Public schools in Washington, D.C. provide students with musical instruments for free. When something goes wrong with an instrument, Charles West and Larry Jernigan do the repairs. Both men approach their work with a passion(激情). For them, it’s important that students have a joyful experience with music.
The two have worked together for almost 20 years. This year alone, they’ve fixed about 450 instruments. Both men are musicians and music lovers, so learning to do repairs came naturally.
“I have been a musician all my life.” says West. “I played in an orchestra here in the city. I majored in music in college. I played in an army band.”
Jernigan’s musical interests are varied. “I was formerly trained in the piano and guitar. The alto sax, and the flute, I picked up while working here.”
In addition to fixing instruments, the two also go to schools to instruct teachers and students on how to make minor repairs on their own.
West believes if children start early and stay concerned with music, it enriches other areas of their lives. “I see that in other kids. I see it in myself. I have seen it hundreds of times and it works,” he says. “They learn teamwork. They learn patience and respect.”
But West has concerns about the future of music in the electronic age.
“This instant age has taken away from the sit-down, the patience. And to learn to play an instrument, it takes patience, it takes diligence, it takes time.”
Being able to enjoy music on the job is one of the benefits of the job. Both men agree their best rewards are the students’ performances.
【小题1】What’s the job of West and Jernigan at school?

A．Teaching music.	B．Writing music.
C．Making musical instruments.	D．Repairing musical instruments.

【小题2】They love the job because they can     .

A．earn more money	B．learn repair skills
C．enjoy music	D．watch performances

【小题3】Which of the following is true of the two men?

A．They have fixed 450 instruments in the past 20 years.

B．They can play and repair musical instruments.

C．Jernigan used to play in an army band.

D．West was trained to play the piano.

【小题4】According to West, what can people learn from music?

A．Teamwork and patience.	B．The value of time.
C．The truth of society.	D．Diligence and confidence.

【小题5】What is mainly talked about in the text?

A．How to repair musical instruments.

B．Learning experiences of two repairmen.

C．How to prepare a musical performance.

D．The enjoyable job of two music lovers.

The Beijing government has set out to recruit thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city's employment problems．
The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year, 1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas．
People interested in jobs in Beijing's rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www．Bjbys．com from February 1 through March 15．
"We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers," Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency．
The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan （ $ 250） in the first year, 2,500 yuan （$ 320） the second year and 3,000 yuan （$ 385） the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards．Sun said．
Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Besjing's Pinggu District．For one project, Wang contacted people at the BeijingAcadeny of Agricnitural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting．Her efforts paid off．The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year．
Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education．
The ministry predicts that 4．95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year．About 1．4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate．
In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year． Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to the personnel bureau．
【小题1】The underlined word "recruit" in the first paragraph probably means___．

A．employ

B．force

C．encourage

D．train

【小题2】We can see from the passage that____．

A．once you are hired as a junior official, you can get an endlessly rising salary

B．the government guarantee a gradually high salary for the successful candidates

C．working as junior officials is easy but very meaningful

D．the competition for the job as junior officials is very fierce

【小题3】From the story of Wang Lina we can learn that        .

A．the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful

B．local fanners can get big harvests if they team more knowledge

C．university graduates can also realize their value in rural areas

D．Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers planting organic strawberries

【小题4】The last two paragraphs aim to tell us that       .

A．more and more graduates will work．as junior officials

B．the universities should not have so many students

C．there are more and more graduates in recent years

D．it is not easy for graduates to find jobs nowadays

【小题5】Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A．What is the best career?

B．Graduates go to the countryside．

C．Job hunting for university graduates．

D．A good choice for university graduates．

A Beautiful Mind
    A mathematician who goes mad is not a subject most directors consider commercially attractive, but then Ran Howard isn’t among most directors. Despite an impressive list of credits, A Beautiful Mind is his most successful work to date, combining a psychological drama with a moving love story to produce a film that is as interesting as it is entertaining.
The Oscar winning Russell Crowe has put himself in line for further honors with his acting John Nash, the Nobel Prize winning mathematician troubled by schizophrenia (精神分裂症). A Beautiful Mind pictures Nash as an unusual hero，not just because of his academic achievements but also because of the courage he displays while battling his illness．
In 1947, Nash was one of many great young minds at Princeton. “To find a truly original idea is the only way to distinguish myself,” the proud and determined student declared. His exploration of such an idea afforded him little time for the normal socializing. His shyness and straight forward approach brought him few friends.
After finally hitting on a revolutionary new idea, Nash’s career took off and his reputation as secured. He balanced research work with teaching, which is where he met the bright and beautiful student Alicia (played by Jennifer Connelly). Things in his life were going well when his talent for code breaking brought him to the attention of the military that employed him during the early stage of the cold war with Russia. However, the stress of his work made Nash’s illness develop．
Crowe’s performance is perfect. He and Connelly ignite (make something exciting) the film’s passionate love story and Connelly’s wonderful performance makes the audience moved by Alicia, whose courage, strength and faith in her husband are the primary reasons for his recovery.
【小题1】This passage is most probably ________．

A．a book review

B．a movie review

C．a movie poster

D．an advertisement

【小题2】Which can replace the underlined phrase “hitting on” in the fourth paragraph?

