I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in (旁听生） for another l8 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unmarried college graduate student, and she decided to, put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course. " My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers, She only gave in a few months later when my parents promised that would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I artlessly chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and ail of my working class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the $ 5 deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.
1.From the passage we know that the author .
A. was adopted by a lawyer and his wife
B. dropped out when he was 17 years old
C. The author was admitted to Stanford
D. valued his dropping out
2.The author dropped out mainly because .
A. His academic performance was very poor.
B. He did not want to waste his parents' money.
C. His parents were too poor to afford the college tuition.
D. He didn't think university could help him to get a well-paid job
3.Why did the author think dropping out was a good decision?
A. He could transfer to Stanford.
B. He could follow his passion.
C. He didn't have to attend classes any more.
D. He could spend more time in Hare Krishna temple.
4.What can be inferred from this passage ?
A. The author was taking a risk when he made the decision of dropping out.
B. The author enjoyed the comfort and pleasure of life after he dropped out.
C. The author's parents were very angry at his decision.
D. The author was a very curious person.
London will stage its biggest political funeral in almost half a century on Wednesday when Britain's governing elite join the Queen and global leaders to bid farewell to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, better known as the “ Iron Lady".
In an event comparable to that of Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965, Thatcher's coffin will be carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage through streets lined with admirers from parliament to the city's most famous cathedral.
The bells of London's symbolic Big Ben clock tower will fall silent for the first time since Churchill's funeral and more than 700 men and women from Britain's armed forces will honor a woman who led them to victory in the 1982 Falklands War as foreign politicians from around 170 nations look on.
Surveys have shown that many are unhappy that the estimated l0-million($15 million)pound bill for the funeral is being picked up by the taxpayer, while some left-wing lawmakers say the luxurious funeral is too expensive.
But her admirers, of whom there are many in her party and in southern England, argue that her historical profile deserves such a funeral. She was the country's first and only woman premier, was Britain's longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century, and won three general elections.
More than 2,300 mourners will attend including 11 serving prime ministers from around the world, the British government's entire cabinet, two heads of state and 17 foreign ministers.
But there will be notable absences. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is too ill to attend and Nancy Reagan, the widow of Thatcher's great U·S. ally Ronald Reagan, is also unable to come.
Thatcher struck up a close relationship with Reagan during the Cold War, backed the first President George Bush during the 1991 Gulf War, and was among the first to discover that Gorbachev was a man she could "do business with. ”
Covered in the red, white and blue British flag, Thatcher's coffin lay overnight in a 13th-century church in Britain's parliament, a forum she dominated for years.
1.From the passage we know that Big Ben clock tower will fall silent to .
A. get repaired for the first time
B. honour the passing away of the great woman
C. tell the specific time to the public
D. welcome the officials from all over the world
2.Who that are still alive will be absent from the funeral?
A. Mikhail Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan.
B. Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan.
C. Nancy Reagan and Ronald Reagan.
D. George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev.
3.From the passage we can learn that Margaret Thatcher was .
A. strong and smart B. weak and disappointing
C. aggressive and warlike D. stubborn and luxurious
4.Which of the following might serve as the best title of the passage?
A. The legend of Thatcher, the “Iron Lady".
B. Why Big Ben falls silent for the first time?
C. Who will pay for such a luxurious funeral?
D. London will witness its biggest political funeral.
Women consistently lie on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter to make their lives appear more exciting, a survey has found. The survey was asked to carried out by Pencourage, a new anonymous（匿名的）"diary-style" social media website.
Researchers found that at least one in four women exaggerated or twisted what they are doing on social media once a month. The survey of 2000 women found they mostly pretended to be out on the town, when in fact they are home alone, and beautify about an exotic holiday or their job.
The most common reasons for women to write " fibs" included worrying their lives would seem “ boring", jealousy at seeing other people's more exciting posts and wanting to impress their friends and acquaintances.
Psychologists suggested that as people attempt to stay connected on social media, they can in fact be left more isolated. They also said that the more we try to make our lives seem perfect, the less perfect we feel. According to the OnePoll survey, one third of women surveyed admitted to dishonesty on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter at some stage. Almost one in four admitted to lying or exaggerating about key aspects of their life online between one and three times a month while almost one in 10 said they lied more than once a week. Nearly 30 percent of women lied about "doing something when I am home alone", almost a quarter overstated their alcohol consumption while one in five were not truthful about their holiday activities or their jobs. Almost one in five women even lied about their "relationship status".
