NewYork Tuesday April 12—Dustin Hoffman fan Pamela Crack got the shock of her life when the movie star telephoned her as she was doing her housework.. Crack, 58, said she was “flabbergasted” when she picked up the phone and heard the star at the other end.
“It’s not every day you get a Hollywood superstar phoning you when you’re doing the housework,” Crack told The Sun, “It was a moment I’ll never forget.”
Hoffman was in the back of a London taxi driven by Crack’s husband, Dave, when he made the call after being told Pamela was a fan. Dave Crack later became the star of Hoffman’s speech at the Bafta award ceremony Sunday, where the 62-year-old American actor presented the Best Film award.
“He said to give him a mention,” Hoffman told the audience to a burst of laughter. “Cheers Dave.” Taxi driver Crack said the Hollywood star was a joy to drive from the moment he got into the taxi eating a cheese and tomato sandwich.
“I said ‘You’re that Dustin Hoffman, aren’t you?’ and he said, ‘Yes I am—would you like a sandwich?’ I was a bit surprised but I took a sandwich from him and ate it hungrily.”How did Dustin Hoffman learn that Pamela was a fan?
| A．He learned it at a dinner party. |
| B．He learned it from Dave Crack. |
| C．He learned it when he was at the Bafta ceremony. |
| D．He learned it when he was watching a Hollywood movie. |
What does the underlined word “flabbergasted” in the first paragraph probably mean?
| A．pleased. | B．honored. | C．frightened. | D．surprised. |
What was Hoffman doing when he talked about Dave Crack?
| A．He was riding in a taxi. |
| B．He was presenting the Best Film award. |
| C．He was talking to Pamela on the phone. |
| D．He was eating a cheese and tomato sandwich. |
Which of the following is the correct order of events mentioned in the article?
a. Hoffman mentioned Dave’s name in his speech at the ceremony.
b. He got into Dave Crack’s taxi in London.
c. He telephoned Pamela Crack.
d. He talked to Dave Crack.
| A．bdca | B．bdac | C．cbda | D．cdba |
A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist(拳头) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s.The Frenchman went to a small Italian town _______.
| A．alone | B．with his wife | C．with his friend | D．with an Italian |
The Italian gave up his watch to him at last because ________.
| A．he had stolen the watch from the Frenchman |
| B．he understood what the Frenchman wanted |
| C．he had picked up the watch on his way from work |
| D．he was afraid of the Frenchman |
Who was robbed of the watch in fact?
| A．The Frenchman was. | B．The Italian was. |
| C．Both of them were. | D．Neither of them was. |
Hurricane(飓风) reached the northeastern United States today and caused death and destruction everywhere. The killer storm carried winds of 135 miles per hour. The high winds and heavy rains created extremely dangerous waves. It is not yet known how many people died or were hurt in this storm, but it is said that the numbers will be very high.
With the arrival of the tornado season, the National Weather Service is again telling people how to protect themselves from these deadly storms. The winds from tornadoes are the most violent winds on earth. They can blow up to 400 miles per hour. A tornado looks like a funnel(漏斗). It is also very loud. It may sound like a train coming at you. In fact, the winds from a tornado can pick up a train and throw it around. If a tornado is seen in your area, it is very important that you protect yourself. A basement (地下室) is the safest place to go. Try to wait under a table in the basement. Stay away from windows. If you are outside or in your car, try to find a narrow place to hide.
As the area tries to deal with the worst flood of the century, there are many heartwarming stories of people helping other people. From all over the world people have sent food and clothes to help the thousands who have had to leave their homes. Many volunteers have come to help to make sandbags and use them to build walls against the overflowing river. While the result of this disaster will be terrible for many, it is beautiful to see people coming together to help others and save lives.What does the underlined word “tornado” mean?
| A．台风 | B．龙卷风 | C．洪水 | D．冰雹 |
Which of the following is WRONG about tornados?
| A．They look like a funnel. |
| B．They come regularly every year. |
| C．They are the most violent winds on Earth. |
| D．They carry winds of 135 km per hour. |
According to the passage, a person who sees a tornado in his area had better NOT ______.
| A．drive his car away as fast as possible |
| B．go to the basement and wait under a table |
| C．find a narrow place to hide |
| D．stay away from windows |
We can learn from the passages that ______.
| A．nobody tried to help the local people |
| B．hurricane damaged the northwestern coast of US |
| C．when there is flooding, sandbags can be made and used to build walls |
| D．people are often taught how to protect themselves from snowstorms |
Everybody hates rats(老鼠). But in the earthquake capitals of the world—Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey—rats will soon be man’s new best friends.
