A woman renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation．She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself．

“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”

“Of course I have a job,” said Emily．“I’m a mother.”

“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation… ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.

       One day I found myself in the same situation．The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title．“What is your occupation?” she asked．

       The words simply popped out．“I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”

       The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.

       I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

       “Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”

       Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t）, in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out)．Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it)．But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”

       There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out．

       As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (依托) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.

       Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern．

       I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”

       Motherhood…What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door.

What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?

       A．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was.

       B．The recorder was impatient and rude.

       C．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced.

       D．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society.

How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?

       A．curious        B．indifferent    C．puzzled             D．interested

How did the author feel when describing her job to the clerk?

     A．calm     B．panic-stricken      C．confident      D．cool

Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?

       A．Because the author cared little about rewards.

       B．Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab.

       C．Because she thought the author did admirable work.

       D．Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of.

What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

       A．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it.

       B．To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect.

       C．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily.

       D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work．                                   

A recent survey of teachers found that an unhealthy passion with celebrity culture is having a negative impact on British students’ studies and it discovered that celebrity couple, the Beckhams, are the favorites among most students. Many students are ignoring building their own careers to seek a chance at fame instead, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) survey found.

Almost two-thirds of teachers said sports stars were the type of celebrity many pupils wanted to follow while more than half of students wanted to be pop stars.

The survey said the celebrities that students aspired to mostly were David and Victoria Beckham who live in Los Angeles now. Soccer player Beckham is on the top of the survey while in second place, with almost a third of the survey’s votes, was his 33-year-old pop star wife.

Almost half of the 300 teachers surveyed said pupils tried to look like or behave like the celebrities they most admired, with some girls even dressing "unsuitably".

"We are not surprised about the influence of celebrity culture in schools —it reflects the current media passion with celebrities and the effect of celebrity culture on society as a whole," ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said in a statement.

"Celebrities can have a positive effect on pupils. They can raise pupils’ aspirations and desires for the future. However, celebrity culture can spread the idea that celebrity status is the greatest achievement and reinforce the belief that other career choices are not as valuable," said one primary school teacher. "Too many of the pupils believe that school success is unnecessary, because they will be able to get fame and fortune quite easily through a reality TV show."

The story mainly tells us that ______.

  A. the Beckhams are mostly admired in Britain

  B. most students think that being pop stars is more valuable than other career achievements

  C. the celebrity passion has a harmful impact upon British students’ studies

  D. a survey was made recently about the popularity of the stars

According to the survey, Victoria Beckham ______.

  A. is a pop star most students admire

  B. goes in the second place of the celebrities admired

  C. won two-thirds of the votes

  D. lives in New York now

Why does the author mention that pupils tried to look like or behave like the celebrities they most admired, with some girls even dressing “unsuitably”?

  A. The pupils think it interesting to pretend to be the celebrities.

  B. The behavior or the dress of celebrities can be followed as examples.

C. The author wants to show the negative influence these celebrities had on the students.

D. The author just wants to show being pop stars is very valuable to the students.

What is not TRUE according to the story?

  A. Celebrities can’t have positive impact on the students.

  B. Beckham and Victoria are husband and wife.

C. The so-called celebrity culture does harm to the pupils’ ideas about achievement.

  D. Many students believe that school success is unnecessary.

The best title of the story is _____.

 Sports Star David Beckham 

B. Survey of Students about Celebrities

C Harmful Effect of Celebrities on Students 

D. Better to Be Pop Stars Than Sports Stars

A little under one-third of U.S. families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.

Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe（预订） to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost.

Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed. The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe. The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and YouTube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks. Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes.

The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005. Roughly half of new subscribers converted（转变） from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access.

"The industry continues to chip （击破）away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted.

What does the underlined word “holdouts” in the first paragraph most probably mean?

A. some American families      

B. those who hold out one’s opinions

C. those who have been surveyed    

D. those who still haven’t access to the Internet currently

Many potential customers refuse to subscribe to the Internet mainly because __________.

A. they show too much concern about the cost

B. they can find little value of it

C. they do most YouTube-watching at work

D. the Internet doesn’t reach their homes

From the passage we can infer that _____________.

A. It is not an easy job to transform those holdouts into the Internet users

B. people will adopt dial-up Internet access no more

C. many Americans enjoy doing e-commerce shopping at home

D. more than half of the population are using the Internet in 2005

According to John Barrett, what is the key to attracting more U.S. families to broadband service?

