After a lot of weightlifting and 25 exhausting days training, a 52-year-old woman recently became the first female “gripman” on San Francisco’s historic cable cars.
Fannie Barnes passed her written test and completed a final run under the watchful eye of a supervisor, Municipal Railway spokesman Alan Siegel said.
Deep calluses(繭) are already forming at the base of her fingers and there is a hole in her glove. Two other women quit after a single day with injured muscles. “Now they’re going to have to change the word from gripman to grip person, just because of me,” Barnes said earlier, “I’m so excited.”
After almost a year of serious workouts, Barns can pull more than 61 kilos, only 23 kilos less than her body weight. And she’ll need the muscle, for this is no modern, push-button technology. Every time a car starts up again after making a stop, the gripman must haul back on a lever controlling a device that grips the cable, which runs continuously at 14 kilometers per hour. If the grip slips, so does the car. A second person operates the brakes.
In addition to having to throw her weight around on the job, she’s got to throw out some attitude to men who were hard to convince. The city employs 76 men in the job.
“A lot of men said mean things to me and didn’t want to help train me. But I would like to thank the guys who were against me because they gave me even more inspiration to do it.” she said.
Not all the men were against her. Many of the male colleagues yelled out support as she did her training runs. One of her biggest tests was drizzly December morning. She first went down the Hyde Street Hill, considered the most dangerous incline on the cable car routes. “I had to have the will and I had to believe I could do it,” she said. “It was scary, but as I started going down full grip and felt that I was in control, I knew I was on my way,” Barnes already is a pioneer of sorts. She started working as a cable car conductor six years ago, collecting fares and assisting on the back brake. She is one of only three women to have that job. But she said she always wanted the job up front on the car. (400)
1. What is unusual about Fannie Barnes getting a job as a gripman?
A. She is the oldest one to work as a grpman.
B. She is the first women to work as a gripman.
C. She is the fattest women to work as a gripman.
D. She is the most suitable one to work as a gripman.
2. What did the 52-year-old woman do when she first began working on the city’s cable car?
A. As a gripman.    B. As a conductor.    C. As a brakeman.  D. As a supervisor.
3. It can be inferred from the passage that Fannie Barnes is ________.
A. strong and easy-going      B. strong-willed and self-confident
C. popular and humorous      D. considerate and quick-tempered

小題1:B
小題2:A
小題3:B
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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:完形填空


Section C
Directions: Read the following passage and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph.  There is one extra heading which you do not need.
(D)
A. Value of rare skills
B. Dangerous jobs paid more
C. Social demand decides reward
D. Developing skills
E. Women’s skills rewarded
F. Reason for taking low-paying jobs
1. _________________________
The rewards of a skill that is in strictly limited supply depend upon the demand for that skill. Men’s professional basketball is extremely popular, and the top NBA players make millions of dollars per year. There are some great women basketball players, too, but because women’s professional basketball has not become popular, these women’s skills go comparatively unrewarded.
2. _________________________
Some people with very rare skills can make enormous salaries in a free market economy. Paula Abdel has a voice that millions of people are willing to pay to hear in person, and on tapes, CDs, records, and videos. Before Pablo Picasso died, he could sell small sketches for vast sums of money. Were they worth it? They were worth exactly what the highest bidder (出價人) was willing to pay.
3. _________________________
Not all skills are inborn, however. Some people have invested in training and schooling to improve their knowledge and skills. When we go to school, we are investing in human capital that we expect to yield dividends, partly in the form of higher wages, later on. Human capital is also produced through on-the-job training.
4. _________________________
Some jobs are more desirable than others. Entry-level positions in attractive industries such as publishing and television tend to be low-paying. Since talented people are willing to take entry-level jobs in these industries at salaries below what they could earn in other occupations, there must be other, non-wage rewards. It may be that the job itself is more personally rewarding, or that a low-paying apprenticeship is the only way to acquire the human capital necessary to advance.
5. _________________________
On the other hand, compensating differentials are required when an occupation is very dangerous. Workers on skyscrapers and bridges command additional wages. Fire fighters in cities that have many old, run-down buildings are usually paid more than those in relatively tranquil rural or suburban areas.
SectionD
Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


第三部分:閱讀理解(共20小題, 滿分40分)
The 4th of July is the most important holiday in the United States, for it reminds us of the famous day in 1776. When the Americans declared their independence, congress made the declaration in Philadelphia, and that night in the city there were joyful celebrations which soon became nationwide. Even since, the 4th of July has been marked in the American calendar as Independence Day, and there are parades and festivities of all kinds.
The Declaration of Independence drawn up by Thomas Jefferson is one of the most important documents ever published, and it dropped like a bombshell(意外事件) on the western world. Here is a sentence which shook the ruling classes of Europe, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed ( 賦予)by their Creator with certain unalienable(不可剝奪的) rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
1. When did the Americans declare their independence?
A. The fourth of July, 1776..        B. The fourth of June, 1794.
C. The first of July, 1767.          D. The first of June, 1756
2. By whom was The Declaration of Independence drawn up?
A. George Washington.          B. Benjamin Franklin.
C. Thomas Jefferson            D. Abraham Lincoln.
3. Which of the following most generally summarizes the Declaration of Independence?
A. Equality.                 B. Liberty   
C. The pursuit of happiness.    D. All of the above.

