You may know your mother, but how well do you really know Mother’s Day? Cards, flowers, sales, TV specials, and a day off for someone who really deserves it ---- those are what probably come to mind for many people when they think of Mother’s Day. But there’s more to the story.
The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations were held during spring in ancient Greece. The celebrations honored Rhea, the Mother of the gods. During the 1600’s, England celebrated a day called Mothering Sunday. On this day even servants were given the day off to spend with their families. A mothering cake was even served with the family meal.
In the US, Mother’s Day began in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to the famous song The Battle Hymn of the Republic, suggested it as a day devoted to peace. But it didn’t really become popular until 1907 when Anna Jarvis stared a campaign to honor mothers. She believed that mothers could help people get over the pain they experienced during the Civil
War. The US isn’t alone in devoting a day to mothers. Many other countries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and Belgium also honor their mothers in May. Other countries honor their mothers at different times of the year.
Learning more about Mother’s Day and celebrating Mother’s Day are important, but probably not as important as understanding what your own mother, or grandmother, or aunt has really done for you. And that will certainly be appreciated more than one day in a year.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The reason why people celebrate Mother’s Day. | B．The ways people honor mothers. |
| C．The history of Mother’s Day. | D．The great contribution of mothers. |
Where was the earliest Mother’s Day celebrated?
| A．In ancient Greece. | B．In the US. | C．In England. | D．In Italy. |
We can learn from the passage that _____.
| A．Rhea is the mother of a king in ancient Greece |
| B．not all the countries celebrate Mother’s Day in May |
| C．only mothers were given a day off on Mothering Sunday |
| D．it was in 1872 that Mother’s Day really came into being |
The last paragraph tells us that _____.
| A．all the people should celebrate Mother’s Day |
| B．only mothers are honored on Mother’s Day |
| C．understanding mothers’ work is more important than just celebrating Mother’s Day |
| D．people should celebrate Mother’s Day every day |
Every year holidays Broughton teams up with Sopraviva Trekking to offer twelve days of unforgettable adventure in a tropical rain forest．Depending on where this year’s rain forest adventure is located, you may be going to Borneo, Malaysia ,Indonesia,or even to the greatest rain forest of them all, the mighty Amazonian forest．
You will fly with your fellow adventurers to one of our special base camps at the edge of the forest, where you will be given five days of survival training ,and talks on the local wildlife by trained and experienced experts．You will also go on walks which take you deeper and deeper under the forest canopy until on your final night you camp out in the rain forest itself．
Then you transfer by bus into the forest itself．If you go on one of the Asian holidays, you will have to walk the final miles to the camp site itself, to avoid disturbing the local ecology．All of the Sopraviva sites have been carefully built to conform with the latest regulations, and to cause the minimal amount of disturbance to the local wildlife．
From the camp ,you will go on daily walking tours to experience for yourself the beauty and diversity of the forests, and plants and vegetation that can be found nowhere else on the planet．Remember that these adventure holidays take you deep into the wilderness ,and they are not suitable for families with young children or for anyone who is not physically able to meet the demands of this kind of adventure．Also remember that in order to preserve the delicate ecological system that you will be walking through ,no more than two dozen guests can stay at any camp at one time, so if you want to go on one of these very special holidays ,you will need to book early!If you want to go on the camp ,you will first have to．
| A．attend talks on the local wildlife |
| B．have survival training |
| C．walk the final five miles |
| D．book beforehand |
What does the organizer of the camp mainly stress?
| A．Disturbing the local ecology． |
| B．Preserving the forest environment． |
| C．Private possessions and possible dangers． |
| D．The survival training |
Go on daily walking tours and you’ll enjoy．
| A．the wilderness | B．the Amazonian forest |
| C．the Asian forest | D．the forest canopy |
Which of the following people is/are allowed to enter the forest?
| A．A family with young kids． |
| B．A person with physical problems． |
| C．Walking tourists． |
| D．Cyclists． |
Which of the following is true of the holiday camp?
