NEW YORK- One in five U.S. workers regularly attends after-work drinks with coworkers, where the most common mishaps range from badmouthing another worker to drinking too much, according to a study released on Tuesday.

Most workers attend so-called happy hours to bond with colleagues, although 15 percent go to hear the latest office gossip and 13 percent go because they feel necessary, said the survey conducted for CareerBuilder.com, an online job site. As to what happens when the after-work drinks flow, 16 percent reported bad-mouthing a colleague, 10 percent shared a secret about a colleague and 8 percent said they drank too much and acted unprofessionally. Five percent said they had shared a secret about the company, and 4 percent confessed to singing karaoke. While 21 percent of those who attended said happy hours were good for networking, 85 percent said attending had not helped them get closer to someone higher up or get a better position. An equal number of men and women said they attended happy hours with co-workers, with younger workers aged 25 to 34 most likely and workers over 55 least likely to attend. Overall, 21 percent of workers attend happy hours with co-workers and; of those nearly a quarter go at least once a month.

The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 6,987 full-time employees between February 11 and March 13. Harris Interactive said the results had a sampling error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.

56. Harris Interactive made the survey to find out ________.

A. how U.S. workers spend their after-work time

B. what U.S. workers do at after-work drinks

C. the relationships between U.S. workers

D. who are most likely to attend after-work drinks

57. ________ of workers who attend after-work drinks speak ill of a colleague.

A. 4 percent                        B. 8 percent                        C. 16 percent                    D. 10 percent    

58. According to the passage, most of those surveyed believed attending after-work drinks ________.

A. benefited them a lot                                                  B. could provide information

C. only made them relaxed                                           D. was of no help to them

59. We can learn from the text that _________.

A. workers over 55 don’t like to attend happy hours at all

B. about 75% of workers go more than once a month

C. 10.5% of male workers attend happy hours with co-workers

D. about 700 workers surveyed shared a secret about a co-worker

60. After the survey, it can be inferred that_________.

A. all the workers oppose after-work drinks

B. the workers may change their attitudes towards after-work drinks

C. all the workers support after-work drinks

D. all the workers are suggested going to attend after-work drinks

       The Florida sun baked my shoulders as I worked along the I-595 freeway near Fort Lauderdale, picking up rubbish. I paused to  36  the sweat off  my forehead and look up at the cloudless blue sky.“  37  can’t it rain?” I thought. That would   38  things down.

       I thought about my  39  , who were probably sitting in an air-conditioned  40  right now. I’d had some problems in school,   41  my parents decided to let me  42  full-time with my dad, We both worked for my uncle, who had taken  43  of a maintenance（道路养护）company. It was up to us to keep the roads  44  of rubbish. The job was  45  and dirty, especially on hot days  46  this. I wondered why I ever agreed to do it.

       We continued our  47  route along the I-595,   48  for the overpass bridge. Then I noticed an area where some  49  were broken on the ground. It wasn’t like that before.

       “Dad! Pull over! I want to  50  something out.”

       I jumped off the truck and rushed to the bridge. Something was telling me to  51  …there wasn’t much time.  52  I saw a Toyota that   53  upside down in the tree. Maybe it was a stolen car that somebody  54  there, I thought. Then, just at that   55  , I noticed something moving. It was a bloody leg poking out of the driver’s side window!

       “Heeeelp!”a lady moaned.

36． A．wipe                     B．cut                         C．put                         D．send

37． A．When                   B．How                       C．Why                       D．Where

38． A．turn                      B．keep                       C．make                      D．cool

39． A．parents                 B．school-times            C．friends                    D．school yards

40． A．office                   B．classroom               C．restaurant                D．living room

41． A．but                       B．or                          C．for                         D．so

42． A．work                    B．study                      C．stay                        D．spend

43． A．business                B．possession               C．position                  D．place

44． A．away                    B．from                      C．far                         D．clear

45． A．easy                            B．lonely                     C．smelly                    D．noisy

46． A．for                       B．like                        C．after                       D．as

47． A．regular                 B．common                 C．unusual                   D．normal

48． A．reaching               B．going                            C．looking                   D．heading

49． A．cars                      B．bottles                    C．branches                 D．glasses

50． A．check                   B．help                       C．take                        D．bring

51． A．decide                  B．hurry                      C．consider                  D．stop

52． A．Above                  B．Behind                   C．Ahead                    D．Below

53． A．hung                    B．trapped                   C．caught                    D．fell

54． A．stored                   B．deserted                  C．lost                        D．hid

55． A．bridge                  B．tree                        C．moment                  D．way

The United States is mainly an English－speaking country. The great number of population(人口) speaks English as their native language. Business, education and most publish aspects(方面) of  life are conducted in English. Across the country, people pronounce English sounds in several  different ways and some regional(地区) differences in word spelling exist, but for the most part,  Americans speak one common language. This language is sometimes called American English.

