A Tchaikovsky concerto（协奏曲）is what made Romel Joseph fall in love with the violin.
He learned how to play in Haiti, where he was born, but a Fulbright scholarship brought him to the United States, and he finally earned a master’s degree, reports CBS News reporter Katie Couric. Music had changed his life. He wanted to do the same for the children of Haiti.
Joseph built a school in Port-au-Prince nearly 20 years ago. He was on the third floor when suddenly “It was like boom boom boom and everything just opened,” Joseph said. “And the next thing I knew I was on the ground.”
Blind since birth, Joseph tried to feel his way out, but was pinned（夹）beneath heavy concrete（混凝土）. He remained trapped for 18 hours. He prays that his new wife, seven months pregnant（怀孕的）, will be found.
He is now being treated at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital for two injured legs and an arm.
Joseph wonders if he’ll ever play the violin again. He can feel sensation（知觉）in his fingertips. He said, “If you were to give me a violin and if I didn’t have to fold the fingers, I would be able to play.”
Joseph’s daughter Victoria spent three terrifying days unsure of her father’s fate. For her, having him home is the sweetest music.
“Can you imagine your dad not being able to play the violin?” Couric asked.
“No, I can’t,” Victoria Joseph said. “But I will love him all the same if he can’t.”
Romel do
esn’t know how many of his 300 students died in the quake. As he waits for news about his wife, Romel Joseph is already planning a return to Haiti to rebuild the school and continue teaching there.
“We can save two children, 20, 200, 300, 500 through education and music, and these children will make a difference,” Romel Joseph said. Romel began to like music ________.
| A．because he was blind since birth |
| B．after he had listened to a famous piece of music |
| C．when he got a scholarship to study in America |
| D．since he was born in Haiti |
From what Romel said in Paragraph 6, we can infe
r that he was ________.
| A．upset | B．fearful | C．excited | D．optimistic |
To Victoria, the best thing is ________.
| A．to see her father recover from the injury quickly |
| B．to listen to her father playing the sweetest music |
C．to play the violin  as well as her father |
| D．to be sure that her father could play the violin |
Why does Romel want to go back to Haiti?
| A．To save his students from the earthquake. |
| B．To change the life of children by teaching music. |
| C．To find out how seriously his school was damaged. |
| D．To look for his wife who is pregnant. |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Music education: keep your creativity alive |
| B．A great blind musician and his students |
| C．Haiti earthquake: a story of a music teacher |
| D．How did some Haiti earthquake victims survive |
Handshaking, though a European practise is often seen in big cities of China. Nobody knows exactly when the practice started in Europe. It is said that long long ago in Europe when people met, they showed their unarmed （无武器的） hands to each other as a sign of goodwill. As time went on and trade in cities grew rapidly, people in cities began to clap each other’s hands to make a deal or to reach an agreement. This practice was later changed into shaking hands among friends on meeting or leaving each other. “Let’s shake （hands） on it” sometimes means agreement reached.
Do the Europeans shake hands wherever they go and with whomever they meet? No. Sometimes the Chinese abroad reach out their hands too often to be polite. It is really very impolite to give your hand when the other party, especially when it is a woman, shows little interest in shaking hands with you and when the meeting does not mean anything to him or-her. Even if, for politeness, he holds out his unwilling hand in answer to your uninvited hand, just touch it slightly- There is generally a misunderstanding （误解） among the Chinese that westerners are usually open
and straighforward, while the Chinese are rather reserved （保守的） in manner. But in fact some people in western countries more reserved than some Chinese today. So it is a good idea to shake hands with a westerner only when he shows interest in further relations with you.In the old days in Europe, people put out their unarmed hands to each other ______.
| A．to make a deal | B．to greet each other |
| C．to show friendliness | D．to reach an agreement |
The first paragraph mainly tells us ______.
| A．where handshaking was first practised |
| B．how handshaking came about |
| C．about the relationship between handshaking and trade |
| D．about the practice of handshaking both in Europe and in China |
According to the text. which of the following statements is true?
| A．Westerners are more reserved than the Chinese. |
| B．Westerners are unwilling to shake hands. |
| C．We should make a judgment before shaking hands. |
| D．We shouldn’t shake hands with European women. |
The main purpose of the text is ______.
| A．to tell us some differences between the East and the West |
| B．to offer us some important facts about handshaking |
| C．to introduce us to some different customs in the West |
| D．to give us some advice before we travel abroad |
Collections were the inspiration（灵感） for a project at Thomas Tallis School, which formed part of the Imagine Children's Literature Festival last autumn. Each child （aged 12-13） beatified a box and wrote a story on the subject of collections to throw inside it. The boxes were spread within the Royal Festival Hall's Ballroom. Some were left empty to encourage
The subject chosen by Luren was an imaginative one. "It's a sort o f Cinderella （灰姑娘） story," she told me, inspired by a collection of letters from her cousin, ha the story these become love letters, burned by a creel stepmother. Lauren's best friend Charlotte is the stepmother. "I'm in Charlotte's story too," says Lauren, "and I get run over." Charlotte's tale was inspired by the girls' coin collection. "We've collected foreign coins for years - since our families went on holiday to Tenerife." she explains. "That was before the Euro, so we put pesetas in." Lauren continues: "I fred a coin in the road, go to get it and get run over. I'm in hospital and then I die." Charlotte adds: "Or she might not die. I haven't decided yet."