What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.
How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal(信号). This is sent to a small radio on its back and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.
Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!
The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe. ” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building, but only after an earthquake, of course. In the world earthquake capitals, rats will become man’s best friends because they can ______.
| A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs |
| B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings |
| C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings |
| D．get into small spaces |
From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by ______.
| A．the noise made by the rat |
| B．the rat’s unusual behavior |
| C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back |
| D．the smell given off by the person |
In doing rescue jobs, ______.
| A．rats smell better than dogs |
| B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people |
| C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around |
| D．rats can see in the dark and they are smaller than robots |
Rats have all the following advantages EXCEPT that ______.
| A．they are more fantastic than other animals |
| B．they are less expensive to train than dogs |
| C．they don’t need electricity |
| D．they are small and can get into small places |
If you want to become a fluent English speaker you should take some advice. There are four skills in learning English. They are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The most important thing you must remember is that if you want to improve your speaking and writing skills, you should first master the skills of reading and listening.
Read as much as you can. But your reading must be active. It means that you must think about the meaning of the sentence, the meaning of the unfamiliar words, etc. There is no need for you to pay much attention to grammars or try to understand all the unfamiliar words you come across, but the fact that you see them for the first time and recognize them whenever you see them, for example, in other passages or books, is enough. It would be better to prepare yourself a notebook so you can write down the important words or sentences in it.
As for listening, there are two choices: besides reading, you can listen every day for about 30 minutes. You can only pay attention to your reading and become skillful at your reading, then you can catch up on your listening. Since you have lots of inputs in your mind, you can easily guess what the speaker is going to say. This never means that you should not practice listening. For listening you can listen to cartoons or some movies that are specially made for children. Their languages are easy. Or if you are good at listening you can listen to VOA or BBC programs every day. Again the thing to remember is being active in listening and preferably taking some notes.
If you follow these pieces of advice, your speaking and writing will improve quickly, and you can be a fluent English speaker one day.According to the writer, which should you improve first among the four skills?
| A．Reading and listening. | B．Reading and writing. |
| C．Writing and speaking. | D．Speaking and listening. |
To improve your reading, when you read you should ______.
| A．look up all the new words in the dictionary |
| B．think about what you are reading actively |
| C．spend more time studying grammars |
| D．copy as many words and sentences as possible |
The underlined phrase “come across” in Paragraph 2 can probably be replaced by “______”.
| A．meet | B．discover | C．hear | D．look for |
The passage is mainly about how to ______.
| A．choose suitable listening materials |
| B．deal with new words in reading |
| C．improve your reading ability as quickly as possible |
| D．become fluent in speaking and writing English |
Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American. When he died in 1931, Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him. One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total blackout. All electric power would be shut off in homes, streets, and factories. Perhaps this suggested plan made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions mean to them. Electric power was too important to the country. Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion. A blackout was impossible.
On the day of Edison's funeral, many people silently dimmed their lights. In this way they honored the man who had done more than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips.This selection says that Thomas Edison ________.
| A．was the only important American inventor |
| B．received the first American patent |
| C．received more patents than any other American |
| D．was the first American inventor |
People decided to honor Edison when ________.
| A．he made the first electric light |
| B．electric power was 100 years |
| C．the country realized electricity's importance |
| D．he died in 1931 |
The suggested plan was to ________.
| A．turn off the lights in factories and schools |
| B．observe a few minutes of total silence |
| C．dim all electric lights |
| D．shut off all electricity for a short time |