59. Dave Kirby: I met my great friend Andrew Schofield and it was probably he who introduced me to the theatre and plays.

58. Jane Lake: I was at university studying Religious Studies and English. And now my area of practice is painting and drawing.

57. James Barton: 　I suppose I was born with a love of music. Everyday, I listen to music for at least two hours and music bands are my favourite.

56. Jon Murphy:　 I have worked for six months in California　 and have been to places as far as Bangkok, Australia, Canada and throughout Europe. Working with the communities is fantastic.

B

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer’s office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.

He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity of the bourgeoisie.

Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.

Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.

46. Dickens only received a little formal education because______.

A. he wanted to teach himself

B. he wanted to work and made a lot of money

C. he was too poor to afford any more formal education

D. he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist

47. According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was________.

A. just 　　 B. poor 　　　 C. comfortable 　 D. unsatisfying

48. Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?

A. Oliver Twist　　　　　 B. The Pickwick Papers　

C. A Tale of Two Cities　　 D. Great Expectations

49. According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?

A. He didn’t go to school at all.

B. He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them.

C. He began to write fictions when he was 21years old.

D. He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

50. It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A. Dickens had a miserable childhood

B. Dickens tried many different jobs before he became a professional writer

C. Dickens wrote many novels but only some of them are popular

D. Dickens criticized capitalist society and helped to improve the living conditions of the poor

A

What should you think about when trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to know the subjects you do well in at school. On the other hand, you may not have any specially strong subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. A knowledge of history is not required for most jobs but if history is one of your good subjects you will have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs.

Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work.. You may be good at metalwork or cookery and look for a job where you can improve these skills. If you have had a part-time job on Saturdays or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside in a part-time job.

Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle tools; perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is better to face any weakness than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not be apologetic(认错的) about it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work.

41．What is the passage mainly about?

A．The importance of working hard at school.

B．Choosing a career according to one’s strengths.

C．How to face one’s weakness.

D．The value of school work.

42. The writer thinks that a student have a part-time job is probably ___.

A. a good way to find out his weak points

B. one of the best ways of earning extra money

C. of great use for his work in the future

D. a waste of time he could have spent on study

43．From the passage we learn that if a student’s school performance is not good, he _______.

A．should pay more attention to learning skills and developing abilities

B．will be regretful about his bad results

C．may also do well in his future work

D．should restart his study in school

44. The underlined phrase “be all thumbs” (in para. 3) probably means “_______”.

A. be clumsy at doing things

B. be skillful in doing things

C. be not interested in certain things　　　　　

D. be easily bored in doing things

45．From the last paragraph we know one should _________.

A．make full use of one’s own weak points

B．study harder for a new school record

C．apologize for one’s own school record

D．face one’s own weak points bravely