A murder will occur this weekend in the peaceful seaside town of Langley, Washington. In fact, a murder has occurred there every February for the past 25 years. But don’t panic! It’s all part of the town’s yearly Mystery Weekend.
What began as a local event in 1984 now attracts visitors from over the U.S. and even abroad. Would-be detectives（侦探）arrive on Saturday. There, they receive a packet, including a newspaper with details about the crime and information telling where to find clues（线索）. Visitors then travel to various shops, restaurants and other places, searching for clues as they go. Along the way, they meet and interview suspects (疑犯) played by local people. The visitors need turn in their guesses on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.. Then as everyone gathers, the murderer is found, and prizes are awarded for correct answers.
For visitors, Mystery Weekend is not only fun but also a great introduction to the charms of Langley. It’s a very attractive place with historic buildings, exciting ocean views and above all, friendly people. Since Langley is on an island, a fun way to get there is by taking a ship to the nearby town of Clinton and then driving the rest of the way. Langley has a delightful selection of hotels with bed and breakfasts that are open all year round. And activities in Langley aren’t limited to Mystery Weekend. There is also great hiking, biking, golfing and diving to enjoy. And for a special adventure, visitors can book on one of the whale–watching ships that leave nearby harbors each day.
1. The second paragraph mainly tells us__________.
A. where visitors can pick up the clues
B. what people do during Mystery Weekend
C. when Mystery Weekend came into being
D. how the detectives try to clear up the case
2.According to the passage, visitors in Langley can Not__________.
A. watch whales performing
B. take a ship to Clinton.
C. enjoy a wide variety of activities like dancing and singing
D. stay in hotels opened throughout the year
3.We learn from the text that Mystery Weekend ______.
A. is an event which happens once a year.
B. aims to decrease crime rate
C. is intended for detectives
D. offers visitors a chance to make money
4. What would be the best title for the passage
A. Langley B. Mystery Weekend C. Would-be detectives D. A murder
Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets. When connected electronically, they are away from physical reality.
People have been influenced to become technology addicted. One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices. One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol.
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life. They have successfully created a cultural disease. Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern.
I see people trapped in a pathological（病态的）relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them. I call this technology servitude. I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money.
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question. Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology. When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology. Mae West is famous for proclaiming the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology.
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies.” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology.The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
| A．advantage | B．attraction |
| C．adaption | D．attempt |
From the passage, technology companies aim to ______.
| A．attract people to buy their products |
| B．provide the latest information |
| C．improve people’s quality of life |
| D．deal with cultural diseases |
It can be inferred from this passage that people ______.
| A．consider too much technology wonderful |
| B．have realized the harm of high-tech devices |
| C．can regain freedom without high-tech devices |
| D．may enjoy life better without overused technology |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
| A．Neutral. | B．Sceptical. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
One morning when I was 11, I explored the town’s abandoned round grain barn（谷仓）. I found a chained sliding door that was wide enough for me to pass through.
Inside, there was a heavy smell of dead mice in the dark. After my eyes adjusted, I noticed a shaft (升降机井) that rose all the way to the top of the barn. On one side was a one-man elevator with a long rope and roller.
I stepped onto the platform and gave the rope a drag and the elevator began sliding up the shaft, but stopped halfway. After a brief panic attack, I noticed holes in the wall at regular intervals, forming a ladder. For reasons known only to an 11-year-old, I decided it would be better to go up than down. So, with shaking hands, I began climbing the wall.
After what seemed like forever, I reached the top of the shaft. I stood up, dusted myself off and found…absolutely nothing of interest. It was just an empty room with a ladder leading up to the roof. I climbed all the way up here for this? Then I noticed a fire extinguisher（灭火器）,which I’d always wanted to shoot off. So this was the chance of a lifetime. I tried it, and, much to my surprise, the thing worked! It shot out a thick cloud of powder that instantly filled the room. I couldn’t breathe. I was going to choke to death, and they’d probably never even find my body.
Luckily, I remembered the ladder to the roof. I climbed up, popped the straw roof and saw a bright blue sky.
