Formanyyears,noonecouldcommuni-优题课

Have you ever been to the beautiful country of Holland and its capital Amsterdam? Anyone who has traveled to Amsterdam would probably agree on one thing: Amsterdam's story is a tale of two cities -- one during the day and a completely different one at night．
During the day, the largest city in the Netherlands sits quietly on the Amstel River．You can rent a bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a water taxi．But when the sun goes down, the partying begins．In the big clubs and in coffee shops, tourists gather to hang out, talk politics and smoke．
Several areas of the city clearly show the two worlds that rule Amsterdam．And they're all within a short cab ride of each other．For example, Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers to its festivals, open markets, concerts and other events．Several beautiful and very popular hotels can be found there．And there's the Royal Palace and the Magna Plaza shopping mall．
But at night party-seekers come to the square．Hip hop or funk music is heard there．．So if you come, be ready to dance．The clubs don't shut down until 4 am．
And while you're there, check out the various inexpensive ways to tour the city．Don't worry about getting lost．Although Dutch is the official language, most people in Amsterdam speak English and are happy to help you with directions．And you'll notice that half the people in the streets are on bicycles they rent．
Amsterdam also has a well-planned canal system．For about 10 dollars, you can use the canal bus or a water taxi to cruise（巡游） the "Venice of the North"．
The city has a historic past．One impressive place to visit is the Anne Frank House on Nine Streets．It was there that the young Jewish girl wrote her famous diary during World War II．Visitors can view Anne's original diary and climb behind the bookcase to the room where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years．
What means of transport is not available to visitors in Amsterdam?

A．A carriage．

B．A bicycle．

C．A canal bus．

D．A water taxi．

When getting lost, a visitor can ask natives for directions in_______．

A．only Dutch	B．Dutch or English
C．only English	D．Spanish and English

What can you learn about by visiting the Anne Frank House?

A．The experience of a beautiful girl survivor．

B．The glorious past of Amsterdam．

C．The life of Jewish during World War Ⅱ．

D．The suffering of the Dutch in wars．

The passage is intended to_______．

A．call up people’s memories of World War Ⅱ

B．tell readers what A Tale of Two Cities is about

C．instruct visitors what to do and see in Holland

D．offer readers some information about Amsterdam

Elizabeth and I are 18 now, and about to graduate．I think about our elementary-school friendship, but some memories have blurred （模糊）．What happened that day in the fifth grade when Beth suddenly stopped speaking to me? Does she know that I've been thinking about her for seven years? If only we could go back, and discover what ended our relationship．
I have to speak with Beth．I see her sometimes, and find out school is "fine"．It's not the same．It never will be．Someone says that she's Liz now．What happened to Beth?
I can't call her．Should I write? What if she doesn't answer me? How will I know what she's thinking?
Yes, I'll write her a letter．These things are easier to express in writing．" Be-," no, " Li-," no, " Elizabeth," I begin．The words flow freely, as seven year old memories are reborn．I ask her all the questions that have been left unanswered in my mind, and pray she will answer．I seal my thoughts in the perfect white envelope, and imagine Beth looking into her mailbox．Will she know why I'm writing? Maybe she once thought of writing the same letter．
As the mailman takes my envelope from me forever, I wonder if I've made the right decision．Do I have the right to force myself into Beth's life again? Am I simply part of the past? I have taken the first step．Beth has control of the situation now．
One day has passed．Are my words lying on the bottom of the post office floor?
Two days are gone．I'm lost in thought and don't even hear the phone ting．
"Hello? It's Elizabeth．"
What can we learn about Beth?

A．She had a quarrel with the author in the fifth grade．

B．She moved to another school in the fifth grade．

C．She is now called Liz instead of Beth．

D．She hasn't seen the author for seven years．

Why does the author decide to write a letter instead of calling?

A．She is sure that Beth will not answer．

B．She's afraid that they'll quarrel on the phone．

C．She doesn't know Beth's telephone number．

D．It is easier to express her feelings in writing．

Which of the following the author might NOT mention in her letter?

A．Their elementary-school friendship．

B．Her future plan after graduation．

C．Her expectations for Beth's reply．

D．The questions about the endings of their friendship．

What might happen at the end of the story?

A．Beth answers her letter two days later．

B．The letter doesn't reach Beth at all．

C．They make up their friendship．

D．Beth refuses to make peace with her．

A new study has been carried to test the role of story telling in lowering blood pressure．Dr．Thomas Houston, a professor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, led a group of scientists that investigated how pre-recorded videos of hypertension （高血压） patients' talking about their medical histories helped another group of patients with high blood pressure to control their condition over several months．
Houston was surprised by their studies that suggested that communication can be a powerful tool in medicine．They showed that those who had had similar experiences, when talking to someone with a similar background, could help change their behavior to become healthier．Hypertension is difficult to control, since it is dependent on diet, exercise and mental state．Medical treatments with drugs, and lifestyle therapies（疗法） have been relatively ineffective because people find it hard to follow those medical requirements．
In the test, his team carefully chose their story-tellers from 230 members of a patients' community with whom they could most easily relate．Next, they divided their study population into two groups．One received three interactive （互动） DVDs containing the tellers' stories of their experiences in living with and treating their hypertension．The other were given educational discs on an unrelated health topic．The study volunteers reported that they had listened to the DVDs, and after three months, those who heard the stories of the hypertensive patients lowered their blood pressure．
While the study did not address how the story-telling influenced the patients' behavior, Houston suspects that watching patients of similar backgrounds who had a similar medical experience helped to motivate them to seek medical help to their hypertension．They found that after six months the difference in blood pressure between those who watched the story-tellers and those who observed the unrelated videos remained, suggesting that the story-telling continued to have an effect．
We can learn from the text that the pre-recorded videos _________．

