From the health point of view we are living in an amazing age. We are free from many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once deadly illnesses can now be cured by modern medicine. It is almost certain that one day medicines will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased greatly. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the unbelievable killing of men, women and children on the roads. Man vs the motor-car! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing.
Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.
It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel(方向盘), his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man’s very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They say, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-year-olds and completely selfish. A.. their hidden angers and disappointments seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.
The surprising thing is that society smiles so gently on the motorist and seems to forgive his behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy traffic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is ruined by road networks; and the deaths become nothing more than a number every year, to be easily forgotten.
It is high time a world rule was created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are unbelievable lenient(宽容的) and even the strictest are not strict enough. A rule which was universally accepted could only have an obviously beneficial effect on the accident rate. Here are a few examples of some of the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through strict tests for safety each year. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can damage a person’s driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws(where they exist) should be made much stricter. Speed limits should be required on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications for car factories, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stress power and performance should be banned. These measures may not sound good enough. But surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the number of deaths. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars. .What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Traffic accidents are mainly caused by motorists. |
| B．Thousands of people the world over are killed each year. |
| C．The laws of some countries about driving are to lenient. |
| D．Only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents. |
. What does the author think of society toward motorists?
| A．Society laughs at the motorists. | B．Huge car parks are build in the cities and towns. |
| C．Victims of accidents are nothing. | D．Society forgives their rude driving |
.What does the author mean by saying “his car becomes the extension of his personality” in Paragraph 2?
| A．Driving can show his hidden qualities | B．Driving can show the other part of his personality |
| C．Driving can bring out his character | D．Driving can represent his manners |
. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way against traffic accidents?
| A．Perfect the road network | B．Stricter driving tests |
| C．Test drivers every three years | D．Raise age limit and lay down safety specifications |
. The author’s attitude towards the traffic situation is ______.
| A．confused | B．discontented | C．appealing | D．doubtful |
Next year marks the 150th anniversary of when large numbers of Chinese started working on a huge project in the United States. They help to build America’s first transcontinental railroad between 1863 and 1869, connecting the East Coast with the West.
People know little about the Chinese railroad workers and what happened to them after the project was finished. Stanford University in California wants to learn more about the lives of these men by reaching out to their families.
Bill Yee’s ancestors came from southern China. He said, “My great-great-grandfather came to America during the‘gold rush’days and he returned to China as a wealthy man. And then my great-grandfather came to work on the railroad and died there.”
But that did not stop his grandfather from coming to the US on false papers. He operated a laundry. Bill Yee’s father continued to run the business and has never returned to China.
“Things were pretty bad in some parts of China in the 1860’s. They came to America at all costs in order that they no longer had to bear hunger,” Bill Yee said.
Shelley Fisher Fishkin is helping to direct the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford University. She said, “Many of the Chinese workers who came to work on the transcontinental and other railroads returned to China after their work was done and created families there. Some of them settled in America and created new families, but they had families who they left when they came here and they may have descendants in China.”
There is a need to create a record of the object and spoken history from the families of the railroad workers.
“The US could not have become the modern industrial nation without the railroads. And the railroads would not have come together without the work of these Chinese workers,” said Shelley Fisher Fishkin.What do you know about Bill Yee?
A. His family was rich in the 1860’s.
B. His father settled in the USA.
C. He knows little about his ancestors and hopes to know more.
D. His grandfather came to America with his great-grandfather.According to Bill Yee, many Chinese went to America in the 1860’s mainly .
| A．to run their own businesses |
| B．to find their ancestors |
| C．to make a living |
| D．to dig gold |
According to Shelley Fisher Fishkin,.
| A．the descendants of the Chinese railroad workers all live a good life |
| B．they expect to find all the descendants of the Chinese railroad workers |
| C．some Chinese railroad workers hope they can find their descendants in China |
| D．some Chinese railroad workers have descendants both in China and the US |
Why did Stanford University carry out the project?
