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When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not.He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work.
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself.He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote.But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure.This is the shadowland (虚幻世界) of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we"re paying $ 6,000 a year." $ 6,000 was real money in 1960.It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more.Besides, he could write in his spare time.As the dollars were dancing in Alex"s head, something cleared his senses.He had dreamed of being a writer ?full time."Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I"m going to stick it out and write."
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents.Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There"s everything you"ve made of yourself so far.I"m not sure I ever felt so low."
Finally his work was published in 1970.Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience.The shadows had turned into focus of attention.
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before.Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents.Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room.It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence (坚毅) it takes to stay the course (持续到底) in the shadowland.
小题1:Why did Alex give up his job?
A.Because he didn"t like the working conditions.
B.Because he couldn"t earn enough to make a living.
C.Because he wanted to be a full-time writer.
D.Because he felt he had no potential in his job.
小题2:What did Alex express when he answered the call?
A.He refused the job offer.
B.He was willing to give them a hand.
C.He expected them to pay him more money.
D.He would write in his spare time.
小题3:What kind of person is Alex?
A.Determined.B.Modest.
C.Shy.D.Brave.
小题4:Which of the following can summarize the passage best?
A.Look before you leap.
B.Two heads are better, than one.
C.Hold on to your dream, and it will come true.
D.A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

答案

小题1:C
小题1:A
小题1:A
小题1:C
解析

小题1:细节题。根据第一段第一句和第三段可知答案。
小题1:事实判断题。根据第三段:“Thanks but no,” Alex said firmly and swiftly ,“I’m going to stick it out and write.”可知答案。
小题1:推理判断题。根据全文尤其是最后一段可知答案。
小题1:主旨大意题。根据全文尤其是第二和倒数第二段可知答案
核心考点
试题【When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employe】;主要考察你对题材分类等知识点的理解。[详细]
举一反三
James sat outside the office waiting for the interview. He felt so ___36___  that he didn’t know what to do with ___37___.The person who had gone in ___38___ him had been there for nearly an hour. And she looked so confident when she went in. ___39__ James. He felt __40___ that she had already got the ___41___. The problem was that he wanted this job ___42__. It meant ___43___ to him. He had ___44___ it such a lot before the day of the interview. He had imagined himself ___45___ brilliantly at the interview and __46___ the job immediately. But now here he was feeling ___47___ .He couldn’t ___48___ all those things he had  ___49___ to say. At that moment, he almost decided to get up and ___50___.But no — he had to do this. He had spent so much time considering it that he couldn’t ___51__ like that. His hands were hot and sticky and his mouth felt dry. At last the door of the office opened. The woman who had gone in an hour earlier came out looking very ___52___ with herself. She smiled sympathetically at James. At that moment James ___53___ her . The managing director then appeared at the office door. “Would you like to come in now, Mr. Davis? I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.” James suddenly ___54___ that he had gone home after all. He got up, legs  ___55____ and forehead sweating and wondered whether he looked as terrified as he felt.
小题1:
A.healthy
B.nervous
C.careless
D.confident
小题2:
A.the director
B.the woman
C.himself
D.the situation
小题3:
A.by
B.with
C.before
D.after
小题4:
A.Not like
B.So did
C.Do as
D.Do like
小题5:
A.doubtful
B.sure
C.angry
D.astonishing
小题6:
A.reward
B.first
C.prize
D.job
小题7:
A.hopelessly
B.naturally
C.easily
D.so much
小题8:
A.everything
B.happiness
C.difficulty
D.nothing
小题9:
A.dreamed of
B.learned of
C.thought about
D.talked about
小题10:
A.explaining
B.performing
C.answering
D.performed
小题11:
A.offered
B.asked for
C.being offered
D.being asked for
小题12:
A.crazy
B.excited
C.probable
D.terrible
小题13:
A.depend on
B.afford
C.believe in
D.remember
小题14:
A.kept
B.been taught
C.planned
D.been supplied
小题15:
A.leave
B.go in
C.prepare
D.practise
小题16:
A.take back
B.put off
C.give up
D.put down
小题17:
A.ugly
B.pleased
C.sad
D.pretty
小题18:
A.noticed
B.loved
C.missed
D.hated
小题19:
A.thought
B.hoped
C.wished
D.regretted
小题20:
A.shaking
B.bending
C.walking
D.stopping

