URBANA, ILL. (AP)--Mike dropped out of college to support his pregnant(怀孕的) girlfriend and now works as a manager of a trucking company, Lynn graduated with honors from Harvard University and was hired as a lawyer with a top law firm in a major city. What do these two people have in common? Ten years ago they were both high school valedictorians (致告别辞者).

A University of Illinois study follows the lives of 81 valedictorians and salutatorians (致词的学生代表) who graduated a decade ago from public and private high schools in the state.

Tales of Success and Failure

The study found tales of success and failure. The research on 46 women and 35 men found that some were doctors and scientists, one was a drug addict, another was a waitress with emotional problems.

"There is a popular idea about people who do well in school doing well in life," said Terry Denny, professor of education. Denny conducted the study with Karen Arnold, a former graduate student of Denny' s who is now a professor at Boston College. Denny and Arnold contacted the 81 students before graduation, and then followed up with interviews nearly every other year. They also sent them questionnaires in the mail.

Varied Careers

One-third of the students are lawyers, or have a doctorate. Nineteen are in business and 15 are engineers or computer scientists. Others include a farmer, a stock broker, and an aerobics instructor.

Arnold says many of the students have only average positions in the work world and that "most are not headed for greatness in their careers." Denny, however, says that it is too early to make such predictions. "Who expects someone to be on the Supreme Court at the age of 28 or to be the discoverer of an important scientific invention right after college?" he said. "These students are just getting started in life. They are just beginning to find out what life is all about."

1.What can we conclude from Paragraph 1?

A．Mike got married before he went to college.

B．Lynn was honored by a law firm in the city.

C．Mike was not so lucky as Lynn after graduating from college.

D．Mike and Lynn both graduated first in their high school class.

2.According to the article Denny is probably older than Arnold because      .

A．Denny was her professor

B．Arnold did well at school.

C．Denny interviewed some students

D．Arnold helped Denny in the research

3.What is probably the best title for the article?

A．Successful Careers for College Graduates

B．Success in Education Predicts Success in Later Life

C．High School Honors Not Always Key to Life Success

D．A study on Successful Jobs and College Graduates

4.Who probably wrote this article?

A．College graduates	B．Reporters
C．Professors and researchers	D．Teachers

 

Talking to Teachers—Teachers are just people．Behind that desk, is a living, breathing human being．And just like any human being, they will probably be friendly to people who talk nicely to them．Teachers also seem to get along better with children who take schoolwork seriously and are prepared for class．And, just like any other human being, teachers like to be appreciated．The next time your teacher helps you solve a math problem or figure out a science project, say thank you with a smile.

Talking to Parents—Parents can be very supportive if their children ask for help．If you think there’s something your parents can do to help you socialize more or feel more comfortable around people, then ask them．Very often, parents want very much to help, but really don’t know what to do．Pick a quiet time of the day and ask to talk．Tell them how you feel．Maybe they had the same trouble when they were kids.

This Stranger Thing—This is always a tough one．How do you deal with a neighbor, the mail carrier, or someone walking down your street—situations that often seem to cause arguments between kids and parents．The answer to these questions will vary from kid to kid, from parent to parent because all cultures are different．Some folks live in small towns where a hello to everyone is “what’s done”．Then there are kids who live in the city who may have been taught not to speak to anyone they don’t know．If you’re having trouble with this and always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, you might want to talk to your parents or a teacher about it．Where do they think you should draw the line? When is silence rude and when is it wise?

From the first paragraph we may learn that teachers dislike____ .

       A．being talked to nicely                                 

       B．their students to be serious with the schoolwork

       C．the students’ appreciation

       D．the students who are not ready for classes

If your parents are not supportive and you are not getting along quite well with your parents, who or what is to blame?

       A．Your parents.          B．Yourself.               

       C．Lack of communication.        D．Your teachers.

The underlined word in the third paragraph is close in meaning to____.

       A．afraid       B．puzzled     C．strange     D．familiar

The passage doesn’t say but it implies that in daily communication____.

       A．arguments often happen between kids and parents

       B．we should talk to the neighbors and other people according to different cultures

       C．city people and country people greet in the same way

       D．we should fit our words with proper situations

 

Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived at the White House after serving as First Lady of Arkansas for twelve year. On many occasions, Hillary Clinton has spoken about the need to find the right balance in our lives. For her, the elements of that balance are family, work, and public service.

Hillary Diane Rodham was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947. An excellent student. Hillary also enjoyed sports and was always interested in politics. Graduating from Wellesley College with high honors, she entered Yale Law School, where she developed her special concern for protecting the best interests of children and their families. It was there that she met Bill Clinton, a fellow student.

In 1973, Hillary became a lawyer for the Children’s Defense Fund. In 1975 Hillary left Washington and followed her heart to Arkansas, marrying Bill Clinton. The couple taught together in the University of Arkansas. Their daughter. Chelsea, was born in 1980. As First Lady of Arkansas, Hillary continued to work tirelessly for the benefit of children and families. She introduced a program training parents to work with their preschool children. Because of her efforts, Hillary was named Arkansas Mother of the Year in 1984. Hillary Rodham Clinton brings her own special talents, experience, style and interests to the role of First Lady of the US. She played a leading part in national Health Care Reform.

Hilary Clinton was elected to the US Senate (参议院) in 2000, becoming the first Lady elected to public office and the first female senator to represent New York. In 2006, Senator Clinton won re-election to the Senate, and in 2007 she began her historic campaign for President. In 2008, she campaigned for the election of Barrack Obama and Joe Biden, and in November, she was chosen by President elect Obama as Secretary of State.

1．What do we know from the first paragraph?

         A．Hillary Rodham Clinton never finds it hard to balance herself in life.