Millie Murray, who is a tea-novel author, thinks that setting the subject of collections was a useful inspiration to their creativity rather than a restriction（限制）。 "In the beginning I thought, 'Will the children be able to do it?'" she says. "But it's been fruitful. Some have their own collection, some have parents who do, and some have wlstten complete stories. It's made them think about something they wouldn't have otherwise, winch can only be a good thing."What were the children asked to do in the project?
| A．To meet friends at Thomas Tallis School |
| B．To write stories on the subject of collections. |
| C．To encourage visitors to write their own stories. |
| D．To have their friends for characters in the stories. |
The underlined word "pesetas" in Paragraph 2 is a kind of _____.
| A．story | B．collection | C．inspiration | D．foreign coin |
From the stories by Lauren and Charlotte, we know that _____ .
| A．Charlotte hurt herself when getting a coin |
| B．both of them developed their imagination |
| C．both of tram will die in each other's stories |
| D．Latwen's cousin posted her some love letters |
Millie Murray thinks ________.
| A．collections could inspire writing creativity |
| B．it was good for parents to have collections |
| C．inspirations were very useful in writing stories |
| D．setting collection subjects restricted inspirations |
A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist(拳头) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s.The Frenchman went to a small Italian town _______.
| A．alone | B．with his wife | C．with his friend | D．with an Italian |
The Italian gave up his watch to him at last because ________.
| A．he had stolen the watch from the Frenchman |
| B．he understood what the Frenchman wanted |
| C．he had picked up the watch on his way from work |
| D．he was afraid of the Frenchman |
Who was robbed of the watch in fact?
| A．The Frenchman was. | B．The Italian was. |
| C．Both of them were. | D．Neither of them was. |
Hurricane(飓风) reached the northeastern United States today and caused death and destruction everywhere. The killer storm carried winds of 135 miles per hour. The high winds and heavy rains created extremely dangerous waves. It is not yet known how many people died or were hurt in this storm, but it is said that the numbers will be very high.
With the arrival of the tornado season, the National Weather Service is again telling people how to protect themselves from these deadly storms. The winds from tornadoes are the most violent winds on earth. They can blow up to 400 miles per hour. A tornado looks like a funnel(漏斗). It is also very loud. It may sound like a train coming at you. In fact, the winds from a tornado can pick up a train and throw it around. If a tornado is seen in your area, it is very important that you protect yourself. A basement (地下室) is the safest place to go. Try to wait under a table in the basement. Stay away from windows. If you are outside or in your car, try to find a narrow place to hide.
As the area tries to deal with the worst flood of the century, there are many heartwarming stories of people helping other people. From all over the world people have sent food and clothes to help the thousands who have had to leave their homes. Many volunteers have come to help to make sandbags and use them to build walls against the overflowing river. While the result of this disaster will be terrible for many, it is beautiful to see people coming together to help others and save lives.What does the underlined word “tornado” mean?
| A．台风 | B．龙卷风 | C．洪水 | D．冰雹 |
Which of the following is WRONG about tornados?
| A．They look like a funnel. |
| B．They come regularly every year. |
| C．They are the most violent winds on Earth. |
| D．They carry winds of 135 km per hour. |
According to the passage, a person who sees a tornado in his area had better NOT ______.
| A．drive his car away as fast as possible |
| B．go to the basement and wait under a table |
| C．find a narrow place to hide |
| D．stay away from windows |
We can learn from the passages that ______.
| A．nobody tried to help the local people |
| B．hurricane damaged the northwestern coast of US |
| C．when there is flooding, sandbags can be made and used to build walls |
| D．people are often taught how to protect themselves from snowstorms |
Everybody hates rats(老鼠). But in the earthquake capitals of the world—Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey—rats will soon be man’s new best friends.
What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.
How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal(信号). This is sent to a small radio on its back and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.
Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!
The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe. ” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building, but only after an earthquake, of course. In the world earthquake capitals, rats will become man’s best friends because they can ______.
| A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs |
| B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings |
| C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings |
| D．get into small spaces |
From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by ______.
| A．the noise made by the rat |
| B．the rat’s unusual behavior |
| C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back |
| D．the smell given off by the person |
In doing rescue jobs, ______.
| A．rats smell better than dogs |
| B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people |
| C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around |
| D．rats can see in the dark and they are smaller than robots |
Rats have all the following advantages EXCEPT that ______.
| A．they are more fantastic than other animals |
| B．they are less expensive to train than dogs |
| C．they don’t need electricity |
| D．they are small and can get into small places |