| A．It is free of charge |
| B．It lasts 12 days． |
| C．It is organized by Broughton． |
| D．It attaches little importance to ecology． |
Cameron thought of himself as merely organized．He certainly did not consider that he took great pains over anything ,he did just enough to get it right．Exactly right, of course as he was fond of telling his staff, “if it’s not exactly right, it’s wrong”．Occasionally a worker might be sad on hearing these words, because it meant another hour or so of going over the same bit of work, correcting the mistakes which Cameron had patiently pointed out．And doing the corrections exactly right of course．
Strangely enough ,his department had the reputation for performing the highest quality work in the company ,and it was seen, and not only by those who worked in the department ,as a sort of elite（出类拔萃）unit．Those programs that had to work first time, straight out of the box, Cameron’s men got those．“It’s mission（任务）critical—give it to Cameron” was almost a catch—phrase with his team．
It helped that Cameron was not merely particular about things．He wanted things done just so ,not because of a personal taste ,but because he had discovered through patient experimentation that this was the best way for it to be done．
Cameron was a ．
| A．software programmer | B．a chief scientist |
| C．quality controller | D．head of department |
“Mission-critical” work given to Cameron because．
| A．Cameron’s work was error—free | B．Cameron was critical |
| C．he didn’t mind working late | D．he had a good team |
Working for Cameron, people felt that．
| A．they were part of an elite |
| B．their mission was critical |
| C．Cameron was very particular about things |
| D．Cameron was patient and responsible |
According to the underlined part in paragraph 5,what is meant by someone “who couldn’t cut it”?
| A．He didn’t cut corners． | B．He wasn’t good enough． |
| C．He had the wrong measurements． | D．He was a perfection． |
What can we learn about Cameron?
| A．He never got things Wrong． |
| B．He didn’t allow for any mistake． |
| C．He encouraged work to be done in office hours． |
| D．He was often misunderstood． |
The attitude of the author towards Cameron is that of being．
| A．positive | B．sympathetic |
| C．non-subjective | D．optimistic |
Lightning flashed through the darkness over Donald Lubeck’s bedroom skylight．The 80-year-old retired worker was shaken by a blast of thunder．It was 11 p．m．The storm had moved directly over his two-story wood home in the rural town of Belchertown, Massachusetts．Then he heard the smoke alarm beeping．Lubeck padded down the stairs barefoot and opened the door to the basement, and flames exploded out．
Lubeck fled back upstairs to call 119 from his bedroom ,but the phone didn’t work．Lubeck realized he was trapped．“I started panicking,” he says．
His daughter and young granddaughters ,who lived with him ,were away for the night．No one will even know I’m home, he thought．His house was three miles off the main road and so well hidden by pines that Lubeck knew calling for help would be fruitless．
Up a hill about a third of a mile away lived Lubeck’s closest neighbors, Jeremie Wentworth and his wife．Wentworth had been lying down, listening to the radio when it occurred to him that the sound was more like a smoke detector．He jumped out of bed ,grabbed a cordless phone and a flashlight, and headed down the hillside toward the noise．
He dialed 119“Is anyone there?” he called out as he approached the house．Wentworth knew that Lubeck lived in the house．
Then he heard ,“Help me! I’m trapped!” coming from the balcony off Lubeck’s bedroom．
“I ran in and yelled, ‘Don, where are you ?’Then I had to run outside to catch my breath．”
After one more attempt inside the house, he gave up and circled around back．But there was no way to get to him．“I shined the flashlight into the woods next to an old shed and noticed a adder,” says Wentworth．He dragged it over to the balcony and pulled Lubeck down just as the second floor of the house collapsed．
Wentworth and Lubeck don’t run into each other regularly, but Lubeck now knows that if he ever needs help ,Wentworth will be there．
Lubeck still chokes up when he tells the story．“I was alone,”he says．“Then I heard the most beautiful sound in my life．It was Jeremie．”According to the text ,Lubeck．
| A．stayed calm in the fire | B．couldn’t find a safe way out |
| C．lived on the first floor | D．called for help in the fire |
How did Wentworth help Lubeck escape?
| A．He called 911． |
| B．He went upstairs and took Lubeck out． |
| C．He put out the fire |
| D．He used a ladder and pulled lubeck down． |
Which of the following factors was not mentioned in the text that almost caused Lubeck’s life?
| A．He was living in his wood home alone that night． |
| B．The storm was too heavy and the fire was too fierce． |
| C．He lived far from the main road and was surrounded by pines． |
| D．He was too frightened to escape from the danger． |
What does the text mainly talk about?