A. making the Internet look more similar to TV set

B. applying the Internet more to entertainment

C. providing more pay-TV programs

D. chipping away at the core of non-subscribers

Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Web develops with technology

B. The present situation of web

C. Many Americans see little point to web

D. It is urgent to promote web service

“A lot of learning comes through play,” says Mardy McGarry, 52, who has been a special education teacher for 28 years. But her students were too often left out. She had seen the wood chips and sand of traditional playgrounds stop wheelchairs dead in their tracks. When she wanted to build a playground for children with special needs，she knew it wouldn’t take long to develop interest in it around the small fishing village. But she never expected that 2,800 people — a third of the town—would all be willing to make a great effort to bring her vision to life.

McGarry started doing some research into play equipment and contacting design companies and she also found a piece of land available. When the city council(市议会) agreed to set aside an area for a playground, she also asked physical and professional therapists(治疗专家) for their investment. And she turned to her friend, Sue, for help. “Neither of us is good at maths, which is why $450,000 didn’t sound like a lot of money,” McGarry says of the initial estimate.

Her Kiwanis Club came through with $7,000，and that’s when the grassroots movement really got started. One woman gave $25,000 and had her company match it. Soon, smaller businesses were joining in. There was a silent effort to collect money. The local Pieper Family Foundation offered to donate half of the remaining $170,000. All McGarry needed was 500 volunteers to work six 12-hour days.

On September 16, 2008, the first day of construction, they came. Two women heard about the project on the way to work and took the day off to help. A couple in their 80s operated their tractors. Ten-year-olds cleared up the mess. “None of them was paid. It was truly an amazing week,” says McGarry. Only three building managers were paid. Volunteers with “building experience” became coordinators(协调人); those who could operate power tools formed a separate group. One team served meals donated from local restaurants and churches, and another organized activities for the children of volunteers.

Today, Possibility Playground is one of the most popular destinations in Ozaukee County. All children, including the ones with special needs, play shoulder to shoulder. “Some playgrounds have special equipment in a different section. Here, you see all the kids in the same playground, all having fun.”

It’s exactly what McGarry imagined. “People used to ask, ‘Why do you want to build a playground just for children with disabilities?” She says, “It’s only when you build a playground for children with disabilities that you build one for all children.”

It didn’t occur to Mardy McGarry that __________.

A. her plan would soon draw the interest of people in the small village

B. so many people would volunteer to help her realize her dream

C. she would meet with so many difficulties in raising funds

D. the playground would be the most popular destination in Ozaukee County

We can learn from the fourth paragraph that __________.

A. the playground was finished in September 2008

B. everything was well prepared, apart from the volunteers

C. everyone worked unpaid, except for three building managers

D. the playground is so popular that it is overcrowded all the time

It can be inferred from the text that __________.

A. Mardy McGarry is a famous architect in the small town

B. Sue was forced to join in the project because of her son

C. people always ignore the real needs of disabled children

D. Mardy McGarry’s vision has been successfully accomplished at last

What would be the best title for this text?

A. Mardy McGarry: A Woman with Great Determination.

B. Cooperation: The Greatest Power in Overcoming Any Difficulty.

C. Show Real Concern for Poor Disabled Children.

D. Make it Matter to Build a Playground for Disabled Children.

A TAXI driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Inspiring speakers charge thousands of dollars to give his kind of training to corporate directors and staff.  It cost me only a ＄12 taxi ride.

I had flown into Dallas just for the purpose of calling on a client. Time was important and my plan included a quick turn – around trip from and back to the airport. A clean taxi pulled up.

The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As be got in the driver’s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.

Well! I looked around for a “Candid Camera!” Wouldn’t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, “Obviously you take great pride in you work. You must have a story to tell.”

“You bet,” he replied, “I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my right position in life, somewhere I could feel proud of being the best I could be.

I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day’s work and done it well. I evaluated my personal property and, I became a taxi driver!

One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I jus have to meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXEED the customer’s expectations! I like the sound of being ‘great’ better than just being ‘average’. ”

Did I tip him big time? You bet!

 The taxi driver taught me a great life lesson: Go an extra mile when providing any service to others. And there is no good or bad job you can make any job good.

What lesson did the author learn from the taxi driver?

    A．How to make the best use of time.

    B．How to do better in the service business.

    C．How to turn an interest into your career.

    D．How to become a motivational speaker.

Why did the author look around for a “Candid Camera”?

    A．Because he was afraid he would be photographed in the cab.

    B．Because he was worried what the driver could be up to.

    C．Because he was amazed by the way the driver was treating him.

    D．Because he wasn’t interested in the tapes offered by the driver

It can be inferred from the story that          .

    A．the taxi driver couldn’t accept just being average

    B．the author was anxious to get back to meet a client

    C．when the author waited for a taxi at the airport, he was not in a rush

    D．the taxi driver loved to play his favorite music during rides

According to the story, the taxi driver        .

    A．was dissatisfied wit his present job

    B．was once often rewarded for being a model worker

    C．enjoyed offering his customers more than they expected

    D．was forced to become a taxi driver to support his family