People like different kinds of vacations. Some go camping. They swim, fish, cook over a fire and sleep outside. Others like to stay at a hotel in an exciting city. They go shopping all day and go dancing all night. Or maybe they go sightseeing to places such as Disneyland, the Tai Mahan or the Louver.
Some people are bored with sightseeing trips. They don’t want to be “tourists”. They want to have an adventure--a surprising and exciting trip. They want to learn something and maybe help people too. How can they do this? Some travel companies and environmental groups are planning special adventures. Sometimes these trips are difficult and full of hardships, but they’re a lot of fun. One organization, Earth watch, sends small groups of volunteers to different parts of the world. Some volunteers spend two weeks and study the environment. Others work with animals. Others learn about people of the past.
Would you like an adventure in the Far North? A team of volunteers is leaving from Mormons, Russia. The leader of this trip is a professor from Alaska. He’s worried about chemicals from factories. He and the volunteers will study this pollution in the environment. If you like exercise and cold weather, this is a good trip for you. Volunteers need ski sixteen kilometers every day.
Do you enjoy ocean animals? You can spend two to four weeks in Hawaii. There, you can teach language to dolphins. Dolphins can follow orders such as “Bring me the large ball.” They also understand opposites. How much more can they understand? It will be exciting to learn about these intelligent animals. Another study trip goes to Washington State and follows orcas. We call orcas “killer Whale”, but they’re really dolphins—the largest kind of dolphin. This beautiful animal travels together in family groups. They move through the ocean with their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Ocean pollution is chasing their lives. Earth watch is studying how this happens.
Are you interested in history? Then Greece is the place for your adventure. Thirty-five hundred years ago a volcano exploded there, on Santorum. This explosion was more terrible than Karate or Mount Saint Helens. But today we know a lot about the way of life of the people from that time. There are houses, kitchens, and paintings as interesting as those in Pompeii. Today teams of volunteers are learning more about people from the past.
Do you want a very different vacation? Do you want to travel far, work hard and learn a lot? Then an Earth watch vacation is for you.The Tai Mahan may be _______.
| A．a shopping center | B．a hotel |
| C．a dancing hall | D．a place of interest |
From the passage, on an adventure trip, people ______.
| A．may not spend much time on sightseeing |
| B．won’t meet some difficulties or hardships |
| C．can’t enjoy them |
| D．can’t learn something |
If you want to learn something about people of the past, you can _______.
| A．join the team to Hawaii |
| B．join the team to the Far North |
| C．join the team to Washington |
| D．join the team to Greece |
The word intelligent in paragraph 4 means _______.
| A．exciting | B．beautiful |
| C．large | D．clever |
Which of the following is false?
| A．Some people find sightseeing trips boring. |
| B．Earth watch is planning all these special adventures. |
| C．The number of orcas is decreasing. |
| D．3 volcano explosions in all broke out 3, 500 years ago in Greece. |
The other day I heard a few local musicians talking: "I hate all the pianos in this town and I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They cannot even understand rhythm (韵律).""Nobody wants to pay musicians anything. I’m sick of all the people who want you to play without paying you."...
One younger musician said, "There are a couple of clubs who want me to play for a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also planning to join in several summer festivals this year."
I really liked what the younger musician said so I made friends with him. Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative (消极的), they’re all rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who are always complaining or blaming (责备) others, it is possible that you will start doing the same as well. If you spend lots of time with people who don’t support your dreams, it is time to take a look at the people you call "friends".
There is an easy exercise you can try. Make a list of the people who you often stay with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard. The choice is always yours to make. Of course, this exercise is entirely different from making friends only for the good of oneself. We really should try to help and spend time with those who are working towards a goal or dream.The musicians’ conversation at the beginning is to show that ______.
| A．musicians’ living conditions are not good |
| B．people in that town have poor taste in music |
| C．different people have different attitudes |
| D．young people are more likely to succeed |
The underlined part "they’re rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 3 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead |
| B．they’ll have an influence on you |
| C．they’ll keep you from moving on |
| D．they’ll help you realize your dreams |
Why did the author want to make friends with the younger musician?
| A．He is more active than the others. |
| B．He can earn more than the others. |
| C．He has more things to do than the others. |
| D．His attitude is more positive than the others. |
By doing the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 4, you can ______.
| A．make the right kind of friends |
| B．improve your ability to make friends |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．make some new friends with the same interests as you |
We can get the following information from the passage EXCEPT ______.
| A．the younger musician is a positive person and would be a good friend |
| B．one will start complaining if one spends too much time with negative people |
| C．the exercise can help you keep close to really helpful friends |
| D．one should avoid making friends with people who have lots of difficulties |
Rome had the Forum. London has Speaker's Corner. Now always–on–the-go. New Yorkers have Liz and Bill.
Liz and Bill, two college graduates in their early 20s, have spent a whole year trying to have thousands of people talk to them in subway stations and on busy street corners. Just talk.
Using a 2-foot-tall sign that says, "Talk to Me." they attract conversationalists, who one evening included a mental patient, and men in business suits.
They don't collect money. They don't push religion. So what's the point?
"To see what happens, said Liz. " We simply enjoy life with open communication."
Shortly after the September 11,2001 attacks, they decided to walk from New York City to Washington, a 270-mile trip. They found they loved talking to people along the way and wanted to continue talking with strangers after their return.
"It started as a crazy idea, "Liz said." We were so curious about all the strangers walking by with their life stories. People will talk to us about anything: their jobs, their clothes, their childhood experiences, anything."
Denise wanted to talk about an exam she was about to take. She had stopped by for the second time in two days, to let the two listeners know how it went.
Marcia had lost her husband to a serious disease. "That was very heavy on my mind," Marcia said. "To be able to talk about it to total strangers was very good," she explained.
