Located along California’s San Andreas Fault, the city of San Francisco is likely to take precautions(預(yù)防，防備) in the event of the next big earthquake.
According to a New York Times report, emergency planners in San Francisco are not only thinking of human evacuation(撤離，疏散) plans in the event of an earthquake, but also of how to care for pets during a natural disaster. Ideally, the planners will be able to train pet-disaster responders who work to evacuate dogs, cats and other household pets from the disaster site to one of the 125 temporary animal shelters that will be set up or, if the pet is injured, it will be brought to an emergency animal medical unit where there will be people on hand to tend to the pet’s injury. The city’s “no-pets-left-behind” policy results from the great number of pet deaths during the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.
As emergency responders arrived to rescue people isolated in their homes during Katrina, hurricane victims were told that they could not take their pets along with them when evacuating; thus, many pet owners were forced to make the heart-breaking decision to save themselves while leaving their pets behind to perhaps meet their deaths.
Since then, the U.S. has passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006, allocating federal funds for animal disaster planning projects. Yet, not all counties are as progressive as San Francisco has been in the effort to protect pets in the event of a natural disaster. Pets are after all, a large part of San Francisco’s population — overnumbering the number of school age children in the city.
Over the last three years, San Francisco has received $350,000 in federal funds designated to animal disaster preparedness efforts in order to protect animals in the case of a disaster such as an earthquake. The city is still working on obtaining $300,000 to pay for an emergency animal unit. Until then, animal lovers in San Francisco will continue to work to ensure that pets are never an afterthought when it comes to rescues during earthquakes or other life threatening situations.
【小題1】We learn from the second paragraph that ______.

A．emergency planners in San Fransico only consider human evacuation plans in a disaster

B．emergency planners in San Fransico only think about pet evacuation plans during a disaster

C．the safety of both humans and pets in a disaster is taken seriously

D．emergency medical units will be used only for humans

【小題2】What do we know about Hurricane Katrina?

A．A great number of pets died during Hurricane Katrina.

B．San Francisco’s “no-pets-left-behind” policy had been made before Hurricane Katrina.

C．The pet owners chose to sacrifice themselves in order to save their pets.

D．Emergency responders failed to rescue the hurricane victims.

【小題3】Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．San Fransisco has made great effort to protect pets in a natural disaster.

B．The number of school age children in San Fransisco is smaller than that of pets.

C．The U.S. government has spent money on animal disaster planning projects.

D．All the countries are in the effort to protect pets in a natural disaster.

【小題4】The underlined word “designated” in the last paragraph most probably means ______.

A．loaned

B．a(chǎn)llocated

C．replaced

D．obtained

【小題5】What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．How to take precautions in the earthquake.

B．Human evacuation plans in the earthquake.

C．Taking steps to care for pets during a natural disaster.

D．How to train pets to escape from a disaster.

Careercast.com is out with its list of best and worst jobs of 2012. It’s bad news for the writer of this story, but much brighter for the folks who program the code that keeps this website busy.
Using a method that looked at physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook, career Website Careercast.com, ranked the top 200 jobs. They also ranked the jobs with the most stress. Not surprisingly, none of the most stressful jobs show up on the best jobs list.
At the top is software engineer and at the bottom is the lumberjack. Cutting trees failed to skate above the bottom 10 percent in all ranking categories, except income. “Unemployment for lumberjacks is very high, and the demand for their services is expected to continue to fall through 2016. And while working outside all day may seem like a great job perk(有額外津貼的工作), being a lumberjack not only is considered the worst job, but also one of the world’s most dangerous,” according to Careercast.com. And, for that most dangerous job, a lumberjack earns a little more than $32,000 a year. That’s about $56,000 less than the easy job of a software engineer, which has the average salary at $88,000 a year, according to Careercast.
Here’s a complete look at the best and worst jobs. And, take a look at the most stressful jobs. You may be surprised.
Best Jobs                     Worst Jobs             Most Stressful Jobs
Software Engineer                   Lumberjack              Enlisted Soldier
Actuary                         Dairy Farmer                Firefighter
Human Resources Manager         Enlisted Military Soldier       Airline Pilot
Dental Hygienist                    Oil Rig Worker         Military General
Financial Planner                   Reporter (Newspaper)        Police Officer
Audiologist                     Waiter/Waitress         Event Coordinator
Occupational Therapist              Meter Reader                Public Relations Executive
Online Advertising Manager          Dishwasher              Corporate Executive Computer Systems Analyst          Butcher                 Photojournalist
Mathematician                       Broadcaster             Taxi Driver
【小題1】Who might be most interested in the passage?

