阅读理解

　　Few students would dream of getting a job as a shoe shiner working along the street．College students, in their own eyes and in the eyes of the public, are expected to get at least a proper job, if not working in a high-income or white-collar position．

　　Cai Yong's decision to work as a shoe shiner shocked not only his parents, who had high hopes for him, but also his girlfriend．

　　“It is right for young graduates to be ambitious(有抱负的)．But they have to start in a solid and down-to-earth way,” Cai said．Cai is not alone in making such a choice．The company has got 12 college students in all．

　　“I come for the 800 yuan monthly pay,” said Xiao Ji, who is a student from Nanjing University．“I have grown up and no longer live on my parents,” he said．

　　“Working as shoe shiners can mean a bright future,” Cai said．

　　Not everyone can accept this job choice．Cai's girlfriend left him because she felt ashamed to be with a shoe shiner, and Cai accepted the fact．“This is the price to be paid for a job,” he said．

　　A former shoe shiner, Zhong Haibo, from a medical college, believes it was a good training for the rest of his life．“There is nothing I can't do after working as a shoe shiner,” Zhong said, meaning that such kind of experience in early life is helpful in a future job．

阅读理解

　　As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs．These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on．Once this value system is set up, it's not easy to change later in life．Financial experts say that every one also has their own belief of how to manage their money．According to our different values, experts put us in three categories．They are：the ant, the cricket and the snail．

　　◆The ant－works first

　　Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don't care about enjoying the moment．They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire．The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks(股票)with low risk．

　　◆The cricket－fun first

　　The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future．They even borrow money when they really want something．Many young people now belong to this group．These people have little savings．When they get old, they might have problems．They should learn to save and buy insurance(保险)．

　　◆The snail－lives under pressure

　　The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves．They take big long-term loans(贷款)from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses．They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford it．This can cause problems in the future．They should plan more carefully．

阅读理解

　　Beijing－A recent Chinese blockbuster(轰动的作品)“A World Without Thieves” is based on the experiences of a young migrant worker(民工)carrying 60,000 yuan on a train packed with thieves．But while the image of a warm-hearted but somewhat naive migrant worker may have made film fans chuckle, it's a sure bet that most of China's migrant workers are yet to step into a cinema to admire it．

　　“Forty yuan a ticket?I can't afford it,” said Shen Jie, a migrant worker at a construction site in Dongzhimen, east Beijing．

　　Shen found it hard to remember when he last watched a film, or what it was about．“It must be 10 years ago,” he said．

　　Though they are the builders of the nation's theaters and cinemas, a limited cultural life is common among China's 120 million migrant workers．

　　Shen arrived from East China's Zhejiang Province in1991．Life was better then; money seemed to come more easily．“Now, as more and more workers are rushing to the capital, it's too hard to earn money, and none of us dare think about watching films,” he said．

　　For many like Shen, the dream is earning enough to pay for their children's education so they can find jobs in the cities and say goodbye to the hardships of rural life forever．This drives them to work hard and save as much as possible．

　　With a monthly salary of less than 500 yuan, Shen has to send money home to his little son and silver-haired parents．

　　In Shen's small dormitory, which he shares with seven other co-workers, there is a well-thumbed copy of a magazine published in 1998．

　　A recent survey by local media revealed that 80 percent of migrant workers spent their spare time sleeping and chatting because of exhaust and a lack of income．The same survey found that 47 percent of migrant workers have to work for more than 10 hours a day．Around 40 percent do not even possess a book, and nearly 60 percent say they are dissatisfied with their cultural life．

　　Like many of Shen's co-workers, reading newspapers and hanging out in Beijing's streets provide evening entertainment．

From China Daily

阅读理解

　　When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like：“If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you'll most certainly be right．” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”

　　Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered(遇到)to help me make the big choice in life．

　　About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer．The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months．My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors' code for preparing yourself to die．

　　I lived with that diagnosis all day．I was completely in despair．Later that evening, I had another biopsy(活组织检查)and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery．I had the surgery and I'm fine now．

　　This was the closest I've been to facing death．To tell the truth, no one wants to die．And yet death is the destination we all share．No one has ever escaped it．It clears out the old to make room for the new．Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away．

　　Your time is so limited that you shouldn't waste it repeating someone else's life．Don't be trapped by dogma(教条)——which is living with the results of other people's thinking．Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice．And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart．It somehow already knows what you truly want to become．Everything else is secondary．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　NEW YORK CITY?A hurricane warning has been given for New York City．Forecasters say Hurricane Irene could cause widespread flooding, power failure and billions of dollars in damage．About 65 million Americans live in Hurricane Irene's projected path －many of whom have been evacuated．

　　In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered the city's first-ever evacuation．Roughly 250, 000 people have been told to leave their homes in low-lying areas, including the Wall Street financial district．

　　WASHINGTOND．C．－On Aug．24, 2011, Apple announced that Mr．Steve Jobs, who has battled cancer for several years, was stepping down as the CEO but would serve as chairman．

　　In January, he had announced that he was taking a medical leave of absence from Apple．In announcing his leave, he turned daily oversight of the company over to the chief operating officer, TimothyD．Cook, and it was Mr．Cook whom Apple named to succeed him as the next CEO of the company．

　　TRIPOLI－Opposition forces in Libya say they control more than 90 percent of the country．It is still not clear where Moammar Gadhafi is．The opposition has offered more than 1, 600, 000 dollars for his capture(逮捕)．The head of the opposition forces said his group supports a decision by local businessmen to provide the money in an effort to speed up the capture．Earlier Wednesday, government forces fired onto the former headquarters(总部)of Mr．Gadhafi, which is now controlled by opposition forces．Heavy fighting also continued near Tripoli's airport and in a town of Zuara．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Most recently, it's very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews．Naturally, it's easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us．We－as parents－are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them．As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me．So, I'll let them fail．

　　I'll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow．And failure梐long with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc．－will be part of growth for them．Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone is, my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today．From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish．

　　My children now are becoming little masters of compromise, but they try to negotiate(协商)everything now．It's a small price to help them learn a skill they'll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don't accompany them on job interviews．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The Rockford police chief and some city officials want to install(安装)video cameras in all 100 police cars．They think this will reduce the number of lawsuits(法律诉讼)．In the last five years, Rockford has paid out more than five million dollars to settle about 40 lawsuits．

　　The chief said, "If cameras had been in those cars．we wouldn't have．had to pay one cent．We're always pulling over drunks or drug users who try to fight the police or shoot them．Then they always claim(声称)that the police start beating them first or start shooting at them first．"

　　The cost of installing cameras will be about $500 each．The city council(委员会)will vote on the proposal(提议)next Monday．Ten of the 13 council members said that they like the idea．One member said that it makes good sense．

　　The police officers enthusiastically support camera use．One officer said that too many people think the police often lie; cameras would show citizens that police tell the truth．"The money that we've been spending on lawsuits will be better spent on more cameras, " said one officer．

　　Citizen opinions to the idea of police car cameras are mixed．One person, said that the police should have started doing this years ago when video cameras were invented．But an elderly man strongly objected．'These police are trying to stick their nose into everything, " he said．He was going to attend the council meeting to condemn the proposal．He hoped that other citizens would join him,

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　A nine-year-old kid was sitting at his desk when suddenly there was a puddle(/JC^C)between his feet and the front of his trousers was wet．He thought his heart was going to stop because he couldn't possibly imagine how this had happened．It had never happened before, and he knew that when the boys found out he would never hear the end of jt．When the girls found out, they would never speak to him again as long as he lived．

　　He prayed this prayer, "Dear God, I need help now!Five minutes from now I'm dead meat!" He looked up from his prayer and here came the teacher with a look in her eyes that said he had been discovered．As the teacher was walking toward him, a classmate named Susie was carrying a goldfish bowl full of water．Susie tripped(绊倒)in front of the teacher and dumped(倒)the bowl of water in the boy's lap．The boy pretended to be angry, but all the while was saying to himself, "Thank you．Lord!"

　　Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy was the object of sympathy．The teacher rushed him downstairs and gave him gym shorts to put on while his trousers dried out．All the other children were on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk．The sympathy was wonderful．But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his had been transferred(转移)to someone else+－Susie．She tried to help, but they told her to get out．

　　When school was over, the boy walked over to Susie and whispered, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispered back, "I wet my trousers once, too!"

阅读理解

　　Burn rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money．My rate was ＄75,000 a month．Four months after my company was set up, I had only a quarter of the starting capital left in the bank．

　　Looking for guidance, I went to talk to my friend, Arthur Walworth about my new venture．“Times of great change always bring out the risk-takers,” he said．“And they leave winners and losers．My grandfather invested a lot of money in a project of Thomas Edison' s that ended up in failure．”

　　I was lost in thought at the notion(an idea or belief about something)of a Thomas Edison project ending in failure．Damn．It could happen to anybody!I must continue．

　　At that time CD-ROM sales had bombed, so investors were fleeing from the field．I didn't turn away from mine entirely, but instead linked it to the internet．

　　My plan was to offer consumers descriptions of home-design products by using a special software and let them modify the designs．Then we can enable them to get online professional and constructional help to have their houses built, decorated and furnished according to their own choice．

　　To realize my plan I needed investors, so I continued to meet regularly with venture capitalists．One said I had a great idea．But I needed to test it．Get the money somewhere．To get this money from a venture capitalist is going to cost my wife and my children!He turned down my request．

　　Wife?Children?I hardly remembered them．

　　I was working nonstop－struggling to turn the key in the lock, to find the right way ahead．The pressure was terrible．It was just at this time that my parents and sisters stepped up．Two hundred thousand dollars．A lot of money to them, invested in this crazy son and brother without a moment's hesitation．Dad and Mom had driven out from Chicago and seen the passion in my little office and the trouble at home．

　　With their help my company survived and has been prospering ever since．

阅读理解

Exploit your parking space

　　An unused parking space or garage can make money．If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to ￡200 or ￡300 a week．Put an advertisement(广告)for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark．

Rent a room

　　Spare room?Not only will a lodger(房客)earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won't have to pay any tax on the first ￡4500 you make per year．Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy．

Make money during special events

　　Won't want a full-time lodger?Then rent on a short-term basis．If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money, Grashpadder can advertise your space．

Live on set

　　Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed．A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register your home for free－but you will be charged if your home gets picked．

Use your roof

　　You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment(around￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing．In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid．However, you have to sign a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof．