单项选择题
Literacy Volunteer
Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer （扫盲志愿者）. The training I received， though excellent， did not tell me how it was to work with a real student， however. When I began to discover what other people's lives were like because they could not read， I realized the true importance of reading.
My first student Jane was a 44-year-old single mother of three. In the first lesson， I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn't know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule， she told me it would not help because she could not read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn't always remember what she needed. Since she did not know words， she could not write out a shopping list. Also， she could only recognize items by their labels. As a result， if the product had a different label， she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.
As we worked together， learning how to read built Jane's self-confidence， which encouraged her to continue in her studies. She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket. After this successful trip， she reported how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program， she began helping her youngest son， Tony， a shy first grader， with his reading. She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories. When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read pride was written all over her face， and she began to see how her own hard work in learning to read paid off. As she described this experience， I was proud of myself， too. I found that helping Jane to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.
As a literacy volunteer， I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact， I may have learned more from the experience than Jane did.
单项选择题
Research Is a State of Mind
For many years there has been much misunderstanding as to just what research is. The popular conception seems to be that there is something mysterious about it， and before any research can be done it is necessary to have expensive scientific apparatus and large， elaborately equipped laboratories. Actually， this is not so. （6） It is a simple， organized way of trying to accomplish something you wish to do—so simple that anyone can do research anywhere at any time.
First， you select the problem you would like to solve， then you list at least ten reasons why it has not been solved. （7） It takes just as much effort to solve a useless problem as a useful one. （8）
After carefully—and I want to emphasize that word “carefully”—selecting the problem and the ten things between you and the solution， you then use the same procedure as in solving a crossword puzzle.（9）In the solution of the remaining obstacles you may need some simple apparatus， but the things you will probably need most are infinite patience and persistence. Few people realize the difficulties of doing any new thing.
Maybe one of the reasons people are so easily discouraged is because of their education. During all our years at school we were examined two or three times a year. If we failed once， we were out. （10）If we are going to make progress， we must learn to fail intelligently so that we won't become discouraged at the 99.9 per cent failure.
单项选择题
Majored Finance
An increase in students （11）to study economics at university is being attributed to （归因于）the global economic crisis awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the（12）system works.
Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15% this January， according to UCAS， the
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. A（13）for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A-level were also up.
Professor John Beath， the president of the society and a leading lecturer at St Andrews University， said his first-year lectures—which are open to students from all departments—were （14）crowds of 400， rather than the usual 250.
"There are a large number of students who are not （15）majors， who would like to learn something about it. One of the things I have done this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary （16）in a way that one hasn't traditionally done，" he added.
University applications rose 7% last year. But there were rises above average in several subjects. Nursing saw a 15% jump， with people's renewed interest in （17）in the public sector （部门） ，which are seen as more secure in economic crisis.
A recent study showed almost two thirds of parents （18）schools should do more to teach pupils about financial
matters， and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on， although a （19）of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to explain.
Zack Hocking， the head of child trust funds， said： "It's possible that one good thing to（20）from the downturn will be a generation that's financially wiser and better equipped to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty."
单项选择题
Camping
Camping wild is a wonderful way to experience the natural world and， at its best， it makes little environmental influence. But with increasing numbers of people wanting to escape into the wilderness， it is becoming more and more important to camp unobtrusively （不引人注目地） and leave no mark.
Wild camping is not permitted in many places， particularly in crowded lowland Britain. Wherever you are， find out about organizations responsible for managing wild spaces， and contact them to find out their policy on camping and shelter building. For example， it is fine to camp wild in remote parts of Scotland， but in England you must ask the landowner's permission， except in national parks.
Camping is about having relaxation， sleeping outdoors， experiencing bad weather， and making do without modern conveniences. A busy， fully-equipped campsite （野营地） seems to go against this， so seek out smaller， more remote places with easy access to open spaces and perhaps beaches. Better still， find a campsite with no road access： walking in makes a real adventure.
Finding the right spot to camp is the first step to guaranteeing a good night's sleep. Choose a campsite with privacy and minimum influence on others and the environment. Try to use an area where people have obviously camped before rather than creating a new spot. When camping in woodland， a void standing dead trees， which may fall on a windy night. Avoid animal runs and caves， and possible homes of biting insects. Make sure you have most protection on the windward side. If you make a fire， do so downwind of your shelter， always consider what influence you might have on the natural world. Avoid damaging plants. A good campsite is found， not made — changing it should be unnecessary.
单项选择题
Drug Overuse
① Nowadays,millions of people misuse and even overuse pain medications and other drugs. Research by the American National Institute on Drug Abuse （NIDA， 1999） shows that around 2% of the population over age 12 were using drugs non-medically.
② NIDA views medications as a powerful force for good in the contemporary world. They reduce and remove pain for millions of people suffering from illness and disease. They make it possible for doctors to perform complicated surgery to save lives. Many people afflicted by serious medical conditions are able to control their symptoms and become active， contributing citizens. NIDA points out that most individuals who take these drags use them in a responsible.
③ Nevertheless， overuse of drugs such as opioids， central nervous system（CNS） depressants and stimulants does lead to harmful reliance in some people and is therefore becoming a serious public health concern. Although this abuse affects many people worldwide， particular trends of concern to the medical profession in the US appear among older adults， teenagers arid women.
④ Though it may be a surprise to many， the misuse of medications may be the most common form of drug abuse among the elderly. Dr Kenneth Schrader of Duke University， North Carolina states that although the elderly represent about 13% of the US population， those aged 65 and over account for the consumption of one third of all drugs. People in this age group use medications roughly three times more than the general population and have poorer compliance with instruction for use. In another study of elderly patients admitted to treatment programs， 70% were women who had overused medicines.
⑤ Unfortunately， this trend among women does not only affect those aged over. In general， among women and men who are using either an anti-anxiety drug or a sedative， women are twice as likely to become addicted. In addition， statistics compiled for 12 —17 year olds show that teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to begin overusing psychotherapeutic medication such as painkillers， tranquillizers， stimulants and sedatives.
