The next morning Alex was waiting in the FMA president’s suite when Jerome Patterton arrived. Alex filled him in quickly on the Jax report. Then he said, “I want you to give an order to the trust department to sell every share of Supranational we’re holding.”
“I won’t!” Patterton’s voice rose. “Who do you think you are, giving orders-----“ “I’ll tell you who I am, Jerome. I’m the guy who warned the board against in-depth involvement with SuNatCo. I fought against heavy trust department buying of the stock, but no one-----including you -----would listen. Now Supranational is caving in.” Alex leaned across the desk and slammed a fist down hard. “Don’t you understand? Supranational can bring this bank down with it.”
Patterton was shaken. “But is SuNatCo in real trouble? Are you sure?”
“If I weren’t, do you think I’d be here? I’m giving you a chance to salvage something at least.” He pointed to his wristwatch. “It’s an hour since the New York  stock market opened. Jerome, get on the phone and give that order!”
Muscles around the bank president’s mouth twitched nervously. Never decisive, strong influence often swayed him. He hesitated, then picked up the telephone.
“Get me Mitchell in the trust department… Mitch? This is Jerome. Listen carefully. I want you to give a sell order immediately on all the Supranational stock we hold… Yes, sell every share.” Patterton listened, then said impatiently, “Yes, I know what it’ll do to the market. And I know it’s irregular.” His eyes sought Alex’s for reassurance. The hand holding the telephone trembled as he said, “There’s no time to hold meetings. So do it! Yes, I accept responsibility.”
He hung up and reached for a glass of water. “The stock is already down. Our selling will depress it more. We’ll be taking a big beating.”
“It’s our clients-----people who trusted us-----who will take the beating. And they’d have taken a bigger one still, if we’d waited. Even now we’re not out of the woods. A week from now the SEC may disallow those sales. They may rule we had inside knowledge that Supranational was about to be bankrupt, which we should have reported and which would have halted trading in the stock.
小題1: Alex filled him in quickly on the Jax report. The sentence means:

A．He filled his name on the Jax report quickly.

B．Alex signed his name to the Jax report quickly.

C．He offered the FMA president the Jax report smartly.

D．He prepared the Jax report for Patterton to sign smartly.

小題2: From the context we can infer that ________.

A．SuNatCo would bring the stock market down if it sold all the Supranational stock they held.

B．The president was stubborn and would never listen to others.

C．Alex will take the place of Patterton in the future.

D．the clients would take a bigger beating than the bank

小題3: The New York stock market is the place where_____.

A．the old stock can be bought and sold

B．shares can be bought and sold

C．paper stock can be bought and sold

D．some of the stock can be taken without being paid for

小題4: In the sentence “Even now we’re not out the woods.” The phrase “out of the woods”       means     _____.

A．free from danger	B．short of wood
C．running out of wood	D．set free

小題5:In the writer’s opinion, the president is _____.

A．good leader of the U.S.A	B．a(chǎn) good manager of a company
C．headmaster	D．banker, an indecisive sort of person

One Sunday a few of us decided to take advantage of the first sunny day we’d have for ages to take a trip down to the coast to visit the penguins again. Last time I went down there was a couple of months ago and it was a dull cold day. Sunday couldn’t have been more different — clear skies and sunshine made it feel like summer, although it was still -25°C.
Six of us drove to the coast. It was the first time we’d been off the base on our own without our field assistant, so it had a slightly different feeling — more like a few friends going to the seaside than an Antarctic field trip! When we reached Windy Creek, we luckily caught sight of quite a few small flying seabirds, which are seldom seen there.
Once on the sea ice we found that some of the more curious penguins had wandered over from the main group to come and check us out. We’d been told that then they were nursing their chicks (剛孵出的幼雛) and they would be more careful and nervous than last time, but that didn’t seem to be the case. We walked across to the main group which were stretched for a couple of miles along the coast. We sat down for some sandwiches and soon found ourselves surrounded by many curious observers. Without any attackers on land, they were very brave and came within a meter of us to pose (擺姿勢(shì)) for photos.
Before heading back, we spent a few hours on the sea ice watching the penguins and their chicks, which had grown dramatically (明顯地) since our last visit. It was such a nice day.
小題1:
When did the trip most probably happen?

A．On a dull Sunday.	B．On a warm Sunday.
C．On a summer Sunday.	D．On a winter Sunday.