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
According to Andrew, it never would have happened if he had not had a flat tire on Highway 10 last night at about 7:30. He was on his way to attend a three-day sales meeting when he had the flat. tyre. Unfortunately, he did not have a spare, so he pushed the car off the road, locked it up, and managed to thumb a ride back to Pine Grove. It was after eleven o"clock when he finally got home, and it was then that his real problems started.
When Andrew left home at about 5:30, he had told his wife not to expect him back until Thursday or Friday. Knowing that his wife was nervous about staying in the house alone at night, Andrew took the precaution of checking all the windows in the house to be sure they were locked, so that he could report to his wife that the house was secure. He convinced his wife that the house was burglar-proof, and that she would be perfectly safe, providing she bolted (闩上)the front door as soon as he drove away.
Andrew"s only thought as he made his way in the dark to his front door was how surprised his wife was going to be to see him, since he was not supposed to be back until Thursday or Friday. He had forgotten about the bolt on the front door. When he turned his key in the lock and the door wouldn"t budge, he remembered the bolt. And he remembered that he had carefully locked all of the windows.
Although Andrew didn"t know it at the time, a next-door neighbor had seen him approaching the house and had watched him go up the steps to the front door. In the dark, it was impossible for the neighbor to recognize Andrew, and, besides, the neighbor knew that Andrew had gone out-of-town for a three-day meeting. As a matter of fact, Andrew had asked the neighbor to keep an eye on the house while he was gone.
Finding that he couldn"t get in, Andrew began pounding(砰砰地敲) on the front door to get his wife to open the door. According to Andrew, however, his wife is a very sound sleeper, and he knew it was going to be hard to wake her up. In the meantime, because of all the noise he had been making, the neighbor was convinced that somebody was trying to break into the house; so she called the police.
When we talked to Andrew at the country jail this morning, he said that he still didn"t understand how the police managed to circle the house without his seeing them. He stated that he had decided the only way to get in was to break one of the dining room windows, and that he was about, to hurl his briefcase into the window to break it when two of the officers grabbed him from behind.
Andrew could not make the officers believe that he lived there; so they took him off to jail. Apparently, he did succeed in convincing them that they ought to wake up the woman in the house to check his story. But there was no answer when they knocked at the door. He tried to explain to them that his wife was a very sound sleeper, but they concluded there was nobody in the house.
小题1:As Andrew had a flat tyre on the way, he          .
A.had to take another car to attend the meeting
B.rode on a bike to attend the meating
C.asked for a lift to go back home
D.borrowed a car to go back home
小题2:When Andrew was approaching the house        .
A.he was sure he would pleasently surprise his wife
B.he was deep in thought
C.he was sure that his neighbor would help him
D.he was worried about how to wake his wife up
小题3:The  underlined word “budge” in Paragraph 3 probably means           .
A.move slightlyB.lock tightlyC.knock lightlyD.close tightly
小题4:Why did the police officers take Andrew off to jail?
A.It was too late for them to contact Andrew’s wife.
B.Andrew did not explain clearly why he broke into the house.
C.They thought it unnecessary to check Andrew’s story.
D.they concluded that Andrew’s story was a complete invention.

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
For a small town, Mantattan, Kansas has some big surprises. And one of them is the Holiday Inn Hotel, with rooms built around a swimming pool and a friendly atmosphere.
The Holiday Inn is where Manhattan people often go for a special party, or a night out. A lot of them choose to eat in the bright‑lit restaurant near the pool, And many of them will be served by Ellen Logan, who has worked as a waitress here for more than two years.
Ellen, like most of the waitresses, is also a student. She comes from Nebraska, but she’s planning one day to be a veterinary surgeon, and to care for small animals. But in order to support herself at college, she works twenty hours a week at the Holiday Inn.
Ellen soon learned what every waitress finds out. Your best friend has a good pair of shoes. She paid forty‑five dollars for hers, much more than she would usually spend. She’s discovered something else too. You don’t have to know much about food to be a good waitress, but you do have to know a lot about people.
“A lot of business people always stay here when they come to Manhattan”, she explains. “They like you to recognize them and remember their favorite dishes. But some couples come for a night out together. They just want to be left alone. Then there are people who can’t make up their minds. They look down the menu and say,‘What do you suggest?’So I ask them how hungry they are. If they say,‘Not very.’I suggest the salad bar, with soup, salad, bread, and a fruit plate. But if they say they’re very hungry, I suggest a Kansas Strip Steak, with potatoes or rice. You get salad and bread as well. It’s very nice. Real good value”.
Ellen may get tired sometimes, but at least she’s learning too much about people. She’s learning too much about people. She’ll probably make a good animal doctor, but if she finds she doesn’t like it after all, she can become a psychiatrist(心理医生)instead.
小题1:What does the underlined phrase “a veterinary surgeon” mean?
A.An animal doctorB.A hotel managerC.A food expertD.A restaurant waitress
小题2:According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A.Businessmen like to be suggested what to eat.
B.Many couples often want you to recognize them.
C.Why people like to eat in the hotel is that it is full of a friendly atmosphere.
D.If you know a lot about people,you’ll be a good veterinary surgeon.
小题3:From the passage we can infer that       .
A.waitresses in the Holiday Inn are all students.
B.waitresses are required to buy a good pair of shoes before they go to work.
C.waitresses should be familiar with the food there.
D.it is more important for the waitresses to know much about people than food.
小题4:Choose the best title for the passage.
A.How to Deal with PeopleB.A Special Holiday Inn Hotel in Manhattan
C.American Holiday InnD.Ellen Logan at the Holiday Inn

