What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A doctor? How about an ice-cream taster?
Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream. Just ask John Harrison, an “Official Taste Tester” for the past 2l years. Harrison’s job has been responsible for approving（批準）large numbers of the sweet ice cream – as well as for developing over 15 flavors（味道）.
Some people think that it would be easy to do this job; after all, you just have to like ice cream, right? No – there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry. He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a job in this “cool field”.
In a typical morning on the job, Harrison tastes and grades 60 ice-cream samples. He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12^oF. Harrison explains, “You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir it, creating ice-cream soup.”
While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance. “Tasting begins with the eyes,” he explains. He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself, “Does the product have the colour expected from that flavor?” Next it’s time to taste!
Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy – working at one cool job.
【小題1】What is John Harrison’s job?

A．An officer.	B．An ice-cream taster.
C．A chemist.	D．An ice-cream producer.

【小題2】According to John Harrison, what is useful to get a job in “cool field”?

A．To just like ice cream.

B．To find out new flavors each day.

C．To have new ideas every day.

D．To have a degree in food-science.

【小題3】What does Harrison do first when testing ice cream?

A．He smells it.	B．He lets it warm up.
C．He tastes its flavor.	D．He examines its colour.

A desert is a very dry land where there is hardly any rain. In the day, it can be so hot that you could fry an egg on the ground. But during the night it is sometimes so could that water would turn into ice.






Many desserts are covered in sand. But some have mountains, rocks, or lakes that have dried up in the heat. The Great American Dessert has cliffs(懸崖) that have been made into amazing and beautiful shapes by the wind. The Sahara Desert in Africa is mostly sand. The Australian Desert has red sand.
Sometimes it does not rain for a whole year in the desert. But there is water deep under the ground and some plants have roots that go very deep to find it. Other plants have roots that spread out(延伸) a long way so they can suck up the rain as soon as it falls.
One desert plant is the cactus, which has long, spreading roots. The cactus stores water inside its hard skin. This skin protects it from heat and cold.
Camels are a bit like cactus plants! They store water too—inside their bodies. They have special fur which protects them from the sun during the day and keeps them warm at night.
Some other animals live in deserts, too. They have to be very good at seeing and hearing because most of them only come out at night. This is why many desert animals have extra big eyes or ears.
A desert fox has bigger ears than a normal for. A gerbil has huge eye, so that it can see at night. It stays cool in the day by staying underground, like most desert animals.
Some people live in the desert but they always make their homes near an oasis. An oasis is where water comes from an underground river. Near an oasis, people can grow lots of plants and keep animals.
Life is hard in the desert, for people, animals and plants. But desert people like to live there.
【小題1】A desert is very dry because__________.

A．it is sandy	B．there is so little rain
C．the wind is strong	D．there is no water deep under the ground

【小題2】What does the underlined phrase"suck up"in paragraph 3 mean_________?

A．圍堵

B．討好

C．釋放

D．吸收

【小題3】Some desert animals have extra big eyes or ears because__________.

A．the sunlight is too strong in the day	B．they need to see and hear well at night
C．it is very cold at nigh	D．they store water in them.

【小題4】Most desert animals stay cool in the day by_________.

A．storing water in side their bodies	B．drinking water as much as they can
C．staying underground	D．growing lots of plants

【小題5】Which of the following is true?

A．Desert people like to live in the desert though life is hard.

B．People in the desert usually fry eggs on the ground.

C．Camels have special fur to store water.

D．All the deserts are covered in sand.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A doctor? How about an ice-cream taster?
Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream. Just ask John Harrison, an “Official Taste Tester” for the past 2l years. Harrison’s job has been responsible for approving（批準）large numbers of the sweet ice cream – as well as for developing over 15 flavors（味道）.
Some people think that it would be easy to do this job; after all, you just have to like ice cream, right? No – there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry. He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a job in this “cool field”.
In a typical morning on the job, Harrison tastes and grades 60 ice-cream samples. He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12^oF. Harrison explains, “You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir it, creating ice-cream soup.”
While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance. “Tasting begins with the eyes,” he explains. He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself, “Does the product have the colour expected from that flavor?” Next it’s time to taste!
Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy – working at one cool job.
【小題1】What is John Harrison’s job?

