“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him，and let him know that you trust him.” These words are from the black American educator，Booker Washington. He was saying that，“If you want people to grow up，you have to stop treating them like children.”

In America，families are close but children are encouraged to be independent，to make their own decisions，even at a very early age. It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance  (津贴) every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose，for example，buying clothes，school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards！That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit cards（信用卡）.

From an early age，American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision­making. At the dinner table，teenagers will be listened to on any topic，from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way，teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals：they are learning how to stand on their own two feet.

Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress，the music they listen to and the friends they choose.“Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest. She was not the traditional “nice，young Chinese girl”．With her short，spiky hair and boy­like clothes，she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet...and she won!

There is an old saying，“Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength.” If you do this，step by step，over a period of time，you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be.

1.

 The passage is intended to encourage the youth to________.

A．save money for useful things     B．become independent

C．express their great ambitions     D．make important decisions

2.

 A child of seven is given an allowance so that he can______.

A．be accepted as a popular guy     B．learn to decide how to use money

C．overspend money without care    D．have school supplies of his own

3.

 The author implies that many Chinese children________.

A．are more independent than Americans      

 B．should become interested in America

C．are happy with their present situation        

D．are not satisfied to be nice，quiet ones

4.

The main idea of the last paragraph is________.

A．that we should do things step by step     

B．why we should understand our desires

C．what we should plan for our own life    

 D．how we can manage to realize our dreams

 

“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him，and let him know that you trust him.” These words are from the black American educator，Booker Washington. He was saying that，“If you want people to grow up，you have to stop treating them like children.”

In America，families are close but children are encouraged to be independent，to make their own decisions，even at a very early age. It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance(津贴)every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose，for example，buying clothes，school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards! That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit cards.

From an early age，American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision making. At the dinner table，teenagers will be listened to on any topic，from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way, teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals：they are learning how to stand on their own two feet.

Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose. “Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest. She was not the traditional “nice，young Chinese girl”. With her short，spiky hair and boy-like clothes, she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet...and she won!

There is an old saying，“Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength.” If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be.

The passage is intended to encourage the youth to________.

A. save money for useful things                               B. become independent

C. express their great ambitions                                  D. make important decisions

A child of seven is given an allowance so that he can______.

A. be accepted as a popular guy                                B. learn to decide how to use money

C. overspend money without care                                 D. have school supplies of his own

The author implies that many Chinese children________.

A. are more independent than Americans                        B. should become interested in America

C. are happy with their present situation                           D. are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones

The main idea of the last paragraph is________.

A. that we should do things step by step     B. why we should understand our desires

C. what we should plan for our own life          D. how we can manage to realize our dreams

From Mr. Ward Hoffman.

    Sir, I was halfway through Professor Raj Persaud's article “What's the tipping point"(Financial Times Weekend, April 9-l0) when it occurred to me that what I was reading was not ironic(讽刺的). If Prof Persaud wants to know why Americans tip in restaurants, he need only ask the first American he meets in London.

    Americans tip in restaurants for one reason, and one reason only: we tip to supplement (补贴) the salary of restaurant workers. Quality of service does not enter into it, beyond the fact that one may tip a bit less for poor service, or a little more for good service.

    Not tipping at all in a non-fast-food restaurant is not a choice. In the US, one used to tip about 15 per cent for dining in a family-style restaurant or in an upmarket (高档的) restaurant. Here, in San Francisco Bay area restaurants, we are encouraged to tip 20 per cent or more, to help restaurant workers live in this very expensive area.

   After eating at an Italian restaurant in my city, I left a tip of 20 per cent on the non-tax part of our dinner bill. It was expected. There is nothing more complicated (复杂的) than that about Americans tipping in restaurants.

Ward Hoffman, 

Palo Alto, CA 94306, US

*                *                  *

From Mr. Philip McBride Johnson.