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Someone said that encouragement is simply reminding a person of the “shoulders” he’s standing on, the heritage he’s been given. That’s what happened    36   a young man, the son of a(n)   37   baseball player, was chosen by one of the minor league teams. Hard as he tried, his first season was    38   , and by midseason he expected to be removed    39  day. The coaches were     40   by his failure because he possessed all the characteristics of a superb(杰出的)athlete, but he seemed to have become    41   from his potential.
His    42   seemed darkest one day when he had already struck out his first time at bat. Then he stepped up to the batter’s box again and quickly ran up two strikes. The catcher called a     43   and ran for a conference to discuss strategies. While they were busy, the    44  , standing behind him, spoke casually to the boy.
Then play    45  , the next pitch was thrown and the young man knocked it out of the park. That was the turning    46  . From then on, he played the game with a new confidence and power that quickly    47   the attention of the parent team, and he was called   48   to the majors.
On the day he was leaving for the city, one of his coaches asked him what had caused such a turnaround. The young man replied it was the    49   remark the judge had    50   that day when his baseball career had seemed    51  .
“He told me I reminded him of all the times he had stood    52   my dad in the batter’s box,” the boy explained. “He said I was holding the bat just the way Dad had held it.    53  he told me, ‘I can see his genes in you; you have your father’s    54   .’ After that, whenever I swung the bat, I just    55   I was using Dad’s arms instead of my own.”
小题1:
A.asB.sinceC.whileD.when
小题2:
A.starB.averageC.amateurD.old
小题3:
A.embarrassingB.disappointingC.satisfyingD.rewarding
小题4:
A.someB.aC.oneD.any
小题5:
A.amazedB.impressedC.puzzledD.ashamed
小题6:
A.separatedB.differentC.inconsistentD.divided
小题7:
A.hopeB.futureC.dreamD.ambition
小题8:
A.break B.restC.pauseD.stop
小题9:
A.catcher B.coachC.batterD.judge
小题10:
A.began B.lastedC.restartedD.moved
小题11:
A.partB.pointC.placeD.spot
小题12:
A.drew B.fixedC.focusedD.took
小题13:
A.in B.forC.upD.out
小题14:
A.encouraging B.casualC.demandingD.wise
小题15:
A.said B.madeC.givenD.pointed
小题16:
A.fixed B.uselessC.endlessD.helpless
小题17:
A.on the right B.on the leftC.beforeD.behind
小题18:
A.AndB.SoC.ThusD.Therefore
小题19:
A.strengthB.armsC.bodyD.talent
小题20:
A.supposed B.pretendedC.imaginedD.expected

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
The teacher who did the most to encourage me was, as it happened, my aunt. She was Myrtle C. Manigault, the wife of my mother’s brother Bill. She taught in second grade at all-black Summer School in Camden, New Jersey.
During my childhood and youth, Aunt Myrtle encouraged me to develop every aspect of my potential, without regard for what was considered practical or possible for black females. I liked to sing; she listened to my voice and pronounced it good. I couldn’t dance; she taught me the basic dancing steps. She took me to the theatre ---- not just children’s theatre but adult comedies and dramas—and her faith that I could appreciate adult plays was not disappointed.
My aunt also took down books from her extensive library and shared them with me. I had books at home, but they were all serious classics. Even as a child I had a strong liking for humor, and I’ll never forget the joy of discovering Don Marquis’s Archy & Mehitabel through her.
Most important, perhaps, Aunt Myrtle provided my first opportunity to write for publication. A writer herself for one of the black newspapers, she suggested my name to the editor as a “youth columnist”. My column, begun when I was fourteen, was supposed to cover teenage social activities—and it did—but it also gave me the freedom to write on many other subjects as well as the habit of gathering material, the discipline of meeting deadlines, and, after graduation from college six years later, a solid collection of published material that carried my name and was my passport to a series of writing jobs.
Today Aunt Myrtle is still an enthusiastic supporter of her “favourite niece”. Like a diamond, she has reflected a bright, multifaceted (多面的) image of possibilities to every pupil who has crossed her path.
小题1:Which of the following did Aunt Myrtle do to the author during her childhood and youth?
A.She lent her some serious classics.B.She cultivated her taste for music.
C.She discovered her talent for dancing.D.She introduced her to adult plays.
小题2:Aunt Myrtle recommended the author to a newspaper editor mainly to ______.
A.involve her in teenage social activitiesB.give her a chance to collect material
C.develop her capabilities for writingD.offer her a series of writing jobs
小题3:We can conclude from the passage that Aunt Myrtle was a teacher who ______.
A.gave pupils confidence in exploiting their potential
B.trained pupils to be diligent and well-disciplined
C.emphasized what was practical or possible for pupils.
D.helped pupils overcome difficulties in learning

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
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