RidingSchool:Youcanstarthorser-优题课

A young boy recently received an unexpected message in the mail from his father Joseph, who died two years ago.
Rowan's dad was a hardworking man who wanted to give his son the best life he could. It was why Rowan's mother, Julie Van Stone, said Joseph joined the Navy and went to MIT to get two masters degrees.
While at school in Boston, he would often write to Rowan. Even when he left school and was driving back to Colorado, he would send postcards from each state he stopped in. Those postcards were sent in 2007. "I remember him saying he had sent 5 or 6, and I only got 3 or 4 in the mail. But I never thought anything of it," Van Stone said.
Those postcards and pictures are priceless memories for Van Stone and her son, especially after Joseph passed away from a rare brain disease. Rowan never had a chance to say goodbye. But, on Saturday, just days before the two-year anniversary of Joseph's death, a postcard arrived in the mail. It arrived March 11, 2015. The message read: "Hello from Pennsylvania. I love you, and I miss you so much. See you soon. Love, Daddy."
Neither he nor his mother knows how it happened, and they may never know. But, they have their own ideas why. "I feel like that was the final goodbye that he didn't get to say," Van Stone said. Van Stone says Joseph's last words to her before he died were: "Everything is a circle. We will see each other again. All that matters is love."
What did Rowan’s dad do to give his son the best life?

A．He bought many for Julie.

B．He became a soldier in Navy.

C．He kept writing to his son.

D．He got many masters degrees.

How long did it take for the postcard to reach Rowan?

A．2 years.

B．5 years.

C．6 years.

D．8 years.

Where did Rowan’s dad send the postcard?
A. In Boston.B. In Colorada
B. In PennsylvaniaD. In New York

So you think you know your dog. But how well does your dog know you? She probably recognizes you when she sees you. But can a dog tell by simply looking at you whether you have a happy or an angry expression on your face? Researchers in Austria have taught pet dogs to know the difference.
Dogs are very mindful of sound. When dog owners shout or speak in a strong, unkind voice, dogs often act ashamed and quietly move away from the area.
Recently, researchers found that dogs can look at our faces, and tell the difference between a smile and a frown(皱眉). The animals were able to recognize a look of praise from one of blame.
Researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna performed a series of experiments. They taught dogs to recognize facial expressions. They showed the dogs two pictures of either the upper or lower half of a person's face. On one picture, the person looked happy. The other appeared angry.
The dogs were then shown images of the eyes or mouths of people they had never seen before. They were also shown the left half of the faces used in training.
Corsin Muller led the study. “We were really speaking, do they realize that smiling eyes have the same meaning as a smiling mouth, or angry eyes have the same meaning as an angry mouth? And it turned out that they really did perform very well in these research experiments.”
Once the dogs learned to recognize which image was happy or angry, they could easily find the same expressions in pictures of any face.
Corsin Muller says future studies will try to show whether dogs can learn the meaning of facial expressions―for example, whether a frown shows that someone is angry.
In the experiments, researchers found the dogs were slower to link a reward, or prize, with recognition of the angry face. This suggested that dogs had an idea people with angry faces were best avoided.
What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．How one can know his dog well.

B．How a dog can probably be well trained.

C．How a dog can tell one something.

D．How a dog can know one’s expressions.

Hearing its owner’s strong, unkind voice, a dog is likely to_________.

A．jump happily	B．act excitedly
C．escape quietly	D．shout loudly

A dog is able to recognize one’s __________.

A．praise	B．blame
C．anger	D．all of the above

What can we learn from the passage?

A．Dogs are as clever as human beings.

B．Dogs can understand man’s feelings.

C．Dogs can be trained to do everything.

D．Dogs can learn to make any angry face.