小題2:
It can be inferred from the second paragraph that the six people _____.

A．felt a little nervous

B．felt a little excited

C．were left all by themselves on their Antarctic base

D．got bored with staying with their field assistant

小題3:
What does the writer mean by saying “but that didn’t seem to be the case”?

A．They were told a lie.

B．A wrong decision was made.

C．The truth was the opposite.

D．They didn’t believe what they were told.

小題4:
The six people did the following during the trip EXCEPT _____.

A．feed the penguins

B．take pictures of the penguins

C．enjoy watching flying seabirds

D．watch the young penguins

Mikio Tanaka is a devoted father----and prove it by taking three months off to care for his baby boy. That makes Tanaka __36__ of a revolutionary in Japan, where men are __37__ known for working long hours and __38__ in the bars with clients than mixing baby milk and changing diapers (尿布).
“It was __39__, but it was also a lot of fun,” Tanaka said, sitting __40__ the living room floor with his 4-month-old son, Daiki, __41__ on his back. “ I saw the first time he __42__. It was a great experience.”
Tanaka, 31, is one of a __43__ number of fathers in Japan who are taking a bigger __44__ inside the home. Men are a __45__ sight with kids at parks and zoos at weekends, though often __46__ yawning. Books and magazines __47__ fathers on how to play with and care for their kids. For Japan’s __48__ housewives, the changing is too late. In Tanaka’s case, his wife, Ayako, 28, was __49__ to take a full year of leave , for she was a school teacher.
__50__ for Tanaka, a department chief at his company had taken the __51__ leave a few years before, so his plan to __52__ three months unpaid leave was not a total shock to his __53__. Ayako took three months off for Daiki, then it was Tanaka’s __54__ when she went back to work. Daiki started day care full-time at __55__ month. Tanaka said at that time he was able to work again.
小題1:

A．a(chǎn)nything

B．something

C．everything

D．nothing

小題2:

A．well

B．poorly

C．specially

D．badly

小題3:

A．working

B．dancing

C．drinking

D．cooking

小題4:

A．easy

B．interesting

C．exciting

D．tough

小題5:

A．beside

B．a(chǎn)gainst

C．on

D．a(chǎn)bove

小題6:

A．hanged

B．hung

C．joked

D．sang

小題7:

A．fell asleep

B．stood up

C．dressed up

D．jumped up

小題8:

A．growing

B．falling

C．a(chǎn)dding

D．fixing

小題9:

A．step

B．a(chǎn)ction

C．hold

D．role

小題10:

A．interesting

B．different

C．common

D．short

小題11:

A．seen

B．said

C．observed

D．blamed

小題12:

A．drive

B．send

C．comfort

D．treat

小題13:

A．self-confident

B．overworked

C．poorly-dressed

D．well-fed

小題14:

A．unfair

B．unwilling

C．unfit

D．undecided

小題15:

A．Hardly

B．Sadly

C．Unluckily

D．Fortunately

小題16:

A．immediate

B．short

C．sick

D．same

小題17:

A．teacher

B．boss

C．wife

D．child

小題18:

A．take

B．give

C．make

D．offer

小題19:

A．duty

B．fault

C．turn

D．decision

小題20:

A．third

B．fifth

C．sixth

D．tenth

When people hear that I’m the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, they all have the same question: How did a 22-year old woman row a 19-foot boat for 70 days through high winds and crashing waves? Well, the biggest  difficulty for me wasn’t physical. By the time I decided to do the ocean row, I had already biked 3,300 miles cross-country, run across the Mojave Desert, and swum the 325-mile length of the Allegheny River. No, the tough part would be mental: How would I handle the loneliness, the boredom of the vast sea?
I set off on January 3, 2010. I set my sights on getting past the quarter-way mark, which would take about 20 days.
Day 20, January 22, was gray and cloudy. I could have done something to celebrate, such as treating myself to a chocolate bar. But I didn’t.
I was suffering from terrible loneliness. I hadn’t seen landing over two weeks. Every day was beginning to feel the same. Eating, rowing, sleeping, watch the sky, watch the ocean.
Then, around sunset, I saw something move on the horizon. They were dolphins! They circled my boat. Suddenly I felt so grateful. They had come to help me celebrate, just when I needed them. I rowed at full strength for the next 20 minutes with the dolphins around. By the time we went our separate ways, I was no longer lonely. Better yet, I knew I would be okay.
I did make it, all 2,817 miles. I hit the coast of Guyana, South America, on March 14, after 70 days and five hours at sea. My ocean row raised $70,000 for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, which funds drinking water programs around the world. I know some athletes spend the entire journey imagining the end, and that helps them get through. But for me, the secret is to focus on the moment, where you experience the personal growth—those moments of awareness of being connected to the sun, the weather, and the waves. And, on the best day of my life, those dolphins, which freed myself from terrible loneliness.
小題1:
Which is the step taken as part of preparation for the tough row?

