The first summer job is often a signal that you’re on your way to adulthood, and it’s also a method for earning money to pay for what you dream of. It’s never too early to start considering the future. Now, here are some good choices for you!

Retail (零售) Sales

Retail offers plenty of opportunity for teens who are looking for a job. This type of work can pay from $10 to $15 an hour depending upon the duty you are expected to take on. It can also be great for teens who are friendly and enjoy talking to other people. For more information, call us at 111-222-3333.

Food Service

A job in the food service industry is a natural fit for sociable teens who enjoy communicating with the public. It allows employees to work as part of a team while learning about following instructions. It also comes with the opportunity to earn between $8 and $10 per hour. Just call 111-222-3533 for more information.

Babysitter

This job requires someone who is highly responsible. Though it pays generally between $6 and $8 hourly, it also requires a lot of patience. This is a great choice for teens who wish to make a career in teaching, child care, social work or any other field that makes use of social skills or requires interaction with kids. Got a question? Just call 111-222-3336.

Housekeeping

This type of work can bring in about $5 an hour and it will allow teens to learn responsibility and develop their organizational skills. The summer sees an upswing in the tourism industry, so hotels are often looking for more housekeeping staff, and parks often need more people to assist with keeping public areas clean and organized as well. Telephone: 111-222-3330.

1. How much can you earn at least in two hours as a retailer?

A. $10.     B.$12.          C.$16.    D. $20.

2. Which of the following jobs may attract teens who want to be a teacher?

A. Retail Sales.         B. Food Service.

C. Babysitter.             D. Housekeeping.

3. The underlined part “an upswing” in the last paragraph can best be replaced by “_____”.

A. an increase     B. a limit        C. a sign     D. a trick

We just love giving cards in Britain. If there’s a special occasion coming up, there’s no doubt that we’ll be there, card in hand, to celebrate it. And this isn’t just for birthdays; we also give cards when people are ill or when they have got a new job. And even if you forgot somebody’s birthday, there are even “sorry it’s late” cards. So you can pretty much find a card for any occasion.

Before coming to Italy I had never even considered that our love for card giving might not be shared by other countries. In fact, my workmates told me that hardly anyone sends Christmas cards in Italy and that they actually don’t really give birthday cards either! Unbelievable! In the UK, if a close friend or family member didn’t get me a card I’d feel upset! However, the only place you can buy cards in Italy is in a shop which sells school things. In comparison, we have whole shops that sell them in the UK and we even have different types of card shops.

Although cards can take up your time, from choosing the perfect one, to thinking up the personal message inside, I think it’s a really nice gesture. And especially with Christmas cards, it adds to that festive feeling. When I sit down to write countless cards to friends and family, I get that little bit happier that it will be Christmas soon! Especially when I see my own Christmas cards, proudly sitting on my desk wishing me a very merry Christmas.

Of course, the problem comes when they’re no longer needed, when Christmas is over. It makes me sad just to throw them all away, so I try and keep my favorite ones.

4. According to Paragraph 1, in the UK card giving _____.

A. is very popular

B. is changing people’s lives

C. is mainly carried out on birthdays

D. is more common between family members

5. After arriving in Italy, the author found that _____.

A. Italians seldom send cards

B. cards are sold in card shops

C. the relationship between people is bad

D. card giving is losing its attraction slowly

6. Which of the following may the author agree with?

A. Self-made cards make Christmas happy.

B. Giving cards doesn’t take up any time.

C. Throwing cards away is a bad gesture.

D. There is no need to save every card.

7. What’s the author’s attitude towards card giving?

A. He supports it.            B. He doubts it.

C. He disagrees with it.         D. He is uninterested in it.

Most of the sandstorms that had swept China last year came from foreign land，a Chinese official in charge of desertification（荒漠化） control said on Monday. And the invasions(入侵)could partly explain the frequent sandstorms in the country in recent years despite its achievements in desertification control.

Since the start of last spring，the north and northwestern Chinese areas had been hit by 17 sandstorms，of which，a dozen came from foreign land.

Located in the central­Asia sandstorm area，one of the world's four largest sandstorm sources，China also suffers from sandstorms from outside the country while being blamed as a sand source to northeast Asia. The other three major sources are in Africa，North America and Australia.

The land suffering from desertification has been decreasing by 7,585 square kilometres annually in China，and the area of sandy land has also been falling by 1,284 square kilometres a year.