| A．Because they want to help the Chinese railroad workers’ descendants to get together. |
| B．Because they want to show the importance of America’s first transcontinental railroad. |
| C．Because they want to learn more about how to build a railroad in the past in America. |
| D．Because they want Americans to remember the Chinese railroad workers’ role in US history. |
Alibaba started taking the lead in China by connecting big Chinese manufacturers(制造商) with big buyers across the world. Its business-to-business site, Alibaba.com allowed business to buy almost everything. Alibaba’s advantage wasn’t hard to judge: size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its market attracts 231 million active buyers, 8 million sellers, 11.3 billion orders a year — and Alibaba is just the middleman. It encourages people to use its markets — not charging small sellers a percentage of the sale.
If you want a quick look into the influence of Alibaba on daily Chinese life, take my experience. I moved to Beijing a year ago and quickly got tired of visiting small stores across the crowded, polluted city of 20 million people in search of new electronics, bathroom furnishings, and anything else my wife wanted. “You’re looking for what exactly? Why not try it? ” my Chinese teacher asked me one day. With that, my wonderful new relationship with Alibaba began.
Alibaba’s original business-to-business model now is second to consumer buying. Chinese retail(零售) buying makes up 80% of Alibaba’s profit, and leading that group is Taobao, with 800 million items(物品) for sale and the most unbelievable selection of things you’ll ever find. TMall.com is Alibaba’s other big site, where you can find brand name goods from Nike and Unilever near the lowest prices.
What I have a hard time explaining to friends and family back in the U.S. is how China has gone beyond traditional shopping — big-box retailers especially —in favor of online purchases on Taobao and a few other sites. In smaller towns than Beijing, where big retailers have not yet traveled, shopping online is shopping, and shopping is Taobao.
I have a list of some of my recent purchases on Taobao for a sense of how wide the marketplace is. Almost everything arrived a day or two after ordering with free shipping. I’m not even a big buyer, because I need friends to help me search the Chinese-language site. When I was searching my purchase history on my Chinese teacher’s iPad, which helps me buy goods, I looked through with great difficulty about 10 of her purchases for every one of mine.Alibaba’s advantage mainly lies in .
| A．its business-to-business service |
| B．its big size |
| C．its not charging small sellers |
| D．its low price |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage?
| A．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites. |
| B．Alibaba will continue to develop. |
| C．Alibaba acts as a bridge between the buyers and sellers. |
| D．Alibaba stands out as the best online site. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail. |
| B．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| C．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
| D．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Shopping online in China is TaoBao. |
| B．Alibaba influences people’s daily purchase in China. |
| C．Shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping. |
| D．How the author purchases online in China. |
Stop wasting your time thinking of reasons for your failures. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.
The seeds, and the power to grow them, are contained in the most awesome machine ever created: the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner. You were born rich. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.
You cannot be successful without first developing your self-confidence. Your level of self-confidence is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-confidence are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are always victims. They are leaves tossed (摇摆) by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.
You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.
Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify(确定) the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.
In all areas of your life, whether they are financial, physical, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it. You are on the road to success.People with low self-confidence are compared to leaves because they .
| A．don’t have the power to face their lives |
| B．are ready to change their minds |
| C．can’t exercise control over themselves |
| D．are easily affected by windy weather |
Losers would think that .
| A．they fail only because of bad luck |
| B．they don’t make efforts to succeed |
| C．success is the result of hard work |
| D．working hard will lead to success |
It can be inferred from the fifth paragraph that .
| A．what we believe in is the result of creative mind |
| B．whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes |
| C．setting our expectations is vital before taking action |
| D．knowing cause and effect is the key to future success |
The last paragraph serves as .
| A．an introduction to another topic |
| B．a comparison between two views |
| C．the proof of the author’s points |
| D．the conclusion of the argument |
Music died here last spring, or rather, it was killed by members of the school committee who ignored the importance of music as part of the high-school curriculum.
