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, 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 (鼓舞) 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（嗓音的） 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.

1.What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?

A. Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society.

B. The recorder was impatient and rude.

C. The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced.

D. The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was.

2.How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?

A. curious        B. indifferent       C. interested     D. puzzled

3.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 the writer did something she had little knowledge of.

D. Because she thought the author did admirable work.

4.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 show that the author had a grander job than Emily.

C. To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect.

D. To show that being a mother is hard and boring work.

“People should have one meat-free day a week if they want to make a personal and effective sacrifice that would help deal with climate change,” the world’s leading authority on global warming has told The Observer.
Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further.
Pachauri, who was re-elected the panel’s chairman for a second six-year term last week, said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions (排放) and other environmental problems associated with raising cattle and other animals. “It was relatively easy to change eating habits compared to changing means of transport,” he said.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are produced during the production. For example, ruminants (反刍动物), particularly cows, give off a gas called methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than CO₂.
Pachauri can expect some opposite responses from the food industry to his advice, though last night he was given unexpected support by Masterchef presenter and restaurateur John Torode. “I have a little bit and enjoy it,” said Torode. “Too much for any person is bad. But there’s a bigger issue here: where the meat comes from. If we all bought British and stopped buying imported food, we’d save a huge amount of carbon emissions.”
Professor Robert Watson, the chief scientific adviser for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, said government could help educate people about the benefits of eating less meat, but it should not regulate. “Eating less meat would help, there’s no question about that,” Watson said.
However, Chris Lamb, head of marketing for pig industry group BPEX, said the meat industry had been unfairly targeted and was working hard to find out which activities had the biggest environmental impact and reduce them. “Some ideas were contradictory,” he said. “For example, one solution to emissions from cattle and other animals was to keep them indoors, but this would damage animal welfare. Climate change is a very young science and our view is there are a lot of simple solutions being proposed.”
【小题1】What is directly related to global warming?

A new hotel is set to open in a faraway village in northern Sweden，which intends to change the simple treehouse into a world—class hotel for travelers who enjoy special designs．

       Treehotel，which lies in Harads about 60 km south of the Arctic Circle，will be made up of four rooms when it opens on July 17th：the Cabin，the Blue Cone，the Nest and the Mirrorcube．

         Two more are due to open in October—the UFO and A Room With a View．

         “Our goal in five years is to have 24 rooms from 24 different architects(建筑师)，”says Treehotel co-founder Kent Lindvall，who came up with the idea along with his wife Bfitta．

         The first six rooms were designed by five different architects. The Mirrorcube which stands four meters high and four meters wide has drawn widespread attention as it will be connected to a singletree．

         ‘‘It’s an interesting building．You cannot find anything like this in the world today．It’s really special，”says Lindvall，as he stands next to the room’s mirrored outer wall．

         ‘‘Everything will reflect(映照)in this—the trees，the birds，the clouds，the sun，everything．So it should be invisible nearly in the forest．’’

         Lindvall says a special film will be put onto the glass which will be seen by birds。

         ‘‘This is untouched forest and—we want to leave it as it is．"says Selberg，another co-founder．

         She adds．’’If we’re lucky we might see a bear．I think what’s exciting here is that we’re just 60 km below the Arctic Circle which means there’s a good possibility to have the northern lights in the winter and during the during the summer of course you have the midnight sun.”

The aim of Treehotel is “feel free in a tree” and the experience will cost up to 4,200 Swedish crowns ($555,50)for two guests in the Mirrorcube, which is designed to hold up to four guests.

1.What do we know about Treehotel in Harads from the text?

       A．The hotel will provide six rooms in July.

       B．It’s 60 km away from t11e Arctic Circle.

       C．It is specially designed by one architect．

       D．It was once all ordinary family treehouse．

2.Why is the Mirrorcube kown by many people?

       A．It will be joined to one tree only.

       B．It is in a distant village in Sweden．

       C．It’s designed by a famous architect.

         D．Its outer wall is covered with mirror.

3.A special film will be used to

         A．take in light          B．protect birds        C．seize animals       D．keep off bears

4.What is the text mainly about?

         A．A modem building．                                      B．A Swedish village．

         C．A faraway village．                                        D．A special treehouse．

Does your pet have a slim figure? According to the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), about half of all dogs and nearly 60% of all indoor cats are overweight. Larry Kornegay, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, says he sees an overweight pet nearly every day, and unusually the owner is overweight. So talking about the topic can be touchy. “I talk about their pet’s health. Still, some clients take it personally.”

   Here are some tips for pet weight loss:

   See the vet(兽医). Have your vet put together a plan and treat any existing medical problems. Pain relief and diet changes may be required for arthritic(患关节炎的) pets, which will allow for exercise to at least begin.

   Skip the crash diet (an attempt to lose weight quickly by strictly limiting the diet). A special weight-loss diet may be suggested. For example, look for the supplement which burns fat and builds muscle mass in foods. Never place any pet on a crash diet, especially cats, which can suffer a potentially fatal liver disease as a result. There’s a safe weight-loss drug for dogs you can ask your vet about.

   Dine alone. “Cut out treats and resist temptation by keeping pets out of the room you’re dining in,” says Chicago vet Sheldon Rubin. You can buy low-calorie treats for dogs and cats. Rubin also recommends mini carrots, small apple slices or blueberries for dogs. What’s important is finding other ways, aside from food, to show your love. Play with your cat using an interactive toy, and take your dog for walks. Walks are great for bonding, and good for you. Studies show people are actually more willing to lose weight themselves if it also will help their pet.

   Feed pets at special times. Pre-measure food carefully—don’t give them a larger meal than ever—and leave it in various places, so pets sniff it out and use the stairs. It’s fun, and it’s good exercise.

1.The underlined word “touchy” in Paragraph 1 probably means__________

A. sensitive            B. exciting           C. moving          D. pleasant

2.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Overweight people usually like overweight pets.

B. Pets’ weight is easier to lose than humans’.

C. Cats have a greater chance of serious liver disease.

D. Overweight people often ignore their pets’ weight.

3.Which of the following methods is healthy for your pets?

   A. Providing them with mini carrots or blueberries.

   B. Keeping them with you when you’re dining.

   C. Supplying them with larger meals or drinks.

   D. Leaving the food in a fixed place for your pets.

4.What does the passage mainly tell us?

   A. How to feed pets without a crash diet.

   B. The importance of pet weight loss.

   C. How to help pets lose weight.

   D. The problems that pets will meet.

Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family，and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck.I’m not going to say luck，talent，and circumstances don’t come into play because they do.Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence，and that’s just the reality of how life is.

However，to succeed in life，one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical.And，in addition to that，in order to get really good at something，one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practising.To become great at certain things，it’ll require even more time，time that most people won’t put in.

This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love.If you don’t enjoy what you do，it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.

When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success，you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost.It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent，but thinking that way does you no good，and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.

Whatever you do，if you want to become great at it，you need to work day in and day out，almost to the point of addiction，and over a long period of time.If you’re not willing to put in the time and work，don’t expect to receive any rewards.Consistent，hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want，but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.

1.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about________.

A．the reasons for success

B．the meaning of success

C．the standards of success

D．the importance of success

2.In Paragraph 2，the underlined word that refers to________.

A．being good at something

B．setting a practical goal

C．putting in more time

D．succeeding in life

3.Successful people suggest doing what one loves because________.

A．work makes one feel pain

B．one tends to enjoy his work

C．one gives up his work easily

D．it takes a lot of time to succeed

4.What can we infer from Paragraph? 4?

A．Successful people like to show their great skills.

B．People sometimes succeed without luck or talent.

C．People need to achieve success at the cost of life.

D．It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success.

5.What is the main theme of the passage?

A．Having a goal is vital to success.

B．Being good is different from being great.

C．One cannot succeed without time and practice.

D．Luck，talent and family help to achieve success.