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Some recent reports on the death penalty have brought some interesting responses from
readers all over the country. Although I really don’t like to make fun of people who oppose the
death penalty because they are so sincere, I wish they would come up with some new arguments to
replace the worn-out ones.
For example, many said something like this : “Wouldn’t it be better to keep the killers alive so
psychiatrists（精神科医生）can study them in order to find out what makes them the way they are?”
It takes the average psychiatrist about five years to figure why a guy wants to stop for two drinks after work and won’t quit smoking. So how long do you think it will take him to determine why somebody with an IQ of 92 decided to murder the little old lady who lives next door? Besides, we have a huge number of killers in our prisons—more than enough to keep all the nation’s psychiatrists busy for the next 20 years.
Another standard is: “The purpose of the law should be to protect society, not to give cruel punishment, such as the death penalty.”
In that case ,we should tear down all the prisons and let all the criminals go because most people would consider a long period in prison to be cruel punishment--especially those who are locked up. Even 30 days in the Cook County Prison is no picnic.
And: “What gives society the right to take a life if an individual can’t?” The individuals who make up society give it that right. Societies perform many functions that individuals can’t. We can’t carry guns and shoot people, but we give that right to police.
Words can not explain the suffering the families of murder victim are left to live with. The families suffer a terrible loss, and they live with terrible memories. The knowledge that the killers are alive and will probably remain alive and cared for you by society is extremely painful. Probably, people who oppose the death penalty should try explaining to these people how cruel it is to kill someone.
72．What’s the writer’s attitude towards death penalty?
A．Death penalty is a must.
B．Death penalty doesn’t solve all the problems.
C．Death penalty should be practiced more carefully.
D．Death penalty should only be used on murderers.
73．How many arguments against death penalty are discussed in the passage?
A．Two B．Three C．Four D．Five
74．What does the last sentence of the text suggest?
A．It’s cruel to use death penalty to kill someone.
B．Murder victims need more comfort from the society.
C．Opponents of death penalty should offer explanations.
D．Murderers should be put to death as the punishment.
75．The author develops the passage by .
A．providing typical examples of death penalty
B．following the natural time order
C．presenting and analyzing ideas
D．comparing opinions from different fields
During my first stay in the south of France, I rode my bike down a quiet road. Round a corner, I passed by a little old house. In its yard, there was a ruddy (气色好的) -faced woman. I waved at her as I went by, and she must have thought I was some silly tourist, because she didn’t wave back.
The same thing happened the second day. But on the third day, the old woman returned a tentative（试探性的）wave, and by the fourth day, she nearly got out of her chair as I called out.
“Good morning, Madam!” It became a small ritual (程序) between us. Once she even brought her husband out with her, and they both waved to me.
On my last day, my last ride, I cycled down to the little house but the lady wasn’t there. Back at my house, I told Roger, the gardener, of my missed connection.
“The old lady has a bad leg,” Roger said, “so she has gone to the hospital for surgery.”
“Who is she?” I asked.
Roger started to explain: the quiet road used to be a railway. The old lady’ husband was once the stationmaster, and their house was the stationmaster’s house. Several times a day, whenever a train passed, the couple would see the passengers waving excitedly, especially the children for them. However, the station was moved away. Everything is gone except for this couple.
It seems that my bicycle was a reminder of the past to her. As Roger said, “ She has missed the trains and the waves. You brought them back to her.”
By reaching out, in a way that cost me nothing, I gave more than I realized.
63Which of the following is TRUE?
A. She was a ruddy-faced woman so she was healthy.
B. Her husband also had leg disease but he didn’t tell others.
C. She and her husband didn’t like to live in the station.
D. Though she was a ruddy-faced woman, something was wrong with her leg.
64Why did the old woman bring her husband out and waved to me?
A. They wanted to go to the hospital.
B. They wanted to experience what they used to do.
C. They wanted to ask me for dinner.
D. They wanted to go to the city by train.
65. What can we infer from the sentence “However, the station was moved away. Everything is gone except for this couple”?
A. They enjoyed living where they had lived.
B. They had no house to live in.
C. They had no children to live with.
D. They were living nearest the hospital.
66. What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. An old couple and I B. Bicycle and railway
C. Train and passengers D. Wave and love
Every weekend, many Americans drive around looking for things to buy. They are taking part in an unusual kind of outdoor treasure hunt: the yard sale (旧货出售). In some parts of the country, such a sale might be called a garage sale or a moving sale. Whatever the name, the activity is the same. People sell things they no longer want.
The sellers put a paid announcement in a local newspaper. It tells when and where the yard sale will take place. It lists some of the things to be sold. Early in the morning, all the things to be sold are carried out of the house. Then they sit all day waiting for someone to take them home. Usually, the seller puts a price on each object at a yard sale. However, that price can almost always be negotiated (谈判).
Serious buyers also spend time getting ready for yard sales. They collect the newspaper announcements. Then they make lists of the sales they want to attend.
Most people who go to yard sales are not looking for anything special. They might buy an object simply because it costs so little. They enjoy bargaining over prices, even if they may hold their own yard sale to sell all the things they have bought.
To other people, yard sales are simply a way to have fun. In some communities, they are important social gatherings. Other people say yard sales help the environment. Old things are re-used instead of being thrown away.