Below are four ads on the website.
lArtful Experience
It’s an artful experience even if you’re artistically challenged. Adults, teens, and children of all ages are welcome at Contemporary Art studio. We provide everything: stamps, idea books, a little coaching, and a lot of encouragement. Drop in anytime. It’s creative fun for everyone to paint your own pottery（陶器）! No experience needed. Our studio will show you how. It’s as easy as 1-2-3!
sumplastpl@hotmail.com
lChinese-English Translator
This is an excellent opportunity for recent graduates looking to put their Chinese skills to use.
Requirements: native speaker of English; business translation experience is preferred but not a must; able to fulfill several projects on time; excellent reading skills in Chinese. If interested, please email staff@young.com or call 453-268-130.
lAncient Object Market
Here you find a large variety of old European furniture, statues and paintings. We also offer a large selection of clocks in bronze, wood, white metal. Organizing buying tours based on the needs of our clients is something else we do. We pick you up from the airport, make hotel reservations and drive you around to the best wholesale(批发) dealers. Our email is artworkdeal@hotmail.com.
l_____________________
We are delighted to offer you an efficient and reasonably priced service of high-class car rentals （租赁）with qualified drivers. Suitable for your journeys to and/or from Rome’s airports or other destinations. We will be there to meet you on your arrival at the airport and drive you to your destination in complete safety and comfort. If you need the service, please call 668-556-429.
Contemporary Art studio is a place where_________.

A．one can enjoy many kinds of artworks

B．one can learn how to paint on pottery

C．one can make pottery by himself/herself

D．one can improve his/her painting skills greatly

Who may be suitable for a Chinese-English translator?

A．An American graduate who is good at Chinese.

B．A Chinese graduate who majored in business.

C．A Chinese college student who has good English writing skills.

D．An American college student who is interested in English translation.

If Mr. Black wants to buy a painting, he can__________.

A．send an email to sumplastpl@hotmail.com

B．send an email to artworkdeal@hotmail.com

C．call 453-268-130

D．call 668-556-429

Which of the following can be the best title for the fourth advertisement?

A．Nice Rome trips.

B．Airport Car Rentals With Drivers.

C．Cheap Car Tours.

D．Flight Service To Pick You Up

阅读理解。阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software.
If you come to visit, you'll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN (个人身份号码) to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it's dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest to you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings.
Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console(控制台), a small machine that turns things on and off around you.
The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console.
I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I've put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I've put in today.
I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, "How will I live without them?"
What does the passage mainly discuss?

A．How to develop a new system.

B．The function of the PIN.

C．A home for the future.

D．Easy life in the future.

What can’t be done in the writer’s new house according to the passage?

A．Turning on the lights.	B．Going swimming.
C．Getting a telephone call.	D．Playing music.

The writer's new house is different from ordinary ones mainly because _______.

A．it has your favorite music following you

B．you can make a telephone call anywhere

C．the writer is able to change his new idea into practice

D．it has been controlled by computers

What is the writer most likely to be according to the passage?

