Lisa was running late. Lisa，25，had a lot to do at work，plus visitors on the way: her parents were coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown. But as she hurried down the subway stairs，she started to feel uncomfortably warn. By the time she got to the platform，Lisa felt weak and tired--maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to give blood the night before，she thought. She rested herself against a post close to the tracks.
Several yards away，Frank，43，and his girlfriend，Jennifer，found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop. They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying.
But when he heard the scream，followed by someone yelling，“Oh，my God，she fell in!” Frank didn’t hesitate. He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails. “No! Not you! ”his girlfriend screamed after him.
She was right to be alarmed. By the time Frank reached Lisa，he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming. The train was about 20 seconds from the station.
It was hard to lift her. She was just out. But he managed to raise her the four feet to the platform so that bystanders could hold her by the grins and drag her away from the edge. That was where Lisa briefly regained consciousness，felt herself being pulled along the ground，and saw someone else holding her purse.
Lisa thought she’d been robbed. A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head. And she tried to talk but she couldn’t，and that was when she realized how much pain she was in.
Police and fire officials soon arrived，and Frank told the story to an officer. Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40-minute train ride downtown—just as he had been seconds after the rescue，which made her think about her reaction at the time. “I saw the train coming and 1 was thinking he was going to die，”she explained.
41. What was the most probable cause for Lisa’s weakness?
A. She had run a long way.
B. She felt hot in the subway.
C. She had done a 1ot of work.
D. She had donated blood the night before.
42. Why did Jennifer try to stop her boyfriend?
A. Because they would miss their train.
B. Because he didn’t see the train coming.
C. Because she was sure Lisa was hard to lift.
D. Because she was afraid the train would kill him.
43. How did Frank save Lisa?
A. By lifting her to the platform.
B. By helping her rise to her feet.
C. By pulling her along the ground.
D. By dragging her away from the edge.
44. When did Lisa become conscious again?
A. When the train was leaving.
B. After she was back on the platform.
C. After the police and fire officials came.
D. When a man was cleaning the blood from her head.
45. The passage is intended to _____________
A. warn us of the danger in the subway
B. show US how to save people in the subway
C. tell US about a subway rescue
D. report a traffic accident
Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 65～68.
What does the phrase “green shoots” mean in “Green shoots have begun to appear in different markets”?
| A．Signs of recovery. | B．High prices. |
| C．Environmental protection. | D．Change in policy. |
Fill in the blank in the sentence “I can’t believe this is Joshua—he’s ______ since we last met!”
| A．shot out | B．shot through | C．shot up | D．shot down |
When you are talking about unimportant things, we say you are ______.
| A．shooting yourself in the foot | B．shooting the breeze |
| C．shooting your mouth off | D．shooting questions at somebody |
Choose a word to complete the sentence “The ______, which killed a policeman and wounded a passer-by, was reported to have lasted only 13 seconds.”
| A．shooter | B．shoot | C．shot | D．shooting |
Being the head of a high school for many years, I grew tired of budget meetings, funding cuts, and many other administrative chores(杂务). I started to dream of retirement. Sitting in traffic on a weekday morning, I would find my mind wandering. I would imagine spending time with my grandchildren, quiet evenings with my wife, traveling, or rediscovering some great books. I told myself that I wouldn’t sign myself up for any committees, any classes, or anything requiring a schedule.
My first day of retirement came at last! I cooked a great breakfast for my wife and me, leisurely read the paper, cleaned a bit of the house, and wrote a few letters to friends. On the second day, I cooked breakfast, read the paper… On the third day, … This is retirement? I tried to tell myself that it was just the transition(过渡), that those golden moments were right round the corner, and that I would enjoy them soon enough. But something was missing.
A former colleague asked a favor. A group of students was going to Jamaica to work with children in the poorest neighborhoods. Would I interrupt my newfound “happiness” and return to the students, just this once? One trip. That’s all. My bags were packed and by the door.
The trip was very inspiring. I was moved not only by the poverty I saw but also by the sense of responsibility of the young people on the trip. When I returned home, I offered to work one day a week with a local youth organization. The experience was so positive that I was soon volunteering nearly full-time, working with students across North America to assist them in their voluntary work.
Now, it seems, the tables have turned. Some days I am the teacher, other days I am the student. These young people have reawakened my commitment(责任感) to social justice issues by challenging me to learn more about the situation in the world today, where people are still poor and suffer because of greed, corruption and war. Most important, they have given me the opportunity to continue to participate in helping to find solutions. In return, I help them do their charitable projects overseas. I’ve gone from running one school to helping oversee the construction of schools in twenty-one countries!What did the writer expect to do after he retired?
| A．To write some great books. | B．To stay away from busy schedules. |
| C．To teach his grandchildren. | D．To plan for his future. |
Why did the writer decide to go to Jamaica?
| A．He wasn’t satisfied with his retired life. | B．He couldn’t refuse his colleague’s favor. |
| C．He was concerned about the people there. | D．He missed his students in that country. |
The underlined part “the tables have turned” (Paragraph 5) most probably means that the writer ______.
| A．improved the situation in his school | B．felt happy to work with students again |
| C．changed his attitude toward his retirement | D．became a learner rather than a teacher |
What does the writer think of his retired life now?
| A．Meaningful. | B．Troublesome. | C．Relaxing. | D．Disappointing. |
Life on earth depends on water, and there is no substitute for it. The current assumption is that our basic needs for water — whether for drinking, agriculture, industry or the raising of fish will always have to be met . Given that premise (前提), there are two basic routes we can go: more equal access to water or better engineering solutions.
Looking at the engineering solution first, a lot of my research concentrates on what happens to wetlands when you build dams in river basins, particularly in Africa. The ecology of such areas is almost entirely driven by the seasonal changes of the river — the pulse of the water. And the fact is that if you build a dam, you generally spoil the downstream ecology. In the past, such problems have been hidden by a lack of information. But in the near future, governments will have no excuse for their ignorance.
The engineers’ ability to control water flows has created new kinds of unpredictability, too. Dams in Africa have meant fewer fish, less grazing and less floodplain (洪泛区) agriculture — none of which were expected. And their average economic life is assumed to be thirty years. Dams don’t exist forever, but what will replace them is not clear.
The challenge for the future is to find new means of controlling water. Although GM technology (转基因) will allow us to breed better dry-land crops, there is no market for companies to develop crops suitable for the micro-climates of the Sahel and elsewhere in Africa. Who is going to pay for research on locally appropriate crops in the Third World? What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．The engineering solutions to water resource and their limitation. |
| B．The challenge for the future. |
| C．The basic means of controlling water. |
| D．The challenge for developing crops. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true for meeting our basic needs for water?
| A．Water resource should be used more reasonably. |
| B．More dams should be built in river basins. |
| C．More wetlands should be protected from destruction. |
| D．More dry-land crops could be developed in Africa. |
The author suggests that governments will have no excuse for their careless ignorance in the future because .
| A．The ecological destruction will be known to the public by researchers |
| B．The ecological destruction will no longer be a problem in the future |
| C．The future is an information age |
| D．Governments will face greater challenge in the future |
The author mentions all the problems caused by dams EXCEPT .
| A．fewer fish | B．less grazing land |
| C．less floodplain agriculture | D．less farming land |
The last sentence probably implies that.
| A．No one will invest in developing locally appropriate crops in Africa |
| B．Researchers have no interest in developing dry-land crops |
| C．Research on locally appropriate crops in the Third World may be profitable |
| D．There is less water resource in the Third World |
While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.
The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.
I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.
I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.
But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.
A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to the Olympics.
In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.From the passage we can learn that the young man _______.
| A．made his turn to start back pitifully | B．was skillful in freestyle in the game |
| C．swam faster than the average swimmer | D．was not capable enough to win the medal |
The crowd changed their attitudes because _______.
| A．they felt sorry for the young man | B．they wanted to show their sympathy |
| C．they were moved by the young man | D．they meant to please the young man |
According to the passage, “it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means _______.
| A．it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills |
| B．it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself |
| C．it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors |
| D．it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Go for it! | B．Try again！ | C．Compete for Gold! | D．Break a Record! |
Cities alarmed by deaths and injuries of pedestrians are taking efforts to make crosswalks safer for people on foot, especially seniors and children who need more time to cross streets.
A pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident in the USA every 110 minutes; one is injured every nine minutes, according to official data. Crosswalks can be especially dangerous for the elderly. Among people 70 and older, 36% of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred in crosswalks, compared with 21% of those younger than 70, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) advises that next year States increase by nearly 15% the amount of time traffic lights provide for pedestrians to cross the street after the flashing orange hand appears.
FHWA spokesman Doug Hecox says reasons for the change include an aging population that needs more time to cross, health conscious Americans walking more, children encouraged to walk to prevent getting overweight and high gas prices pushing people to walk instead of drive.
Pedestrian deaths went down by 12% from 5, 449 in 1996 to 4,784 in 2006,.But among those in 2006,471 were killed in crosswalks, down slightly from 488 ten years earlier, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says. Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．Among 100 pedestrian deaths there were 21 people younger than 70. |
| B．Old people are more likely to meet with accidents in crosswalks. |
| C．Traffic accidents killed more old people than young people. |
| D．About seven traffic accidents happened per hour. |
What is FHWA’s suggestion to States?
| A．Fixing more traffic lights. |
| B．Providing more crosswalks. |
| C．Giving pedestrians more time to cross streets. |
| D．Increasing the time before the orange lights appear. |
What’s the cause of the crosswalk safety problem according to the text?
| A．There’re many cars and buses on the road. | B．Pedestrians are careless. |
| C．Crosswalks are more crowded than before. | D．Drivers don’t give way. |
The report from NHTSA suggests that .
| A．fewer people were injured in crosswalks |
| B．crosswalk safety has greatly improved |
| C．much has been done to reduce traffic accidents |
| D．pedestrian deaths in crosswalks remain a serious problem |