--- Do you enjoy your present job?

   --- _________．I just do it for a living．

     A．Of course．  B．Not really    C．Not likely           D．Not a little

Today we tell about the expression “down to earth”．Down to earth means being open and honest．It is easy to deal with someone who is down to earth．Such people could be important members of society, but they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important．They do not let their importance “go to their heads.” Someone who lets something go to his head feels he is better than others．He has a “big head.”

       A person who is filled with his own importance and pride is said to have “his nose in the air．”O(jiān)ften the person who has a big head and his nose in the air has no reason to feel better than others．

       Americans use another expression that is similar in some ways to down to earth---“both feet on the ground.” Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality．She has what is called “common sense.” She does not allow her dreams to block her understanding of what is real．

The opposite kind of person is one who has his “head in the clouds.” Someone with his head in the clouds is a person whose mind is not on what is happening in real life．Such a person may be called a “daydreamen.”

The person who is down to earth usually has both feet on the ground．But the opposite is not always true．Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down to earth．

When we have both our feet firmly on the ground，and when we are down to earth，we do not have our noses in the air．We act honestly and openly to others．And our lives are like the ground below up—solid and strong．

He who considers himself to be better and more important than others is likely to        .

       A. have his head in the clouds       B. be easy to deal with

       C. have a “common sense”    D. have “a big head”

Which of the following expressions is similar to “down to earth”?

       A. “his nose in the air”   B. “go to his head”

       C. “both feet on the ground”  D. “daydreamer”

The passage is mainly about           ．

       A. some popular American expressions   B. how to be down to earth

       C. why to be honest and open          D. how to deal with someone who is down to earth

I thought we’d be late for the concert, _______ we ended up getting there ahead of time.

  A. but                       B. or                     C. so                            D. for

—Remember the first time we met, Jim?

—Of course I do. You ________ in the library.

A. were reading      B. had read           C. have read         D. read

We first met in Shanghai Expo and we both felt immediately that we ______ each other for years. 

A. knew       B. have known       C. had known       D. know

It is not rare in     that people in      fifties were going to university for further education．

A．90s; the    B．the 90s；/    C．90s; their   D．the 90s; their

A woman renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation．She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself．

“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”

“Of course I have a job,” said Emily．“I’m a mother.”

“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation… ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.

       One day I found myself in the same situation．The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title．“What is your occupation?” she asked．

       The words simply popped out．“I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”

       The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.

       I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

       “Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”

       Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t）, in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out)．Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it)．But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”

       There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out．

       As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (依托) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.

       Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern．

       I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”

       Motherhood…What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door.

What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?

       A．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was.

       B．The recorder was impatient and rude.

       C．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced.

       D．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society.

How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?

       A．curious        B．indifferent    C．puzzled             D．interested

How did the author feel when describing her job to the clerk?

     A．calm     B．panic-stricken      C．confident      D．cool

Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?

       A．Because the author cared little about rewards.

       B．Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab.

       C．Because she thought the author did admirable work.

       D．Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of.

What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

       A．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it.

       B．To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect.

       C．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily.

       D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work．                                   

British people have the worst quality of life in Europe, according to a report which highlights （強調(diào)) the long hours, bad weather, low life expectancy and high price of many goods.

In a study of ten of the largest European countries, Britain, which was considered a popular country to live in, now comes last followed by Ireland, with France and Spain topping the table.

Though British families enjoy the highest income in Europe, they still have to fight with a high cost of living, with fuel, food and alcohol all costing more than the European average.

With the high price of petrol, the UK is the second most expensive country in Europe. However, diesel (柴油) is more expensive in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.

The report by the website uSwitch analyses 10 European countries against 17 different benchmarks(基準點), from the price of gas, electricity, fuel, food and drink to the money each country spends on education, health to working conditions and the weather.

The top three countries are France, Spain and Denmark, with Sweden, Ireland and Britain coming eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

The study comes less than a week after the United Nations moved Britain out of the top 20 list of most desirable countries to live in for the first time.

Although France and Germany were at the beginning hit hard by the global financial crisis, both have officially got out of the trouble, while Britain has yet to prove this has happened. Later this week, despite (盡管) signs of recovery in the housing market and rising sales, unemployment is still expected to have climbed to above 2.5 million for the first time since 1994.

Which country has the best quality of life in Europe according to the report?

 A. Ireland.        B. France.         C. Sweden.         D. Denmark

Which is TRUE according to the passage?

A. British families are suffering from the high cost of living.  

B. The report comes after the website uSwitch analysed 10 Asian countries.

C. The price of petrol is higher in Britain than anywhere else in Europe.

D. The quality of British life is reported to be terrible because of the bad working conditions.

The underlined word “desirable” probably means           .

A. terrible      B. attractive         C. expensive       D. different

What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. Britain is still struggling to get out of the global financial crisis.

B. Unemployment in Britain is expected to go down soon.

C. Recovery in the housing market leads to unemployment in Britain.

D. Britain has recovered from the crisis together with France and Germany.

Valentine’s Day is on Feb. 14, and Chinese call it “l(fā)overs day”. I don’t think the translation is an accurate one, since it doesn’t only belong to lovers. Valentine’s Day is for expressing affection of all sorts. But it is uniquely for the romantically involved who shine the brightest, who spend the most money, whose hearts are the most engaged.

When I was b boy, my mother would buy enough cheap cards with ugly drawings of butterflies and little rabbits and honeybees for me to give one to every kid in my class, about 20 or so. The cards came in bags, and each card had a few foolish words-“Be Mine” or “I like you” or “You’ve Got My Heart” or the uninteresting words, “Hi, Valentine!” I would sign my name on the cards quickly and the name of one of my classmates on each easily-broken envelope. I would lick （舔）each one shut, but they were so cheap that the envelopes rarely had enough glue. On Valentine’s Day, I would take the cards to school-everyone did. We would have a party in our classroom, with cupcakes（杯形蛋糕）and juice and tiny candy hearts, which also had Valentine messages printed on them-“You’re sweet” or “Cupid（愛神丘比特）”or “Love”.

Ah, love! That’s the Valentine’s Day message: love. No one knows for certain the origin of the holiday. Several, Catholic victims were named Valentine, but it’s difficult to separate legend from fact. One story tells of a priest（牧師）named Valentine who was imprisoned and may have been stoned to death around 270 for performing marriages in going against the orders of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. But it’s hard today to find any religious connection.

From the first paragraph, why does the author say that we Chinese call Valentine’s Day “l(fā)overs’ day ”is not accurate?

       A．Because only lovers would spend it.

       B．Because it is only spent on Feb. 14.

       C．Because it doesn’t only belong to lovers.

       D．Because only those rich people could enjoy it.

A priest named Valentine was stoned to death for the sake of           .

       A．his not attending a ceremony on time.

       B．his stealing something from the church

       C．his rude words to Roman Emperor Claudius II

       D．his not obeying the orders by Roman Emperor Claudius II

According to the passage, we can know Valentine’s Day may be related to          .

       A．religion    B．sports       C．entertainment   D．a(chǎn)rt

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