“You know, these cups bring to mind a tea quote(说法) I heard.” Mary’s aunt said.
She poured tea. There were four of them and there were four totally different cups on the table.
They took their tea cups.
“What quote?” Mary asked.
“Well, maybe I should rather say it is a story,” aunt said, “I heard that there was a wise teacher who took all his students for tea. They were surprised that all the cups on the table were different. Each of them took a cup and started drinking their tea, each looking at the cups of others. The teacher let them do that for a while and then said,‘ Do you notice your behavior? You are all looking at each other’s tea cup and I can see some of you with the broken ones are even envious(羡慕的) of the finer cups of others. Is this not so?’ ”
The students agreed, amused by their own behavior.
“You may have wondered why you all had different cups, but I put them here on purpose. You see they represent (代表) life itself. Life is like that tea and the cups are like the physical circumstances(状况) of your life. You all got the same thing in your cups — tea. And yet you can not truly enjoy it in your envy of another’s cup. It’s just the same with life. You forget to enjoy your own life when you concentrate on envying the circumstances of someone else’s life.
So now, close your eyes, and taste your own tea. Really taste it. And tell me — did it matter from which cup it came from?”
Aunt finished telling her short tea story and they all sat in silence for a while, tasting their tea. A sleepy fly buzzed(嗡嗡作响) past, a bird sang in the tree. And it really did not matter one bit from which tea cup they drank. When the students found they had different tea cups, they_____________.
| A．were satisfied with their own cup |
| B．were angry about the broken cups they had been given |
| C．asked the teacher to get new cups for them |
| D．were curious about the difference between the cups |
From the text, we know that _____________.
| A．the teacher prepared different tea cups for each student |
| B．the teacher should have given the students the same cups |
| C．the teacher made the tea cups different by mistake. |
| D．each student took their time to choose a cup they liked |
According to the passage, by comparing the cups to the physical circumstances of people’s life, the teacher meant that people_______.
| A．should try different ways of life |
| B．shouldn’t focus on envy others’ physical circumstances |
| C．can never change their physical circumstances |
| D．should work hard for a better life |
In the passage the teacher’s message to the students was that _______.
| A．life is hard and boring for everyone |
| B．it is strange to be envious of the lives of others |
| C．everyone should learn to enjoy his own life |
| D．people act differently in different circumstances |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．More than tea in a cup | B．The value of tea |
| C．Tea vs cup | D．Enjoying tea with a broken cup |
I am a strong believer that if a child is raised with approval, he will learn to love himself and will be successful in his own way.
Several weeks ago, I was doing homework with my son in the third grade and he kept standing up from his chair to go over the math lines. I kept asking him to sit down, telling him that he would concentrate better. He sat but seconds later, as if he didn’t even notice he was doing it, he got up again. I was getting frustrated, but then it hit me. I started noticing his answers were much quicker and accurate (准确的) when he stood up. Could he be more intent (专心的) while standing up?
This made me start questioning myself and what I had been raised to believe. I was raised to believe that a quiet, calm child was a sure way to success. This child would have the discipline (纪律) to study hard, get good grades and become someone important in life.
Now those same people perhaps come to realize that their kids are born with their own sets of DNA and personality traits (特点) and all you can do is loving and accepting them. As parents, throughout their growing years and beyond that, we need to be our kids’ best cheer leaders, guiding them and helping them find their way.
I have stopped asking my son to sit down and concentrate. Obviously, he is concentrating just in his own way and not mine. We need to learn to accept our kids’ ways of doing things. Some way may have worked for me but doesn’t mean we need to carry it through generations. There is nothing sweeter than being individual (个人的) and unique (独一无二的). It makes us free and happy and that’s just the way I want my kids to live their own life.At the beginning, the author tried to keep his son seated in order to make him _____.
| A．pay more attention to his study | B．keep silent in the room |
| C．finish his homework on time | D．get right answers |
Inspired by the case of his son, the author began to doubt ________.
| A．the importance of parents |
| B．the old form of education |
| C．the relationship between kids and their parents |
| D．the good grades of some kids |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is right?
A. We should help kids correct their wrong ways.
B. Parents should study their kids’ DNA.
C. Kids should be taught to behave themselves.
D. Parents should love and accept their kids.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
| A．Study hard and you’ll be successful |
| B．Be friendly to your children |
| C．Children’s success in their own style |
| D．Parents’ help with their children’s study |
I remembered that when I was a little child, I used to look for Sunday of the week. Yes, I was so looking forward to an adventure.
Now, I still have a strong affinity for buses. I used to wonder where those gigantic (巨大的) buses finally stopped. On sunshine Sundays, that’s my adventure times. He took me to the bus stop. Time passed, while I was growing impatient, he was smiling, as he always does.
It was really not that easy to get on a bus as often as we do today. I was so worried that the bus driver would have missed us. I waved my hands so high with all my strength. I looked hopefully at him. He didn’t move at all. He was still standing. It seemed that the late and infrequent coming of the bus wasn’t any trouble to him at all.
He took my hand. We managed to find seats on the upper deck. I was so excited. Only sitting beside the windows made me happy. Looking at the rewinding buildings, streets and people through windows from a higher ground was so much fun. Then, he was sitting peacefully by me and whispered to me where the bus finally would stop. I was curious about what would be the next stop of our destination as much as what really means something to him.[]
That is me. I know now. I am all he cares. He wants me to be happy, as he always does. That’s the strong bond between father and son. Childhood, naive(天真) and precious, you showed me the world and the way I look at the world. I am so grateful for your presence in my life. Thanks, you are so wonderful!Who is “he” throughout the text?
| A．The brother of the writer. | B．The son of the writer. |
| C．The father of the writer. | D．A bus driver. |
In the second paragraph, what is the probably meaning of “affinity”?
| A．Hate. | B．Disappointment. | C．Liking. | D．Confusion. |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A bus guide. | B．A student’s diary. |
| C．An adventure story. | D．A transportation report. |
Welcome to your future life!
You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical technology is better than ever. Many people at your age could live to be 150, so at 40, you’re not old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging (抗衰老的) treatment. Now, all three of you look the same age!
You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2035, “smart clothes” contain particles (粒子) much smaller than the cells in your body. The particles can be programmed to change your clothes’ color or pattern.
You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but a voice says, “You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge has read the chip (芯片) that contains information about the milk, and it knows the milk is old. In 2035, every article of food in the grocery store has such a chip.
It’s time to go to work. In 2025, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend using your jacket sleeve. Such “smart technology” is all around you.
So will all these things come true? “For new technology to succeed,” says scientist Andrew Zolli, “it has to be so much better that it replaces what we have already.” The Internet is one example—what will be the next?We can learn from the text that in the future ________.
| A．people will never get old |
| B．everyone will look the same |
| C．red will be the most popular color |
| D．clothes will be able to change their pattern |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Milk will be harmful to health. |
| B．More drinks will be available for sale. |
| C．Food in the grocery store will carry electronic information. |
| D．Milk in the grocery store will stay fresh much longer. |
Which of the following is mentioned in the text?
| A．Nothing can replace the Internet. |
| B．Fridges will know what people need. |
| C．Jacket sleeves can be used as a guide. |
| D．Cars will be able to drive automatically (自动的). |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Food and clothing in 2035. |
| B．Future technology in everyday life. |
| C．Medical treatments of the future. |
| D．The reason for the success of new technology. |
In Greek mythology(神话), fire is a gift form God, stolen from Zeus(宙斯) by Prometheus and handed over to humans suffering from cold. What could be more natural than sitting around a beautiful fire on a winter night, at a campsite in the Berkshires?
Hard as it may be to believe, the fireplace—long considered a trophy(奖杯), particularly in a city like New York—is acquiring a social shame. Among those who desire to be environmentally responsible, it is joining the ranks of bottled water and big houses.
Sally Treadwell, a 51-year-old public relations executive in Boone, N.C., said nothing makes her happier than building a fire on a cold winter night. But most of the time she doesn’t, because she feels too guilty about the damage it may do to the environment. Every time she builds a fire, it causes “inner conflict,” she said. “It’s a guilty pleasure”.
“The smoke from a fire smells very nice,” said Diane Bailey, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. “But it can cause a lot of harm. The tiny particles(颗粒) can cause illness, and can cross into the bloodstream, causing heart attacks as well as worsening other conditions.”
Growing concerns about the air pollution and health problems caused by smoke from wood fires are urging a number of areas across the country to pass laws regulating them. Idaho offers a tax cut to people who replace uncertified(不合格的)wood stoves with “greener” ones; San Joaquin County in California forbids selling a home unless its wood stove is replaced with an E.P.A. certified one；and Palo Alto and other governments in California forbid wood-burning fireplaces in new construction.
Certainly, many think otherwise. In any case, most fireplaces are used far too infrequently to cause any real damage to the environment, said Stephen Sears, the vice president of the Brick Industry Association, voicing an opinion shared by some.
Perhaps not coincidentally, sales of wood-burning equipment dropped to 235,000 in 2009 from 800,000 in 1999, according to the Brick Industry Association. It also reports that approximately 35,000 fireplaces were installed in the United States in 2009, compared to 80,000 in 2005. Certainly those numbers reflect the economic slowdown, but the may also be affected by growing mixed feelings to wood fries.We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that ________.
| A．big houses are not considered environmentally friendly |
| B．bottle water is a good companion for a fire place |
| C．a fireplace is viewed as a sign of success |
| D．people in New York are laughed at for their tradition |
Sally’s “inner conflict” in the 3rd paragraph resulted from ________.
| A．her love for the fireplace |
| B．the damage to the environment |
| C．the concern about her health |
| D．her mixed emotion fro the fireplace |
In terms of the regulations about wood fires we can learn from the passage that_______.
| A．uncertified fireplaces are forbidden in Idaho |
| B．some people are against the woodfire controlling regulations |
| C．only energy-efficient wood stoves can be used in the US |
| D．all the people support measures taken to control the use of fireplaces |
What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To urge people to burn less wood |
| B．To discuss wood-burning’s impact |
| C．To throw light on the causes of the fireplace’s decline |
| D．To indicate the cooling love for the fireplace |
Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?
Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground, releasing some strong smell chemicals.
The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools (激流和漩涡). Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards. Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks were stopped in Washington, D.C.
Scientists now know that America's two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the two masses make a sudden move.
The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions cause earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern Illinois.
Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say they have no method of predicting when a large earthquake will occur.This passage is mainly about ___________.
| A．current scientific knowledge about faults |
| B．the San Andreas and the New Madrid faults |
| C．the causes of faults |
| D．the New Madrid fault in Missouri |
The New Madrid fault is __________.
| A．a vertical fault |
| B．a horizontal fault |
| C．a more serious fault than the San Andreas fault |
| D．responsible for forming the Mississippi River |
This passage implies that _________. .
| A．horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults |
| B．Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults |
| C．The volcanoes that caused the New Madrid fault are still alive |
| D．A lot of people would die if the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes happened today |