To celebrate a year of talking, the two held a get-together in a city park for all the people they had met over the past year. A few hundred people showed up, as well as some television cameramen and reporters.
They may plan more parties or try to attract more people to join their informal talks. Some publishers have expressed interest in a book, something they say they'll consider.What did Liz and Bill start doing after September 2001?
| A．Chatting with people. | B．Setting up street signs |
| C．Telling stories to strangers | D．Organizing a speaker's corner |
What they have been doing can be described as_________. .
| A．pointless | B．normal | C．crazy | D．successful |
Why are Denise and Marcia mentioned in the text?
| A．They knew Liz and Bill very well. |
| B．They happened to meet the writer of the text. |
| C．They organized the get-together in the city park. |
| D．They are examples of those who talked to Liz and Bill. |
What will Liz and Bill do in the future?
| A．Go in for publishing. | B．Do more television programs. |
| C．Continue what they are doing. | D．Spend more time reading books. |
How do they like the idea of writing a book?
| A．They have decided to wait a year or two |
| B．They will think about it carefully |
| C．They agreed immediately |
| D．They find it hard to do that |
In 1977, a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a 19-month-old baby in a most unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie, one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world.
In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar, near Saudi Arabia. Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness with confidence, so she was sent to Hammersmith Hospital in London. She was then only semi-conscious and on the "Dangerously Ill" list. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover that they, too, were confused by the very unusual symptoms (症状). While they were discussing the baby's case, a nurse asked to speak to them. "Excuse me," said Nurse Marsha Maitlan, "but I think the baby is suffering from thallium (铊) poisoning."
"What makes you think that?" Dr. Brown asked. "Thallium poisoning is extremely rare."
"A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse by Agatha Christie," Nurse Maitlan explained. "In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the symptoms are described. They're exactly the same as the baby's."
"You're very thoughtful and you may be right," another doctor said. "We'll carry out some tests and find out whether it's thallium or not."
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium, a rare metallic substance used in making special glass. Once they knew the cause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soon recovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide (杀虫剂) used in Qatar. The one who first suggested the correct cause of the baby's illness was _____.
| A．a doctor in Qatar | B．Dr. Brown |
| C．Nurse Maitlan | D．Agatha Christie |
As far as we can tell from the passage, Agatha Christie _____.
| A．had spent a long time studying the baby's case |
| B．visited the baby in the hospital at Hammersmith |
| C．had never met this baby |
| D．gave Nurse Maitlan some advice on the phone |
It seems likely from the passage that the baby's illness had something to do with _____.
| A．a harmful substance used to kill insects |
| B．a dangerous pair of glasses |
| C．the water in Qatar |
| D．a dead writer |
I first went to Harrow in the summer term. The school had the biggest swimming pool I had ever seen. It was a good joke to come up behind a naked boy, and push him into the pool. I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or less.
One day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel on the side of the pool. He was no bigger than I was, so I thought him a fair game. Coming secretly behind, I pushed him in, holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet, I was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water, and a being of great strength masking its way by face strokes (猛力地划)to the shore. I fled, but in vain. He overtook me, seized me violently, and threw me into the deepest part of the pool. I soon climbed out on the other side, and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys.” Do you know what you have done?” they said, “It’s Amery; he is in Grade Six. He is champion at gym; he has got his football honor.”
I was frightened and felt ashamed. How could I tell his position when be was wrapped in a bath towel and so small.” He didn’t seem pleased at all, so I added in a most brilliant word,” My father, who is a great man, is also small.” At this be laughed, and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future, signified the incident was closed.The writer thought Amery” a fair game” because the boy .
| A．was of similar size |
| B．was fond of games |
| C．looked like an animal |
| D．was good at sports |
The writer felt” ashamed” because .
| A．he was laughed at by other boys |
| B．he played a joke on an outstanding athlete |
| C．Amery turned out to be in the same grade |
| D．he pushed Amery hard and hurt him |
By saying “My father, who is a great man, is also small”, the writer .
| A．challenged Amery | B．threatened Amery |
| C．admired his father | D．tried to please Amery |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The writer could run faster than Amery. |
| B．Amery forgave the writer for his rude behavior. |
| C．The writer liked playing on boys of all sizes. |
| D．Amery was a student in Grade Four. |
In earliest times, men considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries of nature. Some ancient people believed that lightning and thunder were the weapons of the gods.
In reality, lightning is a flow of electricity formed high above the earth. A single flash of lightning 1.6 kilometres long has enough electricity to light one million light bulbs .
The American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to show the connection between electricity and lightning in 1752. In the same year he also built the first lightning rod (避雷针). This device protects buildings from being damaged by lightning.
Modern science has discovered that one stroke of lightning has a voltage (电压) of more than 15 million volts (伏特). A flash of lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travel at a speed of 30 million meters per second.
Scientists judge that there are about 2,000 million flashes of lightning per year. Lightning hits the Empire State Building in New York City 30 to 48 times a year. In the United States alone it kills an average of one person every day.
The safest place to be in case of an electrical storm is in a closed car. Outside, one should go to low ground and not get under tress. Also on,e should stay out of water and away from metal fences. Inside a house, people should avoid open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things.
With lightning, it is better to be safe than sorry.People once thought lightning came from ________.
| A．the gods | B．the earth |
| C．the sky | D．nature |
According to the passage what do you think all buildings need?
| A．Metal fences. | B．Machines. |
| C．Electricity. | D．Lightning rods |
Lightning can travel ________.
| A．as quickly as water | B．not so quickly as electricity |
| C．at very high speed | D．at very low speed |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．In the U.S about one person per day dies from lightning. |
| B．Swimming during a thunder storm is a good idea. |
| C．The Empire State Building frequently gets hit by lightning. |
| D．A closed car is the best place to be during an electrical storm. |