    Sir, I agree with most of Raj Persaud's opinions about the doubtful value of tipping, but with one exception(例外). Tips can be very useful when one is a repeat customer or diner.

    It is only when the tipper is a stranger and likely to remain so that the system does not work to his or her advantage. But frequent a hotel or a restaurant, always tip a bit more, and the difference in service and treatment will be easily felt.

Philip McBride Johnson,

Great Falls, VA 22066, US

68. What can we learn from Hoffman's letter?

     A. Quality of service determines tipping in the US.

     B. Americans don't tip in non-fast-food restaurants.

     C. Tipping in US upmarket restaurants is unnecessary.

     D. How to tip in the United States is not complicated. 

69. Johnson's letter shows ________.

     A. a stranger in a restaurant is likely to tip a bit more

     B. diners receive better service if they frequent a restaurant

     C. repeat diners may get good service if they tip a bit more

     D. the tipping system works to the advantage of new customers       

70. From the two letters, we can learn Professor Raj Persaud ______ .

     A. feels doubtful about the value of tipping

     B. believes tipping improves quality of service

     C. wants to ask Hoffman about tipping in the US

     D. thinks tipping a bit more one can get good service            

71. The two letters most probably appears in a ______.

     A. notice                B. handbook              C. book review         D. newspaper  

Careercast.com is out with its list of best and worst jobs of 2012. It’s bad news for the writer of this story, but much brighter for the folks who program the code that keeps this website busy.
Using a method that looked at physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook, career Website Careercast.com, ranked the top 200 jobs. They also ranked the jobs with the most stress. Not surprisingly, none of the most stressful jobs show up on the best jobs list.
At the top is software engineer and at the bottom is the lumberjack. Cutting trees failed to skate above the bottom 10 percent in all ranking categories, except income. “Unemployment for lumberjacks is very high, and the demand for their services is expected to continue to fall through 2016. And while working outside all day may seem like a great job perk(有额外津贴的工作), being a lumberjack not only is considered the worst job, but also one of the world’s most dangerous,” according to Careercast.com. And, for that most dangerous job, a lumberjack earns a little more than $32,000 a year. That’s about $56,000 less than the easy job of a software engineer, which has the average salary at $88,000 a year, according to Careercast.
Here’s a complete look at the best and worst jobs. And, take a look at the most stressful jobs. You may be surprised.
Best Jobs                     Worst Jobs             Most Stressful Jobs
Software Engineer                   Lumberjack              Enlisted Soldier
Actuary                         Dairy Farmer                Firefighter
Human Resources Manager         Enlisted Military Soldier       Airline Pilot
Dental Hygienist                    Oil Rig Worker         Military General
Financial Planner                   Reporter (Newspaper)        Police Officer
Audiologist                     Waiter/Waitress         Event Coordinator
Occupational Therapist              Meter Reader                Public Relations Executive
Online Advertising Manager          Dishwasher              Corporate Executive Computer Systems Analyst          Butcher                 Photojournalist
Mathematician                       Broadcaster             Taxi Driver
【小题1】Who might be most interested in the passage?

A．Job-hunters.	B．Net surfers.
C．Employers.	D．Educators.

【小题2】Which of the following was not considered when Careercast.com ranked the top 200 jobs?

A．Hiring outlook.	B．Pressure.
C．Mental demands.	D．Salary.

【小题3】What do we know about the lumberjack?

A．Although the lumberjack has high unemployment, it isn’t considered the worst job.

B．On the best jobs list, the lumberjack isn’t at the bottom.

C．More lumberjacks’ services will be needed after 2016.

D．A lumberjack earns less than half of a software engineer’s salary a year.

【小题4】According to the passage, the list is good news for ______.

A．Online Advertising Managers.	B．Reporters.
C．Firefighters.	D．Dairy Farmers.

【小题5】What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To describe the advantages of different careers.

B．To provide career information.

C．To explain why a software engineer is the best job.

D．To analyze why a lumberjack is the worst job.