In the suburban district of a city lived an old woman quite alone. Her husband died thirty years ago and two years later, her only son went away with lung cancer. So she had no family still living and her only friend was a little white dog who went everywhere with her - with one exception. The dog loved the fireplace in winter, and after the old woman went to bed he would sometimes go and lie in front of the warm coals. Usually though, the dog lay on a rug right next to the bed.
Deeply as the old woman loved her dog, she wouldn't allow the dog on the bed with her. However, if she became frightened or had a nightmare, she would put her hand down to her little white dog and he would lick it to calm her down.
One night she was reading the newspaper just before going to sleep. She trembled and pulled the duvet(羽绒被褥)up around her as she read that a mental patient had wandered out from a nearby hospital. No one knew if the patient was dangerous or not, but he was a suspect in the murders of several women who lived alone.
The woman turned off the lights and tried to sleep, but she was frightened, and turned over continually. Finally, she reached down to where her little white dog slept. Sure enough, a warm, wet tongue began to lick her hand. The woman felt reassured and safe, and left her hand hanging off the side of the bed. As she turned to settle in comfortably she opened her eyes for a moment and looked through the open door into the living room.
There in front of the fireplace, sat her little white dog, gazing at the coals and wagging his tail. And down beside her bed, something was still licking her hand.From the first paragraph we can know that _________.
A.her husband died following her son |
B.the old woman was through with her relatives |
C.the dog wasn’t always keeping her company . |
D.the dog sometimes was tired of her |
Why didn’t she allow the dog on the bed with her?
A.Because the dog was too dirty. |
B.Because she was fearful of dogs. |
C.Because the author dislikes keeping dogs. |
D.The author didn’t mention the reason for it. |
The reason the old woman shivered was that _____________.
A.she was too old to stand the cold weather |
B.the room temperature came down with a run |
C.she was reading a frightening story |
D.a news story was carried in the paper |
Seeing the dog still sitting by the fireplace, __________.
A.the old woman would call him to her |
B.the old woman would be frightened to half death |
C.would be luck to have another dog |
D.would feel puzzled what was under her bed |
There are many ways to find a job. It can be as easy as walking into a neighborhood store to look at its announcement board . Local stores often have areas where people can put small signs telling what kind of service they need or can provide. Such services include caring for children or cleaning houses.
Or,job searchers can look in the newspaper. Local newspapers have employment announcements placed by companies seeking workers.
Another popular tool for finding jobs is the Internet. For example, people in four hundred and fifty cities around the world can use the Craigslist Web site to buy objects,meet people or find a job. Craigslist says that it receives two million new job listings each month.
Another useful way to find a job is through a college or university. For example,students at the University of Texas in Austin can go to the Career Exploration Center to get help in finding a job. Of course,looking for a job requires knowing what kind of work you want to do. For example,there is a book called "What Color is Your Parachute(降落伞)?”by Richard Bolles. This book has been helping people choose a career(职业)since it was first published in 1970.
Some experts also help people find jobs. Susan W.Miller owns a company called California Career Services in Los Angeles.She says her company helps people find jobs by first helping them understand their strengths, goals and interests. Then she provides them with methods and resources to help them find the right job.What is the passage mainly about?
A.Finding a job. |
B.College students' part-time jobs. |
C.Craigslist Web site. |
D.The relation between study and work |
By logging on the Craigslist Web site,you can .
A.sell your old things |
B.do some shopping online |
C.create your own announcement board |
D.get useful information about 450 cities |
“What Color is Your Parachute?”is a book which gives tips to those who want to .
A.work on the airplane | B.buy a parachute |
C.publish a book | D.find a suitable job |
How many ways of finding a job are mentioned in the passage?
A.Three. | B.Four. | C.Five. | D.Six. |
Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger, but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways. You may wonder how paving (铺砌) a road can lead to less useable fresh water. A major part of the water we use every day is groundwater. Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers. It comes from underground. The more roads and parking lots we pave, the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater.
Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages (短缺).Drier climates are of course more likely to have droughts (干旱) than areas with more rainfall, but in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs.
Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference, too. In the United States, a family of four can use 1.5 tons of water a day! This shows how much we depend on water to live, but there's a lot we can do to lower the number.
You can take steps to save water in your home. To start with, use the same glass for your drinking water all day. Wash it only once a day. Run your dishwasher (洗碗机) only when it is full. Help your parents fix any leaks in your home. You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling batteries instead of throwing them away.Which of the following is most likely to lead to less groundwater?
A.Using river water. |
B.Paving parking lots. |
C.Throwing batteries away. |
D.Throwing rubbish into lakes. |
What can be inferred from the text?
A.It takes a lot of effort to meet our water needs. |
B.All water shortages are due to human behavior. |
C.There is much we can do to reduce family size. |
D.The average family in America makes proper use of water. |
The last paragraph is intended to ________.
A.show us how to fix leaks at home |
B.tell us how to run a dishwasher |
C.suggest what we do to save water at home |
D.prove what drinking glass is best for us |
The text is mainly about ________.
A.why paving roads reduces our water |
B.how human activity affects our water supply |
C.why droughts occur more in dry climates |
D.how much we depend on water to live |
“Indeed,” George Washington wrote in his diary in 1785, “some kind of fly, or bug, had begun to eat the leaves before I left home.” But the father of America was not the father of bug. When Washington wrote that, Englishmen had been referring to insects as bugs for more than a century, and Americans had already created lightning-bug(萤火虫). But the English were soon to stop using the bugs in their language, leaving it to the Americans to call a bug a bug in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The American bug could also be a person, referring to someone who was crazy about a particular activity. Although fan became the usual term, sports fans used to be called racing bugs, baseball bugs, and the like.
