“Experience may possibly be the best teacher, but it is not a particularly good teacher.” You might think that Winston Churchill or perhaps Mark Twain spoke those words, but they actually come from James March, a professor at Stanford University and a pioneer in the field of organizational decision making. For years March (possibly be wisest philosopher of management) has studied how humans think and act, and he continues to do so in his new book The Ambiguities of Experience.

He begins by reminding us of just how firmly we have been sticking to the idea of experiential learning: “Experience is respected；experience is sought；experience is explained.” The problem is that learning from experience involves serious complications (复杂化), ones that are part of the nature of experience itself and which March discusses in the body of this book.

In one interesting part of the book, for example, he turns a doubtful eye toward the use of stories as the most effective way of experiential learning. In our efforts to make stories interesting, he argues, we lose part of the complicated truth of things. He says “The more accurately reality is presented, the less understandable the story, and the more understandable the story, the less realistic it is.”

Besides being a broadly knowledgeable researcher, March is also a poet, and his gift shines through in the depth of views he offers and the simple language he uses. Though the book is short, it is demanding: Don’t pick it up looking for quick, easy lessons. Rather, be ready to think deeply about learning from experience in work and life.

1.According to the text, James March is ________.

A．a poet who uses experience in his writing

B．a teacher who teachers story writing in university

C．a researcher who studies the way humans think and act

D．a professor who helps organizations make important decisions

2.According to James March, experience ________.

A．is overvalued                          B．is easy to explain

C．should be actively sought                 D．should be highly respected

3.What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．Experience makes stories more accurate.

B．Stories made interesting fail to fully present the truth.

C．The use of stories is the best way of experiential learning.

D．Stories are easier to understand when reality is more accurately described.

4.What’s the purpose of this text?

A．To introduce a book.                     B．To describe a researcher.

C．To explain experiential learning.            D．To discuss organizational decision making.

 

“Football is a very short-term career. Football really prepares you for almost nothing. The only thing I got out of football was the ability to work hard.” says Gales Sayers. So what do you do after your glory days on the field are over? Here’s what one of the top players, Gales Sayers did after he put down the pigskin.

Gales Sayers: #40, Chicago Bears, Running Back.  

Gales Sayers became famous in 1965. After recovering from a serious knee injury in 1968, Sayers returned to the Bears in 1969 and was awarded the George Halas Award as “the most courageous player in professional football.” At the award ceremony, he owed his prize to his friend and teammate Brian Piccolo, who was dying of cancer.

Sayers couldn’t get away from the injuries, though, and another blow to his knee put an end to his football career in 1971. His personal life was unfortunate as well, as he and his wife, Linda, split up that year. Shortly after that, Sayers started a new life and career as an assistant athletic director in the University of Kansas. By 1976 he was moving up the ladder at Southern Illinois University, becoming the first African-American athletic director at a major university.

Sayers started a computer supplies company in 1984 with his second wife, Ardie, whom he married in 1973. The couple was looking for a field with a future, and computers seemed to have it all. Seventeen years later, the company that bears his name is a national provider of technology solutions, with 10 locations and over 350 employees across the country. Just like in the old days the honors started rolling in. Sayers was listed into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship(企业家) Hall of Fame in 1999.

What does the underlined sentence “he put down the pigskin” mean?

A. Sayers ended his football career.                

B. Sayers was too tired to go on playing.

C. Sayers intended to start a new career.            

D. Sayers only wanted to rest for some time.

 How many times was Sayers honored in his life?

A. Only once as a football star.                      

B. Only once as a businessman.

C. Twice in all.                                        

D. We are not quite sure.

 Sayers started his new career mainly because of _______ .

A. the first knee injury in l 968                         

B. his unfortunate personal life

C. another more serious knee injury                  

D. a friend’s being deadly ill

What can be learned from this passage?

A. Football players are not successful all the time.

B. A successful businessman should be a ball player first.

C. A retired football player can easily make money.

D. Whatever you do, working hard is the most important.

On August 27, 1783, the people of the village of Gomesse, in France, looked up into the sky and saw a strange and terrible animal. It was huge and round, flying down from the sky. It landed in the field just outside the village. It was clear to the people of Gomesse that they had to defend themselves. The animal was clearly some kind of terrible “spirit”. They were afraid of the spirit but they were also very brave. They rushed out into the field and fought the animal with knives and sticks and farming tools. The “spirit” made terrible noises, like an animal that can breathe only with great difficulty.

But that was not the worst thing. When the villagers cut into the spirit's skin, it gave off a horrible smell, and even after the villagers had cut the thing open, it still moved. Finally the villagers tied it to a horse. The horse ran through the fields and the “Spirit” was torn to pieces. What was the terrible spirit? The answer is that it was one of the first “hot air balloons气球”. Its skin was made of silk and a kind of rubber. The terrible smell was the hot air inside the balloon. When the air got out through the cuts in the skin, it also caused the horrible noises.?

