“Men get all the breaks!” the veteran (老练的) teacher announced to me. A cold greeting. Her stare stabbed like an icicle (冰柱).
“Hello,” I countered, extending my hand. “I guess we’ll be teaching together this year.”
“I swear, all you have to do is wear pants and walk into an elementary school and they hire you! It makes me sick!” I would have responded, but she turned her back to me and stomped off down the hall.
Who would have imagined that the biggest challenge I would face during my first year on the job would not be students, but fellow teachers?
“You can’t put that there!” Another teacher burst into my classroom. “You can’t put the teacher’s desk at the back of the room!”
“Pardon?”
“If you put your desk way back there, you won’t be able to see them cheating!”
Next I was told I must not arrange student desks into abutting clusters because “the students might talk too much.”
At home my wife kept assuring me, “You’re there for the kids. When you meet your students, things will be different.” And she was right. One day the bell rang and there were thirty-five wonderful sixth graders sitting at their desks (still arranged in clusters) and it was different. I was happy.
“Welcome to sixth grade.” I began the year as I’d rehearsed for months. “You’ll notice,” I continued, “my desk is at the back of the room.” They chuckled. “I don’t want that desk between us. I want to be involved in your learning and involved in your lives.”
In the days that followed, I ate with my students at lunch (“Wilcox shouldn’t do that!”); I played with my students at recess (“That’s unheard of!”); I read with my students in the library (“He’s wasting time!”); I even stayed after school with some boys who got in trouble with the principal (“He’s undermining the school’s entire discipline program!”).
I went home to my wife. “Don’t worry,” she said. “They’re just threatened by you because you’re new and you’re good. Let the other teachers know you’re not a threat. Just keep being nice to them.”
Obediently, I pulled out the Golden Rule, dusted it off, and vowed to start again. As I did with the children, I started looking for specific, positive things I could build upon and reinforce sincerely in my colleagues: “Nice job on the announcements this morning!” “Wow! I like that worksheet you made up.” “Man, your kids walked down the hall so quietly.” “I heard your class singing great songs. You do a super job with music!”
“I like your bulletin board,” I said to Mrs. Icicle Eyes.
“Really?” she asked. “It’s just the same old thing I put up every year.” She reached out and straightened a sagging border. Then, not unlike one of my students, she added, “Do you really like it?”
“Yes,” I answered firmly. As sure as sun beams, the Golden Rule was shining, and things were finally warming up.
That very afternoon, a few parents went to the principal’s office asking if their sixth graders could be moved into my class. Of course the students were not transferred, but when the grapevine circulated the request, up went the old barbed wire fence. Complete with machine guns.
I continued to do the best job I could. I worked. I taught. I cared. I waited for a breakthrough moment.
Months passed. It was lunch recess. I asked a boy walking down the hall. “Have you seen Mrs. So-and-So?” I was, in fact, searching for Mrs. Icicle Eyes. I needed to consult with her.
Grinning, he came toward me as if sharing a secret. “She’s outside shooting baskets with the girls!”
“She’s playing basketball with the girls?” I asked incredulously.
“Yeah,” he nodded. I smiled. I didn’t say another word. But my smile inside was even bigger than the one on my face.
1.In the veteran teacher’s eyes, the writer got the teaching job because ______.
A. he was a man
B. he wore pants
C. he was experienced
D. he enjoyed teaching
2.The underlined sentences in Paragraph 11 are probably the comments from ______.
A. the principal
B. the writer’s wife
C. the writer’s colleagues
D. the students’ parents
3.The writer’s wife thought that his colleagues felt threatened because ______.
A. he hung around with students
B. he was a competitive newcomer
C. he ignored their advice
D. he was an impolite coworker
4. What was the Golden Rule the writer followed?
A. He should encourage the students as much as possible.
B. He should separate his colleagues into friends and enemies.
C. He should adopt a positive attitude toward his teaching career.
D. He should learn to appreciate the shining points in people around him.
5.What happened when a few parents asked the principal to move their children into the writer’s class?
A. The colleagues became defensive and were ready to attack him.
B. The school built fences to ensure the safety of the students.
C. The students were immediately moved into his class.
D. The school used weapons to protect the children.
6. Why did the writer smile inside when he heard of “Mrs. Icicle Eyes” playing basketball with students?
A. She became interested in sports to amuse him.
B. She got closer to students under his influence.
C. He could not put his feelings into words.
D. He discovered a secret of hers.
Strawberry (草莓) fields dotted with hunched-over workers picking and packaging, then pushing the delicate red fruit to waiting trucks — it is a typical winter scene embedded in the patchwork of homes and farms that make up eastern Hillsborough County.
