A blind schoolgirl has become the youngest interpreter (口譯員) when she is only ten years.
Alexia Sloane is from Cambridge. She was told by the doctor she had a brain tumor (腦癌) when she was on holiday "with her parents in France. After that the two-year-old girl became blind.
Though the little girl can't see anything, she has great talent for languages and at the age of 10 she is already fluent (流利的) in English, French, Spanish and Chinese-and is learning German.
Now her dream of working as an interpreter has come true. East of England MEP (歐盟議員) Robert Sturdy invited her to the European Parliament (議會). "Usually a person who enters the European Parliament should be 14 at least. So it was amazing for Alexia to work there at the age of 10. " said Alexia's mother Isabelle. Alexia can speak three languages since birth. As her mum is hah" French and half Spanish and her dad Richard is English. " She has always been very good at languages and shown an interest from a very young age. " added Isabelle, who also has a four-year-old daughter Melissa.
Alexia has dreamed of becoming an interpreter since she was six and chose to go to the European Parliament as her prize when she won the Young Achiever Community Award of the Year (年度青年成就獎). She asked if she could learn from the interpreters and HEP Robert Sturdy agreed to take her along as his guest. " It was fantastic and I decided to become an interpreter, "said Alexia. "Nothing can stop me. "
【小題1】How old is the youngest interpreter according to the passage?

A．4.

B．6.

C．10.

D．14.

【小題2】When did Alexia Sloane become blind?

A．When she was born.

B．After she had a brain tumor.

C．After she became an interpreter.

D．When she was on holiday with her parents.

【小題3】Who offered Alexia the chance of working as an interpreter?

A．Richard.

B．Isabelle.

C．Melissa.

D．Robert Sturdy.

【小題4】What is right about Alexia Sloane?

A．She can speak five language fluently.

B．She is a talented language learner.

C．She is the only child in the family.

D．She went to France on holiday after she won the award.

【小題5】What do you think is the meaning of the sentence "Nothing can stop me. "?

A．Never give up.

B．Believe in yourself.

C．Nothing is impossible.

D．Failure is the mother of success.

A blind schoolgirl has become the youngest interpreter (口譯員) when she is only ten years.
Alexia Sloane is from Cambridge. She was told by the doctor she had a brain tumor (腦癌) when she was on holiday "with her parents in France. After that the two-year-old girl became blind.
Though the little girl can't see anything, she has great talent for languages and at the age of 10 she is already fluent (流利的) in English, French, Spanish and Chinese-and is learning German.
Now her dream of working as an interpreter has come true. East of England MEP (歐盟議員) Robert Sturdy invited her to the European Parliament (議會). "Usually a person who enters the European Parliament should be 14 at least. So it was amazing for Alexia to work there at the age of 10. " said Alexia's mother Isabelle. Alexia can speak three languages since birth. As her mum is hah" French and half Spanish and her dad Richard is English. " She has always been very good at languages and shown an interest from a very young age. " added Isabelle, who also has a four-year-old daughter Melissa.
Alexia has dreamed of becoming an interpreter since she was six and chose to go to the European Parliament as her prize when she won the Young Achiever Community Award of the Year (年度青年成就獎). She asked if she could learn from the interpreters and HEP Robert Sturdy agreed to take her along as his guest. " It was fantastic and I decided to become an interpreter, "said Alexia. "Nothing can stop me. "
【小題1】How old is the youngest interpreter according to the passage?

A．4.

B．6.

C．10.

D．14.

【小題2】When did Alexia Sloane become blind?

A．When she was born.

B．After she had a brain tumor.

C．After she became an interpreter.

D．When she was on holiday with her parents.

【小題3】Who offered Alexia the chance of working as an interpreter?

A．Richard.

B．Isabelle.

C．Melissa.

D．Robert Sturdy.

【小題4】What is right about Alexia Sloane?

A．She can speak five language fluently.

B．She is a talented language learner.

C．She is the only child in the family.

D．She went to France on holiday after she won the award.

【小題5】What do you think is the meaning of the sentence "Nothing can stop me. "?

A．Never give up.

B．Believe in yourself.

C．Nothing is impossible.

D．Failure is the mother of success.

