Passage One

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.

One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness toadmit one's mistakes. It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thinglike "I was wrong about that," and it is even harder to say,“ I was wrong, andyou were right about that. ” I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me that he had made amistake fifteen years ago. He told me he had been the manager of a certaingrocery store in the neighbourhood where I grew up, and he asked me if Iremembered the egg cartons (硬纸盒) . Then he related an incident and I beganto remember vaguely the incident he was describing. I was about eight years old at the time, and I had gone into the store with mymother to do the weekly grocery shopping. On that particular day, I must havefound my way to the dairy food department where the incident took place. There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there was animpressive display of eggs in dozen and half-dozen cartons. The cartons werestacked three or four feet high. I must have stopped in front of a display toadmire the stacks . Just then a woman came by pushing her grocery cart andknocked off the stacks of cartons . For some reason ,I decided it was up to meto put the display back together, so I went to work. The manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened.When he appeared, I was on my knees inspecting some of the cartons to see ifany of the eggs were broken ,but to him it looked as though I was the culprit(犯人) . He severely reprimanded (训斥) me and wanted me to pay for any brokeneggs. I protested my innocence and tried to explain ,but it did no good. Eventhough I quickly forgot all about the incident, apparently the manager did not. 

A.About 8.

B.About 18.

C.About 23.

D.About 15.

A.The author.

B.The manager

C.A woman

D.The author's mother.

A.The woman who knocked off the stacks of cartons was seriously criticized By the manager.

B.The author was severely criticized by the manager.

C.A woman carelessly knocked off the stacks of cartons.

D.It was the author who put the display back together.

A.It's harder to admit one's mistake.

B.I was once the culprit.

C.I remember an incident.

D.A case of mistaken identity.

A.admiration for the manager's willingness to admit mistakes

B.anger to the manager for his wrong accusation

C.indignation against the woman who knocked off the stacks of cartons

D.regret for the mistake he made in the store

Passage Two

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.

As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art ofrelaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through lift, being on the gofrom morning till night ,it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is essentialfor a healthy mind and body. Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. Infact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount ofstress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is onlywhen the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance andill health. The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on theindividual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such charactersareobviously prime material for managerial responsibilities. Others lose heart at the first signs of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whateverform ,we react both chemically and physically . In fact we make choicebetween“ fight" or “flight” and in more primitive days the choice made thedifference between life or death. The crises we meet today are unlikely to beso extreme ,but however little the stress is, it involves the same response.It is when _such a reaction_ lasts long ,through continued exposure to stress,that health becomes  endangered. Such serious conditions as high blood pressureand heart disease have established links with stress. Since we cannot removestress from our lives (it would be unwise to _do so_ even if we could),we needto find ways to deal with it. 

A.they do not know how to enjoy themselves

B.they are becoming busier with their work

C.they are traveling fast all the time

D.they do not believe that relaxation is important for health

A.not fearing stress

B.knowing the art of relaxation

C.high sense of responsibility

D.having control over performance

A.We can find some ways to avoid stress.

B.Stress is always harmful to people.

C.It is easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work.

D.Different people can withstand different amounts of stress.

A.“making a choice between‘flight’ or ‘fight’”

B.“reaction to stress both chemically and physically”

C.“responding to crises quickly”

D.“losing heart at the signs of difficulties”

A.“expose ourselves to stress”

B.“find ways to deal with stress”

C.“remove stress from our lives”

D.“established links between diseases and stress”

Passage Three

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.

As she walked round the huge department store, Edith reflected how difficultit was to choose a suitable Christmas present for her father. She wished thathe was as easy to please as her mother, who was always delighted with perfume.Besides, shopping at this time of the year was a most disagreeable experience:people trod on your toes, poked you with their elbows and almost knocked youover in their haste to get to a bargain ahead of you. Partly to have a rest, Edith paused in front of a counter where someattractive ties were on display. “They are real silk, "the assistant assuredher, trying to tempt her. " Worth doubling the price. ”But Edith knew frompast experience that her choice of ties hardly ever pleased her father. She moved on reluctantly and then quite by chance ,stopped where a small crowdof man had gathered round a counter. She found some good quality pipes on sale-and the prices were very reasonable. Edith did not hesitate for long.Although her father only smoked a pipe occasionally , she knew that this was apresent which was bound to please him. When she got home, with her small well-chosen present concealed in herhandbag, her parents were already at the supper table. Her mother was in anespecially cheerful mood, "Your father has at last to decide to stop smoking.”She informed her daughter. 

A.did not like presents

B.never got presents

C.preferred ties

D.was difficult to please in terms of presents

A.customers trod on each other's toes

B.customers poked each other with their elbows

C.customers knocked each other

D.customers were doing their shopping in a great hurry

A.attractive

B.interested in ties

C.tired

D.in need of comfort

A.purposely

B.suddenly

C.unwillingly

D.accidentally

A.when he was obliged

B.on social occasions

C.from time to time

D.when he was delighted

Passage Four

Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.

