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　　The dark, narrow streets of London were dangerous places for a lad to wander during the ruling of Charles Ⅱ (1660-1685). Bands of hoodlums(强盗), in the pay of some ships' captains, were found everywhere. Their job was to seize as many boys as they could find and carry them off to waiting ships in the harbor. Many a pale city lad would wake up from a drugged sleep, or a blow on the head, to find himself on the high seas, bound for the New World. There he might become a farmhand, an apprentice, or perhaps a household servant.

　　Thousands of unsuspecting youths were kidnapped who were never to return to the land of their birth. The traffic in young boys became, in time, a great public scandal, and this is the way it had come about.

　　America desperately needed colonists. At first, many people had come willingly, lured by tales of quick wealth and unlimited opportunity. But once they arrived, they found it to be a far rougher place than they had imagined. It was true that, there was opportunity, but hard work was needed to make it pay off. Many of the new colonists, hoping for easy fortuned, were not used to the difficulties of hard manual labour.

　　Nor could they manage the large farms by themselves. They needed help of every sort: for planting, for harvesting, for building their houses, etc. Some few skilled workers had come and set up shops--blacksmiths, carpenters, wheelwrights(修造轮子的工匠) and such--but they, too, were in need of help. Without apprentices and laborers, they could not possibly do all the work that the colonists required.

　　British shipowners offered free transportation to all those who would come, in return for an agreement to work for seven years without wages. Thousands of immigrants accepted the offer. After seven years of service they were farmers in their own right--and needed help. So there was an increasing need for workers. When the captains could not get colonists any other way, they hired hoodlums to seize any young boys they could lay hands on.

　　Over 100000 youngsters were taken to America in this way. Kidnapping became such an open scandal that in 1682 the London Council passed a law forbidding any person under fourteen to be bound into service without the knowledge and consent of his parents.

1．What shocked the London citizens in the late 17th century?

[　　]

A．The British shipowners needed hands in their business.

B．Bands of hoodlums wandered in the dark streets of London.

C．Many young boys turned to drugs and violence.

D．Many young boys were captured and shipped to America.

2．According to the passage, many British people were willing to settle in America because _____.

[　　]

A．they were poor and desperate

B．they thought they could find jobs easily and soon make a fortune

C．they were desperately tired of the bad conditions in London

D．they learned that skilled workers were badly needed there

3．According to the passage, the colonists were in need of hands for the following reasons except that _____.

[　　]

A．many rail tracks had to be built

B．there was a lot of work on the farms

C．many houses had to be built

D．there was a lot of work in various kinds of shops

4．Why did thousands of immigrants sign the agreement to work for seven years without pay?

[　　]

A．Because they had no money to pay for their voyage to the New World.

B．Because they could become farmers in their own right after their seven-year work.

C．Because they had no land of their own when they just arrived in America.

D．Because they were kidnapped and forced to sign it.

5．We can infer from the passage that the British government passed a law in 1682 because _____.

[　　]

A．the shipowners had seized a great fortune of the country apart from the young boys

B．it intended to stop the employment of the young workers under the age of fourteen

C．the public strongly condemned the kidnapping of young boys

D．it did not want to lose a lot of its young residents

When Dan Shaw gets up from the sofa in his home, Cuddles is never far away. When he wants to go outside, he doesn’t take Cuddles out for a walk—Cuddles takes him for a walk. Cuddles is clearly no ordinary family pet. It is a two-foot-high miniature horse and serves as the guiding eyes of Shaw, who is blind.

When Shaw lost his sight, his wife suggested he apply for a guide dog. Shaw, an animal lover, said he couldn’t bear to part with a dog (which usually lives about eight to ten years) and get used to a new one, perhaps several times in his life.

Then Shaw heard of a program about the tiny guide horses. He learned that the horse possess many qualities that that make them an excellent choice for guiding people. They are clean, friendly, smart and have great memories. They can be trained to remain calm in noisy and crowded places. Best of all, they live for 25-25years, which would enable Shaw to have the same guide companion for most or all of his life.

Shaw immediately applied to be and was accepted as the first person to receive a guide horse. The instant he met Cuddles, he knew he was making the right choice. Then he began his training.

Through training, Shaw and Cuddles learned to find way on busy streets, step over curbs（便道沿儿）and find elevator buttons. Cuddles even demonstrated（显示）its ability to step in front of Shaw and block him, to prevent him from walking into a dangerous situation. The little horse also expertly led Shaw through busy shopping malls. They got along without any difficulty. Now Shaw is confident that Cuddles will change his life for the better.

1.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “miniature” in Paragraph 1? (No more than 2 words)

2.Why didn’t Shaw want to choose a dog as his guide? (No more than 15 words)

3.What does Paragraph 3 mainly tell us? (No more than 10 words)

4.How does Shaw feel about his future life with the help of Cuddles? (No more than 10 words)

5.In your opinion, what is the ideal relationship between man and animals? (No more than 20 words)

 

According to a recent report, some once-hot majors like English, Computer and Law for Chinese students entering college have now fallen out of favor. The reason is that more graduates studying in those fields end up    1  .

This year, a sample of 500,000 college    2   from 2009 were surveyed and 220,000 questionnaires were received back for the 2010 report. Among the   3   

majors, Law graduates had the most difficulty finding jobs, with the   4   

unemployment rate(比率) of 17.7% of all the majors in 2009. English majors had the highest    5   of the unemployed for three years, with 15,700 graduates still out of work.

