Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet fighter pilot in Viet Nam. After 75 missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb parachuted down into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison.
One day, Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant when a man from another table came up and said “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Viet Nam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!”
“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.
“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. “I guess it worked”. Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If your chute（降落伞） hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said ‘Good morning. How are you?’ or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was ‘just a sailor’”.
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds(伞罩) and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.
Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.Why didn’t Plumb say hello to the sailor each time he passed him on the Kitty Hawk?
| A．He thought the sailor was just an unimportant man. |
| B．He didn’t like him at that time. |
| C．He was very busy then. |
| D．He didn’t know him well then. |
What did the sailor do on the Kitty Hawk at the Viet Nam War?
| A．weaved clothes for the pilots. | B．repaired the wooden table in the ship. |
| C．helped the jets start. | D．packed the parachutes for the fighter pilots. |
What does the writer think we should do?
| A．We should help each other if they are in trouble. |
| B．We shouldn’t look down upon the sailors. |
| C．We should be thankful to others’ help. |
| D．We should be honest to our friends. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．A story about a sailor. | B．Who pack your parachutes? |
| C．Don’t forget your past! | D．Never forget your friends! |
A
“Depend on yourself” is what nature says to every man. Parents can help you. Teachers can help you. But all these only help you to help yourself.
There have been many great men in history. But many of them were very poor in boyhood, and had no uncles, aunts, or friends to help them. Schools were few and low. They could not depend on them for an education. They saw how it was, and set to work with all their strength to know something. They worked their own way up to fame.
One of the most famous teachers in England used to tell his pupils, “I cannot make worthy men of you, but I can help you make men of yourselves.”
Some young men have no ambitions(抱负) to do anything; and they are to be pitied. They can never succeed unless they see their foolishness, and change their courses. They are nothing now, and will be nothing as long as they live, unless they accept the advice of parents and teachers, and depend upon their own honest and serious efforts.The best title for this passage is ________.
| A．Depend on Yourself |
| B．Don’t Depend on Your Parents |
| C．Nobody can help you |
| D．The Good Advice |
From the passage we know that many great men in history ________.
| A．learned everything themselves in boyhood |
| B．didn’t receive any education |
| C．had no relatives or friends |
| D．depended on themselves to become famous |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Parents can make you succeed. |
| B．Great men in history were very poor. |
| C．Teachers would not like to help you to be a man. |
| D．Only you can make yourself a great man. |
Why have some young men failed in everything?
| A．They have no ambitions. |
| B．They are to be pitied. |
| C．They have changed their courses. |
| D．They have seen their foolishness. |
E
A year after graduation, I was offered a position teaching a writing class. Teaching was a profession I had never seriously considered, though several of my stories had been published. I accepted the job without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr. Davis. My father went by the same name, and I liked to imagine people getting the two of us confused. “Wait a minute” someone might say, “are you talking about Mr. Davis the retired man, or Mr. Davis the respectable scholar?”
The position was offered at the last minute, and I was given two weeks to prepare, a period I spent searching for briefcase (公文包) and standing before my full-length mirror, repeating the words, “Hello, class. I’m Mr. Davis.” Sometimes I would give myself an aggressive voice. Sometimes I would sound experienced. But when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr. Davis was there. I sounded not like a thoughtful professor, but rather a 12-year-old boy.
I arrived in the classroom with paper cards designed in the shape of maple leaves. I had cut them myself out of orange construction paper. I saw nine students along a long table. I handed out the cards, and the students wrote down their names and fastened them to their breast pockets as I required.
“All right then,” I said. “Okey, here we go.” Then I opened my briefcase and realized that I had never thought beyond this moment. I had been thinking that the students would be the first to talk, offering their thoughts and opinions on the events of the day. I had imagined that I would sit at the edge of the desk, overlooking a forest of hands. Every student would yell. “Calm down, you’ll all get your turn. Once at a time, once at a time!”
A terrible silence ruled the room, and seeing no other opinions, I inspected the students to pull out their notebooks and write a brief essay related to the theme of deep disappointment.The author took the job to teach writing because ______.
| A．he had written some stories | B．he wanted to be expected |
| C．he wanted to please his father | D．he had dreamed of being a teacher |
Before he started his class, the author asked the students to ______.
| A．write down their suggestions on the paper cards |
| B．cut maple leaves out of the construction paper |
| C．cut some cards out of the construction paper |
| D．write down their names on the paper cards |
What did the students do when the author started his class?
| A．They began to talk. | B．They stayed silent. |
| C．They raised their hands. | D．They shouted to be heard. |
The author chose the composition topic probably because ______.
| A．he got disappointed with his first class | B．he had prepared the topic before class |
| C．he wanted to calm down the students | D．he thought it was an easy topic |
D
President Obama: I want to welcome Vice President Xi to the Oval Office and welcome him to the United States. This is obviously a great opportunity for us to build on the U. S,-China relationship, but also an opportunity to return the extraordinary hospitality (款待) that Vice President Xi showed Vice President Biden during his recent visit to China.