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:完形填空


二. 完形填空(30分)
I will never forget one thing, mainly because I learned the meaning of kindness then.
A few years ago, I went running on a 16  day. It was my favorite activity because the 17   were so clean when it rained. 18  , I saw an old man with  19  clothes picking cans out of a rubbish bin. When I ran past him, I didn’t know 20   I should give him my umbrella. As I was thinking, I was still  21   . But I finally decided to give him my umbrella, as I knew he needed the umbrella much more than I needed it,   22   I ran back, gave him the umbrella and said, “You  23   this more than I do.” To my  24  , he took it with a big smile on his face and repeated, “Thank you! Thank you! God bless you.” I hadn’t expected he would  25  it so much. I walked away feeling  26  . I turned back one last minute and  27  him still smiling. “It was just an umbrella,” I thought, not  28  that it was the  29  that made him happy. He might feel that he wasn’t  30  in the world.
A few weeks later, when I was running on the same street on a bright sunny day, I  31  the same man who was in the same clothes sitting down resting. The only  32  was my umbrella right beside him, looking like he  33  it. It was very clean and neatly placed. At that moment, I realized it didn’t  34  that I couldn’t give him a house or a job. I only did what I was able to and it made a whole lot of  35  seem to go away.
16. A. snowy      B. sunny    C. cloudy       D. rainy
17. A. parks         B. paths      C. streets       D. gyms
18. A. Hopefully   B. Unfortunately   C. Surprisingly  D. Suddenly
19. A. nice           B. wet        C. funny     D. clean
20. A. whether        B. when             C. why         D. how
21. A. smiling   B. looking          C. running        D. walking
22. A. for            B. when             C. since         D. so
23. A. care      B. need          C. enjoy        D. like
24. A. excitement  B. disappointment  C. joy           D. surprise
25. A. favor        B. love         C. appreciate   D. admire
26. A. high            B. good         C. scared     D. amused
27. A. saw             B. heard              C. imagined        D. sensed
28. A. expecting  B. watching        C. realizing   D. feeling
29. A. trust        B. confidence      C. respect        D. kindness
30. A. small       B. alone         C. bothered        D. useless
31. A. cared about B. called on     C. passed by        D.looked after
32. A. achievement B. sign         C. choice          D. difference
33. A. valued  B. remembered      C. honored    D. washed
34.A change       B. occur         C. hurt         D. matter
35.A.sadness      B. suffering       C. rudeness     D. feeling

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


Domestic (馴養(yǎng)的) horses now pull ploughs, race in the Kentucky Derby, and carry police. But early horses weren’t tame (馴服的) enough to perform these kinds of tasks. Scientists think the first interactions humans had with horses were far different from those today.
Thousands of years ago, people killed the wild horses that lived around them for food. Over time, people began to catch the animals and raise them. This was the first step in domestication.
As people began to tame and ride horses, they chose to keep those animals that had more desirable characteristics. For example, people may have chosen to keep horses that had a gentle personality so they could be ridden more easily. People who used horses to pull heavy loads would have chosen to keep stronger animals. Characteristics like strength are partly controlled by the animals’ genes. So as the domesticated horses reproduced, they passed the characteristics on to their young. Each new generation of houses would show more of these chosen characteristics.
Modern day horse breeds come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This variety didn’t exist in the horse population before domestication. The Shetland horse is one of the smallest breeds—typically reaching only one meter tall. With short, strong legs, the animals were bred to pull coal out of mine shafts (礦井) with low ceilings. Huge horses like the Clydesdale came on the scene around 1700. People bred these heavy, tall horses to pull large vehicles used for carrying heavy loads.
The domestication of horses has had great effects on societies. For example, horse were important tools in the advancement of modern agriculture. Using them to pull ploughs and carry heavy loads allowed people to farm more efficiently. Before they were able to ride horses, humans had to cross land on foot. Riding horses allowed people to travel far greater distance in much less time. That encouraged populations living in different areas to interact with one another. The new from of rapid transportation helped cultures spread around the world.
1. Before domestication horses were ______.
A. caught for sports
B. hunted for food
C. made to pull ploughs
D. used to carry people
2. The author uses the Shetland horse as an example to show ______.
A. it is smaller than the Clydesdale horse
B. horse used to have gentle personalities
C. some horses have better shaped than others
D. horses were of less variety before domestication
3. Horses contributed to the spread of culture by ______.
A. carrying heavy loads
B. changing farming methods
C. serving as a means of transport
D. advancing agriculture in different areas
4. The passage is mainly about _______.
A. why humans domesticated horses
B. how humans and horses needed each other
C. why horses came in different shapes and sizes
D. how human societies and horses influenced each other