The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise ,market- oriented economy in which consumers largely determine whatshall be produced by spending their money in the market-place for those goodsand services that they want most. Private businessmen, striving to makeprofits, produce these goods and services in competition with otherbusinessmen; and the profit motive ,operating under competitive pressures,largely

determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus ,in theAmerican economic system it is the demand of individual consumers,coupledwith the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and _the desire ofindividuals to maximize their incomes_ , that together determine what shall beproduced and how resources are used to produce it. An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by whichconsumer demands can be expressed and

responded to by producers . In theAmerican economy, this mechanism is provided by a priced system, a process inwhich prices rise and fall in response to relative demands of consumers andsupplies offered by seller-producers. If the product is in short supplyrelative to the demand ,the price will be bid up (抬价)and some consumers will be eliminated from the market. If, on the other hand, producing more of acommodity result in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the supplyoffered by seller-producers, which in turn will lower the price and permitmore consumers to buy the product. Thus ,price is the regulating mechanism inthe American economic system. The most important factor in a private-enterprise economy is that individualsare allowed to own productive resources(private property),and they arepermitted to hire labor, gain control over natural resources, and producegoods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, the conceptof private property embraces (包括)not only the ownership of productiveresources but also certain rights, including the right to determine the priceof a product or to make a free contract with anotherprivate individual. 

A.Americans are never satisfied with their incomes

B.Americans tend to overstate their incomes

C.Americans want to have their incomes increased

D.Americans want to increase the purchasing power of their incomes

A.producers can satisfy the consumers by mechanized production

B.consumers can express their demands through producers

C.producers decide the prices of products

D.supply and demand regulate prices

A.consumers need more

B.producers increase the products cost

C.there are fewer consumers and more products

D.there are more consumers and fewer products

A.private property and rights concerned

B.manpower and natural resources control

C.ownership of productive resources

D.free contracts and prices

A.how American goods are produced

B.how American consumers buy their goods

C.how American economic system works

D.how American businessmen make their profits

Passage Five

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

Before you choose a career, you must first know yourself—your interests andabilities, your strengths and weakness, your physical endurance and energy,your dreams and ambitions. Secondly, you must get information about the worldof work and the requirements for entering it. Then you try to match yourselfand a suitable field of work.We speak of a field of work rather than a job because you should prepare for abroad range of jobs, not just one. This will help you if at

some time you needto change from one type of job to another.Although girls will naturally be looking forward to marriage and motherhood,many will probably work for at least half of their married lives. This is infact what is happening now. Girls are marrying younger so their children growup while they are still quite young themselves. It is easier now forhousewives to go out to work when their children are independent because theycan have so many laborsaving devices in the home. Girls, therefore, shouldtake as seriously as boys the need to select a career suitable for theirinterests and abilities.What should you think about in trying to find your career? You are probablybetter at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that You can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in anengineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good atoffice work. So it is important to know the subjects you do well in at school.On the other hand you may not have any specially strong or weak subjects butyour re- ports show a generally satisfactory standard. Although not allsubjects can be used directly in a job ,they may have indirect value. Aknowledge of history is not required for most jobs but if history is one ofyour good subjects you will have learned to remember facts and details. Thisis an ability that can be useful in many jobs.Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing,which you can use in your work. You may be good at metalwork(金属加工；金属制品)orcookery and look for a job where you can improve these skills.If you have had a part-time job on Saturday or in the summer, think what yougained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work ontime ,to follow instructions and to get on with older workers .You may havelearned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important ,youmay become interested in a particular industry or career by seeing it from theinside in a part-time job. Facing your weak points is also part of knowingyourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle tools; perhaps you are a poorspeller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is better to face any weaknesses than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance,may not be too good ,yet it is an important part of your background. Youshould not be apologetic about it, but instead recognize that you will have achance of a fresh start at work.Employers will consider other things about you too. They will be interested toknow if you have been a perfect person, and taken part in sports and clubs andany out-of-school activities.

A.Know your strengths and weakness.

B.Know your interests and hobbies.

C.Know the world of jobs.

D.Match yourself to a suitable job.

A.They do not need to choose their jobs seriously as they usually look
Formarriage.

B.They should choose their jobs seriously as they will work for a long time inlives.

C.They tend to choose their jobs seriously because they feel they are equal
Tomen.

D.They choose jobs at random as they think marriage is more important
Thancareer.

A.That one must be good at everything.

B.That some knowledge is not important.

C.That all knowledge is useful to a certain extent.

D.That knowledge learned in school cannot be used directly in work.

A.Stupid.

B.Smart.

C.Deft.

D.Clumsy.

A.Because they will show your interest and personality.

B.Because they will display your physical strength and health.

C.Because they will reflect your intelligence and knowledge.

D.Because they have an indirect value you yourself don't know.