Hoffman, 40, a former senior vice president of a financial company, had what she describes as “one of those extreme jobs.” “I loved working,” she says. But her career path reached a crossroad when her second child was born, and she left her job in February 2007. Hoffman is one of many people who have left the work force to take a break, but she has a position as consultant. she has described this type of career detour（繞路）—— which is more common for women than for men —— as “off-ramping.” Typically it occurs when the balancing act of parenting and work becomes too tough.

A study by the center found that more than 90 percent of women who off-ramp want to on-ramp back into the work force eventually. But making the transition back to work is rarely easy, and it is even harder in this economic climate of layoffs and hiring freezes.

Considering some of the obstacles faced by on-rampers, a three-day program called “Greater Returns: Restarting Your Career” was held at Columbia University. The goal of the three days was to have them walk away with a big shot of confidence.”

According to one school of thought women looking to make a comeback might even have an advantage in the current economy, especially if they are looking for part-time or consultant positions that do not offer benefits. And a majority of on-rampers are women with extensive working experiences that could give them a slight advantage over less-experienced competition.

“You absolutely cannot be defensive about why you off-ramped,” Ms Hoffman says, “defensive” would have put her into a hard situation if the Greater Returns program had not taught her how to describe the years she spent at home. “I now feel confident talking to an employer and saying, ‘Yes, I have been out of the work force, but here is where I can make significant contributions.’”

1. What is the best title for the passage?

       A. Off-ramp: it is common

       B. Off-ramp: it is easy

       C. Off-ramp to on-ramp: it can be a hard journey

       D. Off-ramp to on-ramp: it depends on confidence

2. According to the passage, Greater Returns                    .

       A. is intended to relieve the pressure of the jobless women

       B. has all the jobless women restart their career

       C. is to last all the year around for the jobless women

       D. will build up the confidence of those in search of jobs

3. The main reason for the women’s off-ramping is that                          .

       A. they have to suffer the sexual discrimination

       B. they reach a crossroad of career

       C. they have to parent their children

       D. they have great work pressure

4. Which job is easier to get for a woman off-ramper?

       A. Regular workers.             B. Casual workers.       

C. Company managers.         D. Band clerks.

5. From what Ms. Hoffman says in the last paragraph, we can conclude                        .

       A. she didn't get advice from the Greater Returns program

       B. she was defensive about her off-ramping

       C. she didn’t get the job because she lied about her experience

       D. she is on-ramp partly due to her straightforward manner

  New rules will let millions of Americans know where more of their food comes from. The law is known as COOL—Country of Origin Labeling.

  American Congress first passed the law in 2002. Stores have had to label seafood by country of origin since 2005. But industry pressure delayed other requirements until last week.

  Products that must now be labeled include fresh fruits and vegetables, muscle meats and some kinds of nuts. But the rules are complex, and many foods are excluded. For example, organ meats are free to be labeled. So are processed foods, including cooked or smoked food.

  The United States has imported more and more food in recent years to save money and expand choices. Country-of-origin labeling has become more common lately but has still been limited in many stores.

  Food safety is one reason why some shoppers pay close attention to where foods came from. For example, when a large number of people recently got sick from salmonella（沙門菌�。�, officials blamed peppers from Mexico. Yet the last big food scare involved spinach (菠菜) grown in California. But labeling is also a way for people to know they are getting what they want. Some want to buy local foods or foods from a particular country.

  The country-of-origin labeling law gives stores 30 days to correct any violations that are found. Stores and suppliers that are found to be deliberately violating the law could be fined 1000 dollars per violation. Federal inspectors are not to take action to enforce the law for six months to give time for an education campaign.

  Some food safety activists say they are generally pleased with the law. They call it a good step that will give people more useful information.

1. What’s the regulation in the new rules?

 A. Stores have to label food by its producing date from now on.

 B. The country-of-origin labeling has to be marked on more food.

 C. Stores have to label seafood by country of origin.

 D. Labeling of food should include more useful information.

2. Why has more and more food been imported to the United States in recent years?

 A. Because it is economical and provides people with more choices.

 B. Because the United States is short of food supply.

 C. Because Americans need more and more food recently.

 D. Because foreign food is of higher quality than native food.

3. Consumers are more concerned about where foods came from because ______.

 A. they are curious about the country of the food origin

 B. they are particular about the tastes of the food

 C. they are concerned about food safety and want to get what they want

 D. most of the shoppers are food safety activists themselves

4. The new rules of the country-of-origin labeling law will come into effect ______.

 A. right now    B. in a month    C. in three months  D. in half a year        

5. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

 A. Most Americans prefer imported vegetables to the vegetables grown in local places.

 B. The government of America will forbid importing peppers from Mexico.

 C. The law was not fully carried out until last week because of food industry’s resistance.

 D. Store owners are most likely to be the supporters of the law.

第二節(jié)  書面表達(滿分35分)

