We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.

“Look down, Elsa,” father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross (十字形) of twisting, turning streets leading to the square. “ See, my dear,” father said gently. “ There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can’t get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.”

Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful(糟糕的) lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.

When I turned to father for help, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.

At school the next day, I secretly poured my luncheon（午餐）soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered（喷溅出） “ The cook must have gone mad！” Quickly I told her what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day!

In the years that followed I often remembered the lesson father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn’t stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father’s wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square.

1.The author's father took her to the top of a church tower to _____．

A．enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town

B．find out how many ways lead to the square

C．inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem

D．help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day

2.What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?

A．Do something delicious for lunch.

B．Taste her awful lunch.

C．Dismiss the mad cook.

D．Speak to the school about lunch.

3.By sharing her own experiences, the author tries to tell us ____________.

A．when one road is blocked, try another

B．how bad the lunch of her school is

C．how wise her father is

D．about the church tower near her home

 

According to a study by SallieMae, 84 percent of undergraduate students have credit cards, and by the time they are seniors, they have accumulated US $ 4,100 in debt, on top of whatever student loans they may have taken out．

Credit cards are the most convenient form of payment, and they are aggressively marketed to college students．Reportedly, a typical college student carries 4．6 credit cards and US $ 3,173 in credit card debt．

Credit cards seem to be a fact of life, not just student life． In the long term,  using a credit card properly and paying off the balance can help establish a card history and increase your credit score, which will come in handy when you need an important loan, for a house or car, for example．Your credit score can affect even unrelated things like insurance rates．Credit cards also offer more protection for users than debit cards（借记卡）．Under federal law, the credit card holder is only responsible for the first US  $ 50in fraudulent（欺诈的） purchases in cases of theft or loss．However, debit card users are responsible for the first US $ 500．                                   

SallieMae found some good news in the fact that two thirds of students had discussed credit issues with their parents, but 84 percent said they needed more information．Those who didn't get any guidance were more likely to be surprised when they found out how much they owed．

While credit cards offer the easiest access to money, they make it easy to live outside your means．Less than a fifth of students surveyed paid off their balance every month, and carrying a balance brings finance charges, sometimes at a very high interest rates．

SallieMae found that almost 40 percent of students chose their first credit card based on direct mail, which is probably why students get credit card offers in the mail． But when the credit card offers flow in, be sure that you read the fine print．Offers of low or no interest rates can disappear, leaving you a debt that climbs beyond your ability to pay it off．

1.What does the first paragraph imply?

A．Most of the senior students are shocked to see how much they owed．

B．Students can only take out loans from credit cards．

C．Most of students' loans come from credit cards．

D．Credit cards have a bad effect on college students．

2.The underlined part "come in handy" in the third paragraph probably means “         ”

A．bring trouble                          B．make mistakes

C．be important                           D．be useful

3.According to SallieMae, what is the possible reason why students get so many credit card offers in the mail?

A．Many students' first credit card is based on direct mail．

B．it costs the banks little to mail out credit cards．

C．Students don't like to go to the bank to open a credit card account．

D．Banks have no other way to let students use their credit cards．

4.What is the theme of the third paragraph?

A．The advantages of using debit cards．

B．The similarities between credit cards and debit cards．

C．The advantages of using credit cards．

D．Credit cards are the most convenient form of payment．

5.According to SallieMae, how many students had not discussed credit issues with their parents?

A．l/3               B．2/3              C．l/4               D．3/4

 

 

         Consumers are being confused and misled by the hodge-podge （大杂烩） of environmental claims made by household products, according to a “green labeling” study published by Consumers International Friday．

         Among the report’s more outrageous （令人无法容忍的） findings, a German fertilizer described itself as “earthworm friendly”, a brand of flour said it was “non-polluting” and a British toilet paper claimed to be “environmentally friendlier”．

         The study was written and researched by Britain’s National Consumer Council （NCC） for lobby group Consumer International．It was funded by the German and Dutch governments and the European Commission．

         “While many good and useful claims are being made, it is clear there is a long way to go in ensuring shoppers are adequately informed about the environmental impact of products they buy,” said Consumers International director Anna Fielder．

         The 10-country study surveyed product packaging in Britain．Western Europe, Scandinavia and the United States．It found that products sold in Germany and the United Kingdom made the most environmental claims on average．

         The report focused on claims made by specific products, such as detergent （洗涤剂）, insect sprays and by some garden products．It did not test the claims, but compared them to labeling guidelines set by the International Standards Organization （ISO） in September, 1999．

         Researchers documented claims of environmental friendliness made by about 2,000 products and found many too unclear or too misleading to meet ISO standards．

         “Many products had specially-designed labels to make them seem environmentally friendly, but in fact many of these symbols mean nothing,”said report researcher Philip Page．

         “Laundry detergents made the most number of claims with 158．Household cleaners were second with 145 separate claims, while paints were third on our list with 73．The high numbers show how confusing it must be for consumers to sort the true from the misleading．” he said．

