I made a pledge (誓言) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical（圣经的）passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A perso
n can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been
a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.”
“Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.
After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress (悲痛), “do you know something I don’t?”
“What do you
mean?”
“Well…that checkup（体检）I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me？Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”
It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”
From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage __________.
| A．with his family | B．with Evelyn | C．alone | D．with his children |
During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because __________.
| A．she looked lovely in her new clothes |
| B．he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm |
| C．he was determined to be a good husband |
| D．she was seriously ill |
The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What was the
one thing that went wrong?
| A．He praised her sweater, which puzzled her. |
B．She insi sted on visiting a museum, which he hated. |
| C．He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her. |
| D．He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying. |
By saying “I’m just starting to live,” Tom means that __________.
| A．he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life |
| B．he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband |
| C．he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change |
| D．he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before |
The Best Rice Cookers
☆☆☆☆Tefal Automatic 2W3 Classic Rice Cooker
One of the largest rice cookers on the market, with a 2-litre capacity （容量）（up to 12 servings）．It looks "rather utilitarian", but gives "the least sticky results" and its removable power cord means it can be taken outdoors or to the table．It comes with eight recipes and once cooking is completed it automatically switches to "keep-warm mode"．Price; $29．99．Call 0800-616413 for stockists．
☆☆☆ Keiswood Rice Cooker and Steamer RC310
A "stylish looking machine with a heavy glass lid and a steam tray for steaming fish and vegetables．It cooks up to ten portions of rice（l．8-litre capacity）, and produces "good results" although the rice tends to get sticky on the bottom layer．It keeps the rice warm once cooking is completed, but the power cord is not removable．Price:$34．99．Ca
ll 01705-392333 for stockists．
☆☆☆Zojurushi Rice Cooker / Warmer NDAQ – N10W
This cooker has a one – litre capacity (five portions of rice) and keeps rice warm for up to 12 hours after cooking. The lid has a clip – lock and is sealed so cooking is pressurized. It cooks rice “perfectly”, though “at a price”. Price: $ 109.90. Call 0181 – 9982100 for stockists.
☆☆☆Magimix – 2 – Tier Steamer
A double – layer steamer with two large stainless – steel steam baskets. Rice is cooked in a heat – proff dish which is inserted in the bottom tier (层). It is “perfectly done” in just 20 minutes, with “no stickiness or scorching (烧焦).” The rice can also be kept warm on half power. Price: $ 89.95. Call 04183 – 427411 for stockiest.
☆☆☆Lakeland Ltd Microwave Multi – Steamer (Raf 4241)
A four – portion steamer which takes just ten mantes in the microwave to cook four “fluffy” portions of rice. It is alos suitable for vegetables, noodles and pasta and is “great for smallest quantities”. Price: $ 5.95. Call 015394 – 88100 to order.
☆☆Hinari Steam Supreme
A double – layer steamer which comes with an additional rice bowl and lid. Its main drawbacks are “time and capacity”; the rice bowl can only hold two portions and this takes 55 minutes to cool. The instructions are also confusing. “Good as a general steamer, mediocre as a rice cooker”. Price: $ 19.99. Call Alba Ltd on 0181 – 7873111 for stockiest.Which of the following is unlikely to be considered by a housewife who hates washing sticky cookers?
| A．Tefal Automatic 2003 Classic Rice Cooker |
| B．Kenwood Rice Cooker and Steamer RC 310 |
| C．magimix 2 – Tier Steamer |
| D．Lakeland Ltd Microwave Multi – Steamer (Ref 4241) |
may not be so popular with customers as others because it is time – consuming, low in cap
acity and vague in instructions.
| A．Zojurushi Rice Cooker / Warmer NDAQ – N10W |
| B．Lakeland Ltd Microwave Multi – Steamer (Ref4241) |
| C．Hinari Steam Supreme |
| D．Kenwood Rice Cooker and Steamer RC 310 |
The phrase “at a price” describing Zojurushi Rice Cooker / Warmer NDAQ – N10W implies that its price is .
