My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet
. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find th
em. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field — except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick. The writer’s first job was _______.
| A．to stand down the fairway at a golf course |
| B．to watch over the sugar-cane plantation |
| C．to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields |
| D．to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them |
T
he writer learned that_______ from his first job.
| A．he should work for those who he liked most |
| B．he should work longer than what he was expected |
| C．he should never fail to say hello to his owner |
| D．he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for |
_______ gave the writer self-esteem.
| A．Having a family of eight people |
| B．Owning his own golf course |
| C．Bringing money back home to help the family |
| D．Helping his father with the work on the plantation |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．He wanted to be a successful golfer. |
| B．He wanted to run a golf course near his house. |
| C．He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation. |
| D．He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick. |
“We need carbohydrates, protein and fat — they are like the wood in the fireplace．The vitamins and minerals are like the match, the spark, for the fuel,” she explains．“We need them all, but in a very different proportions．And if the fuel isn’t there, the spark is useless.”From the first paragraph we know that working women .
| A．think cooking is especially complicated |
| B．do not share the same views with registered dietitians |
| C．are busy and not interested in cooking |
| D．are likely to eat healthfully |
Orange juice is different from orange drink in that .
| A．it contains only a small percentage of real juice |
| B．it is natural, nutritious and prepared from real oranges |
| C．it is largely orange-colored sugar water |
| D．it produces nothing but calories |
In Paragraph 4, “a fruitless search” means .
| A．an effort with no results |
| B．a search for a diet without fruits |
| C．a research on fruitless diet |
| D．a diet serving as medicine |
Justin Bieber may have millions of fans worldwide, but Russia’s bears don’t appear to admire the pop singer’s music --- which proved fortunate for one lucky fisherman.
Igor Vorozhbitsyn had his life saved by a Justin Bieber ringtone, when his mobile phone went off during a dangerous attack by a brown bear.
The 42-year-old was attacked as he was walking to a favourite fishing spot in northern Russia’s Yakutia Republic and firmly believed that he was going to be killed.
Wildlife experts believe the ringtone must have frightened the bear into stopping its attack.
‘Sometimes a sharp shock can stop an angry bear in its attack and that ringtone would be a very unexpected sound for a bear,’ explained one．
Mr Vorozhbitsyn suffered from cuts and severe wounds and was rescued when he was found by other fishermen after using the phone to call for help.
Mr Vorozhbitsyn ---now recovering from his wounds---explained: ‘I had parked my car and was walking towards the spot I’d marked out when there was a tremendous impact on my back and the bear was on top of me.’
‘I couldn’t believe my luck when the phone went off and it run away.’
‘I know that sort of ringtone isn’t to everyone’s taste but my granddaughter loaded it onto my phone for a joke,’ he added.
Adult brown bears can weigh as much as 600kg and have been known to kill wolves and even Siberian tigers.
Finally, this is a proof that Justin Bieber is unbearableIgor Vorozhbitsyn was attacked when____.
| A．he was fishing at his favourite fishing spot. |
| B．he was walking towards his favourite fishing spot. |
| C．he was phoning his granddaughter. |
| D．he was driving to his favourite fishing spot. |
The bear stopped attacking because___.
| A．Justin Bieber came to rescue Igor Vorozhbitsyn. |
| B．Justin Bieber sang to it. |
| C．Justin Bieber’s ringtone was a sudden fright to it. |
| D．Igor Vorozhbitsyn’s mobile phone was a sudden fright to it. |
What is the writer’s attitude towards Justin Bieber?
| A．positive |
| B．negative |
| C．neutral (中立的) |
| D．not mentioned |
What does the last paragraph imply?
| A．Justin Bieber’s music is popular all over the world. |
| B．Justin Bieber’s music is life-saving. |
| C．Justin Bieber’s music is threatening. |
| D．Even bears cannot stand Justin Bieber’s music. |
American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein” in the brain.
The study, conducted by neuroscientists(神经学家) and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein．The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males．Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men．“This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study．In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends．
They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic（超声波的） range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes．While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found．But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first．Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocal calls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females．The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males．This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them．In contrast, males became less “talkative”.
The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.
“Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy.
