Passage 1

Survival is an art. Survivors are artists. The best acting is done in daily life, not on the stage. My late uncle Sir Alexander Korda, the motion-picture producer who could “charm money out of an empty safe”, was a gifted survivor.

Once, a group of investors called him in to complain that he had lost 5 000 000 of their money. Most men would have tried to defend themselves. Alex did not. “You are right,” he said quietly, “I have been wasteful, and careless. I have chosen the wrong scripts, paid too little attention to the budgets. I am too old for this business. I will retire. I only hope you will forgive me.”

Within an hour, the investors were busy encouraging Alex, cheering him up. It was out of the question for him to resign; they wouldn’t hear it. And by lunchtime, Alex had 2 000 000 more of their money and was back in the action again. When I asked him if he was happy about it, he said, “No. They would have put up three or four million, I think. Still, it’s a good lesson for you to learn. Always settle for less than you could get. It doesn’t hurt to have a reputation as a gentleman.”

1. According to the author, Sir Alexander Korda is an excellent artist because ______.

A. he is a motion-picture producer B. he knows well about how to survive

C. he had a gift to act in the movie D. he can get large amounts of money from investors

2. The phrase to “charm money out of an empty safe” in the context means .

A. to put all your money to your savings account

B. to draw your money back if it is not in a safe place

C. to avoid wasting money if you have an empty pocket

D. to be able to get money even if it looks impossible

3. What would most probably have happened if Sir Alexander Korda had defended himself?

A. He would resign and live miserably. B. He would be considered a gentleman.

C. The investors would not forgive him. D. The investors would give him more money.

4. Alex did not defend himself because .

A. he hoped to have a happier life B. his nature prevented him from doing so

C. he wanted to test if he could give the best acting

D. he knew the way to cope with the investors

5. Alex was not happy with the settlement because .

A. he thought he could have got more from the investor B. he didn’t teach the author a good lesson

C. he didn’t like the way he behaved D. he lost his reputation as a gentleman

Passage 2

Time is the biggest problem of most students. It becomes particularly difficult when you have to do library research for a term paper or report. Finding information in the library can take so much time that many students avoid it until the last possible minute.

Library research does not have to be time consuming. If you learn to use a library efficiently, you can save yourself a great deal of time. The exercises in this section are designed to familiarize you with the library so that you can find the information you need quickly.

The first and the most important thing to know about a library is that when you cannot find something, ask a librarian for help. The librarians are paid not just to shelve books, but to provide information and assistance. The most helpful librarians are usually those who work in the reference room. They will help you get started on a term paper and even help you find material. There are two basic places to begin looking for information, the card catalog and the various periodical indexes. The card catalog is a list of all the books in the library. A periodical index is a list of all the magazine and journal articles written on any subject.

6. According to the author, finding information in the library needs a lot of time, so students should ______.

A. avoid it until the last possible minute B. do library research

C. learn how to use it efficiently D. save a great deal of time

7. It is the librarians’ duty to do all the following things except______.

A. arranging and lending books B. helping students locate the needed books

C. helping students find needed materials D. helping students write their term paper

8. In what way could a student get familiarized with the library while reading this section?

A. By doing the exercises provided. B. By asking the librarians.

C. By looking into the catalog part. D. By reading in the reference room.

9. If you need to find a magazine article in the library, the best way for you to do is to ______.

A. look in the card catalog B. look in the periodical indexes

C. search through the bookshelves D. go to the reference room

10. The passage is taken from an introduction of a chapter, and the title of the chapter is probably ______.

A. Save Your Study Time B. Using the Library for Your Term Paper

C. Using the Library Efficiently D. Library--- An Information Source

Passage 3

Every year just after Christmas the January Sales start. All the shops reduce their prices and for two weeks, they are full of people looking for bargains. My husband and I do not normally go to the sales as we don’t like crowds and in any case are short of money as we have to buy lots of Christmas presents.

Last year, however, I took my husband with me to the sales at the large shop in the center of London. We both needed some new clothes and were hoping to find a television set. When we got to Oxford Street, it was so crowded that we decided to split up and meet again at the underground station. So I left my husband and started looking around the shops. Unfortunately all the clothes were in very large sizes and so were not suitable for me. But I did buy a television at a very cheap price, so I felt quite pleased with myself.

When I arrived at the station, my husband was not there. So I sat down in a nearby cafe to have a cup of tea. I quickly finished my tea when I saw my husband and went out to meet him. He looked very happy. Then I saw he was carrying a large and heavy cardboard box. “Oh, dear!” I thought. Yes, we had no new clothes but two televisions. We shall not be going to the sales again.

11. In January ____________.

A. lots of people go shopping for discount

B. people have a lot of money to spend after Christmas

C. all the shops close for a two-week Christmas holiday

D. people don’t have enough money to go looking for bargains

12. In this passage, the word “bargain” could best be replaced by “something_______”.

A. given to people B. offered at a reduced price

C. offered，sold or bought which is expensive D. sold for the purpose of reaching an agreement

13. The husband and wife in the story __________ .

A. wished to buy a TV B. went to the sales the year before

C. often went to the sales to buy clothes D. were usually not short of money after Christmas

14. The phrase “split up” in the second paragraph means“_________”.

A. break apart B. cause to break C. become pieces D. go indifferent directions

15. After their day’s shopping, they _________.

A. were happy with their bargains B. had got everything they wanted

C. got more than they had hoped forD. had to go back to the sales the next day

　　Passage 4

In order to learn a foreign language well, it is necessary to overcome the fear of making mistakes. If the primary goal of language use is communication, then mistakes are secondary considerations that may be dealt with gradually as awareness of those mistakes increases. On the other hand, students should not ignore their mistakes. The language learner may observe how native speakers express themselves, and how native expressions differ from the way the learner might say them. For example, a Spanish speaker who has been saying “I do it” to express willingness to do something in the immediate future, could, by interacting with native speakers of English, observe that native speakers actually say “I’ll do it”. The resulting difference can serve as a basis for the student to modify his way of using the present tense in English. But a student who is unwilling to interact in the first place would lose this opportunity to learn by trial of an error.

16. According to the passage, the present tense in English is ______.

A. not used to express a desire to do something in the immediate future

B. used with some verbs but not with others to express future intention

C. basically the same in English as it is in Spanish

D. speaking without regard for native speakers

17. According to the passage, language learners can reduce the number of their mistakes by______.

A. asking native speakers for explanations

B. reading good books in the foreign language

C. comparing their speech with that of native speakers

D. learning through trial of an error

18. According to the passage, foreign language students who do not interact with native speaker will NOT ______.

A. learn very much about the foreign culture

B. learn about the history of the foreign language

C. have to worry about making mistakes

D. take advantage of available language models

19. According to the passage, foreign language students should not worry too much about making mistakes because _______.

A. native speakers like foreign students who try to learn their language

B. communication is the primary goal of language learning

C. native speakers will ignore their mistakes

D. everyone makes mistakes when trying to communicate in a strange language

20. The author’s major conclusion about the function of mistakes in foreign language learning is that ______.

A. mistakes are not important in the process of learning a language

B. learners are often very afraid of making mistakes

C. making mistakes can help the learner discover the rules of the language

D. native speakers often do not tell foreign language learners about their mistakes

答案

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