A．swimming the 325-mile length of the river

B．a(chǎn)nswering the same question raised by people

C．running 3,300 miles cross-country

D．biking across the Mojave Desert

小題2:
What does the underlined part mean?

A．I didn’t have any chocolate bar for energy.

B．I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate my first goal.

C．It’s a pity not to celebrate my passing the quarter of the way

D．It’s a pity not to treat myself to a chocolate bar on Day 20.

小題3:
What can be implied from the last two paragraphs?

A．Imagination was an effective way to help me get through.

B．The Blue Planet Run Foundation helped me a lot.

C．The dolphins accompanied me to reach my destination

D．The unexpected dolphins swept away my loneliness

小題4:
Which can be the best title of the passage?

A．The day I stopped being lonely

B．The only challenge for a 22-year old

C．How to overcome loneliness at sea.

D．How to row alone across the Atlantic

Four years ago,an accident took my wife away and I had to take care of our youny child . There was one particular night, when I had an __36__ at work. Therefore, I __37_ cooked an egg and left my sleepy child alone at home.
It was very late when I __38__. With just a brief hug and kiss for my child, I went stright into the room, without having dinner. __39__, when I jumped into my bed , all I heard and felt was broken sounds and __40__ liquid. I opened my blanket, and there _41__ the source of the “problem”—a broken bowl with noodels and a mess on the bed.
I was so _42_ that I rushed into Loe’s room and gave him a good spanking. He __43__ cried but didn’t ask for mercy, except a short explanation.
“Dad, I was _44__, but you were not back yet, so I wanted to cook some noodles.But I remembered that you __45_ me not to touch or use the kitchen without any __46__ around; therefore, I __47__ the shower and used the hot water to cook the noodles.However, I was __48__ that the noodles would turn cold, so I put it under the__49__ to keep it warm __50__ you return. But I forgot to remind you.”
I went towards my son to give him a(n) __51__ hug and asked him to sleep. Then I began to _52__ the mess on the bed. When everthing was done, I passed my son’s room, and saw that he was still __53__ while looking at his mother’s photo.He cried not for the __54__ on his little body. After this _55__, I have tried to give him both the love of dad and mum.
小題1:  

A．a(chǎn)ccident

B．emergency

C．a(chǎn)ction

D．excuse

小題2:  

A．easily

B．slowly

C．carefully

D．hurriedly

小題3:  

A．returned

B．left

C．completed

D．remembered

小題4:	A．Otherwise B．Besides C．Therefore D．However

小題5:  

A．warm

B．cold

C．smelly

D．boiling

小題6:  

A．found

B．lay

C．formed

D．linked

小題7:	A．excited B．sad C．moved D．a(chǎn)ngry

小題8:  

A．merely

B．never

C．hardly

D．really

小題9:  

A．thirsty

B．hungry

C．curious

D．a(chǎn)nxious

小題10:  

A．threatened

B．reminded

C．a(chǎn)stonished

D．suggested

小題11:  

A．child

B．partner

C．a(chǎn)dult

D．friend

小題12:  

A．put on

B．picked up

C．set off

D．turned on

小題13:

A．a(chǎn)fraid B．sad C．surprised D．sorry

小題14:  

A．desk

B．blanket

C．chair

D．bed

小題15:  

A．a(chǎn)fter

B．if

C．till

D．unless

小題16:

A．brief B．a(chǎn)brupt C．tight D．friendly

小題17:  

A．clear up

B．put down

C．take on

D．send off

小題18:

A．sleeping B．writing C．reading D．crying

小題19:  

A．wound

B．effect

C．comfort

D．pain

小題20:

