A year after graduation, I was offered a position teaching a writing class.Teaching was a profession I
had never seriously considered, though several of my stories had been published.I accepted the job
without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr Davis.My father went by
the same name, and I liked to imagine people getting the two of us confused."Wait a minute," someone
might say, "are you talking about Mr Davis the retired man, or Mr Davis the respectable scholar？"
     The position was offered at the last minute, and I was given two weeks to prepare, a period I spent
searching for a briefcase (公文包) and standing before my fulllength mirror, repeating the words, "Hello,
class, I'm Mr Davis." Sometimes I would give myself an aggressive voice.Sometimes I would sound
experienced.But when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr Davis was there.I
sounded not like a thoughtful professor, but rather a 12yearold boy.
     I arrived in the classroom with paper cards designed in the shape of maple leaves.I had cut them myself out of orange construction paper.I saw nine students along a long table.I handed out the cards, and the
students wrote down their names and fastened them to their breast pockets as I required.
     "All right then." I said. "Okay, here we go."Then I opened my briefcase and realized that I had never
thought beyond this moment.I had been thinking that the students would be the first to talk, offering their
thoughts and opinions on the events of the day.I had imagined that I would sit on the edge of the desk,
overlooking a forest of raised hands.Every student would shout to be heard, and I would knock on
something in order to silence them.I would yell, “Calm down, you'll all get your turn.One at a time, one at a time！”
     A terrible silence ruled the room, and seeing no other options, I instructed the students to pull out their
notebooks and write a brief essay related to the theme of deep disappointment.
1. The author took the job to teach writing because _____.
A.he wanted to be respected
B.he had written some stories
C.he wanted to please his father
D.he had dreamed of being a teacher
2.What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 2?
A.He would be aggressive in his first class.
B.He was wellprepared for his first class.
C.He got nervous upon the arrival of his first class.
D.He waited long for the arrival of his first class.
3.Before he started his class, the author asked the students to _____.
A.write down their suggestions on the paper cards
B.cut maple leaves out of the construction paper
C.cut some cards out of the construction paper
D.write down their names on the paper cards
4.What did the students do when the author started his class?
A.They began to talk.  
B.They stayed silent.
C.They raised their hands.  
D.They shouted to be heard.

                                                                     Stop Spam!
     When I first got an email account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends,
and colleagues.Now it seems that every time I check my email, I have an endless series of advertisements and other correspondence that do not interest me at all.If we want email to continue to be useful,we need
specific laws that make spamming(發(fā)送垃圾郵件) a crime.
    If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse.
Computer programs allow spammers to send hundreds of millions of emails  almost instantly.As more
and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual (個人的) email boxes are often
flooded with spam emails.Would people continue to use email if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?
    This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well.Many spam emails contain computer
viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company.Companies rely on email for their employees
to communicate with each other.Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks,
and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively.Such a situation results in a loss of
productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks.These computer problems raise
production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passed on to the consumer.
    For these reasons,I believe that lawmakers need to legislate(立法) against spam.Spammers should be
fined,and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people.Email is a tool which helps people all
over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience.

1. What does the underlined word"correspondence"in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A. messages              
B. ideas
C. connections            
D. programs

2. According to the text, what is the major cause of the flooding spam?

A. Companies rely on email for communications.
B. More people in the world communicate by email.
C. Many computer viruses contain spam emails.
D. More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam.

3. According to Paragraph 3, who is the final victim of spam?

A. The business.       
B. The advertiser.
C. The employee.      
D. The consumer.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A. To inform.          
B. To educate.
C. To persuade.          
D. To instruct.

     "I didn't hear them call my name." explained Shelley Hennig to Active Teens (AT) as she talked about
that exciting moment on national television when she won the honor of Miss Teen USA 2004."Are you
ready?" is what she heard.Then she said, "I shook my head no, and then they said 'yes' and it was
announced again."
     It was four days after that life changing moment for the seventeenyearold high school student from
Destrehan, Louisiana-she was still on_cloud_nine.
     "I was so shocked! I never believed that it could actually really happen." Present in the audience (觀
眾) that day were: her mother and father, older brother, her friends, and her dance teacher.
     Understanding why members of her family and her friends would be there, AT asked why her dance
teacher had traveled so far to see her compete (比賽). "She's always been my role model.I've danced
with her since I was six.She's been through so many difficulties and came through them all.I've learned to
get over bad life's experiences and learned how to move on because of her."
      One of those bad life's experiences for Shelley happened three years ago when her brother Brad was killed in a drunk driving accident.He was 18.She found writing helped her get through the rough days.She
said, "I write a lot about my brother.I write a lot, a lot, a lot..."
     As Miss Louisiana Teen, she traveled around the state speaking to teens (青少年) about the dangers
of drinking and driving.In her role as Miss Teen USA, Shelley will continue to speak to youth about safe
driving, in addition to many other things to help the youth.
      When AT asked Miss Teen USA if she had any advice for our readers, she said, "Don't let anyone
change you.Hang out with people that make you feel good about yourself.That way, it is easy to be
yourself."

1. What do the words "on cloud nine" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. frightened  
B. troubled
C. very happy  
D. very angry

2. Shelley takes her dance teacher as a role model mainly because she is________.

A. determined  
B. friendly
C. strict  
D. experienced

3. How many children did the Hennigs have according to the text?

A. 1.  
B. 2.
C. 3.  
D. 4.

4. What did Shelley often do after she became Miss Louisiana Teen?

A. She visited drunken drivers.
B. She gave dance performances.
C. She made speeches on safe driving.
D. She helped other teens with their studies.

                                               The way we do things round here
    Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank.I received a letter from the head of the Personnel
Department that started, "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite"
saddened me.I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we
had hired someone else." Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very",
while in British English it means "fairly".
    So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just
mean the words people speak.It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on.The way people do
things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures (文化).
Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may
be deeper and take longer to deal with.Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and
accepting them, like the climate (氣候), while getting on with business.
     Some of the differences may be an improvement.People are more polite; the service is better；you
ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again.However, other differences can
be troubling, like punctuality (準時). If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider
it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early
in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the
evening in Greece.I prefer not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the times
people arrive.It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.

1. The author was unhappy as mentioned in Paragraph 1 because he thought________.

A. the American bank didn't think much of him
B. the American bank might hire another person
C. it's difficult to get used to American culture
D. it's easy to misunderstand Americans

2. The word "highlights" in Paragraph 2 probably means______.

A. encourages 
B. helps to narrow
C. increases  
D. draws attention to

3. According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?

A. Ask the native people for help.
B. Understand and accept them.
C. Do things in our own way.
D. Do indepth research.

4. When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are________.

A. Italians  
B. Germans
C. Greeks  
D. the British