Or the bug could be a small machine or object, for example, a bug-shaped car. The bug could also be a burglar alarm, from which comes the expression to bug, that is, “to install (安装) an alarm”. Now it means a small piece of equipment that people use for listening secretly to others’ conversation. Since the 1840s, to bug has long meant “to cheat”, and since the 1940s it has been annoying.
We also know the bug as a flaw in a computer program or other design. That meaning dates back to the time of Thomas Edison. In 1878 he explained bugs as “little problems and difficulties” that required months of study and labor to overcome in developing a successful product. In 1889 it was recorded that Edison “had been up the two previous nights discovering ‘a bug’ in his invented record player.”We learn from Paragraph 1 that ________.
A.Americans had difficulty in learning to use the word bug |
B.George Washington was the first person to call an insect a bug |
C.the word bug was still popularly used in English in the nineteenth century |
D.both Englishman and Americans used the word bug in the eighteenth century |
What does the word “flaw” in the last paragraph probably mean
A.explanation. | B.finding. | C.origin. | D.fault. |
The passage is mainly concerned with________.
A.the misunderstanding of the word bug |
B.the development of the word bug |
C.the public views of the word bug |
D.the special characteristics of the word bug |
For years, I thought that my mother would become a centenarian(百岁老人), but after 98 years and eight months, she recently died of old age. As it was with my father, her funeral took place in the most peaceful setting of the countryside of rural Washington County. Even after my father died, we continued to think of our parents as one. They were a team in the traditional sense. Church and family were their lifeline. They worked hard, never complaining. They expected to earn their daily bread by the sweat of their forehead.
Once during a conversation with Tom Brokaw, who wrote the bestselling book The Greatest Generation, I told him, “You left out my parents.” They didn’t go off to war, but they belonged to the Greatest Generation. They, too, were part of the foundation that made American truly great. They kept the home fires burning.
Our mother gloried in being a housewife and mother. Having been a teacher in her early adult years, when education was more than important than anything else, she gave up her job to raise a family. She was an excellent cook, but she had to cook on a wood stove(火炉). There was no refrigerator, nothing electric. But nobody was ever better at making do(凑合着用). In addition to all the housework, she went to the fields every day to help produce a crop to pay the rent to provide for the family. She and my dad worked hard to save every penny possible.
They saved every penny to buy a farm late in life. They also saved enough money to live out their respective lives with home care without taking up residency in a nursing home. They were very independent. If you had suggested they accept a government transfer payment, they would have spit in your eye.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.Mother played a great part in the family. |
B.Mother died at the age of 98 years old. |
C.Mother was buried by the side of father. |
D.Mother survived father by many years. |
The underlined word “one” in the passage means ________.
A.parent | B.Centenarian | C.hero | D.entirety |
What do we know about Tom Brokaw?
A.He is one of the author’s parents’ friends. |
B.He likes talking with the author’s parents. |
C.He takes up a position as a writer. |
D.He is good at managing a home. |
How does the author find his parents?
A.Brave and hardworking |
B.Modest and warmhearted |
C.Economical and independent |
D.Respective and satisfied |
Plan on traveling around the USA this summer. If you need help in arranging the trip, or want ideas about where to go and what to do, there are a number of outstanding websites that can make your American dream come true.
www.byways. org
The National Scenic Byways Program covers l50 memorable roads. Some are natural routes, such as Route l along the California coast. Others focus on history(such as Route 6) or man-made attractions (the Las Vegas Trip). For each, you are provided with a map, told the route’s length and how long is allowed, and given detailed suggestions on sights and stop-offs.
www. oyster. com
This is the best website for reviews of hotels in US cities and resorts. The reviews are impressively thorough--covering locations, rooms, cleanliness, food and so on. Importantly, these are not promotional photos by the hotels, but more honest and revealing ones taken by inspectors. Search facilities are excellent. From the 243 hotels reviewed in the New York, you can narrow down what you are looking for by locations, facilities and styles, or just pick out a selection of the best.
www. 101usaholidays. co. uk
This is the latest offering that features l01 holiday ideas to the USA. It’s an impressively diverse selection, ranging from touring in the footsteps of Martin Luther King to a golfing break in Arizona and a cycling and wine—tasting trip in California’s Napa Valley. Narrow down what you are looking for--whether by price, region, theme and who will be traveling--and then just the photos of the relevant holidays remain on view. It’s a really clever design.
www. mousesavers. com
Walt Disney World in California can make dreams come true, but the price is not affordable for the majority of people.
So turn to long established Mousesavers. com, dedicated to giving big discounts on tickets, hotels and dining at Walt Disney World. The website also offers general money—saving tips, suggestions for cheap and free stuff and brief coverage of other Florida and California theme parks.If you are going to the USA for the man-made attractions, you can drive along________.
A.Route l | B.Route 6 |
C.the Las Vegas Trip | D.the California coast |
Why are the photos of the hotels in US cities and resorts real in www. oyster. com?
A.Because they were taken by customers who once lived there. |
B.Because there are comments of customers on each photo. |
C.Because there are qualifications of the authority. |
D.Because they are taken by inspectors of the website. |
Travel ideas for a big family with kids and the old are available at .
A.http://byways. org | B.www. oyster. com |
C.www. 101 us holidays. co. uk | D.www. mouse savers. com |
Where does the text probably come from?
A.A news report. |
B.A tourist brochure. |
C.A culture journal. |
D.A health column |