You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.
It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. At times, the dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last.
Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Time magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine(重新定义) the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.
Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And entrepreneurship(创业) is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.
So what has led to this huge change?
Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity and social stagnation(停滞),”noted The Daily Beast.
“The rate of 16-to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree,” Time reported.
The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation’s ladder”.
Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations.”This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennias are feeling they can only attain a day-today lifestyle that suits them.”
1.The underlined word “cornerstone” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to “ ”.
A. growth B. balance C. basis D. purpose
2. What has changed Millennials’ view of the American Dream according to the passage?
A. A lack of confidence in themselves
B. Fierce competition in the job market
C. Their dissatisfaction with the government
D. The discouraging economy and unemployment
3.Dan Kadlec thinks Millennials’ new definition of the American Dream is ______.
A. beautiful B. understandable
C. worrying D. positive
4.What can be the best title for this passage?
A. Redefinition of American Dream
B. Meaning of American Dream
C. Value of Achieving American Dream
D. History of Changing American Dream
Decision-thinking is not unlike poker—it often matters not only what you think, but also what others think you think what you think they think you think. The mental process(过程) is similar. Naturally, this card game has often been of considerable interest to people who are, by any standards, good thinkers.
The great mathematician John von Neumann was one of the founders of game theory. In particular, he showed that all games fall into two classes; there are what he called games of 'perfect information', games like chess where the players can't hide anything or play tricks; they don't win by chance, but by means of logic and skills. Then there are games of 'imperfect information', like poker, in which it is impossible to know in advance that one course of action is better than another.
One mistaken idea about business is that it can be treated as a game of perfect information. Quite the reverse Business, life itself are games which we must normally play with very imperfect information. Business decisions are often made with many unknown and unknowable factors(因素), best poker players. But few business people find it comfortable to admit that they are taking a chance, and many still prefer to believe that they are playing chess, not poker.
1.The subject discussed in this text is _________.
A.the process of reaching decisions
B.the difference between poker and chess.
C.the secret of making good business plans
D.the value of information in winning games
2.An important factor in a game of imperfect information is ___________.
A.rules B.luck
C.time D.ideas
3.Which of the following can be used in place of "Quite the reverse" in paragraph 3?
A.Quite right. B.True enough.
C.Most unlikely. D.Just the opposite.
4.In the writer's opinion, when making business decisions one should ___________ .
A.put perfect information before imperfect information
B.accept the existence of unknown factors
C.regard business as a game of chess
D.mix known and unknown factors
Elizabeth Mitchell’s new “Liberty’s Torch” is the fascinating story of how the Statue of Liberty came to be. The Statue of Liberty’s rough history is explored in “Liberty’s Torch”.
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is an all-but-forgotten figure in American history. He was, however, responsible for one of the most enduring symbols of the United States: the Statue of Liberty. A Frenchman from Alsace, he designed and built the Statue of Liberty which stood on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. How this statue came to be is the fascinating subject of Elizabeth Michell’s new book “Liberty’s Torch”.
The power of Mitchell’s narrative is convincing(令人信服的). We recognize the Statue of Liberty now as a symbol of hope and opportunity for a nation of immigrants. At the time, though, people could not see that－nor did they even imagine that. Instead, the construction of the statue was born of one man’s desire to set up a great monument.
For this reason, perhaps, “Liberty’s Torch” relies on Bartholdi as the connecting thread. Bartholdi went to Egypt to make photographic copies of the main monuments. On the boat, Bartholdi met and began a lifelong relationship with Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man who would build the Suez Canal. Maybe it was this friendship, or maybe it was seeing Egypt’s huge monuments, but finally the trip inspired Bartholdi’s dream to create the largest statue ever built. Failure to bring this to completion in Egypt, followed by his exile (流放) from Paris, led Bartholdi to sail to America.
By explaining the Statue of Liberty’s hard history and showing Bartholdi’s brave spirit, Mitchell has done a great service.
1. It can be inferred from the text that ________.
A. American people have never forgotten Frederic August Bartholdi
B. the Statue of Liberty wasn’t originally regarded as a symbol of hope
C. Bartholdi finished the Suez Canal
D. Bartholdi was a famous architect from Egypt.
2.What was the main reason for Bartholdi to build the Statue of Liberty?
A. To finish his education in the arts.
B. To mark his friendship with Ferdinand.
C. To create something better than Egyptian monuments.
D. To achieve his dream to create the largest statue.
3.What type of writing is the passage?
A. A travel guide. B. A book review
C. An announcement D. An architecture report.
Hello. I’m Jan from Mrs. Lake’s class. My class wants to work together to help the public. We think we have found a great way to do this. Last month we did a class project on the highways near our town. We learned about the Adopt-a-Highway Program. This program brings people together to pick up litter along the roads. We think it would be a great idea for all students in our school to join the program and adopt a highway.
Adopting a highway is not like adopting a pet. When a highway is adopted, only part of the highway is cared for by a group of people. The group agrees to work every week to keep its part of the highway clean. Each group gets its own sign that has the name of the group printed on it. The sign is put up at the side of the road. This sign lets drivers know who is keeping that area of the road clean.
The Adopt-a-Highway Program is a great way for people to help their environment look nicer. Also, the government does not have to send out as many road workers. This saves money. Finally, people may try harder to keep roads clean if they see people, especially teenagers like us, cleaning them up.
We will need helpers to care for our adopted highway. If you want to feel great and keep our roads clean，please come with your parents to the meeting next week. We will meet in Mrs. Lake’ room on Wednesday at 6:00 P.M. At the meeting, we will talk about which roads are the dirtiest as a result of people's unkind acts. Then we' ll
try to pick an area to adopt and clean.
I look forward to seeing you at the meeting. Remember to keep our roads clean!
1.What is the Adopt-a-Highway Program about?
A. Giving names to the highways.
B. Drawing pictures of highways.
C. Picking up litter along the roads.
D. Putting up signs near the roads.
2.What should the students do first if they want to join the program?
A. Pick a spot to care for.
B. Call Mrs. Lake next week.
C. Write a letter to their parents.
D. Go to a meeting on Wednesday.
3.What is the purpose of this speech?
A. To encourage students to join the program.
B. To introduce the traffic system.
C. To show drivers how to drive safely.
D. To tell a story about adopting a pet.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. Adopt-a-Pet
B. Adopt-a-Highway
C. Ways to Protect the Environment
D. Volunteers on Roads
某英文杂志正在举办 “读一本好书”的活动，邀请你参加，内容包括:
1.谈谈你对阅读的看法；
2.分享一本对你影响最大的书。
注意：1.词数100左右，开头已写好，不计人总词数；
2.文中不得透露个人姓名和学校名称。
I feel it a great honor to be welcomed to get involved in such a meaningful
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(^ )，并在其下面写出该加的词。 删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
It appears that people don't need any phone box now. In a small British village, people decided to turn a red phone box into a library a few years before. Now, the phone box is one of the country’s smaller libraries. About 150 books placed on shelves in the phone box. Villagers there can take whatever they want and leave their own books for exchange. They can use the library around a clock so it opens 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. Since the library opens its bright door, people from all parts of the village have paid it a visit. Among it there're senior citizens living in the neighbourhood, children getting off school buses and university students are stopping by late at night.
It is convenient for them to use such a wonderful library.