As I indicated during my recent visit to APEC and the East Asia Summit, the United States is a Pacific nation. And we are very interested and very concentrated on continuing to strengthen our relationships, to enhance our trade and our commerce, and make sure that we are a strong and effective partner with the Asia Pacific region. And obviously, in order to do that, it is absolutely vital that we have a strong relationship with China.
So, Mr. Vice President, I hope you have a wonderful visit while you're here. I'm sure the American people welcome you. I'm glad that you're going to get an opportunity to get out of Washington. I know you'll be visiting Iowa, which you visited many years ago when you were governor. And I understand you're also going to Los Angeles and maybe even taking in (观看) a Lakers basketball game. So I hope you enjoy that very much.
I want to extend my deepest welcome to you, and look forward to a future of improved dialogue and increased cooperation in the years to come.Where can you most probably read the passage?
| A．In an advertisement. | B．In a guidebook. | C．In a news report. | D．In a science report. |
Which sentence is true according to the passage?
| A．Obama didn't attend APEC or the East Asia Summit recently. |
| B．Biden and Xi Jinping are holding the talk in the Oval Office of the White House. |
| C．The talk is being held between China and the USA in the Oval Office of New York. |
| D．Biden once paid a visit to China before this talk. |
The underlined word in Para. 2 “enhance”, probably means “____”.
| A．develop | B．change | C．invent | D．reduce |
From Para. 3, we can learn that Vice President Xi ____.
| A．will go to Los Angeles to watch a soccer game |
| B．visited Iowa many years ago, when he was a vice president |
| C．visited Iowa many years ago, when he was governor |
| D．will visit New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles |
C
Holding a cell phone against your ear or storing it in your pocket may be dangerous to your health. This explains a warning that cell phone manufacturers include in the small print that is often ignored when a new phone is purchased. Apple, for example, doesn’t want iPhones to come closer to you than 1.5 centimeters; Research In Motion, BlackBerry’s manufacturer, recommends 2.5 centimeters.
If health issues arise from cell phone use, the possible effects are huge. Voice calls - Americans chat on cell phones 2.26 trillion(万亿)minutes annually - earn $109 billion for the wireless carriers.
Devra Davis, an expert who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh, has published a book about cell phone radiation, “Disconnect.” The book surveys scientific research and concludes the question is not settled.
Brain cancer is a concern that Ms. Davis examines. Over all, there has not been an increase in its incidence since cell phones arrived. But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20-to-29 age group and a drop for the older population.
“Most cancers have multiple causes,” she says, but she points to laboratory research that suggests low-energy radiation could damage cells that could possibly lead to cancer.
Children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults, Ms. Davis and other scientists point out. Radiation that penetrates only five centimeters into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid（易吸收的液体）. No studies have yet been completed on cell phone radiation and children, she says.
Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiation had damaged DNA in their brains.
Ms. Davis recommends using wired headsets or the phone’s speaker. Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the abdomen（腹部）.Why is the warning in the small print?
| A．They think people will not care about it. |
| B．There is not enough space for the warning. |
| C．They don’t want the users to pay attention to it. |
| D．The warning is not important at all. |
What does the underlined word in sixth paragraph probably mean?
| A．acceptable | B．valuable | C．accessible | D．easily affected |
What can we conclude from the last paragraph?
| A．Pregnant women should keep cell phones away. |
| B．People should use cell phones in the correct way. |
| C．If you are a child, you’d better text than make phone calls. |
| D．When you use a cell phone, use a wired headset or the phone’s speaker. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Be careful when using cell phones. |
| B．Don’t hold your cell phone against your ear. |
| C．Rats exposed to radiation have damaged DNA in their brains. |
| D．Low-energy radiation could damage cells that could lead to cancer. |
B
Sunday, October 5
Clear, 69°F
My wife, Eleanor and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and guide, and the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way. Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept.
After the other passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses.
Monday, October 6
Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69°F
We spent about two hours in Nancy, and then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind of a lazy day. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, after dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat, where we will visit tomorrow. It was pleasant to sit out on deck （甲板）and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph.
Tuesday, October 7
Light rain, 64°F
This mourning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum and the church, which has this unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lost of shopping, then walked across the bridge to see a very, very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows.
We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down the eastern side. Later we drove to Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Mar.
Wednesday, Ocrober8
Cloudy.65 °F
Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went though two caves, an extremely unusual part of the journey. This river scenery is very different. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side and a forest beginning to show some color on the other.
Thursday, Ocrober9
Cloudy, 66°F
Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their separate ways. Our boating days are over until next time.Where did the author get off the train?
| A．Paris | B．Barn | C．Nancy | D．Strasbourg |
On which days did the tourists spend most of their time on the boat?
| A．Monday and Wednesday | B．Tuesday and Wednesday |
| C．Wednesday and Wednesday | D．Monday and Tuesday |
From the text, we learn that Baccarat and Sorrenbourg are the names of_________.
| A．churches | B．towns | C．museums | D．mountains |
What does the author think of the tour?
| A．Tiring | B．Expensive | C．Enjoyable | D．Quick |