I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice. “Mom, come here! There’s this lady near my size!” The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to apologize. I smiled and told her, “It’s okay.” Then talked to the boy, “Hi, I’m Darry Kramer. How are you?” He studied me from head to toe, and asked, “Are you a little mommy?” “Yes, I have a son,” I answered. “Why are you so little?” he asked. “It’s the way I was born,” I said. “Some people are little. Some are tall. I’m just not going to grow any bigger.” After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy’s hand and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was born an achondroplasia dwarf (侏儒). Despite this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn’t realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids joked on me, calling me names. Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.
But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I de
cided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality.
I’m 47 now, and the stares have not diminished as I’ve grown older. People are amazed when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, “Look what else I have – a great family, nice friends.”
It’s the children’s questions that make my life special. I enjoy answering their questions. My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers (a person of the same age, class, posi
tion, etc.), whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with respect.
Why did the mother apologize to the author?
| A．Because the boy ran into the author. |
| B．Because the boy laughed at the author. |
| C．Because they boy said the author was fatter than him. |
| D．Because the mother thought the boy’s words had hurt the author. |
When
did the author realize that she was too short?
| A．When she grew up. |
| B．When she was 47 years old. |
| C．When she began to go to school. |
| D．When she met the boy in the supermarket. |
Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word “diminished”?
| A．doubted | B．increased | C．decreased | D．improved |
.How does the author feel about people’s stares now?
| A．Angry | B．Calm | C．Painful | D．Discouraged |
Women in Nazi Germany were to have a very special job. Hitler was very clear about this. This job was that they should be good mothers bringing up children at home while their husbands worked. Except for some special fields, Hitler saw no reason why a woman should work. Within months of Hitler coming to power, many female doctors, teachers and lawyers were sacked. By the start of the Second World War, very few German women were in fulltime work. From their earliest years, girls were taught that all good German women married at a young age to a proper German and that the wife’s job was to keep a good home for her working husband and to have children.
One of the earliest laws passed by Hitler once he came to power in 1933, was the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage. This law stated (声明) that all newly married couples would get a government loan (贷款) of 1000 marks. This loan was not to be simply paid back. The birth of one child meant that 25% of the loan did not have to be paid back. Two children meant that 50% of the loan didn’t need to be paid back. Four children meant that the entire loan was cleared.
What was more, as housewives and mothers, their lives were controlled. Women were not expected to wear make-up or trousers. Only flat shoes were expected to be worn. Women were discouraged from slimming as this was considered bad for child birth.The aim of the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage was to ________.
| A．attract more young people to join the army willingly |
| B．make those married couples become rich quickly |
| C．encourage people to loan more from the government |
| D．encourage couples to have as many children as they could |
The underlined word “sacked” in Paragraph one probably means “________”.
| A．punished | B．fired | C．killed | D．raised |
According to the passage, women in Nazi Germany ________.
| A．could make up or wear beautiful clothes |
| B．were to have children and do housework |
| C．could receive a good education at school |
| D．were offered the equal rights as men |
Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?
| A．The life of women in Nazi Germany |
| B．The cruel rule of Hitler in Germany |
| C．The marriage policy in Nazi Germany |
| D．Hitler — a powerful leader in Germany |
Exercise is an important part of a healthy life. It reduces your risk of heart attack and is a good way to control body weight. It is also something you can do with other people, which can be great fun. So, it is important to find time to exercise and be healthier. As well as making time to exercises, another way is to build it into the natural rhythm (节奏) of your day.
· Go for a walk on your lunch break.
Try to find at least three different ways and change them throughout the week. It
might even be possible to find a place to walk inside, for those bad weather days.
· Talk to your employers about improving health at work.
Encourage your workers to cycle to and from work. You might also be able to
encourage them to set up a gymnasium. Sell the idea by pointing out that doing so
will improve productivity (生产率), and make workers happy.
· If you are a student.
Go for walks with friends to talk about your studies. Spend some time in the learning
resource centre reading about sport, exercise and health. The more you know, the
more choices you will have about how to be physically active. Most colleges have
sport and exercise programs that students can take part in. Find out which activities
are being held, and try those you think you might enjoy.Workers are advised to cycle to and from work to ________.
| A．make themselves realize the importance of health |
| B．work better and bring pleasure to themselves |
| C．make themselves become much stronger |
| D．reduce the time spent in walking to work |
When a student wants to do exercise at school, he or she had better ________.
| A．take part in all the exercise programs |
| B．have sports with friends or classmates |
| C．choose the one that he or she likes |
| D．choose the same one all the time |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．walk is most suitable for those who work indoors |
| B．one who knows more about health will be healthier |
| C．exercising with others will be better for one’s health |
| D．combining exercise with daily work can save time to keep healthy |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。The first, and perhaps the most important, is whether to bury the body or cremate(火化) it.