A．coming up with

B．coming on

C．putting on

D．putting up with

【小题3】 The following statements are true EXCEPT that _______．

A．John Nash did not go mad totally

B．Ran Howard is an outstanding director

C．the stress of the academic work caused Nash’s illness

D．Nash’s concentration on his work and his shyness brought him few friends

【小题4】 We can infer from the text that _______．

A．John Nash volunteered to serve in the army in spite of his illness

B．John Nash gave up his career when troubled by schizophrenia

C．Russell Crowe won another Oscar Award after this movie

D．without Alicia, John Nash wouldn’t have recovered from his illness

A year ago, at the annual pre-Grammy party, Whitney Houston, the great star, walked on stage and closed the evening with a brilliant performance．
Last Saturday, Houston was once again the focus before the Grammy, but her presence was a regrettable one．Earlier that day, the pop music's former queen was found dead in her hotel room．She was 48．This, no doubt, is sad news to the whole music industry and her fans all over the world．
At her peak(巅峰), Houston was the golden girl of the music world．From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists．She impressed audiences with her effortless, powerful and peerless performance．
Besides multi-million record sales, Houston made countless hits such as The Greatest Love of All, I Have Nothing, and the mostly famous I Will Always Love You．She also influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey．
But by the end of her career, there was a shocking fall for this superstar．Houston had been addicted to(上瘾) drugs．Her album sales declined (下降) and the hits stopped coming and her once beautiful voice became hoarse （嘶哑的）, unable to hit the high notes as she used to．
In 2009, Houston staged a successful comeback with the album I Look To You, which fell on top of the charts．But hoarse voice, canceled concerts, and continuous illness-Houston's comeback trail wasn't smooth at all．In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, Houston admitted: "It (show business) is too much for me and I wanted out．"
Now that Houston has finally taken a break from all the chaos(混乱), may she rest in peace．
【小题1】Whitney Houston died ______．

A．shortly before the Grammy this year	B．earlier last Sunday
C．a year ago	D．at the annual pre-Grammy party

【小题2】The underlined word "peerless" in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______．

A．having no power	B．having no equal
C．requiring no effort	D．leaving no impression

【小题3】The cause of the fall of Whitney Houston was that _____．

A．her album sales declined

B．show business was too much for her

C．her fans no longer love her

D．she had been addicted to drugs

【小题4】According to the passage, which is not Houston’s achievement?

A．She made countless hits such as I Have Nothing.

B．She influenced a generation of younger singers.

C．She became the focus before the Grammy this year.

D．She staged a successful comeback in 2009.

For high school leavers starting out in the working world，it is very important to learn particular skills and practice how to behave in an interview or how to find all internship(实习)．In some countries，schools have programs to help students onto the path to work．In the Unites States，however，such programs are still few and far between．
Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses，students are likely to get higher earnings in later years．The students are more likely to stay in school，graduate and go on to higher education．
In Germany，students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships．German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment．
But in America, education reform programs focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world．Harvard Education school professor Robert
Schwartz has criticized education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track．Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable(易受影响的)kids with no jobs and no skills．
Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high sch001．James Madison High School in New York，for example，encourages students to choose classes on career—based courses．The school then helps them gain on—the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school．
However，even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work，the job market is daunting．In the US，unemployment rates for 16-to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row．
“The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the Summer job experience，they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job，”said Michael，a researcher in the US.
【小题1】In the author’s opinion．American high school leavers__________.

A．have enough career-related courses

B．need more career advice from their schools

C．perform better in exams than German students

D．can get higher earnings in later years

【小题2】According to Robert Schwartz，_________．

A．there is no need for kids to go for higher education in the US

B．students should get contact with the working world at high school

C．education reform should focus on students’performance in exams

D．teenagers in the US can’t miss out on the summer job experience

【小题3】What can be inferred from the text?

A．Unemployment rates for US teenagers remain hi曲at the moment．

B．Students with career—based courses never have problems finding a job．

C．US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment．

D．High school leavers with no practical skills can’t find a job absolutely

【小题4】What’S the main idea of the text?

A．Arguments about recent US education reform．

B．Tips on finding jobs for high school leavers．

C．The lack of career—based courses in US high schools

D．Advice for American high school leavers

【小题5】The underlined word “daunting” in Paragraph 6 most probably means___________.

A．discouraging

B．interesting

C．creative

D．unbearable