America’s greatest technological achievement, the Hoover Dam, now has a companion piece, a bridge held up by the longest arch in the Western Hemisphere（半球）. The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened this month and connects the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, crosses the vast chasm（峡谷）890 feet above the Colorado River that is controlled by the dam.
The striking 1,900-foot-long structure will improve traffic in the region and help protect the dam from being destroyed. It is the seventh highest bridge in the world, behind four in China, one in Papua New Guinea and one in the US state of Colorado.
“The Hoover Dam is the greatest civil engineering achievement in America’s history,” said the bridge project manager Dave Zanatell. “Our goal was not to outdo or outshine it. Our goal was to, in a respectful way, do something that would be great for our generation and that would stand besides Hoover Dam in a respectful and quality way that would become a part of Hoover’s legacy（遗产）.”
Just as the Hoover Dam was built in the heart of the Great Depression（大萧条）and was seen as an example of the nation’s can-do spirit, some hope this project can also provide some uplift.
The bridge is surprising: at 1,050 feet, its support arch holds up a roadway that lies on 300-foot-long concrete pillars（柱子）, some of the tallest in the world. It contains 16 million pounds of steel.
The idea of the bridge came into being in the 1960s because the top of the Hoover Dam has been a narrow two-lane road that is the fastest route from Arizona to Las Vegas and then the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
Access to the dam from each direction is a dangerously winding route, but massive trucks and passenger vehicles shared it for decades. During the day, when thousands of tourists travel to the dam from Las Vegas three times as many accidents as on a normal road will happen.
The bridge has a sidewalk on the side facing the dam. The wall on both sides is 54 inches high, so walkers can take photos there.Which of the following is true of the Hoover Dam?
| A．It was completed recently. |
| B．It was built during the hard times. |
| C．It has the longest arch. |
| D．It’s the seventh highest dam in the world. |
What is one of the purposes of building the bridge?
| A．To protect the dam. | B．To save the cultures. |
| C．To outdo the dam. | D．To develop the tourism. |
The underlined word “uplift” in Paragraph 4 means _____.
| A．lift of the heavy object | B．support in money |
| C．spiritual encouragement | D．instruction in technology |
Which of the followings shows the right position of the bridge and dam?
The text is mainly about ______.
| A．the Hoover Dam |
| B．American western development |
| C．a tour along the Colorado River |
| D．a recently built bridge |
My favorite English teacher could draw humor out of the driest material. It wasn’t forced on us either. He took Samuel Johnson’s dictionary, Addison’s essays, and many other literary wonders from the eighteenth century and made them hilarious, even at eight o’clock in the morning. The thing that amazed me most was that the first time I read these works on my own, some of them seemed dead, but the second time, after his explanation, I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t seen the humor. The stories and poems and plays were suddenly filled with allusions(典故) and irony and hilarious moments. I learned more from him than from any other teacher.
My least favorite English teacher also made people laugh. Some students found him to be wonderfully funny. Many others did not. He assigned journals over a six-week period, to be written every day. At the end of the six weeks I had a notebook full of bits and pieces about my ideas, short stories, reactions to what we had read, and so on. Our teacher announced that we would be grading each other’s journals. Mine was passed to Joe, that class clown, who always behaved in a funny or silly way. He saw it fit to make a joke of and said, “This writing isn’t fit to line the bottom of a birdcage.” Our teacher laughed at that funny remark. It hurt me so much that the anger from it has driven my writing and teaching ever since.
So what makes the difference? Humor is one of the most powerful tools teachers or writers have. It can build up students and classes and make them excited about literature and writing, or it can tear them apart. It is true that humor is either productive or counter-productive and self-defeating. The passage mainly discusses ________.
| A．teaching | B．literature | C．humor | D．knowledge |
The underlined word “hilarious” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.
| A．funny | B．tiring | C．inspiring | D．brilliant |
The English teacher the writer disliked most ________.
| A．was not able to make students laugh | B．hurt his student’s feelings |
| C．didn’t let his students do the grading | D．had no sense of humor |
Apple Seeds
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China. What do we know about Apple Seeds?
| A．The soft cover enables it to be read and kept long. |
| B．It can be purchased as an award for your children. |
| C．It offers the biggest discount among all the magazines. |
| D．The magazine is going to surprise you for many years. |
Tom wants to beautify his house, so he may choose ________.
| A．Apple Seeds | B．Better Life | C．Humor Times | D．News China |
What kind of people may buy News China ?
| A．People who have an interest in personal lifestyle of the Chinese. |
| B．People who have a strong sense of humor and love to laugh. |
| C．People who want to enlarge the knowledge of their kids. |
| D．People who are interested in China’s politics, business and culture. |
Which magazine may best help relieve your work stress?
| A．Apple Seeds | B．Better Life | C．Humor Times | D．News China |
In my last essay, I wrote briefly about a bathtub in the classroom. What really was the use of that bathtub? “Guys, it is Reading Workshop time now. When I call your table, get your things, please!” said Mrs. Toalson. She was holding a cup that had many sticks in it; on every stick was written each student’s name and table number.
