Maybe ten-year-old Elizabeth put it best when she said to her father,“But, Dad, you can't be healthy if you're dead.”
Dad, in a hurry to get home before dark so he could go for a run, had forgotten to wear his safety belt -- a mistake 75% of US population make every day. The big question is why.
There have been many myths about safety belt ever since their first appearance in cars some forty years ago. The following are three of the most common.
Myth Number One: It's best to be“thrown clear”of a serious accident.
Truth: Sorry, but any accident serious enough to “throw you clear" is able going to be serious enough to give you a very bad landing. And chances are you'll have traveled through a windshield (挡风玻璃) or door to do it. Studies show that chances of dying after a car accident are twenty-five times in cases where people are “thrown clear”.
Myth Number Two: Safety-bets “trap”people in cars that are burning or sinking in water.
Truth: Sorry again, but studies show that people knocked unconscious (昏迷) due to not wearing safety belts have a greater chance of dying in these accidents. People wearing safety belts are usually protected to the point of having a clear head to free themselves from such dangerous situation, not to be trapped in them.
Myth Number Three: Safety belts aren't needed at speeds of less than 30 miles per hour (mph).
Truth : When two cars traveling at 30 mph hit each other, an unbelted driver would meet the windshield with a force equal to diving headfirst into the ground from a height of 10 metres.
62. Why did Elizabeth say to her father,“But, Dad, you can't be healthy if you're dead”?
A. He was driving at great speed. B. He was running across the street.
C. He didn't have his safety belt on. D. He didn't take his medicine on time.
63. The reason father was in a hurry to get home was that he _______.
A. wasn't feeling very well B. hated to drive in the dark
C. wanted to take some exercise D. didn't want to be caught by the people
64. According to the text, to be “thrown clear" of a serious accident is very dangerous because you _______.
A. may be knocked down by other cars B. may get serious hurt thrown out of the car
C. may find it impossible to get away from the seat
D. may get caught in the car door
65. Some people prefer to drive without wearing a safety belt because they believe _______.
A. the belt prevents them from escaping in an accident
B. they will be unable to think clearly in an accident
C. they will be caught when help comes D. cars catch fire easily
66. What is the advice given in the test?
A. Never drive faster than 30 miles an hour. B. Try your best to save yourself in a car accident.
C. Never forget to wear the safety belt while driving.
D. Drive slowly while you're not wearing a safety belt.
Today, roller skating is easy and fun.But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph
. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!The text is mainly about ________.
A.a strange man |
B.an unusual party |
C.how the roller skating began |
D.how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century |
People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he _________.
A.often gave others surprises | B.was a gifted musician |
C.invented the roller skates | D.was full of imagination |
Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to ________ .
A.impress the party guests | B.arrive at the party sooner |
C.test his invention | D.show his skill in walking on wheels |
What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?
A.The roller skates needed further improvement. |
B.The party guests took Merlin for a fool. |
C.Merlin succeeded beyond expectation. |
D.Merlin got himself into trouble. |
The idea of skating______
A.existed in 1750 | B. existed after 1750 |
C.existed before 1750 | D. didn’t exist before 1750 |
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills that they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and lots of self-confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not merely teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.Generally speaking, children’s skills __________.
A.come from their parents |
B.have nothing to do with their education |
C.may be different from child to child |
D.have something to do with their marks in the exams |
The writer of this passage does not seem to be satisfied with_______.
A.the parents’ ideas of educating their children |
B.the education system |
C.children’s skills |
D.children’s hobbies |
Doing some cooking at home helps children_________.
A.learn how to serve their parents |
B.learn how to become strong and fat |
C.benefit from it and prepare themselves for the future |
D.make their parents believe that they are clever |
According to the passage, which of the following is True?
A.Chinese are not very generous on educating their children. |
B.All Parents know how to teach their children well. |
C.Teaching a child to cook can improve the skills that he will need in the future. |
D.Poor parents cannot buy a computer for their children. |
Cooking_____
A demands patience B demands time.
C. is an enjoyable but difficult experience.
D.above all
It was a dark and cold night. The car driver didn’t have even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, “Where do you want to go, sir?”
“To the Star Hotel,” the young man answered. When the car driver heard that, he didn’t feel happy. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station. But suddenly, he had an idea. He took the passenger through many streets of the big city.
After a long time, the car finally arrived at the hotel. “You should pay me fifteen dollars,” the car driver said to the young man. “What! Fifteen dollars? Do you think I’m a fool? Only last week I took a car from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip. I won’t pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other car driver last week.”Which of the following is true? ____________
A.The young man went past the railway station. |
B.The young man was working in the railway station |
C.The young man had just got off a train. |
D.The young man was waiting for his friend there. |
What do you think of the car driver?__________
A.He was a nice and clever man. | B.He liked to work very hard. |
C.He was good at driving | D.He was not an honest person. |
The driver felt very _________ when he saw the young man coming out of the railway station.
A.sad | B.sorry | C.happy | D.worried |
From the passage we know that the young man__________.
