Nineteenth-century writers in the United States, whether they wrote novels, short stories, poems or plays, were powerfully drawn to the railroad in its golden years. In fact, writers responded to the railroads as soon as the first were built in the 1830’s. By the 1850’s, the railroad was a major presence in the life of the nation. Writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David saw the railroad both as a boon(要求) to democracy(民主国家) and as an object of suspicion. The railroad could be and was a despoiler(掠夺者) of nature, furthermore, in its manifestation of speed and noise. It might be a despoiler of human nature as well. By the 1850’s and 1860’s, there was a great distrust among writer and intellectuals of the rapid industrialization of which the railroad was a leading force. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.
For the most part, the literature in which the railroad plays and important role belong to popular culture rather than to the realm of serious art. One thinks of melodramas, boys’ books, thrillers, romances, and the like rather than novels of the first rank. In the railroads’ prime years, between 1890 and 1920, there were a few individuals in the United States, most of them with solid railroading experience behind them, who made a profession of writing about railroading—works offering the ambience of stations, yards, and locomotive cabs. These writers, who can genuinely be said to have created a genre, the “railroad novel”, are now mostly forgotten, their names having faded from memory. But anyone who takes the time to consult their fertile writings will still find a treasure trove of information about the place of the railroad in the life of the United States.The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to______.
| A．railroad | B．manifestation | C．speed | D．nature |
In the first paragraph, the author implies that writers’ reactions to the development of railroads were______.
| A．highly enthusiastic | B．both positive and negative | C．unchanging | D．Disinterested |
According to the passage, the railroad played a significant role in literature in all of the following kinds of books except_______.
| A．thrillers | B．boys’ books | C．romances | D．important novels |
The phrase “first rank” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to______.
| A．largest category(类别) | B．highest quality | C．earliest writers | D．most difficult language |
Which of the following topics is the main idea of passage?
| A．The role of the railroad in the economy of the USA |
| B．Major nineteenth century writers |
| C．The conflict between expanding industry and preserving nature |
| D．The railroad as a subject for literature |
The evolution of the first animals may have oxygenated（供氧）Earth's oceans. New research
led by the University of Exeter challenges the long held belief that oxygenation of the atmosphere and oceans was a precondition for the evolution of complex life forms.
The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, builds on the recent work of scientists in Denmark who found that sponges（海绵动物）一the first animals to evolve一require only small amounts of oxygen.
Professor Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter, who led the new study, said: "We argue that the evolution of the first animals could have played a key role in the widespread oxygenation of the deep oceans. This in turn may have facilitated the evolution of more complex, mobile animals."
Critical to determining oxygen levels in the deep ocean is the balance of oxygen supply and demand. Demand for oxygen is created by the sinking of dead organic material into the deep ocean. The new study argues that the first animals reduced this supply of organic matter一both directly and indirectly.
Sponges feed by pumping water through their bodies, "digesting" the tiny particles of organic matter, and thus helping oxygenate the shelf seas that they live in. By oxygenating more of the bottom waters, the first animals actually increased the removal of the essential nutrient phosphorus（磷）in the ocean. This in turn reduced the productivity of the whole ocean ecosystem, lowering oxygen demand and thus oxygenating the deep ocean.
A more oxygen-rich ocean created ideal conditions for more complex mobile animals to evolve, because they have a higher requirement for oxygen. These included the first predatory（肉食的）animals with guts（内脏）that started to eat one another, marking the beginning of the type of food webs we are familiar with today.
Professor Simon Poulton of the University of Leeds, who is a co-author of the study, added: "This study provides a possible mechanism for ocean oxygenation without the requirement for a rise in atmospheric oxygen. It therefore questions whether the long-standing belief that there was a major rise in atmospheric oxygen at this time is correct. We simply don't know the answer to this at present, which is ultimately key to understanding how our planet evolved to its current habitable state. Geochemists need to come up with new ways to explain oxygen levels on the early Earth."The underlined word "facilitated" in Para. 3 is closest in meaning to＿＿．
| A．prevented | B．promoted | C．interrupted | D．witnessed |
From paragraphs 4 to 6, we can infer that＿＿．
| A．phosphorus can keep the productivity of the ocean ecosystem |
| B．complex animals consume the same amount of oxygen as sponges |
| C．the sinking of dead organic material into the deep ocean produces oxygen |
| D．the existence of the first animals marks the beginning of modern food webs |
From the last paragraph, we can learn Pro. Simon Poulton believes that＿＿．
| A．their study gives a new explanation for the high oxygen content in the air |
| B．oxygen increased greatly in the air as the first animals oxygenated the oceans |
| C．their study answers the question of how the earth evolved to the present state |
| D．ocean oxygenation does not necessarily require a rise in atmospheric oxygen |
The main purpose of the passage is to＿＿．
| A．present the view that the first animals played an active role in oxygenating oceans |
| B．introduce two opposite opinions on how the first animals oxygenated oceans |
| C．analyze how atmospheric oxygen stepped up the evolution of oceanic animals |
| D．explain how oceanic oxygen determines the amount of atmospheric oxygen |
Nothing gets the heart racing like a new roller coaster, and theme parks keep building them higher, faster and, well, just cooler than ever before. Here are five hot new coasters opening for the 2014 summer season.