Cremation is the act of burning the body until only the ashes are left. The ashes are placed in a container called an urn(骨灰盒). The urn is often put on display during the memorial service. Or they may bury them in the earth, place them in a tomb or scatter them in a special place.
It is said that cremations were used in almost 35% of funerals in 2009. And the cremation rate is expected to increase to almost 59% by 2025.
While cremation has grown in popularity, most families in the United States still choose to bury their loved ones.
After death, the person’s body is usually embalmed (进行防腐处理) to preserve it until the funeral is held. A traditional full service funeral usually includes a public viewing. This is called a wake. The body is placed in a special burial box called a coffin. The service may include music and comments about the loved one by family members and friends. A religious leader may also talk about the person and offer spiritual comfort to the family. After the service, family members and friends go to the gravesite where the body is buried or placed in a tomb.
A traditional full service funeral averages about 6,000 dollars. Flowers, funeral cars and special burial requests can increase the cost to more than 10,000 dollars. Cremations usually cost thousands of dollars less.
| A．Then a memorial service is held. |
| B．This was an 11% increase from 1999. |
| C．American funerals can be quite costly. |
| D．American families are in deep sorrow when a loved one dies. |
E.After the ceremony, the family may keep the ashes in their home.
F.American families have several decisions to make when a loved one dies.
G.More families choose cremations due to environmental protection, though they are more expensive.
A controversial new study has claimed that men really are more intelligent than women．The study concluded that men’s IQs are almost four points higher than women’s.
British-born researcher John Philippe Ruston says the finding could explain why so few women make it to the top in the workplace.
He claims the “glass ceiling” phenomenon is probably due to inferior intelligence，rather than lack of opportunity.
The University of Western Ontario psychologist reached his conclusion after scrutinizing the results of university ability tests taken by 1 00,000 students aged 17 and 18 of both sexes.
A focus on the factors such as the ability to quickly grasp a complex concept，verbal reasoning skills and creativity― some of the key factors of intelligence ―showed the male teenagers had IQs that were an average of 3.63 points higher. The average person has an IQ around 100.The findings，which held true for all classes and levels of education, overturn 100 year opinion that men and women average the same in general mental ability. They also conflict with evidence that girls do better in school exams than boys.
But Professor Ruston argues that the faster maturing of girls leads to them outshining boy in the classroom. The report is mainly about ______.
| A．a study that shows men are cleverer than women |
| B．the “glass ceiling” phenomenon |
| C．Professor Ruston’s theory on IQ |
| D．the difference between male and female |
The underlined word “scrutinizing” in the fourth paragraph probably means ______.
| A．making up | B．carrying out | C．examining carefully | D．looking at |
We can infer that the average woman has an IQ of ______.
| A．a little less than 100 | B．100 |
| C．more than 100 | D．96.37 |
A sunflower is a sunflower . A mobile phone is a mobile phone . But can you combine the two to do something for your local environment?
As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in the garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower. A biodegradable (能进行生物递降分解的) mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists.
Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and able to change shape. Overtime it can also break down into the soil without giving out any toxic chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed. When this new type of cover turns into waste, it forms nitrates (硝酸钾). These feed the seed and help the flower grow. Engineers have designed a small transparent window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grows when the phone is thrown away. "We've only put sunflower seeds into the covers so far. But we are working with plant experts to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time," said one scientist.
As phone technology is developing so quickly people are constantly throwing their mobiles away. This means manufacturers are under pressure to find ways of recycling them. Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can offer some relief for nature, according to the scientists. "The seed is released and the flower grows in the pot so you don't have to concern yourself with the phone when you have finished using it," said Kerry Kirwan. She leads the research team, which is based at the University of Warwick in Britain. The main idea of the passage is ________ .
| A．the relationship between high tech and environment |
| B．the phone technology is developing |
| C．phone can be turned into flowers |
| D．mobile phone and environment |
The purpose of introducing a biodegradable mobile phone is ______ .
| A．to encourage consumers to recycle |
| B．to prevent consumers from throwing their phones away |
| C．to meet consumers’ need |
| D．to help consumers know which flower can best perform |
What is the possible meaning of the underlined word ?
| A．pleasant | B．poisonous | C．useful | D．new |
Which of the following statements is NOT true ?
| A．Engineers have designed a small transparent window to hold the rose seed . |
| B．Mobiles with biodegradable covers can do good to nature . |
| C．Manufacturers are under pressure to find ways of recycling mobiles . |
| D．The flower only grows when the phone is thrown away . |