Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won the Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.
Located on the shore of Sullivan’s Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one damaged by Hurricane Hugo years ago. In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.
Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina’s shoreline were poorly constructed, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. Now all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house on Sullivan’s Island should be strong enough not to be damaged by a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometres per hour.
At first sight, the house on Sullivan’s Island looks anything but(根本不) hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it look like “a large party lantern” at night. But looks can be deceiving. The house’s wooden frame is strengthened with long steel rods(杆) to give it extra strength.
To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings(木桩) buried deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also raise the house above storm waves. The pilings allow the waves to run under the house instead of running into it. “The waves of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,” said Huff.
Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed(隐藏) by the house’s ground-to-roof shell. “The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its legs pulled up,” said Huff. In the event of storm, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.After Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina’s shore line are required
to .
| A．be easily pulled down | B．look smarter in design |
| C．meet stricter building standards | D．be designed to be cube-shaped |
The award-winning beach house is quite strong because .
| A．it is strengthened by steel rods | B．it is made of redwood |
| C．it is in the shape of a shell | D．it is built with timber and concrete |
Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to .
| A．avoid peak winds of about 200 km/h |
| B．bury stronger pilings deep in the sand |
| C．break huge sea waves into smaller ones |
| D．prevent the waves from running into it |
It can be inferred from the passage that the house’s shell should be .
| A．smooth | B．waterproof | C．easily broken | D．extremely hard |
Mr. Harris used to work in Dover, but then he changed his work, and he and his wife moved to another town. They did not have many friends there, but they soon met a lot of interesting people, and after a few weeks, they often went to dinner or to parties at other people's houses.
Then Mrs. Harris said to her husband, "We've been to a lot of other people's houses, and now we must invite them to our house, mustn't we?"
"Yes, certainly," answered her husband, "A big party will be the easiest thing, won't it? Then we can start to invite
people to dinner in small numbers next month."
So Mrs. Harris said, "Yes, I'll invite all our friends here to a big party on 5th December."
"How many will that be?" Mr. Harris asked. "Don't invite too many."
Mrs. Harris was beginning to write the invitations when her husband saw that she was writing, "Party: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m."
"That isn't very nice, is it?" he said. "You're telling our guests that they must go at 8:30." So Mrs. Harris just wrote Party: 6:30 p.m."
A lot of guests came, and they all had a good time, so they did not go home at 8:30. In fact they were still there at mid-night when the door bell rang and a policeman arrived. He said, "You must stop making a noise, because someone has complained(抱怨)."
Mr. Harris said he did not want to quarrel with the policeman, so everyone went home. They were sorry to have to go.
When Mr. and Mrs. Harris were alone again, she said to him. "That was a surprise, wasn't it? Who complained about the noise?"
"I did," Mr Harris answered in a tired voice.Why did Mr. Harris and his wife move to another town
| A．They wanted to make some new friends. |
| B．Mr. Harris changed his work. |
| C．They wanted to meet a lot of interesting people. |
| D．They enjoyed going to parties and visiting other people's houses. |
What made Mr. and Mrs. Harris hold a party at their house?
| A．It was easy to hold a big party at home. |
| B．They could ask people to dinner in small numbers. |
| C．They had gone to other people's parties many times. |
| D．They liked making friends with other |
How long would Mrs. Harris like the party to last?
| A．From the morning till night. |
| B．About fourteen hours. |
| C．About two hours. |
| D．Till midnight |
When did the party end that evening?
| A．At about 8:30. |
| B．When the policeman talked with Mr. Harris on the phone. |
| C．About twelve o'clock.. |
| D．When someone telephoned the police station. |
Why did Mr. Harris telephoned the policeman about the noise?
| A．Because someone rang his door bell many times at mid-night. |
| B．He did not want his friends to stay late that night. |
| C．His friends had a good time that night and also feel tired. |
| D．Because he hated the noise. |
Norm Pethrick, a 36-year-old man in Australia’s northern city Darwin, was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile’s back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.
Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged (扑), locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried to drag her underwater.
Norm Pethrick, who with his wife had been collecting water, immediately went to help her. He jumped onto the back, poked (戳) the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free.
Ms Pethrick was later taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for a medical treatment. The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds (伤口) in her right leg, a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.
“This could have been a fatal and tragic situation,” said the general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH), Dr Len Notaras, according to a local report.
He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband’s “quick and diligent actions”.
Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three to four days and have an operation to clean the wounds, which are easy to get infected because of bacteria (细菌) on the teeth of the crocodile.This passage is most likely to be found in _____.
| A．a travel guide | B．a newspaper |
| C．a textbook | D．a novel |
The crocodile attacked Ms Pethrick when she was ______.
| A．swimming in the river | B．standing on the river bank |
| C．watching the crocodile | D．fishing in the water |
Which of the following statements is TRUE about Ms Pethrick?
| A．Her eyes were badly poked. |
| B．She had eight wounds altogether. |
| C．One of her fingers also got hurt. |
| D．One of the crocodile’s teeth was found in her leg. |
According to the passage, Norm Pethrick can be described as following EXCEPT ______.
| A．brave | B．diligent | C．quick | D．humorous |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The husband should save the wife |
| B．A man saves wife’s life from crocodile’s jaws |
| C．A crocodile is not so dangerous as people imagine |
| D．Human beings can beat crocodiles sometimes |
I came to study in the United States a year ago .Yet I did not know the real American society until I was injured in a car accident because after the accident I had to see a doctor and go to court.