That scene is changing, though, as the labor pool shrinks and technology comes knocking. Wish Farms owner Gary Wishnatzki and his engineer partner Bob Pitzer are banking on technology.
As strawberry season wrapped up in February, their driverless strawberry-picking machine drove into the fields for some test runs. The results were impressive and enlightening（有启迪作用的）, Wishnatzki said.
For some three years now, farmers have been forced to abandon millions of dollars worth of strawberries in fields, mostly in Hillsborough and Manatee counties, because they lacked laborers, industry experts say. The problem has been just as serious in California, Arizona and other farm communities.
The reasons for the shrinking worker pool are numerous. Migrant（移民）workers who have picked the fields for years are aging. Young adults in migrant families already in the United States are getting better educations and have more choices these days, including the construction industry, which again is on the upswing. Stricter security is allowing fewer undocumented workers to cross the border from Mexico. And Mexicans are having much smaller families now — just over two children per family, compared with 7.3 per family in 1960, according to a Pew Hispanic Center report released in 2012.
And since Mexico’s economy bounced back faster than that of the U.S., more Mexicans have been able to find work closer to home, according to the study.
“We came up with a concept we perceive as a necessity,” Wishnatzki said. “The labor pool has been shrinking for over 10 years now. It has been pretty harmful.” So in 2012, he and Pitzer formed their partnership, Harvest CROO Robotics, to develop a mechanical picker.
The Harvest CROO design has multiple picking heads that will move across a field, picking 25 acres over a three-day period, the typical time for picking fruit as it ripens. It has a “vision system” to distinguish between red and green strawberries and is able to get under the leaves to find and pick the ripe berries.
Picking strawberries is nothing like using a combine on a corn field, coming through and thrashing down the plants. Strawberries are delicate and ripen in various intervals, which Harvest CROO is taking into account in developing its machine.
A strawberry-picking machine will never completely replace the need for human labor in the fields, Wishnatzki said, but if the machines can supplement（补充）labor enough to keep the industry profitable, he and Pitzer will have met their goal.
1.Which of the following describes the typical winter scene of eastern Hillsborough County?
A. Farmers work hard on a corn field.
B. Workers pick and package strawberries.
C. Scientists test machines in strawberry fields.
D. Farmers operate strawberry-picking machines.
2.The mechanical picker is introduced due to ______.
A. the labor shortage
B. the market demand
C. the aging of the local population
D. the new concept of farming
3.Which of the following statements about Mexicans is true according to the passage?
A. Mexicans like to find jobs far away from home.
B. There are more Mexican laborers than needed in Arizona.
C. Security regulations now make it easier to employ Mexicans.
D. Young people from migrant Mexican families now have access to more career choices.
4. The “vision system” is designed to ______.
A. take pictures
B. locate leaves
C. find the ripe berries
D. help the color-blind
5.The goal of developing the strawberry-picking machine is to ______.
A. get rid of human labor
B. help farmers make money
C. show the power of robots
D. compete with the corn industry
The following are selected contributors’ notes for an essay collection.
KATY BUTLER, a 2004 finalist for a National Magazine Award, has written for The New Yorker, the New York Times, Mother Jones, Salon, Tricycle, and other magazines. She was born in South Africa and raised in England, and came to the United States with her family at the age of eight. “Everything Is Holy,” her essay about nature worship, Buddhism (佛学), and ecology, was selected for Best Buddhist Writing 2006. In 2009 she won a literary award from the Elizabeth George Foundation. “What Broke My Father’s Heart” was named a “notable narrative” by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, won a first-place award from the Association of Health Care Journalists, and was named one of the 100 Best Magazine Articles of All Time. Butler has taught narrative nonfiction at Nieman Foundation conferences and memoir writing at Esalen Institute. Her current book project is Knocking on Heaven’s Door: A Journey Through Old Age and New Medicine to be published in 2013.
