IcametostudyintheUnitedStatesa-优题课

The events of Saturday night in Kunming are deeply engraved in the mind of Xie Qiming, who narrowly escaped death in the terrorist attack at the city's railway station.
The 48-year-old policeman intervened to stop the butchering of unarmed civilians, saving many from death and injury, but he was injured in the process.
Lying in a hospital bed, his head and nose marked by serious hacking wounds - one more than 20 centimeters long - Xie recounted（详细叙述） his actions on the day he describes as a nightmare.
"I shot at them but fell to the ground during the fighting. After the shots, the terrorists turned their attention to the police and several of them surrounded me and stabbed me like crazy," he said. "There is no humanity in them."
Xie is from the Beijinglu Police Station, the closest to the attack, and four police officers from the station were the first to respond. He survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, which was damaged by the attackers.
When the officers arrived, the attackers were running out of the ticket hall, attacking people with long knives.
Xie and his colleagues tried to stop the attack, which is when Xie was injured. In addition to the deep cuts, his skull was fractured, and at the time of writing he was awaiting further surgery.
"A wave of fierce anger rose up in my mind, and we all forgot to think about the possible danger to us," said Hu Zhe, 23, a police officer trainee at the Beijinglu Police Station.
Having no firearm, he fought the terrorists with a wooden baton, but it got broken in the fighting. He sustained a 6-centimeter wound to his left eyebrow.
Wan Weiqing, a neurosurgeon from Beijing Tiantan Hospital, learned of the attack at 2 am on Sunday and took the first flight to Kunming, where he has been helping the victims.
He said that 71 victims are being treated at the Kunming First People's Hospital, most of them with severe multiple injuries.
"There is one victim whose rib, breastbone, lung and even heart were all injured in one chopping action. The attackers had obviously prepared and practiced for a long time," he said.
Zhou Hongmei, director of the Medical Reform Office at the Yunnan Health Department, said a team of medical experts including 29 doctors had arrived in Kunming by Monday night. They have been working at the five hospitals treating victims of the attack.
Chen Min, a Neurology Department nurse at Kunming First People's Hospital, said the department usually had seven nurses in the daytime and three at night. "But all the other nurses who were not on duty returned to the hospital voluntarily on Saturday night," she said.
In the past three days, none of them had more than 10 hours of rest.
"The crucial factor in saving lives in such incidents is treatment without delay," said Chai Wenzhao, associate director of the Intensive Care Unit in the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Chai has participated in many emergency rescue efforts.
He said that the victims will need psychological counseling once their physical injuries have been dealt with, because the emotional impact of such an incident can be severe.
Four psychologists from Anding Hospital in Beijing have begun treating some of the victims.
When did the terrorist attack happen?

A．on Saturday afternoon	B．on Sunday night
C．Three days before the report came out.	D．Just before the report was written.

Which of the following is true about Xie Qiming?

A．He was the first to arrive at the scene.

B．He was waiting for surgery when the report was writing.

C．He was slightly wounded.

D．He tried to stop the attack all by himself.

What does the underlined word “engraved” mean in the passage?

A．feared

B．disapointed

C．attacked

D．impressed

How did Xie Qiming survive?

A．He was saved by his colleagues.

B．He missed the shot and fell to the ground during the fighting.

C．He was protected by his bulletproof vest.

D．He pretended to fall to the ground.

What can we learn from Zhou Hongmei,?

A．the victims will need psychological treatment, because the emotional impact of such an incident can be severe.

B．Victims of the attack have been treated by .a team of medical experts.

C．Treatment without delay should be given to save lives in such incidents .

D．The attackers had obviously prepared and practiced for a long time,

What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Survivors recount nightmare

B．Many people was injured in the attack

C．A terrorist attack happned in Kunming.

D．Police stopped the terrorist attack.

Three “Great Walls” built around the United States’ Tornado Alley could reduce tornadoes from destroying billions of dollars in property and endangering millions of lives, a physicist has claimed.
Professor Rongjia Tao of Temple University, Philadelphia unveiled a proposal this week calling for the construction of three 1,000-foot barriers up to 100 miles long, which would act like hill ranges and soften winds before tornadoes could form, the BBC reports.
The $16.9 billion plan would call for the faux hill ranges in North Dakota, along the border between Kansas and Oklahoma, and in Texas and Louisiana, ostensibly saving billions of dollars in damage every year, Tao said. The walls would not shelter towns, he said, but instead would soften the streams of hot southern and cold northern air that form tornadoes when they clash in the first place.
But critics laughed at Tao’s proposals. Leading tornado experts pointed to areas that are already protected by hill ranges the size of the barriers Tao is proposing, yet still have plenty of tornados, like parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. And even if the plan did work, it would create more problems than it would solve, scientists said, by creating catastrophic weather side effects.
“Everybody I know is of 100% agreement – this is a poorly conceived idea,” Professor Joshua Wurman of the Center for Severe Weather Research. “From what I can gather his concept of how tornadoes form is fundamentally flawed（有缺陷的）. Meteorologists（气象学家） cringe（尴尬） when they hear about ‘clashing（交锋） hot and cold air’. It’s a lot more complicated than that.”
What does the underlined word “unveiled”mean in the fourth paragraph？

A．reminded

B．came up with

C．referred

D．applied

What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．The different opinions on the proposal that the walls will reduce the loss caused by tornadoes.

B．How to solve the problems that are caused by tornadoes.

C．The proposal mentioned in the paragragh is totally wrong.

D．The proposal to reduce tornadoes is effective.

From the passage, we can infer that__________.

A．the tornadoes form by clashing（交锋） hot and cold air.

B．if the walls are built, they will work well.

C．if the plan is carried out, we will have more problems than expected.

