It had been a long time since I had been to Jacksonville, Florida. I had driven to town hoping to see the old barber shop where my hair had been cut as a child.
I parked my truck and decided to try and locate a telephone to see if the Florida Barber College had moved to a new location.
After walking about a block I saw an open shoe store. I walked inside and asked if I could use their telephone book. Unable to find a listing for the Barber College, I picked out the number of a local beauty salon, hoping they might tell me if the barber college was still in business. The number was busy, so I decided to wait and try again in a few minutes.
As the salesman and I stood talking the front door opened and a young man about twenty came into the store pushing himself in a wheelchair. “I need a new pair of shoes,” said the customer. As he turned the corner, there was a blanket across his lap. I was shocked to see that the young man had no legs.
“A gift for a friend?” I asked the boy. “No,” he replied. They are for me,” he continued, with a smile on his face. I just smiled back and watched to see what would happen next.
“What type of shoe would you like?” asked the clerk. “How about a pair of cowboy boots?” The man pointed to the back wall where three or four pairs of boots were displayed. The salesman, sharply turning, headed off to the backroom.
“Isn’t this fun?” the boy asked me. I moved my hand to let him know that I did not understand his question. “When I was a kid, my parents used to buy me a new pair of shoes every year. That was such a wonderful feeling. Something I have never forgotten. The smell of the leather and the pride I felt when I walked around the store showing off my new shoes.”
The salesman came walking down the aisle with a large box. He sat it down on the floor, took out one boot and handed it to the young man. The boy closed his eyes. He placed the boot against his nose, and drew in a large breath. I did not know what to say as tears began to fall on the young man’s cheeks. “What type of accident did you have?” I asked him. “Farm accident,” he said, as he tried to clear his voice.
“Do you want the cowboy boots?” the salesman asked him.
“Oh, yes!” he answered.
“I see buying a new pair of shoes still gives you that good feeling you talked about,” I told the young man, as I smiled.
“Yes it does.” he said “And I may have someone, and his feet to share it with some day.”
67. Why did the young man want to buy a new pair of shoes?
A. Because he bought a pair every year.
B. Because he wanted to send a new pair to a friend.
C. Because he hoped to keep it for memory.
D. Because he enjoyed the feeling of possessing a new pair.
68. The author writes about the barber shop at the beginning of the article in order to _______.
A. introduce the background of the story
B. see if the Barber College had moved to a new location
C. find a listing for the Barber College D. pick out a local beauty salon
69. How did the author feel when he saw a young man without legs buying a pair of shoes?
A. Unexpected. B. Proud. C. Sympathetic. D. Superior.
70. What can you conclude from the passage?
A. The young man was a stubborn person. B. The author was a man of understanding.
C. The cowboy boots were fashionable then. D. The disabled envied much those healthy.
Today is National Bike-to-Work Day. And on New York City’s jammed streets, people are cycling on hundreds of miles of new bike lanes. But New York’s widespread efforts to make streets safer for bikes have also left some locals complaining about the loss of parking spots and lanes for cars.
When the weather is good, Aaron Naparstek likes to pedal（用踏板踩）his two young kids to school on a special Dutch-made bicycle. Naparstek supports the new lane.
Aaron: The bike lane on Prospect Park West is really introducing a lot of new people to the idea that it’s possible to use a bike in New York City for transportation or to travel around. This is what 21st century New York City looks like.
Prospect Park West is still a one-way road, but where it used to have three lanes of car traffic, now it has two, plus a protected bike lane. Supporters say that makes the road safer for everyone, including pedestrians, by slowing down cars and taking bikes off the sidewalk. But some longtime residents disagree. Lois Carswell is president of a group called Seniors for Safety. She says the two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents who are used to one-way traffic.
Lois: We wanted a lane — the right kind of lane that would keep everybody safe, that would keep the bikers safe. But we want it to be done the right way. And it has not been done the right way.
Craig Palmer builds bars and restaurants in Manhattan. I was interviewing him for a different story when he brought up the bike lanes all on his own.
