A jobless man applied for the position of "office boy" at Microsoft. The manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.

"You are employed," he said. "Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the application to fill in, as well as the date when you may start."

The man replied, "But I don't have an e-mail."

"I'm sorry," said the manager. "If you don't have an e-mail, that means you do not exist. And who doesn't exist cannot have the job."

The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do, with only ten dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his money. He repeated the practice three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.

The man realized that he can survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US.

He started to plan his family's future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker (代理人) and chose a protection plan.

When the conversation was concluded, the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, "I don't have an e-mail."

The broker answered curiously, "You don't have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?" The man thought for a while and replied, "Yes, I'd be an office boy at Microsoft!"

1.Why can't the man have the job at Microsoft?

A．Because he was lazy.

B．Because he didn't pass the test.

C．Because he didn't have an e-mail.

D．Because he didn't have a computer.

2.The underlined word "triple" in the passage can be replaced by "____".

A．become twice

B．become 3 times

C．decrease twice

D．decrease 3 times

3.Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The man is one of the biggest food retailers in the world.

B．The man didn't give up though he failed the interview.

C．He started his career by selling tomatoes in the supermarket.

D．Those who have e-mails can work at Microsoft.

4.The man can be described as ____.

A．helpful and thoughtful

B．positive and generous

C．smart and hardworking

D．stubborn and selfish

5.Which of the following can best describe the story?

A．Misfortune may be an actual blessing.

B．A good beginning is half done.

C．Accidents will happen.

D．No pains, no gains.

 

 

Here are a few tips we’ve put together to help you learn English well.

    Speak, speak, speak!

    Practise speaking as often as you can—even speaking to yourself is good practice. Try recording yourself whenever you can. Compare your pronunciation with the master version, see how you can do better and have another try. If you do this several times, you will find that each version is better than the last.

    Why not learn with someone else?

    It helps if you can learn with someone else. If you can persuade a friend or family member to study with you, it will make you keep working. Agree times to meet and set goals for the week, and test each other regularly.

    Don’t get stuck by a word you don’t know

    Practise improvising (即兴的) ways of getting your meaning across while speaking spontaneously (本能), even if you don’t know the exact words or phrases. Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time. A basic example is the use of tenses. If you don’t know the past tense but want to talk about yesterday, use the verb in the present tense and use the word for “yesterday”. Use facial expressions, hand movements, anything to get your meaning across.

    Language learning is also about intuition (直觉)

    Guesswork is important in learning a new language. When listening to recorded material, you aren’t expected to understand everything first time round. If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time. Learn to make maximum use of all the clues you can pick up. For example, what do the speakers sound like? Happy? Angry? Calm? Etc.

    Build up your vocabulary

    A wide vocabulary is the key to successful language learning but don’t try to learn too much at once. It’s best to study frequently, for short periods of time. Take a maximum of six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them. Put them into sentences to fix them in your mind, then come back to them later. Much of the vocabulary in the course is presented by topic.

    And above all, have fun!

1. Why should one have himself recorded when practicing speaking?

    A. To encourage others to start.

    B. To record his own progress.

    C. To improve his speaking.

    D. To compare himself with others.

2. Which of the following is the most important in learning English?

A. Speaking.      B. Pleasure.      C. Intuition.     D. Vocabulary.

3. It is important in Tip 3 that        is helpful when you are learning English.

A. body language  B. a good memory  C. a good friend  D. a proper dictionary

4. Which of the following seems NOT to be true in learning a language?

A. Practice makes perfect.           B. A good beginning is half done.

C. Rome is not built in a day.         D. Don’t run before you can walk.

5.The underlined word “maximum” in Paragraph 5 might mean ________________.

A. 小心的             B. 大胆的         C. 最小量的                 D. 最大量的

 

Many people like to eat at a favorite restaurant on their birthday.   71  Here are the tips about how to eat for free on your birthday.

Notice promotional (促销的) cards or signs at restaurants for their e-club or online notification of special offers. Sometimes it is called a birthday club. In some cases they ask for your email address and at other times, you register online from your own computer.   72 

If you don’t know whether your favorite restaurant has an e-club, look them up online. Just search their name if it’s a chain. Look over the webpage for anything that says SIGN UP or JOIN. It may call it an e-club.

You will receive e-mail advertisements from them.   73  if it asks for birthday and anniversary dates when you sign up, then the restaurant usually will send you a personal coupon and invitation for that event.

Check your e-mail the week leading up to your birthday. All the e-clubs that you signed up for will be sending their invitations.

Read the fine print on all the offers before deciding where to eat on your birthday. Some are only on the exact date.   74  There may be other requirements, like free dessert when you buy an entree (主菜).

Choose the most inviting offer or over several days, take advantage of free dining opportunities. __75 

A．Anyway, look around for these offers and get signed up.

B．However, others may be for any time over a two-week period.

C．But how can we eat better in a free restaurant?

D．It would be an even greater treat if the meal or part of the meal were free.

E.      Why not celebrate your birthday for a whole week, not just one day?

F.      Often the advertisements will include discount coupons(优惠券).

G.     So don’t go to such restaurant.

 

A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.　　

His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia (失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became irritated and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.　　

After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious (失去知觉). My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.　　

Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they) live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.

    Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.

    Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.

1.Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?

A. Sad      B. Sorry      C. Regretful        D. Pitiful

2.What does the underlined word “rectify” mean in Para. 3?

A. put…right    B. recite…by heart   C. realize    D. recognize

3.What does the writer want to tell us in the passage?

A. Your parents will keep talking to themselves when they are old.

B. Be good to your parents when you still have the chance.

C. You will regret in your life if you don’t show your kindness to your parents.

D. It is not easy to take good care of sick old parents.

 

根据下列句子及所给汉语注释，在对应位置上写出空缺处各单词的正确形式。（每空只写一词）

1.Things fall to the ground because of the earth’s ________(万有引力).

2.Two children ________ (溺死) after falling into the water.

3.The ________ (场景) of this play is set in Ireland.

4.Each of us has our strengths and ________ (弱点).

5.He ________ (道歉) publicly the day before yesterday.

6.Today’s festivals have many _______ (起源)， some religious, some seasonal, and some for special people or events.

7.Easter is an important religious and social festival for ______ (基督徒) around the world.

8.What will happen to you if you don’t eat a _______ (平衡的) diet?

9.The fact is that I earned my passage by working as an unpaid hand, which ________ for (导致)my appearance.

10.They laid eggs too and _______ (存在) on the earth for more than 140 million years.