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 different sort of generation gap is developing in the workplace. Someone --- specifically the father-daughter team of Larry and Meagan Johnson --- has figured out that on some American job sites, five generations are working side by side.

In their new book about generations in the workplace the pair argue that while such an age difference adds a lot of texture and a variety of life experiences, it can also bring tensions and conflicts.

The Johnsons are human-resource trainers and public speakers. Dad Larry is a former health-care executive; daughter Meagan is a onetime high-level sales manager.

Here are the oldest and youngest of the five generations they identify:

They call the oldest group Traditionals, born before 1945. They were heavily influenced by the lessons of the Great Depression and World War Two. They respect authority, set a high standard of workmanship, and communicate easily and confidently. But they’re also stubbornly independent. They want their opinions heard.

At the other extreme are what the Johnsons call Linksters, born after 1995 into today’s more complicated, multi-media world. They live and breathe technology and are often social activists.

You won’t find many 15-year olds in the offices of large companies, except as volunteers, of course, but quite old and quite young workers do come together in sales environments like bike shops and ice-cream stores.

The Johnsons, Larry and Meagan, represent a generation gap themselves in their work with jobsite issues. The Johnsons’ point is that as the average lifespan continues to rise and retirement dates get delayed because of the tight economy, people of different generations are working side by side, more often bringing with them very different ideas about company loyalty and work values.

The five generations are heavily influenced by quite different events, social trends, and the cultural phenomena of their times. Their experiences shape their behavior and make it difficult, sometimes, for managers to achieve a strong and efficient workplace.

Larry and Meagan Johnson discuss all this in greater detail in a new book, “Generations, Inc.: From Boomers to Linksters --- Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work,” published by Amacom Press, which is available in all good bookstore from this Friday.

The type of generation gap in paragraph 1 refers to the difference in beliefs ________.

A. between managers and workers

B. among family members

C. among employees

D. between older and newer companies

Which of the following statements is NOT true about Traditionals?

A. They’ve learned much from war and economic disaster.

B. They’re difficult to work with as they are stubborn.

C. They respect their boss and hope to be respected.

D. They’re independent workers with great confidence.

According to the passage, the Linksters are usually ________.

A. found working in the offices of large companies

B. influenced by media and technology

C. enthusiastic multi-media activists

D. ice-cream sellers

According to the passage, modern workforces are more diverse because ________.

A. people want to increase their average lifespan

B. many young people are entering the workforce

C. employees with different values can benefit their companies

D. retirement dates are being delayed for economic reasons

What’s the main purpose of the passage?

A. To promote a new book by Larry and Meagan Johnson.

B. To describe the five different workplace generations.

C. To introduce the Johnsons’ research about diverse workforces.

D. To identify a major problem in modern workforces.

C
Have you noticed that the majority of human beings seem to focus on the negative? Bad news is often seen in the newspapers, television shows and magazines, but good news are often overlooked.
I saw a woman I was not very familiar with. She is a beautiful woman; every time I see her, I am struck by the smile on her face that can light up a whole room. So at one time I walked up to her and said, “You know, you are like liquid sunshine! Every time I see you, you give me so much joy.” I was not quite prepared for her reaction. She was blown away. Her eyes seemed about to shed tears, and she said, “That is so sweet! That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!” It was as if nobody had ever told her how beautiful her appearance was. I was extremely moved by the moment I had shared with this woman.
Why not take notice of the positive and spread a little sunshine? When you are looking for beauty, you will begin to see it more and more. When you discover it, don’t be afraid to appreciate it. Not only will it make them feel good, it will make you feel good as well. I truly believe the saying, “What goes around, comes around.” When you show kindness and sincerity, you will receive it back. You may even discover — much to your surprise — that you become the friend of someone you would never have expected to get along with.
65. The woman had tears in her eyes because __________.
A. the man’s behavior was so rude
B. she was nervous about the man’s words
C. the man told her the fact she didn’t know
D. she was so excited at the man’s praise
66. Which of the following can take the place of the underlined sentence in the third paragraph?
A. The wise appreciate one another. 
B. Respect yourself, or no one else will respect you.
C. There is kindness to be found everywhere.
D. Everybody should learn to praise others.
67. The best title for the passage probably is _____.
A. Pay attention to the positive   B. Everyone likes to be praised
C. Spread a little sunshine       D. Each of us has good points