Craig: I think the biggest problem is that Bloomberg put all these bike lanes in. You took what used to be a full street and you’re shrinking it.
Then there are the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who forced the city to remove a bike lane through their neighborhood. But polls show that the majority of New Yorkers support bike lanes by a margin of 56% to 39%. Bicycle advocate Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives calls that a mandate.
Caroline: If this was an election, we would have already had our victory. The public has spoken and they keep speaking. And I think, more importantly, the public is starting to vote with their pedals.What does Aaron mean by saying “This is what 21st century New York City looks like.”?
| A．There are hundreds of miles of new bike lanes in 21 st century New York City. |
| B．Drivers slow down their cars and bikes are taken off the sidewalk in New York. |
| C．Bikes are used as a means of transport in 21 st century New York City. |
| D．It’s possible to make the streets safe for pedestrians in New York. |
According to the passage, which of the following CANNOT support the opponents of these new bike lanes?
| A．Drivers lose parking spots and lanes for cars. |
| B．The two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents. |
| C．We took what used to be a full street so the road is broader than before. |
| D．The removal of one bike lane through a neighbourhood in Brooklyn was not supported. |
“A mandate” in Paragraph 8 was referred to a demand or command from ___________.
| A．the authority | B．the public |
| C．the supporters | D．the government |
What of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Ride on National Bike-to-Work Day |
| B．A New Bike Lane Appears in New York |
| C．A Bike Lane Divides New Yorkers |
| D．Who Wins an Election |
Below is a web page from http://www.parents.com/.
Kid of the Year Photo Competition
Enter your kid’s photo today and win! We’re giving away
52 weekly $250 prizes from Readers’ Choice votes. PLUS our
editors will select one entry to win our grand prize of $7,000.
Official Competition Rules
No purchase necessary to enter or win.
The Kid of the Year Photo Competition entry period begins at 12:00 a.m. January 23, 2011, and ends January 21, 2012 (“Entry Period”). Entries must arrive by 9:00 p.m. on January 21, 2012 (“Entry Deadline”). Entries will not be acknowledged or returned.
SPONSOR(赞助商): Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa.
ENTRY: There will be two methods of entry.
Share My Entry:
Visit http://www.parents.com/photos/photo-contests-1/kid-of-the-year/ and click the button to enter.
Facebook Entry:
Visit http://Facebook.com/ParentsMagazine and click the Kid of 2011 tab(选项卡).
Then complete the registration form and follow the instructions to upload one album of up to six photos of your child aged three months to eight years. You may provide one description and one album title that will be applied to all photos. Photos, without any brand names or trademarks, must be taken by participants, non-professional, unpublished and may not have won any prize or award. Photos must be .jpeg or .bmp image formats (格式) and cannot be over 3 MB.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, supported or run by, or associated with Facebook. You are providing your information to Parents Magazine and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used to run the promotion and register for Parents.com.
LIMIT: One entry per family, per child, per week. One weekly prize per child. For entries of more than one child in a family, the entry process must be completed separately for each child. No group entries.We can learn from the passage that ___________.
| A．you should buy something first before you enter the contest |
| B．your entry will not be returned even if you don’t win the contest |
| C．you should send your entry before 9:00 p.m. on January 21, 2011 |
| D．the editors of the contest will decide who will win the 20,000 dollars in prizes |
Linda, a mother with seven-year-old twins, wants to enter the competition. She must ___________.
| A．provide a description and an album title for the kid’s photos |
| B．go to Meredith Corporation to fill out the registration forms |
| C．complete the entry process separately for each of her kids |
| D．provide the information to Facebook if she chooses Facebook Entry |
To enter the competition, photos must ___________.
| A．be taken by non-professional participants |
| B．have won some prize or award |
| C．contain brand names or trademarks |
| D．contain parents’ personal information |
The purpose of the passage i___________.
| A．to advertise the website Facebook. com |
| B．to attract photographers’ interest in a photo contest |
| C．to introduce two methods of entering a photo contest |
| D．to encourage parents with children to enter a photo contest |
Traditional fairytales are being abandoned by parents because they are too scary for their young children, a study found.
