The words of Gandhi, Einstein and other great thinkers are to be quoted in service announcements on London’s Underground．
Transport for London has asked Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller to edit a list of mottos to be used by tube drivers．Gandhi’s “there is more to life than increasing its speed” and the artist Cezanne’s “we live in a rain-bow of chaos” are among the quotes．Deller hopes they will make passengers’ journeys a bit more thought-provoking(发人深省的)．
Deller’s original plan was to abolish all public announcements for a day．“It makes me feel annoyed,” he said．“It’s like some psychological warfare(战争 ) on the passengers．”
But his idea was refused by the manager of Transport for London, who instead agreed to the plan of replacing some announcements with something more human and attractive．
Sally Shaw, who is running the scheme for Transport for London, says it is part of an attempt to improve day-to-day interaction and rely less on automated announcements．
“I think everyone has their own little philosophy on their journeys．And if we can get more of that out in the air, that would be great,” she said．
Susy Wells, one of the drivers to test the idea out on the London Underground, is also enthusiastic about it．
She said, “I like to make my own announcements and it’s nice to get passengers to think as well．”
What’s more, some quotes are helpful to the drivers．They help the passengers become more understanding about the drivers’ work．
The quotes such as Thomas Fuller’s “a stumble(绊脚) may prevent a fall” are popular for helping explain why a little inconvenience was sometimes necessary to keep the system safe．
1．The underlined phrase “tube drivers” probably means______．
A．taxi drivers B．subway drivers
C．truck drivers D．bus drivers
2．Why did Deller want to abolish all public announcements on the underground?
A．Because they cause a war among passengers．
B．Because the public announcements make Deller tired．
C．Because the public announcements are dull．
D．All public announcements are not suitable for the passengers．
3．The reason why the sayings are to be quoted on London’s Underground is ______．
A．that everyone has their own life motto
B．that sayings are believed to be more human and attractive
C．that sayings can help develop spiritual civilization in London
D．that saying can make drivers think more
4．The best title of this passage would be _____．
A．Changes on London’s Underground
B．Culture on London’s Underground
C．Some Quotes Seen on London’s Underground
D．Introduction to London’s Underground
Many people in high school cannot wait to go to college and leave their hometown behind. Questions arise, though, when it comes to all of the decisions involved in choosing a college.
One of the first considerations may be finance. State and public colleges are often the least expensive. Often, though, the better colleges are private and more expensive. It is sad when gifted students cannot attend a college of their choice just for financial reasons.
Another major factor is location. Whether the college is in a small town or large city can have a major impact on its activities. A water lover probably will be more comfortable spending four years near an ocean or a lake. Those who cannot tolerate heat will probably be more comfortable at a northern college. Distance from home may also come into consideration. If family is a top priority, that person should stay close to home; on the other hand, if independence is desired, a campus farther from home would be more appropriate.
School size also plays a major role in the decision process. If you want to get to know your teachers, a small college is suitable. For those of you who consider yourself a “ people person” and want a wide range of activities, a large college is more fitting. Your area of interest is another factor to consider in the decision-making process if you want to get the most from your education. The whole point of college is to learn what is of interest to you.
Crucially(至关重要地), one must take into consideration the colleges by which you can realistically be accepted. An Ivy League school for an average student would probably not be a good match. Similarly, an average school for an above-average student would not work well. The college should provide enough of a challenge for the student to work hard. Although there may not be the perfect college out there, there probably will be one that is close. Those who cannot find a suitable college are probably not looking hard enough.When it comes to going to college the author thinks ________.
| A．financial situation is the first to consider |
| B．students are unwilling to leave their home |
| C．students will become homesick |
| D．students are eager to attend their ideal university |
What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
| A．Students can be independent at college. |
| B．A long distance will make students upset. |
| C．The location of the college is a main factor. |
| D．The climate must be taken into consideration. |
What does the underlined part people person in the passage mean?
| A．A person of great capacity. | B．A very particular person. |
| C．A very sociable person. | D．A person of great importance. |
Which is the most important factor when choosing a college?