A.knew clearly how far it was from the station to the hotel. |
B.had been to the hotel several times. |
C.didn’t want to stay in this city. |
D.Must be a stranger and didn’t know the city very well. |
The young man should have paid the driver_____
A 15 dollars B.13dollars C.3 dollars D. 8dollars
Rhinos(犀牛) are big and can be dangerous. They are also shy and seldom seen. Once there were hundreds of rhino species, but today there are only five. One ancient rhino called Indricotherium was the largest land mammal that ever lived. It was 5m high at the shoulders, and 8.5m long— twice the size of today’s biggest elephant! The living rhinos are still big, averaging 2-3m long and weighing up to 3,600kg.
To see all five species of living rhino you would need to do a bit of exploring. First you might visit Africa for a look at the white rhino and the black rhino. They live in Africa’s dry woodlands and grasslands. Then you could head to India and Nepal for a look at the Indian rhino. It lives in the high grasslands near rivers, where you have to ride an elephant to find one. Finally you might travel to the rainforests on the islands of Indonesia to see the Sumatran and Javan rhinos. These are the smallest and rarest rhinos in the world and extremely difficult to find.
Most rhinos are gentle and timid (胆小的).They have a bad reputation for being very aggressive, but that may be partly because they get frightened easily. Also, they have poor eyesight. They rely on their strong sense of smell to tell them a stranger is approaching, but if the wind is blowing the wrong way, they may not know someone is there until it’s too late.
Rhinos can be found only in their habitats, which is why habitat destruction has caused rhino populations to decline. As they disappear from certain places, their absence leads to many changes to the landscape. For example, black rhinos in Africa only eat shrubs (灌木) and small trees, pruning (修剪) the plants and limiting their growth. Many other species benefit from this, and as rhinos disappear, so do many other animals sharing their habitat. Bushes and trees take over the land and force species like the antelope to leave in search of food. In a short time the whole habitat has changed.From the text we learn that ______.
A.rhinos are all big and dangerous |
B.rhino numbers have declined greatly |
C.rhinos are twice as large as elephants |
D.Indricotherium is the world’s biggest living animal now |
The white rhino can be found in______.
A.Indonesia’s island |
B.Nepal’s high grasslands |
C.Africa’s dry woodlands and grasslands |
D.India’s high grasslands near rivers |
What can we conclude from Paragraph 2?
A.Most rhinos live alone. |
B.Rhinos are disappearing from their habitats. |
C.The five rhino species are all different in colour. |
D.Rhinos’ habitat ranges from rainforests to grasslands. |
The underlined word “aggressive” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by_____.
A.energetic | B.attractive | C.useless | D.fierce |
The example of the black rhinos in the last paragraph is mainly to show that_____.
A.rhinos only eat plants |
B.all rhinos are endangered |
C.all the habitat of rhinos has been damaged |
D.the disappearance of rhinos has led to habitat change |
Sea lions and seals may swim in cold ocean water, but even they get chilly sometimes. Seeing an injured seal wrapped in a blanket at a marine(海的) mammal center gave Haley Humes and Hayley Jeffries an idea for a special Girl Scout project. They decided to make blankets to keep injured animals warm. They would give these blankets to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, California.
“We knew we wanted to help animals,” Haley said. “We went to the center to ask questions about what they needed. They don’t have a heated floor, and all the babies crowded together to stay warm.”
Friends since kindergarten, Haley and Hayley made 12 blankets to keep the Marine Mammal Center’s seals and sea lions warm. Using fun images like Winnie-the-Pooh, the girls took two hours to make each blanket. The first sea lion to test out a blanket looked pretty in pink.
“It was a sick baby and really liked it,” Haley said. “It curled up in it right away.”
“The blankets are beautiful and the animals love them!” said the Mammal Center’s Michele Hunter. “It’s nice to see children taking pride in their work and doing something to help animals.”
During the project, the girls took dozens of pictures for the PowerPoint presentations they gave to Girl Scout leaders. Those presentations helped Haley and Hayley raise $250 to buy additional supplies the center needed.
This was the first project the girls ever worked on and took months to plan and carry out.
“I learned that in order to make something happen, you have to take it slowly and step by step,” Hayley said. Just as important, the girls discovered that two people really can make a difference. “Knowing you’re making a difference……with these animals is amazing,” Haley said. “It was like the animals became my new friends.”
The Pacific Marine Mammal Center cares for sea lions and seals, as well as for other marine mammals. Since opening in 1971,the center has saved more than 5,000 injured marine mammals.What does the underlined word“ chilly” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A.Sick. | B.Cold. | C.Afraid. | D.Bored. |
When Haley and Hayley saw an injured seal wrapped in a blanket, they_____.
A.decided to help animals | B.asked Girl Scout for help |
C.went to the animal center to work. | D.called on others to protect animals |
What can we learn about Haley and Hayley from the text?
A.They raised $2,500 for the Mammal Center. |
B.They made 120 blankets by themselves. |
C.It took them an hour to make a blanket. |
D.They felt great about what they did. |
Which of the following words can best describe the work of Haley and Hayley?
A.Difficult. | B.Successful. | C.Experimental. | D.Dangerous. |
According to the text, the Mammal Center_____.
A.has a history of about 40 years |
B.has an advanced heating system |
C.has saved ten thousand animals so far |
D.protects both land and marine mammals |