A young British sailor was missing at sea yesterday in similar circumstances(情况) to the way his father died five years ago．
The dinghy(救生橡皮船), used to take Richard Smith, 21, to his yacht(快艇), was discovered empty, floating in seas off the Caribbean island. An air and sea search was carried out but he has still not been discovered.
Richard’s mother, Bicknell, said from her home in Hampshire, “It’s so much coincidence(意外). Richard always carried a photograph of his father attached to a poem, which included the date of his disappearance.”
“Now, it’s very strange because all they have found is Richard’s dinghy. We need to know this time what has happened one way or another. If you know at least you can go through the grieving process(悲痛的过程).”
In November 1996, Mr. Smith’s father, Charlie, was sailing in the Tasmen sea between the Australian mainland and the island of Tasmen with his new wife. They lost radio contact with the s
hore and they, together with their yacht were never seen again, and their disappearance remains a mystery.
Richard is described as a talented and experienced sailor. He had sailed to the Caribbean in November to help a yacht race for entertainment. He ended the evening drinking in the Abracbabra bar but left after local police closed it for being too noisy.
About 2 am the following day Richard headed back for his dinghy. He started its motor before giving an elderly woman a lift to her yacht after her dinghy had gone missing. It was the last time he was seen.
Richard Smith was ____ in 2000.
A. ten B. fifteen C
. twenty D. eighteen
People searched for Richard using ____ .
| A．ship only | B．ship and radio | C．ship and plane | D．yacht and car |
. According to the passage，we know Richard died because ____ .
| A．he was a green hand in sailing |
| B．some unknown animal attacked him |
| C．there was a fog in the area he was sailing |
| D．of something we don’t know |
Which statement is NOT true according to this passage?
| A．Old Mr. Smith had lost radio contact with the shore before he died. |
| B．Richard’s father had married two women at least. |
| C．Richard didn’t drink on the evening before he was lost because the policeman closed the bar. |
| D．Richard was seen at about 2 am the day he disappeared. |
Worried about how many calories you will get in that piece of pizza, chocolate cake or bag of chips? A new iphone application Mealsnap may help. Users just need to take a picture of the meal with the phone, and it will give a calorie read-out almost immediately.
Mealsnap was developed by DailyBurn, a health social network that focuses on helping its users lead healthier lifestyles. It has created several other health and diet-related iphone applications. The applications gives users a quick reply. To do that, it matches the taken picture to a databank containing the calorie information of nearly 500,000 kinds of food. Users then get the range of calories for the meal that is photographed.
We started with something simple — an apple. A couple of minutes later the application replied that it was an apple and between 64 and 96 calories. More impressive was the reply we received after sending a photo of mixed salad bowl. Mealsnap replied that the bowl contained “yellow rice with corn, boiled eggs and beans” and that the food was between 532 and 798 calories.
Mr. Smith, director of DailyBurn, said that usual calorie counting needed a long time, but that the application made it easier to know the calories in food. That’s why it is so popular among those who are trying hard to lose weight.
In addition, Mealsnap can serve as a food diary. No need to write down what they’ve eaten, the photos will be stored. Then users can keep a visual log (记录). Mr. Smith said: “It’s like a food journal, but easier. All you do is to take the picture. The simple act of recording something can cause a psychological change that can help people on their health journey. Knowing the calorie range makes me think more about what I’m eating.
60. The purpose of DailyBurn is to _______.
| A．help people have a healthy life |
| B．make iphone more popular |
| C．help people find ways to lose weight |
| D．persuade people to buy iphone products |
61. We can know from the passage that Mealsnap is ________.
| A．a camera | B．a phone | C．a calculator | D．an application |
62. What can be learned from the third paragraph?
| A．Mealsnap can also tell what the food is. |
| B．Mealsnap is only useful for simple things. |
| C．The result of Mealsnap isn’t always right. |
| D．Mealsnap needs a long time to show the calorie range. |
63. Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Mealsnap iphones work as a health signal |
| B．Mealsnap iphones offer you a health signal |
| C．Mealsnap iphones — the best-selling phones |
| D．Mealsnap iphones count your calories |
I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart.