A．Job-hunters.	B．Net surfers.
C．Employers.	D．Educators.

【小題2】Which of the following was not considered when Careercast.com ranked the top 200 jobs?

A．Hiring outlook.	B．Pressure.
C．Mental demands.	D．Salary.

【小題3】What do we know about the lumberjack?

A．Although the lumberjack has high unemployment, it isn’t considered the worst job.

B．On the best jobs list, the lumberjack isn’t at the bottom.

C．More lumberjacks’ services will be needed after 2016.

D．A lumberjack earns less than half of a software engineer’s salary a year.

【小題4】According to the passage, the list is good news for ______.

A．Online Advertising Managers.	B．Reporters.
C．Firefighters.	D．Dairy Farmers.

【小題5】What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To describe the advantages of different careers.

B．To provide career information.

C．To explain why a software engineer is the best job.

D．To analyze why a lumberjack is the worst job.

Laws to stop tigers, camels, zebras and snakes being used as performing animals in circuses have been announced by the government.
The environment minister, Jim Paice, hoped the laws would be brought in before the end of the parliament in 2015, which is the main law-making institution of the UK. At present between 35 and 50 wild animals are thought to be used by circuses in England and Defra offered to help find new homes for the retired performers.
The announcement follows a campaign by animal charity organization for the ban (禁令), which became worse when a video appeared last year of a circus elephant being beaten by a worker. Campaigners were angry when Paice previously announced tougher licensing instead.
Circus Mondao, whose website shows zebra and camels, said it would probably challenge the suggested ban. The circus is a member of the European Circus Association, which previously challenged Austria's ban, saying there was no scientific evidence (證據(jù)) that the animals were harmed by the travelling or conditions. On its website, Mondao says that when it travels animals are the last to be loaded and the first to be unloaded; they are moved to tents within an hour of arriving, and are usually moved 20-50 miles.
Animal charities welcomed the move, but called for ministers to speed up the laws. Asked why circuses would be banned from keeping wild animals but not domestic animals such as horses, a Defra spokesman said a key difference was that domesticated animals were more used to conditions such as travelling. "Wild animals aren't domesticated: we feel it's not right ethically (倫理上) for wild animals to perform," he said.
【小題1】What is the proper order of the following events ?
a. Tougher licensing was announced by the environment minister.
b. A campaign for a ban was launched by an animal charity.
c. Laws were announced by the government.
d. The suggested ban was challenged by Circus Mondao.

A．b, d, c, a

B．c, b, a, d

C．b, a, c, d

D．c, a, d, b

【小題2】According to the text, which of the following is TRUE?

A．Retired performers are taken good care of in their new homes.

B．The environment minister expected to introduce the law during the present parliament.

C．Austria’s ban has been seriously challenged by all the European circuses.

D．Animal charities were not satisfied with the suggested laws at all.

【小題3】“Domestic animals ” are probably      .