| A．The location of a college. |
| B．The examination result. |
| C．School size. |
| D．The coming challenges. |
Amy Pankratz spent a few nights in the hospital with her daughter, Isabella, who caught a bad flu. “Lying in bed beside Isabella, I could hear the cries of children in pain, ”says Amy. “It completely broke my heart. ”
When Isabella was getting well and could leave her room, she wore her prized possession—a “superhero cape(短斗篷)”Amy had sewn to encourage her—and walked into the hallway. The pink cape was an instant hit with the other young patients, who were doing exercise around the nursing station. Then, all the kids were taking turns wearing the cape, giggling, ”Amy says. “These were some of the same children I had heard crying the night before, and here they were playing and having fun—kids just being kids! ”
From that moment on, Amy began making Comfort Capes for little ones battling with serious illnesses. “I felt God presenting an opportunity, ”she says. “I hoped Comfort Capes can help these kids feel brave, to lift some of the fear away. ”
Since then, Amy has made and donated more than 5, 000 capes in the United States. Amy usually pays for materials herself, although she accepts donations.
The capes she makes for kids in treatment are different from those her own children have. Before Amy starts to sew she learns what image or character the little boy or girl connects with. “ I choose the pattern, color and theme specially for each child,” explains Amy.
When she is not sewing, Amy is raising awareness of childhood cancers and looking into ways to get Comfort Capes to more kids who need them, “ If a cape can help a child, even only for a moment, forget his illness, its worth the time spent sewing, she says.What made Amy feel sad when she was staying with her daughter in the hospital?
| A．Her daughters serious illness. |
| B．The cries of children in pain. |
| C．The tiredness from sewing the cape. |
| D．The illness of children in her daughters room. |
What purpose did Amy have when she began making Comfort Capes for sick children?
| A．To make them feel warm. |
| B．To find friends for her daughter. |
| C．To make them happy and fearless. |
| D．To raise the awareness of childrens illness. |
According to the passage, we can get that the authors attitude toward Amys behaviour is ________.
| A．indifferent | B．neutral |
| C．negative | D．supportive |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Turning Sick Kids into Superheroes |
| B．How to Treat the Sick Children |
| C．A Strong Mom Who Helps Others |
| D．Amy: a Considerate Woman |
Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts(蝗虫) that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path.
And now in the battle to stop this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 50 kilograms of locusts. “We think this idea will get more people to take part in the war on the locusts.” said Abdoulaye Ba, from Sud-Fm, a radio station in one of Senegal’s worst affected area.
This is West Africa’s biggest locust disaster in 15 years, and it is moving east, causing huge damage to crops. As they move they produce young and increase their number and will soon threaten Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it could reach Asia.
Experts say the harmful effect on crops in areas already suffering from food shortage and war could cast many people to go hungry. Governments in the areas are not well equipped to fight the pest.
Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not expected to be enough. “We are now treating 6,000 hectares per day with pesticide(杀虫剂), but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,” said Mohamed Adballahi Ould Babah, director of locust control in Mauritania.
Requests are being made for international aid, which is the only way to limit the disaster, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned.By using “dark cloud” to describe locusts in the first paragraph, the author mainly meant to______.
| A．show the size, speed and damage of the mass of locusts |
| B．suggest the high speed that locusts travel at |
| C．warn that locusts would sweep the continent severely |
| D．hint that they look like dark monster |
The story is mainly about______.
| A．West Africa’s united effort in fighting a disaster |
| B．the difficulty in controlling locusts |
| C．the great damage locusts caused to West Africa |
| D．a struggle to fight against a disaster brought by locusts in West Africa |
According to the text we learn that the locust disaster______.
| A．can be even more serious in Asia |
| B．is then out of control |
| C．has affected greatly most areas |
| D．cannot be stopped unless twice as much pesticide is provided for the affected areas |
Which of the following is WRONG？
| A．Sud-Fm offered a reward for fighting locusts so that more people would join in the effort. |
| B．Senegal is to southwest of Sudan. |
| C．The locusts can cause such damage mainly because it has no natural enemy in West Africa. |
| D．12 countries affected by locusts have untied but still lack pesticide. |
Some plants get so hungry they eat flies, and small frogs. What’s more amazing is that these plants occur naturally (in special environments) in every state. In fact, they’re found on every continent except Antarctica.
You’ve probably seen a Venus’ flytrap. It’s often sold in museum gift stores, department stores, and even supermarkets. A small plant, it grows 6 to 8 inches tall in a container. At the end of its stalks(茎)are leaves that act like traps. Inside each trap is a lining of tiny hairs. When an insect lands on them, the traps suddenly shut. Over the course of a week or so, the plant feeds on its catch.
