One cold January evening in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, America, I went with my father on an oil burner service call. My father was in his forties at that time and I was about twelve years old. He was always working hard trying to support us seven kids. I enjoyed hanging out with him whenever I could — he taught me so much.
We arrived at the call and after walking over snow and ice, we knocked on the customer’s door. A senior citizen opened the door and let us into her very cold home. She was wearing an old, worn-out brown coat that went down to her knees. On her head, covering her gray hair, was an old and worn hat. The home wasn’t furnished very well and was quite dark, except for a single light bulb over the dining room table. Below the light was an older man counting change from several old coffee cans. He looked up at us as we passed by to get to the kitchen where my dad would fix the oil burner. He didn’t say anything. He just looked up at us. He couldn’t speak English, nor could his wife. She only pointed to the kitchen and smiled at us.
After a short while, my father had the heater up and running, and it began to heat their cold home. The lady asked my dad in poor English how much she owed him for fixing the heater. My dad looked around the house and said that he had to go out to the truck and write the bill.
Once in the truck he marked the bill “no answer at home, no charge”, so they wouldn’t be charged for his work. He looked over at me and said, “He was counting his change to pay me. They need their money more than I do.”
As usual, my father taught me something important that time, which was to be kind to the poor.According to Paragraph 1, we know that the writer’s father .
A.often taught the writer how to work |
B.worked several jobs at the same time |
C.had a very big family to support |
D.brought up his children alone |
The description in Paragraph 2 shows that the old couple .
A.had no job |
B.led a very poor life |
C.didn’t know how to save money |
D.were not very friendly to strangers |
What can we infer from the passage?
A.The old couple had no children in America. |
B.The old man didn’t plan to pay money. |
C.The old woman felt very embarrassed all the time. |
D.The old couple were not native Americans. |
The writer’s father didn’t charge for his work because .
A.he didn’t need that money |
B.he felt pity for the old couple |
C.he was not satisfied with his work |
D.he wanted to set a good example to others |
第三部分:阅读理解(共两节,40分)
第一节(共15小题;每小题2分,共30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It was a Sunday morning, and I was in a terrible mood. Two of my friends had gone to the movies the night before and hadn’t invited me.I was in my room thinking of ways to make them sorry when my father came in. “Want to go for a ride,today,Beck? It’s a beautiful day.”
“No ! Leave me alone!”Those were the last words I said to him that morning.
My friends called and invited me to go to the mall with them a few hours later.I forgot to be mad at them and went I came home to find a note on the table. My mother put it where I would be sure to see it. “Dad has had an accident. Please meet us at Highland Park Hospital”.
When I reached the hospital,my mother came out and told me my father’s injuries were extensive.“Your lather told the driver to leave him alone and just call 911,thank God! If he had moved Daddy,there’s no telling what might have happened.A broken rib(肋骨)might have pierced(穿透)a lung….”
My mother may have said more,but I didn’t hear.I didn’t hear anything except those terrible
words:Leave me alone.My dad said them to save himself from being hurt more.How much had I hurt him when I hurled those words at him earlier in the day?
It was several days later that he was finally able to have a conversation.I held his hand gently, afraid of hurting him.
“Daddy… I am so sorry….”
“It’s okay,sweetheart.I'll be okay.”
“No,”I said,“I mean about what I said to you that day.You know, that morning?”
My father could no more tell a lie than he could fly.He looked at me and said.“Sweetheart,
I don’t remember anything about that day, not before,during or after the accident. I remember
kissing you goodnight the night before,though.”He managed a weak smile.
My English teacher once told me that words have immeasurable power.They can hurt or they
can heal.And we all have the power to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.
56.The author was in bad mood that morning because______.
A.his father had a terrible accident
B.he couldn’t drive to the mall with his friends
C.his friends hadn’t invited him to the cinema
D.his father didn’t allow him to go out with his friends
57.Why did the author say sorry to his father in the hospital?
A.Because he didn’t go along with his father.
B.Because he was rude to his father that morning.
C.Because he failed to come earlier after the accident.
D.Because he couldn’t look after his father in the hospital
58.The reason why the author’s father said he forgot everything about that day is that______
A.he had a poor memory
B.he didn’t wanted to comfort his son
C.he just wanted to comfort his son
D.he lost his memory after the accident
59.What lesson did Beck learn from the matter?
A.Don’t treat your parents badly.
B.Don’t hurt others with rude words.
C.Don’t move the injured in an accident.
D.Don’t be angry with friends at small things
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题,每题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer(拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house – something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, "What do you want for your new room?" Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were surprised when Josh responded, "I just want a bed."