| A．low | B．high | C．above average | D．reasonable |
The temperature of the sun is over 5000 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface, but it rises to perhaps more than 16 million degrees at the center．The sun is so much h
otter than die earth that matter can exist only as a gas, except at the core．In the core of the sun, the pressures are so great against the gases that, despite the high temperature, there may be a small solid core．However, no one really knows, since the center of the sun can never be directly observed．
Solar astronomers do know that the sun is divided into five layers or zones．Starting at the outside and going down into the sun, the zones are the corona, chromosphere, photosphere, convection zone and finally the core．The first three zones are regarded as the sun's atmosphere．
But since the sun has no solid surface, it is hard to tell where the atmosphere ends and the main
body of the sun begins．
The sun's outermost layer begins about 10000 miles above the visible surface and goes outward for mllions of miles．This is the only part of the sun that can be seen during an eclipse（日食） such as the one in February 1979．At any other time, the corona can be seen only when special instruments are used on cameras and telescopes to shut out the glare of the sun's rays．
The corona is a brilliant, pearly white, filmy light, about as bright as the full moon．Its beautiful rays are a sensational sight during an eclipse．The corona's rays flash out in a brilliant fan that has wispy spikelike（一束束穗状） rays near the sun's north and south poles．The corona is thickest at the sun's equator．
The corona rays are made up of gases streaming outward at tremendous speeds sad reaching a temperature of more than 2 million degrees Fahrenheit．The rays of gas thin out as they reach the space around the planets．By the time the sun's corona rays reach the Earth, they are weak and invisible．Matter on the aim can exist only in fee form of gas because of the sun's ___．
| A．size | B．age | C．location | D．temperature |
All of the following are parts of the sun's atmosphere EXCEPT the ___．
| A．corona | B．chromosphere | C．photosphere | D．core |
According to the passage, as the corona ra5,'s reach -die plaasts, they become ___．
| A．hotter | B．clearer | C．thinner | D．stronger |
Which of 'die following do the paragraphs following the passage most likely discuss?
| A．The remaining layers of the sun． |
| B．The evolution of the sun to its present form． |
| C．The eclipse of February 1979． |
| D．All the above． |
Many people like the feeling of the gentle wind in spring. Many like to see the falling leaves dancing in the wind in autumn. But sometimes, when the wind becomes a storm, it can be very destructive (毁灭性的).
A series of such storms struck the US last month and caused very serious damage and human pain.
Every year, major storms cause many problems around the world. There is nothing people can do to stop these powerful forces of nature. But new techniques are helping scientists to predict how, when, and where big storms will happen. The more exact scientists’ warnings are, the better people can prepare for the storms.
Predictions are improving. “We’ve gotten better over the years, especially the last few years,” says Phil Klotzback, a scientist at an American university. How is a storm formed? Even if scientists know where a storm will happen, winds can suddenly change, carrying the storm to a new direction. “For a hurricane to happen, conditions have to be just right,” Klotzback says.
First, the ocean water needs to be warm enough so that it evaporates and rises into the air. As it rises, the air containing drops of water cools and turns back into liquid. This process gives off heat. This produces energy like an engine that causes winds to increase. It drives the formation of a hurricane.
If wind speeds reach 40 miles per hour, the system is called a “ tropical storm”, and it gets a name. At 75 miles per hour, it becomes a hurricane. Hurricanes that hit the US start when a thunderstorm forms off the coast Africa. Storms also develop over tropical waters in other parts of the world.
On average, 60 or 70 storms form off Africa every year. About 10 of them get names. There are usually about six hurricanes. Two tend to be very big, with winds of 115 miles per hour or a bit higher.