The Venus’ flytrap is just one of more than 500 species of meat-eating plants, says Barry Meyers-Rice, the editor of the International Carnivorous Plant Society’s Newsletter. He states despite any science-fiction stories you might have read, no meat-eating plant does any danger to humans.
Dr. Meyers-Rice says a plant is meat-eating, only if it does all four of the following: “attract, kill, digest, and absorb” some form of insects. Meat-eating plants look and act like other green plants—well, most of the time.
All green plants make sugar to produce food. What makes meat-eating plants different is their special leaves, which need insects for one reason: nitrogen(氮). Nitrogen is a nutrient(营养物质) that they can’t obtain any other way. Why?
Almost all green plants on our planet get nitrogen from the soil. Meat-eating plants can’t. They live in places where nutrients are hard or almost impossible to get from the soil because of its acidity .So they’ve come to rely on getting nitrogen from insects and small animals. In fact, nutrient-rich soil is poisonous to meat-eating plants. Never fertilize(施肥) them! But don’t worry, either, if they never seem to catch any insects. They can survive, but they’ll grow very slowly.According to the passage, Venus flytrap.
| A．is a small plant which grows in a container |
| B．is a kind of plant which gets hungry easily |
| C．can trap and feed on some form of insects |
| D．grows 6-8 inches tall |
From the passage, we can infer that .
| A．meat-eating plants are found nowhere else except Antarctica |
| B．All green plants get nitrogen from the soil |
| C．meat-eating plants endanger humans in science-fiction stories |
| D．The nutrient-poor soil is beneficial to meat-eating plants |
Meat-eating plants grow very slowly, .
| A．so you’d better fertilize them |
| B．probably because the supply of nitrogen is cut off |
| C．simply because they can’t absorb nitrogen from the soil |
| D．and then they will die slowly |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Meat-eating plants look and act like other green plants. |
| B．It’ hard to get nutrients in the soil when acidity is high. |
| C．Venus flytrap eats flies to get nutrient from them. |
| D．Green plants make sugar at night. |
Christmas in the United States is traditionally a time of gift-giving and family gatherings. But small towns across the country have their own traditions.
Middleburg，a small town in the state of Virginia，is known for its horses. For more than 50 years, Middleburg has organized a yearly Christmas parade(游行). Men and women ride horses through the woods and fields．They follow hunting dogs as they search for a wild fox．But first，these hunters ride in the yearly parade, wearing their bright red hunting clothes and hats．
John Hale, a citizen of Middleburg says many city people visit his town. “We have a lot of people from an urban area that come to visit，but it involves a lot of the old traditions.” The nighttime hay ride is one such tradition．Small groups gather under the moonlight on an open wagon filled with hay. The passengers sing as farm horses pull the wagon slowly across the fields．
There are some newer traditions, too. Trey Matheu works at the nearby Salamander Resort. He says a visit to Middleburg is a chance to slow down for a day. He says Middleburg can be a calming, peaceful place without tension．
“Middleburg is an opportunity to take a step back, to take a deep breath, and understand that even though life is moving on at a very fast pace, there’s really an opportunity where you’re allowed to step off for a little bit.”
Parade organizers say more than 13,000 people attend even in below-freezing weather. But if you ask，you will hear many different reasons why people come to watch the parade：
“I come here because I’m from a small town. I like how everybody comes together.”“I live right down that street; right there. And that’s my dog.”
Middleburg looks its best at Christmastime. That may be why so many people return each year．Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．Middleburg Christmas parade |
| B．A small town known for horses |
| C．Christmas traditions in Middleburg |
| D．Newer traditions at Christmastime |
At Christmas, people in Middleburg usually ___________．
| A．visit friends and families |
| B．feed farm horses with hay |
| C．hunt for dogs in the woods |
| D．ride in the yearly parade |
According to Trey Matheu, why do people visit Middleburg?
| A．To relax themselves． |
| B．To enjoy the fresh air． |
| C．To escape competition． |
| D．To challenge themselves． |
What do we know about the small town Middleburg?
| A．It makes a large profit from tourism． |
| B．It attracts many people each year． |
| C．It is a good place for family gatherings． |
| D．It doesn’t respect Christmas traditions． |