Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had "seven fathers ", because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she hid herself into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.

    In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the University's Writers' Workshop, however, she felt lonely—a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her "creative voice".

    "It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn't think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalanced in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That's when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn't write about."

    Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street , when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children's book, and a shortstory collection.

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C  和 D ）中，选出最佳选项。

    George Bernard Shaw，the greatest and funniest British dramatist(剧作家)of the first half of the 20th century，was born in Dublin，Ireland，on July 26,1856.His early life was not happy. His father was a selfish man who drank too much and could not support his family properly. His mother was a disappointed，unhappy woman who found more pleasure in studying music than in her children. Bernard and his two sisters received little love and attention from their mother while they were young. At the age of ten Shaw entered school. At first he was the best student，but soon he was at or near the bottom of his class.

    Although he did not like school，Bernard was a good，bright，curious student. His lifelong interest in everything from music and art to machines and medicine began from school life. The interests of this tireless schoolboy were literature and music. He often entertained(使快乐)his classmates with stories he read.

    Early at the age of fifteen，he went to work in an office. He did well as an office clerk，but after five years he decided that he wanted to be a writer. He left Ireland and went to London，where he began to write seriously. Seventy-four years later the great dramatist died.

    I've worked part time since taking early retirement ten years ago. I was inspired by an older friend. We worked for the same company, and he retired two years before I was also considered “spare”, as some companies call it.

    Soon after I left work, we had lunch together. First, he assured me that there was life after work. Then he related his own experience. He didn't want to take another full-time job, so he turned his daughter's old bedroom into a home office. He arranged for some consulting work from our old company, and he picked up more projects from other contacts. Soon he was working 20 to 30 hours a week. He wasn't making as much money. His kids were grown-up, so he didn't need as much income. “As soon as I left that job,” he told me, “my back problems went away. I started to eat better and get more exercise, I make half as much money, but I feel twice as good, and I'm twice as happy.”

    I decided to follow a similar track. At the time, my younger child almost finished college, so my parental responsibilities were winding down. We sold our old house and moved into a townhouse. I went to work for myself. And the result? Today I, too, make less money. But we make ends meet. And I feel twice as good and twice as happy.

    Our experience isn't for everybody. But a lot of people have retired early and lived to tell the tale, which proves it possible. Jack, another friend, was a salesman for a communication firm. He had a long distance to work and did a lot of traveling. He decided to leave the corporate world, in part because he had health problems and he wanted to spend more time with his family. Later, he quit his job with flexible hours and was restored to his health. And now he has found a part-time job, and he, together with his family, is leading a more relaxing life.

    It is generally acknowledged that young people from poorer socio-economic backgrounds tend to do fess well in the education system. In an attempt to help the children of poor families, a nationwide program called "Headstart" was started in the US in 1965. A lot of money was poured into it. It Look children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help them succeed in school. But the results have been disappointing because the program began too late. Many children who entered it at three were already behind their peers in language and intelligence and the parents were not involved in the process. At the end of each day, "Headstart" children returned to the same disadvantaged home environment.

    To improve the results, another program was started in Missouri that concentrated on parents as the child's first teachers. This program was based on research showing that working with the family is the most effective way of helping children get the best possible start in life. The four-year study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and represented different socio-economic status, age and family structure. The program involved trained educators visiting and working with the parent or parents and the child. The program also gave the parents some guidance, and useful skills on child development.

    At three, the children involved in the "Missouri" program were evaluated with the children selected from the same socio-economic backgrounds and family situations. The results were obvious. The children in the program were more advanced in language development, problem solving and other intellectual skills than their peers. They performed equally well regardless of socio-economic backgrounds or family structure. The one factor that was found to affect the child's development was the poor quality of parent-child interaction. That interaction was not necessarily bad in poorer families.

    The "Missouri" program compares quite distinctly with the "Headstart" program. Without a similar focus of parent education and on the vital importance of the first three years, some evidence indicates that it will not be enough to overcome education unfairness.

    Opened in September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland is the second Disney Park in Asia. It experienced a difficult time upon its opening. The Park, as well as two themed hotels, was built on Lantau Island.

    The Park opened to strong competition in the form of Ocean Park. Hong Kong Disneyland is one of only two parks in Hong Kong, which has become one of the world's leading cities in recent years. It kept Chinese cultural traditions in mind when they built the Park to avoid a cultural backlash (抵制). Designers added to the custom of Feng Shui.

    Disney and Hong Kong announced the Park in 1999, and construction (建设) began in 2003. The Park had one of the shortest construction periods in Disney history. Disney actually announced that the opening of the Park would be brought forward, from 2006 to September 2005.

    The Park attracted 5.2 million visitors in its first year, below the expected 5.6 million. There was a lack of attractions, with Fantasyland opening with just one dark ride. Summer Passes were announced to increase the number of tourists. Autopia, Stitch Encounter and it's a Small World opened between 2006 and 2008 to offer more attractions at the Park.

    The number of tourists dropped in 2007 to just over 4 million, so Disney planned a big expansion (扩大) project to attract more tourists and bring the Park back to its normal level. In July 2009, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed a three-land expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland, and in 2010, Toy Story Land opened.

    These new attractions have certainly paid off, with the Park earning record profit (盈利) in 2013. In that year, over 7 million guests entered the Park.

    With enough room for a second Park and the promise of more attractions to come, it seems that there is indeed a great beautiful tomorrow for Hong Kong Disneyland.

    There is no point destroying your peace of mind and happiness by taking the wrong job. Society may pressure you into grabbing whatever you can get. If you do not have a set path that must be taken, then you have the opportunity to choose something you will not only be paid for doing, but enjoy.

    One of the best ways of finding a suitable career is to determine your personality type. It may seem obvious that the creative type does not really find much pleasure in a job as a butcher or dry cleaning assistant, and that a weak character may not find happiness in a career based on teaching or leading a team.

    To find the best job for your personality type, the first step is to know what and who you really are. If you already know your style, you can search for suitable employment; however, if you are uncertain, there are ways that will help you discover who and what you are. For example, an employment centre, a career adviser, or an online quiz can help you.

    Taking my own situation for example, I am definitely a creative type. Besides, I prefer to be my own boss or, if I cannot, at least I want to rely on a boss I truly both respect and admire. I do not like telling people what to do, or being told what to do. I do not relate well to regular 9-5 hours. I do not feel satisfied being paid a high wage for a bad job. I feel much happier at home. Combining my creativity, independence, and desire to stay at home, my ideal career would be running a home-operated business involving creativity. I actually happen to have chosen this solution; I am a writer, poet, author and publisher. I have suited my career to my personality type.