In 1974, after filling out fifty applications, going through four interviews, and winning one offer, I look what I could get — a teaching job at what I considered a distant wild area: western New Jersey. My characteristic optimism was alive only when I reminded myself that I would be doing what I had wanted to do since I was fourteen 一 teaching English.

School started, but I felt more and more as if I were in a foreign country. Waa this rural area really New Jersey? My students a week off when hunting season began. I was told they were also frequently absent in late October to help their fathers make hay on the farms. I was a young woman from New York City, who thought that “Make hay while the sun shines” just meant to have a good time.

But, still, I was teaching English. I worked hard, taking lime off only to eat and sleep. And then there was my sixth-grade class 一 seventeen boys and five girls who were only six yean younger than me. I had a problem long before I knew it. I was struggling in my work as a young idealistic teacher. I wanted to make literature come alive and lo promote a love of the written word. The students wanted to throw spitballs and whisper dirty words in the back of the room.

In college I had been taught that a successful educator should ignore bad behavior. So I did, confident that, as the textbook had said, the bad behavior would disappear as I gave ray students positive attention. It sounds reasonable, but the text evidently ignored the fact that humans, particularly teenagers, rarely seem reasonable. By the time ray boss, who was also ray taskmaster known to be the strictest, most demanding, most quick to fire inexperienced teachers, came into the classroom to observe me, the students exhibited very little good behavior to praise.

My boss sat in the back of the room. The boys in the class were making animal noises, hitting each other while the girls filed their nails or read magazines. I just pretended it all wasn’t happening, and went on lecturing and tried to ask some inspiring questions. My boss, sitting in the back of the room, seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. After twenty minutes he left, silently. Visions of unemployment marched before my eyes.

I felt mildly victorious that I got through the rest of class without crying, but at my next free period I had to face him. I wondered if he would let me finish out the day. I walked to his office, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

He was sitting in his chair, and he looked at me long and hard. I said nothing. All I could think of was that I was not an English teacher; I had been lying to myself, pretending that everything was fine.

When he spoke, he said simply, without accusation, “You had nothing to say to them.”

“You had nothing to say to them," he repeated. “No wonder they’re bored. Why not get to the meal of the literature and stop talking about symbolism. Talk with them, not at them. And more important, why do you ignore their bad behavior?” We talked. He named ray problems and offered solutions. We role-played. He was the bad student, and I was the forceful, yet, warm, teacher.

As the year progressed, we spent many hours discussing literature and ideas about human beings and their motivations. He helped me identify my weaknesses and my strengths. In short, he made a teacher of me by teaching me the reality of Emerson's words: “The secret to education lies in respecting the pupil.”

Fifteen years later I still drive that same winding road to the same school. Thanks to the help I received that difficult first year, the school is my home now.

55. It can be inferred from the story that in 1974 ______.

A. the writer became an optimistic person

B. the writer was very happy about her new job

C. it was rather difficult to get a job in the USA

D. it was easy to get a teaching job in New Jersey

56. According to the passage, which of the following is most probably the writer’s problem as a new teacher?

A. She had blind trust in what she learnt at college.

B. She didn’t ask experienced teachers for advice.

C. She took too much time off to eat and sleep.

D. She didn’t like teaching English literature.

57. What is the writer’s biggest worry after her taskmaster's observation of her class?

A. She might lose her teaching job.

B. She might lose her students’ respect.

C. She couldn’t teach the same class any more.

D. She couldn’t ignore her students’ bad behavior any more.

58. Which of the following gives the writer a sense of mild victory?

A. Her talk about symbolism sounded convincing.

B. Her students behaved a little better than usual.

C. She managed to finish the class without crying.

D. She was invited for a talk by her boss after class.

59. The students behaved badly in the writer's classes because ______.

A. they were eager to embarrass her

B. she didn't really understand them

C. they didn't regard her as a good teacher

D. she didn’t have a good command of English

60. The taskmaster’s attitude towards the writer after his observation of her class can be best described as ______.

A. cruel but encouraging                        B. fierce but forgiving

C. sincere and supportive                       D. angry and aggressive

Beauty has always been regarded as something admirable. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal consultants (顾问) give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive persons. But in the executive circle (政界), beauty can become a liability.

While attractiveness is a positive thing for a man’s rise, it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to be the reasons for their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck. All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives.

Why are attractive woman not thought to be able? An attractive woman is thought to be more feminine (女性的) and an attractive man more masculine (男性的) than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally masculine position appears to lack the "masculine" qualities required．

This is true even in politics. Anne Bowman recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates (候选人). She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked lo rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.

The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the woman who had been ranked most attractive always received the fewest votes.

In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness _____.

       A．strengthens the feminine qualities required

       B．makes women look more honest and capable

       C．is of great importance to women

       D．often enables women to succeed quickly

Bowman’s experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness _____.

       A．turns out to be an obstacle to men      

       B．affects men and women alike

       C．has as little effect on men as on women 

       D． is more of an obstacle than a benefit to women

It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often _____.

