“Down-to-earth” means someone or something that is honest, realistic (现实的) and easy to deal with．

It is a pleasure to find someone who is down-to-earth．A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to and accepts other people as equals．A down-to-earth person is just the opposite of someone who acts importantly and proudly．

Down-to-earth person may be important members of society, of course．But they do not let their importance “go to their heads”．They do not consider themselves to be better persons than others of less importance．Someone who is filled with his own importance and pride, often without cause, is said to have “his nose in the air”．There is no way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth．

Americans use another expression that means almost the same as “down-to-earth”．It is “both-feet-on-the-ground”．Someone with “both-feet-on-the-ground” is a person with a good understanding of reality．He has what is called “common sense”．He may have dreams, but he does not allow them to block his knowledge of what is real．

The opposite kind of person is one who has his “head-in-the-clouds”．A man with his “head-in-the-clouds” is a dreamer whose mind is not in the real world．

Sometimes, such a dreamer can be brought back to earth．Sharp words from a teacher can usually bring a day-dreaming student down-to-earth．

Usually, the person who is down-to-earth is very likely to have our both-feet-on-the-ground．When we have our both-feet-on-the-ground, when we are down-to-earth, we act honestly and openly towards others．Our lives are like the ground below us, solid and strong．

1．“But they do not let their importance ‘go to their heads’” means that _____．

A．they are important but they do not want to be important

B．they do not show out that they are much better than others

C．they think others are less important but they do not look down upon them

D．they have a calm mind and are not proud of their importance

2．After reading this passage, what do you think a person with both-feet-on-the-ground is like?

A．He/She is a person who is honest, modest, realistic and easy to go with．

B．He/She is a person who is kind to others and never looks down upon them．

C．He/She is a person who thinks they themselves are less important than others．

D．He/She is a person who never thinks they themselves are a lot better tan others．

3．“Common sense” here means _____．

A．real sense without dreaming

B．the sense of correct understanding and judging

C．not special senses, but common

D．the senses of ordinary people

4．If you want to be a person who is down-to-earth, you’d better _____．

A．listen to your teacher’s sharp words often

B．act importantly and proudly

C．act honestly and openly towards others

D．do more important things

Anthrax (炭疽) is a naturally occurring disease of plant-eating animals caused by the anthrax bacillus (杆菌)．It is an illness which has been recognized since ancient times．Anthrax was common essentially in all areas where livestock (=animals kept on a farm, such as sheep and cattle) are raised．Intensive livestock immunization (免疫) programs have greatly reduced the occurrence of the disease among both animals and humans in much of the world．However, outbreaks occurred during the mid-1990’s in Haiti and the former Soviet Union．

Anthrax bacteria are named for the Greek word for coal-anthrax, because they cause coal-black injury when they infect the skin．Anthrax spores (孢子) can remain viable for several decades (a period of ten years) under suitable environmental conditions; thus, absence of cases does not equate to absence of risk．Humans can contract (=to get to have an illness) anthrax in three ways: through cuts or breaks in the skin resulting from contact with an infected animal, from breathing anthrax sores or eating infected meat．

One day in September, 2001, a 7-month-old son off an ABC producer in Manhattan spent time at the network offices．He developed a rash, and was hospitalized with an unknown illness soon after the visit．He was later diagnosed (诊断) anthrax．This was the beginning of the anthrax scare (=a sudden feeling of fear) created by terrorists  throughout the USA and the rest of the world．

1．Where does anthrax come from?

A．Human beings．                                  B．Wild animals．

C．Animals fed on plants．                            D．The ABC producer．

2．What does the underlined word “viable” mean?

A．Being able to be seen．                             B．Dead．

C．Being of great value．                              D．Alive

3．What will happen if livestock receive the immunization against anthrax?

A．There will be no anthrax disease in the world．

B．The occurrence of anthrax can be reduced among both animals and humans．

C．Anthrax can be prevented from occurring among animals．

D．Anthrax can be prevented from spreading among humans．

4．We can infer from the passage that _____．

A．the international terrorists might have scared the baby on purpose

B．people will never suffer from anthrax if they don’t eat the infected meat

C．the son of an ABC producer might have touched some infected meat

D．the son of an ABC producer might have breathed the anthrax spores

If women are mercilessly exploited (利用) year after year, they have only themselves to blame．Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores．Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion．When you come to think of it, only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear．

Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste．Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn．Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have．Skirts are lengthened or shortened; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and son on．

No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society．Fashion designers are rarely concerned with the most important things like warmth, comfort and durability．They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right．There can hardly be a man who hasn’t at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes．

When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious．Do the constantly changing fashions of women’s clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designer．Do their unchanging styles of dress show basic qualities of stability (稳定) and reliability (可靠)? That is for you to decide．

1．Designers and big stores always make money _____．

A．by mercilessly exploiting women workers in the clothing industry

B．because they are capable of predicting new fashions

C．by constantly changing the fashions in women’s clothing

D．because they attach great importance to quality in women’s clothing

2．According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women．

B．The constant changes in women’s clothing reflect their strength of character．

C．The fashion industry makes an important contribution to society．

D．Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women．

3．By saying “the conclusions to be drawn are obvious” (Paragraph4), the writer means that _____．

A．women’s inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughed at

B．women are better able to put up with discomfort

C．men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers

D．men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion

They say a cat has nine lives, and I think that possible since I am now living my third life and I’m not even a cat．My father died when I was 15, and we had a hard struggle to make a living．And my mother, who was seriously ill in her last years, died while still in her 60s．My sister married soon after, and I followed her example within the year．