Although my thoughts were only on speed, the checkout line I was standing in wasn’t moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier. There stood a man in his seventies, wearing glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, he’s an old guy!
For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before scanning the items. Sure, his words were the usual, “How’s it going?” But he did something different—he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation.
I thought it was odd (古怪的). I have grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of robotic conversational habit. After a while, you don’t give any thought to the question and just say something back. I could say, “I just found out I have six months to live,” and someone would reply, “Have a great day!”
But that wasn’t the end. He gave them the change, walked around the counter, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. He looked the customers in the eyes. “I sure want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.”
The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some sheepish grins (咧嘴一笑). All had been touched by his simple gesture—and in a place they never expected. They would gather their things and walk out, smiling.
Of course, he did the same to me and I got to know his name, Marty.
56. The checkout line the writer was standing in moved slower than expected because ________.
| A．the cashier couldn’t work as fast as others |
| B．there were some big purchases |
| C．the cashier did more than scanning the items |
| D．the writer was not patient enough |
57．According to the writer, when common people ask you “How’s it going?”________.
| A．they don’t really care what you may answer |
| B．they are just practicing their conversation ability |
| C．they are asking about your private information |
| D．they don’t expect to hear any negative answers |
58．What was most customers reaction on Marty’s behaviors?
| A．They thought it priceless. | B．They were in some way moved. |
| C．They thought it awful and odd. | D．They felt somewhat annoyed.. |
59．What does the writer intend to express through the text?
| A．Our everyday life is always full of surprises. |
| B．Most customers enjoy being treated this way. |
| C．Being different is a good way of doing business. |
| D．A little positive action can make a big difference. |
[1] Scientist proves better busy than doing nothing, research has found. Keeping the mind occupied with tasks—no matter how meaningless—keeps off negativeemotions, the study found.
[2] However, the bad news is that humans seem born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christopher Hsee, a behavioural scientist at Chicago University.
[3] In a study 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or at a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever choice they chose, they received a chocolate bar. Two-thirds (68 per cent) chose to take a shortcut. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put. Prof Hsee concluded __________________ helped keep people happy.
[4] He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy guidance. "Governments may increase the happiness of idle（闲散的）citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless", he suggested.
[5] At the individual level, he advised: "Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it." He added, "By the way, thinking deeply or busy with self-reflection counts as keeping busy, too. You do not need to be running around—you just need to be busy, either physically or mentally."What is the purpose of the text? (no more than 8 words)
____________________________________________________________________________Why did two-thirds (68 per cent) choose to take a shortcut? (no more than 8 words)
____________________________________________________________________________Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with proper words. (no more than 2 words)
____________________________________________________________________________What does the word “it” in Paragraph 5 probably refer to? ( no more than 2 words)
____________________________________________________________________________What is the main idea of the last paragraph? (no more than 10 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
The education of thousands of children with reading and sight trouble is being held back because of a lack of awareness of their legal rights, say campaigners.
They are calling for greater efforts to increase awareness of the rights of such children to have text books in design other than standard (标准) print. The campaign is being supported by five times Olympic gold medalist, Sir Steve Redgrave, who has reading trouble.
Pupils have the right to receive text in another way, and parents can take action under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) if they feel their children are being treated in a different way through a lack of support. But new research suggests 89 per cent of print disabled pupils and their parents are unaware of software which changes standard print into other substitutes like combined text and audio files (音频) which can be read or listened to.
Sir Steve has teamed up with software company Dolphin Computer Access to raise awareness of software turning tools. He said: "I recognize that schools have competing priorities (优先权) for their resources (资源), but I would like to see a much greater effort on the part of the government and schools to raise awareness among parents that these additional solutions exist and that their children have a right to use them."