A．fight B．quarrel C．incident D．communication

Surtsey was born in 1963.Scientists saw the birth of this island. It began at 7.30 a.m. on 14th November. A fishing boat was near Iceland. The boat moved under the captain's（船長(zhǎng)）feet. He noticed a strange smell. He saw some black smoke. A volcano（火山）was breaking out. Red-hot rocks, fire and smoke were rushing up from the bottom（底部）of the sea. The island grew quickly. It was 10 meters high the next day and 60 meters high on 18th November.
Scientists flew there to watch. It was exciting. Smoke and fire were still rushing up. Pieces of red-hot rock were flying into the air and falling into the sea. The sea was boiling and there was a strange light in the sky. Surtsey grew and grew. Then it stopped in June 1967.It was 175 meters high and 2 kilometers long. And life was already coming to Surtsey. Plants grew. Birds came. Some scientists built a house. They want to learn about this young island. A new island is like a new world.
小題1:Surtsey is ______.

A．a(chǎn)n island not far from Iceland	B．a(chǎn) new volcano
C．a(chǎn) fishing boat	D．a(chǎn) place in Iceland

小題2:When did scientist fly there to watch?

A．Before the volcano broke out.	B．As soon as the volcano broke out.
C．About four days after the volcano broke out.
D．After the volcano stopped rushing up.

小題3:Put the following sentences in correct order.
a. The captain found the boat was moving.      b. A new island appeared in the sea.
c. Fire, smoke and rocks were seen rushing up.  d. A fishing boat was near Iceland.
e. The island grew quickly.

A．d-a-c-b-e

B．a(chǎn)-b-c-d-e

C．a(chǎn)-b-e-c-d

D．b-e-d-a-c

小題4:When was Surtsey born?

A．1964

B．1963

C．1962

D．1965

A few days ago my wife sent me out to buy something. When I came home, I handed(交給) her a paper bag and said, “Here are the apples you wanted.” She looked in the bag, and then she looked at me. “I told you,” she said slowly, “to buy some eggs.”
I felt worried about my absent-mindedness, so I went to see a doctor. He was a very kind man. “I have seen many people like you. It’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “If you know you are absent-minded, you are all right. But if you do not know you’re absent-minded, you may be really in trouble.”
“Many famous people were absent-minded,” the doctor told me. “Thomas Edison(愛迪生)was standing in line(排隊(duì)) one day to pay his taxes(稅). When he arrived at the window, he found that he had forgotten his own name. He had to ask the man who was behind him to tell him who he was.”
I felt much better and got up to leave. “Thank you, doctor,” I said. “How much do I have to pay you?”
“Ten dollars for the check-up(檢查),” the doctor said.
“But doctor, I did not have a check-up!”
For a moment the doctor looked puzzled. Then he said, “Oh, yes, it was the patient before you who had a check-up. How absent-minded I am!”
小題1:It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that when the author’s wife heard what her husband told her, she was ______.

A．excited

B．surprised

C．sad

D．proud

小題2:The doctor took Edison’s story for example ______.

A．to show absent-mindedness is common among people

B．because he liked telling stories

C．to make the author laugh

D．to make fun of Edison

小題3:The underlined word “absent-mindedness” in the second paragraph probably means ______.

A．a(chǎn) feeling of anger

B．a(chǎn) feeling of sadness

C．a(chǎn)n emotion (情緒) of excitement

D．a(chǎn) trouble in which people often forget this or that

小題4:According to the passage, who was (were) absent-minded?

A．Only the author.	B．The author’s wife.
C．The author and the doctor.	D．The doctor alone.

Over many years, there has been an increase in the population of towns in many countries, as millions of people have moved from the villages in search of better jobs and facilities (設(shè)施), in the hope of getting a higher standard of living. This development has led to huge expansions of towns both upwards into the sky and outwards into the surrounding countryside. In spite of all the efforts of governments and private businesses, many areas still suffer from a serious shortage of housing.
Now, a new idea has been put forward which will utilize (利用 vt.) areas which have no other obvious commercial potential (商業(yè)潛能). These are the ponds, small lakes, disused docks (碼頭), and other areas of water, many of which can be found near, or even in the suburbs (郊區(qū)) of big towns.
A new style of construction has been designed which will provide a house for less than half the cost of the normal building. The main saving is, of course, the land, because the new houses will float on water. There will be no need for foundations; instead the house will be built on a frame (框架) made of steel which is expected to cost about ￡5,000. Above this the builders will make a house with two, three, or four bedrooms and all the usual modern conveniences, as well as a roof garden. Each house will be joined to the main services supplying water, gas, and electricity and they will have a vacuum sewage disposal (真空污水處理) system. All the service links will have enough flexibility (靈活性) to allow for small differences in the water level caused by wet and dry periods of weather.
The first houses to be built are expected to cost between ￡20,000 and ￡30,000 according to size and it is already clear that there is a very good potential market for the new system. As the cost is comparatively low, young people and common citizens would like to buy.
小題1:So many people have moved into towns because _______．