I suddenly realized the dust and powder pouring out of the top could draw attention. So when the dust had settled, I climbed down and slipped out of the chained door. I’m not sure if I was more excited about being alive or about not being caught, but I ran all the way back home.When the author got inside the barn, he _______.
| A．noticed a man on the elevator |
| B．opened the chained sliding door |
| C．saw many dead mice in the dark |
| D．found a shaft leading to the top |
Which of the following is the right order of the author’s adventure?
a. The elevator stopped halfway.
b. He entered the round grain barn.
c. He climbed to the top of the shaft.
d. He found a fire extinguisher and shot it off.
| A．b-a-d-c | B．a-c-b-d |
| C．c-a-d-b | D．b-a-c-d |
After getting out of the chained door, the author might feel _______.
| A．inspired | B．relieved |
| C．surprised | D．disappointed |
From the passage, we can learn that the author was probably a boy full of _______.
| A．passions | B．dreams |
| C．curiosity | D．imagination |
Darek Fidyka, a 38-year-old Bulgarian, had been paralyzed (瘫痪的) from the chest down for four years after a knife attack. Scientists from Britain and Poland took cells from his nose, transplanted (移植) them into his back and re-grew his spinal cord (脊髓). Now he can walk and even drive a car. The doctors were delighted but said it was the first step in a long journey.
The breakthrough came after 40 years of research by Professor Geoff Raisman, who found that cells had the possibility to repair damage to nasal (鼻腔的) nerves, the only part of the nervous system that constantly re-grows. “The idea was to take something from an area where the nervous system can repair itself and put it into an area that doesn’t repair itself,” Professor Raisman said.
Polish doctors injected (注射) the nasal cells into Mr Fidyka’s spinal cord above the injury and used some nerves from his ankle to form a bridge across the damaged tissue. The nasal cells appear to have caused the spinal nerves to repair themselves.
Professor Raisman achieved this with rats in the late 1990’s, but this is his greatest success. “I think the moment of discovery for me was Christmas in 1997 when I first saw a rat, which couldn’t control its hand, put its hand out to me. That was an exciting moment, because I realized then that my belief that the nervous system could be repaired was true.”
Doctors chose the easiest case for their first attempt—it might not work for others. But there is a real sense of hope that an idea once thought impossible has been realized.
David Nicholls, who helped provide money for the breakthrough, said information about the breakthrough would be made available to researchers across the globe.
“What you’ve got to understand is that for three million paralyzed people in the world today, the world looks a totally brighter place than it did yesterday,” he said. Why did Professor Geoff Raisman choose cells from the nose?
| A．The nervous system in the nose can repair itself. |
| B．Cells from the nose can be easily transplanted. |
| C．The nervous system in the nose has more cells. |
| D．Cells in the nose are able to re-produce rapidly. |
How did the operation work for Darek Fidyka?
| A．The nervous system in the spinal nerves can repair itself. |
| B．The nerves from his ankle cured the patient of the injury. |
| C．The nasal cells re-produced and spread over very quickly. |
| D．The nasal cells helped the spinal nerves to repair themselves. |
What made Professor Geoff Raisman begin to believe the nervous system can be repaired?
| A．His former study with other people. | B．His operation on a paralyzed patient. |
| C．His sudden thought about Christmas. | D．His unusual experience with a sick rat. |
David Nicholls’ words suggest that _______.
| A．the world will become a better and brighter place |
| B．paralyzed people of today have the hope of recovery |
| C．the report of the breakthrough will be published soon |
| D．researchers across the world will carry out the operation |
Fashion refers to the styles of dress that are currently popular. Fashion goes beyond just clothes, though. It’s important for some people to wear only the latest fashions and styles. For others, though, keeping up with trends (潮流) isn’t that important. The one thing that stays the same with fashion is this: it always changes!
In the 1960s and 1970s, hippies made bell-bottomed blue jeans popular. In the 1980s, Michael Jackson made parachute pants all the fashion. Now try to find these items in today’s clothing stores!