A．An officer.	B．An ice-cream taster.
C．A chemist.	D．An ice-cream producer.

【小題2】According to John Harrison, what is useful to get a job in “cool field”?

A．To just like ice cream.

B．To find out new flavors each day.

C．To have new ideas every day.

D．To have a degree in food-science.

【小題3】What does Harrison do first when testing ice cream?

A．He smells it.	B．He lets it warm up.
C．He tastes its flavor.	D．He examines its colour.

Where is Love? How can we find Love?
Once a little boy wanted to meet Love. He knew it was a long trip to where Love lived, so he got his things ready with some pizzas and drinks and started off. When he passed three streets, he saw an old woman sitting in the park and watching some birds. She looked very hungry. The boy gave her a pizza. She took it and smiled at him. The smile was so beautiful that he wanted to see it again, so he gave her a Coke. She smiled once again. The boy was very happy.
They sat there all the afternoon, eating and smiling, but they said nothing. When it grew dark, the boy decided to leave. But before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. The woman gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door of his house, his mother was surprised by the look of joy(快樂)on his face and asked what had made him so happy. “I had lunch with Love. She has got the most beautiful smile in the world.” At the same time, the old woman,s son was also surprised at his mother,s pleasure and asked why.
“I ate a pizza in the park with Love,” she said, “and he is much younger than I expected.”
If the world is full of love, we can enjoy a better life.
【小題1】When the little boy saw the old woman, she was   .

A．looking for a seat in the park

B．passing the street

C．looking at some birds

D．having a pizza

【小題2】The little boy gave the old woman a Coke because   .

A．the old woman still felt hungry

B．he wanted to see the smile again

C．he didn,t like the drink

D．the old woman paid him for it

【小題3】The old woman gave the little boy the biggest smile   .

A．a(chǎn)fter the little boy went home

B．before it grew dark

C．when she was drinking Coke

D．a(chǎn)fter the little boy hugged her

【小題4】The boy,s mother was surprised to see her son was very   when the door opened.

A．pleased

B．sad

C．unhappy

D．a(chǎn)ngry

【小題5】Which of the following is TRUE?_____

A．The little boy failed to find Love.

B．Both the little boy and the old woman found what they wanted at last.

C．The little boy decided never to go home.

D．The old woman gave the little boy a hug to thank him.

C
“Everything happens for the best.” Whenever I faced disappointment, my mother would say this to me.
After I graduated form college in 1932, I decided to find a job in radio as a sports announcer(廣播員). I went to Chicago and knocked at the door of every station. But unluckily, I was refused every time.
At one station, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn’t hire(雇傭) a person without any experience and suggested that I try my luck at smaller stations. Following her advice, I went back to Dixon, where I had grown up. There were no such jobs in Dixon, and my father said a newly-opened store wanted a local athlete to work for it. I wanted this job, but I was refused again.
“Everything happens for the best,” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, I felt so frustrated. “How can I become a sports announcer if I can’t get a job in a radio station?” I asked aloud.
While I was waiting for the elevator, I heard someone calling. It was MacArthur. “What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he asked me to have a try. He was pleased with my performance, and he offered me a chance to work there.
On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words: “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if without the failure before.”
【小題1】Why couldn’t the writer find a job at big radio stations?

A．Because he never graduated from college.

B．Because he didn’t work hard in college.

C．Because he didn’t have much experience.

D．Because he didn’t know about sports.

【小題2】Which of the following is the correct order of events?
a. The writer got a job as a sports announcer at a radio station.
b. The writer was refused when he wanted jobs in Chicago.
c. The writer graduated from college.
d. The writer went back to his hometown to look for a job.

A．cbda

B．cbad

C．bcda

D．bcad

【小題3】 Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The writer’s parents didn’t want him to be a sports announcer.

B．There were no radio announcer jobs in the writer’s hometown.

C．The writer became uninterested in being a sports announcer.

D．The writer got a job as a sports announcer in Dixon at last.

【小題4】 According to the last paragraph, what did the writer’s mom want to tell him?

A．He shouldn’t be a sports announcer.

B．Disappointment leads to failure.

C．He should be proud of himself.

D．Everything will be OK if he keeps trying.