Jockeys(职业赛马骑师) are the smallest athletes. They are rarely over five feet six, or 120 pounds. The lighter the weight on the horse, the faster it can go.
Riding fast horses on the track is tough on the small jockeys. The jockey doesn’t“sit”on the horse. He leans forward on his legs. The strain is on his thighs(大腿) and calf(小腿) muscles. As jockeys age, their legs“go”first. Jockeys also need arm strength. It’s a strain holding a 1000-pound racehorse.
On muddy days, jockeys get a pounding of mud. The mud comes flying off the hooves(蹄) of the horses in front. “It feels like someone is punching you all over,”says one rider.
And a jockey can be hurt. A jockey can have a leg jammed between two horses. Or it can get caught between horse and the rail. The worst accidents are from falls. A horse may fall on his rider. Or horses behind may trample if he hits the track. In one year about 240 riders are hurt badly. That’s one out of six jockeys.
But the jockeys are well-paid. A jockey keeps about ten percent of the money his horses win. Jacinto Vasquez, a five-foot-three comer, has ridden horses to ＄7,000,000 in wins in the last eight years, which means he does almost ＄100,000 a year.
Why do some jockeys do better than others? “It isn’t the way a boy sits on a horse or uses the reins or the whip,”says Conn McCreary. McCreary was a top jockey of the 1950’s. He rode two Kentucky Derby winners. “Most jockeys do this the same. It’s the ‘feel’ he has for the horses.”
“When you come right down to it, it just seems that horses run better for some riders,” McCreary says. “A real good jockey doesn’t lose with the best horse. And sometimes he’ll win with the second or third best.”
Many Latin-American riders, like Jacinto, seem to have the knack. “Maybe it’s because we grew up with horses,”says Jacinto. “Maybe it’s because we like to ride. There was a strike at Aqueduct last year. We, Jorge Velasquez, and Angel Cordero (two other top Latin riders) went to a park. We rented horses, and rode around the bridle path(骑马专用道)!”

1. 1.

   The main idea of Paragraph 1 is about ______________

   1. A.
      the size of jockeys
   2. B.
      the age of jockeys
   3. C.
      the size of the horse
   4. D.
      the speed of the horse
2. 2.

   When a jockey is riding a fast horse, he doesn’t __________

   1. A.
      really sit on the horse
   2. B.
      lean forward on his legs
   3. C.
      use much arm strength
   4. D.
      get any mud on wet track
3. 3.

   The most dangerous problem for a jockey arises __________________

   1. A.
      when his leg is jammed between two horses
   2. B.
      when his clothes are splashed over with mud
   3. C.
      when the jockey’s horse falls on the jockey
   4. D.
      when the jockey is not well paid
4. 4.

   A really good jockey can often win a race ____________

   1. A.
      only when he rides on the best horse
   2. B.
      even when he rides the second best horse
   3. C.
      when he rides on a rented horse
   4. D.
      if the horse is just a Kentucky Herby
5. 5.

   The underlined word “Knack” in the last paragraph probably means__________________

   1. A.
      special skill
   2. B.
      dangerous hobby
   3. C.
      riding culture
   4. D.
      excellent horses

In the past, when people had problems, they went to their families or friends to get advice.
Today it is possible to get advice from radio shows, TV programmes and telephone hot lines, too. A hot line is a telephone line that offers a direct way of getting in touch with advisers .Most hot lines are completely anonymous ,that is to say , callers do not have to say their names or telephone numbers. Most hot lines are usually free. Callers do not have to pay for the advice or the phone calls, even if the calls are long distance ones. At some hot lines, the advisers are volunteers. Other hot lines pay their advisers for their work. Usually the advisers are full-time people with years of education and experience, but sometimes, the advisers have only taken a short training before starting to work on the hot lines. All the advisers listen to people and help them solve their problems.

1. 1.

   The underlined word “anonymous” in the passage means       in Chinese.

   1. A.
      secret
   2. B.
      well-known
   3. C.
      exact
   4. D.
      wonderful
2. 2.

   When people call the hot line advisers, they         .

   1. A.
      often give their names and telephone numbers
   2. B.
      generally have to pay for the long distance calls
   3. C.
      usually pay nothing for most of the calls and advice
   4. D.
      always try to get in touch with the volunteer advisers
3. 3.

   The advisers working at hot lines         .

   1. A.
      have all been trained for a short time
   2. B.
      are all volunteers
   3. C.
      have all received years of education
   4. D.
      are not all paid
4. 4.

   The writer of the passage seems to think that         .