The hurricane season lasts from June to November. Ninety percent of all hurricanes hit in August, September and October.According to the text, hurricanes usually ________.
| A．form off the coast of Africa and America |
| B．hit parts of the world in summer and autumn |
| C．cause sea winds to rise and blow over the sea |
| D．strike the US but cause no damage |
The underlined word “evaporates” (in Paragraph 5) probably means “________ .”
| A．begins to move | B．gets lost | C．becomes hot | D．changes into a gas |
Which of the following about the information of a hurricane is the correct order?
a. The ocean water evaporates and goes into the air.
b. Heat creates energy and causes winds to increase.
c. The vapor cools.
d. The ocean water is warm enough.
e. The vapor changes back into liquid.
f. This course gives out heat.
| A．a, d, e, b, c, f | B．a, b, c, f, d, e | C．d, a, c, e, f, b | D．d, a, b, c, e, f |
Robert Frost was at heart a mean-spirited human being, not the kind of man one would expect to write poetry. He was born in San Francisco. Frost entered Dartmouth University in 1893, but dropped out, and switched to Harvard, which he attended for two years. He started a brief teaching career, where he was inspired to become a poet by some of his students’ work. Frost stopped teaching and became a farmer. During this time he wrote numerous poems, and a couple of short stories. While he was a farmer he started to think seriously about becoming a famous poet.
In almost all of his poems, Frost wrote in the first person. The first widely-read poem that he published was called My Butterfly. At first his audience was very small, but with his Collected Poems he became famous. Robert Frost received almost all the awards that there were for poetry. His poetry describes the forces of nature, and the violence and deep emotional(情感的) needs of human beings, which reflect the experiences of his childhood.
Robert Frost will always be known as one of the best poets in history. His way of putting emotion and violence into words is remarkable(非同寻常的). His talent for poetry is natural-born and he had discovered this when he started to farm. Even though he treated his wife and children terribly, he still became one of the best-known poets of his and our day.We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．Robert Frost had been a famous writer before he started teaching |
| B．Robert Frost wrote his poems mostly in the first person |
| C．Robert Frost was very famous at the beginning of his writing career |
| D．Robert Frost began to write poems when he was a teacher |
According to the passage, Robert Frost was famous for ________.
| A．his teaching career | B．his life experiences |
| C．showing strong feeling in his poems | D．his interest in poems |
The last paragraph of the passage mainly tells us ________.
| A．why Robert Frost stopped farming |
| B．why Robert Frost was so famous |
| C．about his masterpieces(杰作) |
| D．about the way he treated his wife and children |
From the passage we know that ________.
| A．Robert Frost’s most famous poem is My Butterfly |
| B．Robert Frost began to write when he was in college |
| C．Robert Frost gave up studying at Dartmouth University |
| D．his poetry showed the violence of war and his childhood |
The market is a concept. If you are growing tomatoes in your backyard for sale you are producing for the market. You might sell some to your neighbor and some to the local manager of the supermarket. But in either case, you are producing for the market. Your efforts are being directed by the market. If people stop buying tomatoes, you will stop producing them.
If you take care of a sick person to earn money, you are producing for the market. If your father is a steel worker or a truck driver or a doctor or a grocer, he is producing goods or service for the market.
When you spend your income, you are buying things from the market. You may spend money in stores, supermarkets, gas stations and restaurants. Still you are buying from the market. When the local grocer hires you to drive the delivery truck, he is buying your labor in the labor market.
The market may be something abstract (抽象的). But for each person or business that is making and selling something, it is very concrete. If nobody buys your tomatoes, it won’t be long before you get the message. The market is telling you something. It is telling you that you are using energies and resources in doing something the market doesn’t want you to do. Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
| A．Selling and Buying. | B．Everything you do is producing for the market. |
| C．What is the market? | D．What the market can do for you. |
All of the following acts are producing for the market except________.
| A．working in a bank | B．volunteering at a nursing home |
| C．driving a taxi | D．growing beans for sale |
You are buying from the market when you________.
| A．borrow a book from the library | B．drive to the seaside for a holiday |
| C．look after your children | D．dine at restaurant |
The word “concrete” in the last paragraph may most probably mean________.
| A．serious | B．important | C．necessary | D．real |