"We work very hard presenting ourselves to the world online, pretending and attempting to be happy all the time which is exhausting and ultimately unfulfilling," said Dr Michael Sinclair, a leading British consultant psychologist. "Leaving out the less desirable imperfections of our lives from the conversations with our 'friends online leads to less opportunity to feel empathized(有同感的)with, resulting in a greater sense of disconnection from others. "
1.According to the passage, women tend to lie on social networking sites because .
A. they have little fun in their daily lives
B. they are not satisfied with their present life
C. they want to entertain their friends and acquaintances
D. they don't want to go out and communicate with others
2.Which of the following words can best replace the underlined word in para. 3 ?
A. lies. B. posts. C. diaries. D. impressions.
3.In the view of psychologists, people who attempt to stay connected on social media will
eventually .
A. feel better about their life B. become a regular liar in the future
C. get more isolated in life D. drink more alcohol in their daily life
4.In Dr Michael Sinclair's opinion, .
A. we don't have to feel empathized with our "friends" online
B. we cannot get satisfaction by lying on social networking sites
C. it is worthwhile to work hard presenting ourselves to the world online
D. the imperfections of our lives result in a sense of disconnection from others
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The Man was very sad. He knew that the Cat's days were 31 . The doctor had said there wasn't anything more that could be done, that he should take the Cat home and make him as 32 as possible.
The man put the Cat on his lap and 33 .The Cat opened his eyes, purred and looked up at the Man. A tear
34 down the Man's cheek and 35 on the Cat's forehead. The Cat gave him a slightly annoyed look.
" Why do you cry, Man?" the Cat asked. "Because you can't 36 the thought of losing me? Because you think you can never replace me?" The Man 37 "yes".
"And where do you think I'll be 38 I leave you?" the Cat asked. The Man shrugged helplessly. " 39
your eyes, Man," the Cat said. The Man gave him a questioning look, but did as he was told.
"What color are my eyes and fur?" the Cat asked. " Your eyes are gold and your fur is a rich, warm brown," the Man replied.
"And where is it that you most often 40 me?" asked the Cat. “I see you. . . on the kitchen window
41 the birds …,on my favorite chair. . . on my desk lying on the papers I need. . . on the pillow next to my
42 at night. " "Then, whenever you wish to see me, all you must do is close your eyes," said the Cat.
“Pick up that piece of string from the floor——there, my ‘toy’ .” he Man opened his eyes, then 43 over and picked up the string. It was about two feet long and the Cat had been able to 44 himself
for hours with it. '"Now take each end of the string in one hand," the Cat ordered. The Man did so.
"The end in your left hand is my birth and the end in your right hand is my 45 . Now bring the two ends together," the Cat said. The Man obeyed.
"You have made a continuous 46 ," said the cat. "Does any point along the string appear to be different, worse or better than any other part of the string?" The Man inspected the string and then 47 his head " no".
The Man shut his eyes hard as the tears poured down his face. He saw the Cat on the 48 , then in his bed, then lying across his important papers. He saw him on the pillow next to his head, saw his bright gold eyes and darkest brown on his nose and ears. He opened his eyes and 49 his tears looked over at the circle of string he still held in his hand.
One day, not long after, there was a new Cat on his lap. She was lovely and white…very different from his earlier 50 Cat and very much the same.
1.A. numbered B. accounted C. decreased D. figured
2.A. comfortable B. impressive C. considerate D. exciting
3.A. complained B. frustrated C. laughed D. sighed
4.A. put B. rushed C. curled D. rolled
5.A. appeared B. seemed C. landed D. dried
6.A. think B. imagine C. remember D. bear
7.A. smiled B. nodded C. shook D. cried
8.A. when B. before C. until D. because
9.A. Open B. Close C. Turn D. Fix
10.A. see B. accompany C. observe D. adore
11.A. watching B. catching C. interviewing D. admiring
12.A. foot B. body C. arm D. head
13.A. walked B. reached C. ran D. turned
14.A. entertain B. devote C. concern D. disappoint
15.A. life B. home C. family D. death
16.A. wave B. string C. circle D. point
17.A. turned B. shook C. raised D. hit
18.A. window B. desk C. door D. pillow
19.A. over B. through C. with D. under
20.A. beloved B. acquainted C. bothered D. compromised
She seems_ happy in her new job since there is nothing troublesome to bother her.
A. generally B. flexibly C. reasonably D. deliberately
The recent research attempts to the effectiveness of different drugs used for the new virus.
A. cover B. guarantee C. estimate D. evaluate