(C)
Driving a car at high speed along a highway seems to be fun. You need only to follow the bright traffic signs beside the highways and it will take you to where you wish.
But to a London taxi driver, driving is not an easy job. A taxi driver has to have not only good driving skills but also a good knowledge of the city of a London, from the smallest lane to the most popular bar around. He has to be at the service of all kinds of passengers at all times.
A certain London taxi driver told of his job as follows.
During the night it is quite usual for him to stop two or three times for some refreshments (点心). He said. "I never drink when I'm working ---- I would lose my licence."
He normally goes home between 2 and 3 O'clock in the night, There are times he has to stay longer and try to make more runs. He said, "That's the worst thing about working for yourself. If you don't make the money, no one is going to give it to you."
London taxi drivers not only ‘take' but also ‘give' , Every summer hundreds of children from London will go for a day at the sea--- by taxi! Their rides are paid by the taxi drivers, and these fares all go to the ‘London Taxi Fund for Underprivileged Children.' At the sea. they are met by the mayor, and a lunch party is also held in honour of the taxi drivers and the children. After a happy day running around the sea beaches and visiting the market, the children go home again-- by taxi, and free of charge, of course!
62. To be a London driver is not easy because ______.
A. he has to follow the bright traffic signs
B. he has to have good driving skills and know all the places in the city
C. he has to serve all kinds of passengers at all times
D. both B. and C
63. The London taxi drivers _______.
A. work hard because on one would give them money for doing nothing
B. never stop driving in the city
C. only work between 2 and 3 o'clock in the night
D. are very rich
64. The author of the passage says that _______.
A. the taxi driver works longer than is necessary
B. the more runs the taxi driver makes, the more he gets
C. the taxi driver doesn't like to work for others
D. the taxi drivers in the city go to the seaside to attend a party every year.
65. London taxi driver _______.
A. take money because they have to pay for the children's ride
B. go to the sea for a day in the summer
C. pay the fares for the poor children to the sea for a day once every year
D. give the poor children a free ride for a day at the sea once every year
66. The underlined words Underprivileged Children mean children _______.
A. of low income families                            B. who like to travel in taxi
C. who wish to go to sea but have no money      D. from London

A car drew up outside the Swan Hotel and a young man got out．Pausing only for an instant to see that he had come to the right place，he went into the hotel and rang the bell on the counter of the bar．
Mrs．Crump，the landlady，who was busy in the kitchen at the time，hurried out，wiping her
hands．The young man raised his hat．“Excuse me，”he said．“I’m looking for my uncle，Mr．White．I believe he is staying here．” “He was staying here．”Mrs．Crump corrected him．“But I’m afraid that he went back to London yesterday．” “Oh，dear，”said the young man，looking disappointed．“I understood that he was going to stay here until the end of the month．At least that is what his servant told me when I rang up his house．” “Quite right，”said Mrs，Cramp．“He intended to stay here the whole of July，as he always does． But yesterday he got a telegram to say that his relative was ill．So he caught the train back to London immediately．”  “I wish he had let me know,”The young man said．“I wrote him a letter saying that I was coming．I’ve had all this trouble for nothing．Well，since he isn’t here，there’s no point in waiting．”
He thanked Mrs．Grump and went out．Mrs．Grump went to the window and watched him
drive off．When his car was out of sight，she called out：“You can come out now,Mr．White.He’s gone．”
Mr．White came out of the kitchen，where he had been waiting．
“Many thanks，Mrs．Grump，”he said，laughing，“you did that very well．These nephews of mine never gave me any peace．That young man is the worst of them all．As you see，when he needs money,he even follows me into the country．Well，perhaps next time he won’t warn me by writing a letter!”
49．The young man said “Oh，dear” to express his           ．
    A．disappointment       B．sadness       C．surprise      D．anger
50．This story is about a man         ．
A．who was very much loved by his nephews 
B．whose nephew went to visit him at the hotel
C．whose nephew is always asking him for help
D．who was not willing to meet his nephew
51．When his nephew came to the hotel，Mr．White            ．
A．took the train back to London            B．left to visit a sick relative
C．went to pick up a telegram               D．hid himself in the kitchen
52．Mr．White didn’t like his nephews because         ．
A．they always follow him around            B．they frequently disturb their relatives
C．they won’t write to him often             D．they usually visit him in hotels