1. The terrible noises were made because        .?

A. the spirit could hardly breathe

B. the spirit wanted to frighten the villagers?

C. the spirit was afraid of the villagers

D. hot air got out through the skin?

2. The terrible smell was        .?

A. the smell of silk and rubber

B. the hot air inside the balloon?

C. the smell of burnt house

D. the smell of burnt crops?

3. The spirit didn't stop moving until        .?

A. the hot air in it ran out completely

B. the villagers cut into its skin?

C. the villagers cut it open

D. it gave off a horrible smell?

4. The villagers tied the spirit to a horse        .?

A. shortly after they caught sight of the spirit?

B. because it didn't stop moving though it was cut open?

C. after it was torn to pieces?

D. because the villagers wanted to take it away?

 

In the early 1990s,the word” Internet” was strange to most people. But today, Internet has become a useful tool for people all over the world. Maybe Internet has been the greatest invention in the field of communication in the history of mankind（人类）.

Communicating with others on the Internet is much faster. We can chat with a person who is sitting in the other part of the world. We can e-mail our friends and they can read the e-mails within a minute. Giving all kinds of information is probably the biggest advantage of the Internet. We can use search engines to find the information we need. Just type in a keyword or keywords and the search engine will give us a list of suitable websites to look at.

We can enjoy a lot on the Internet by downloading games, visiting chat rooms or surfing （浏览）websites. There are some games for free. We can meet new and interesting people in the chat now. We can also listen to music and see films.

Now ,there is a lot of service on the Internet such as online banking ,job finding and ticket buying. We can also do shopping and find nearly all kinds of goods. Sometimes we can find something that is quite good but very cheap.

1.How many main advantages of the Internet are talked about in the        passage?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Five.

D．Six.

2.What fact doesn’t the passage provide?

A．We can find almost anything we want to know on the Internet.

B．Some games on the Internet are free.

C．We can buy most things we need on the Internet.

D．Goods on the Internet are more expensive than those in real shops.

3.Which title best gives the main idea of the passage?

A．Online Shopping

B．Exchanging Information on the Internet

C．The Advantages of the Internet

D．Surfing the Websites on the Internet

 

“Now ,”Mrs. Virginia DeView said, smiling, “we are going to discover our professions .”

The class seems to be greatly surprised. Our professions? We were only 13 and 14 years old! The teacher must be _36 _. “Yes, you will all be searching for your future  37 . Each of you will have to   38  someone in your field, plus give an oral report.”

Each day in her class, Virginia DeView reminded us about this. Finally, I picked print journalism. This _39_ I had to go to interview a true-blue newspaper reporter. I was extremely nervous. I sat down in front of him_40_ able to speak. He looked at me and said, “Did you bring a pencil or pen?”

I shook my head.  “How about some   41_ ?” I shook my head again .

Finally , I thought he realized I was   42 , and I got my first big tip as a  43 : “Never,never go anywhere without a pen and paper. You never know what you’ll run into. ”After a few days, I gave my oral report totally from   44  in class. I got an A on the entire project.

Years later, I was in college looking around for a new career, but with no success. Then I _45 _Virginia DeView and my desire at 13 to be a journalist. And I called my parents. They didn’t __46__me. They just reminded me how competitive the field was and   47  all my life I had to run away from competition. This was true. But journalism did something to me; it was in my blood. _48__gave me the freedom to go up to total strangers and ask what was   49 .

For the past 12 years, I’ve had the most satisfying reporting career, __50 __ stories from murders to airplane crashes and   51  choosing my strongest area.  52 _ I went to pick up my phone one day, an incredible wave of memories hit me and I realized that had it not been __53__Virginia DeView, I would not be sitting at that desk.

I get  54  all the time: “How did you pick journalism?”

“Well, you see, there was a teacher…”I just wish I could  55 her.

1.                A．good           B．mad           C．careless  D．curious

 

2.                A．university       B．family          C．professions    D．life

 

3.                A．interview       B．find out         C．admire   D．learn from

 

4.                A．expressed      B．ordered        C．expected D．meant

 

5.                A．hardly          B．nearly          C．naturally  D．eagerly

 

6.                A．drink          B．newspapers     C．preparations   D．paper

 

7.                A．satisfied        B．comfortable     C．terrified  D．sorry

 

8.                A．student         B．journalist        C．teacher   D．writer

 

9.                A．research        B．books          C．imagination    D．memory

 

10.               A．called          B．recognized      C．remembered   D．visited

 

11.               A．answer         B．promise        C．stop  D．persuade

 

12.               A．how           B．whether        C．why  D．when

 

13.               A．It             B．Virginia DeView  C．My parents D．My oral report

 

14.               A．breaking in      B．getting down    C．falling off  D．going on

 

15.               A．making up      B．listening to      C．covering   D．writing

 

16.               A．of course       B．finally          C．doubtfully D．in all

 

17.               A．When          B．As long as       C．Once D．On condition

 

18.               A．for            B．with           C．of    D．to

 

19.               A．hurt           B．excited         C．disappointed   D．asked

 

20.               A．respect        B．support        C．thank D．favor