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.
【小题1】
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.

【小题2】
How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?

A．curious

B．indifferent

C．puzzled

D．interested

【小题3】
How did the author feel when describing her job to the clerk?

A．calm

B．panic-stricken

C．confident

D．cool

【小题4】
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.

【小题5】
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．

______on both sides of the street _____ excited fans who wanted to see the famous singing star.

A．Standing; was      B．Waiting; were      C．Arriving; was       D．Living; were

 

 --- How many times have you been to China?

--- In fact, it is the first time that I ______ here.

A. was                    B. am                 C. had been                 D. have been

 

To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain, Its first use was as a shade against the sun!
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times . Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the 11th century B C.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe.
Umbrellas have hot changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made , in a whole variety of colors.
【小题1】According to this passage, the umbrella was probably first invented in ancient_______.

A．China

B．Egypt

C．Greece

D．Rome

【小题2】Which of the following statements is not true about the umbrella?

A．No one exactly knows who the inventor of the umbrella was

B．The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun.

C．The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century

D．In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade.

【小题3】A strange feature of the umbrella’s use is that it was used as__________.

A．protection against rain	B．a shade against the sun
C．a symbol of honor and power	D．women’s decoration (装饰)

【小题4】In Europe, the umbrella was first used against the rain_______________.

A．during the Middle Ages

B．by the 18th

C．in Rome

D．in Greece

【小题5】This passage talks mainly about_______________.

A．when and how the umbrella was invented

B．why the umbrella was so popular in Europe

C．the development of the umbrella

D．The history and use of the umbrella

The girl sitting by the window is the only one of the students who _______ from the countryside in our class.

A．was              B．were             C．is                D．are