On the wall in my mother’s bedroom there was a photo, which showed a soldier with a gun.
Below the photo there was the word ”Speaking”.
“Who’s that soldier called Speaking?” I asked one day.
“He was Harold.” She said, ‘He was my only brother. When the Second War began, Harold was eighteen. I was twelve then, and my sisters were ten and nine.”
“Harold liked to play with us, and we often quarreled. When we quarreled, we said, ‘We’re not speaking to you.’ But before long we were all happy again, and then we said, ‘I’m speaking now. Are you speaking to me?’”
“When the war broke out, Harold joined the army. A month later, he came to see us. He brought the gun to show us. Then he went miles away to the war. We didn’t see him for three years, three long, empty years. We didn’t often hear from him. But one day in May there was a loud bang on the front door.”
“I ran to open it, it was Harold! He was an old Harold, a thinner Harold, too. He looked at me with his two green eyes and smiled. That smile was just the same as before, then he said one word “Speaking’”.
‘I didn’t. I couldn’t answer. I just fell into his arms and he dropped his gun. He stayed with us for a month. We played all our old games again. Then he went back to the war, and never came back again. So I wrote the word on the photo.”
60. When I first saw the word “Speaking” below the photo, I thought ____.
A .the soldier was calling “Speaking”
B. it was taken when the soldier was speaking
C .“Speaking” was the soldier’s name
D. Mum wished the soldier could speak to her
61. How old was the author’s mother when Harold came back for the last time?
A.Twelve B.Thirteen C. Fifteen D. Twenty-one
62. When Harold came back home, ____.
A.he changed a lot except for his eyes and smile
B.he made a shoot in front of the door
C.his sister could hardly recognize him
D.his sister had another quarrel with him
63. Harold never came back again because ____.
A.he didn’t want to speak to his sister any more
B.he died in a battle
C.his sister had not answered him when he came back
D.he went far away to the war
Linda Evans was my best friend like the sister I never had．We did everything together; piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding．
When I was 13, my family moved away．Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special times—like my wedding and Linda’s．Soon we were busy with children and moving to new houses, and we wrote less often．One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address Unknown”．I had no idea how to find Linda．
Over the years, I missed Linda very much．I wanted to share happiness of my children and then grandchildren．And I need to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died．There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill．
One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagmans—Linda’s married name．“There must be thousands of Wagmans．” I thought, but I still wrote to her．
She called as soon as she got my letter．“Ms Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagmans is my mother．” Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives．Now the empty place in my heart is filled．And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!What happened to me when I was 13?
| A．My father died of an illness． |
| B．I got married and had a son． |
| C．My family removed to a new place． |
| D．Linda moved away with her family． |
Why was the card I sent returned to me?
| A．I forgot to write the address． |
| B．The address couldn’t be found． |
| C．Something was wrong with the card． |
| D．Linda was sent to a foreign country． |
Over the years, I missed Linda very much because________．
| A．Linda could fill my dream |
| B．Linda made a promise that she would visit me |
| C．Linda had a deep effect on my choice of life |
| D．I wanted to share happiness and sorrow with Linda |
What did I notice in the newspaper one day?
| A．A photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda． |
| B．Linda was still looking for me in the newspaper． |
| C．Linda fell in love with a man called Wagmans． |
| D．Linda was still living in the nearby city． |
We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book．Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down．While I watched mouth open in surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold．She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop（拖把）．She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floors.” “Yes, I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered．She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”
Mum just pushed harder, each swipe （拖一下）of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall．I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book．After a long time Mum came back．Her eyes were shining.
She quickly put the mop back and took my hand．As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”
Outside, Mum told me “Grandma is fine．No fever.”
“You saw her, Mum?”
“Of course．I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow．Dad will stop worrying as well．It’s a fine hospital．But such floors! A mop is not good．You need a brush.”When she took a mop from the small room what Mum really wanted to do was ______.
| A．to clean the floor |
| B．to please the nurse |
| C．to see a patient |
| D．to surprise the story-teller |
When the nurse talked to Mum she thought Mum was a ______.
| A．nurse | B．visitor |
| C．patient | D．cleaner |
After reading the story what can we infer about the hospital? ______
| A．The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard. |
| B．It has strict rules about visiting hours. |
| C．The conditions there aren’t very good． |
| D．It is a children’s hospital. |
Which of the following words best describes Mum? ______.
| A．Clever | B．Warm-hearted |
| C．Strange | D．Hardworking |
Scientists have long understood the key role that oceans play in regulating the Earth’s climate. Oceans cover 70 percent of the globe and store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere does. What’s newer is the understanding of how this key component of our climate system responds to global warming.
A brake on global warming — for now
One of oceans’most important climate functions is absorbing heat and carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the gases that cause global warming. Acting as a heat sponge (海绵), oceans have absorbed huge amounts of heat and CO2 in the last forty years.
Fujita explains that "oceans are saving us from faster climate change — they are a big flywheel that delays rapid overheating of the Earth, putting a brake on the climate system."
"That’s the good news," he adds. "The bad news is that oceans only slow the atmospheric warming. Once oceans come to balance with a greenhouse gas warmed earth, the extreme heat will remain in the atmosphere and things will get much hotter." But where and how oceans release this accumulated (积累的) heat is uncertain. And as oceans store heat, fragile underwater ecosystems are struggling.
The most recent scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also notes with concern that oceans are acidifying because of increased absorption of atmospheric CO2, and thus causing a threat for shell-forming species. Sharp increases in carbon dioxide levels will cause further acidification of oceans.
Currents distributing heat
Another important role oceans play is that of distributor. Oceans deliver heat and life-sustaining nutrients around the globe. Just as blood vessels bring oxygen and nutrients to cells in the human body, oceans’ currents carry oxygen, nutrients and heat throughout the Earth. Oceans distribute 25 percent to 50 percent of the energy the planet receives from the sun. For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat across the Atlantic. This warm current gives northwestern Europe a milder climate than it would normally have so far north. A change to oceans’ circulation (循环) patterns could throw Europe into a colder period, even as the rest of world experiences warmer temperatures.
This passage mainly talks about .
A.the roles of oceans B.global warming
C.ocean currents D.carbon dioxide
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.
He reported the case to the police and then sat there，lost and lonely in a strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband’s name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶）that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．From India to Australia. |
| B．Living in a New Country. |
| C．Turning Trash to Treasure. |
| D．In Search of New Friends. |
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It includes a section for parents and teachers showing you how to use this book with children. Buy this book and give it to your children to unlock their education. What’s more, you will just pay 50% for it before May 1, 2014.
The purpose of the passage is to _______.
| A．show readers how to use the four books |
| B．help children to learn English |
| C．enrich students knowledge about nature |
| D．sell the four books to students. |