I’m seventeen. I worked as a box boy at a supermarket in Los Angeles. People came to the counter (柜台) and I put things in their bags for them and carried things to their cars. It was hard work.
While working, I wore a plate with my name on it. I once met someone I knew years ago. I remembered his name and said, “Mr. Castle, how are you?” We talked about this and that. As he left, he said, “It was nice talking to you, Brett.” I felt great, he remembered me. Then I looked down at my name plate. Oh, no. He didn’t remember me at all, he just read the name plate. I wish I had put “Irving” down on my name plate. If he’d have said, “Oh yes, Irving, how could I forget you?” I’d have been ready for him. There’s nothing personal here.
The manager and everyone else who were a step above the box boys often shouted orders. One of these was: you couldn’t accept tips(小费). Okay, I’m outside and I put the bags in the car. For a lot of people, the natural reaction(反应)is to take a quarter and give it to me. I’d say, “I’m sorry, I can’t.” They’d get angry. When you give someone a tip, you’re sort of being polite. You take a quarter and you put it in their hand and you expect them to say, “Oh, thanks a lot.” When you say, “I’m sorry, I can’t.” they feel a little put down. They say, “No one will know.” And they put it in your pocket. You say, “I really can’t.” It gets to a point where you almost have to hurt a person physically to prevent him from tipping you. It was not in agreement with the store’s belief in being friendly. Accepting tips was a friendly thing and made the customer feel good. I just couldn’t understand the strangeness of some people’s ideas. One lady actually put a tip in my pocket, got in the car, and drove away. I was puzzled and didn’t know what to do. Should I d have had to throw the quarter at her or eaten it or something?
I decided that one year had been enough. Some people needed the job to stay alive and fed. I guess I had the means and could afford to hate it and give it up.
1.. From the second paragraph, we can infer (推断) that ________.
A. the writer didn’t like the impersonal part of his job
B. people can easily start talking with a name plate
C. Mr. Castle mistook Irving for Brett
D. Irving was the writer’s real name
2.. The box boy refused to accept tips because ________.
A. customers only gave small tips to
B. some customers had strange ideas about tipping
C. he didn’t want to fight with the customers
D. the store didn’t allow the box boys to take tips
3.. The underlined phrase “put down” in the third paragraph probably means ________.
A. relaxed B. upset
C. bored D. surprised
4.What can be the best title for this text?
A. How I Could Find a Job
B. How I Got along with Customers
C. Why I Gave up My Job
D. Why I couldn’t Take Tips
Imagine the situation. You are driving along a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phones. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device which uses satellites (卫星) to find the user’s position(位置). It can find your position to within 20 meters. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.
GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put it in your pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.
There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They control satellites and make sure they are working well.
Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile phones. They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate. There are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will be like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never get lost again. 
1.. According to the passage, with the help of the GPS, people __________.
A. can’t find their directions in different countries
B. can always find where they are
C. can learn about the culture of an unknown place
D. can spend the least time getting to another place
2.. The underlined word “They” in paragraph 3 means ____________.
A. Receivers B. GPS devices
C. Satellites D. Ground stations
3. We can learn from the passage that ____________.
A. GPS can’t be put into a watch
B. GPS are becoming dearer and dearer
C. People can start their cars with a GPS
D. People can’t lose their way with a GPS when driving
We spend hours, days and years of our lives in school. Imagine you could design your dream school, what would it be like? What would you be doing? We wanted to find out what teenagers around the world thought. Here is what they said:
Richard from the USA: My dream school would have a big swimming pool and two soccer fields. It would also have a cinema, a gym and a shopping center. My school has none of these, and I think there should be more pleasant things for students to do while they are studying.
Sonia from Italy: I’d like a room where we can relax and play computer games. I’d also like to have a music room. I think there should be a place for everyone to go and relax after class. Wu from Beijing: I think it would be great to have another day off (休息日) every week, besides the weekend. If that day was a Friday or a Monday, we would have a long weekend every week. What fun! I also think school should start later, at about 10 o’clock, and finish earlier.
Hannah from Australia: In my dream school, I think the teachers should give us more freedom and choice about how we study and what we study. I also think it’s unimportant for us to wear school uniforms every day. I really don’t like wearing it.
1.. Richard is from_________.
A. Italy B. USA
C. China D. Australia
2.. From the passage, we know that_________.
A. Sonia from Italy would like a room to relax and play computer games
B. Richard from the USA thinks his dream school should start at 10 o’clock
C. Wu from Beijing enjoys studying five days a week
D. Hannah from Australia likes wearing a school uniform every day
3.. What is the passage mainly about?
A. A dream school. B. Soccer fields.
C. A music room D. School uniforms.
Join us for an English Summer Camp in English !
Students between l3 and l8 are welcome to the English Summer Camp.
It’s a good chance to learn about British customs and improve your English.
Eleven experienced English teachers will give you English classes 4 hours a day on weekdays.
There are also weekend visits to London Eye, the Big Ben and London Bridge .
It begins on August 8th and ends on August 28th, with the fees: ¥ 23,000.
If you are interested, please come to the Children’s Palace to register (登记报名）You can also register by calling Jane Parks at 555 --2782.
Please register before August 3rd.
1.____________can take part in the English Summer Camp.
A. All the students B. Students aged 13
C. Students between l3 and l8 D. Students over 18
2.. The English Summer Camp ends on____________.
A. August 3rd. B. August 8th
C. August 25th D. August 28th
3..There are ______ways for you to register for the English Summer Camp.
A. one B. two
C. three D. Four
One day, a boy found a cocoon(茧) of a butterfly and brought it home. A few days later, the boy saw a small 35 in the cocoon. He sat and 36 for several hours as a butterfly struggled to make its body through that little hole. Suddenly it 37 .
So the boy decided to help the butterfly.He took a pair of scissors(剪刀) and cut the hole bigger.The butterfly came out 38 , but it looked a little different. It had a weak body and small, thin 39 . The butterfly didn’t start to fly. In fact, it has to spend the rest of its life crawling (爬行) around with a weak body and thin wings. It was never able to fly.
The boy acted with 40 but he didn’t understand why it could be like this. When a butterfly crawls out of the cocoon, it must struggle. The hard work of getting out of the cocoon 41 the fluid(液体) from the butterfly’s body into its wings. It helps the butterfly be 42 to fly. If the butterfly never has to squeeze(挤压) itself out of the cocoon, its wings will never 43 the fluid and it can never fly.
Sometimes struggles are what we need in our lives. 44 we lived our lives without any problems, we would never learn or grow. We would not be as 45 as what we could have been. We would never fly.
In our lives, pain and suffering is the key to all windows, and sometimes even means growth, without it, there’s no way of life. We can’t 46 difficulties or problems. So, next time you are faced with a problem or difficulty, remember the butterfly.
Struggle a little—then fly!
1.A. snake B. insect C. wall D. hole
2.A. read B. listened C. watched D. found
3.A. stopped B. began C. continued D. moved
4.A. quietly B. easily C. naturally D excitedly
5.A. wings B. head C. feet D. eyes
6.A. kindness B. excitement C. success D. humour
7.A. lets B. keeps C. makes D. asks
8.A. ready B. sorry C. glad D. kind
9.A. put B. refuse C. give D. get
10.A. When B. As C. Since D. If
11.A. wise B. quiet C. strong D. patient
12.A. cause B. avoid C. face D. have
--- Do you know __________ this evening?
--- Let me see. Oh, in two hours.
A. what time the bite of ChinaⅡwill begin
B. what time will the bite of ChinaⅡ begin
C. what time did the bite of ChinaⅡ begin
D. what time the bite of ChinaⅡ began