“Such majors as Computer, English and Law were the most    6   ones for Beijing students entering universities in 2005, but now these graduates are in a tight corner,” said Ba ran, a senior counselor（顾问）at a well-known company. Ba said that the expansion（扩大）of college enrollment（注册）for those hot majors five years ago has    7   an over-supply in the market, making it harder for those graduates to find jobs.

On the other side, engineering graduates majoring in Geological Engineering, Ship and Marine Engineering are    8   most in the job market. Engineering majors are more practical in professional skills and work experience, which are favored by many    9  . The graduates are thus armed with a competitive    10   in the cruel job market.

The report    11   a system should be set up against majors with a high risk of    12  . Undergraduates studying Law or English are encouraged to change their    13   or obtain a second degree. For some colleges and provinces with   14   employment rates, the report advised a（n）   15   in enrollment numbers or even a temporary (暂时的) stop in enrolling students.

1.                A．useless         B．jobless          C．reliable   D．grateful

 

2.                A．partner         B．graduates       C．professors     D．guidance

 

3.                A．unpromising     B．favorable        C．generous D．educated

 

4.                A．quickest        B．slowest         C．highest   D．lowest

 

5.                A．rate           B．number         C．problem D．supply

 

6.                A．famous         B．risky           C．practical D．popular

 

7.                A．received        B．encouraged      C．stopped D．caused

 

8.                A．ignored        B．enrolled        C．favored   D．surveyed

 

9.                A．employers      B．professors       C．reporters D．researchers

 

10.               A．situation        B．advantage       C．skill   D．major

 

11.               A．ignored        B．devoted        C．suggested D．questioned

 

12.               A．insurance       B．disaster         C．over-supply    D．unemployment

 

13.               A．favors          B．jobs           C．majors    D．schools

 

14.               A．low            B．high           C．rising D．falling

 

15.               A．end           B．remove         C．cut   D．increase

 

 

I remembered that when I was a little child, I used to look for Sunday of the week. Yes, I was so looking forward to an adventure.

Now, I still have a strong affinity for buses. I used to wonder where those gigantic (巨大的) buses finally stopped. On sunshine Sundays, that’s my adventure times. He took me to the bus stop. Time passed, while I was growing impatient, he was smiling, as he always does.

It was really not that easy to get on a bus as often as we do today. I was so worried that the bus driver would have missed us. I waved my hands so high with all my strength. I looked hopefully at him. He didn’t move at all. He was still standing. It seemed that the late and infrequent coming of the bus wasn’t any trouble to him at all.

He took my hand. We managed to find seats on the upper deck. I was so excited. Only sitting beside the windows made me happy. Looking at the rewinding buildings, streets and people through windows from a higher ground was so much fun. Then, he was sitting peacefully by me and whispered to me where the bus finally would stop. I was curious about what would be the next stop of our destination as much as what really means something to him.[www.zxxk.com]

That is me. I know now. I am all he cares. He wants me to be happy, as he always does. That’s the strong bond between father and son. Childhood, naive(天真)  and precious, you showed me the world and the way I look at the world. I am so grateful for your presence in my life. Thanks, you are so wonderful!

1.Who is “he” throughout the text?

A. The brother of the writer.                        B. The son of the writer.                      

C. The father of the writer.                           D. A bus driver.

2.In the second paragraph, what is the probably meaning of “affinity”?

A. Hate.    B. Disappointment.             C. Liking.                      D. Confusion.

3.Where does this text probably come from?

A. A bus guide.                                       B. A student’s diary.

C. An adventure story.                                   D. A transportation report.

 

They are among the 250, 000 people under the age of 25 who are out of work in the Netherlands, a group that makes up 40 percent of the nation’s unemployed. A storm of anger boils up at the government-sponsored (政府资助的) youth center, even among those who are continuing their studies.

   “We study for jobs that don’t exist,” Nicollets Steggerda, 23, said.

   After thirty years of prosperity, unemployment among 10 member nations of the European Community has reached as much as 11 percent, affecting a total of 12.3 million people, and the number is climbing.

   The bitter disappointment long expressed by British youths is spreading across the Continent. The title of a rock song “No Future” can now be seen written on the brick walls of closed factories in Belgium and France.

    One form of protest(抗议) tends to put the responsibility for a country’s economic troubles on the large numbers of “guest workers” from Third World nations, people welcomed in Western Europe in the years of prosperity.

    Young Europeans, brought up in an extended period of economic success and general stability, seem to be similar to Americans more than they do their own parents. Material enjoyment has given them a sense of expectation, even the right to a standard of living that they see around them.

    “And so we pass the days at the discos, or meet people at the café, and sit and stare,” said Isabella Cault. "There is usually not much conversation. You look for happiness. Sometimes you even find it.”

Unemployment in the Netherlands has affected _______

A. about 0.6 million people           B. 250,000 people

C. 1ess than half of the population       D. one million people

What Nicollete Steggerda said (Para.2) means that ________.

A. what the students learn is more than necessary

B. the students cannot get work after graduation

C. the students’ aim in study is not clear

D. school education is not sufficient

The underlined word ‘‘it” in the last paragraph most probably refers to ________.

A. material enjoyment         B. a sense of expectation

C. a job             D. happiness

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. British youths have pity on the unemployed on the Continent．

B. British youths care about unemployment in France and Belgium．

C. British youths show their disappointment over joblessness．

D. British youths have confidence to find work on the Continent．