One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds dashing and dancing in the exciting atmosphere above the earth. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check.
Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the controlling string and the clumsy tail kept them in tow(牵引), facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say, “Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!” They flew beautifully even as they fought the forced restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose. “Free at last,” it seemed to say, “Free to fly with the wind.”
Yet freedom from control simply put it at the mercy of an unsympathetic gentle wind. It flew ungracefully to the ground and landed in a twisted mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. “Free at last”. Free to lie powerless in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to settle down lifeless against the first roadblock.
How much like kites we sometimes are. There always exist misfortunes and restrictions, rules to follow from which we can grow and gain strength. Prohibition is a necessary counterpart to the winds of opposition. Some of us pulled at the rules so hard that we never fly fast to reach the heights we might have obtained. If we keep all the commandment(戒律), we will never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground.
Let us each rise to the great heights, recognizing that some of the prohibitions are actually the steady force that helps us climb and achieve.In the passage the writer watched _______.
| A．many young people flying multicolored kites |
| B．many birds dashing and dancing in the sky |
| C．many young people enjoying the sunny day |
| D．the strong winds blowing against the sky |
What didn’t happen to the freed kite?
| A．It was blown helplessly around. |
| B．It lay powerless in the dirt. |
| C．It was trapped in a dead bush. |
| D．It kept flying freely in the air. |
What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
| A．To give up tips on how to fly kites effectively. |
| B．To warn us that freedom is actually powerless. |
| C．To teach us a lesson that rules are important in life. |
| D．To explain that restrictions are really unnecessary. |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Where to Fly | B．Fly with Restrictions |
| C．Why to Fly Kites | D．Fly to Freedom |
The first time I heard the actual London Bridge was in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, I thought it was a joke. A stupid joke at that. I mean, what sort of moron would take a perfectly good, perfectly famous bridge and move it halfway around the world to some no-name town in northwest Arizona? Back in 1962 when all this started, Lake Havasu City was nothing. A couple of shops, a couple of homes, and no tourism at all.
It turns out Robert McCulloch is the moron in question, and he wasn’t quite the moron I thought he was. His 2.45 million dollar investment in the 130-year-old bridge—which the British government was selling because it was about to fall into the Thames—ended up being the investment of a lifetime. You see McCulloch was a real businessman, among other things, and his money paid off big. He turned Lake Havasu into one of the most visited tourist attractions in Arizona.
It took nine long years to take down the bridge, ship it brick by brick to the middle of nowhere, and build it up again. When it finally did open up in 1971, it was a huge deal covered by the international press.
The bridge is now a popular tourist attraction, and there’s even a mini “English Village” at the foot of the bridge with souvenirs and real British food so you can have a good old time.
Nowadays Lake Havasu is a busy town with a population of about 56,000 citizens and another2.5 million visitors each year. Most of that is during spring break when the town overflows with energetic boys and girls. Even MTV and the Girls Gone Wild people get in on the action. All thanks to that little bridge.
I don’t know about you, but I’m saving my pennies. When the French get sick of that Eiffel Tower, I’ll be the first to put money on it. It’ll look great in my backyard.
The underlined word "moron" in the first paragraph means .
| A．a brave person | B．a foolish person |
| C．a famous person | D．a strange person |
Why did the British government put the London Bridge up for sale?
| A．It polluted the Thames. |
| B．It was no longer popular. |
| C．It was going to fall down. |
| D．It could bring them the needed money. |
What was Lake Havasu City like before 1962?
| A．It was a good place for investment. |
| B．It was known for its English Village. |
| C．It was a small town with no tourism. |
| D．It had a population of 56,000 citizens. |
In the last paragraph, the author tries to be .
| A．polite | B．friendly | C．practical | D．Humorous |
"Ok," I said to my daughter as she bent over her afternoon bowl of rice. "What's going on with you and your friend J.?" J. is the leader of a group of third-graders at her camp—a position Lucy herself occupied the previous summer. Now she's the one on the outs, and every day at snack time, she tells me all about it, while I offer up the unhelpful advice all summer long.
"She's fond of giving orders," Lucy complained. "She's fat," Lucy mumbled（含糊地说）to the bowl "We are going upstairs," I said, my voice cold, "We are going to discuss this." And up we went.
