The world is changing rapidly and sometimes we find it almost impossible to ________ the advances in science and technology.

There are plenty of beauty schools throughout the country that can help you to start a career in cosmetology(美容业). Nowadays, young people may not be able to afford a four-year college. Students can look forward to attending a beauty school program which will only take a few months to complete and start their career right away to earn money.

There can be many benefits of going to beauty school. The expense is much less than attending a four-year university. Besides, attending beauty school is mostly a hands-on(动手的) experience which appeals to many people. Some students don’t like sitting all day listening to lectures and then having to study at night. What’s more, most beauty school programs keep up with the changing trends and fashion. So you will always be working on different hair types which can be fun and will give you a lot of experience throughout the years of your career.

If you are worried about finding a job after graduation, many beauty schools will offer assistance for immediate job placement and give you peace of mind that you will not be stranded looking for a job. Most colleges and universities are not equipped to do that because of the large number of graduates each year.

Cosmetologists will also make a good salary. The average salary will depend on your location, but you may earn a salary around $3,000 — $3,500 a month. This is not including tips which could be $600 or more a month.

Not only can young people go to cosmetology school, but people of all ages can start this career. As you can see, there are many benefits of beauty schools that can be the perfect opportunity for anyone to become a great cosmetologist.

1.How many advantages of going to beauty school are mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A. Two.       B. Three.       C. Four.       D. Five.

2.The underlined word “stranded” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by ______.

A. focused on      B. given up      C. stuck in      D. turned to

3.What can be learnt from the passage?

A. A cosmetologist gets paid at least $3,600 a month.

B. Beauty schools are not popular with young people.

C. Graduates can easily be offered jobs by universities.

D. It isn’t suitable for the old to start a career in cosmetology.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. The development of cosmetology

B. How to become a cosmetologist

C. The benefits of beauty schools

D. Going to college or beauty school

When I was three years old, my parents discovered I was totally deaf. But instead of sending me to a school for the deaf, they decided to “mainstream” me. All of my peers and teachers world have normal hearing.

I was the only deaf child at Blue Creel Elementary School. From almost the first day there, the other kids made fun of me mainly because of my hearing aid and the way I talked. And I also had difficulty with most of my school work.

When the other kids made fun of me, I was sure that I was a bad person. I saw myself as a boy who wasn’t smart enough to keep up with the class.

Mrs. Jordan, my 5th grade teacher, changed all of that with a simple three-word phrase.

One morning, she asked the class a question. I read her lips from my front-row seat and immediately raised my hand because I was sure I had the right answer. But when she called on me, I was afraid. Here was an opportunity to impress the powerful teacher and show her I was worthy of her love. Maybe even impress my classmates a little. I didn’t want to blow it. despite my fears, I took a deep breath and answered Mrs. Jordan’s question.

I will never forget what happened next. Mrs. Jordan enthusiastically slammed （跺动）her right foot on the floor and turned her tight hand around in full circle until it pointed directly at me. With sparking eyes and a wide smile she cried, “THAT’S RIGHT STEPHEN!”

For the first time in my young life, I was a star. I sat a little taller in my chair.

From that day forward, my grades and speech improved greatly. My popularity among my peers increased. It was all because Mrs. Jordan believed in me and wasn’t afraid to express it. “THAT’S RIGHT STEPHEN!”

1.What does the underlined word “mainstream”(in Para 1) mean?

2.It can be inferred that when entering Blue Creek Elementary School, the writer     .

3.When the writer answered Mrs. Jordan’s question, he        .

4.From his experience, the writer may conclude that       .

单词拼写（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
【小题1】In Chinese culture, dragons are g_____________(慷慨豁达的) and wise, though they can be unpredictable.
【小题2】Look through newspapers every day and you can keep up with the r____________(迅速) developing situation.
【小题3】I’m writing in r____________(回应) to your advertisement for an electrician.
【小题4】There are many ______________ (神秘的)stories about the Egyptian pyramids.
【小题5】The scientist contributed a lot to the world and built up his r_____________(声望).
【小题6】His vivid and amusing accounts of life on the Mississippi e______________(确立) himself as a giant in American literature.
【小题7】He made several a_____________(尝试) but all of them were in vain.
【小题8】The o__________(起源) of Carnival is that in Europe people enjoyed eating, drinking and dressing up before forty days without meat.
【小题9】She has made great contributions to the world, c___________(创造) much wealth.
【小题10】O_____________ (显而易见), Tom didn’t catch what I said, so he couldn’t know how to answer my question.

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.

    The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.

    It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.

    Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series (系列) of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

    People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1. Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

   A. want to be as rich as their neighbours

   B. want others to know or to think that they are rich

   C. don’t want others to know they are rich

   D. want to be happy

2. It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.

   A. live outside New York City         B. live in New York City

   C. live in apartments                 D. have many neighbours

3. The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means ________.

   A. a person who lives near another      B. people living in an area

   C. an area near the place referred to     D. an area in another town or city

4. According to the writer, it is _________ to keep up with the Joneses.

   A. correct       B. interesting     C. impossible       D. good