目前，中學(xué)生花錢大手大腳已成為一個令學(xué)校難以管理的問題。假如你做了一份關(guān)于零花錢的調(diào)查報告。請根據(jù)提示寫一篇100詞左右的短文，呼吁大家關(guān)注此問題。短文的開頭已給出，但不計入總詞數(shù)。

錢的來源    2. 用途(至少2點)    3. 危害(至少2點)   4. 呼吁（至少2點）

Nowadays, middle students tend to be very free with their pocket money, which has become a

difficult problem to solve for

 schools. _______________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nowadays it is difficult for people to find ______ work in the world because _________ economic situation is very serious.

  A. /; an           B. /; the           C. the; the         D. a ; /

 —Jack isn't a football coach, is he?

—_________.

A. No, but he was.                                   B. Yes, he isn't

C. Yes, he wasn't                                     D. No, he is

第二節(jié)  根據(jù)對話內(nèi)容，從對話后的選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。選項中有兩項多余選項。（共5小題；每小題2分，滿分10分）

A: Hi. You look excited.   61___

B: It is said that a singing contest will be held in our school soon. And I think it a good chance to               

exercise my singing talents.

A: __62 __

B: A pocket radio will be given as a reward to the first prize winner.

A: Are you going to take part in it?

B: Sure. __63_ 

A: Really? But I don’t think you’ve practiced enough.

B: I’m going to. I bet I can get the first prize.

A: __64  . I think you need to have a music teacher to help you.

B: I don’t think it necessary. __65_ 

A. By the way, are they giving prizes?

B. People say I have a good voice.

C. I don’t know what others say about it.

D. You can do a lot better next time.

E. It’ll turn out fine if I practice a lot.

F. What’s happening?

G. Don’t be so sure.

 －Who is making so much noise in the garden?

  － _______ the children.

  A. There are              B. They are                   C. That is                            D. It is

       Some companies have introduced flexible working time with less emphasis on pressure ______.

     A. than more on efficiency                            B. and more efficiency

     C. and more on efficiency                       D. than efficiency

       Bicycles are a great way to get around. They’re fun to ride, especially down hills. And, as you speed along the road, you might also think of ways in which you could improve your bike— make it safer, more efficient, or more comfortable. In fact, the two-wheeled machines make for some cool science projects.

This year's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), held last May in Cleveland, featured（had）three bicycle projects from three countries. Like many of the other experiments presented at ISEF, the bike projects showed that some of the most interesting scientific research often begins by taking a closer look at things you care about.

       Renato Angulo Chu had even grander ambitions. The 12th-grader from Lima, Peru, wanted to address some of his country's economic troubles.

"I see a problem in my country," Renato said. "If you go to the forests in Peru, in some places you cannot find electricity. If you go with my bicycle, you can turn on the lights."

Renato, 16, spent 3 years designing his special Multibike. The device looks like a fixed exercise bike. It has wires fixed along the frame and a blender strapped(fastened) to the back. Turning the pedals operates the blender. The same principle can be used to sharpen knives or sweep city streets.

       The Multibike can work either as a fixed bike or as a bicycle able to travel city streets and country roads. It's made from inexpensive materials, and the user gets exercise while pedaling to operate a machine.

"You pedal the bike, and you can mix any drink you want," Renato said. More importantly, he added, the same concept could be used to bring light to houses in remote regions of the rainforest.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

       A. Bicycles are the best way to go about

       B. Bikes should be made more comfortable to ride.

       C. You can improve your bicycle for science research.

       D. Many inventions are connected with the bicycle.

2. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

       A. ISEF is an exhibiton displaying bicycle experiments designed by students.

       B. Looking closely at things you are concerned about can lead to scientific research.

       C. Renato’s improvement of the bicycle has solved the country’s great problem.

       D. Renato’s special bicycle will soon be put into use in remote areas.’

3. The underlined word “address” in the third paragraph probably has the same meaning as _______.

       A. make address written        B. give up    C. work at     D. speak at

4. Renato’s special Multibike has all the following EXCEPT  ________.

       A. making knives sharp                                    

B. mixing any kind of drinks

       C. producing electricity                                    

D. operating a machine with its own electricity