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds tog tether, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, "What is that?"
"A pillow," she replied.
"What do you do with it?" Eric continued to ask.
"When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to our eyes as she handed Eric the pillow.
"Oh . . . that's soft," he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my Dad gently asks, "Do you have a pillow?"
We know exactly what he means.
56.The writer’s first volunteer project was .
A.working on a poor trailer B.helping a poor family
C.donating beds and bedding D.dealing with a housing problem
57.On bearing Josh’s answer, the writer was shocked because .
A.the family lived in a trailer B.he expected to get some toys
C.he didn’t know what a bed was D.the boys had no bed to sleep in
58.From the passage, we can learn that Eric had never seenbefore.
A.a trailer B.a truck C.a pillow D.a house
59.By saying “Do you have a pillow?”, the writer’s father means that .
A.what they want to get may be unnecessary
B.they should not waste money on small things
C.they should do more volunteer work for the poor
D.what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow
D
Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research—the mapping of all DNA in a human gene(基因) is complete.Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish.All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away.Human cloning has always been a topic of argument, in terms of morality or religion.
Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning.If the clone was free of genetic limitations.then the other clone would be as well.The latter could foe inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term.Moreover, cloning would enable women, who can't get pregnant, to have children of their own.
Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs.This, surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single (or more) organ (s).It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists.
Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side.Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal "cycle" of life.There would be a large number of same genes, which reduce the chances of improvement, and, in turn, development—the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment.Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance.Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappear.Thus, leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes and, chances are, that those individuals would be regarded as "objects" rather than people in the society.
Scientists haven't 100 per cent.guaranteed that the first cloned humans will be normal.Thus this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human "gene-pool".
Regarding such arguable topics in "black or white" approach seems very innocent to me personally.We should rather try to look at all "shades" of it.I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs; not humans.Then we could regard this as for "saving life" instead of "creating life".I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable.
67.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Genetic limitation will be beneficial for some women.
B.A large number of genes will prevent us from developing.
C.Prohibition of cloning might limit the freedom of scientists.
D.First cloned humans might be normal according to scientists.
68.What's the author's opinion on cloning?
A.Cloning should be entirely banned.
B.Cloning should be used in creating life.
C.Cloning will take away the right to reproduce.
D.Cloning is acceptable if it is used for cloning organs.
69.Where can you read this article?
A.In a story book.
B.In a magazine.
C.In a science fiction.
D.In a brochure.
70.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
C
With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills (泄露) on people, nature, and the environment.
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil.Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea.
Of all of today's environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious.Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material.In the end, it breaks down naturally.There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term.
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible.In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean.If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened.
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage.Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run I
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil.Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power (太阳能) , electricity, hydrogen, and so on.Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal.
If the world's millions of cars were 10% more efficient (高效的)—and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient ?we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year.If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too.
63.What is the passage mainly talking about?
A.Oil spills pollution. B.What oil pollution is.
C.Oil tanker accidents. D.How to reduce oil pollution.
64.How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?
A.By giving a description. B.By making an argument.
C.By giving an example. D.By drawing a diagram.
65.What does the underlined word "risk" in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A.Transportation depending more on oil.
B.Poisonous oil breaking down naturally.
C.Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea.
D.More environmental damage being caused.
66.Which suggestion, is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?
A.We should build safer tankers in the near future.
B.We should develop new technologies to cut oil use.
C.Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines.
D.Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea.
B
Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to participate in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to showcase the image of the host country and city. The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China.
I.Basic Requirements for Volunteers
● Be willing to participate in voluntary services of Expo 2010;
● Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30,
1992 and Expo City Voluntary Service Station volunteers before
April 30, 1994;
● Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;
● Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;
● Possess necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;
● Be in good health to meet the requirements of corresponding voluntary positions.
II.Further Information for Volunteers
● Source
Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers.
● Signup methods
Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup.They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations.
● Time
May 1 - December 31, 2009
Ⅲ.Volunteer Training
Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training.General training is carried out through internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice.
IV.Volunteer Types
● Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and.volunteer management.
● Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo's information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site.They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid.
60.If you were born in April 1993, where can you be a volunteer?
A.In the Expo City. B.In the host country.
C.In the Expo Site. D.In Chinese mainland
61.Which of the training will be done on the Internet?
A.Position training. B.General training.
C.Classroom training. D.Special training.
62.Which of the following service is offered by information booth volunteers?
A.Visitor flow management. B.Helping the disabled
C.Assistance in media service. D.Emergency First aid.