A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was alarmed to discover that it was a rat trap (捕鼠夹).
Going back to the farmyard the rat gave a warning: “There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!” The chicken raised her head and said: “Excuse me, Mr Rat, I can tell this is a big concern to you, but it is of no business to me. I cannot be bothered with it.”
The rat turned to the pig and told him: “There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!”“I am so very sorry, Mr. Rat,” sympathized the pig, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. I will make sure that you are in my prayers.”
The rat turned to the cow. She said, “Like wow, Mr. Rat. A rat trap. I am in grave danger. Duh?”
So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s rat trap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rat trap catching its prey (猎物). The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a poisonous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet (短柄斧) to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.
His wife’s sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them the farmer killed the pig.
The farmer’s wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow killed to provide meat for all of them to eat.
So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when there is a rat trap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk.The underlined word “dejected” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to .
| A．disappointed | B．surprised | C．confused | D．doubtful |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?
| A．The chicken showed great concern for the rat. |
| B．The pig helped the rat get rid of the trap. |
| C．The cow didn’t care about what the rat said. |
| D．The snake was killed after being caught in the trap. |
We can conclude from the article that .
| A．the farmer’s wife got good treatment in the hospital |
| B．the farmer regretted setting up the rat trap |
| C．the rat was very wise in avoiding the trap |
| D．none of the other animals felt threatened by the rat trap |
What message does the story intend to convey?
| A．We should mind our own business. | B．Everything is related to something else. |
| C．Helping others is always a virtue. | D．We should treat animals in a friendly way. |
Have you wondered about the amount of time we spend talking about food and been surprised? We are always asking questions such as “Have you ever eaten？” and “What did you have for lunch？”Yet, if you travel from one country to another, you might find that other nations think differently about food. People plan to think that what they eat is normal and what everyone else eats is strange. In most parts of Asia, for example, no meal is complete without rice but in England, rice is the exception and people prefer to eat potatoes, in the Middle East, bread accompanies every meal.
Eating, like so many things we do, becomes a habit that is difficult to change. The Americans seem to like drinking lots of orange juice and coffee; the English prefer to drink tea four or five times a day; the Australians prefer to drink a lot of beer; the French, like wine every day.
People in different countries also like eating different kinds of meat and even within countries, different regions will have different likes and dislikes, especially in large countries like China and the former Soviet Union. In Hong Kong and the south of China, some people enjoy eating snakes but in the north of China, most people refuse to eat them. The French think that horse meat is delicious but most English people are terrified at the thought of eating it. The New Zealanders eat a lot of lamb and mutton, but never goat. The Japanese say that they do not like eating lamb and mutton because of their smell, but that they really enjoy eating raw fish more than anything else.
So it seems that there is often very little common sense about what is nicest to eat or drink in different parts of the world although we may talk on the subject of food for hours. However, as people everywhere enjoy eating what they have always eaten, there seems very little point in trying to change traditional eating habits.The topic people spend a lot of time talking about is ________.
| A．lunch | B．breakfast | C．dinner | D．food |
Bread is necessary in every meal in ________.
| A．the Middle East | B．America | C．England | D．Asia |
In England, people prefer to eat ________.
| A．rice | B．potatoes | C．corn | D．bread |
An American woman Anna Jarvis was the first person to decide the mothers should have a holiday in their honor each year. Miss Jarvis started her campaign in 1906 in her home city Philadelphia. She wrote thousands of letters to congressmen(国会议员), city officials, teachers and newspaper publishers, proposing an official holiday for mothers. She traveled all over America, trying to get support for the idea. Her battle went on for years.
In 1914, the Congress declared the second Sunday in May each year as Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis wanted Mother's Day to be a simple event. She thought children could honor their mothers by spending some time with them as an act of love and respect. However, the holiday turned out to be a major event for department stores, flower shops and greetingcard industry, which Miss Jarvis didn't like.
Americans spend millions of dollars on gifts for their mothers on this day. Younger children often try to prepare and serve breakfast for their mothers. Fathers may offer to take care of children so that mothers can enjoy themselves. The holiday becomes an important time for family gathering.What can be inferred from the text is that ________.
| A．the Congress didn't accept Anna's suggestion until the whole country supported her |
| B．the battle lasted 8 years |
| C．Jarvis didn't enjoy the usual way Americans spend Mother's Day |
| D．Mother's Day is an important day for Americans |
Miss Jarvis proposed Mother's Day in order that people could show their love and respect to their mothers ________.
| A．by spending some time with them |
| B．by offering them precious gifts |
| C．by eating in restaurants together |
| D．by taking children for them |
On Mother's Day ________.
| A．all women, young and old, receive gifts |
| B．families gather together |
| C．all people stay at home |
| D．no one goes to work |
Miss Jarvis proposed Mother's Day, but she didn't like ________.
| A．flower shops selling flowers |
| B．department stores earning money from greetingcards |
| C．greetingcard industry |
| D．the way people spend Mother's Day |
Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take，for example，the story of one 10－year－old boy who decided to study judo(柔道) despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well，so he couldn't understand why，after three months of training，the master had taught him only one move.
“Sensei，” the boy finally said，“shouldn't I be learning more moves？” “This is the only move you know，but this is the only move you'll ever need to know，” the sensei replied.