However, not everyone in the US is a native speaker of English. Most of the persons coming into the country are speakers of other languages. There are hundreds of communities around the US where English is not the most commonly used language. Chinese, Italian, German, American, Greek, Vietnamese and French are all spoken in a great number of communities in the United States. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after English in the US. It is widely spoken in New York and across the southern part of the country.

For speakers of other languages, learning English is important, but traditionally(传统上),  teaching people to speak English as a second language was given little attention. Non－English  speakers were expected to “pick up” the language through getting in touch with people in public. Recently, this has changed. Today, most large public schools and community colleges have ESL,  English as a Second Language, programs. American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will be using it. Therefore, ESL programs teach different English lessons to different students.  Some programs teach students to communicate in English in public.

1. What language or languages do people in the United States speak?

A. English.

B. American English.

C. English and Spanish.

D. English and lots of other languages

2. ESL stands for ________.

A. English as a Special Language        

B. English as a Spoken Language

C. English and Spanish Languages        

D. English as a Second Language

3. Where is Spanish spoken in the United States?

A. In most part of New York and the southern states.

B. In New York and all the southern states.

C. In New York and across the southern part of the country.

D. In New York and many southern states.

4. “Non－English speakers were expected to ‘pick up’  the language through listening to and talking with people in public.” Here “pick up” means “________”．

A. master(without difficulty)    

B. do one's best to study

C. learn(without taking lessons)  

D. know only a little about

5. “American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will be using it.” Here “English students” means “________”．

A. the students who are English        

B. the students who know nothing about English

C. the students who wish to learn English

D. the students who come to the US from some other countries

Get a reward for every bug you bring to live in new science museum exhibit.

In a city with trillions of American cockroaches(蟑螂), the Houston Museum of Natural Science has agreed to pay a quarter per bug－up to 1,000－as it seeks to populate a new insect exhibit alongside its Cockrell Butterfly Center.

Nancy Greig, the museum’s director insists the public payday for roaches isn’t just a marketing ploy(炒作).

“Absolutely, this wasn’t devised as a joke,” Greig said. “We needed more roaches for the exhibit, so I sent this message out to everyone in the museum asking people to bring them in. Well, someone decided to tell the press, and all hell has broken loose.”

“But we really do need cockroaches.”

“One might be forgiven for never considering how to catch a live cockroach. But it’s simple enough to fool them,” Greig said, “and even easier to catch them.” American cockroaches are the most common kind in Texas, measuring up to 2 inches long and invading homes.

Despite their less-than-attractive reputation, cockroaches actually aren’t that dirty. Greig even went so far as to call them “fastidious” saying they don’t enjoy rooting(用嘴拱食) in waste. They’re only dirty if, say, they used a sewer(下水道)line to gain access into a home.

The roaches collected by the museum will become part of a display in a new exhibit that showcases insects such as cockroaches, dung beetles and termites.

There’s more to like about roaches, too. They don’t bite, and they don’t carry diseases like a mosquito, so they’re generally safe to handle.

56．For what does the museum pay for cockroaches?

       A．For a marketing ploy.              B． It’s devised to make fun.

       C．People really need them.            D． For a new exhibit.

57．The underlined word “fastidious” probably means extremely ________.

       A．clean           B．dirty            C．unpleasant           D．fast  

58．What do we know about American roaches?

       A．It’s not easy for people in Houston to collect roaches.

       B．They all measure 2 inches and are often found in homes

       C．They don’t bite and they are free of disease.

       D．We have reasons to like them.

59．Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?

       A．The Houston Museum of Natural Science

       B．A new exhibit

       C．Quarters for cockroaches                       

       D．A cockroach is lovely