David Beckham was born on 2nd May, 1975, in the suburbs of London, at a place called Leytonstone. When he was a young boy, his greatest passion was football. He played it whenever he had the chance. Sometimes he would go and watch a game with his friends. When David Beckham was 12 years old, he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skill award. This was an important step forward for this young boy, and it led to him going for a visit to a football training camp in Spain. As a boy at secondary school he played for the schools of Essex and also for his county team. On 8th July, 1991, he became a trainee with Manchester United. This meant that he could practice football as much as he wanted to and play for the highly successful Manchester United Youth Cup team and Under- 21 team. On 2nd April, 1995, he played his first major football league game against Leeds United. During 1995 and 1996, David became a regular member of the team and Manchester United won in both seasons , with David scoring many goals. His goals made him a household name. In the first game of the 1997/7 season, he scored an amazing goal from beyond the halfway line. Seeing the goalkeeper a little way out of his goal, David sent the ball over the goalkeepers head and into the goal. It was a wonderful goal and Beckham became famous overnight. He continued to score astonishing goals, especially from free-kicks. The speed of one of his shots was timed at 157kph. He also had the ability to make the ball curl from left to right, or right to left, whenever he chose. He could made it glide high through the air, or dive down steeply. Goalkeepers were never sure where the ball was going, and it regularly ended up in the goal. The unusually surprising way that he scored goals _ . A) helped him to gain many prizes for Essex B) kept him playing for Leeds United C) offered him the chance to join the national team D) made him popular in many British homes
D
(Question)
It was my first day back home since starting college. A lot had changed in the last year. Not with my hometown but with me. I had left as a 17-year-old boy and had now returned as an 18-year-old man. In the city, I was living on my own, had a part-time job and was studying. Even the government recognized I was an adult: I had a driver's license. So here I was, on my summer vacation, walking down the main street with my father, desperate for him to acknowledge how mature I was. When his recognition failed to appear, I took matters into my own hands. "Dad," I said casually, "I'm thirsty. Let's go for a beer." It was the first time I'd ever mentioned beer in front of my father, let alone ask him to drink one with me. He turned to me with a curious expression on his face. "A beer ? Well I guess you're old enough now. Let's go to Sailors' Bar. It's where my cousin Tom, your uncle, used to drink. You remember him, right?" I had only some vague memories of my uncle. He was _ . We didn't talk about him much. "What ever happened to Uncle Tom, Dad? I haven't seen him in years," I said as we continued towards the bar. "Neither have I, unfortunately. He was a good kid once. But things changed," my father said sadly. As a boy, he explained, there had been no better-behaved boy than Tom. But after leaving school, he moved to the city and fell in with bad company. He started going out every night, drinking in nightclubs and playing cards. Soon he lost everything and had to beg his mum to pay his debts. She agreed on the condition he returned home. My dad took a deep breath and continued his tale. "Things settled down for a while. He married a lovely woman, gave up his bad habits. But it didn't last. He was soon back to his old ways. He couldn't resist. He was at Sailors' Bar almost every night. His poor mother died of grief and shame. His wife followed her soon after. "What ruined him was alcohol. He told me once, when a man begins drinking, he never knows where it'll end. 'So', Tom warned me, 'beware of your first... What was the main source of Uncle Tom's problems? A) His overly-strict family. B) His addiction to card games. C) The deaths of his mother and wife. D) His inability to control his drinking.
(Answer)
D
Ques: If you live in the United States, you can't have a full-time job until you are 16 years old. At 14 or 15, you work part-time after school or on weekends, and during summer vacation you can work 40 hours each week. Does all that mean that if you are younger than 14, you can't make your own money? Of course not! Kids from 10-13 years of age can make money by doing lots of things. Valerie, 11, told us that she made money by cleaning up other people's yards. Lena, 13, makes money by knitting dog sweaters and selling them to her neighbors. Reisa said she had started taking art classes and showing her works to people. People ask her to draw pictures for them and they pay her for them. Jasmine, 13, writes articles for different magazines! Kids can learn lots of things from making money. By working to make your own money, you are learning the skills you will need in life. These skills can include things like how to get along with others, how to use technology and how to use your time wisely. Some people think that asking for money is a lot easier than making it; however, if you can make your own money, you don't have to depend on anyone else. The five dollars that you make will probably make you feel a lot better than the twenty dollars you ask for. Kids can have full-time jobs at the age of _ in the USA. A) 17 B) 15 C) 14 D) 13
Ans: A
Ques: As a foreigner,I don' t know the situation in the US well. Seeing all kinds of recent shooting incidents,I think it should be controlled more strictly than now. Somebody said that the person who has it in mind to kill another can do it without a gun,so the causes of murders are not guns but the trend of despising life in the US. And they also insist that there is no clear evidence that the increasing number of murders is connected with possession of guns,so the personal rights should not be restricted by the reason that there is not enough evidence. Several months ago,I agreed with that partly. But as we know,the private groups like NRA have used the public opinion and persuaded the government to protect their profit. Other weapons such as knives,razors ,bats are made for their own usage. But guns are made for only one reason--to kill someone. Of course,there are people who have guns to protect themselves from the criminals. But crime is getting more cruel and severe nowadays,so actually even if someone has a gun,it is impossible to guard himself completely. As a substitute ,I think,if the possession of guns is controlled more strictly,people can live safer lives than now. There are other reasons to oppose the gun control (e.g.the possession of guns is historical inheritance and represents that people's resistance will be against tyrannical government),but none of them can justify and explain today's serious situation in the US. Which of the following supports the writer's opinion? A) The causes of crime are not guns. B) People are accustomed to having guns. C) People can live a safer life without guns. D) Guns are used for selfdefence.
Ans:
C