“Our results imply Foxp2 as a component (成分)of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals.”From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.
| A．women always speak more words than men |
| B．men and male rats have low levels of language protein |
| C．women and male rats have similar levels of Foxp2 |
| D．McCarthy isn’t the first to find females more talkative |
The underlined phrase “fussed over” in the third paragraph probably means______.
| A．paid attention to |
| B．related to |
| C．put pressure on |
| D．counted on |
The researchers carried out the experiments on rats in order to _______.
| A．test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans |
| B．prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different |
| C．determine the reason why female rats are more talkative than male rats |
| D．discover the association between Foxp2 protein and vocal communication |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Tests on humans and rats |
| B．Why women are the talkative sex |
| C．Sex differences in Foxp2 protein |
| D．Foxp2 protein determines oral ability |
Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too．His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio．She didn’t realize her brother was in the midst of it all．She never saw him again．And it’s all your fault.
I wish you’d walk out of my life forever．I don’t want anything to do with you．Look at all the pain you’ve caused．Sure, you’ve made people happy too from time to time．But the damage you’ve caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable．Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love．Stop hurting me, please.
Sincerely,
AnonymousWhat is author’s purpose in writing to alcohol?
| A．To introduce Mr．Alcohol to the readers |
| B．To describe the harm alcohol did to his family. |
| C．To show how much alcohol can hurt people. |
| D．To show the great fun alcohol can bring to people’s life. |
What did alcohol do to the author’s father?
| A．It made him crash into two other cars and took his life. |
| B．It made him drink too much and he had to get his stomach pumped. |
| C．It made him kill two other people when driving. |
| D．It made him get into a car accident and badly injure himself. |
The underlined phrase “were intrigued by” is closest in meaning to ________．
| A．were familiar with |
| B．were interested in |
| C．were disappointed with |
| D．were satisfied with |
What is the tone of the article?
| A．Critical |
| B．Doubtful |
| C．Unconcerned |
| D．Humorous |
D
Mars（火星）appears to be flowing with small streams of salty water，at least in the summer，scientists reported Monday．“It suggests that．it would be possible for there to be life today on Mars，”NASA's science mission chief，John Grunsfeld，said at a news conference on September 28，2015．
The streams are about 12 to 15 feet wide and 300 feet or more long，scientists said．“What we're dealing with is wet soil．thin layers of wet soil，not standing water，”said Aifred McEwen of the University of Arizona at Tueson！the principal scientist for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's high-resolution imaging experiment．
Because liquid water is essential to life，the findings could have major implications for the possibility of Martian life．The researchers said further exploration is needed to determine whether microscopic life exists on the planet．
The presence of liquid water could also make life easier for astronauts visiting or living on Mars．Water could be used for drinking and for creating oxygen and rocket fuel．NASA's goal is to send humans there in the 2030s．
The evidence of flowing water consists largely of dark，narrow streaks(条痕) on the surface that tend to appear and grow during the warmest Martian months and fade the rest of the year．
Mars is extremely cold even in summer，and the streaks are in places where the temperature is as low as minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit．But salt can lower the freezing point of water and melt ice．
The source（源头）of the water is a mystery．Scientists noted it could be melting ice．It could be an underground aquifer，which is rock or sand that can hold water．It is possibly water vapor from the thin Martian atmosphere，Or it may be a combination Michael Meyer，lead scientist for NASA's Mars exploration program，said the only definitive way for now to determine whether there's life on Mars is to collect rocks and soil for analysis on Earth - something a U．S．lander set for lift-off in 2020 will do．What would be the best title for the text？
| A．Streams of Water Spotted on Mars |
| B．Astronauts will Land on Mars |
| C．NASA's Mars Exploration Program |
| D．A Breakthrough in the Exploration of Mars |
According to John Grunsfeld，there seems to be ________on Mars．
| A．salty water |
| B．standing water |
| C．rocket fuel |
| D．human beings |
Scientists are uncertain about the __________of the water on Mars．
| A．state | B．source | C．temperature | D．taste |
What matters to the existence of liquid water on Mars？
| A．The distance from the sun． |
| B．The favorable climate． |
| C．The gravity of the earth |
| D．The salt in it． |