I'd spent the nine years since her birth getting ready for this day, the day we'd have to have
the conversation about this horrible word. I knew exactly what to say to the girl on the receiving end of the teasing（嘲笑），but in all of my imaginings, it never once occurred to me that my daughter would be the one who used the F word一Fat.
My daughter sat on her bed, and I sat beside her. “How would you feel if someone made fun of you for something that wasn't your fault?” I began. “She could stop eating so much,” Lucy mumbled, mouthing the simple advice a thousand doctors and well-meaning friends and relatives have given overweight women for years．
"It's not always that easy,” I said. “Everyone's different in terms of how they treat food”
Lucy looked at me, waiting for me to go on. I opened my mouth, then closed it. Should I tell her
that, in teasing a woman's weight, she's joined the long, proud tradition of critics who go after any woman with whom they disagree by starting with "you're ugly" and ending with “no man would want you and there must be something wrong with any man who does"？Should I tell her I didn't cry when someone posted my picture and commented, “I'm sorry, but aren't authors who write books marketed to young women supposed to be pretty?”
Does she need to know, now, that life isn't fair? I feel her eyes on me，waiting for an answer I don't have. Words are my tools．Stories are my job．It's possible she'll remember what I say forever, and I have no idea what to say.
So I tell her the only thing I can come up with that is absolutely true．I say to my daughter,
“I love you, and there is nothing you could ever do to make me not love you. But I'm disappointed in you right now. There are plenty of reasons for not liking someone. What she looks like isn't one of them.”
Lucy nods, tears on her cheeks.“I won't say that again,”she tells me，and I pull her close,
pressing my nose against her hair. We are both quiet, and I don't know if I have said the right thing. So as we sit there together, shoulder to shoulder, I pray for her to be smart．I pray for her to be strong. I pray for her to find friends，work she loves, a partner who loves her, and for the world not to deprive（剥夺）her of the things that make her who she is，for her life to be easy, and for her to have the strength to handle it when it's not. And still, always，I pray that she will never struggle as I've struggled, that weight will never be her cross to bear. She may not be able to use the word in our home, but I can use it in my head. I pray that she will never get fat．
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 indicates that Lucy＿＿＿.
| A．has turned against her friend J. |
| B．often makes fun of her friend J. |
| C．gets along well with her friend J. |
| D．has begun to compete with her friend J. |
Why does the author want to discuss with Lucy?
| A．Because she is really shocked at Lucy's rudeness． |
| B．Because she wants to offer some other helpful advice. |
| C．Because she has prepared the conversation for nine years. |
| D．Because she decides to tell Lucy a similar story of her own． |
What does the author want to tell her daughter?
| A．It is not easy to take the doctors' advice to eat less． |
| B．People shouldn't complain because life is unfair. |
| C．People shouldn't be blamed for their appearance. |
| D．She herself was once一laughed at for her appearance. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ___ .
| A．the author is a fat but good-looking woman |
| B．the author earns a living by writing stories |
| C．the author will stop loving her daughter for what she said |
| D．the author's daughter agreed with her from.the very beginning |
We can learn from the last paragraph that ．
| A．Lucy is deeply moved by her mother's prayer |
| B．a mother's prayer will shape her daughter's attitude towards life |
| C．the author allows her daughter to use the F word in her head |
| D．the author hopes her daughter will never have weight trouble |
The author's attitude towards her daughter can be best described as ．
| A．satisfied and friendly |
| B．indifferent but patient |
| C．loving but strict |
| D．unsatisfied and angry |
Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed this morning as older sons and daughters rush to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers. But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.
Mothers have long known that their home workload was just as heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labors, they would earn as much as￡172,000 a year.
The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income ￡30,000 more than the Prime Minister earns.
By analyzing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week, 40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate and 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18, it found that, on most days, mums started their routine work at 7 am and finished at around 11 pm.
To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labor, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at ￡48.98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jibs”, with psychologist(心理学家) a close second.
It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 percent making emotional(情感的) demand as the hardest thing about motherhood.
Over a third of mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.
The study shows mothers matter all year long and not just on Mother’s Day. The emotional, physical and mental energy mothers devote to their children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing(投入) in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.
