but they cannot improve our understanding. And clearly we don’t have any difficulty in gaining the new information, for our understanding was equal to them before we started. Otherwise, we would have felt the shock of puzzlement.
The second sense is the one in which we read something that at first we do not completely understand. Here the thing to be read is at the first sight better or higher than the reader. The writer is communicating something that can increase the reader’s understanding. 3.Otherwise one person could never learn from another. Here “learning” means understanding more, not remembering more information.
What are the conditions in this kind of reading? First, there is inequality in understanding4. Besides, his book must convey something he possesses and his potential readers lack. Second, the reader must be able to overcome this inequality in some degree. And he should always try to reach the same level of understanding with the writer. If the equality is approached, success of communication is achieved.
5.It is the least demanding and requires the least amount of effort. Everyone who knows how to read can read for entertainment if he wants to. In fact, any book that can be read for understanding or information can probably be read for entertainment as well.
A．Thus, we can employ the word “reading” in two distinct senses.
B．Such communication between unequals must be possible.
C．We can get access to the content of those materials easily.
D．The writer must be “superior” to the reader in understanding.
E. The writer should have a better communicating skill.
F. Besides gaining information and understanding, there’s another goal of reading—entertainment.
G. Reading for entertainment is capable of increasing our understanding for information.
Recently, the TV show “Where are we going, Dad?” produced by Hunan SatelliteTelevision is a big hit across nation. Many famous stars brought their children to a strange village alone, and they had to spend 72 hours with their children there. The program fully showed us a modern version of the “how to be a good father”. As the young parents today are too busy to take care of their children, this new form of “Lost on the way” played by nanny Daddy and cute kids triggered（触发）a lot of people’s emotional resonance（共鸣）. Both the kids and their parents will find that their hearts are being drawn closer. But this kind of feeling has just proved that there is a big spiritual barrier between the modern parents and children.The TV shows like “Children are hard to support!”, “Where are we going, Dad?”, “hot mom” and “cute kids” are becoming more and more popular. All of these show the new parents’ confusion in children’s education and the appeal for the balance between career and family.
In the real life, on the one hand, the young parents feel helpless because they are too busy to accompany their children under the pressures of work and life; on the other hand, they continue to do so. The data collected by HNTV shows that nearly two-thirds of their audience are female, among whom 36% are aged from 25 to 34.We can imagine such a scene that one evening a young mother is watching the show with her young children, while her husband is still at work or trapped in socializing, or maybe is just playing computer games in the bedroom. The story of a child without the company of father is still going on. In fact, it is sometimes the same to mothers. In a modern family, it is often the old who take the responsibility of raising a child. The participation of mother in the children’s education is also very low.
It is just this kind of confusion where the parents have gone in the modern family education, and where the parents will guide their children to go that “Where are we going, Dad?” shows us. If a child wants to grow up healthily and safely into a modern citizen with independent personality and free spirit, it is very important for him or her to follow the parents who serve as their first teacher. Maybe this is the real reason why such kind of TV programs could get hot. The truth is that children will go where their parents go; and society will go where the children go.
1.To raise a child in modern society, parents should ________.
A. break down the barrier between children and teachers
B. play computer games with their children
C. balance well between family and career
D. keep their children at home to avoid socializing
2.Which of the following can be inferred in the passage?
A. 36% of the audience of the program are female aged from 25-34.
B. Parents shouldn’t entirely leave the education of children to the old.
C. In a modern family it is often mothers who are responsible for raising a child.
D. The program shows us the confusion where the parents and children will go to play.
3.What does the underlined word “participation” probably mean?
A. taking responsibility B. understanding
C. taking part D. keeping company
4.Which one is the best title of the passage?
A. New problems in Modern Children’s Education
B. Modern Education is Important
C. Confusion Behind “Where are we going, dad?”
D. Nanny Daddy and Cute Kids
If you are interested to find a part time job or learn something different during your spare time, you can have a look at the following jobs offered by the DC Public Library.