         The ISO labeling standards ban vague or misleading claims on product packaging, because terms such as “environmentally friendly” and “non-polluting” cannot be tested．“What we are now pushing for is to have multinational corporations meet the standards set by the ISO．” said Page．

1．According to the passage, the NCC found it outrageous that ____．

         A．all the products surveyed claim to meet ISO standards

         B．the claims made by products are often unclear or misleading

         C．consumers would believe many of the manufactures’claim

         D．few products actually prove to be environmentally friendly

2．A study was carried out by Britain’s NCC to ____．

         A．find out how many claims made by products fail to meet environmental standards

         B．inform the consumers of the environmental impact of the products they buy

         C．examine claims made by products against ISO standards

         D．test the guidelines set by the International Standards Organization

3．What is one of the consequences caused by the many claims of household products?

         A．They are likely to lead to serious environmental problems

         B．Consumers find it difficult to tell the true from the false

         C．They could arouse widespread anger among consumer

         D．Consumers will tend to buy products they don’t need

4．It can be inferred from the passage that the lobby group Consumer International wants to ____．

         A．make product labeling satisfy ISO requirements

         B．see all household products meet environmental standards

         C．warn consumers of the danger of so-called green products

         D．prove the efforts of non-polluting products

 

Have you ever wondered what a Degree might be worth to you in your job or career(事业)? It means a lot of Americans with an Associate Degree average nearly $10,000 more in yearly earnings than those with just a High School Diploma(毕业证).

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Simply fill in your name and address on the coupon(票券) above. Then write in the name and number of the one program you’re most interested in, and mail it today. We’ll rush your free information about how you can take advantage of the opportunities(机会) in the field you’ve chosen. Act today!

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This advertisement aims at calling on people to ________.

A. attend full-time universities

B. work part time to further their education

C. improve their education at home to get better jobs

D. earn their degrees in different ways that suit them

Which of the following is NOT clearly mentioned in this advertisement? 

A. The way how you will get your degree. 

B. Tuition price. 

C. The hot fields you will be preparing yourself for.

D. The length of time it will take you to get a degree.

What does the writer of this ad intend to say by naming General Electric, IBM, Ford, etc.?

A. To show that their training is widely used in the country. 

B. To show that the training program is fully supported by famous companies in the U. S.

C. To prove the value of their training in every area.  　

D. To show the importance of getting recognized by the most famous companies.

It seems to the writer that the greatest attraction for people to take their training is______. 

A. its convenience

B. the degree’s nation-wide recognition

C. the economic benefit(利益) it will bring about

D. the hot fields the training will help people to enter

How many ways are mentioned in the ad for people to get in touch with the Harcourt Learning Direct?

A. One. 　　　   　B. Two. 　　   　　C. Three. 　  　　　D. Four.

We’ve heard about radiation from the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan reaching American shores. Experts say so far there is no reason to worry, and point out that we meet radiation every day. Where and how? NPR’s Renee Montagne posed that question to Peter Caracappa, a radiation safety officer and professor of nuclear engineering.

MONTAGNE: How many things emit radiation?

Dr CARACAPPA: Well, radiation and radioactive material is a part of nature. So everything that’s living has some amount of radiation coming from it—a very small amout. Plus there’s radiation in the ground and the air.

So the extremes are uranium in the soil to bananas?

Yes.

By the way, why do bananas have radiation?

Bananas have a lot of potassium(钾). And a small amount of potassium naturally is called potassium 40, which is radioactive

What’s the difference between radiation that’s harmful and not harmful?

Well, the term radiation can apply to a lot of different things. But the harmful radiation is ionizing(离子)radiation. It has enough energy that it can make chemical changes in material. We could get ionizing radiation from an X-ray, for example. It’s the kind of radiation that causes cancer.

The broader definition of radiation includes a lot of things that we call non-ionizing radiation. That includes everything like radio waves and visible light and your microwave.

So what then is the largest contributor of ionizing radiation?

For the natural sources of ionizing radiation, actually the biggest chunk of that tends to come from radon(氡), which is a radioactive material that is present in the air. It can become a concern when it builds up in low-lying areas of homes like basements.

Would it be fair to say that most people do not need to worry about the danger of being exposed to radiation?

I would say that the everyday exposure to radioation that we meet contributes an extremely tiny risk to our life or to our health compared to all of the other risks that we meet in our day-to-day life.

1.We can infer from the first paragraph that radiation is______.

A．rare

B．powerful

C．dangerous

D．common

2.The passage may be _______.

A．an interview

B．an argument

C．a talk show program

D．a science report

3.Whether radiation is harmful or not depends on______.

A．whether it has a small amount of potassium

B．whether it changes chemical in materials.

C．whether it has energy to change materials

D．whether it is visible in life

4.The purpose of writing this passage is to _______.

A．advise on how to protect us from radiation

B．analyze what causes radiation in daily life

C．warn people of the danger of radiation

D．expect people not to fear everyday radiation