I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a major insurance(保險業(yè))company. I told him honestly why I wanted the job —I needed to keep my family in Boston. My wife recently died of a heart attack. A job in Boston would help me reduce some of the extreme trauma(精神創(chuàng)傷) and pain of the loss for my 16-year-old daughter. It was important for me to keep her in her present high school. I could still hardly talk about the loss of my wife. Bruce, the interviewer, was politely empathetic, but he didn’t probe(徹底調(diào)查) any further. He admitted (接受)my loss and, with great respect, moved on to another subject. After the next round of the interview, Bruce took me to lunch with another manager. Then he asked me to take a walk with him. He told me that he, too, had lost his wife. And, like me, he had also been married 20 years and had three children. In his sharing, I realized that he had experienced the same pain as I had —a pain that was almost impossible to explain to someone who had not lost a beloved one. He offered his business card and home phone number and suggested that, if I need help or just want someone to talk to, I should feel free to give him a call. Whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I ever needed help. When he had no idea if we would ever see each other again, he helped our family deal with one of the greatest losses. He turned the normally cold business interview into a caring support for another person in need.
【小題1】The author took part in the interview because _______.

A．he had lost his job and wanted to find a new one

B．he had to support his family in Boston

C．his wife had recently died of a heart attack

D．his daughter needed money for schooling

【小題2】 The underlined word "empathetic “in the second paragraph means _____.

A．kind

B．easy-going

C．smart

D．understanding

【小題3】 Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Bruce invited the author to lunch later.

B．Bruce shared his life experience with the author.

C．Bruce was willing to help the author.

D．Bruce finally gave the job to the author.

【小題4】 We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.

A．Bruce and the author saw each other often

B．the author got little help from Bruce

C．the author learned much from the job interview

D．the author had a better life afterwards

【小題5】 What is the best title for the passage?

A．An act of kindness

B．A pleasant interview

C．The same experience

D．An important lesson

Many years before the United States was founded(建立), Americans had already invented barbecues. But the first barbecues, in fact ,were the invention of the Taino Indians of Haiti, who dried their meat on raised frames(架子)of sticks over fires. Spanish explorers spelled the Taino word as barbacoa, and as time passed, English settlers along the Atlantic coat had their own barbecues.
One summer day in 1773, Benjamin Lynde, a citizen of Massachusetts, wrote in his diary, “Fair and hot ; Browne;hack overset.” That is , on a bright and hot day he went to the Brownes to attedn a barbecue, and his carriage(馬車)fell over. It shows that the barbecue had its social occasion by that time. Large animals would be roasted whole on frames over hot fires, and neighbours would be invited to dinner.
In later centuries, as settlers moved to the west, the barbecue went along with it, reaching an especially large size in Texas, where a pit (坑)for fuels(燃料) such as tree branches might be over ten feet deep. Today , the barbecue grills(燒烤架)which are fueled by charcoal(木炭) or electricity are likely to be small and easy to move , and can cook only parts of an animal at a time, but people still have barbecues out of doors and always invite their neighbours or friends over.
【小題1】Who invented the barbecues first in history?

A．American people.

B．Taino Indians.

C．Spanish explorers.

D．English settlers.

【小題2】The second paragraph mainly tells us that the barbecue_______________.

A．is only held on a hot sunny day	B．welcomes people who keep diaries
C．is held both indoors and outdoors	D．has its social occasion for over 200 years

【小題3】The underlined expression “ social occasion” can be best translated into______________.

A．社交功能

B．社會福利

C．社會地位

D．社會背景

【小題4】The following are all the barbecue ways   EXCEPT __________________.

A．drying meat on raised frames of sticks over fires

B．roasting a whole animal over a pit full of burning tree branches

C．cooking parts of animals over fires on grills fueled by charcoal

D．heating meat in the bright and hot daylight

A
Several years ago，a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America. One was a very rich banker，another owned one of the largest companies in the world，and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.
The reporter was talking to them about being important. “How do we know if someone is really important？” the reporter asked the banker.
The banker thought for a few moments and then said， “I think anybody who is invited to the White House to meet the President of the United States is really important. ”
The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that？” she asked.
The man shook his head， “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You‘d only be important if while you were visiting the President， there was a telephone call from the president of another country，and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it. ”
The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so？”
“No， I don‘t，” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important. ”
“Then what would make the visitor important？” the reporter and the other two men asked.
“Oh， I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang， and the President picked up the receiver， listened and then said， ‘It’s for you. ‘ ”
【小題1】This story happened in _______.

A．England

B．America

C．Japan

D．Australia

【小題2】There are _______ in this passage.

A．three men and one woman	B．two men and two women
C．three women and one man	D．four women

【小題3】The following is true EXCEPT_________.

A．The banker thought any visitor to the White House was really important.

B．The owner of the very large company thought the visitor would be important if while he was visiting the President, the President would not answer any telephone call

C．The owner of many buildings thoughtthe visitor was really important if he was talking to the President and the President received a telephone call for the visitor.

D．the reporter knew the way to find out who was the most important.