VICTOR LAVALLE is the author of a collection of stories, Slapboxing with Jesus, and two novels, The Ecstatic and Big Machine, for which he won the Shirley Jackson Award, the American Book Award, and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. He is a 2010 Guggenheim Award winner and an assistant professor at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. About “Long Distance” he says: “This essay actually came about when I was asked to write about my life after having lost a great deal of weight. And yet, when I sat down to work, all I could do was return to that time when I was much heavier and deeply unhappy. Why? I sure didn’t miss those days. And yet, I felt I couldn’t write about my present without touching on that past. But, of course, I never reach the true present in the essay. Maybe I still don’t know how to talk about a life with greater happiness. ”
BRIDGET POTTER was born in Brompton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, and came to the United States as a teenager in 1958. She spent the first forty years of her career in television, beginning as a secretary, then as a producer and an executive, including fifteen years as senior vice president of original programming at HBO. In 2007 she earned a BA in cultural anthropology from Columbia University. This year she will complete an MFA in nonfiction, also from Columbia, where she has been an instructor in the University Writing Program. She is currently working on her first book, a memoir / social history of the 1960s, from which her essay “Lucky Girl” is adapted.
PATRICIA SMITH is the author of five books of poetry, including Blood Dazzler, chronicling the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, which was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award, and Teahouse of the Almighty, a National Poetry Series selection. Her work has appeared in Poetry, The Paris Review, TriQuarterly, and The Best American Poetry 2011. She is a Pushcart Prize winner and a four-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam, the most successful poet in the competition’s history.
RESHMA MEMON YAQUB wouldn’t even be fit to write a grocery list were it not for her guardian editors. Her stories owe many glorious plot twists to Zain, eleven, and Zach, seven. Ditto their dad (Amer) and grandparents (Ali, Razia, Muhammad, Nasreen). Costars: Sophie, Sana, Yousef, and Maryam. Miss Yaqub lives in Bethesda, Maryland. Her next project is an investigation into the whereabouts (行踪) of two missing people: Mr. Right and Ms. Memoir Literary Agent.
1. Which of the following won the Shirley Jackson Award?
A. Best Buddhist Writing 2006.
B. Teahouse of the Almighty.
C. Mother Jones.
D. Big Machine.
2. What is “Long Distance” mainly about?
A. The true happiness in the writer’s present life.
B. Nature worship, Buddhism and ecology.
C. The whereabouts of two missing people.
D. The author’s past life experience.
3. When did the author of “Lucky Girl” come to the United States?
A. In 1958. B. In 2007.
C. In 2010. D. In 2013.
4.Who is the most successful poet in the competition’s history?
A. BRIDGET POTTER. B. KATY BUTLER.
C. PATRICIA SMITH. D. VICTOR LAVALLE.
What is funny? The short answer is: Who knows? The joke that causes a burst of laughter from one listener might be met with a puzzled look from another.
In general, you should avoid jokes at any business or social gathering where there are more than two people in your conversational group. If there are only two people — and they consist of you and your best friend — go ahead and tell it.
Admittedly, a few people possess a perfect sense of timing, appropriateness, and joke delivery. You are probably not one of them. You might be quite funny and have many great jokes. But there’s a place for jokes — over dinner with family, hiking with friends, but business or social affairs with colleagues and acquaintances (熟人) are not it. It takes a whole other level of joke-telling ability to put a joke into the more formal conversations.
The best jokes come into the conversation so that by the time listeners realize a joke is in progress, the punchline that produces humour is being delivered — to their surprise and delight.
Jokes don’t translate well when you’re in a group with mixed backgrounds: those whose first language is not English, those who might not understand a special term or an “in” expression, young people who wouldn’t catch a reference to some bit of culture familiar to older people — and vice versa (反之亦然).
Never joke about another person in the group — about their name, habits, hometown, profession, appearance, or past. It’s not a question of whether the joke is cheery or appropriate. No one enjoys being singled out this way. When you are the subject of the joke, the laughter doesn’t feel good no matter how hard you try to tell yourself they’re not laughing at you. Because that’s what it feels like.
What do you say if you realize your joke upset someone? Apologize as briefly and as sincerely as you can, and hope that someone changes the subject. Try saying: “I’m sorry. I should have known better” or “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
What do you do if people don’t get your joke or don’t appear to find it as funny as you do? First, do not retell it, only louder this time, hoping the point of the joke will be seen. Second, don’t try to push people to get it. People do not like people whose jokes they don’t understand. They feel stupid and need to blame someone. If you want to leave with the goodwill of your listeners, say something to make them feel less foolish. You could say: “I don’t know why I tell jokes when I’m so poor at it.”