Teens of Distinction Program
The DC Public Library offers part time jobs for teens through the Teens of Distinction Program. Teens work 10-12 hours per week all year long, helping the library with important tasks and projects. The Teens of Distinction Program is now hiring! To apply, you have to：
● be a DC resident
● have and maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average
● be 16 to 18 years old
● be able to work 10-12 hours per week
● be able to work for DCPL for at least 9 months
Oh, and of course you have to impress us with your wonderful personality!
Teen Volunteer Opportunities
If you want to earn community service hours for school, Youth202 is a good choice.
Youth202 is a radio program created by youth and for youth. You can learn radio production skills, interview people around you, and help keep other teens to learn news, events, and anything else you think is important.
Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)
Every summer, teens can work here to help library customers organize books and learn lots of new skills, such as program planning, writing and media production.
On Friday, January 25 at 12:15 pm, the application for the 2014 SYEP will be open to teens between the ages of 14 and 21.
Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Space is limited this year, so teens are encouraged to apply early, and remember not to miss the deadline, Saturday, February 16.
1.Working for the Teens of Distinction Program, teenagers will ___．
①become a DC resident
②work 10-12 hours per week
③work for DCPL for at least 9 months
④have a wonderful personality
A. ③④ B. ②③
C. ①②③ D. ①③④
2.Who has the biggest chance to work for the 2014 SYEP?
A. A teenager who applies early.
B. A teenager who is popular.
C. A teenager who is smart.
D. A teenager who gets high grades in exams.
3.The aim of the text is to ________．
A. introduce the DC Public Library
B. describe the job of library workers
C. offer teenager part time jobs in the DC Public Library
D. teach how to apply for parttime jobs
You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature. But, rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation (撤离) of an island nation — the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.
During the 20th century, sea level has risen 8～12 inches. As a result, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water.
Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their green house gas emissions (排放), which are a main cause of global warming.“By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries.
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable (易受影响的) to rising sea levels. Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311 000 an“endangered nation”.
1.The text is mainly about___________.
A. rapid changes in earth’s temperature?
B. bad effects of global warming
C. moving of a country to a new place
D. reasons for lowland flooding
2.According to scientists, the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is __________.
A. greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations
B. higher surface water temperatures of the sea
C. continuous global warming
D. rising sea levels
3.Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not _________.
A. agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
B. sign an agreement with Tuvalu
C. allow Tuvaluans to move to the US
D. believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real
4.The country whose situation is similar to that of Tuvalu is _________.
A. Australia B. New Zealand
C. the Maldives D. the United States
A large number of women in Western European countries wish that they were born men. The number is said as high as 60% in West Germany. “Women often wish that they had the same chance as men have, and believe it is still men’s world,” said Dr James Holden, one of the scientists who did the study.
Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company. She also believes in “Women’ s Liberation(解放)”. “I don’t wish that I were a man,” she says, “and I don’t think many women do. But I do wish that people would stop looking down upon us women. At work, for example, we often do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs that are usually the best ones and open only to men. If you’re a man, you have a much better chance of leading an exciting life. How many women pilots are there ... or engineers or scientists?”
1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. 60% women in West Germany wish that they were born men.
B. Most women in Western European countries wish that their babies were all boys.
C. 60% Western European women wish that they were born men.
D. 60% Western European women who wish that they were born men are from West Germany.
2.“It is still men’s world.” means “______.”
A. There’re more men than women in the world
B. There’re more men scientists or engineers than women scientists or engineers in the world
C. Women have not been given the same chance as men
D. Women cannot live without men
3.Anne Harper considers that women should ______.
A. be well paid B. live a better life than men
C. be really liberated D. get better jobs than men
4.Anne Harper doesn’t wish that she were a man because she ______.
A. has got a very good job
B. isn’t looked down upon by anyone
C. does the work that a man can’t do
D. believes in “Women’s Liberation”