   1. A.
      hot lines help the callers a lot
   2. B.
      advisers will solve all of the callers’ problems
   3. C.
      people had better pay for the advice
   4. D.
      people will not get advice from their families or friends

“There is an out – of – date idea that children grow up and leave home when they’re 18,and the truth is far from that,” says Mr．Larry Bumpass of the University of Wisconsin．Today unexpected numbers of young adults are living with their parents．“There is a great change in the middle class,” declares Allan Schnaiberg of Northwestern University, whose son, 19, moved back in after an absence of eight months．

    Scientists show a number of reasons for this return to the nest．The marriage age is rising, a condition that makes home and its pleasantness particularly attractive to young people．A high divorce （离婚） rate and a low remarriage rate make some differences．For some, the expense of an away - from - home college education has become so great that many students now attend local schools．Even after graduation, young people find their wings tied by terrible housing costs．

    Living at home, says Knighton, a school teacher, continues to give security （安全保卫） and moral（道义的） support．Her mother agreed．“Its strange for the kids to pay all that money for rent．It makes sense for kids to stay at home．” But sharing the family home requires changes for all．There are the hassles over bathrooms, telephones and privacy．Some families, however, manage the careful balancing act．But for others, it proves too difficult．Michelle Del Turco, 24, has been home three times and left three times．“What I considered a social drink, my dad considered an alcohol （酒精） problem,” she explains．“He never liked anyone I dated, so I either had to hide away or meet them at friends' houses．”

    Just how long should adult children live with their parents before moving on? Most scientists feel lengthy homecomings are a mistake．Children, can end up with a sense of defeat and failure．And aging parents, who should be enjoying some freedom, find themselves stuck with too many things．Many agree that brief visits, however, can work well．

According to the author, there was once a trend in the U．S．________．

    A．for young adults to leave their parents and live separately

    B．for middle class young adults to stay with their parents

    C．for married young adults to move back home after a lengthy absence

    D．for young adults to get jobs nearby in order to live with their parents

Which of the following does not lead to young adults returning to the nest?

    A．Young adults find housing costs too high．

    B．Young adults are not old enough．

    C．Young adults look for parental comfort and support．

    D．Quite a number of young adults attend local schools．

The underlined word “hassles” in the passage probably means _________．

    A．agreements       B．worries

    C．disadvantages        D．quarrels

According to the passage what is the best for both parents and children?

    A．They should share the family expenses．

    B．Children should leave their parents when they are grown up．

    C．Adult children should live away from their parents and visit their parents from time to time．

    D．Parents should support their adult children when they are in trouble．

．One of the disadvantages of young adults returning to slay with their parents is that ______．

    A．there will certainly be inconveniences in even-day life

    B．most parents find it difficult to keep a bigger family going

    C．the young adults try to be overprotected by their parents

    D．public opinion is against young adults staying with their parents

“When a customer enters my store, forget me. He is King, ’’said John Wanamaker, who in l876 turned an abandoned railway station in Philadelphia into one of me world’s first department stores. This revolutionary concept __21__ the face of retailing (零售业) and led to the development of advertising and marketing as we know it today.

But convincing as that slogan was, __22__ the shopper was cheated out of the crown. Although manufacturing efficiency increased the variety of goods and lowered prices, people still relied on __23__ to get most information about products. Through much of the past century, ads spoke to an audience restricted to just a few radio or television channels or a __24__ number of publications. Now media choice, has __25__ too, and consumers select what they want from a far greater variety of sources—especially with a few clicks of a computer mouse. _26__ the internet, the consumer is finally seizing power.

As our survey shows, __27__ has great implications for companies, because it is changing the way the world shops. Many firms already claim to be “customer-driven” or “consumer-centered”. Now their _28__ will be tested as never before. Taking advantage of shoppers’ __29__ will no longer be possible: people will know—and soon tell others, even those without the internet—that prices in the next town are cheaper or that certain goods are inferior. The internet is working wonders in __30__ standards. Good and honest firms should benefit most.

21. A. changed                    B. maintained               C. restored                 D. rescued

22. A. in time                      B. in truth                    C. in case                         D. in theory

23. A. radio                      B. TV                    C. firms                  D. advertisements

24. A. 1imited                      B. minimum               C. sufficient               D. great

25. A. disappeared                B. existed                    C. exploded               D. survived

26. A. According to             B. Thanks to                 C. But for                      D. Apart from

27. A. consumer power         B. product quality        

   C. purchasing habit         D.manufacturing efficiency

28. A. information                B. investment                C. claims                      D. shops

29. A. generosity                  B. knowledge                C. curiosity                   D. ignorance

30. A. raising                             B. lowering                  C. abandoning               D. carrying

Mary is one of the girls who _____ often late for school.

A. come                   B. are                       C. comes                 D. get