阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

A1. The word “homework” in the first paragraph refers to ______.A. work that is given by teachers for students to do at homeB. Websites such as and C. tools and suggestions offered by websitesD. market research and informal research2. The underlined sentence in the passage means that you’d better ask for a raise ______.A. when the employer has a normal pulse rateB. when the employer is in a good moodC. when the company has a good financial situationD. when the company’s practices are more flexible3. Which of the following is NOT true?A. The employer will give you a raise because of your personal reasons.B. You should show them that you’re worthy of a salary increase.C. You can tell your boss the exact number of salary increase you wantD. Schedule a meeting with your boss but don’t push too hard.4. It can be inferred in the last paragraph that ______.A. If your boss won’t give you a raise, you’d better take fewer responsibilities.B. It is a wise way to get a raise by letting your boss know you are doing more.C. Only if you find a proper time to talk with your boss will you get a raise.D. You should schedule a meeting within a few months to discuss the matter again.BHere’s one number to keep in mind during your next cell phone conversation: 50. A new experiment shows that spending 50 minutes with an active phone pressed up to the ear increases activity in the brain. This brain activity probably doesn't make you smarter. When cell phones are on, they emit (发出) energy in the form of radiation that could be harmful, especially after years of cell phone usage. Scientists don't know yet whether cell phones are bad for the brain. Studies like this one are attempting to find it out.The 47 participants in the experiment may have looked a little strange. Each one had two Samsung cell phones attached to his or her head — one on each ear. The phone on the left ear was off. The phone on the right ear played a message for 50 minutes, but the participants couldn't hear it because the sound was off.With this set-up, the scientists could be sure they were studying brain activity from the phone itself, and not brain activity due to listening and talking during a conversation. After 50 minutes with two phones strapped to their heads, the participants were given PET scans.The PET scan showed that the left side (the side with the phone turned off) of each participant's brain hadn't changed during the experiment. The right side of the brain, however, had used more glucose, which is a type of sugar that provides fuel to brain cells. These right-side brain cells were using almost as much glucose as the brain uses when a person is talking. This suggests th at the brain cells there were active ― even without the person hearing anything. That activity, the scientists say, was probably caused by radiation from the phone.Henry Lai, who works at the University of Washington in Seattle, is uncomfortable with the data related to cell phones. Holding a cell phone to your ear during a conversation is “not really safe,” Lai told Science News. Lai is a bioengineer at the University of Washington in Seattle. He wrote an article about the new study for a journal, but he did not work on the study. Bioengineers bring together ideas from engineering and biology.For those who don't want to wait to find out for sure whether cell phones are bad for the brain, there are ways to talk more safely. You can have short and sweet conversations, use aspeakerphone or keep the phone away from your head.5. Which of the following statement is true?A. Scientists are sure that cell phones are bad for the brain.B. In the experiment, the left side of the brain used more glucose.C. Radiation from the phone causes the change in the brain.D. Henri Lai wrote a lot of articles about this new study.6. W hy weren’t the participants allowed to have a conversation on the phone during theexperiment?A. Because that would be too noisy and bad for the experiment.B. Because they really looked strange and no one wanted to talk to others.C. Because they were given PET scans and they lost the ability to talk.D. Because the scientists want to be sure of the accuracy of the experiment.7. What is glucose?A. A type of sugar that provides vitamin to brain cells.B. Something that the right side of the brain used.C. A type of sugar that gives energy to brain cells.D. Something that makes a human excited.8. According to the last two paragraphs, which is the safest way to use a cell phone?A. Holding the cell phone close to your head.B. Using a cell phone more than three hours a day.C. Taking the most powerful cell phone.D. Keeping the cell phone at a distance.9. Where is this article probably taken from?A. Literature magazine.B. Science News.C. Story books.D. Art Journal.CWhen should people be made to retire? 55? 65? Should there be a compulsory (强制的) age limit?Many old people work well into their 70s and 80s, running families, countries or corporations. Other people, however, despite being fit and highly talented, are forced to retire in their fifties or even earlier because of the regulations of a company or the nation. This essay will examine whether people should be allowed to continue working as long as they want or whether they should be encouraged to retire at a particular stage.Some people think there are several arguments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able. First of all, older employees have an immense amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire. A second point is that older employees are often extremely loyal employees and are more willing to carry out company policies than younger less committed staff. However, a more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people. To force someone to resign or retire at 60 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that effectively their useful life is over. Age is irrelevant to a working life, surely if older employees are told they cannot work after 60, this is age discrimination. That they become old does not necessarily mean they are going to be sick. Old people could be more aware, experienced and committed than some youngsters.Others, however, think that allowing older people to work indefinitely is not a good policy. Age alone is no guarantee of ability. Old people are only ambitious workaholics who are too selfish and egocentric to believe that a younger person could do better. Actually, many younger employees have more experience or skills than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area or unit for most of their working lives. Having compulsory retirement allows new ideas in an organization. In addition, without age limits, however, many people would continue to work purely because they did not have any other plans or roles. A third point of view is that older people should be rewarded by society for their life’s labor by being given generous pensions (养老金) and the freedom to enjoy their leisure. We now have youngsters who can’t find jobs because old people are choosing not to retire. Old people are not retiring because this new generation of “old