Americansthinkthattravelisgood-优题课

At three a.m., Jack Mills was sitting at the controls of the mail train. The train was made up of 13 cars. At the end of the train, 71 mailmen sat sorting the mail. Inside the second car, there were only five mailmen and 128 bags full of five-pound notes. This train had run more than 100 years without being robbed(抢劫). At three minutes past three, Mills and his helper, David Whitby, saw a yellow warning light. They slowed the train, and then stopped. Whitby went to the telephone beside the track. It was out of order. Then he saw a man moving between the second and the third cars. Before Whitby could give a warning, he was knocked down by two men. Mills’ cars with all the mailmen had been disconnected by the robbers. At the bridge, the bags of money were unloaded from the train and thrown into waiting trucks. One of the robbers who obviously knew the schedules(时刻表) of all the trains kept looking at his watch. At 3:45 he said, “That will have to be enough.” The robbers drove away with more than 2,500,000 pounds.
41. The robbery took place______.
A. before 3:03 B. in the early morning
C. after three o’clock in the afternoon D. after 3:45
42. The robbers_____ before the train stopped.
A. were all in the train B. forced Mills to stop the train
C. were waiting for the train to stop D. ordered Mills to go on driving
43. Why didn’t the other mailmen help the mailmen in the second car when the robbery happened?
A. Because they were busy sorting the mail.
B. Because they didn’t want to help the mailmen in the second car.
C. Because the last eleven cars were separated from the front cars.
D. Because they knew nothing about the robbery.
44. One of the robbers kept looking at his watch because________.
A. he wanted to know the exact time B. he enjoyed looking at his watch
C. he didn’t know when another train would come
D. they had to leave before another train came
45. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The train was out of order.
B. The telephone was put out of order by the robbers
C. Whitby had an assistant driver.
D. The robbers carried the money away by truck.

At least 77 were wounded when hundreds of army soldiers and anti-government protesters (抗议者)clashed（冲突）in Bangkok early Monday morning 14 hours after Thai PM declared a state of emergency in the capital city, Thai media reports.
The Nation quoted hospital reports as saying at least 77 people suffered injuries mainly from teargas, with five seriously injured.
At around 7:20 a.m., the government announced it was in control of the situation at Din Daeng, The Nation said on its website.
Some protesters had been arrested, and Army Spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd earlier said “Similar operations will be carried out in other areas.”
The clash occurred around 4:30 a.m. Monday (21:00 GMT Sunday) when some 300 so-called red-shirted protesters used a seized bus to crash soldiers at Din Daeng District in north Bangkok, Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told TPBS.
Soldiers fired warning shots into the air and used teargas to disperse the protesters after failing to persuade the red shirts to stop, Sansern said.
Earlier the Health Department of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced a total injury number of 68.
Army Chief General Anupong Paojinda refused to comment on the incident, adding that he will learn more about it first.
At about 6:15 a.m. Monday (23:15 GMT Sunday), former premier Thaksin Shinawatra told the Red-shirted protesters to continue fighting in a phone conversation with a main leader of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared on Sunday afternoon a state of emergency in Bangkok and some districts of five provinces nearby.
The latest round of the anti-government protests led by UDD has entered its 19th day. Red-shirted protesters on Saturday forced the summits canceled(取消).
(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2009)
49. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. At least 77 were wounded during the crash between soldiers and protesters.
B. The ASEAN summits have been cancelled.
C. Soldiers used teargas to disperse the protesters.
D. Thai Prime Minister announced a state of emergency.
50. What can you infer from the passage?
A. The conflict is connected with the former premier Thaksin.
B. The Army Chief General refused to comment on the incident.
C. Soldiers didn’t persuade the red shirts to stop.
D. About 300 protesters seized a bus and crashed soldiers.
51. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. The latest round of protests started in March, 2009.
B. Five protesters died in the clash.
C. It’s officially said on the morning of Sunday that the situation was out of control.
D. It is most likely that the army is against the government.
52. What does the underlined word “disperse” probably mean?