D．The walls not only soften the winds but also shelter the towns.

Which of following statements is true according to the passage？

A．Leading tornado experts think that would soften the streams of hot southern and cold northern air that form tornadoes.

B．Professor Joshua Wurman pointed out that the plan will be expensive.

C．Professor Rongjia Tao is against the construction of walls to prevent the tornadoes.

D．the plan will not be carried out because it will creating serious weather side effects.

Hawking's Five Easy Steps for Making Yourself a Genius
As we all know，Stephen Hawking writes the book A Brief History of Time that explains the
origin of the universe. The book spent 147 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List and has
sold 10 million copies. He is，most agree，very smart.
In his recently published autobiography My Brief History，Hawking offers five life lessons on
how to become a genius.
1)Don’t miss opportunities by being too cool
“We showed an air of complete boredom and the feeling that nothing was worth making an
effort for. One result of my illness has been to change all that. When you are faced with the
possibility of an early death, it makes you realize that life is worth living and that there are lots of
things you want to do. ”Seize the moment，as Oxford types would say.
2)Keep it simple
When writing A Brief History of Time，he tried to make science understandable for the rest of
us. “I was sure that nearly everyone is interested in how the universe operates，but most people
cannot follow mathematical equations(数学公式). ”He has trouble with them，too. “This is
partly because it is difficult for me to write them down，but mainly because I don't have an inborn
feeling for equations. My aim in the book was to describe these mental images in words. It is
such an easy book that everybody can understand it.” The moral：You don't have to be a genius to know everything.
3）Have fun
Hawking has a long history of being a joker，and he has placed lots of bets with other
scientists on the nature of black holes. One was with Cal-Tech scientist John Preskill. After
paying off his bet by giving Preskill a baseball encyclopedia，Hawking wrote，“but maybe I should
have just given him the ashes. ”So lighten up! Geniuses like bad jokes too.
4) Always look for a silver lining (even if you are seriously ill)
Hawking's disease has slowly robbed him of the ability to walk，move his arms，even speak.
But，Hawking says，“in some ways I guess my disability has been an assist：I haven't had to
lecture or teach students, and I haven't had to sit in meetings. So I have been able to devote
myself completely to research.”In other words，Hawking was given lemons，and he made
Champagne.
5)Don’t work too hard at school
……
The passage tells us the facts about A Brief History of Time EXCEPT that ________.

A．it included Hawking's five life lessons on how to become a genius

B．it has sold 10 million copies up to now

C．it spent 147 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List

D．it explained the origin of the universe

According to the passage，which of the following statements is guiding you to be a genius?

A．Place lots of bets with your friends.

B．Find something good even in bad situations.

C．Seize the moment to learn everything.

D．Get to know everything including math equations.

Hawking shows his viewpoint by ____________.

A．making comparisons	B．quoting a famous saying
C．talking about his own experience	D．listing the numbers and equations

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Beijing will take a series of measures to tackle its environmental problems and is confident they will not derail its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, an official said on Thursday.
Beijing has formulated 84 measures to deal with environmental issue and air pollution, said Li Shixiang, Beijing's executive vice mayor, at the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress, the top legislature.
Beijing is expected to cut its current coal consumption by more than half to 10 million tonnes a year by 2017. It will also impose tough controls over industrial pollution and dust fall from construction sites, while reducing the number of newly added vehicles every year to 150,000, said Li.
He said the Chinese capital will benefit from the experience of successfully holding the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Beijing and Zhangjiakou City in neighboring Hebei Province will launch a joint bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) announced in early November 2013.
Beijing will bid to stage the ice events while Zhangjiakou will seek hosting rights for snow sports, according to the COC.
Beijing has been plagued by choking smog and it is a great concern for its chances of hosting the Winter Olympics.
What does the underlined word “plagued”mean in the last paragraph？

A．annoyed

B．destroyed

C．striked

D．broken

Which statement is true according to the passage？

A．Beijing will cut its current coal consumption.

B．Beijing will reduce the number of newly added vehicles every year.

C．Beijing will firmly control industrial pollution and dust fall from construction sites.

D．Smog will hurt Beijing's Winter Olympics bid.

A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly，courteous and helpful most Americans were to them．To be fair，this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians，and should best be considered North American．There are，of course，exceptions．Small-minded officials，rude waiters，and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US．Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment．For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence．
Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another．Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion，and brought news of the outside world．The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality．
Someone traveling alone，if hungry，injured，or ill，often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement．It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers．It reflected the harshness of daily life： if you didn‘t take in the stranger and take care of him，there was no one else who would．And someday，remember，you might be in the same situation．Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler．Yet，the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US，especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails．“I was just traveling through，got talking with this American，and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner—amazing．” Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon，but are not always understood properly．

In the eyes of visitors from the outside world，___________．

A．rude taxi drivers are rarely seen in the US

B．small-minded officials deserve a serious comment

C．Canadians are not so friendly as their neighbors

D．most Americans are ready to offer help

It could be inferred from the last paragraph that ___________．

A．culture exercises an influence over social interrelationship

B．courteous convention and individual interest are interrelated

C．various virtues manifest themselves exclusively among friends

D．social interrelationships equal the complex set of cultural conventions

Families in frontier settlements used to entertain strangers ___________．

A．to improve their hard life

B．in view of their long-distance travel

C．to add some flavor to their own daily life

D．out of a charitable impulse

The tradition of hospitality to strangers ___________．

A．tends to be superficial and artificial

B．is generally well kept up in the united States

C．is always understood properly

D．has something to do with the busy tourist trails

What’s the author’s attitudes toward the American‘s friendliness？

A．Favorable．	B．Unfavorable．
C．Indifferent．	D．Neutral．