My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion(热爱) and intensity(强度). I learned working in the field — except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick(帚柄).
1.The writer’s first job was _______.
A. to stand down the fairway at a golf course
B. to watch over the sugar-cane plantation
C. to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields
D. to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them
2.The word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.
A. difficult B. boring
C. interesting D. unusual
3.The writer learned that_______ from his first job.
A. he should work for those who he liked most
B. he should work longer than what he was expected
C. he should never fail to say hello to his owner
D. he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for
4._______ gave the writer serf-esteem.
A. Having a family of eight people
B. Owning his own golf course
C. Bringing money back home to help the family
D. Helping his father with the work on the plantation
5.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. He wanted to be a successful golfer.
B. He wanted to run a golf course near his house.
C. He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.
D. He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.
A group of robbers dug their way into the basement of a bank in Paris and emptied almost 200 private safes(保险箱).
They entered the Credit Lyonnais branch using building equipment to dig holes and destroy walls.
1. Saturday night, they tied up a security guard and spent 2. next nine hours robbing the bank.
One investigator described the robbery 3. a “professional job”. The robbers came in at about 22:00 on Saturday 4. left at 7:00 on Sunday. They entered through the basements of the neighboring building, digging through a series of tunnels and making a hole into a wall of 80 cm thick to get into the bank, 5. was having building works at the time.
When 6. left, the robbers set the place on fire to remove any trace of evidence, switching on the anti-fire system and flooding the building. Fortunately, the guard escaped unharmed.
7. is difficult to estimate the total value of 8. was stolen as only the bank’s clients(储户) know the content of their private safes.
When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I’d make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. 36 then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never 37 to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn’t seem so 38 any more. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I 39 that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours.
In the end, girls, that’s why I 40 President because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation. I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their 41 schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a 42 of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college — 43 their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kid and 44 with dignity.
Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous 45 to protect our country — but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women 46 . And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free — that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation 47 great responsibility.
1.A. However B. While C. But D. Although
2.A. fail B. escape C. drop D. prepare
3.A. shallow B. important C. respectful D. delighted
4.A. recognized B. regretted C. realized D. reminded
5.A. searched for B. accounted for C. asked for D. ran for
6.A. potential B. ability C. possibility D. reputation
7.A. sign B. sense C. ray D. bunch
8.A. as if B. now that C. in case D. even if
9.A. resign B. resettle C. retire D. request
10.A. borders B. situations C. nations D. scenery
11.A. satisfied B. fortunate C. successful D. safe
12.A. comes B. goes C. lies D. stands
Yesterday afternoon, I ______ basketball with my classmates for two hours.
A. play B. played C. have played D. had played
In my opinion, life in the twenty-first century is much easier than ___________.
A. that used to be B. it is used to
C. it was used to D. it used to be
The field research will take Joan and Paul about five months; it will be a long time _________ we meet them again.
A. after B. before C. since D. when