Life is difficult.
It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult.
Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that difficulties represent a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation.
What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems, depending on their nature, cause us sadness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.
Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the serious test that tells us success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of human spirit, we encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin
Franklin said, “Those things that hurt, instruct.” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems.
45. From the passage, it can be inferred that __________.
A. everybody has problems
B. we become stronger by meeting and solving the problems of life
C. life is difficult because our problems bring us pain
D. people like to complain about their problems
46. The writer probably used just one short sentence in the first paragraph to __________.
A. save space B. persuade readers
C. make readers laugh D. get reader’s attention
47. The main idea of Paragraph 3 is that __________.
A. Most people feel life is easy.
B. the writer feels life is easy
C. the writer likes to complain about his problems
D. most people complain about how hard their lives are
48. The underlined saying from Benjamin Franklin “Those things that hurt, instruct” suggests that __________.
A. we do not learn from experience B. we do not learn when we are pain
C. pain teaches us important lessons D. pain cannot be avoided
A. 开枪 B. 驱散 C. 劝说 D. 谈判

There was a story many years ago of a school teacher--- Mrs. Thompson. She told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same. But that was a lie. There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. He didn’t play well with the other children and he always needed a bath. She did not like him.
Then Mrs. Thompson got to know that Teddy was actually a very good boy before the death of his mother. Mrs. Thompson was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse ,when like all her other students, Teddy brought her a Christmas present too. It was his mother’s perfume(香水)。
Teddy said, “Mrs. Thompson, today you smell just like my Mom used to.” After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she stopped teaching reading, writing and math. Instead, she began to teach children.
Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. The boy’s mind seemed to come alive. The more she encourage him, the faster he improved. By the end of the sixth grade, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class.
Six years went by before she got a note from Teddy. He wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole lift. He went to college. Mrs. Thompson got two more letters from him with the last one signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M. D.(医学博士).
The story doesn’t end there. On his wedding day, Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson’s ear, “Thank you, Mrs. Thompson, for believing in me. You made me feel important and showed me that I could make a difference.”
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back, “Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”
41. What did Mrs. Thompson do on the first day of school?
A. She made Teddy feel ashamed.
B. She asked the children to play with Teddy.
C. She changed Teddy’s seat to the front row.
D. She told the class something untrue about herself.
42. What did Mrs. Thompson find out about Teddy?
A. He often told lies. B. He was good at math.
C. He needed motherly care. D. He enjoyed playing with others.
43. In what way did Mrs. Thompson change?
A. She taught fewer school subjects. B. She became stricter with her students.
C. She no longer liked her job as a teacher. D. She cared more about educating students.
44. Why did Teddy thank Mrs. Thompson at his wedding?
A. She had kept in touch with him. B. She had given him encouragement.
C. She had sent him Christmas presents. D. She had taught him how to judge people.

Recently, tests have proved that Beethoven died from lead（铅）poisoning. Bill Walsh directed the Beethoven Research Project. Mr Walsh and his team examined pieces of bone belonging to Beethoven. They found a large amount of lead in the bone pieces. They said the lead levels were equal to those found in pieces of his hair in earlier studies of other scientists.
Genetic tests proved the bone pieces and hair came from Beethoven. The researchers also examined bone fragments（碎片 from someone else who lived during the same period. Both were from the top of the skull. The fragments from Beethoven had more lead than those from the other person. Their study didn’t find measurable levels of cadmium (镉) or mercury (汞), which scientists used to consider were the causes of his health problems.
Beethoven was sick for much of his life. He experienced strong stomach pains, a sign of lead poisoning, and a change of personality when he was around 20. He also got angry easily, and suffered from depression and hearing loss. His health problems became worse as Beethoven grew older.
Walsh said the lead levels found in Beethoven’s skull（颅骨） suggested the metal might have been present in his body for many years. He said although there had been recognized cases of deafness caused by lead poisoning, there was no strong evidence to suggest that lead poisoning was the cause of Beethoven’s deafness.
Ludwig van Beethoven visited many doctors to find a cure for his health problems. In a letter he wrote to a friend, he asked researchers to examine his body after he died so that other people would not have to suffer as he did.
During the research, Walsh and his team didn’t ______.

A．examine the bone pieces of Beethoven

B．examine the bone pieces of another person

C．examine the lead levels of Beethoven’s hair

D．measure the cadmium or mercury in Beethoven’s bones

From the passage, we can learn that ___________.

A．this is the first research into the cause of Beethoven’s death

B．any amount of lead will do great harm to people’s health

C．more lead was found in Beethoven’s bones than in his hair

D．scientists used to think that Beethoven’s death was caused by other metals instead of lead

In which section（版）of the newspaper might you read this report?

A．Health.

B．Technology

C．Entertainment.

D．Culture.

What is the best title of the passage?

A．A surprising discovery about Beethoven.

B．Beethoven died from lead poisoning.

C．Lead — a killer metal for human beings.

D．New examination of Beethoven’s body.