When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter（炼铜厂），and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest．One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area．Paul knocked him down．From then on, something happened inside him.

Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office．He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back．The answer from that big industry was “No”.

Paul then went to college to study the science of plants．Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds．It would be a waste of his life to try to do it．Everyone knew that, he was told．Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted．

Paul later got married and had some kids．But his dream would not die．And then one night he did what he could with what he had．As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote．Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.

And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass．For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense．Slowly rabbits appeared．Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.

Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has．It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child.

When Paul was a boy，______________.

       A．he had decided never to leave his hometown

       B．the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter

       C．no laws were made to protect the environment against pollution

       D．he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area

Why did Paul go to college to study the science of plants？

       A．Because he wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself.

       B．Because he was interested in planting trees since he was young.

       C．Because he wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him.

       D．Because he thought his knowledge would make his advice more persuasive.

What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably refer to?

       A．That it was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland.

       B．That his normal work and life would be greatly affected.

       C．That no one would like to join him in the efforts.

       D．That he had to keep everything he did secret.

The company hired Paul to plant trees and grass because___________.

     A．they realized the importance of environmental protection

     B．What Paul was doing moved them

     C．Paul persuaded them to help him

     D．they had legal pressure

The message of the passage is that _____________.

       A．action speaks louder than words

       B．perseverance（持之以恒）will work wonders

       C．God helps those who help themselves

       D．many hands make light work

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号 (∧) ，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线 ( \ ) 划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。

2. 只允许修改10处，多者 (从第11处起) 不计分。

In recent years many flowers shops have been appeared in our small town. It is common for people

to buy flowers when they go to a gathering, visiting a sick friend, or attend a wedding or birthday

party. I still remember clear one day last year when Tom, a disabled student, presented some

flowers to his mother to express his gratitude for her. He owing his entire life to his mother’s kind

and care. With her he would not have had the confidence or the courage to fight his disability. As a

result the great effort he has made, he was finally admitted to a key university.

 

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。

2．只允许修改10处，多者 （从第11处起） 不计分。

In recent years many flowers shops have been appeared in our small town. It is common for people to buy flowers when they go to a gathering, visiting a sick friend, or attend a wedding or birthday party. I still remember clear one day last year when Tom, a disabled student, presented some flowers to his mother to express his gratitude for her. He owing his entire life to his mother’s kind and care. With her he would not have had the confidence or the courage to fight his disability. As a result the great effort he has made, he was finally admitted to a key university

 

Several interesting American museums tell about health subjects. One is the Doctor Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. It is at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. That is where the first college in the world to train dentists began. The museum tells about the history of the medical treatment of teeth. Visitors can see some frightening devices that once were used to remove infected (受感染的) teeth. They also can see sets of teeth made of animal bone. They were made for a famous American -- the first President, George Washington.
Most people do not consider a visit to the dentist their idea of a good time. However, the director of the museum says he wanted to make the museum a fun place to visit. He says he also wants to teach visitors about the importance of taking care of their teeth.
Another museum collects devices that help people hear. The Kenneth W. Berger Hearing Aid Museum is at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The museum has more than three-thousand hearing aids from around the world. They include old and strange devices. Some hearing aids were made to look like other objects. That is because in the past many people did not want anyone to know they were wearing a hearing aid.
【小题1】It is common for people to think it uneasy to pay a visit to ____.

A．the University of Maryland	B．the Museum of Dentistry
C．the Hearing Aid Museum	D．the dentist

【小题2】The text mainly tells about _____.

A．museums in the US	B．interesting American museums
C．American museums with health subjects	D．the history of the medical treatment of teeth

【小题3】What do we learn about George Washington from the text?

A．He once visited the National Museum of Dentistry.

B．He considered the Museum of Dentistry a fun place to visit

C．His artificial teeth were collected in the National Museum of Dentistry.

D．His teeth seemed to be made of animal bone.

【小题4】The underlined word “devices” in the first and last paragraph probably means _____.

A．museums

B．strategies

C．hearing aids

D．tools

Hoffman, 40, a former senior vice president of a financial company, had what she describes as “one of those extreme jobs.” “I loved working,” she says. But her career path reached a crossroad when her second child was born, and she left her job in February 2007. Hoffman is one of many people who have left the work force to take a break, but she has a position as consultant. she has described this type of career detour（绕路）—— which is more common for women than for men —— as “off-ramping.” Typically it occurs when the balancing act of parenting and work becomes too tough.

A study by the center found that more than 90 percent of women who off-ramp want to on-ramp back into the work force eventually. But making the transition back to work is rarely easy, and it is even harder in this economic climate of layoffs and hiring freezes.

Considering some of the obstacles faced by on-rampers, a three-day program called “Greater Returns: Restarting Your Career” was held at Columbia University. The goal of the three days was to have them walk away with a big shot of confidence.”

According to one school of thought women looking to make a comeback might even have an advantage in the current economy, especially if they are looking for part-time or consultant positions that do not offer benefits. And a majority of on-rampers are women with extensive working experiences that could give them a slight advantage over less-experienced competition.

“You absolutely cannot be defensive about why you off-ramped,” Ms Hoffman says, “defensive” would have put her into a hard situation if the Greater Returns program had not taught her how to describe the years she spent at home. “I now feel confident talking to an employer and saying, ‘Yes, I have been out of the work force, but here is where I can make significant contributions.’”

1. What is the best title for the passage?

A. Off-ramp: it is common

B. Off-ramp: it is easy

C. Off-ramp to on-ramp: it can be a hard journey

D. Off-ramp to on-ramp: it depends on confidence

2. According to the passage, Greater Returns                    .

A. is intended to relieve the pressure of the jobless women

B. has all the jobless women restart their career

C. is to last all the year around for the jobless women

D. will build up the confidence of those in search of jobs

3. The main reason for the women’s off-ramping is that                          .

A. they have to suffer the sexual discrimination

B. they reach a crossroad of career

C. they have to parent their children

D. they have great work pressure

4. Which job is easier to get for a woman off-ramper?

A. Regular workers.             B. Casual workers.       

C. Company managers.           D. Band clerks.

5. From what Ms. Hoffman says in the last paragraph, we can conclude                        .

A. she didn't get advice from the Greater Returns program

B. she was defensive about her off-ramping

C. she didn’t get the job because she lied about her experience

D. she is on-ramp partly due to her straightforward manner