What does she mean? Probably books, I thought. Mrs. Toalson picked a stick out of the cup and said, “Okay, Aniqa’s table; Table Two, you may get your things. ”Then my four classmates ran for the cushions（垫子）in the bathtub. Mrs. Toalson kept picking sticks and calling out different table numbers. On hearing their numbers, students would run to get cushions. Because there were not enough cushions for everyone, the last to be called had to go without. Those students sighed, “Oh! They are the lucky ones.”
Finally, Mrs. Toalson picked the last stick ; what is she going to do now?
“Kate, you may use the bathtub. ” Mrs. Toalson said. Gosh! Use the bathtub? Is Kate going to take a bath, I wondered. Kate is the girl who had pretty brown hair. She ran happily with her book to the bathtub and lay down in it. As she read, she hugged a teddy bear. I think it must be comfortable reading in a bathtub.
Except for lucky Kate, everybody had to read elsewhere. Some were sitting on the seats, some were lying down under the table, and everybody’s reading pose（姿势）was different.
Just then, my friend found me sitting at my table quietly, not doing anything. She said, “Mary, let me find you a book. ” I nodded. Then she led me to a comer of the classroom where the book-shelf was and picked a picture book for me.
Regina thought that it would be more fun to read outside on the grass. What a great idea! The next day our whole class went to the park across the street from our school. As we read, animals such as squirrels ran around us. It was amazing ! In Mrs. Toalson’s Reading Workshop, every student can learn _________.
| A．briefly | B．comfortably | C．quickly | D．eagerly |
Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage?
| A．Mrs. Toalson told the student to sit in the bathtub as a punishment. |
| B．The student who used the bathtub in that class was thought to be unlucky. |
| C．Not every student can get a cushion in Mrs. Toalson’s Reading Workshop. |
| D．In Mrs. Toalson’s Reading Workshop, only the best student can lie down reading. |
Who got the chance to use the bathtub in that class?
| A．A student whose table was last called. |
| B．The student who sat at the table quietly. |
| C．The student who got the last cushion. |
| D．A student whose table was first called. |
The purpose of the passage is to ________.
| A．tell us how to use a bathtub in the classroom |
| B．introduce us a new way of teaching style |
| C．teach us how to organize reading activifies in class |
| D．show us the importance of reading poses |
About 35 percent of British adults sleep with teddy bears. Many more share a bed with a partner or spouse. Others still co - sleep, alongside children in a family bed.
But lying with your iPad? A recent survey by marketing agency Rosette found that 68 percent of tablet owners use the device in the bedroom, more than in any other location. The living room took a close second place, at 63 percent, reports AdAge. com, and only 45 percent of respondents said they use their tablets on the go.
But bringing devices into the bedroom is a bad idea, if quality rest is your goal. One of the most important factors of sleepiness is darkness, which signals to the brain that it’s time to start speeding up production of the sleep - inducing hormone melatonin. But as the New York Times points out, in our modern world, we are exposed to light long after the sun sets. While any type of light can disturb your sleep, the blue wavelength light given off by cell phones, laptops, tablets and other gadgets is particularly troublesome. Research shows that this blue light causes alertness so decisively that it can actually be used to fight tiredness.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, 95 percent of Americans use some device, whether it’s a TV, laptop, cell phone or other products, within an hour of killing time. “Artificial light exposure between dusk and the time we go to bed at night push our sleeping sense to a later hour - making it more difficult to fall asleep,” said Charles Czeisler, Ph. D. , M. D. , chief of the division of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Instead, experts recommend turning off all devices an hour before bedtime and finding another method for relaxation, like reading a book, taking a warm bath or performing a series of calming yoga poses. It’s also a good idea to exercise and lay off the caffeine several hours before bedtime. According to a recent survey, most tablet owners use their iPad ________.
| A．in the living room | B．in the bedroom |
| C．in the office | D．on the move |
What can we know from this passage?
| A．The light from cell phones is harmful |
| B．Modern people have trouble falling asleep |
| C．Darkness can create a good sleeping environment |
| D．Blue light can prevent sleepiness decreasing |
If we often play with a laptop just before sleep, we’ll be more likely to ________.
| A．dream of it | B．stay awake | C．feel sleepy | D．become tired |
Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six - year – old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. “Yes, honey. Of course.” she said.“Can we write him a letter?”
She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, “Yes.”My heart jumped. “How? Does the mailman go there?” I asked.
“No, but I have an idea.” Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.“Just wait, honey. You’ll see.” Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six - year - old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped the balloon string. We went out-side and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.“Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three.”The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he’d persevere, dart up, and finally transcend this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was passed on. I prayed to be a balloon.When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother _________.
| A．believed it easy to do so | B．thought her a creative girl |
| C．felt it hard to answer | D．found it easy to lie |
When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she __________.
| A．jumped with joy |
| B．was worried that it couldn’t be delivered |
| C．started writing immediately |
| D．became excited |
In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?
| A．An incurable disease |
| B．An unforgettable memory. |
| C．The failures her father experienced |
| D．The hard time her father had. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．An unforgettable experience | B．Fly to the heaven |
| C．The strong red balloon | D．A great father |