How much would a mother earn a year if working as the Prime Minister?
| A．￡30,000. | B．￡142,000. |
| C．￡172,000. | D．￡202,000. |
The biggest challenge for most mothers is from .
| A．emotional demand | B．low pay for work |
| C．heavy workload | D．lack of training |
What is stressed in the last paragraph?
| A．Mothers’ importance shows in family all year long. |
| B．The sacrifices mothers make are huge but worthwhile. |
| C．Mothers’ devotion to children can hardly be calculated. |
| D．Investing time in parenting would bring a financial return. |
What can we conclude from the study?
| A．Mothers’ working hours should be largely reduced. |
| B．Mothers should balance their time for work and rest. |
| C．Mothers’ labor is of a higher value than it is realized. |
| D．Mothers should be freed from housework for social life. |
“In only six days I lost seven pounds of weight.”
“Two full inches in the first three days!”
These are the kinds of statements used in magazine, newspaper, radio and television ads, promising good shapes and new looks to those who buy the medicine or the device. The promoters of products say they can shape the legs, slim the face, smooth wrinkles, or in some other way add to beauty or desirability.
Often such products are nothing more than money-making things for their promoters. The results they produce are questionable, and some are dangerous to health.
To understand how these products can be legally promoted to the public, it is necessary to understand something of the laws covering their regulation. If the product is a drug, FDA (Food Drug Administration) can require proof under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act that it is safe and effective before it is put on the market. But if the product is a device, FDA has no authority to require premarketing proof of safety or effectiveness. If a product already on the market is a danger to health, FDA can request the producer or distributor to remove it from the market voluntarily, or it can take legal action, including seizure (查封) of the product.
One notable case a few years ago involved an electrical device called the Relaxacisor, which had been sold for reducing the waistline. The Relaxacisor produced electrical shocks to the body through contact pads. FDA took legal action against the distributor to stop the sale of the device on the grounds that was dangerous to health and life.
Obviously, most of the devices on the market have never been the subject of court proceedings (法律诉讼), and new devices appear continually, Before buying, it is up to the consumer to judge the safety or effectiveness of such items.It can be inferred that ads mentioned in the text are_____.
| A．objective | B．costly |
| C．unbelievable | D．illegal |
The Relaxacisor is mentioned as______.
| A．a product which was designed to produce electricity |
| B．a successful advertisement of a beauty product |
| C．an example of a quality beauty product |
| D．a product whose distributor was involved in a legal case |
The author intends to______.
| A．make consumers aware of the promoters’ false promise |
| B．show the weakness of the law on product safety |
| C．give advice on how to keep young and beautiful |
| D．introduce the organization of FDA |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. The court is in charge of removing dangerous products.
B. The promoters usually just care about profits.
c. New products are more likely to be questionable.
D. The production of a device must be approved by FDA.
As you grow older, you’ll be faced with some challenging decisions—like whether to cut class or try cigarettes. Making decisions on your own is hard enough, but when other people get involved and try to pressure you one way or another it can be even harder. People who are your age, like your classmates, are called peers. When they try to influence how you act, to get you to do something, it’s called peer pressure.
Peers can have a positive influence on each other. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in the solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book, and now everyone’s reading it. These are examples of how peers positively influence each other.
Sometimes peers influence each other in negative ways. For example, a few kids in school might try to get you to cut class with them; your soccer friend might try to convince you to be mean to another player and never pass him the ball.
It is tough to be the only one who says “no” to peer pressure, but you can do it. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do.
You’ve probably had a parent or teacher advising you to “choose your friends wisely.” Peer pressure is a big reason why they say this. If you choose friends who don’t cut class, smoke cigarettes, or lie to their parents, then you probably won’t do these things either, even if other kids do.
If you continue to face peer pressure and you’re finding it difficult to handle, talk to someone you trust. Don’t feel guilty if you’ve made a mistake or two.For whom is the passage most probably written?
| A．Parents. | B．Teachers. |
| C．Students. | D．Doctors. |
In the last three paragraphs, the author mainly_____.
| A．explains why friendship is so important |
| B．shows how to make more good friends |
| C．discusses how peers influence us |
| D．gives advice on how to deal with peer pressure |
Which of following may help handle peer pressure?
| A．Spending more time with classmates. |
| B．Taking up more relaxing hobbies. |
| C．Choosing friends with no bad habits. |
| D．Helping others who are in trouble. |
What is the topic of the passage?
| A．Friendship. | B．Making decisions |
| C．Self-confidence | D．Peer pressure |
Knowing how much her own children loved presents at Christmas, Ann Sutton always tried to seek help for one or two poor families. With a social worker mother, the Sutton children had inherited（继承）her commitment to service, and knew never to take their good fortune at Christmas for granted. This year, Kinzie, her seven-year-old daughter was thrilled that Santa Claus would make a special visit to a 22-year-old mother named Ashley who worked in a factory raising her 12-month-old son by herself.