The committee decided that teaching students how to take a test is more important than a curriculum in which students can explore their interests in the arts as well as academics. Because the school system is running out of funding(资金), it needs to make sure that students pass the test or even more money will be lost. If students fail the state test，it is not the fault of music classes — they are failing because the “academic” classes are not adequate.
It is painful to think of how many students will be discouraged from singing, acting, and playing instruments because school programs are no longer offered. Many families cannot afford private music lessons, and many potential musicians may not find their calling if they are not exposed to it in school. The fact that the school committee thinks the arts are not worth the investment(投资) will certainly make some students believe the arts are not worth their time or support and the cycle will continue.
Teaching for a test does not shape students into complete, well-rounded people. It blocks the natural sense to create and express feelings through art — there is more to life than the analytical(善于分析的) thinking that math and English provide. What happens after a test? Sure, a student might graduate, but they will have limited knowledge — certainly not a good preparation for the real world.Music is not included in the high school curriculum mainly because.
| A．the school committee pays no attention to it |
| B．the students are not interested in it |
| C．the school is afraid of losing financial support |
| D．the state test is more important |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The number of the classes determines students’ performance in the test. |
| B．The school committee completely influences students’ attitude towards art. |
| C．Students can be musicians only if they can afford private music lessons. |
| D．Quite a few students are discouraged from learning music at school. |
We can learn that music and art can .
| A．make students round-shaped people in future |
| B．motivate students in creativity and expression |
| C．provide students with analytical thinking |
| D．prevent students graduation from high school |
The best title of the passage can be .
| A．Who on earth killed music? |
| B．Can curriculum go without music? |
| C．Can we ignore the importance of music? |
| D．How to prepare for the real world? |
Three Japanese tourists taking a holiday in Australia got stuck when their GPS told them they could drive from the mainland to an island, failing to mention the 15 kilometres of water and mud in between.
As they drove their hired car from Moreton Bay to nearby North Stradbroke Island, they started to notice the firm surface they were driving on giving way to the well-known bay mud. However, being confident that their GPS would direct them to a road soon, they decided to drive on, managing to travel around 500 metres before their car was up to its tires in mud. To make matters worse, the tide(潮汐) started to come in and soon forced them to seek help and abandon the vehicle. Just four hours later the car was trapped in two metres of water — to the great amusement of onlookers on the shore and passengers on passing boats and ferries.
Yuzu Noda, 21, said she was listening to the GPS and “it told us we could drive down there. It kept saying it would navigate(导航) us to a road. But we got stuck…there’s lots of mud.” She and her travel companions Tomonari Saeki, 22, and Keita Osada, 21, instead had to give up their plans for a day trip to the island and headed back to the Gold Coast of a lift from the RACQ tow truck(吊车) driver who was called to the trapped car. No such luck for the hired car though – after assessing the situation, no attempt was made to recover it. The students from Tokyo, who are due to return home tomorrow, said the experience would not put them off returning to Australia for another visit. Mr. Tomonari said, “It has rained every day on our six day holiday. Hopefully next time we come back it will be sunny.”
The car was covered by insurance, but the tourists will have to pay up to about $1500 in extra charges.The three Japanese tourists got stuck because .
| A．there was no way to the island |
| B．their GPS was broken during their journey |
| C．their GPS had given the wrong information |
| D．their car was not made in Japan |
They didn’t abandon their car until .
| A．some onlookers went to save them |
| B．they got stuck in the mud |
| C．there came the tide |
| D．they managed to travel around 500 metres |
How did these Japanese students get back?
| A．They had to walk back to their living place. |
| B．They had to take a lift from the tow truck driver. |
| C．They had to repair their GPS and drove back. |
| D．They had to turn to passengers on boats and ferries. |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．The passengers saved these students in the end. |
| B．Mr. Tomonari got very down after the journey. |
| C．No money has to be paid thanks to insurance. |
| D．The car was left where it was trapped. |