With all the wars, fighting and sadness in the world today, it’s not only helpful, but it’s essential to have a good sense of humor, just to help us get through each day of our lives. I could never make it through even one single day without simply fooling around with the people around me, just to pick up our mood. Putting a smile on someone’s face when you know they are feeling down in the dumps, as the saying goes, makes me feel all good, and warm inside.

How would you feel if you could not joke around with a neighbor, friend, family, or even just someone you meet while standing in a lineup at your corner store? My grandma always told me that a stranger is only a friend that you haven’t met yet. My grandma always found umor in everything she did, even if it was the dirtiest job anyone could imagine. I know I am always saying things that make others smile or laugh, even if I don’t know the person I’m joking around with. This relieves stress in any situation, and it is common courtesy to speak to others that are around you.

I know of a few people that don’t have a funny bone in their bodies, as they say. Everyone around them could be rolling on the floor from hearing a great joke, but they would sit there with only the slightest smile on their face. I don’t know how these people can do it. I am busting a gut while they just sit there, looking at us as if we were from outer space.

Without humor in this world, a quality that can be learned, we would find ourselves with a lot of mental problems. There is too much sadness in this world, and we all need to find a way to bring a little light into our lives, so the best medicine is to get together and tell some jokes and laugh a whole lot.

1. Why does the author think humor is useful if life?

  A. It can help remove the cruelty in the world.Re

  B. It can help raise people’s spirits.

  C. It builds up people’s confidence.

  D. It can make us know more people.

2. The author answers the question in the second paragraph with____.

  A. facts and descriptions

  B. arguments and proofs

  C. examples and conclusion

  D. stories and persuasion

3. What does the underlined part “busting a gut” probably mean?

  A. Explaining repeatedly.

  B. Requesting eagerly.

  C. Laughing hard.

  D. Keeping silent.

4. The author may not agree that____.

  A. it is good to have a sense of humor

  B. humor is needed in our everyday life

  C. humor can shorten the distance between people

  D. humor is a natural quality that is hard to acquire

5. What attitude does the author have to the present world?

  A. Doubtful.   B. Dissatisfied.   C. Indifferent.   D. Calm.

If you wanted to know what it’s like to walk on the moon, you’d interview an astronaut. If you wanted insights(深刻的见解) on playing Hamlet, you’d study the performance of a Shakespearean actor. And if you wanted to know what the first year of teaching school is like, well... you’d ask teachers who just completed their first year on the job. We wanted to know and we asked.
This book attempts to capture the fascinating and inspiring answers we received. It is based largely on a series of discussions held among winners of the First Class Teacher Award sponsored(赞助) every year by Sallie Mae, a corporation devoted to education. As in the past years, first-year teachers who won the award came to Washington, DC in the fall for a weekend of awards and related events.
One activity that grew out of the awards is a series of focus group discussions. These discussions allow us to ask first-year teachers some key questions: What was it like the first year What were your hardest challenges and your greatest rewards? Did you get the right preparation? Do you have any insights you could offer new teachers?
The teachers talked in frank terms about what it’s like to feel rebuffed by experienced teachers, to struggle with budget cutbacks, to see children in pain. But the difficulties they related are only half the story. They also told us how they dealt with challenges, what they would want new teachers to know, and why being a teacher is so important to their sense of self. All together, their words paint a picture of an inspired and inspiring group of up-and-coming leaders in their profession. We believe their reflections will prove helpful to principals, administrators, university professors in education departments, and particularly, new teachers who are speeding up to face the first day of school. This book is built on the words and recollections(回忆) of award-winning, first-year teachers. We have used direct quotations(引用语) from teachers (with their permission), both from the focus group discussions and from a set of essays they wrote. We felt their voices needed to be heard as directly as possible. Our job was to present their insights in a way that would be useful for readers. What follows is our effort to do so.
Thank you for your interest, and we welcome your response.
Sincerely,
Sharon A. Bobbitt, Ph.D.
Director, Knowledge Applications Division
U.S. Department of Education
65.Sharon A. Bobbitt writes the passage mainly to ________.
A. inspire would-be teachers               B. praise the award winners
C. share his teaching experience            D. introduce a valuable book
66.What purpose does Paragraph 1 serve in the passage?
A. To provide background information of the topic.
B. To attract readers’ attention to the topic.
C. To use the examples to support the topic.
D. To offer basic knowledge of the topic.
67.Which of the following is TRUE about the First Class Teacher Award?
A. It is sponsored by Sallie Mae every year.
B. It is held sometimes in Washington, DC.
C. It focuses on discussions and contests.
D. The participants are invited to write books.
68.What does the underlined word “rebuffed” in the Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Impressed deeply.                     B. Taught sincerely.
C. Refused rudely.                       D. Helped warm-heartedly.

If you wanted to know what it’s like to walk on the moon, you’d interview an astronaut. If you wanted insights(深刻的见解) on playing Hamlet, you’d study the performance of a Shakespearean actor. And if you wanted to know what the first year of teaching school is like, well... you’d ask teachers who just completed their first year on the job. We wanted to know and we asked.

This book attempts to capture the fascinating and inspiring answers we received. It is based largely on a series of discussions held among winners of the First Class Teacher Award sponsored(赞助) every year by Sallie Mae, a corporation devoted to education. As in the past years, first-year teachers who won the award came to Washington, DC in the fall for a weekend of awards and related events.

One activity that grew out of the awards is a series of focus group discussions. These discussions allow us to ask first-year teachers some key questions: What was it like the first year What were your hardest challenges and your greatest rewards? Did you get the right preparation? Do you have any insights you could offer new teachers?