The phone rang on Sunday. A representative from a local organization was calling to say that the aid Ann had requested for Ashley had fallen through. No Santa Claus, no presents, nothing.
Ann saw the cheer fade away from her children's faces at the news. Without a word, Kinzie ran into her bedroom. She returned, her face set with determination. Opening up her piggy bank, she put all the coins onto the table: $3.30. Everything she had.
“Mom," she told Ann, “I know it's not much. But maybe this will buy a present for the baby.”
At a breakfast meeting the next day, Ann told her coworkers about her daughter story. To her surprise, staff members began to open their purses. and empty their pockets to help Kinzie .
On Christmas Eve, Ann drove through the pouring rain to the small trailer where the Ashley’s lived. Then she began to unload the gifts from the car, handing them to Ashley one by one.
Ashley was very moved. Reflecting on a little girl's generosity, Ashley says she'll one day be able to do something similar for someone else in need. "Kinzie could have used that money for herself, but she gave it away," Ashley says. "She's the type of kid I'd like my son to grow up to be."
According to the text, Ann Sutton .
| A．only cares about poor children |
| B．has possessed a good fortune |
| C．is warm-hearted and ready to help others |
| D．is a single mother with a 12-month-old boy |
When hearing the aid had fallen through, Kinzie .
| A．was not sad but cheerfu1 |
| B．put all her coins away immediately |
| C．told her mother to ask the coworkers for help |
| D．decided to buy a present for the baby with all her allowance |
From the text we can learn that _______. .
| A．Ann would act as Santa Claus to hand out the Christmas presents |
| B．the Sutton children always got lots of presents at Christmas |
| C．Kinzie's generosity influenced others and they did something similar |
| D．Ashley was moved and promised to return the money |
What does the text mainly talk about?
| A．How a warm-hearted mother shows her love to a poor family. |
| B．How a mother and her young daughter helped a poor family. |
| C．Many people make contributions to those in need. |
| D．What happened to a poor family on Christmas Eve. |
On Sunday, August 24th, comic book lovers across the world held their breath to watch how much crazy collectors would pay for a rare Superman comic book. Though bids (出价) above the initial asking price of 1 million dollars had been coming in gradually since the copy was placed on the auction site (拍卖网站) eBay on July 14th, things really started to heat up during the final minutes when the price jumped from $2.5 to $2.6 and then $2.7 million, before shooting up to unbelievable 3,207,852 dollars!
This of course was no ordinary Superman comic book, but an edition of the extremely sought-after (很吃香地) No. 1 of Action Comics series — the first publication of the superhero that was born from the creative minds of teenagers Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Though Action Comics No. 1, which depicted a diaper-clad baby Superman lifting furniture, had a print run of 200,000 copies, only about 100 are known to exist today.
While the rarity is certainly a reason for the high price, Stephen Fisher, CEO of ComicConnect.com, thinks it also has a lot to do with the fact that Superman was the world’s first superhero! Even so, none of the copies have been able to fetch (售得) as much as the most recent one, simply because they have not been as well-preserved. Graded a rare 9 out of 10 by CGC, a third party grading service for comic books, the book is the highest rated copy of Action Comics No. 1 so far. According to CGC officials, the 76-year-old comic book looks and feels as though it has just come off the newsstand (报摊).
That is not surprising given that the original owner, a Virginian man who bought the book for only 10 cents in 1938, had carefully tucked it away (藏起来) in a wooden box for four decades. Fortunately, when he passed away, the book was bought by a string of collectors who all realized it was a rare treasure that needed to be looked after.
Before this, the highest price paid for an Action Comics No. 1 had been $2 million for a copy sold by Hollywood actor Nicholas Cage in 2011. Ironically, the two teenagers responsible for creating Superman received just 130 dollars when they sold the rights to the superhero to comic book publisher Detective Comics in 1938.
the Superman comic book was placed on eBay on July 14th, .
| A．it attracted no attention at all |
| B．things started to heat up immediately |
| C．the bid price didn’t go up very quickly at first |
| D．people thought it was worth millions of dollars |
What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．Why the comic book is well-preserved. |
| B．Why the comic book is well worth reading. |
| C．Why the comic book is worth so much money. |
| D．Why the comic book has drawn so much attention. |
When the other collectors got the comic book after the Virginian man, they .
| A．all took very good care of it |
| B．all liked reading it very much |
| C．didn’t believe it was worth a fortune |
| D．all kept it in the same way as that man |
What do we know about the creators of Superman?
| A．They didn’t want to sell the rights to a comic book publisher. |
| B．They knew all along Superman would be the most successful comic book. |
| C．They were professional comic book writers when they created Superman. |
| D．They didn’t make much money from creating Superman. |
The island of Port Cros is in the south of France. I first visited it about ten years ago with my wife. I had read that it was a magical place and it seemed fascinating (迷人的), but I couldn’t believe that it was true. In fact, it was much more magical than the tourist brochures (指南) had said.
The island is mountainous and covered in trees. The water around the island is transparent like glass. When I first visited it, there was mist rising from the trees. The little harbor looked mysterious and remote: tall palm trees, a few shops and restaurants, no cars, motorcycles or bikes.
It is not by chance that the island has kept its natural beauty. Once, it was privately owned and the owners always wanted to keep it in its natural state. In 1963, Port Cros became a national park. The park directors made some rules to protect the island. They didn’t allow any new building projects. There is only one hotel and no camping is allowed. Visitors can’t use mountain bikes or smoke on the island. Sailing boats that visit the island mustn’t damage the bottom of the sea or pollute the water around it.
When we arrived, we started walking to the beach of Port-Man, which was the furthest beach from the port. It took us two hours and when we arrived, the beach was deserted. It seemed that we were the only people on the island. Time seemed to stop. It was so beautiful that we stayed there all day. I visited there again last summer. Nothing had changed. The island still looked magical and mysterious, still with few tourists. It must be wonderful to stay the night on the island, I thought. After all the visitors have gone, the island must be so quiet—a real paradise (天堂)!The author got to know Port Cros at first due to _____.
| A．some tourist brochures |
| B．his wife’s introduction |
| C．his first visit there |
| D．some TV programs |
How has the natural beauty of the island been kept according to the text?
| A．Foreign visitors are not allowed to visit it. |
| B．Nothing has been built in the park there. |
| C．Only bikes can be used on the island. |
| D．Sailing boats mustn’t pollute the water. |
When the author first visited Port Cros, _____.
| A．it was very sunny |
| B．there were few visitors there |
| C．it took them a whole day to walk to Port-Man |
| D．the island was deserted and he stayed there for a whole night |
When you meet someone for the first time, you will form an impression in your mind of that person in the first moment. Your reactions to other people, however, are really just barometers (晴雨表) for how you perceive(理解) yourself. Your reactions to others say more about you than they do about others. You cannot really love or hate something about another unless it reflects something you love or hate yourself. We are usually drawn to those who are most like us and tend to dislike those who display those aspects of ourselves that we dislike.
Therefore, you can allow others to be the mirror to illuminate (阐明;照亮) more clearly your own feelings of self-worth. Conversely, you can view the people you judge negatively as mirrors to show you what you are not accepting about yourself.
To survive together peacefully with others, you will need to learn tolerance. A big challenge is to shift your perspective from judgment of others to a lifelong exploration of yourself. Your task is to assess all the decisions, judgments you make onto others and to begin to view them as clues to how you can heal yourself and become whole.
Several days ago I had a business lunch with a man who displayed objectionable table manners. My first reaction was to judge him as rude and his table manners as annoying. When I noticed that I was judging him, I stopped and asked myself what I was feeling. I discovered that I was embarrassed to be seen with someone who was chewing with his mouth open and loudly blowing his nose. I was astonished to find how much I cared about how the other people in the restaurant perceived me.
Remember that your judgment of someone will not serve as a protective shield against you becoming like him. Just because I judge my lunch partner as rude does not prevent me from ever looking or acting like him. In the same way, extending tolerance to him would not cause me to suddenly begin chewing my food with my mouth open.
When you approach life in this manner, those with whom you have the greatest dissatisfactions as well as those you admire and love can be seen as mirrors, guiding you to discover parts of yourself that you reject and to embrace your greatest quality.The purpose of the author writing this passage is to advise people to _______.
| A．avoid inappropriate manners |
| B．judge others favorably in any case |
| C．pay attention to others’ needs and feelings |
| D．learn tolerance towards others |
The underlined word “objectionable” in Paragraph 4 has the closest meaning to __________.
| A．disgusting | B．disappointing |
| C．discouraging | D．disturbing |
According to the passage, the following statements are all true except ______.
| A．The moment we see a stranger, our mind forms an impression of that person. |
| B．We are easily attracted by someone who is similar to us. |
| C．Our first judgment of a person mostly comes from our personal opinion. |
| D．You can’t really love or hate others if they are similar to you. |
It can be implied from the text that __________.
| A．the writer’s first reaction to the man was to judge him as offensive |
| B．we shouldn’t focus on judging others but should constantly reflect on our own |
| C．we will need to learn tolerance to co-exist with others |
| D．the writer didn’t care about other people’s view of him |
If you are looking to putting a tree in your home for Christmas, there is always one debate that seems to arise in most households: whether you want a real tree or fake tree. Year after year, as we find ourselves cleaning old pine needles (松针) for months on end, we decide that we will never get another real tree. So that begs the question: Which kind of tree is better?
There is certainly a lot to be said for real trees. There is something fun about gathering the family together, going to a Christmas tree farm, and selecting or even cutting down your own tree. Real Christmas trees have that lovely holiday pine needle smell and they look great in your home.
Of course, on the other hand, they also leave a complete mess behind and needles that seem to keep appearing for weeks or even months after the tree comes down. You must also find a way to deal with your real Christmas tree after you’re done, which may mean cutting it into pieces so it will fit in the trash. Many dustmen will refuse to take away a tree that is left beside your regular trash, especially if it is a big tree or an old, yellow one with falling needles, making it hard to pick up. They don’t want a face full of sharp needles any more than you do!
With a fake Christmas tree, there is no mess, but there is also no Christmas smell and no exciting trip to the Christmas tree farm. Of course, these trees look the same in appearance as a real tree when decorated. Many of them come already with lights, so using that old, messy string of lights will be a thing of the past. For some people, a can of pine air freshener is enough to recreate the pleasant smell of a real tree.
As to which tree is the better choice, it is really a matter of personal preference. Both real and fake trees certainly have their benefits, and knowing which is better for you this Christmas really depends on what your family wants.Which of the following shows the benefits of real Christmas trees?
a.providing more fun
b.easy to clean up
c.giving off a natural smell
d.easy to decorate
| A．a, c | B．a, d | C．b, c | D．b, d |
The third paragraph is mainly about ________.
| A．why many dustmen refuse to take away a real tree |
| B．how long a real tree can live |
| C．how to cut a real tree into pieces |
| D．what weaknesses a real tree has |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 shows that fake Christmas trees _______.
| A．look more beautiful | B．are more fashionable |
| C．can be used longer | D．are more convenient |
What is the author’s attitude towards this debate?
| A．Objective. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Skeptical. | D．Optimistic. |
It was a Saturday morning, a day I believed would end in victory. For weeks, I had been preparing for the match at the county fairgrounds, sponsored(赞助) by our local riding club. My horse, Tonka, and I could run faster than any kid in the county, and I hoped to bring home a blue ribbon.
My mother usually drove me to the riding events, but on this day, my father planned to drop us off at the fairgrounds with the horse trailer(马车) .
Although we never discussed it, my father’s struggle with alcoholism had become the silent center of our family life. My mother was paralyzed (瘫痪的) with fear and indecision. Her salary as a part-time nurse couldn’t possibly support four children. No one talked about alcoholism in those days, and it was my family secret.
We climbed on the trailer and my father pulled out of our driveway and headed toward the fairgrounds, picking up speed once we hit the main road. It wasn’t until we felt a big bump that I realized the trailer was out of control. The dream of my riding winner disappeared. Tonka lay on the floor, completely still. No words were possible. I knew he was dead.
Suddenly a man appeared. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Yes.”I answered, although I knew that nothing was all right. “Sit here on the grass,” he said. He bent down to look into the trailer. Tonka remained still. He touched Tonka and then turned to face me. “He is going to be OK. He has just been knocked unconscious.” He rubbed Tonka’s cheeks and gently pulled his ears. Tonka rose to his feet.
Our father was talking to a police officer. He was upset and in pain and took little notice of me. I looked back; the man was gone.
I never forgot him. He gave me strength and a sense of hope in a dark and frightening moment.The writer went to the fairgrounds because he wanted to ________.
| A．take part in a horse racing |
| B．buy Mum a blue ribbon |
| C．join the local riding club |
| D．train his horse there |
We can learn from the third paragraph that ________.
| A．the family kept silent at home |
| B．the family lived a secret life |
| C．Father was addicted to alcohol |
| D．Mum was physically disabled |
What does “he” in the fourth paragraph refer to?
| A．Father | B．The stranger |
| C．The horse | D．The winner |
What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?
| A．Once formed, bad habits are difficult to break. |
| B．Unexpected kindness is a light that shines in the darkness. |
| C．However mean your life is, meet it and live it. |
| D．Family is a place of encouragement, a safe harbor in the storms. |
A
Thanks to a young waiter, I only recently discovered that a friend of 20 years was once a yo-yo virtuoso(溜溜球大师).
“Oh， stop it!” Jackie said when I started laughing during our dinner. “I was, too. And I knew how to ‘Walk the Dog.’ ”
“Wow, really?” said our waiter, Jumario Simmons, flashing a big smile at us.
“Don’t encourage her,” I said.
“What else could you do?” he asked.
“I did ‘Round the World,’” Jackie said, now ignoring me completely. “That cradle(婴儿时期的) thing, too.”
I’d asked Jumario what he did when he wasn’t waiting on tables. The 24-year-old waiter was so smart that I knew there had to be more to his story. It turns out that he won a regional yo-yo competition last year. He also gives free lessons to kids. “It gives them something to do,” Jumario said. “Keeps them off the streets.”
One of the great things about eating out is the table talk with strangers, which reminds us that everyone has a life and a name. But the other day I heard that some restaurants are ending this talk between diners and servers. I listened to the reporter describe how their improvements are allowing customers to text orders from their tables to speed up service.
The reporter got my attention with this sentence: “Five minutes after typing ‘I’m at table 3’, a meal arrives at the table.” But there wasn’t a “please” with this order, which should have been a request, by the way. If you’ve ever waited on tables, you know that the last thing you need is yet another way for a customer to be unpleasant.
Most servers are constantly mediating(调解) between customers’ requests for substitutions and overworked cooks’ accusations of treason. Except at high-end restaurants, servers also have to hover like mothers of preschoolers so that we might consider them worthy of a large enough tip to lift their pay to minimum wage.
Texting a server from a table a few feet away is equal to moving our fingers and shouting, “Hey, you!” It was rude in 1957, and it’s rude now. You won’t ever find me texting a waiter or waitress.
What do we know from the text?
| A．The waiter knows Jackie well. |
| B．The waiter is good at playing yo-yo. . |
| C．Jackie plays yo-yo in her spare time. |
| D．The author has a great interest in playing yo-yo. |
Some restaurants allow diners to text a server from a table to .
| A．improve their service |
| B．reduce the cost of service |
| C．show respect for diners |
| D．stop talks between diners and servers |
What’s the last but one paragraph mainly about?
| A．The pay of servers |
| B．The work of servers. |
| C．The customers’ request. |
| D．The work of mothers of preschoolers. |
From the passage, the author’s attitude towards texting a server from a table is _________.
| A．indifferent | B．negative |
| C．curious | D．positive |
The passage mainly focuses on .