A．they enjoy the facilities

B．they expect to live a better life

C．they expect to get better jobs

D．there is a shortage of jobs in villages

小題2:What is the main advantage of the new idea?

A．It will help relieve（緩解）the housing shortage.

B．It will utilize disused areas of water.

C．It will provide jobs.

D．It will help the suburbs.

小題3:The new houses will be built on­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______．

A．waterside areas	B．a(chǎn) stone foundation
C．lakes and rivers	D．a(chǎn) steel frame

小題4:The price of the new houses will _______．

A．encourage private and government builders

B．a(chǎn)ttract ordinary people in the towns to buy

C．vary in different areas according to the policy

D．help the housing market in the countryside

Bill Javis took over our village news-agency at a time of life when most of us only want to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-agency was ready-made. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity (簡(jiǎn)單)and order (秩序) and regularity (規(guī)律) of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.
Every day he opened his shop at six a.m. to catch the early trade (買賣); the papers arrived on his door-step before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station（郵局）. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the afternoon, for most likely Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his nearest competitor was five kilometers away. Sometime in the afternoon, the evening paper landed on the doormat, and at 4 o’clock Bill reopened. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.
He lived in a flat above the shop, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the afternoon, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was astonished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the water. He had had no luck, I could see, but he was making no effort to move.
“What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.
For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no idea what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire engine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, “Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right.” I had never known anyone carrying a brass alarm clock (鬧表) round with him before.
小題1:Bill opened the shop so early in the day because _______．

A．he liked to do as much as possible before he went to work

B．the shop had to be open when the morning papers came

C．he was never sure of the time

D．it was then that he did a lot of business

小題2:You might say “hard luck” to someone who _______．

A．has just heard some very good news

B．is less fortunate than he or she ought to be

C．puts great effort into whatever he or she tries

D．fails through his or her own fault entirely

小題3:On that sunny afternoon, the writer was surprised when he saw Bill because _______．

A．he thought it was late for Bill to be still fishing

B．he thought Bill was ill, since he was not moving at all

C．Bill had not caught anything, and that seemed strange

D．Bill stayed in his flat

小題4:From the information given in the passage, who or what do you think was wrong?

A．The bell was; it must have gone off at the wrong time.

B．Bill was; he had dropped off to sleep.

C．The writer’s watch was fast.

D．Bill’s clock was wrong; it was very old.

I don't ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it's like to work in a field dominated by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.
At 19, when I began studying astrophysics(天體物理學(xué)), it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as 3 post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement—jobs, research papers, awards— was viewed through the lens of gender (性別) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相對(duì)于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.
Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations: I don't talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn't want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I don't study sociology or political theory.
Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women's college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer: 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don't dismiss those concerns. Still, I don't tell them "war" stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that's a sight worth talking about.
小題1:.
From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would attribute(歸因于) the author's failures to_____.

A．the very fact that she is a woman

B．her involvement in gender politics

C．her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist

D．the burden she bears in a male-dominated society

小題2:.
What did the author constantly fight against while doing her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research?
A. Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science.
B. Unfair accusations from both inside and outside her circle.
C. People's stereotyped attitude towards female scientists.
D. Widespread misconceptions about nature and nurture
小題3:.
Why does the author feel great satisfaction when talking about her class?

A．Female students no longer have to worry about gender issues.

B．Her students' performance has brought back her confidence.

C．Her female students can do just as well as male students.

D．More female students are pursuing science than before.

小題4:.
What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?
A. Women students needn't have the concerns of her generation.
B. Women have more barriers on their way to academic success.
C. Women can balance a career in science and having a family.