people” think they will never die due to modern advances in medicine.With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers. However, this can affect the older individual’s freedom and right to work and can deprive society of valuable experience and insights. I feel that giving workers more flexibility and choice over their retirement age will benefit society and the individual.10. What is the purpose of this passage?A. To explain the compulsory age limit.B. To discuss the retirement age.C. To examine people’s working life.D. To introduce a particular stage.11. Which of the following is NOT a reason for allowing old people to continue working accordingto the passage?A. Their contribution should be valued.B. Their experience should be made use of.C. They can help the youngsters.D. They are loyal employees.12. It can be inferred in the fourth passage that ______.A. the young people have more creative spiritsB. Modern advances in medicine make old people never dieC. Pensions and freedom are not given to the old nowD. old people believe that a younger person could do better13. The passage is arranged as follows:14. What is the author’s opinion on the retirement age?A. The author thinks when to retire depends on the employees themselves.B. The author is against lengthening the retirement age.C. The author thinks that retirement age varies from country to country.D. The author is in favor of allowing old people to continue working.DAt 4:00 A.M. on Sunday morning, my friend, Tim, awoke me. He was sleeping in the livingroom right next to the front door and said there was a man pounding on my front door and screaming. At first, I was like, "Shut up and leave me alone," but then I heard one of the scariest voices of my life. The man sounded of Spanish descent (血统), older, and in pain.I was home alone for the week, so I had two guns loaded with bullets. I had a rifle (步枪) next to my bed and a shotgun next to my front door. I grabbed my rifle. Tim asked me, "What are you doing?""Getting my gun, what do you think I'm doing?" I asked.As I headed down the hall towards the front door, I remembered Chad, my older brother, telling me to protect myself when he left. Immediately, I grabbed the shotgun and gave it to Tim. Thinking that it might scare the person off, I went to my back door and shot my rifle into the dark cold sky. However, this did not work. "Protect yourself, Sarah," kept going through my head. The man kept yelling and pounding on my door. I would have just opened the door, but I watched too many "America's Most Wanted" shows, where that is how they get the little girls to open the door. So, I then called 911 myself.The operator said, "911. What is your emergency?"I replied, "My name is Sarah Miller and I am at Juniper Lane in Hotchkiss and there is a man beating on my front door and telling me to let him in." That was the start of all the excitement. I continued to tell her what was going on and what had already gone on. Our conversation was still going when I heard the man walk off my door. During this time, the police were having a discussion of whether they should respond to the call. When I heard the man walk off my door, I thought that he was going to leave.I was still on the phone when I heard the man in my basement. "Protect yourself, Sarah," went through my head again. The basement stairs lead right up to a door entering our house. We leave our garage door open to cool off our house when the weather is good. The man was yelling, "Help me" from the bottom of the stairs. I walked over and made sure the door was locked and made sure there was a bullet in the rifle. I stood there with the phone in one hand and my trusty old rifle in the other just waiting for him to start coming up the stairs.My conversation with the operator went from "Hi, how are you now?" to "What are you doing to help me here?" About this time, the operator told me that the policeman should be at the bottom of my driveway, so I turned on all of the lights, inside and outside. I still had my rifle in my hands when the policeman walked up the stairs to my front door. "Did you see an older Spanish man walking down my driveway by any chance?" I asked him."Um, no," he answered. I then asked him if he had seen anyone in the basement, and again he said, "No". So at this time, he went back down the stairs and approached my garage. For some reason, I knew that there was still someone in there. I crouched (猫着腰) down to where I could see into the garage / basement area. As the policeman approached the basement, he yelled, "Whoa, put your hands up. Freeze.""I’ve got you," were the first words out of my mouth; I don't know what I was thinking. After this happened, I realized that those words weren't exactly the smartest choice of words. About this time, another policeman pulled into my driveway with his lights on followed by a police officer. As I approached the basement with my rifle, I was worried about what I would see. What I saw will always stick with me forever. A poor twenty-nine year old Spanish man was crapping (拉屎) there, and I almost shot him because he was coming to my house to find help. His face was all bloody, his nose was broken, his clothes were torn, and worst of all, he didn't speak English, and none of the policemen who were there spoke Spanish. I had taken three years of Spanish before, so I translated what the Spanish guy, Jose, was saying to the policemen. About this time an ambulance came up my driveway with its lights on. So, I had three police cars and an ambulance,all with their lights on, in my driveway. I'm sure my neighbors all came out, since nothing had ever happened in my small community.I did protect myself that night. My brother was right when he said that you could never be too careful. "Wake up Sarah. It's time for school," my mom said a couple of mornings later. That is how I prefer to be woken up. I will always have a loaded gun next to my bed after this incident.15. The moment Tim awoke her, the author ______.A. screamedB. felt annoyedC. heard the voiceD. grabbed the rifle16. Why did the author go to the back door and shot into the sky?A. Because she wanted to scare the man off.B. Because she wanted to kill the man.C. Because she wanted to call for help.D. Because she wanted to remind the police.17. The Spanish man pounded the author’s door so early ______.A. to practise speaking EnglishB. to meet his old friendC. to seek helpD. to hide himself18. By saying “That was the start of all the excitement”, maybe the author ______.A. thought they talked too much exciting thingsB. was excited that she could talk with the operatorC. was sure that the police would comeD. wanted to say their conversation lasted a long time19. What did the author learn from the incident?A. She regretted what she had done to the SpanishB. She felt it fortunate to know a little SpanishC. She thought it couldn’t be too careful about her safety.D. She would never live alone in a big house.20. Which of the following can be used as the title of this passage?A. Make ends meetB. As busy as a beeC. A piece of cakeD. A false alarm1-5. DCABC 6-10. DCDBB 11-15. CAAAB 16-20. ACDCD。