It was fifteen past nine as Marie hurried into the office building where she was going to work. Her bus had inched along through the heavy traffic, making her a few minutes late for her very first job. She decided to start out half an hour earlier the next day. Once inside the lobby, she had to stand at the elevators and wait several minutes before she could get on one going to the sixth floor. When she finally reached the office marked “ Smith Enterprise“ , she knocked at the door nervously and waited. There was no reply. She tapped on the door a-gain, but still there was no answer. From inside the next office, she could hear the sound of voices, so she opened the door and went in. Although she was sure it was the same office she had been in two weeks before when she had the interview with Mr. Smith, it looked quite different now. In fact, it hardly looked like an office at all. The employees were just standing around chatting and smoking. In the front of the room, somebody must have just told a good joke, she thought, because there was a loud burst of laughter as she came in. For a moment she had thought they were laughing at her. Then one of the men looked at his watch, clapped his hands and said something to the others. Quickly they all went to their desks, and in a matter of seconds, everyone was hard at work. No one paid any attention to Marie. Finally she went up to the man who was sitting at the desk nearest to the door and explained that this was her first day in the office. Hardly looking up from his work, he told her to have a seat and wait for Mr. Smith, who would arrive at any moment. Then Marie realized that the day’ s work in the office began just before Mr. Smith arrived. Later she found out that he lived in Connecticut and came into Manhattan on the same train every morning, arriving in the office at 9: 35, so that his staff knew exactly when to start working.

How much does the TV cost now?W: Mother said this kind of TV set costs 200 dollars. M: It used to, but the price has gone up 30 dollars. 200. 170. 230. 30.

Women with low literacy suffer disproportionately more than men, encountering more【C6】________in finding a well-paying job and being twice as likely to end up in the group of lowest wage earners, a study released on Wednesday said. Analysis by the Institute for Women’ s Policy Research(IWPR)found women at all levels of【C7】______tend to earn less than men, but it’ s at the lowest literacy levels that the wage gap between genders is most【C8】______ Women with low literacy are twice as likely as men at the same skill level to be among the lowest earners, bringing in $300 a week or less, the report said. “ Because women start off so low in terms of wages, having higher literacy and more skills really【C9】______a big difference,“ said Kevin Miller, a【C10】______research associate at IWPR and co-author of the study. Women need to go【C11】______in their training and education level to earn the same as men, Miller said. The【C12】______was based on 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy surveys, the most recent data【C13】______, and focused on reading skills, not writing and numeric literacy. That data was【C14】______from a nationally representative sample of 19,714 people aged 16 and older, living in households or prisons. Data showed about one-third of American adults have low literacy levels, and more than 36 percent of men and 33 percent of women fall into that【C15】______, the institute said. [A]pattern[B]independent[C]makes [D]difficulties[E]collected[F]conducted [G]available[H]category[I]positions [J]striking[K]literacy[L]analysis [M]senior[N]further[O]longer

You are preparing for an English test and are in need of some reference books. Write a letter to the sales department of a bookstore to ask for: 1)detailed information about the books you want: 2)methods of payment: 3)time and way of delivery. You should write about 100 words. Do not sign your own name at the end of your letter. Use “Wang Lin“ instead.

Read the text below. Write an essay in about 120 words, in which you should summarize the key points of the text and make comments on them. Try to use your own words. The House of 1000 Mirrors Long ago in a small, faraway village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, “This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often. “ In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, “That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again. “ All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kinds of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

What kind of weather is normal for March?M: Excuse me. Have you been waiting here long? W: Yes, about ten minutes. M: Did you notice whether the No. 7 bus has passed by? W: Not while I’ ve been standing here. M: Good. Hot today, isn’ t it? W: Yes, it is. I wish that it would rain and cool off. M: Me too. This is unusual for March. I don’t remember it ever being so hot and dry in March before. W: You’ re from Florida then. M: Not really. I was born in New York, but I’ ve lived here for ten years now. W: My mother and I have just moved here from Indiana. M: Pretty cold in Indiana, isn’t it? W: Yes. That’ s why we moved. But we didn’ t know that it would be so hot here. We should have gone to California. Do you think that we’ ve missed the bus? M: No, it’ s always a little late. W: It’ s twenty to one, but my watch is a little faster. M: Take it easy. It never comes exactly every half hour like it should. Cold. Very hot. Cooler than that day. hotter than that day.

How long will Anna still have to stay in London?M: Er, Anna, tell me, how long have you been here in London? W: I arrived ten days ago. M: I understand you are taking an English course at this school. W: Yes, that’s right. M: When did the course start? W: It started...er, five days ago. M: How long does it last? W: It lasts a month, and there are three hours of classes every morning. In the afternoon there are trips to places of interest in London. M: I see. Why did you decide to take this course? W: For two reasons, really. You see, I work in the Sales Department of a computer company, and I often have to speak English to customers, so I wanted to improve my spoken English. M: You speak very well. W: Thank you. M: And the second reason? W: It was a good excuse to see London. M: Is this the first time you’ ve been here? W: Yes. M: And are you living with an English family here in London? W: No, I’m living in a hotel, but I think it’ s better to live with a family. There are five French people staying at the hotel, so we speak French together. I haven’ t met many English people yet! At least 40 days. At least 35 days. At least 30 days. At least 25 days.