In any case, yard sales are very popular in America. Hunting for unusual items is a sport for some people. For others, it is a way of life.
59 What can’t you get to know about the yard sales announced in a local newspaper?
A.When to attend the yard sale.
B. Where to attend the yard sale.
C. What is to be sold at the yard sale.
D. The prices of the things to be sold at the yard sale.
60 Before a yard sale, the sellers need to do all the following things EXCEPT ______.
A. putting a paid announcement in a local newspaper
B. bargaining over the prices with the buyers
C. putting the price of each object
D. carrying all the things to be sold out of the house early in the morning
61 Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. A yard sale can also be called a garage sale or a moving sale.
B. The sellers need to pay for putting an announcement in a local newspaper.
C. The sellers collect the newspaper announcements before the yard sales.
D. The prices for the items to be sold at a yard sale can be negotiated.
62.Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned as the reason why yard sales are very popular in America?
A. People can buy something special at yard sales.
B. People can buy something they really want.
C. People can enjoy bargaining over prices.
D. People regard yard sales as social gatherings.
Several southwestern provinces in China are now experiencing the worst drought(旱灾) since the 1950s. The drought has left 18 million people and 11 million farm animals in Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Chongqing without enough water supplies. And it has affected 5 million hectares of crops in the provinces.
According to China’s Meteorological Administration (中国气象局), the average daily temperature in Yunnan over the past six months has been two degrees higher than normal. And the province has had only half the rainfall of an ordinary year. In Qinglong county, Guizhou, there had been no rain for 268 days until March 25, when it finally rained for three hours.
To ensure the safety of drinking water, local governments have taken emergency action. Workers in parts of Yunnan are drilling (钻空) daily in the hope of digging 1035 wells by mid-May. Among them, 52 have already started working and 288 are under way, providing 20 percent of the required drinking water. Meanwhile, Yunnan province intends to send more migrants (农民工) to work outside the province as the drought worsens. This will not only help to deal with the drinking water shortages, but also increase those farmers’ income. The government will offer free skill training and organize job fairs.
56 The word “This” in paragraph 3 refers to______.
A. the worsening drought
B. the shortage of drinking water
C. sending more migrants to work outside
D. providing 20 percent of the required drinking water
57 Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The drought in southwestern provinces has been the worst ever in China.
B. Guizhou province has had only half the rainfall of an ordinary year.
C. The average temperature in Yunnan is two degrees lower than normal.
D. 1035 wells are expected to be drilled by mid-May in parts of Yunnan.
58 What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Local governments have taken action to deal with drought.
B. Serious drought hits southwestern provinces in China.
C. More migrants work outside the southwestern provinces.
D.Yunnan government offers free skill training and organizes job fairs.
We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively（被动地）. We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor(谣言).
Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared. Typically, the original message has changed.
That’s what happens in daily life. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story. Then, too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping（打上标记）it with their own personal style. Yet those who hear it think they know.
This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be re-stated as fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.
57. According to the passage, passive learning may occur in _______.
A. doing a medical experiment B. solving a math problem
C. visiting an exhibition D. doing scientific reasoning
58. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.
A. active learning B. knowledge
C. communication D. passive learning
59. The author mentions the game Rumor to show that _____.
A. a message may be changed when being passed on
B. a message should be delivered in different ways
C. people may have problems with their sense of hearing
D. people tend not to believe in what they know as rumor
60. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Active learning is less important.
B. Passive learning may not be reliable.
C. Active learning occurs more frequently.
D. Passive learning is not found among scholars.
Now more and more students become volunteers. The projects may be with their school, neighborhood, or town, but the work of all volunteers is important. Students find that there are many advantages to volunteering.
First, volunteering helps others. Many people complain about problems in our society. Volunteers are part of the solution to our problems! While it is easy to complain about things that are not right, the volunteer takes action rather than complaining. When a student spends time working at a retirement (退休) home, cleaning up a park, or teaching a younger student, the volunteer makes the world a better place.
Second, being a volunteer makes students feel good about themselves. When a student volunteer knows that his or her efforts have made someone else’s life better, the volunteer feels great. Students always hear people saying that everyone should care about other people. Volunteers make it happen. Although some volunteer work is long or tiring, student volunteers end the day knowing they did the right thing. Their parents, teachers, and the public are proud of them. Knowing they did the right thing makes them feel better, even if they are tired.
Finally, students learn that volunteering is fun. A group of students might volunteer to clean up a riverbed in early spring. It is fun to be with their friends, to enjoy the weather, and to picnic later in a beautiful, clean area. Other students might read to young children in a playgroup. It is fun to spend time with children and to have them smile and laugh. No matter what their ages or talents are, every student can be a volunteer. The work of student volunteers is a powerful force that makes the world a better place.
54. The tile of this passage is ________.
A. Free-time Jobs B. Daily Activities C. School Life D. Volunteer Work
55. The writer really wants to say that ___________.
A. volunteering helps society as well as volunteers themselves
B. it is fun to spend time volunteering in a pre-school
C. some people complain instead of taking action
D. some volunteer work is long and tiring
56. According to the passage, how are volunteers different from other people?
A. They never complain. B. They always feel great.
C. They take action. D. They enjoy teaching.