A．An IT expert	B．A famous doctor
C．An idealist	D．An experienced teacher

阅读理解。阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
“I never did hate the Yankees（北方佬）. All that I hated was the war...” That’s how my great-aunt Bettie began her story. I heard it many times as a child, whenever my family visited Aunt Bettie in the old house in Berryville, Virginia.
Bettie Van Metre had good reason to hate the Civil War. Her brother was killed at Gettysburg, and her husband, James, a Confederate（南方联盟军）officer, was taken prisoner and sent to an unknown prison camp somewhere.
One day in late September, Dick came to Bettie reporting that he had found a wounded Union soldier in a farmhouse half a mile away from the Van Metre home. When talking about her first sight of the man in the blood-spotted blue uniform, she always used the same words.“It was like walking into a nightmare: those awful bandages, that terrible smell.”She went out into the cool air, trying not to be sick at the thought of that smashed right hand, that missing left leg.
The man’s papers Bettie found in the farmhouse showed his identity: Henry Bedell, 30 years old. She knew that she should report the presence of this Union officer to the Confederate army, but she wouldn’t. This is how she explained it: “I kept wondering if he had a wife somewhere, hoping, and not knowing—just as I was. It seemed to me that the only thing that mattered was to get her husband back to her.”
Slowly, patiently, skillfully, Aunt Bettie fanned the spark of life in Henry Bedell. Of drugs or medicines she had almost none. And she was not willing to take any from the few supplies at the Confederate hospital. But she did the best she could with what she had.
The October nights in the valley grew cold. With the help of Dick and his wife, she moved the Union officer at night, to a hidden room above the warm kitchen of her own home. But the next day, Bedell had a high fever. Knowing that she must get help, she went to her family doctor, Graham Osborne. Dr. Osborne examined Bedell and said, “there was little hope unless proper medicines could be found.”
“I’ll get them from the Yankees at Harpers Ferry.” Bettie said. The doctor told her that Harpers Ferry was almost 20 miles away. Even if she reached them, the Yankees would never believe her. “I’ll take proof,” Bettie said. She found a blood-spotted paper bearing the official War Department seal （印章）. “When I show it, they’ll believe me.”
Early the next morning she set off with a list of medical items. For five hours she drove, stopping only to rest her horse. The sun was almost down when she finally stood before the general at Harpers Ferry. The general listened, but did not believe her. “Madam,” he said, “Bedell’s death was reported to us.” “He’s alive,” Bettie insisted. “But he won’t be much longer unless he has the medicines on that list.” “Well,” the general turned to a junior officer, “see that Mrs. Van Metre gets the supplies.”
With the medicines, Bedell gradually recovered. Ten days later he was walking with sticks. “I’d better go back as soon as possible.” Bedell told Bettie. So it was arranged that Dick should help Bettie deliver Bedell to Harpers Ferry in his wagon. Bedell lay down in a box filled with hay, his rifle and sticks beside him.
At Harpers Ferry, the soldiers were amazed when the Union officer with the missing leg rose from his hay-filled box. Bedell told the story to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who wrote a letter of thanks to Bettie and signed an order to free James Van Metre. It was arranged for Bedell to go with Bettie as she searched for her husband. Records showed that a James Van Metre had been sent to a prison camp in Ohio. Then at Fort Delaware, near the end of the line of prisoner, a tall man stepped out and walked clumsily into Bettie’s arms. Bettie held him, tears streaming down her face. And Henry Bedell, standing by on his sticks, wept, too.
What might be Bettie’s tone when she used the underlined sentence to describe the first sight of Henry Bedell？

A．Pessimistic

B．Desperate

C．Shocked

D．Sympathetic.

Why wouldn’t Bettie report the presence of Bedell to the Confederate army.

A．Because she felt it her responsibility to save soldiers of the Union.

B．Because she wanted to save Bedell so that her husband could be freed.

C．Because Bedell was more a suffering human being than an enemy to Bettie.

D．Because Bedell begged Bettie not to give him away to the Confederate army.

Dr. Osborn thought it was ______ of Bettie Van Metre to drive to Harpers Ferry for the medicines.

A．crazy

B．kind .

C．brave

D．smart

Still recovering, Henry Bedell decided to leave as soon as possible mainly because ______.

A．he was eager to return to the Union to fight

B．he didn’t want to go on putting Bettie in danger

C．hewas concerned about his safety at the Van Metre home

D．he could be treated with better medicines back at Harpers Ferry

Rearrange the following statements in terms of time order.
a. Bettie’s husband wasfound and freed.
b. Bettie helped deliver Bedell back to Harpers Ferry.
c. Bettie moved Bedell to a safe room in her own house.
d. Bettie drove all the way to Harpers Ferry to get the medicines for Bedell.
e. In spite of being short of medicines, Bettie attended to Bettie with what she had.
f. Bettie saw Bedell in a farmhouse half a mile away from her house for the first time.

A．f, e, c, b, d, a	B．f, c, e, d, b, a
C．f, e, c, d, b, a.	D．f, c, e, b, d, a

What message is conveyed through the end of the story.

A．Giving is a reward in itself.

B．Happiness comes from giving.

C．God helps those who help themselves.

D．Help yourself by helping others