It was shortly before midnight, and Dr Patricia was getting ready for bed. The phone rang on the end of the line was a woman about to break a promise.
The woman was her mother’s neighbor. Flora Harris had made the neighbor swear she wouldn’t tell her daughter she’d had a heart attack and was in the hospital, for fear her daughter would worry. The neighbor wisely decided to disobey orders.
Harris desperately wanted to get to the hospital immediately, but she couldn’t. She lives in Washington, D. C, and her mother lives in California.
For the past year a half, Harris has gone to Los Angeles every other month to take care of her mother. Flora Harris takes care of her husband, James, who’s 91 and has Alzheimer’s disease. They live in their own home, and a caregiver comes to help them a few hours a day.
Harris is one of many Americans facing the heartache of how to take care of aging parents from afar. She’s often worried, not to mention exrtemely busy with a demanding job, two teenage daughters and the frequent trips to California.
In some ways, Harris is lucky. She has the resources to make the trips to Los Angeles. Plus, Harris is a doctor who treats the elderly.
“But it’s still tough,” she says. “I can foresee what the next few years are going to look like, and it’s not a pretty picture. My father’s going to need diapers (尿布). There will come a time when he won’t recognize me and he’s easily excited. I worry he’s going to be violent and hurt my mother.”
So what do you do when you live a continent away from your aging, sick parents? There are no magic answers. You can hire someone to help, but you can’t oursource it completely.Why was the woman thought to have broken a promise?
| A．She failed to take care of Flora. |
| B．She was not supposed to call Harris at midnight. |
| C．She couldn’t go to hospital on time. |
| D．She told Harris about her mother’s illness. |
What can we learn about Patricia Harris from the passage?
| A．She thinks it harder to look after her parents the next few years. |
| B．Her parents cannot take of themselves at all. |
| C．She cannot do a demanding job. |
| D．She cannot afford to go to California often. |
What does the underlined word “outsource” in the last paragragh mean?
| A．Arrange somebody outside to do a job. |
| B．Work something out by oneself. |
| C．Speak something out for help. |
| D．Understand something. |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．Aging people in the USA are increasing. |
| B．The rate of heart disease is high in America. |
| C．It is difficult to tend aging parents from afar. |
| D．Harris advises on tending aging parents from afar. |
A couple from Miami, Bill and Simone Butler, spent sixty-six days in a life-raft (救生艇) in the seas of Central America after their boat sank.
Twenty-one days after they left Panama in their boat, Simony, they met some whales (鲸鱼). "They started to hit the side of the boat," said Bill, "and then suddenly we heard water." Two minutes later, the boat was sinking. They jumped into the life-raft and watched the boat go under the water.
For twenty days they had tins of food, biscuits, and bottles of water. They also had a fishing-line and a machine to make salt water into drinking water—two things which saved their lives. They caught eight to ten fish a day and ate them raw (生的). Then the line broke. "So we had no more fish until something very strange happened. Some sharks (鲨鱼) came to feed, and the fish under the raft were afraid and came to the surface. I caught them with my hands. "
About twenty ships passed them, but no one saw them. After fifty days at sea their life-raft was beginning to break up. Then suddenly it was all over. A fishing boat saw them and picked them up. They couldn't stand up. So the captain carried them onto his boat and took them to Costa Rica. Their two months at sea was over. The whales hit the side of the boat, and then __________.
| A．they brought in a lot of water |
| B．they broke the side of the boat |
| C．they pulled the boat |
| D．they went under the water |
After their boat sank the couple __________.
| A．jumped into the life-raft |
| B．heard water |
| C．watched the boat go under water |
| D．stayed in the life-raft |
During their days at sea, __________ saved their lives.
| A．tins of food and bottles of water |
| B．a fishing-line and a machine |
| C．whales and sharks |
| D．Twenty passing ships |
When they saw the fishing boat which later picked them up, __________.
| A．they were too excited to stand up |
| B．they couldn't wait to climb onto the boat |
| C．their life-raft was beginning to break up |
| D．they knew their two months at sea would be over |
After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five years old, then they were told again he would not live to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal weight lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask "Why me?" He talked about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn't mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.
When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase (公文包) and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck, I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, "You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you."