This was when I began to enjoy my first life．I was very happy, in excellent health．I had a good job in San Jose and a beautiful home up the peninsula (半岛) in San Carlos．Life was a pleasant dream．Then the dream ended．I became afflicted (使苦恼) with a slowly progressive disease of the motor nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, and then my other side．Thus began my second life…．

In spite of my disease I still drove to and from work each day, with the aid of special equipment installed in my car．And I managed to keep my health and optimism (乐观), to a degree, because of 14 steps．Crazy? Not at all．Our home was an affair with 14 steps leading up from the garage to the kitchen door．Those steps were a standard measure of life．They were my yardstick, my challenge to continue living．I felt that if the day arrived when I was unable to lift one foot up one step and then drag the other painfully after it ---repeating the process 14 times, I would be through---I could then admit defeat and lie down and die．

Then on a dark night in August, 1971, I began my third life．It was raining when I started home that night; strong winds and slashing rain beat down on the car as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads．Suddenly the steering wheel jerked (猝然一动)．In the same instant I heard the bang of a blowout．It was impossible for me to change that tire! Utterly impossible!

I started the engine and thumped slowly along, keeping well over on the shoulder until I came to the dirt road, where I turned in and where I found lighted windows welcomed me to a house and pulled into the driveway and honked the horn．

The door opened and a little girl stood there．When she knew what happened to me, she went into the house and a moment later came out, followed by a man who called a cheerful greeting．I sat there comfortable and dry, and felt a bit sorry for the man and the little girl working so hard in the storm．

About an hour later, the man’s voice was heard, “This is a bad night for car trouble, but you’re all set now．” “Thanks,” I said．“How much do I owe you?” He shook his head, “Nothing．Cynthia told me you were a cripple．Glad to be of help．I know you’d do the same for me．There’s no charge, friend．” I held out a five-dollar bill, “No! I like to pay my way．” He made no effort to take it and the little girl stepped closer to the window and said quietly, “Grandpa can’t see it．”

1．“A cat has nine lives” here means ___________．

A．a cat can live nine times longer than any other animal

B．a cat can die ninth

C．a lucky man can not die easily

D．the writer will live nine times

2．What do you think of the man who helped change the tire?

A．Warm-hearted but pitiable

B．Warm-hearted and happy

C．A blind old man that has nothing to do every day．

D．A poor old man that is always ready to help others．

3．How will the story be ended?

A．The writer paid the little girl but the old man did not accept．

B．The writer drove away with tears running down his cheek．

C．The writer stayed there, without knowing what to do and how to do．

D．In the next few frozen seconds the writer felt the shame and astonishment he had never felt before．

4．How do you understand the underlined sentence “I followed my sister’s example?”

A．He listened to his sister carefully．

B．Mother told him that he must get the agreement from his sister for whatever he would do．

C．His sister got married．He, too．

D．His sister was a great woman．．He must learn from her．

5．The best title for this passage perhaps will be _____．

A．The Old Man and His Daughter                    B．Heart Leaping Up

C．Never Lose Heart                                        D．Good Will Be Rewarded Good

Restaurant Assistant manager

Waiting staff Telephonist

The ideal persons must have certain experience gained in a high quality hotel．Please call personnel on 071-722-77333, or send your CV (履历) to :

Regents Park Hilton, Lodge Road,

London NW87 JT LONDON

REGENTS PARK HILTON

JOIN THE STARS! FOOD SERVERS

The biggest and busiest restaurant in London is seeking additional stars for its team of devoted professionals．If you have experience in high volume restaurants and are looking for a challenge, then come on down for an interview．Interview day is on Friday, 26^th MAY from 12 noon to 7 pm．

Planet Hollywood is located at 13 Coventry Street, London, WI

SECRETARY

Busy chartered lawyers require experienced/efficient secretary, accounts, typing experience and an excellent telephone manner; essential shorthand useful．

Please send CV to: Box No．9246 o/o evening standard classified, 2 Derry Street, Kensington W85EE．

USE YOUR LANGUAGES AND EARN

450-1200 P．W

we are one of the largest business publishers, in Europe and have limited vacancies for intelligent young people in our London advertisement sales office．

Enquiries from German, Spanish and eastern European speakers especially welcome．

Phone Andrew Warburton on 071-753-4300

NURSE WANTED

For 9-month-old boy．   Artist/Prof family Notting Hill．

3 days per week．Some extra hours possibly required．

Knowledge German/Hungarian advantage not must

071-221-7375

TRAVEL COMPANY

Vacancy for self-confident person to look after booking for our Caribbean hotels．

Salary based on applicant’s experience & suitability．

Please send CV to:

Lan Taplin, MRILTD, 9 Galena Road, London, WGOLX

Or telephone 071-721-43642

1．The reading materials above offer information most useful to a person who _____．

A．works for business companies                            B．speaks several foreign languages

C．is just out of work                                     D．runs a hotel or restaurant

2．Most of the advertisements emphasize the importance of _____

A．knowledge           B．techniques            C．diligence              D．experience

3．If you are a student studying in London and want a part-time job, you’d better telephone ____．

A．071-722-77333      B．071-221-7375       C．071-753-4300       D．071-721-43642

4．Which of the following does NOT agree with what is said in the above advertisements?

A．THE STARS is the name of a famous restaurant in London．

B．CV might refer to a brief self-introduction．

C．Andrew Warburton’s office prefers those who speak other European languages besides English．

D．The secretary for the third advertisement must be energetic．