B
At a certain time in our lives we consider every place as the possible site for a house. I have thus searched the country within a dozen miles of where I live. In imagination I have bought all the farms, one after another, and I knew their prices.
The nearest thing that I came to actual ownership was when I bought the Hollowell place. But before the owner completed the sale with me, his wife changed her mind and wished to keep it, and he offered me additional dollars to return the farm to him. However, I let him keep the dollars and sold him the farm for just what I gave for it.
The real attractions of the Hollowell farm to me were its position, being about two miles from the village, half a mile from the nearest neighbor, bounded (相邻) on one side by the river, and separated from the highway by a wide field. The poor condition of the house and fences showed that it hadn’t been used for some time. I remembered from my earliest trip up the river that the house used to be hidden behind a forest area, and I was in a hurry to buy it before the owner finished getting out some rocks, cutting down the apple trees, and clearing away some young trees which had grown up in the fields. I wanted to buy it before he made any more of his improvements. But it turned out as I have said.
I was not really troubled by the loss. I had always had a garden, but I don’t think I was ready for a large farm. I believe that as long as possible it is better to live free and uncommitted (无牵挂的). It makes but little difference whether you own a farm or not.
46. What do we know about the author?
A. He wanted to buy the oldest farm near where he live.
B. He made a study of many farms before buying.
C. He made money by buying and selling farms.
D. He had the money to buy the best farm in the country.
47. Why did the author decide to buy the Hollowell place?
A. It was of good market value. B. It was next to the highway.
C. It was is a good position. D. It was behind a nice garden.
48. Why did the author want to buy the farm in a hurry?
A. He was afraid the owner might change his mind.
B. He hoped to enlarge the forest on the farm.
C. He wanted to keep the farm as it was. D. He was eager to become a farm owner.
49. The underlined words “the loss” in the last paragraph refer to ________.
A. the money the author lost in buying the farm
B. the sale of the garden in the Hollowell place
C. the removal of the trees around the house
D. the failure to possess the Hollowell place
50. What does the author believe as important in life?
A. To own a farm. B. To satisfy his needs.
C. To be free from worries. D. To live in the countryside.
Since I became a full—time freelancer(自由作家), I’ve found one of the hardest things to do is to get up early. Without the danger of being fired, there just hasn’t been a lot of motivation(动机) to get out of bed.
I’ve quickly learned that getting up is the key to success and better yet: waking up early is really just a habit.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you must have strong reasons to get out of bed. Motivation is the only thing keeping us from lying in bed all day.
Writing down all the big and important things you’ll do the next day can give you an extra push in your goal to wake up early and quickly.
Don’t read in bed. Spending as little time as possible in bed will actually help your body realize that the bed is for sleeping, and not for lying awake for hours. The goal of reading in bed is just to help you fall asleep within 10 minutes.
Stress is one of the main causes of poor sleep. Relax yourself before getting into bed. Try controlled breathing exercises or yoga to lower your stress level.
These are just a few ways you can use to wake up earlier. Finding the best way is the most important, and it requires a little work. The key thing is that waking up should be a pleasant experience. If you can make waking up something you are looking forward to, you’re already halfway on your journey toward becoming an early riser.What do we know about the author?
| A．He has a full—time job outside. |
| B．He likes lying in bed all day. |
| C．He was once fired by a company. |
| D．He has difficulty getting up early. |
The author gives us some tips to help us .
| A．find the key to success |
| B．become an early riser |
| C．fall asleep within 10 minutes |
| D．relax after a day’s hard work |
Which of the following is NOT true about doing yoga?
| A．It is a good way to reduce stress. |
| B．It can help you sleep. |
| C．It can make you worried. |
| D．It will help you wake up earlier. |
What is the point of getting up early?
| A．Motivation. | B．Experience. |
| C．Success. | D．Ability. |
The first robots were invented in the 1920s. Robots have appeared in Hollywood films such as Robocop and The Terminator. The robots in these films are stronger, faster and more intelligent than people.
In real life, robots are mainly used in factories. They do many different jobs. Usually these jobs are too dangerous, difficult or boring for humans.
Robots also help disabled people and people who cannot look after themselves. For example, scientists are making a robot to help blind people. Nowadays many blind people have a dog to help them. This dog is called a guide dog. In the future, robot dogs might take the place of these guide dogs.
One robot guide dog is called Meldog. It has wheels. It usually “walks” in front of its owner. It is very clever. It knows the speed of its owner’s walk. Meldog talks to its owner by radio. The owner wears a special belt. This belt sends instructions to the owner from Meldog such as “Stop here”, “Turn left” and “Turn right”.
In the United States, another type of robot helps disabled workers. This robot, called Kilroy, helps disabled computer operators. The robot hears the sound of its owner’s voice. It follows instructions such as “Turn the page” and “Make a cup of coffee”. This robot will bring its owner tissue paper when he or she sneezes!