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


After achieving a 9 percent GDP growth, hosting a successful Olympic Games and carrying out its first space walk, you'd think China would be happy.Yet China is not pleased.That at least is the opinion of a new book written by a group of Chinese authors.
China Is Not Happy was released in March.It is a follow-up to the 1996 work China Can Say No, a bestseller that complained about the influence of the West, and the US in particular, on China.Thirteen years later, the authors of China Is Not Happy list their dissatisfaction with how China is being treated in the world today.They argue that China needs to use its growing power and economic resources to build its own position of outstanding performances."From looking at the history of human civilization, we are most qualified to lead this world.Westerners should be second," the book says.
The authors, single out the US for special scorn (輕蔑), and say their book's message has been helped by the economic crisis."This economic problem has shown the Chinese people that America does have problems, and that what we've been saying is right," said Wang Xiaodong, one of the authors in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.Since being released on March 13, the book has become a bestseller in many Chinese bookstores.The publisher has printed 270,000 copies, and says sales are far better than expected.
Yet much of the response to the book has been negative.Several reviews in the Chinese media have criticized the book's radical opinions.The book is a way to "fish money from the pockets of the angry youth and angry elderly," wrote one critic in the China Youth Daily.Meanwhile, a well-known sociologist, Li Yinhe, has said that China needs patriotism (愛國精神), but there is a limit.In her blog she wrote, "If we are to bully other countries, take the world's resources and try to lead it, we're going over the top." Wang Xiaodong admitted in an interview with the US' Time magazine that the book's title is a bit of a trick."Those words in the title are just for the purpose of promoting the book in the marketplace," he says."We didn't choose them.It was the people selling the book who chose the title, because it would sell well."
1.What is the best title of the article?
A.Happy China makes wonders       B.China—happy or unhappy?
C.China is not happy               D.China challenges the world
2.Which of the following statements doesn’t agree with the opinions of the new book?
A.China has made great historical breakthroughs in the past several years.
B.China’s civilization has advantages over the westerners’.
C.China needs to use its growing power and economic resources to build its own world
Position
D.China should be the number one leader in the world
3.The book is named China Is Not Happy because___________ .
A.China wants to put pressure on the western countries.
B.it reflects the national feelings of Chinese people.
C.it is a good selling point.
D.the authors of the book want to make a hit in the market.
4.The writer presents the article with the purpose of ___________.
A.introducing a new book             B.promoting a new book
C.raising discussions about a new book     D.honoring the authors of a new book

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


第三部分閱讀理解(共15小題;每小題2分,滿分30分)
請閱讀下列短文,從每題所給的四個選項(xiàng)(A、B、C和D)中,選出最佳選項(xiàng),并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)的標(biāo)號涂黑。
May 16th            Wednesday                                            Sunny
They used to call her “the witch(女巫)”, but today I found things were different.
My legs were too short to reach the floor from up there on the big chair. I was so afraid. My legs started to shake.
It was the first time I had been to the principal’s(校長的) office. And I knew what she was going to ask me.
Why had I been running on the concrete(混凝土) in the playground? Why hadn’t I followed the school rules?
The principal’s secretary was sitting at her desk. She kept asking me questions like whether I liked school and what grade I was in. I didn’t want to talk to her, so I just gave one-word answers.         
Then she asked what my dad did. But I didn’t really know what he did, so I made something up. “He plays basketball for the Boston Celtics,” I said.
The secretary just looked at me, and said nothing more.
Just then, the door to the principal’s office opened. There she was, the woman that everyone called “the witch”.
Was she really that bad? I was surprised to see her office walls were bright yellow, and there were some nice pictures on the desk.
She told me about the pictures. I was surprised that she had a family and a kid, just like me.
Then she asked how my family was. It turned out that she had known me since I was only a few weeks old. I was happy to hear that. If she knew my mum, then I wouldn’t get into much trouble.
She cleaned the cut on my knee and told me to be more careful. She also told me about the rules of the playground. But she didn’t punish or shout at me. And I forgot all the bad things I had heard about “the witch”. I had met her and I knew she was nice.
1.“The witch” in the story refers to _______.
A. the writer                     B. the writer’s father            C. the secretary    D. the principal
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The writer often asked the principal for help.
   B. The principal must be very strict with students.
   C. Running in the playground was allowed by the school rules.
   D. The writer’s father was an excellent basketball player.
3.Which word can replace the underlined phrase “made up” (in Paragraph 6)?
   A. Told.                     B. Invented.             C. Minded.              D. Memorized.
4. How did the writer find the principal in the end?
   A. Terrible.            B. Kind.                        C. Proud.                D. Strict.