Why do fashions change? The answer is probably as simple as the fact that people change. Over time, the new replaces the old. People are influenced greatly by popular culture, including athletes, musicians, movie stars, as well as popular films, televisions shows, books and music. We are also influenced by the fashion industry’s advertising.
The stars of popular culture are always searching for a new angle to maintain (保持) their popularity. Often these new angles come in the form of new clothing or hairstyles. When people see these new styles, they often want to imitate their favorite stars. To do so, they seek out the latest fashions to make themselves look like the people they want to imitate. In this way, fashions evolve and change over time.
For years, clothes have been used to separate people into groups. Even today, brand-name clothing that is more expensive than other types of clothing can be used by some people to distinguish themselves from others. Unfortunately, this can often have the effect of distancing certain groups from others.
Don’t forget that it’s always OK to develop your own sense of style that is unique and separate from what the fashion world determines! Stay true to yourself and let your personality — not your clothes — speak for who you are. The examples of bell-bottomed blue jeans and parachute pants in Paragraph 3 are used to show that _______.
| A．people often have different dressing styles |
| B．trends of fashion are changing all the time |
| C．people are always affected greatly by the stars |
| D．hippies and Michael Jackson are good designers |
Fashion change mainly because _______.
| A．new films and shows replace the old |
| B．movie stars are changing over time |
| C．popular culture influences people |
| D．advertisements change rapidly |
We can learn from the text that _______.
| A．clothes may separate and distance people |
| B．people like imitating others’ dressing style |
| C．the author has clearly gone out of fashion |
| D．fashion is all about clothes people wear |
In the last paragraph, the author mainly wants to stress _______.
| A．the advantages of staying unique and separate |
| B．the bad effects of following fashions and styles |
| C．the good benefits of popular styles to people |
| D．the importance of having one’s own personality |
Thousands of objects have been on display in The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, including the 1903 Wright Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, and a lunar rock you can touch. In addition to our exhibition galleries, you may want to visit the Albert Einstein Planetarium, Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, and the Public Observatory on the east end. There are many things to do at the Museum in DC. We offer daily tours and educational activities for both children and adults. We also have scheduled lectures and events throughout the year.
Hours & Admission: Open every day except December 25. Admission is free.
Regular Hours: 10: 00 am to 5: 30 pm
Extended Hours: 10: 00 am to 7: 30 pm
December 26—30, 2014.
March 30—April 20, 2015.
Fridays and Saturdays, April 24—May 16, 2015.
May 17—September 7, 2015.
VISITING TIPS:
Limit the Number of Bags: All visitors are screened through metal detectors upon entry. The fewer items you bring inside the Museum, the faster your entry. Before you visit, please review the list of prohibited items, which include pocket knives and tripods (三脚架). Visitors carrying prohibited items will not be allowed inside the Museum, so please leave them at home or in your car.
No Food and Drink: Only bottled water is permitted in the Museum. You may only consume food and other drinks in the Food Court, not in the Museum. Groups who bring food are encouraged to picnic on the National Mall.
Please Take Photos: You are welcome to take photos for personal use. However, tripods and monopods (单脚架) are not permitted without approval.
First Aid: The Museum has a First Aid office and a nurse on duty. Please contact the nearest security officer or the Welcome Center for assistance.
Visit the Welcome Center:
At our Welcome Center in the South Lobby, staff and volunteers can answer any questions you have during your visit.
Open 10: 00 am to 5: 30 pm
Phone: 202-633-2214
E-mail: NASM-Visitor Services@ si.eduAccording to the passage, the National Air and Space Museum is a museum _______.
| A．where only adults can take part in activities |
| B．which anyone can visit without buying tickets |
| C．where one can touch anything that he likes |
| D．which anyone can visit without time limits |
If you plan to visit the Museum at 6: 00 pm, it is possible on _______.
| A．December 24, 2014 | B．March 1, 2015 |
| C．July 6, 2015 | D．September 15, 2015 |
The purpose of this passage is to _______.
| A．make an advertisement for the museum |
| B．encourage adults to bring their children there |
| C．show what is on display in the museum |
| D．attract people to explore the universe |