A．a(chǎn)nimals that provide meat for people

B．a(chǎn)nimals that are introduced from other countries

C．a(chǎn)nimals that are well trained by a circus

D．a(chǎn)nimals that live on farm or in people’s home

Winter is dangerous because it’s so difficult to know what is going to happen and accidents take place so easily. Fog can be waiting to meet you over the top of a hill. Ice might be hiding under the melting (融化) snow, waiting ahead to send you off the road. The car coming to you may suddenly slip（滑） across the road.
Rule No.1 for driving on icy roads is to drive smoothly (平穩(wěn)地). Sudden movements can make a car very difficult to control. So every time you either start or stop your car, increase or reduce your speed, you must be as gentle and slow as possible. Suppose you are driving with a full cup of hot coffee on the seat next to you. Drive so that you wouldn’t spill (濺) it.
Rule No.2 is to pay attention to what might happen. The more ice there is, the further down the road you have to look. Test how long it takes to gently stop your car. Remember that you may be driving more quickly than you think. Generally, allow twice of your usual stopping distance when the road is wet, three times this distance on snow than usual, and even more on ice. Try to stay in control of your car at all time and you will not get into trouble.
【小題1】The writer tries to _____ in this passage.

A．show his dislikes about bad winter weather

B．give information about winter weather

C．a(chǎn)sk people not to drive in winter

D．a(chǎn)dvise people about safe driving in winter

【小題2】According to the passage, the writer thinks that _______.

A．people should not drive in the snow

B．drivers should think more about problems in winter driving

C．people drive too fast in winter

D．winter drivers should stop their cars less

【小題3】In the passage the writer talks about a cup of coffee ______.

A．to show how important smooth movements are

B．to ask the drivers to bring some soft drinks with them

C．to tell the drivers to be more relaxed

D．to show how it can be spilled

【小題4】Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Traffic accidents take place easily in winter.

B．Fog and melting snow often cause car accidents.

C．The stopping distance on ice is as long as the usual one.

D．In winter you should drive your car with great care.

The following is a timetable in Shanghai Pudong International Airport．

Airline	Flight Number	Destination	Departure	Gate
Air Canada	137	Beijing	10:12 a．m．	24
Japanese Airlines	320	Tokyo	10:30 a．m．	18
British Airways	405	Paris	11:00 a．m．	20
Pan American	226	London	11:20 a．m．	12
Pan American	12	Beijing	11:43 a．m．	15
Air Canada	178	Tokyo	12:32 a．m．	21
CAAC	289	Hong Kong	12:32 a．m．	14
CAAC	314	Moscow	12:45 a．m．	18
British Airways	230	New York	12:55 a．m．	23

【小題1】 A man wants to take Flight 178 to Tokyo. Which gate should he go to?

A．14

B．28

C．21

D．18

【小題2】Lisa is at gate 23. Where is she going?

A．Paris

B．Beijing

C．Tokyo

D．New York

【小題3】Now it’s 10:40. Mary is at gate 20. Which airline’s plane will she take?

A．British Airways	B．Japanese Airlines
C．Pan American	D．Air Canada

【小題4】Gate _______ is the busiest among all these gates.

A．23

B．18

C．24

D．15

Good manners play an important part in maintaining（保持）peace in society. A man with good manners doesn’t hurt others’ feelings, and therefore he’s on good terms with everyone. In this way he helps to keep the peace in society.
But a man with bad manners has no respect for others. He uses words carelessly and behaves rudely towards others and causes a lot of unpleasantness. In the end, he himself will suffer the most. Everyone avoids him and he is forced to live alone.
To live well in society, money alone is not enough. Even the richest man cannot afford to have bad manners. He may have enough money to buy all things he wants; but if his manners are bad, he will have no friends, and no one can live happily without friends.
We should have good manners, for it’s human nature to try to get friendship; and friendship has to be earned （獲得）through our own attitude towards others. If we are kind to others, they will be kind to us, and kindness is the most basic quality of good manners. Bad manners drive away friends as well as our own family members.
On the other hand, a man with good manners has many friends. He commands the respect of all those who come into contact（聯(lián)系）with him. He doesn’t talk ill about others. Even when he’s provoked, he tries his best not to upset others. He also feels sorry about the weak and the disabled.
There are, however, many people who behave so well outside their homes that they are respected by everyone outside. But in their own homes they are worse than the devil（魔鬼）. Such people cannot be said to have good manners. Their behavior will soon be discovered by others.
If one’s manners are good, one behaves well everywhere, even when one is away from the critical（愛挑剔的）eyes of others. Only such a person can live well in society.
【小題1】People with good manners bring society _____.

