In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget. But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant. The work was hard; the pay was poor and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible.

      First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength. For ten hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck. Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night.

      I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time— two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible. I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than $100 a week.

      But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.

     I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked. By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again.

49. Why did the writer have to take many jobs at that time?

A. To pay for his schooling.                                     B. To save for his future.

C. To support his family.                                         D. To gain some experience.

50. The following facts describe the terrible working conditions of the plant EXCEPT_______.

A. loading boxes in the freezing cold                        B. having limited time for breaks

C. working and studying at the same time                 D. getting no pay for lunch time

51. What is the subject discussed in the text?

A. The writer’s unhappy school life.                   B. The writer’s eagerness to earn money.

C. The writer’s experience as a full-time worker. D. The writer’s hard work in an apple plant.

52. How is the text organized?

A. Topic-Argument-Explanation                        B. Opinion-Discussion-Description

C. Main idea-Comparison-Supporting examples   D. Introduction-Supporting examples-Conclusion

    In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget. But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant. The work was hard; the pay was poor; and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible.

    First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength. For then hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck. Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night.

    I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time—two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible. I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than $ 100 a week.

    But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.

    I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked. By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again.

49. Why did the writer have to take many jobs at that time?

  A. To pay for his schooling.

B. To save for his future.

  C. To support his family

D. To gain some experience

50. The following facts describe the terrible working conditions of the plant EXCEPT ______.

  A. loading boxes in the freezing cold                     B. having limited time for breaks

  C. working and studying at the same time        D. getting no pay for lunch time

51. What is the subject discussed in the text?

  A. The writer’s unhappy school life.               B. The writer’s eagerness to earn money.

  C. The writer’s experience to earn money.      D. The writer’s hard work in an apple plant.

52. How is the text organized?

  A. Topic—Argument—Explanation

B. Opinion—Discussion—Description

  C. Main idea—Comparison—Supporting examples

D. Introduction—Supporting examples—Conclusion

  A middle-aged stranger visited us late on a dark rainy night when my father was working the night shift (a job for a period during the night). The stranger asked if he could wait under the eaves of our roof for the rain to stop. Then he disappeared, and we started hearing footsteps and creaking boards in the attic(the space or room at the top of a building, under the roof, often used for storing things). Was the stranger inside our house? My whole body couldn’t help but stiffen. In my mind’s eye, I could imagine the stranger pushing through the attic door and approaching us.

    We immediately called Jerry, our neighbor, for help. He searched everywhere, but the visitor was nowhere to be found. As Jerry looked in the garage, he found the stranger lying underneath the car. Jerry exclaimed with fright, “You are not allowed to enter the house. Get off the property right now.”

    We were determined to leave the house immediately. As we drove away, we saw the man blocking our way on the road and staring at us. We had to swerve to miss him. After that, I never saw the stranger again.

The text is mainly about                 .

    A．the neighbor Jerry       B．a(chǎn) strange dream

    C．a(chǎn) strange visitor        D．footsteps in the attic

Based on the text, which of the following statements is true?

    A．The family h it the stranger with their car.

    B．The stranger pushed through the family’s door.

    C．Jerry was hurrying back from the night shift.

    D．The author’s father wasn’t at home that night.

Why did the family leave their house on a late, dark night?

    A．It was raining hard and the eaves of their roof were broken.

    B．There was a ghost wandering around the house.

    C．They did not feel safe in their house.

    D．The stranger was still somewhere inside the house.

The text was written in order of             .

    A．time B．space    C．importance   D．a(chǎn)ge of the family

At two o’clock a bank robber stole in.“This is a holdup,” the man said loudly. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George.“Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part-close to six thousand dollars. The robber took them and turned to leave.

　　Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly.

　　The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted（暈倒）.

　　As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.

　　The next morning, while the others were examining the bank's records, George was called into Mr Burrow's office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.

　　“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can be robbed too. I have retired（退休）, but I’m always thinking of our bank. That's why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes（趾）. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box all six thousand.”

This passage tells us ______.

A. a serious case            B. one part of a play

C. a humorous story          D. a meaningful story

Which of the following do you think is true?

A. George wanted to protect the money for the bank.

B. George had been thinking of taking money away.

C. This bank had been robbed several times.

D. Nobody knew the bank would be robbed that day.

Why was George called into Mr. Burrow’s office?

A. His stealing money was disclosed.

B. Mr. Burrow wanted to say sorry to him.

C. Mr. Carruthers wanted to explain the whole thing to him.

D. Mr. Burrow wanted to tell him the money had been put back.

In this article “to keep everyone on his toes” means “______”.

A. to make everyone work hard

B. to keep everyone standing straight

C. to make everyone do a kind of exercise

D. to keep everyone paying attention to the coming danger

Which sentence can be used to end the story?

A. George turned cold with fear.          B. George turned red with anger.

C. George was pleased with the end.       D. George was disappointed with the end.

In February 2006, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through their village in northern Canada．The sound of children shouting made her turn around．To her horror, Lydia saw  a 700-pound polar bear behind her eyeing her seven-year-old son．Getting between the bear and her child, Lydia yelled at the children to run away．She then began hitting and kicking the animal as hard as she could．A neighbor who heard all the noise came and shot the bear．But everyone agreed it was Lydia who had saved her children's lives．A local policeman described it this way: “…I guess when your back is up against the wall…we come up with super-human strength．”

Where does this “super-human strength”，courage and quick thinking come from? Experts say it comes from stress! In stressful situations, the body releases chemicals that prepare it to take action．These chemicals give people the speed and strength they need to fight danger or run away from it．

When we think of stress, we usually think of its negative effects．Studies, though, show that moderate levels of stress are actually helpful．In fact, the way we perform is usually affected by the amount of stress we feel．

Stress causes the brain to release adrenaline（腎上腺素）which in turn increases our energy and excitement．The chemical gives us clearer minds and helps us to do more．This is why some people say they work better under a deadline．

Adrenaline that is not released for long periods of time can cause us to increase and strengthen our abilities instead of weakening them．We sometimes turn out our very best work when we push ourselves to the limit．Stress can also make us more confident．Handling small amounts of stress now prepares us for handling serious situations in the future．Who knows? Today's stress may even prepare for the next polar bear that comes along!

In the first paragraph, the case of Lydia Angyiou is mentioned to ______．

       A．introduce the topic to be followed

       B．praise Lydia Angyiou for her bravery

       C．remind us of the unexpected danger of life

       D．show the importance of super-human strength

What does the policeman probably mean by saying "your back is up against the wall"?

       A．You are helped．            B．You are inspired．

       C．You are confident．    D．You are cornered．

What would be the best title for the passage?

       A．Brave Mother           B．The Cause of Stress

C．The Benefit of Stress   D．Super-human Strength