When I was an education official in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our school board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally disabled and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents acknowledged his academic difficulties, but always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper:

Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed instantly in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known when I talked to him last that it would be the last time. If I had only known I would have said, “Jim, I love you and I’m very proud of you.”

I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he brought to the lives of the many who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, the sound of his laughter, his genuine love of people.

When you put all the good qualities on the scale and try to balance all the irritating phenomena such as the radio which was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., your angry feelings won’t amount to much.

I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, you do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear if you knew it would be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the day he died. He called me to say, “Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. Got to go to work. Bye.” He gave me something to treasure forever.

If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate more of life and to have people, especially family members, take the time to let each other know just how much we care.

You may never have another chance.

1.According to the passage, we know that _______.

A. Jim was always ashamed of himself

B. Jim did very well in his studies

C. Jim’s parents were patient with him

D. Jim failed to finish his high school

2.The underlined word “irritating” in Paragraph 4 most probably means _______.

A. annoying B. aggressive

C. impatient D. thrilling

3.By writing the letter printed in the Palo Alto Times, the author intends to _______.

A. mourn her son’s sudden death in a traffic accident

B. remind people to be cautious of motorcycles

C. tell parents to take better care of their children

D. suggest people taking the chance to express their love in time

4.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. Love your Family. B. Do it Today.

C. Walk with Pride. D. Appreciate Smiles.

Chinese college students have graduated to find the job market vary from when they entered school and those so-called “hot courses” might fail to land them good jobs.

Graduates with different majors have very different experiences in the job market. But degrees in finance, economics and a few other fields often guarantee good jobs.

“I have applied to 15 companies online, and most of them show interest in hiring me,” said WangLi, a postgraduate of labor Economics at Southwest University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. He said that all the students of economics, finance and accounting in his university had received at least two job offers.

Students of mining and materials science that were not popular before, however, have observed more employment opportunities than before. The employment rate of graduates from the courses was 100 percent at Guizhou University.

On the contrary, some so-called “hot courses” including law, journalism and computer science that have received large groups of students, failed them in the job market. Experts said high tuition fee of those courses led to blind enrollment expansion.

Another problem which makes it difficult for graduates to find jobs is the gap between school- learned- knowledge and requirements of real career.

In 2007, merely 60percent of computer science graduates were employed. Meanwhile, job vacancies in IT industry exceeded one million. IT companies complained about the large amount of money they spend on pre-career training of new employees. They hope universities adjust their courses to better prepare students for their future work.

In addition to academic background, employers are looking for college graduates with a good sense of responsibility. This merit is followed by a sense of team work, ambition, flexibility, eloquence, independence, confidence, pressure-bearing ability, communication skills and so on.

1.The graduates with degrees in “hot courses” may have difficulty in finding satisfactory jobs probably because ______________.

A. the graduates with such degrees are of poor quality

B. those fields have developed slowly in recent years

C. there are too many graduates with such degrees

D. enterprises will not employ the graduates with such degrees

2.The words “hot courses” in the first paragraph of this passage refers to “________”.

A. law, journalism and computer science

B. economics, finance and accounting

C. mining and materials science

D. economics, journalism and materials science

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Economics, finance and accounting are no longer “hot” now.

B. Quite a number of college students don’t work hard at their lessons.

C. The quality of some of the college graduates can not meet the demands of companies.

D. Universities have already adjusted their courses to prepare students for their future work.

4.The author seems to agree that __________.

A. middle school graduates should choose good universities as well as good majors

B. besides academic background, sense of responsibility is also very important

C. university students shouldn’t work hard at their lessons

D. middle school graduates should not choose these “hot courses”

Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community then we will have a better life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?

In this fast-paced world, many values are undergoing major changes. While people

traditionally prioritize caring, sharing and generosity in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned.

Modern people act selfishly to survive the harsh competition of life. They say that it is a jungle out there. To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy. Obviously greedy and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas. In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues. We are in any way advocating any selfish conduct. It is just that people are pressured to act in a certain way due to outside influences.

In spite of common practice, it is hard to conclude that modern society is built on greed and selfishness, both of which are not newly invented vocabulary. In ancient times people also did greedy and selfish things though such behaviors were more condemned then. But we can not ignore the fact that people in the past lived a relatively more isolated life and faced less pressure compared with their modern counterparts.

Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer either. Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite. But I personally think that people should not be too selfish. Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a mutually beneficial relationship.

In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure. However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and build a mutually beneficial relationship with others.

Are Modern People Becoming More Selfish?

隨著信息技術(shù)的快速發(fā)展，網(wǎng)絡(luò)語言以其快捷的傳播方式進(jìn)入了人們的生活。根據(jù)某機(jī)構(gòu)最近對某市中學(xué)生的調(diào)查，發(fā)現(xiàn)中學(xué)生對網(wǎng)絡(luò)語言的使用看法不一，結(jié)果如下：

請給21世紀(jì)英語報(bào)寫一篇題為Is cyber language dangerous？的報(bào)道，陳述以上的調(diào)查結(jié)果并發(fā)表你自己的看法。

注意：1. 不要逐條翻譯，可適當(dāng)發(fā)揮；

2. 詞數(shù)150字左右；開頭已寫好，不計(jì)入總詞數(shù)；

3. 參考詞匯： 草根文化 grass-roots culture; 庸俗 vulgar

Is cyber language dangerous ？

With the development of information technology, cyber language has stepped into our life and is spreading rapidly. According to a survey recently conducted among high school students, there are various views about the use of cyber language.

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---Do you know the person our headmaster is talking to.

---Yes. I made his _______ at a party.

A. remark B. disagreement

C. responsibility D. acquaintance

I would really appreciate ______ if you can make time in your schedules to attend my lecture today.

A. that B. it C. this D. one

I have ______ many different friends ______ it is hard to choose just one best friend.

A. so; as B. so; that

C. such; as D. such; that

If you don’t know what you want, you might _______ getting something you don't want.

A. end up B. pick up

C. turn up D. give up

---You didn’t lock the back door.

---You are wrong. I ______.

A. have locked it B. lock it myself

C. did lock it D. do lock it

---What makes him so excited these days?

---________ a key university.

A. Admitted into

B. Admitting to

C. Having been admitted into

D. Being admitted to