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Agence Rrance-Presse--- French doctors this week carried out the world’s first operation on a human in zero gravity, using a specially adapted aircraft to create conditions in space.
During a three-hour flight from Bordeaux in southwest France, the team of surgeons and anesthetists (麻醉師) successfully removed a benign tumor (良性瘤) from the forearm of a 46-year-old volunteer. The experiment was part of a program backed by the European Space Agency to develop techniques for performing robotic surgery aboard the International Space Station or at a future Moon base.
“Now we know that a human being can be operated on in space without too many difficulties,” says the team leader Dr. Dominique Martin.
Under normal ground conditions, the operation would be performed under a local anesthetic. Without gravity, the surgeon’s work is harder and the patient’s body reacts differently. Blood doesn’t pump in the same way.
The custom-designed Airbus 300 aircraft performed a series of parabolic swoops (拋物線飛行), each creating between 20 seconds of weightlessness. The process was repeated 32 times.
Fixed inside a custom-made operating block, three surgeons and two anesthetists worked during these periods, with their instruments held in place with magnets around the patient’s bed. The next part of the program is to carry out a remote-controlled operation using a robot controlled from the ground by satellite. This experiment should take place within a year, Martin says.
Anesthetist Dr. Laurent de Coninek says that zero-gravity surgery offers huge promise for space exploration, although it would at first be limited to treating simple injuries. Today more than 400 people have already traveled into space. The chances of injuries occurring during missions will become even greater and to bring a wounded person back to the earth for treatment is both risky for them and expensive.
67. What would be the best title for the test?
A. A Special Operation for Doctors            B. First Operation on the Moon
C. World’s First Operation in Zero Gravity      D. An Important Experiment for Doctors
68. What’s the purpose of the operation?
A. To have an experiment on space operation.    B. To cure the patient.
C. To do it at the request of the patient.               D. To reduce the danger of operation on earth.
69. It is difficult for doctors to do operations in space because________________.
A. the patient’s illness will be more serious           B. the patient has no feeling about pain
C. the patient’s body reacts differently               D. the patient’s flood will stop flowing
70. The last paragraph mainly wants to tell readers________________.
A. there are many people injured in space           B. it is necessary to do the experiment
C. it is risky to travel in space                             D. there is no need to bring patients in space to the earth

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


When you are talking to somebody at a party, do you focus entirely on the person you are speaking with or does your attention keep jumping around the room to all the other people there? General1y, if the person is someone you really want to talk to, you will focus on him. Most other people will only get about half of your attention.
You may think that this is OK, because if you don’t really want to talk to him, then what does it matter if you don’t give him your full attention? Consider two things. First, you may just not realize the importance of that conversation. If you are at a networking meeting and you hope to meet the CEO of Company X, but you end up talking to someone who has a low-level job at a different company, then you may let your attention wander (走神) as you speak to him. But maybe you don’t realize that this person has already met the CEO and could introduce you. Do you think he will do that if he feels you don’t really care about speaking to him? This doesn’t mean you need to spend the whole time talking to him. Five or ten minutes of real attentive (專心的) conversation can be worth 30 minutes to an hour of partial attention.
Second, whether you want to speak to someone is based on the situation. You can love your wife, but if she tries to talk to you while you are watching something you like on TV, where is your attention going? Make your own decision, but if you want her to feel valued, give her your 100% attention. The nice thing is that in many cases you can give her your attention for a few minutes and then return to what you were doing. You miss very little, she feels valued, and all is good.
60.The author’s opinion is made believable mainly by ________.
A. giving examples    B. using figures     C. asking questions       D. description
61.The second paragraph mainly tells you that ________.
A. you should focus on whoever you are talking to
B. you should be interested in everyone at a party
C. you can refuse to talk to someone you don’t like at a party
D. you should be patient with everyone at a party
62.A person who has a low-level job probably ________.
A. would like to talk to you                   B. is the one you’re looking for
C. wants to make friends with you         D. is well worth focusing on
63. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Always be friendly to others at a party.
B. Improve your communication skills by focusing on others.
C. It is important for you to be active at a party. 
D. You should respect your wife at any time.

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