The world needs laughter, and good humour is a success wherever it goes, so this caveat (告诫) about joke-telling is not meant to dampen high spirits or to advocate dull conversation. If you’re a gifted story-teller and you know people love your jokes, go for it. We need your kind. The rest of us will save our jokes for family and close friends.
1.According to the passage, it might be appropriate for you to tell a joke at a business or social gathering if ______.
A. the joke is well chosen
B. you have complete confidence in your listeners’ sense of humor
C. only you and your best friend are involved in the conversation
D. the audience consists of your colleagues and acquaintances
2.Why do some jokes fail to work?
A. Because the punchline is too long to catch.
B. Because the joke-teller uses wrong words and expressions.
C. Because the joke-teller and listeners don’t share the same background knowledge.
D. Because the jokes are not properly translated into the listeners’ native language.
3.How will people feel when they are joked about?
A. They will feel happy if the joke is a pleasant one.
B. They will be upset no matter what kind of joke it is.
C. They will enjoy the joke when realizing that people are not laughing at them.
D. They will panic because it makes them the center of attention.
4.When people do not understand a joke they hear, they tend to ______.
A. believe it’s the joke-teller’s fault B. get someone to retell the joke
C. ask for explanation D. say something foolish
5.Which of the following best describes the writer’s opinion on joke-telling?
A. Nobody knows what makes a joke funny.
B. We should not tell jokes unless we are asked to do so.
C. Joke-telling is a very complex thing.
D. Jokes should be told only to friends and family members.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从 1～20 各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
From her lifeguard station at the shallow end of the swimming pool, Jessica noticed clouds gathering in the sky. By the time she took a break at 2:30, the wind was picking up and the sky was getting ________ . The pool manager ________ over the loudspeaker that the pool was closing
________ , due to a severe weather warning.
All of the ________ had left by 3:30 except for Jessica’s neighbor, eight-year-old Zack Hill. Zack’s mother had planned to ________ him up later, but the storm was approaching fast. Jessica decided that she would ________ Zack off on her way home.
The minute Jessica and Zack left the parking lot, it was ________ that this was no ________ storm. The rain hit just as Jessica turned onto her street, coming down in sheets and making it ________ to see clearly. Jessica said, “Zack, I’m going to take you to my house. We need to get inside right away, and your house is farther away than ________ .”
She pressed the garage-door opener, but nothing happened. The electricity was ________ . The front door was only a few feet away, ________ the wind was so strong that Jessica and Zack had to ________ their way out of the car and into the house.
Remembering everything she could from her ________ training, Jessica dragged Zack to the basement (地下室) . “We’ll be safe in here, Zack,” she said, trying to sound ________ . They had just gotten inside ________ everything went deadly quiet for a moment. Then they could hear the sound of glass breaking. A deafening roar, like the sound of a train, filled their ________ .
After a final crash, Jessica and Zack ________ drops of rain on their arms. They saw a flash of lightning through a crack in the ceiling. The sound of the storm grew ________ . Jessica began to breathe easier. She and Zack were safe, and what a ________ they would have to tell!
1.A. blue B. bright C. sunny D. dark
2.A. announced B. murmured C. wept D. whispered
3.A. slowly B. tightly C. immediately D. quietly
4.A. swimmers B. lifeguards C. managers D. parents
5.A. get B. pick C. dress D. cheer
6.A. put B. send C. lay D. drop
7.A. probable B. clear C. impossible D. unlikely
8.A. severe B. impressive C. ordinary D. violent
9.A. hard B. comfortable C. useless D. worthwhile
10.A. ours B. hers C. yours D. mine
11.A. back B. out C. on D. up
12.A. and B. thus C. but D. so
13.A. jump B. find C. fight D. thread
14.A. teacher B. character C. flight D. emergency
15.A. nervous B. calm C. humorous D. polite
16.A. when B. since C. after D. as
17.A. mouths B. eyes C. noses D. ears
18.A. heard B. tasted C. felt D. smelt
19.A. distant B. near C. sharp D. loud
20.A. joke B. story C. lie D. difference
–– Fancy meeting you here.
–– _______
A. So you’re going. B. That’s very kind of you.
C. Have a nice time! D. Yes, what a coincidence!