       A．practical          B．old-fashioned  

       C．prejudiced (偏见的)       D．serious

The author writes this passage to _____.

       A．discuss the negative aspects of being attractive

       B．give advice to job-seekers who are attractive

       C．demand equal rights for women

       D．emphasize the importance of appearance

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。

　　We had hardly got above the clouds over the airport when a calm voice said over the loudspeaker:“For technical reasons we shall be returning immediately to London Airport. Please keep your seatbelts fastened.”

　　I was rather surprised and glanced at the old lady next to me. She had been very chatty while we were waiting to take off.

　　“I'm going to New York to visit some relatives there. I always sleep wonderfully welt whenever I get into a plane.”she had told me.

　　And indeed, she seemed to he in a very deep sleep already.

　　Just then a passenger behind me shouted,“Oh, my God! The wing's on fire.”

　　I looked out of the window and my blood froze. Smoke and flames were pouring out of one of the engines. The plane was already turning and losing altitude fast.

　　“What's happening? Are we going to crash?”an American in front of me demanded.

　　The cabin crew were already moving up and down the aisle (走道), reassuring (安慰) people, saying things like,“It's just all right. There's no need to worry. Now, if you just sit still, everything will be all right. Don't get up. Don't get upset.”

　　I looked out again. The ground was rushing up at us with shocking speed. We were already so low that I could make out cars and even people.

“It's only a slight emergency,”a stewardess told me with a tense smile.

Suddenly there was a sickening bump and we were rushing along the runway at a terrifying speed. The brakes screeched (发出尖锐刺耳的声音). The engines roared even more loudly. We came to a trembling stop. The cabin crew quickly opened the emergency exits and the passengers began sliding down huge, stocking-like chutes (滑道) to the ground. A fire engine was already putting out the fire in one engine. I had to shake the old lady violently to wake her up.

　　“What's wrong? Surely the journey isn't over already! I mean, have we got to New York?”she asked sleepily.

1．When did the emergency occur?

[　　]

A．We are not told.

B．Just before the plane landed in New York.

C．Shortly after the plane took off.

D．Sometime in the middle of the flight.

2．What does the underlined word“altitude”(in Paragraph 6) refer to?

[　　]

A．Height above sea-level.

B．Place or area high above sea-level.

C．Way of thinking or behaving.

D．Way of positioning the body.

3．What would be the best title for the text?

[　　]

A．An unpleasant flight.

B．An interesting experience.

C．An unforgettable experience.

D．Brave cabin crew.

4．When they landed, the old lady _____.

[　　]

A．was one of the first to get out

B．asked when they were going on lo New York

C．was shaking violently with fear

D．was not even sure where they were

（A）新概念

Across the Channel

Debbie Hart is going to swim 1._____________ the English Channel tomorrow. She is going to 2._____________ from the French coast at five o'clock in the morning. Debbie is only fourteen years old and she hopes lo 3.______________a new world record. She is a strong 4._____________and many people feel that she is sure to5._____________. Debbie's father will set out with her in a small boat. Mr. Hart has trained his daughter for years. Tomorrow he will be watching her 6._____________ as she swims the long 7._____________ to England. Debbie 8.______________to take short rests every two hours. She will have something to drink but she will not eat any 9.______________food.

Most of Debbie's school friends will be waiting for her on the English coast. 10.______________ them will be Erna's mother, who swam the Channel herself when she was a girl.

  When I was thirteen, my family moved from Boston to Tucson, Arizona.  36  the move, my father  37  us in the living-room on a freezing January night. My sisters and I sat around the fire, not   38  that the universe would suddenly change its course. "In May, we're  39  to Arizona."

     The words, so small, didn't seem  40  enough to hold my new life. But the world changed and I awoke on a tram moving across the country. I watched the  41_  change from green trees to flat dusty plains to high mountains as I saw strange new plants that  42  mysteries(奥秘) yet to come. Finally, we arrived and  43  into own new home.

     44  my older sisters were sad at the loss of friends, I   45   explored(探索) our

new surroundings.

     One afternoon, I was out exploring  46  and saw a new kind of cactus(仙人掌). I crouched (蹲) down for a closer look. "You'd better not  47  that."

     I turned around to see an old woman

     "Are you new lo this neighborhood?" I explained that I was,  48 , new to the entire state.

     "My name is Ina Thorne. Have you got used to life in the  49 ? It must be quite a   _50  after living in Boston."

     How could I explain how I  51  the desert? I couldn't seem to find the right words.

     "It's vastness," she offered. “That vastness  52  you stand on the mountains overlooking the desert -- you can  53  how little you are in comparison with the world.  _54 , you feel that the possibilities are limitless.”

     That was it. That was the feeling I'd bad ever since I'd first seen the mountains of my new home. Again, my  55  would change with just a few simple words.

     "Would you like to come to my home tomorrow? Someone should teach you which plant you should and shouldn't touch."