The shrinkage(收缩)forms a clear contrast to the fact that the land suffering from desertification and sandy feature was added by 10,400 square kilometres and 3,436 square kilometres late last century，respectively.

Currently，the desertification land in China makes up 2.64 million square kilometres，accounting for 27.46 percent of the nation's land，and its sandy land totals 1.74 million square kilometres，accounting for 18.1 percent of the country's total.

8．What does the underlined word “decreasing” mean in Paragraph 4?

A．Going down.　　　　　 B．Going up.

C．Coming from.              D．Taking up.

9．Where do most of the sandstorms in China come from?

A．The northwestern Chinese areas.   B．The northern Chinese areas.

C．The western part of China.         D．Foreign countries.

10．Which of the following is believed to be the sand source to northeast Asia?

A．Mongolia.      B．Africa.         C．China.       D．Australia.

11．What can we infer from this passage?

A．The land in China suffering from desertification has been increasing greatly.

B．China has made achievements in its own desertification control.

C．The desertification land makes up nearly half of China's territory(领土).

D．Little progress has been made in controlling desertification in China.

Warm weather brought by El Nino has had mixed effects on animals in usually snowy places in North America, including New England, according to an Associated Press article.

Some animals seem to benefit from having a chance to gather more food before winter, and from expending less energy in daily survival mode. Others, like snowshoe hares, are put at center stage in predators’(捕食者) view when they lack snow for disguising(掩饰) their white fur — not a god thing for them, of course.

Black bears, on the other hand, have been keeping busy gathering nuts and apples, when they would normally have settled into their winter homes by now. Vermont and Massachusetts officials have asked residents（居民） to wait till snow falls to take out their bird feeders for the sake of safety, the article said.

“We suggest waiting for 6 or more inches of snow that lasts before taking out your bird feeders, especially if you have been visited in the past by bears or if there are sightings of bears in your neighborhood,” Forrest Hammond, Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s bear biologist, said in the article. “Due to lack of snow and frozen ground, birds are able to seek food in fields and forests for their natural foods.”

Snow amounts can also determine how comfortable bears are and how quickly they consume their accumulated fat during hibernation(冬眠), noted Hammond in the article. This is because snow covers and traps them in their winter homes, and also hides them from predators.

12. What may upset snowshoe hares because of El Nino?

A. Their being caught more easily.

B. Their failing to gather more food.

C. Their consuming more energy.

D. Their losing sight of their enemies.

13. Why did the officials ask people to keep bird feeders until snow falls?

A. They many disturb bears.

B. There’s no need to do so.

C. To avoid attracting bears.

D. For the safety of bears.

14. What do the bear biologist’s words imply?

A. A heavy snow is on the way.

B. Bears are common nowadays.

C. Bears live mainly on birds in winter.

D. Warm weather benefits birds in winter.

15. Which of the following is the proper title for the passage?

A. Warm Weather Helps Animals Survive

B. Snow Amounts Determine Animals’ Winter Life

C. Measures Should Be Taken To Protect Wildlife

D. Lack of Snow Affects North American Animals

Things You Should Stop Doing to Be Successful

Are you a happy person? How often do you think of reasons why everyone around you is successful though they are not better than you in general? What do you do wrong? Here are some things you should stop doing to be successful.

1.   16  

Different people may interpret(解说) “success” in different ways： some of them measure it in money, other ones — in positive changes to people around them and the world in general.   17   Don’t worry about what other people think but come after what makes you happy.

2. Do not believe anything without questioning it.

   18    They are critical（批判性的） thinkers, and they understand that we all are ruled by our prejudices, so they will always question new information.

3.Do not worry about all unpredictable things that may happen to you.

If you want to be successful,stop thinking about everything that MAY happen to you.   19    Be ready to improve and change your deeds and decisions when things suddenly don’t go according to your plan.

4.Do not care about what other people think of you.

   20    Your attempts to become “good” for everyone will turn into nothing but new worries, stresses, and problems. Successful people do not concentrate on the quantity of people to please, but worry about their quality and focus on developing friendships with people they really care about.

A.Wait for the “right time” to do anything.

B.Do not let others decide what “success” is for you.

C.Successful people do not just accept any new information to be true.

D.As far as we all know, it’s impossible to please all the people who surround us.

E.Try to feel comfortable with the reality and accept the fact your future can’t be predicted.

F.If you want to be successful, do not let others force their interpretation of success on you.

G.Successful people never ignore or avoid problems，no matter how big and awful they seem.