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew's parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before: Dear Rick,
My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don't have long to live anymore. But I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I will never get to do that. But I know I'm a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Yours,
Matthew The boy wanted to meet the author because __________.
| A．he was interested in weight lifting |
| B．he wanted to get a gold medal |
| C．he admired the author very much |
| D．he wanted the author to know him |
The underlined part in the third paragraph probably means " __________ "
| A．Why do you come to see me? |
| B．Why do I have to stay at home? |
| C．Why does the disease fall on me? |
| D．Why not give a gold medal to me? |
We can infer from the passage that __________.
| A．Matthew is a determined boy |
| B．Rick used to have the same disease |
| C．Matthew became a champion finally |
| D．Rick regarded Matthew as normal |
The boy refused the author's medal because __________.
| A．he was not worthy of it |
| B．he would not be pitied by others |
| C．he knew he would die soon |
| D．he thought he himself could earn one in the future |
Motorists who used to listen to the radio or their favorite tunes on CDs may have a new way to entertain themselves, after engineers in Japan developed a musical road surface.
A team from the Hokkaido Industrial Research Institute has built a number of "melody roads," which use cars as tuning forks (音叉) to play music as they travel.
The concept works by using grooves (凹槽). They are cut at very specific intervals in the road surface. The melody road uses the spaces between to create different notes.
Depending on how far apart the grooves are, a car moving over them will produce a series of high or low notes, and designers are able to create a distinct tune.
Paten documents for the design describe it as notches (刻痕) "formed in a road surface so as to play a melody without producing simple sound or rhythm and reproduce melody—like tones".
There are three musical strips in central and northern Japan—one of which plays the tune of a Japanese pop song. Reports say the system was invented by Shizuo Shinoda. He scraped some markings into a road with a bulldozer (推土机) before driving over them and found that they helped to produce all kinds of tones.
The optimal speed for melody road is 44kph, but people say it is not always easy to get the intended sound.
"You need to keep the car windows closed to hear well," wrote one Japanese blogger. "Driving too fast will sound like playing fast forward, while driving around 12 mph [20km/h] has a slow-motion effect, making you almost car-sick." According to the passage, melody roads use __________ to create different notes.
| A．cars | B．grooves |
| C．spaces between intervals | D．bulldozers |
We can learn from the passage that the highness of notes is depended on __________.
| A．how far the grooves are | B．how big the grooves are |
| C．the number of the grooves | D．the speed of the car |
The underlined word "optimal" in the passage might mean __________.
| A．fastest | B．possible | C．best | D．suitable |
What's the best title of the passage?
| A．A New Type of Music | B．Melody Roads in Japan |
| C．A Musical Road Surface | D．A New Invention in Japan |
Daniel stays home on workdays. He starts his personal computer in order to connect with the office which is about three hundred miles away in another city. After work, he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder, or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Daniel doesn't talk to any other human beings, and he doesn't see any people except the ones on television. Daniel is imaginary, but his lifestyle is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from contact with our fellow human beings.
The world of business is one area in which technology is separating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their jobs at display terminals (终端) in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they're dealing with. In addition, the way employees are paid will change. Workers' salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts, making paper checks unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts. Many companies and consumers have already changed the way they sell or buy products. E-commerce, or business done on the Internet, is becoming more and more popular. This, therefore, makes it possible for people to do shopping without going out of their homes.
Another area that technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for example, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living-rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing as well. Movies used to be social events. Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living-rooms. After work, Daniel likes to __________.
| A．listen to music at the concert hall |
| B．watch a movie in his living-room |
| C．chat with his friends on the net |
| D．play baseball with his workmates |
The underlined sentence "Daniel is imaginary, but his lifestyle is very possible" means __________.
| A．Daniel is a person full of imagination and he can make his life colorful. |
| B．Daniel is not a real person but the lifestyle of his kind does exist. |
| C．Daniel is only an ordinary person but he has his own way of living. |
| D．Daniel is a model who makes full use of modern technology in life. |
What will the writer most probably discuss after the last paragraph?
| A．Games and sports | B．Personal banking |
| C．Music and films | D．International business |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．We may no longer need to communicate wit other human beings. |
| B．Modern technology seems to be separating human beings. |
| C．We may no longer need to work in the office. |
| D．Modern technology makes it possible for us to work and entertain ourselves at home. |
When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority (优先). This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into the iron music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception (感知) that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotional meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings "talk" to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, and our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize. According to Paragraph 1, students __________.
| A．regard music as a way of entertainment |
| B．disagree with their parents on education |
| C．view music as an overlooked subject |
| D．prefer the arts to science |
In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz as an example to __________.
| A．compare it with rock music |
| B．show music reflects a society |
| C．introduce American musical traditions |
| D．prove music influences people's lifestyles |
According to the passage, the arts and science __________.
| A．approach the world from different angles |
| B．explore different phenomena of the world |
| C．express people's feelings in different ways |
| D．explain what it means to be human differently |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Music education deserves more attention. |
| B．Music should be of top education priority. |
| C．Music is an effective communication tool. |
| D．Music education makes students more imaginative. |