| A．how to wait on tables |
| B．the friendship between old friends |
| C．where to eat out |
| D．the relationship between customers and waiters |
Three Japanese tourists taking a holiday in Australia got stuck when their GPS told them they could drive from the mainland to an island，failing to mention the 15 kilometres of water and mud in between．
As they drove their hired car from Moreton Bay to nearby North Stradbroke Island，they started to notice the firm surface they were driving on giving way to the well-known bay mud．However, being confident that their GPS would direct them to a road soon，they decided to drive on，managing to travel around 500 metres before their car was up to its tires in mud．To make matters worse，the tide(潮汐)started to come in and soon forced them to seek help and abandon the vehicle．Just four hours later the car was trapped in,two metres of water—to the great amusement of onlookers on the shore and passengers on passing boats and ferries．
Yuzu Noda,21，said she was listening to the GPS and“it told us we could drive down there．It kept saying it would navigate(导航)us to a road．But we got stuck…there’s lots of mud．”She and her travel companions Tomonari Saeki，22，and Keita Osada,21，instead had to give up their plans for a day trip to the island and headed back to the Gold Coast of a lift from the RACQ tow truck(吊车)driver who was called to the trapped car．No such luck for the hired car though—after assessing the situation，no attempt was made to recover it. The students from Tokyo，who are due to return home tomorrow, said the experience would not put them off returning to Australia for another visit．Mr．Tomonari said，“It has rained every day on our six day holiday．Hopefully next time we come back it will be sunny.”
The car was covered by insurance,but the tourists will have to pay up to about$1 500 in extra charges．
The three Japanese tourists got stuck because________．
| A．there was no way to the island |
| B．their GPS had given the wrong information |
| C．their GPS was broken during their journey |
| D．their car was not made in Japan |
They didn’t abandon their car until___________．
| A．some onlookers went to save them |
| B．they got stuck in the mud |
| C．there came the tide |
| D．they managed to travel around 500 metres |
How did these Japanese students get back?
| A．They had to walk back to their living place． |
| B．They had to repair their GPS and drove back． |
| C．They had to turn to pass engers on boats and ferries． |
| D．They had to take a lift from the tow truck driver． |
From the passage we can know that__________．
| A．The car was left where it was trapped |
| B．The passengers saved these students in the end |
| C．Mr．Tomonari got very down after the journey |
| D．No money has to be paid thanks to insurance |
One evening last summer, when I asked my 14 year old son, Ray, for help with dinner, his response shocked me．"What’s a colander(漏勺)? " he asked．
I could only blame myself．In the family, nobody else’s hands went in the sauce except my own．But that night, as I explained with a touch of panic that a colander is the thing with holes in it, I wondered what else I hadn’t prepared Ray for．
As parents, while we focus on our sons’ confidence and character, we perhaps don’t always consider that we are also raising someone’s future roommates, boyfriends, husbands, or fathers．I wanted to know that I’d raised a boy who would never ask the woman in his life, "What’s for dinner?" So I came up with a plan: I would offer Ray a private home economics course．I was delighted to find that he didn’t say no．For two hours, three days a week, Ray was all mine．One day, as his tomato sauce reduced on the stove, he washed and seasoned a chicken for roasting．Then he rolled out the piecrust (馅饼皮) and filled it with apples, all while listening to my explanation on the importance of preheating an oven．
I knew that he would rather have been shooting hoops in the driveway than learning to mend socks with his mother—he tried to beg off sewing lessons, even though I insisted that one day, someone would find the sight of him fixing his own shirt very attractive— but it couldn’t be denied that he was learning, and more than just housekeeping．"I appreciate what you do as a mom," he told me one day．Ray now understands the finer points of cooking, and more importantly, he realizes there’s nothing masculine (男子气概的) about being helpless．
Now, not only can he make his own dinner, but also he can make a big meal for his family．That’s what I call a man．I’m glad that I prepared so great a present for my future daughter in law．
Why was the author shocked at her son’s response?
| A．Because he was not well behaved． |
| B．Because he refused to help with dinner． |
| C．Because he didn’t know the common kitchen tools． |
| D．Because he was very curious about kitchen tools． |
In the author’s opinion, some parents pay little attention to _______．
| A．building up children’s confidence |
| B．telling kids what is right and wrong |
| C．preparing children for their future life |
| D．making children live a hard life |
After learning to do housework, Ray _______．
| A．fell in love with sewing |
| B．did other work in the house |
| C．began to be more hardworking |
| D．acknowledged his mother’s efforts |
We can infer from the text that Ray _______．
| A．made great progress in cooking． |
| B．always thought housework interesting． |
| C．preferred sewing to cooking． |
| D．was unwilling to learn cooking at first． |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Useful education for boys |
| B．The importance of housework |
| C．Boys should be involved in housework． |
| D．Cooking and sewing make boys masculine． |
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