Robots are also used in American hospitals. They can do simple jobs. For example, they shave patients and brush their teeth and take meals from the kitchen to the patients’ rooms. They never get lost because they have a map of the hospital in their computer memory.
Some robots in real life are .
| A．dangerous | B．boring |
| C．film stars | D．factory workers |
Some disabled people need robots to .
| A．make robots | B．become scientists |
| C．look after themselves | D．do dangerous jobs |
Meldog is a .
| A．blind dog | B．robot scientist |
| C．real dog | D．robot guide dog |
The robots used in American hospitals can do the following except .
| A．make a map |
| B．shave patients |
| C．brush the patients’teeth |
| D．take meals from the kitchen to the patients’ rooms |
Language is a way to communicate witheach other. We started to learn language when we were born. However, people are used to speaking their native language, so immigrants(移民) are having many problems between the first generation and the second generation because they don’t have the same native language. A1so, the second generation is losing their identity. Especially in America, there are many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States. Because they suffer in lots of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English, they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to be more successful.
For example, my aunt, who has been living in Chicago for fifteen years, has three children and they were all born in the States. The eighteen-year-old daughter speaks English as a native language and she speaks Korean very well too. She has no problem talking with her parents, but she still doesn’t understand Korean jokes, and they are sometimes misunderstandings. The second daughter is fourteen years old, and she doesn’t want to speak Korean. My aunt often gets upset with her because she is very Americanized and they cannot understand each other. Even when my aunt punishes her, this daughter does not understand what my aunt is talking about.
My aunt taught Korean to her children not in order to help them succeed in the U. S.; she did so, hopefully, to help them establish a Korean identity(身份). Though the second generation is born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity because they look different from others, and also, if they visit their parents’ country, they will probably feel different from other people there, too.
We must realize that language is important and valuable for many reasons. Immigrants should make an effort not to be ignored by their children and to make their children understand their heritage(传统) by teaching them the parents’ language. This is very important, not only for the harmony(和谐) of the family, but also in helping the second generation establish their identity.What do you think this article is about?
| A．Learning a second language. |
| B．Immigrants who become homesick in the U. S. |
| C．Language and its effect on the identity of immigrants. |
| D．Schools attended by immigrants to the U. S. |
Which of the following is NOT true about the 18 year old daughter?
| A．She was born in the U. S. |
| B．She speaks only English very well but her Korean is poor. |
| C．She gets along better with her parents. |
| D．She doesn’t understand Korean jokes well. |
To whom does the mother speak Korean?
| A．Her oldest daughter only. | B．All of her children. |
| C．Her two daughters only. | D．Only to her son. |
Why did the author’s aunt try to teach her children to speak Korean?
| A．To help them succeed in the U. S. |
| B．To help them find a good job. |
| C．To help them establish a Korean identity. |
| D．To help her improve her Korean language skills. |
— __________ do you call up your parents?
— Mostly once a week, but this week I haven’t done that, because I’ll go back this weekend.
| A．How long | B．How far |
| C．How often | D．How soon |
There are good Santas and there are bad Santas. The good Santas all realize one thing: In the mind of a child, Santa Claus is perfect. That’s difficult. And so they come from around the world to attend the Charles W. Howard School in Midland, Mich. The school offers a three-day, 40-hour course for Santas hoping to be excellent. A former Macy’s Santa named Charles Howard founded the Michigan school in 1937. “Many people will think if you have a suit and you’re a Santa,” said Tom Valent, the school’s current dean. “It’s more than that.” The school teaches everything from breathing techniques for carol singing to the beard maintenance. There are lessons in child psychology, sign language and even media training for talk-show appearances and call-in shows. Santas also need to make sure they know all the names of the reindeer(驯鹿). What’s harder to deal with, however, is children who ask for Christmas gifts like bringing daddy home or making mommy happy again. After spending time in the classroom, Weir went to the mall to test his training. However, at one point, his hat fell off, and he was unsure how to react. “You’re the real Santa,” Valent said. “Pick that hat up, slip it back on, keep smiling and do your job. You’ve got to stay on top of your game. Even the last one at night, when you’re tired, you’ve got to remember: This one’s forever, so do a good job.”According to the passage, good Santas should be the ones that ______.
| A．can offer the children some gifts |
| B．help adults look after their children |
| C．have ability to make children happy |
| D．should be perfect in the mind of children |
The Michigan school was founded by Charles Howard with the purpose to ______.
| A．train the pet reindeer for the Santas |
| B．earned money from its students |
| C．train perfect Santas for the world |
| D．show the world’s concern to the poor |
According to Weir’s performance, we can conclude that ______.
| A．Weir was short of experience |
| B．Weir was not fit for the job as a Santa |
| C．Weir did very badly in the game |
| D．Weir was not a good student in school |