A．peace

B．enjoyment

C．respect

D．friendship

【小題2】What does the author mainly want to tell us in Paragraph 4 ?

A．People are born friendly.

B．Bad manners make people lose friends.

C．Money is not the most important.

D．Kind people will be treated kindly.

【小題3】The underlined word “provoked” in the passage may mean _____.

A．tired

B．sad `

C．made angry

D．left alone

【小題4】What’s the main idea of the passage ?

A．Kindness is important.

B．Friendship is important.

C．Good manners are important.

D．People with bad manners can’t live well.

If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare(車費) of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration（登記） card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.
With so many loopholes （漏洞） in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.
【小題1】The underlined words in this passage means to “______”。

A．be ready to help others

B．make good use of one’s friends

C．be a little ahead of others

D．gain something at other’s loss

【小題2】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．While taking a taxi in Finland, you can get off without first paying your fare.

B．In a big hotel in Finland, you can enjoy free meals if you’re living in the hotel.

C．The bosses in Finland pay the employees according to registration of t heir working hours.

D．The workers are always honest with their working hours.

【小題3】We can infer from the passage that ______.

A．the Finnish society is of very high moral (道德) level

B．there are many loopholes in everyday life in Finland

C．in Finland, most taxi drivers will not charge you anything

D．everyone in Finland is like a gentleman, for they have faith in themselves

【小題4】Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．Life in Finland

B．A Society with “Foolish” People

C．What a Life

D．Honest accounts of the Finns

Agatha Christie went out at night．She never forgot the night when she met a robber many years ago．
That evening, she was invited to a birthday party which lasted until 2 o’clock in the morning．Agatha walked in the quiet street alone． Suddenly from the shadow of a dark building a tall man with a sharp knife in his right hand ran out at her． “Good morning, lady,” the man said in a low voice, “I don't think you wish to die here!”
“What do you want?” Agatha asked．
“Your earrings(耳環(huán))． Take them off!”
Agatha suddenly had a bright idea． She tried to cover her necklace with the collar (衣領(lǐng) ) of her overcoat while she used the other hand to take off both of her earrings and then she quickly threw them on the ground．
“Take them and let me go,” she said． The robber saw that the girl didn’t care for the earrings at all, only trying to protect the necklace． He thought the necklace would cost more, so he said, “Give me your necklace．”
“Oh, sir． It’s not worth much． Please let me keep it．”
“Stopping rubbish(廢話)． Quick!”
With shaky hands, Agatha took off her necklace． As soon as the robber disappeared, she picked up her earrings and ran as fast as she could to one of her friends．
The earrings cost 480 pounds and the necklace the robber had taken away cost only six pounds．
【小題1】Agatha never forgot the night, for she _______．

A．was robbed of her earrings

B．had a good time at the birthday party

C．was robbed of her necklace

D．was robbed, but she fooled the robber

【小題2】The birthday party ___________．

A．was over at 2	B．didn’t end after 2
C．ended before 2	D．didn’t end at 2

【小題3】Which of the following is not true? ______．

A．Agatha pretended not to care for her earrings

B．Agatha pretended to care for her necklace

C．Agatha really cared for her earrings

D．Agatha didn’t care for her earrings at all because they were not too expensive

【小題4】After reading the story，you may know that Agatha was a _____ girl．

A．brave and famous	B．clever and brave
C．foolish	D．beautiful

One potential problem with allowances is that children’s responsible behavior can become about earning the allowance rather than the intrinsic(固有的)value of their family responsibilities. For example, if you pay your children for taking out the rubbish, they see this chore (家務(wù)事) as a job that they should be rewarded for instead of a responsibility they must fulfill as part of the family. But giving children an allowance for weekly chores is not necessarily bad. You are rewarding them for fulfilling their family responsibilities, but it is not for a specific act. It is an appreciation of their commitment to your family values. You are also conveying another important message that their actions have consequences: if they do good things, good things happen. They also learn a lesson about the market economy, namely that work is rewarded.
Allowances can also be used as punishment and to teach children lessons about family values. For example, if your children join a group of kids smashing (砸碎) pumpkins on Halloween, a part of a reasonable punishment might be to require them to pay the families out of their allowance to replace the pumpkins. Thus, your children learn that bad behavior has financial consequences. Meanwhile, by relating the punishment to the misdeed, you ensure that your children see the connection and learn the value lesson.
How much allowance should you pay your children? The precise amount depends on your family’s financial situation, the cost of living and your children’s needs. Children can start to earn a weekly allowance as early as 5 years of age. An increase of $ 1 per week for each year of your children’s lives is realistic until they reach their mid-teens. When they begin to drive and date, you can calculate their expenses and establish a reasonable allowance that covers their needs.
【小題1】The first paragraph mainly tells us that giving allowance to children may____________.

A．lead to children’s preference for money rather than anything else

B．lead to children’s preference for earning money on their own

C．cause the problem that children value money more than responsibilities

D．cause children to earn money instead of going to school

【小題2】When your children join a group of kids smashing pumpkins on Halloween, ___________.

A．you should give them some allowances to pay for the pumpkins

B．they should be rid of their opportunity to celebrate Halloween

C．you should ensure your children see the connection with their lessons

D．they should face the consequence of losing their own money

【小題3】It can be inferred from the passage that_____________.

A．the author doesn’t want to give any tips on the allowance amount

B．a(chǎn)llowances given to children of different ages may vary

C．children under 6 can’t be given any allowance

D．the allowance amount grows depending on the amount other children receive

As the semester(學(xué)期) ended, students had a chance to turn the tables on their teachers.
They got to grade me anonymously(匿名地), assessing the ability of my thinking, my organizational skills and the depth of my knowledge. Such evaluations keep me alert to what works and what doesn’t. Students reflect my performance back to me, and I’m glad to learn what they think of my teaching so that I might try to improve.
This system reflects many aspects of my work. There is, of course, nothing wrong with it. But this system assumes that what students need is the same as what they want. Reading my evaluations every semester has taught me otherwise. Actually many students’ expectations for their courses have already changed, reflecting, in part, the business model many universities are following: classes are considered services, and parents are eager to get their money’s worth from their children’s education. Students feel pressure from their parents to get practical use from their courses.
This could make sense for an engineering course, but in my field, creative writing, which rarely trains up excellent 21-year-old writers, it is more difficult to provide the results that the career-minded students desire. Then I tried some teaching techniques to change the criticism of those unhappy students to the opposite and improve my student evaluations. My record would accurately reflect a smart, attentive, encouraging teacher. However, I would admit that they loved me simply because I agreed writing should be easy.
I know other teachers have done the same thing: teach your heart out to the teachable but be sure to please the unteachable; keep your ratings high, like a politician trying to improve his poll(民意調(diào)查) results. I believe in the struggle. But I still can’t help wincing(退縮) when I read, “The instructor is mean.” “Marcus is not committed to my work.” “This class sucks.” The business model has taught me that customers are always right. And maybe a few more dissatisfied customers would mean a better learning experience.
【小題1】What can we know from the underlined phrase “turn the tables on their teachers”？

A．Students get a chance to have dinner with their teachers.

B．Students judge and grade their teachers.

C．Students begin to criticize and punish their teachers.

D．Students take action to praise their teachers.

【小題2】Why have the students’ expectations for their courses changed?

A．Because students want to improve other abilities.

B．Because students feel great pressure from universities.

C．Because students have to satisfy their parents.

D．Because the business model has changed.

【小題3】What can we infer from the passage?

A．Parents don’t care about their money spent on their children’s education.

B．The writer adopted some teaching methods so that he improved his student evaluations.

C．Similar to other teachers, the writer struggled to work as politicians.

D．The students intended to punish their teachers by giving comments.

【小題4】What is the author’s attitude towards being graded by his students?

A．Positive.

B．Negative.

C．Satisfied.

D．Scared.