| A．A near neighbour is better than a distant cousin． |
| B．A good way to get a narrow escape． |
| C．God helps those who help themselves． |
| D．Blood is thicker than water． |
I lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a box car in a freight yard in Atlantic City and landing on my head．Now I am thirty two．I can slightly remember the brightness of sunshine and what color red is．It would be wonderful to see again, but a calamity（灾难） can do strange things to people．It occurred to me the other day that I might not have come to love life as I do if I hadn't been blind．I believe in life now．I am not so sure that I would have believed in it so deeply, otherwise．I don't mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes．I simply mean that the loss of them made me appreciate the more what I had left．
The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself．That was basic．If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have collapsed and become a chair rocker on the front porch for the rest of my life．When I say belief in myself I am not talking about simply the kind of self confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase alone．That is part of it．But I mean something bigger than that: an assurance that I am, despite imperfections, a real, positive person; that somewhere in the sweeping, intricate（错综复杂的） pattern of people there is a special place where I can make myself fit．
It took me years to discover and strengthen this assurance．It had to start with the simplest things．Once a man gave me an indoor baseball．I thought he was making fun of me and I was hurt．"I can't use this．" I said．"Take it with you," he urged me, "and roll it around．" The words stuck in my head．"Roll it around! "By rolling the ball I could hear where it went．This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought impossible: playing baseball．At Philadelphia's Overbrook School for the Blind I invented a successful variation of baseball．We called it ground ball．
All my life I have set ahead of me a series of goals and then tried to reach them, one at a time．I had to learn my limitations．It was no good trying for something that I knew at the start was wildly out of reach because that only invited the bitterness of failure．I would fail sometimes anyway but on the average I made progress．We can learn from the beginning of the passage that _______
| A．the author lost his sight because of a car crash． |
| B．the author wouldn't love life if the disaster didn't happen． |
| C．the disaster made the author appreciate what he had． |
| D．the disaster strengthened the author's desire to see． |
What's the most difficult thing for the author?
| A．How to adjust himself to reality． |
| B．Building up assurance that he can find his place in life． |
| C．Learning to manage his life alone． |
| D．How to invent a successful variation of baseball． |
According to the context, “a chair rocker on the front porch” in paragraph 3 means that the author __________
| A．would sit in a rocking chair and enjoy his life． |
| B．would be unable to move and stay in a rocking chair． |
| C．would lose his will to struggle against difficulties． |
| D．would sit in a chair and stay at home． |
According to the passage, the baseball and encouragement offered by the man _____
| A．hurt the author's feeling． |
| B．gave the author a deep impression． |
| C．directly led to the invention of ground ball． |
| D．inspired the author． |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Miserable Life |
| B．Struggle Against Difficulties |
| C．A Disaster Makes a Strong Person |
| D．An Unforgettable Experience |
It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible．Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel．It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver's seat is another matter．
Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense．It takes the most cool－headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving．On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting．A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and becomes so necessary in modern traffic conditions．But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough．Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it．
However , misplaced politeness can also be dangerous .Typical examples are the driver who waves a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may not be able to stop in time .The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to .
An experienced driver , whose manners are faultless , told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings .Unfortuanately , modern drivers can’t even learn to drive , let alone master the roadmanship .Years ago , experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give –and –take from all road users .It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart .The passage mainly talks about________．
| A．traffic jams | B．road politeness |
| C．good manners | D．modern drivers |
Troubles on the road are often caused by________．
| A．the behavior of the drivers | B．traffic jams |
| C．great speed | D．terrible road conditions |
According to the writer, a good driver should________．
| A．be able to recognize politeness when he sees it |
| B．beat back when forced to face rude driving |
| C．encourage old ladies to cross the roads whenever they want to |
| D．join in traffic stream quickly however other people feel |
The following statements are right EXCEPT that________．
| A．some modern drivers are not good at driving |
| B．road politeness is good sense as well as good manners |
| C．a friendly driver should nod or wave thanks in answer to an act of politeness |
| D．it is also right to have a tiger in the driver's seat |
It is not always right for drivers to________．
| A．master roadmanship |
| B．recognize politeness when they see it |
| C．give a friendly nod in answer to an act of politeness |
| D．encourage old ladies to cross the road whenever and wherever they want |