It was a winter morning，just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005．While most peop
le were warming up their cars，Trevor, my husband，had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work．On arrival，he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does．After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone．
The bike，a black Kona 18 speed，was our only Transport．Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family．And the bike was also used to g
et groceries(食品杂货)，saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I Was so sad that someone would steal our bike that 1 wrote to the newspaper and told them our story．Shortly after that，several people in bur area o
ffered to help．One wonderful stranger even bought a bike，then called my husband to pick it up．Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job．It really is all honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before．
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so．This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity(人性)as a whole．And i
t has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we，too，can share with others．No matter how big or how small，all act of kindness shows that someone cares．And the results can be everlasting．
Why was the bike so important to the couple?
| A．The man's job was bike racing． | B．It was their onlypossession. |
| C．They used it for work and daily life． | D．It was a nice Kona 18 speed． |
We can infer from the text that_________.
| A．the couple worked 60 hours a week | B．people were busy before Christmas． |
| C．the stranger brought over the bike | D．life was hard for the young family |
How did people get to know the couple's problem?
| A．From radio broadcasts． | B．From TV news． |
| C．From a newspaper． | D．From a stranger． |
What do the couple learn from their experience?
| A．Strangers are usually of little help． | B．An act of kindness can mean a lot． |
| C．News reports make people famous． | D．One should take care of their bike． |
Some people make art with paint, and others use pencil or clay. But Italian artist Maurizio Savini prefers to use bright pink gum—after it has been chewed.
Savini makes huge sculptures of bears and even people out of used chewing gum. Each sculpture requires thousands of pieces of gum.
“I like to use chewing gum because it seemed to me a material that can be used in many ways compared with those used by the conventional arts such as painting,” Savini says.
How does he do it? The process is a lot like working with clay. “I work the chewing gum when it is warm and shape it with a knife,” says Savini. Then, he puts a chemical onto each gum sculpture to make the gum stay in place.
Savini’s sticky art has been shown in cities like London, Paris, and Rome, where he lives today.
Savini isn’t the only artist to work with gum. His pink sculptures have inspired artists all over the world to get creative with the sticky matter.
London artist Ben Wilson paints small paintings onto flat pieces of chewed gum he finds stuck to streets and sidewalks. In Canada, Jason Kronenwald uses different colored gum to make portraits of famous people.
Kronenwald seldom chews gum himself. Instead, his friends help chew gum for him while he’s working. “At times it can make me disgusted, but I just pay attention to the colors I need and get the sculpture going,” he says.
In America, Jamie Marraccini’s art depends on color, so he tests different kinds of gum before using them. To find out what color the chewed gum will become once hardened, he lets it age for up to six months.
“I’ve created 30 works totaling more than 35,000 pieces of gum,” says Marraccini. That’s a lot of gum!
So think twice the next time you throw away a wad of gum. Maybe what seems like trash could actually be the beginning of a great piece of art.The underlined word “disgusted” in the eighth paragraph probably means ________.
| A．excited | B．feel tired and sick |
| C．unhappy | D．energetic |
Marraccini stores the gum for six months in order to ______.
| A．judge how hard it will be |
| B．know whether it is still sweet |
| C．examine what chemicals it contains |
| D．see what color it will become |
The best title for the passage is ________.
| A．Sticky sculptures | B．Creative artists |
| C．A new form of art | D．Chewing gum |
Savini’s works of art can be seen in all the cities EXCEPT _______.
| A．London | B．Rome | C．New York | D．Paris |
This is an excerpt(节选)from a speech by Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, delivered to graduates of Stanford University on June 12, 2005.
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired.
How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions(远见) of the future began to diverge(to be different) and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was destructive.
I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs(企业家)down. I even thought about running away from the valley(硅谷). But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar. Pixar went on to create the world’s first computer animated(动画) feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance.
I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.Which of the following is TRUE about Apple?
| A．It rejected one of its founders when he turned 30. |
| B．It once fell apart due to different visions of the future. |
| C．NeXT became its parent company and made a great comeback. |
| D．It has survived after it had a destructive blow. |
The underlined phrase could be replaced by ______.
| A．a complete change | B．a huge debt |
| C．a quarrel | D．a race |
Steve Jobs probably values _____ most according to his speech.
| A．patience | B．faith | C．inspiration | D．luck |
Throughout this long, tense election, everyone has focused on the presidential candidates and how they’ll change America. Rightly so. But selfishly, I’m more fascinated by Michelle Obama and what she might be able to do, not just for this country, but for me as an African-American woman. As the potential First Lady, she would have the world’s attention. And that means that for the first time people will have a chance to get up close and personal with the type of African woman they so rarely see.