What was the woman doing these days?W: Hey, Tom. I wonder if you can help me. I’ ve been so busy sightseeing these days and I haven ’ t done any shopping. Now it’ s almost the end of my tour and I’ m leaving tomorrow. I need to buy some presents for my family members but I don’ t know where to get them. M: I’m glad to be of any help. Do you have anything particular in mind? W: Well, I need to buy a warm jumper for my mother so that she can wear it in winter. My sister likes perfume. And then some wine or aftershave for my brother. M: Can we stop for a moment so I can tell you where you may get those things. Have you got a map there? Well, there’ s a Scorch Wale shop here on the left side as you go down Regent Street from the hotel you are staying. They have all kinds of jumpers and tartan skirts and... W: Oh, tartan skirts? That’ s what I want for myself. I love those skirts. And do they also sell socks? I’d like to buy some too. M: I’m not sure, but there is a sock shop on the opposite side of the street in fact. Now, as to perfume... W: No. I’ ve changed my mind. I think a book for sister and a record for my brother may be better. Can I get those near Piccadilly? M: Oh, yes. There is big record shop. And not far from there, you will find a good selection of books at Harcher’ s. W: Ah, I see. Well, that’ s about everything then. Thank you, Tom. Now let’ s go to have a cup of coffee first. My treat. She was doing nothing. She was going shopping. She was studying. She was going sightseeing.

Everyone needs a break, and vacations are not meant for serious study.【C1】______The Spring Festival is coming up so this is the perfect time to discuss some great English language literature to take on a long train journey. Before getting into the recommendations, you need to determine your English reading comprehension level. If you’ re at the beginner level, there are two options: reading a children’ s book or reading a book that you’ ve read in Chinese translation.【C2】______If you’ re at the intermediate level, popular books like pop fiction, mysteries and thrillers are good options. For advanced readers, classic works of literature or modern prize winners(Nobel, Pulitzer)are good options. 【C3】______When I pick up a book I like, even though the first few chapters are really hard to get through, I would try to get accustomed to the language the author uses. Generally, after the first few chapters, things get a lot easier, especially if I get involved in the story. Another great way to keep yourself motivated is to find a friend who’ s interested in reading the same book. You can make goals that you both want to achieve. 【C4】______ Some quick recommendations: Harry Potter, start with the first book and go on from there, the Narnia series: anything by US writer Michael Crichton: and if you like horror, US writer Stephen King is always unusual and fun.【C5】______Happy reading! [A]Instead, they’ re a great way to take a break and enjoy a good book. [B]If you pick a book which is so challenging, it will be too stressful. [C]You may also enjoy your reading when hanging out with your family. [D]The most important thing is to pick a book that you’re really interested in. [E]You can also discuss plot lines or vocabulary issues with each other by SMS or e-mail. [F]You should just find a topic or author you’ re interested in, and the rest will go from there. [G]This will help you get over any unfamiliar words or phrases, since you’ re already familiar with the story.

A smile is a strong sign of a friendly and open attitude and a willingness to communicate. It is a positive, silent sign sent with the hope the other person will smile back. When you smile, you show you have noticed the person in a positive way. The result? That person will usually smile back. You might not realize a closed position is the cause of many conversational problems. A common closed position is sitting with your arms and legs crossed and your hand covering your mouth or chin. This is often called the “thinking pose“. Ask yourself this question: Are you going to interrupt someone who appears to be deep in thought? This position gives off “stay away“ signs and prevents your main “ sign sender“(your mouth)from being seen by others looking for inviting conversational signs. The open body position is most effective when you place yourself within communicating distance of the other person—that is, within about five feet. Take care, however, not to enter someone’ s “personal space“ by getting too close, too soon. Leaning forward a little while a person is talking shows your interest and how you are listening to what the person is saying. By doing this, you are saying: I hear what you’ re saying, and I’ m interested in—keep talking! Often people will lean back with their hands over their mouth, chin, or behind their head in the “thinking“ pose. This position gives off signs of judgment, doubt, and lack of interest from the listener. Since most people do not feel comfortable when they think they are being judged, this leaning-back position serves to prevent the speaker from continuing. In many cultures the most common form of first contact between two people is a handshake. Be the first to extend your hand in greeting. Couple this with a friendly “Hello“ , a nice smile, and your name and you have made the first step to open the lines of communication. Eye contact should be natural, not forced or overdone. Direct eye contact shows you are listening to the other person and that you want to know about her.