Mike Foster, Dolphin's local MP in Worcester, is backing the campaign. "There is clearly an issue to solve concerning software for special needs. I'll be asking ministers what steps can be taken to improve the situation", he said.What is the best title of this text?
| A．Awareness of legal rights among parents | B．Campaign started for disabled children |
| C．Problems of disabled children | D．Steve — Olympic gold medalist |
Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “backing” in Paragraph 5?
| A．holding back | B．objecting to | C．supporting | D．controlling |
Most print disabled pupils and their parents
________.
| A．don’t know anything about such software |
| B．must cooperate with the software company |
| C．prefer combined text and audio files more |
| D．must take action to receive text in another way |
Sir Steve Redgrave suggests that
________.
| A．government and schools raise awareness of disabled children’s legal rights |
| B．parents take greater efforts to ask the government and schools for help |
| C．parents should take action to raise awareness of software turning tools |
| D．software company work with him to make the products |
What Mike Foster said in Paragraph 5 means
________.
| A．the ministers should be responsible for improving the situation |
| B．the software for special needs has got well along |
| C．the problem about software for special needs is to be dealt with |
| D．how to use the software is a big problem |
Connie Lau hates smoking. “It smells awful, and it’s so bad for you. It breaks my heart to see my friends smoking. I try to get them to give up smoking.” She says.
So why does Connie walk into convenience stores and try to buy cigarettes? She is testing to see if stores will sell cigarettes to a kid who is younger than 18. “You have to be 18 to purchase cigarettes, and I’m 16, so if they sell to me, they’re breaking the law,” Connie says.
Connie isn’t a vigilante (治安队员); She works with local police in her town of Castro Valley, California. Officers drive her to stores, and she goes in alone to try to buy cigarettes. If the person behind the counter sells her a pack, an officer comes in and writes the business a ticket for breaking the law.
Most stores obey the law and don’t sell her cigarettes. The law requires that customers show ID if store employees ask them to. “When they ask your age, you can’t lie,” Connie says. “Most stores don’t sell to me. In a year, we’ve visited almost 150 stores and had only 15 sales.”
Working undercover can be scary, even with police nearby. Connie said one cashier refused to sell her cigarettes and then got angry when he found out her age. He threatened to call the authorities. “To calm him down, the police went in to explain that I was undercover,” she says.
Most teens wouldn’t think of going undercover for the police. What’s Connie’s motivation (动机)? For starters, she can’t stand smoking. But she also believes it’s important for young people like her to try to make a real impact in their communities. In her view, teens can do more than get good grades in school, do chores at home, and do well in out-of-class activities.
Every time she stops the sale of cigarettes to children, she’s helping to uphold the law. “A single teenager can make a big difference,” Connie says. “For the most part, when stores get caught, they learn their lesson and don’t do it again.” According to the law what age of person can the store be allowed to sell cigarettes to?
| A．Under 18. | B．More than 18. | C．16. | D．More than 16. |
Connie goes to convenience stores to
________.
| A．discover whether stores can sell cigarettes to kids |
| B．see which stores can sell cigarettes to her friends |
| C．look for her friends |
| D．arrest the smokers |
What would happen if an owner sells cigarettes to kids?
| A．The owner would be arrested. | B．The owner would be fined. |
| C．The kids would be punished. | D．The kids would be removed from school. |
One reason that Connie works undercover is that
________.
| A．she wants more smokers to quit smoking |
| B．she wants to get good grades in school |
| C．she hopes to make a difference in the area |
| D．she hopes to be excellent in out-of-class activities |
Which of the following might be the main idea of the text?
| A．Smoking can be forbidden with the help of a girl. |
| B．A good way to stop a store from selling cigarettes to kids. |
| C．Connie Lau — a brave girl who goes undercover for the policeman. |
| D．Connie Lau goes undercover to stop stores from selling cigarettes to kids. |