A．tell medical histories of hypertension patients

B．introduce some medical treatments of hypertension

C．introduce a good lifestyle for hypertensive patients

D．tell scientific discoveries of the scientist group

Houston was surprised to find that _______．

A．hypertension is really difficult to control

B．communication has some medical effects

C．medical treatments have

no effect at all

D．people don't follow the medical requirements

Which of the following is true about the study?

A．The scientists chose 230 patients from a hospital．

B．Both the groups used the same videos about health topic．

C．The two groups lowered blood pressure in different degrees．

D．The story-tellers were hypertension pat

ients as well．

Which of the following could be the best title of the text?

A．The stories of some hypertension patients．

B．Medical treatments of blood pressure．

C．Storytelling may help lower blood pressure．

D．Suggestions about how to lower blood pressure．

The story begins with fishing.
Once a boy and his father went fishing before bass (a kind of special fish) season opened. They were fishing early in the evening, catching other fish with worms. Then the boy tied on a small silver lure (鱼饵) and put it into the lake. Suddenly he felt that something very big pulling on the lure. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully brought the fish beside the bank. Finally he lifted the tired fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass(the special fish).
The boy and his father looked at the big fish. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 pm – two hours before the bass season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. “You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said.
“Dad!” cried the boy, “There will be other fish,” said his father. “Not as big as this one,” cried the boy. He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were in sight in the moonlight. He looked again at his father.
Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he had caught the fish, the boy could tell from his father’s voice that the decision couldn’t be changed. He threw the huge bass into the black water. The big fish disappeared. The boy thought that he would never again see such a big fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today the boy is a successful architect in New York City. He often takes his own son and daughters to fish at the same place.
And he was right. He has never again caught such a large fish as the one he got that night long ago. But he does see that same fish … again and again … every time he has an ethical decision to make. For, as his father had taught him, ethics (伦理道德)are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult.
What happened when the big fish turned out to be a bass?

A．The boy threw the bass back into the water willingly.

B．The boy and his father discussed what to do with the big fish.

C．The father lit a match in order to check the time.

D．They worried other fishermen may discover what they had done.

From the text we know that the father _____.

A．disliked the huge fish	B．was firm and stubborn
C．didn’t love his son	D．always disagreed with his son

The successful architect went fishing with his children at the same place because _____.

A．they might catch a big fish there

B．he was taught a moral lesson there

C．it was a mo

st popular fishing spot

D．their children enjoyed fishing there

What does the story imply?

A．An ethical decision is always easy to make.

B．It is easy to say something, but difficult to do.

C．It’s hard to tell right from wrong sometimes

D．Fishing can help one to make right decisions

What kind of the person the father is?

A．kind

B．honest

C．optimistic

D．satisfied

Father Maurice Chase used a special way to celebrate his 90th birthday. The Catholic priest（神父） took $ 15,000 in cash to Los Angeles’ Skid Row (贫民区) and gave it away. Twenty wheelchair – bound people received $100 bills, while the rest received $1to $ 3 each．
“I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them and that some one is concerned about them,” Chase said．
Chase has given away cash and blessings every Sunday at the same corner for 24 years．Several hundred people wait for him every week．
He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on dirty sidewalks．
“ It’s the place that makes me the happiest．I just love it,” said Chase. “I look forward to coming here.”
The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his work as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University．
The crowd broke into choruses of “Happy Birthday” several times. Some people presented him birthday cards, to his delight．
Travis Kemp, a 51 – year – old disabled man with long black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive $ 100. He said he had no special plans for spending the money. “He has a lot of respect from me,” Kemp said. “I know I couldn’t do it.”
On his 90 th birthday, Chase．

A．handed out cash to the needy

B．collected money for poor people

C．visited poor people’s homes with gifts

D．held a party at Los Angeles’ Skid Row

Which of the following makes Chase feel the happiest?

A．Celebrating his birthday with his neighbours．

B．Working in Loyola Marymount University．

C．Celebrating Christmas with the people he has helped．

D．Going to Los Angeles’ Skid Row to help people there．

What’s the source of the money Chase used to help people?

A．All his savings．

B．His earnings as a Catholic priest．

C．Donations from the wealthy and celebrities(名人)．

D．Donations from Loyol

a Marymount University．

Travis Kemp is mentioned in the text to show ．

A．he was the luckiest person on that day

B．the disabled need to be taken care of

C．Chase is greatly appreciated by the needy

D．even old people came to celebrate Chase’s birthday

Which statement is CORRECT according to the passage?

A．Every recipient could get $100 in cash from Father Maurice Chase．

B．Father Maurice Chase gave the cash away not only on his birthday but also on other occasions．

C．Although Father Maurice Chase gave the cash away on his birthday, he didn’t receive anything in return．

D．Father Maurice Chase earned a lot of money as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University．

A．how the deaf communicate	B．leaning to spell
C．teaching the deaf to speak	D．writing sign language