Usually, the lives of black women go largely unexamined. The widespread theory seems to be that we’re all hot-tempered single mothers who can’t keep a man. Even in the world of make-believe, black women still can’t escape the stereotype (模式化的形象) of being eye-rolling, oversexed females raised by our never-married, alcoholic mothers.
These images have helped define the way all black women are viewed, including Michelle Obama. Before she ever gets the chance to commit to a cause, charity or foundation as First Lady, her most urgent and perhaps most complicated duty may be simply to be herself.
It won’t be easy. Because few mainstream publications (出版物) have done in-depth features on regular African-American women, little is known about who we are, what we think and what we face on a regular basis. For better or worse, Michelle will represent us all.
Just as she will have her critics, she will have millions of fans who usually have little interest in the First Lady. Many African-American blogs have written about what they’d like to see Michelle bring to the White House — mainly showing the world that a black woman can support her man and raise a strong black family. Michelle will have to work to please everyone — an impossible task. But for many African-American women like me, just a little of her poise (沉着), confidence and intelligence will go a long way in changing an image that’s been around far too long.Why does Michelle Obama hold a strong fascination for the author?
| A．She serves as a role model for African-American women. |
| B．She possesses many admirable qualities becoming a First Lady. |
| C．She will present to the world a new image of African-American women. |
| D．She will pay close attention to the interests of African-American women. |
What is the common stereotype of African-American women according to the author?
| A．They are victims of family violence. |
| B．They are of an inferior social group. |
| C．They use quite a lot of body language. |
| D．They live on charity and social welfare. |
What do many African-Americans write about in their blogs?
| A．Whether Michelle can live up to the high expectations of her fans. |
| B．How Michelle should behave as public figure. |
| C．How proud they are to have a black woman in the White House. |
| D．What Michelle should do as wife and mother in the White House. |
What does the author say about Michelle Obama as a First Lady?
| A．However many fans she has, she should remain modest. |
| B．She shouldn’t disappoint the African-American community. |
| C．However hard she tries, she can’t expect to please everybody. |
| D．She will concern herself with African-American women’s welfare. |
The purpose of keeping fit is to avoid illness, avoid the mental and physical fatigue（疲劳）, and above all to feel more pleasure in being alive. Research has shown the value of a balanced diet, fresh air, sunshine, enough rest and some forms of regular exercise for everyone. If everyone followed this plan, the number of people visiting the doctor and going to hospital would be reduced.
Unfortunately, although most people acknowledge the importance of physical fitness, not enough of us put this into practice. We spend too much time watching others from the comfort of an armchair or a seat in the stand at a sports stadium.
One reason why people who are physically fit to live longer is that they do not put the heart under excessive strain（过度劳累）and so they reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel（血管）diseases. They also avoid suffering weakened muscles, which are the cause of a great deal of trouble.
All in all, sensible exercise, suited to each person and properly undertaken on the advice of a doctor, is the best insurance of meeting these requirements. Why do people want to keep fit?
| A．Because they want to avoid health. |
| B．Because they want to add mental and physical fatigue. |
| C．Because they want to feel happier and live longer. |
| D．Because they want to obtain much more money. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Everyone knows the importance of this plan. |
| B．Not all people do what the plan tells them to do. |
| C．Most people put the plan into practice. |
| D．No one wants to do with this plan. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Balanced diet is the most important. |
| B．People who are physically fit live longer. |
| C．Most people can live longer. |
| D．People always do not put the heart under excessive strain. |
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child-care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother .A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents .It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery（公墓）. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries and telephone companies do a lot of business during these holidays.Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
| A．Parents bring up children. |
| B．Parents give love and care to children. |
| C．Parents educate children to be good persons. |
| D．Parents pass away before children grow up. |
What do you know from the passage?
| A．Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents. |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
| A．It only has two kinds of color. |
| B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. |
| C．It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
| D．People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May. |