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Thunderbolt was built in New York in 1925． |
| B．Goliath will not be built as a high coaster. |
| C．Magic Kingdom provides a short musical journey. |
| D．Banshee is the first female-inspired theme park ride. |
Which roller coaster is most likely to attract people who like adventure and excitement?
| A．Banshee. |
| B．Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. |
| C．Goliath. |
| D．Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott. |
We can learn from the passage that
| A．the five new roller coasters are made of the same materials |
| B．Banshee is the first of the roller coasters built by a woman |
| C．King Island is a branch of the company named Cedar Fair |
| D．the roller coaster in Orlando is located in the city of London |
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC)一A Santa Monica High School teacher who was put on
leave after using physical force to control a student who was selling marijuana（大麻）in his classroom has received surprising support on Facebook. The incident was captured on video and has caused a sudden reaction from parents, teachers, students and even graduates. They are showing their support for Black. A Facebook page supporting "Coach Black" has over 4,700 likes. And many want him back in the classroom.
Student witnesses say Mark Black, who is also the wrestling coach, tried to confiscate（没收）a bag of marijuana and was then injured by the student with a pencil. The cellphone video shows Black locking the student's legs and pinning the student to the ground. "He just wanted him to stop and he was trying to be a teacher and help, and I don't think it was his fault." said student Kylan Townsend.
School Board member Oscar De La Tone says Mr. Black is one of his teachers at Santa Monica High School. "I know him very well. I know him to be a fair person, a good person, someone who cares deeply about his students," said De La Torre. He says that the video does not tell the whole story and that the incident brings to light the issue of drug use, something the district needs to address.
But in an email to parents, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Sandra Lyon says the teacher's behavior is "absolutely alarming." She put Black on leave during an independent investigation.
Lyon has come under fire from parents for initially saying the kind of physical action used by the teacher was unacceptable. On Saturday, Lyon released the following statement to Eyewitness News: "I want to stress that teachers are at times confronted with difficult, even threatening situations, and they must make judgment calls to protect safety. I want to emphasize that putting the teacher who was involved in this incident on leave until completion of an independent investigation is a matter of standard policy and practice; it in no way prejudices the outcome of the investigation."
Students hope the situation will have a quick and just resolution. An online petition（请原书) pas also peen createu by one of Black's former students. The petition has already gained thousands of signatures.Black did not respond to a request for comment.What does the cellphone video on Facebook disclose?
| A．Mark Black injured a student with a pencil. |
| B．Mark Black wrestled with a student in his class. |
| C．Mark Black confiscated a bag and locked a student. |
| D．Mark Black controlled a student with physical force. |
In the fifth paragraph, the underlined word "it" refers to＿＿．
| A．making judgment calls to protect safety |
| B．putting the teacher involved on leave |
| C．completion of an independent investigation |
| D．a matter of standard policy and practice |
From the passage, we can infer that＿＿
| A．the people involved in the matter support Mark Black |
| B．Mark Black will be eventually fired by the School Board |
| C．Sandra Lyon won some support from parents initially |
| D．no decision has been made from the investigation yet |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Teacher Put on Leave Receives Support |
| B．Thousands Come and Sign the Petition |
| C．School Teacher Wrestled with Student |
| D．Cellphone Video on the Facebook Page |
一Did you go to Taylor Swift's concert last night?
一I would rather I＿＿．But I was preparing a report for my boss.
| A．did | B．had |
| C．would | D．might |
People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver. Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida, Nevada and California. They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road. The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars, which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August. Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state. “Today we’re looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow’s reality—the driverless car.” The technology for these cars includes cameras, radar and motion sensors. The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the US government agency DARPA. Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races.
“Cars have become much more fuel-efficient, and new electronic features are making Hondas safer,” said Angie Nucci of Honda America. “A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes.” Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars. These systems help drivers, but don’t replace them. Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．
“By taking out drivers, you also remove most risks of an accident,” Kendall said. He said consumers, however, may be unwilling to lose control. “It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable, but it will have to prove itself first.”
Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable. He said this will happen as the technology is improved.What can we learn from Paragraph l?
A. Volvo will be the first to sell driverless cars.
B. Driverless cars are pointing us a faraway future.
C. Driverless vehicles are now legal in the whole USA.
D. Google’s self-driving cars have covered a long distance.We learn that Governor of California Jerry Brown_________.
| A．helped design self-driving cars |
| B．supports self-driving cars on roads |
| C．considers self-driving cars science fiction |
| D．improved the self-driving car systems |
According to Richard Mason, what is the biggest challenge for driverless cars?
| A．They are not allowed to run on the road. |
| B．Their technical problems remain to be solved. |
| C．They are now too expensive for consumers. |
| D．They are more dangerous for people on the street. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Benefits of the Self-driving Cars |
| B．The Biggest Challenge of the Self-driving Cars |
| C．Safer or More Dangerous Self-driving Cars |
| D．Self-driving Cars—Science Fiction Future Is Near |