Chances

I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career(职业)．

I wasn't an excellent student because I didn't do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn't have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn't the type to have a career.

I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn't too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she'd give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn't often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early morning with the children.

One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification(资格证书)if I wanted to work with children. I didn't think I would be accepted because I didn't take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part­time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.

Now I've got a full­time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren't top of the class at school.

1.What is the author's present job?

A．Working part­time in a college.

B．Helping children with their schoolwork.

C．Looking after children at a kindergarten.

D．Taking care of children for a family.

2.When staying with the two girls' family, the author________.

A．was paid for extra work

B．got much help from her boss

C．took a day off every other week

D．often worked long hours

3.Why did the author leave her first job?

A．She decided to attend a part­time course.

B．She found a full­time job.

C．She was fed up with children.

D．She needed a rest after working extra hours.

4.What has the author learned from her own experiences?

A．Qualifications are necessary for a career.

B．Hard work makes an excellent student.

C．One must choose the job she likes.

D．Less successful students can still have a career.

 

After two hours of hiking, we finally reached _______ Tom thought was the best place to camp.

A. where               B. which         C. what             D. that

 

Dr. Glenn Tisman, a cancer specialist, knew his young neighbor, Ray Bateman, had an unusual mind. But he had no idea at the time that 12 - year – old Ray had the ability to become his partner in cancer research.
Ray’s parents remembered that at age four, Ray surprised them by fixing a broken vacuum cleaner（吸尘器）. When he was ten, he speedily constructed the family color television from a kit. Later, he succeeded in assembling（组装） a complex stereo system after two experts had failed to do the job.
When Ray was ten, he convinced his parents to buy him a computer. In a short time, Ray was able to do amazing things with the computer. Ray shared his enthusiasm for computers with Dr. Tisman, who used a computer for his research. The two discussed computers and medicine frequently. Amazingly, Ray understood the biology and chemistry related to Dr. Tisman’s medical research without any previous instruction.
Ray then worked with Dr. Tisman after school. He helped conduct research with the equipment and kept it in working order. The purpose of the research was to test the effectiveness of mixing an old cancer drug with certain vitamins. Ray analyzed patient test results by computer, while Dr. Tisman handled all patient contact. Together, they came up with solid research that helped advance cancer treatment.
In 1988, 14 - year - old Ray went with Dr. Tisman to a meeting of the American Federation for Clinical Research（AFCR）, where Ray presented their initial research findings. Using terminology（术语） beyond the grasp of most kids his age, Ray told the scientists how the new drug mixture caused fewer and milder side effects for cancer patients.
A year later, Ray returned to the meeting to update the findings of his and Dr. Tisman’s research. By then, he had become well - known for his devotion to finding cures for sick patients. Stories about him appeared in hundred of newspapers around the world. He appeared on television newscasts and talk shows.
Ray continued to spend most free hours working with Dr. Tisman. The two began studying the effects of vitamins on babies inside the womb（子宫）. However, Ray’s main interest remained cancer treatment, and he continues his research today.
【小题1】According to the passage, Ray______.

A．is a boy of many gifts

B．is very helpful to his parents

C．learned fast under Dr. Tisman’s instruction

D．stopped working with Dr. Tisman after his success

【小题2】What do we know about Dr. Tisman?

A．He succeeded in finding cures for cancer.

B．He made a new discovery in cancer treatment.

C．He convinced Ray to become a partner of him.

D．He taught Ray knowledge related to his research.

【小题3】What made Ray first known to the medical world?

A．His presentation at AFCR.	B．His great skills in computer.
C．His devotion to cancer research.	D．His appearance on television newscasts.

【小题4】Dr. Tisman’s research is aimed at ______.

A．providing different cancer treatments

B．proving the effects of vitamins on babies

C．finding the side effects of a cancer drug

D．testing the effectiveness of a new drug mixture

This year 2,300 teenagers ( young people aged from 13-19 ) from all over the world will spend about ten months in U.S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions (印象) of the real American teenagers. American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and have a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George's family. In return, George's son, Mike, spent a year in Fred's home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months study, the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected — much harder. Students rose respectfully (尊敬地) when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The family's word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than one of the members. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.
“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize (批评) American schools.” he says. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”
【小题1】The whole exchange program is mainly to ____.

A．help teenagers in other countries know the real America

B．send students in America to travel in Germany

C．let students learn something about other countries

D．have teenagers learn new languages

【小题2】What did Fred and Mike agree on?

A．American food tasted better than German food.

B．German schools were harder than American schools.

C．Americans and Germans were both friendly.

D．There were more cars on the streets in America.

【小题3】 What is particular (特别的) in American schools?

A．There is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings.

B．There are a lot of after-school activities.

C．Students usually take 14 subjects in all.

D．Students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car.

【小题4】What did Mike think after experiencing the American school life?

A．A better education should include something good from both America and Germany.

B．German schools trained students to be better citizens.

C．American schools were not as good as German schools.

D．The easy life in the American school was more helpful to students.

I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.

I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.

It takes confidence to make a new start — there’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a novel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.

Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.

The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.

It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract（合同）of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding（有回报的）.

1.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．I was waiting for good fortune.

B．I was trying to find an admirable job.

C．I was being aimless about a suitable job.

D．I was doing several jobs for more pay at a time.

2.The author decided to write a novel ______ .

A．to finish the writing course

B．to realize her own dream

C．to satisfy readers’ wish

D．to earn more money

3.How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?

A．Disturbed.

B．Ashamed.

C．Confident.

D．Uncertain.

4.What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?

A．It pays to stick to one’s goal.

B．Hard work can lead to success.

C．She feels like being unexpectedly lucky.

D．There is no end in sight when starting to do something.