         B．Family, work and public service are all important to Hillary Clinton.

         C．The experience as First Lady of Arkansas led her to the White House.

         D．Before entering the White House, Hillary had worked for the First Lady. 

2．Why did Hillary leave the Children’s Defense Fund?

         A．Because she wanted to marry Bill Clinton who was in Arkansas.

         B．Because she married Bill Clinton and had to move to Arkansas.

         C．Because she found she fell in love with Arkansas.

         D．Because she was offered a better job in the University of Arkansas.

3．Where did Bill Clinton get his high education?

         A．At Wellesley College.

         B．At the Children’s Defense Fund.

         C．At the University of Arkansas.

         D．At Yale Law School.

4．Which is the right order of the following events?

    a. Hillary was elected to the United States Senate.

    b. Hillary was chosen as Secretary of State.

    c. Hillary served as the First Lady.

    d. Hillary supported Obama in his presidential election.

    e. Hillary began her campaign for President.

         A．c, a, e, d, b         B．c, e, d, b, a         C．a, e, c, b, d         D．b, e, c, d, a

 

A Chilean(智利) soap-opera star, a beauty from Ancient Pompeii and a freckled (雀斑的)boyish girl hardly make an average beauty show line-up.

The first world-wide digital beauty contest to the surprise of many online fans was won by a woman who is virtually(虚拟) real flesh and bones. “Virtual models are not the anti-real, they are a different representation of reality,” said Franz Cerami, the organiser of Miss Digital World (数字世界小姐).

Each of the contestants had to provide the charming photo of high degrees, with date of birth and body measurements.

Chilean Rodolfo Perez Ayala decided that no figure of his imagination could beat the beauty of his wife, Katty Kowaleczko, so he hired artist Flavio Parra to recreate her. Kowaleczko, who plays Paula Sandoval in the popular Latin American soap opera Tentacion, was transformed into Katty-ko and won the digital contest with more than 17,000 online votes.

“I’m so happy Katty-ko won. I think her strength is her similarity to a real woman-not too luxurious or exposed”, Kowaleczko, 40, told reporters. “Her beauty is in her simplicity.” Kowaleczko was not afraid of being replaced by her 3D clone in movies or theatres, but hoped she would become “a sort of ambassador(使者) of Chilean beauty”.

Cerami said Latin American interest in Miss Digital World had greatly increased since Katty-ko joined the contest, which attracted about 3600 entries from countries from Iran to Australia and even from the ancient Roman empire.

“Pompea” was the digital reconstruction of a young woman killed by the outbreak of Vesuvius in 79 AD. “She was a slave, but also a rich man’s lover. When her body was discovered, many jewels and a bangle(手镯) with the writing ‘from the master to his servant girl’ were found” said Genny Tortora, a professor at the University of Salerno who led Pompea’s creative team.

Other contestants included Kaya, the most realistic model with digital freckles, pouty (噘起的) lips and upturned nose.

Now, Cerami’s dream is to manage a form of virtual beauties, introducing them for calendars, games, ads, and movies. One is even reported to be heading for Playboy’s front page.

8.The winner in the first Miss Digital World contest was ________.

A. a star who performed in some soap operas

B. a beauty who came from Chilean

C. a beauty who was from the ancient Roman empire

D. a made-up beauty based on a real woman.

9. Which group of the following are the names for the digital beauties mentioned in the passage?

A. Katty-ko, Pompea, Kaya.   B. Katty Kowaleczko, Pompea, Playboy.

C. Flavio Parra, Genny Tortora, Franz Cerami.

D. Rodolfo Perez Ayala, Pompea, Franz Cerami

10. The digital beauty “Pompea” was created by ________.

A. Genny Tortora   B. a group of people  C. by a young woman    D. a rich man

11. What the organiser of Miss Digital World wants to do next is ________.

A. sell pictures of beauties for calendars     B. hold another contest

C. put the digital beauties into practical use.  D. start an ads company

阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

Whenever we meet with difficulty or failure, teachers, parents or others often say to us or perhaps we say to ourselves, “Never give up.” These can be encouraging words and words of determination. A person who believes in himself will keep trying to reach his goal no matter how many times he fails. In my opinion , the quality of determination to succeed is an important one to have. Therefore, I believe that we should never give up.

One reason is that if we give up too easily, we will rarely achieve anything. It is not unusual for us to fail in our first attempt at something new, so we should not feel disappointed and should try again. Besides, if we always give up when we fail , we will not be able to develop new skills and grow.

Another reason we should never give up is that we can learn from our mistakes so that we can not make the same ones. If we do not try again, the lesson we have learned is wasted.

Finally, we should never give up because as we work to reach our goals, we develop confidence, and this confidence can help us succeed in other areas of our lives. If we never challenge ourselves, we will begin to doubt our abilities.

In short, it is important that we do not give up when working for our goals. Whether we succeed in the end or not , we will learn something , and what we learn will help us to become better and more confident. Furthermore, if we give up , we have no chance of attaining our goals any more , but if we keep making great efforts, there is always a chance that we will succeed one day.

Topic: Never Give UP

Possible meanings and the author’s opinions	l The words “ Never give up” can   1.  others or oneself and express one’s determination. l A person who wants to be   2.  should have the quality . So we should never give up.
3.	l If we give up too easily, maybe we will achieve  4. , so when we fail in our first attempt at something new, we should not disappoint ourselves but try again. l Always giving up means that we will not be able to            5. any progress. l Never giving up will make us learn from the mistakes we’ve made   6.  and learn the lesson so as not to make the same mistakes. l To reach our goals and develop the confidence which can help us   7.  ourselves, we must not give up but challenge ourselves.
8.	l If you give up, you will have no   9.  of reaching your goals. l   10. give up and you will attain your goals sooner or      later.