After the accident .my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very grateful and determined to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was astonished. He had good reason to charge me, he said. And if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible for my injury, I’d have to have a good lawyer. And only a good doctor can help me get a good lawyer .Now that he had helped me find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.
But every day I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $115 each time .The final examination report consisted of ten lines, and it cost me $215.
My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all. He knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to dismiss him. And he made me pay him $770.
Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Due to my inexperience, I told the insurance company the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time…and I left without getting a cent.The author’s roommate offered to help him because________.
| A．he felt sorry for the author |
| B．he thought it was a chance to make some money |
| C．he knew the doctor was a very good one |
| D．he wanted the author to have a good lawyer |
A good lawyer is essential for the author to __________.
| A．be properly treated |
| B．talk with the person responsible for the accident |
| C．recover before he leaves America |
| D．eventually get the responsible party to pay for his injury |
The word “charge” in the third paragraph means_________ .
| A．be responsible | B．accuse |
| C．ask as a price | D．claim |
Both the doctor and the lawyer in this passage are very__________.
| A．friendly | B．selfish | C．professional | D．busy |
What conclusion can you draw from the story?
| A．Going to court is something very common in America. |
| B．One must be very careful while driving a car. |
| C．There are more bad sides in America than good sides. |
| D．Money is more important than other things in the US. |
Johnny Smith was a good math student at a high school. He loved his computer. He came home early every day, then he worked with it till midnight. But Johnny was not a good English student, not good at all. He got an F in his English class. One day after school Johnny joined his computer to the computer in his high school office. The school office computer had the grades of all the students: the math grades, the science grades, the grades in arts and music, and the grades in English. He found his English grade. An F! Johnny changed his English grade from an F to A. Johnny' parents looked at his report card. They were very happy.
"An A in English!" said Johnny's Dad. "You're a very clever boy, Johnny."
Johnny is a hacker. Hackers know how to take information from other computers and put new information in. Using a modem, they join their computers to other computers secretly. School headmasters and teachers are worried about hackers. So are the police, for some people even take money from bank computer accountant put it into their own ones. And they never have to leave home to do it! They are called hackers.Johnny changed his English grade with the computer in _______.
| A．the classroom | B．the school office |
| C．a bank near his house | D．his own house |
When Johnny's parents saw the report, they were happy because _______.
| A．Johnny was good at math |
| B．Johnny loved computers |
| C．Johnny could join one computer to another |
| D．they thought Johnny was not poor in English any longer |
Who are worried about hackers in the story?
| A．Johnny's parents. |
| B．School headmasters, teachers and the police. |
| C．The police. |
| D．School headmasters and teachers. |
What should the hackers know well, do you think, after you read this story?
| A．Information. | B．Back computer accounts. |
| C．Computers. | D．Grades. |
The last paragraph is about _______.
| A．Johnny | B．computers | C．hackers | D．Modem |
When Cath Pirret and her husband Iain took their daughters Jessie, 10, and Holly, 7, to Britain earlier this year, it was a trip that was all about showing the girls where their parents grew up. But there were also some key sightseeing opportunities, such as Stonehenge, Hadrian’s Wall and Tate Modern, before heading to Paris to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo.
So, what did the couple from Melbourne hope their girls would get from the trip? "A greater understanding that travel is not a difficult thing to do," Cath says."Some of the highlights are to meet new people and adapt to lots of different situations."
Cath believes that children, in order to truly benefit from travel, need to be old enough to understand and appreciate the experience. Sydney-based ABC Radio broadcaster and film critic C.J. Johnson travelled a lot with his parents as a child. His father was "really into rivers" and decided he was going to make it the "family mission" to see the "seven great rivers of the world".
There’s no doubt, thanks to a richer society and the greater ease and access to all forms of travel, that few — if any — generations of parents and children have ever had the ability to journey together as far, as wide and as deep as the present one.Travel brings history to life, builds children’s independence and opens their minds. A child’s view also helps adults to see the world through new eyes.
For Keith Bellows, the award-winning editor-in-chief of the American National Geographic Traveler magazine says the world is simply"the greatest classroom we have". He’s convinced, like Spicer, that any parent willing and financially able to give the gift of travel offers a gift that keeps on giving.
"Children who learn to travel will travel to learn," he says. "And they will do it all their lives."
With that in mind, Bellows, a father of three, wrote a book, 100 Places that Can Change Your Child’s Life.Why did the couple take their daughters to Britain?
| A．To prove their parents grew up in a rich country. |
| B．To meet the friends and relatives in Britain. |
| C．To help them enjoy their wonderful holidays. |
| D．To assist them to get benefit from travelling. |
The couple and their kids .
| A．went to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo first |
| B．visited Hadrian’s Wall and Tate Modern in France |
| C．first stayed in Britain and then went to France |
| D．only preferred to have the key sightseeing trips |
When Johnson was a child, .
| A．he made a decision to see the greatest rivers |
| B．he fully understood his family mission |
| C．he was forced to keep his father company |
| D．he learned a lot and developed a broad outlook |
Now many children can travel around the world .
| A．because they are lucky to have good parents |
| B．because they were just born in rich families |
| C．because they are living in a prosperous society |
| D．because they are longing for new knowledge |
We can learn from the passage that .
| A．children who learn to travel will travel to learn |
| B．Keith Bellows objects to taking children to travel |
| C．children will purchase gifts for their parents |
| D．Keith Bellows is managing a famous TV show |