It was fifteen past nine as Marie hurried into the office building where she was going to work. Her bus had inched along through the heavy traffic, making her a few minutes late for her very first job. She decided to start out half an hour earlier the next day. Once inside the lobby, she had to stand at the elevators and wait several minutes before she could get on one going to the sixth floor. When she finally reached the office marked “ Smith Enterprise“ , she knocked at the door nervously and waited. There was no reply. She tapped on the door a-gain, but still there was no answer. From inside the next office, she could hear the sound of voices, so she opened the door and went in. Although she was sure it was the same office she had been in two weeks before when she had the interview with Mr. Smith, it looked quite different now. In fact, it hardly looked like an office at all. The employees were just standing around chatting and smoking. In the front of the room, somebody must have just told a good joke, she thought, because there was a loud burst of laughter as she came in. For a moment she had thought they were laughing at her. Then one of the men looked at his watch, clapped his hands and said something to the others. Quickly they all went to their desks, and in a matter of seconds, everyone was hard at work. No one paid any attention to Marie. Finally she went up to the man who was sitting at the desk nearest to the door and explained that this was her first day in the office. Hardly looking up from his work, he told her to have a seat and wait for Mr. Smith, who would arrive at any moment. Then Marie realized that the day’ s work in the office began just before Mr. Smith arrived. Later she found out that he lived in Connecticut and came into Manhattan on the same train every morning, arriving in the office at 9: 35, so that his staff knew exactly when to start working.

Jackson: Viewed from a scientist’ s standpoint, all of the energy contained in fuel either now or in the future becomes heat. Some of the heat is used directly or produces useful work. The rest is lost or rejected. That is to say, it is radiated into the atmosphere from the engines, motors, furnaces, power lines, television sets, boilers and all the other energy-consuming machinery that makes our wheels go around. Browning: It is necessary to improve the efficiency with which we use energy in order to do more work. But improvement cannot come overnight, and there are limits beyond which not even science can help. According to the Center for Strategic and International studies, about three quarters of the energy we use to move things, including ourselves, accomplishes no useful work. Jeffrey: In terms of efficiency, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation may be using energy more efficiently than private automobiles. Unless private automobiles can operate at near capacity, their overall efficiency is poor. For example, an urban bus carrying 36 passengers may achieve an efficiency of around 120 passenger-miles per gallon of gasoline. But buses are not always fully loaded,and sometimes they carry no passengers at all. Vandenberg: It is true that buses can sometimes run without passengers. City trains seem to be very efficient, but they suffer the same shortcomings as buses and cost more. Except for rush hours, commuter trains seldom run at full capacity. This wastes even more energy and is more than the management can afford. As a result, commuter trains are truly practical only in places where there are a lot of people. Nathan: For some people, mass transportation may serve their needs. For others, a combination of mass transportation and private transportation may be preferable. Better design and wise use of both mass transportation systems and private vehicles will play an important part in helping us make fuller use of energy for transportation. Now match the name of each person(36-40)to the appropriate statement. Note: there are two extra statements. Statements [A]Public transportation is usually more energy-efficient. [B]City trains and buses have different faults to overcome. [C]The efficiency of the city train depends on the size of population. [D]No fuel energy is fully used. [E]A combined means of transport can help to increase energy efficiency. [F]Problems of energy loss can never be completely solved. [G]Private cars usually run at full capacity.

What does the woman suggest the man do?M: Today is a bad day for me. I fell off a step and twisted my ankle. W: Don’t worry, usually ankle injuries heal quickly if you stop regular activities for a while. Give his ankle a good rest. Treat his injury immediately. Continue his regular activities. Be careful when climbing steps.

What does the speaker mainly talking about?The sense of hearing is one of our most important means of knowing what is going on around us. We are warned of danger by sound. Sounds serve to please us in music. It has a waste product, too, in the form of noise. Noise has been called unwanted sound. Noise is growing and it may get much worse before it gets any better. Automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, airplanes, boats, factories, bands—all these things make noise. They bother not only our ears but our minds and bodies as well. There is a saying about it being so noisy that you can’ t hear yourself think. Doctors who study noise believe that we must sometimes hear ourselves think. If we don’t, we may have headaches, other aches and pains, or even worse mental problems. Noise adds stress to our society that already faces enough. There are two ways to cut down on the harm caused by noise. One is to cut down on the amount of noise. The other is to protect ourselves against the noise we can’t stop. Ways of making less noise are now being tested. There are groups for the prevention of noise in this country. There is even a law controlling noise. We cannot return to the “good old days“ of peace and quiet. But we can reduce noise—if we shout loudly enough about it. Pollution. Human voice. Good old days. None of the above.

Marie could hardly recognize the office she went into because________.

When Marie knocked Mr. Smith’ s door, what did she feel?

The people in the office suddenly started working because_________.

We can infer from the text that the employees of the company_________.

What’ s the best title for this text?