Research revealed one in five parents has ditched old classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rapunzel in favour of more modern books. One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the horrible details of Little Red Riding Hood. And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplestiltskin to their kids as the themes of the story are kidnapping and execution. Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it forgives stealing.
The survey of 2,000 adults was conducted to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM, which starts tonight at 9 p.m. on Watch, and sees six episodes(片段) based on traditional fairytales. The poll found a quarter of parents polled wouldn’t consider reading a fairytale to their child until they had reached the age of five, as they prompt too many awkward questions from their offspring(后代子孙).
Steve Hornsey, General Manager ofWatch, said: “Bedtime stories are supposed to soothe children and send them off to sleep soundly. But as we see in GRIMM, fairytales can be dark and dramatic tales so it’s understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children.”
“As adults we can see the innocence in fairytales, but a five year old with an over active imagination could take things too seriously. Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales, as we see in GRIMM, good will triumph over evil and there is always a moral to the story.”
The study also found two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares.
However, half of parents said traditional tales are more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids’ books, such as The Gruffalo, The Hungary Caterpillar and the Mr. Men books.Why don’t some parents want to read Rumplestiltskin to their kids?
| A．Rumplestiltskin is too long. |
| B．Rumplestiltskin is too difficult. |
| C．Rumplestiltskin forgives stealing. |
| D．Rumplestiltskin may influence Children badly. |
We can learn from paragraph 3 that Grimm is ___________.
| A．a fairytales book |
| B．a movie for children |
| C．a play loved by children |
| D．a drama based on traditional fairytales |
The underlined word “soothe “in paragraph4 can be replaced by___________.
| A．put down | B．calm down | C．take down | D．come down |
What’s the author’s attitude towards traditional fairytales?
| A．Optimistic | B．Not mentioned |
| C．Casual | D．Disapproving |
Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research—the mapping of all DNA in a human gene（基因） is complete．Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish．All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away．Human cloning has always been a topic of argument, in terms of morality or religion．
Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning．If the clone was free of genetic limitations．then the other clone would be as well．The latter could foe inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term．Moreover, cloning would enable women, who can't get pregnant, to have children of their own．
Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs．This, surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single （or more） organ （s）．It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists．
Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side．Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal "cycle" of life．There would be a large number of same genes, which reduce the chances of improvement, and, in turn, development—the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment．Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance．Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappear．Thus, leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes and, chances are, that those individuals would be regarded as "objects" rather than people in the society．
Scientists haven't 100 per cent．guaranteed that the first cloned humans will be normal．Thus this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human "gene-pool"．
Regarding such arguable topics in "black or white" approach seems very innocent to me personally．We should rather try to look at all "shades" of it．I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs; not humans．Then we could regard this as for "saving life" instead of "creating life"．I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Genetic limitation will be beneficial for some women |
| B．A large number of genes will prevent us from developing |
| C．Prohibition of cloning might limit the freedom of scientists |
| D．First cloned humans might be normal according to scientists |
What's the author's opinion on cloning?
| A．Cloning should be entirely banned． |
| B．Cloning should be used in creating life． |
| C．Cloning will take away the right to reproduce． |
| D．Cloning is acceptable if it is used for cloning organs． |
Where can you read this article?
| A．In a story book |
| B．In a magazine |
| C．In a science fiction |
| D．In a brochure |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills （泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
Of all of today's environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run.
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power （太阳能） , electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world's millions of cars were 10% more efficient （高效的）—and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient，we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．What is the passage mainly talking about?
| A．Oil spills pollution． | B．What oil pollution is |
| C．Oil tanker accidents. | D．How to reduce oil pollution |
How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?
| A．By giving a description． | B．By making an argument |
| C．By giving an example． | D．By drawing a diagram |
What does the underlined word "risk" in Paragraph 5 refer to?
| A．Transportation depending more on oil |
| B．Poisonous oil breaking down naturally |
| C．Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea |
| D．More environmental damage being caused |
Which suggestion, is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?
| A．We should build safer tankers in the near future |
| B．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use |
| C．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines |
| D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea |