A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men aboard were able to swim to a small, desert-like island. Not knowing what else to do, the two survivors agreed that they had no alternativethan to pray to God.

However, to find out whose prayers were more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit. But the other man’s parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man became lonely and decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. But on the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon thereafter the first man prayed for a house, clothes and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship so that he and his wife could leave the island, and in the morning he found a ship docked at his side of the island.

The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island, considering the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven booming, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”

“My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered and so he doesn’t deserve anything.”

“You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.”

“Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”

“He prayed that all your prayers would be answered.”

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us. So what you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself.

1.The first man’s wife is _____.

A．a swimmer who got to the island by accident

B．an angel sent by God to keep him company

C．a survivor from another wrecked ship

D．a native person on the desert-like island

2.The underlined word “barren” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____.

A．isolated           B．unproductive       C．fertile            D．dry

3.Which of the following is true about the second man?

A．He didn’t deserve any blessing from God.

B．None of his prayers was answered by God.

C．He is not brave enough to tell God his needs.

D．His prayer helped his companion get out of trouble.

4.What’s the moral of the story?

A．Never judge a person by appearance.

B．Don’t lose heart in trouble.

C．Helping others is helping ourselves.

D．Greed is the root of all evil.

 

　　Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.

　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.

　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.

　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?

　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.

　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.

　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”

According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?

　　A. It is always difficult to find a job.

　　B. Everyone can find a job in good times.

　　C. Contrary to popular belief, it is easier to find a job in bad times.

　　D. It is possible to find a job even in times as bad as now.

What is it that leads to their winning the prize?

　　A. They have found the reason for unemployment.

　　B. They have put forward a set of ideas to deal with unemployment.

　　C. They have found out why people don’t want to be employed.

　　D. They have long studied the problem of unemployment.

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. Pissarides thinks his work surprising.

　　B. The work of Pissarides has influenced many economists.

　　C. Some of the winners’ ideas have been put into practice.

　　D. It is probable that unemployed young people in Britain benefit from Pissarides’ work.

According to Pissarides, _________ is effrctive in dealing with unemployment.

　　A. spending large sums of money on training

　　B. teaching some knowledge of economics

　　C. providing work experience

　　D. keeping people unemployed for some time

Don’t lose heart; __________ difficulties you are faced with will be overcome in the end.

A．however          B．whatever          C．what             D．How

 

I won’t go to the concert because I ______my ticket.

A．lost

B．don’t lose

C．will lose

D．have lost

 

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

A little boy is telling his Grandma how everything is going wrong: School, family problems, severe health problems, etc. Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake. She asks the child if he would like a snack, which of course he would.

"Here. Have some cooking oil."

"Terrible!" says the boy.

"How about a couple of raw eggs?"

" Terrible! Grandma."

"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"

"Grandma, those are all awful!"

To which the Grandma replies, "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! Life works the same way. Many times we wonder why we have to go through such bad and difficult times, but when we put these things all in a suitable way, they always work for good!”

“The trials of life serve a meaningful purpose in making us stronger. Don’t lose heart if life is not easy for you right now, but encourage yourself and know you will be much stronger mentally and physically because of the trials of life.”

[写作内容]

1.以约30个词概括短文的内容；

2.然后用120个词以“Facing the Trials of Life”写一篇文章, 内容包括：

1）你阅读短文后的感受；

2）讲述你经历的一次困难或考验；

3）你认为应当如何看待生活中的考验。

[写作要求]

1）可以使用自己亲身的经历或虚构的故事, 也可以参照阅读材料的内容, 但不得直接引用原文中的句子；

2）文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。

[评分标准]

概括准确, 语言规范, 内容合适, 篇章连贯。