Not quite understanding，but believing in his teacher，the boy kept training. Several months later，the sensei took the boy to his first tournament(锦标赛，联赛)．Surprising himself，the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult，but after some time，his opponent became impatient and charged；the boy deftly(熟练地) used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success，the boy was now in the finals.
This time，his opponent was bigger，stronger，and more experienced. For a while，the boy appeared to be defeated. Concerned that the boy might get hurt，the referee called a time out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. “No，” the sensei insisted，“let him continue.” Soon after the match resumed，his opponent made a big mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly，the boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home，the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy gathered the courage to ask what was really on his mind. “Sensei，how did I win the tournament with only one move? ”“You won for two reasons，” the sensei answered. “First，you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second，the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm. ”The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
What's the best title of the passage?
| A．No pains no gains. |
| B．Weakness can become strength. |
| C．Where there is a will there is a way. |
| D．A great judo master. |
According to the second paragraph the boy was ______ with his teacher.
| A．satisfied | B．pleased |
| C．unsatisfied | D．careful |
Why did the referee call a timeout in the finals?
| A．Because he thought the boy would be the loser definitely. |
| B．Because he thought the boy would give up. |
| C．Because he dropped his guard. |
| D．Because he was experienced. |
In the last paragraph the author wanted to tell us ______．
| A．who was the champion |
| B．the reason why the boy won every match |
| C．the sensei was very excellent |
| D．the boy was very courageous |
Anger and other strong emotions (情感) can probably cause deadly heart beats in certain weak people，the US researchers said on Monday.
Earlier studies have shown that earthquake，war or even the loss of a World Cup Soccer game can increase chances of death from sudden cardiac arrest，in which the heart stops passing blood.
“It’s certainly been shown in all different ways that when you put people under pressure，sudden death will increase，” said Dr.Rachel Lampert of Yale University in New Haven，Connecticut.
“Our study starts to look at how this really has an effect on the electrical system of the heart，” Lampert said.
She and her assistants studied 62 patients with heart disease and ICDs that can discover dangerous heart beats and send an electrical shock to bring a normal heart beat back.
Patients in the study took part in an exercise in which they told a recent angry period while Lampert’s team did a test called TWave Alternant that measures electrical instability(不稳定性) in the heart.
Lampert said the team on purpose asked questions to get people to experience the angry period again.“We found in the lab that yes，anger did increase this electrical instability in these patients，” she said.
Next，they followed patients for three years to see which patients later had a cardiac arrest and needed a shock from their ICDs.“The people who had the highest anger were 10 times more likely than everyone else to have cardiac arrest，” she said.
Lampert said the study suggests that anger can be deadly，at least for people who are already weak to this type of electrical disorder in the heart.From the passage we know cardiac arrest refers to ________.
| A．someone who will be caught if he does something wrong |
| B．some place where you can show all your feelings |
| C．some disease that can kill people instantly |
| D．something used by patients in hospital |
The underlined word “this” in Paragraph 4 refers to “________”．
| A．feelings of anger and pressure |
| B．games |
| C．feelings of happiness |
| D．hunger |
What did Lampert use to measure electrical instability of patients’ heart?
| A．ICD and TWave Alternant test. |
| B．ICD and Cardic arrest. |
| C．Cardiac arrest. |
| D．The passage doesn’t tell us. |
The passage is mainly about ________.
| A．new findings for heart disease |
| B．that anger really can kill a person |
| C．a new test of measuring heart blood |
| D．a study showing danger of heart beats |
Recently a man came to me，because he was told that there was fluid around his heart. After trying many drugs which were of no use to reduce the fluid，he was told the only other choice was to have an operation. He refused because he knew that every illness has a mental cause and that if he had the operation but did not clear the mental cause，the fluid would return. At last，he searched the Internet to find a metaphysical healer (自然力治疗师)，and he found me.
The mental cause of his disease was an experience of breaking up five years ago with several friends，whom he had known for over twenty years. This experience broke his heart. Not knowing how to “mend” his broken heart，his body created a “repair” by surrounding his heart with fluid to protect it from the sad feelings.
Our work focused on reminding him of the feelings of being loved and forgiving his friends. Months later，his heart was mended and the fluid disappeared. He left my office after the final session with a smile on his face and a spring in his steps.
The key is: to create a healthy body，you must be healthy not only in body，but also in mind.
To be mentally healthy，you need to build up strong relationships. Creating strong relationships will insure that you are accompanied by a network of loving persons. It is important for building a support system that boosts your spirits. Even when you are alone，you will not feel lonely or upset. Strong relationships are not spaceships－they are not hard to build.The underlined word “boosts” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to ________.
| A．controls |
| B．guides |
| C．lifts |
| D．affects |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Loving others will keep you in good spirits. |
| B．Heart illness can be cured without operation. |
| C．Creating strong relationships will keep you healthy. |
| D．Spiritual health is necessary for physical health. |
Which of the following views may the writer agree with?
| A．Old friendship is easy to lose. |
| B．A good friendship is a useful medicine. |
| C．The best doctor is your own body. |
| D．It needs many efforts to build relationships. |
If this passage is continued with another paragraph，what would it be probably about?
| A．How to build strong relationships. |
| B．How to protect your heart. |
| C．How to keep mentally healthy. |
| D．How to live a healthy life. |