The teachers talked in frank terms about what it’s like to feel rebuffed by experienced teachers, to struggle with budget cutbacks, to see children in pain. But the difficulties they related are only half the story. They also told us how they dealt with challenges, what they would want new teachers to know, and why being a teacher is so important to their sense of self. All together, their words paint a picture of an inspired and inspiring group of up-and-coming leaders in their profession. We believe their reflections will prove helpful to principals, administrators, university professors in education departments, and particularly, new teachers who are speeding up to face the first day of school. This book is built on the words and recollections(回忆) of award-winning, first-year teachers. We have used direct quotations(引用语) from teachers (with their permission), both from the focus group discussions and from a set of essays they wrote. We felt their voices needed to be heard as directly as possible. Our job was to present their insights in a way that would be useful for readers. What follows is our effort to do so.

Thank you for your interest, and we welcome your response.

Sincerely,

Sharon A. Bobbitt, Ph.D.

Director, Knowledge Applications Division

U.S. Department of Education

65.Sharon A. Bobbitt writes the passage mainly to ________.

A. inspire would-be teachers               B. praise the award winners

C. share his teaching experience            D. introduce a valuable book

66.What purpose does Paragraph 1 serve in the passage?

A. To provide background information of the topic.

B. To attract readers’ attention to the topic.

C. To use the examples to support the topic.

D. To offer basic knowledge of the topic.

67.Which of the following is TRUE about the First Class Teacher Award?

A. It is sponsored by Sallie Mae every year.

B. It is held sometimes in Washington, DC.

C. It focuses on discussions and contests.

D. The participants are invited to write books.

68.What does the underlined word “rebuffed” in the Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Impressed deeply.                     B. Taught sincerely.

C. Refused rudely.                       D. Helped warm-heartedly.

If you wanted to know what it’s like to walk on the moon, you’d interview an astronaut. If you wanted insights(深刻的见解) on playing Hamlet, you’d study the performance of a Shakespearean actor. And if you wanted to know what the first year of teaching school is like, well... you’d ask teachers who just completed their first year on the job. We wanted to know and we asked.

This book attempts to capture the fascinating and inspiring answers we received. It is based largely on a series of discussions held among winners of the First Class Teacher Award sponsored(赞助) every year by Sallie Mae, a corporation devoted to education. As in the past years, first-year teachers who won the award came to Washington, DC in the fall for a weekend of awards and related events.

One activity that grew out of the awards is a series of focus group discussions. These discussions allow us to ask first-year teachers some key questions: What was it like the first year What were your hardest challenges and your greatest rewards? Did you get the right preparation? Do you have any insights you could offer new teachers?

The teachers talked in frank terms about what it’s like to feel rebuffed by experienced teachers, to struggle with budget cutbacks, to see children in pain. But the difficulties they related are only half the story. They also told us how they dealt with challenges, what they would want new teachers to know, and why being a teacher is so important to their sense of self. All together, their words paint a picture of an inspired and inspiring group of up-and-coming leaders in their profession. We believe their reflections will prove helpful to principals, administrators, university professors in education departments, and particularly, new teachers who are speeding up to face the first day of school. This book is built on the words and recollections(回忆) of award-winning, first-year teachers. We have used direct quotations(引用语) from teachers (with their permission), both from the focus group discussions and from a set of essays they wrote. We felt their voices needed to be heard as directly as possible. Our job was to present their insights in a way that would be useful for readers. What follows is our effort to do so.

Thank you for your interest, and we welcome your response.

Sincerely,

 Sharon A. Bobbitt, Ph.D.

Director, Knowledge Applications Division

U.S. Department of Education

65.Sharon A. Bobbitt writes the passage mainly to ________.

  A. inspire would-be teachers               B. praise the award winners

  C. share his teaching experience            D. introduce a valuable book

66.What purpose does Paragraph 1 serve in the passage?

  A. To provide background information of the topic.

  B. To attract readers’ attention to the topic.

  C. To use the examples to support the topic.

  D. To offer basic knowledge of the topic.

67.Which of the following is TRUE about the First Class Teacher Award?

  A. It is sponsored by Sallie Mae every year.

  B. It is held sometimes in Washington, DC.

  C. It focuses on discussions and contests.

  D. The participants are invited to write books.

68.What does the underlined word “rebuffed” in the Paragraph 4 probably mean?

  A. Impressed deeply.                     B. Taught sincerely.

  C. Refused rudely.                       D. Helped warm-heartedly.

If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have the last laugh．There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech "Information Age" demands people who are flexible（灵活的）and who have good knowledge of social science．

There are many social science majors in large companies who take up important positions．For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses．Studies show that social science majors are most suited to change, which is the leading feature（特点） of the kind of high speed, high-pressure, high-tech world we now live in．

Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long-term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily．A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry-level positions with social science graduates．The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as "very important" by 92 percent of the companies．Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are．It is probably due to these skills that have been offered a wide variety of positions．

Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job．recent graduates report that they don't regret their choice of study．

50．What's the main idea of the passage?

       A．Social science graduates are more likely to be employed．

       B．Computer major graduates are more likely to be employed．

       C．A lot of people take up the social science majors．

       D．Why is the unemployment problem so serious nowadays．

51．What is our present society's clearest feature?

       A．It is full of pressure．          B．It is full of chances．

       C．It is full of changes．             D．It is full of failures

52．Why are the social science graduates offered many jobs?

       A．Because they are more experienced than the other kinds of graduates．

       B．Because they are more flexible than the other kinds of graduates．

       C．Because they can deal with problems better than the other kinds of graduates．

       D．Because they have better communication skills than the other kinds of graduates．

53．What's the attitude of social science graduates towards their major?

       A．Disappointed．       B．Satisfied．       C．Interested．    D．Bored．