Crazy is our new normal. With two teenage boys and three little boys, our family is restless—to the baseball field, track field(田径场)and piano lessons. Even though we’ve limited each boy’s activities and try our best to defend our family time, it seems that we’re in a constant state of flight.
“Embrace it. Roll with it,” my husband, Lonny, says, “It’s going to be like this for a while.”
He is right. It’s likely that life will continue to go forward before it slows down. But I remembered the still, quiet days that our family used to enjoy. I missed long walks through the park when we held the boys’ little hands. I longed for(渴望) lazy Saturday afternoons under the tree in our backyard. I wanted to slip back a few years, when busyness was the exception and not the rule.
One night, after a particularly full day and evening games, our family gathered on the porch(门廊)for ice cream. Two parents, two teens, and three small boys piled on one old swing and a couple of rocking chairs. We were together, in one place, for a small slice of time.
The moon was full. The Mississippi River, flowing past our home, was smooth as glass. I wrapped my own arms around the son who sat on my lap and breathed deeply to inhale his little-boy scent(气味)—dirt and sweat. My heart was still and content(满足的).
I realized that while crazy is our new normal happiness is as usual. They may look different from before, but they are still there—even if they’re in the form of a single moment on the porch. Maybe I just need the eyes to see.What does the author mainly talk about?
| A．Her anger at her busy life. |
| B．Her family’s struggle for a better life. |
| C．Her new feelings about the present life. |
| D．The pleasure of staying with her children. |
How did the author feel about life before the night sitting on the porch with the family?
| A．Confused. | B．Satisfied. | C．Bored. | D．Terrified. |
The underlined word “inhale” in the fifth paragraph probably means ______.
| A．describe | B．breathe out | C．remove | D．breathe in |
Which of the following could describe the author’s present life?
| A．Busy and boring. | B．Busy but happy. |
| C．Crazy and unbearable. | D．Normal but exciting. |
Which of the following statements might the author agree to?
| A．Life is nothing but bitterness, busyness and horror. |
| B．Happiness is everywhere, but we have to discover it. |
| C．Parents should earn much money for their kids’ better life. |
| D．Life in the countryside is charming, wonderful, and sweet. |
Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.
I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”
“Oh, you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice(临终医院). I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器).
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
At dawn, she suddenly said,” I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.” The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ______.
| A．show she was familiar with the city | B．see some places for the last time |
| C．let the driver earn more money | D．reach the destination on time |
The taxi driver did not charge the old woman because he ______.
| A．wanted to do her a favor |
| B．shut off the meter by mistake |
| C．had received her payment in advance |
| D．was in a hurry to take other passengers |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Giving is always a pleasure. |
| B．People should respect each other. |
| C．An act of kindness can bring people great joy. |
| D．People should learn to appreciate others’ concern. |
Almost everyone likes dogs, and almost everyone likes reading stories about dogs.
I have a friend. The friend has a large police dog. Its name is Jack. Police dogs are often very clever. Every Sunday afternoon my friend takes Jack for a long walk in the park. Jack likes these long walks very much.
One Sunday afternoon a young man came to visit my friend. He stayed a long time. He talked and talked. Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for his walk. But the visitor still stayed. Jack became very worried. He walked around the room several times and then sat down in front of the visitor and looked at him. But the visitor paid no attention. He continued talking. Finally Jack couldn't stand it. He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later. He sat down again in front of the visitor but this time he held the visitor's hat in his mouth and ran out of the room.Jack is the name of ____.
| A．a young man | B．a policeman | C．a police dog | D．a good friend |
In this story the word "visitor" means ____.
| A．the young man | B．the writer of this story |
| C．the police dog | D．the friend |
The visitor paid no attention to the dog because ____.
| A．he didn't see the dog | B．he didn't like the dog |
| C．he was afraid of the dog | D．he didn't understand what the dog meant |
The dog held the visitor's hat in his mouth to show that ____.
| A．he liked the hat very much | B．he wanted the visitor to leave immediately |
| C．he wanted to throw the hat away | D．he wanted to put on the hat |
Which one is right according to the passage?
| A．Everyone must like dogs. | B．My friend” name is JACK |
| C．The visitor paid no attention to my friend’s behavior. | D．JACK is clever.. |
Many students in China are learning English. Some of these students are small children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others study by themselves. A few learn English language over the radio, on television, or in films. One must work hard to learn another language.
Why do all these people want to learn English? It is difficult to answer that question. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects. They study their own language and maths and English ... Some people learn English because it is useful for their work. Many people often learn English for their higher studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English. Other people learn English because they want to read newspaper and magazines in English.Many students in China are learning English, aren't they? ____.
| A．No, they aren't | B．No, they are |
| C．Yes, they are | D．Yes, they aren't |
If one wants to learn another language well, he must ____.
| A．learn at school | B．study by himself |
| C．work hard | D．study hard |
The sentence "It is difficult to answer that question" means ____.
| A．that question is not difficult to answer |
| B．that question is difficult to answer it |
| C．it is difficultly to answer that question |
| D．it is hard to answer that question |
"Their own language" means ____.
| A．Chinese | B．English | C．French | D．Japanese |
What's the Chinese of "study by themselves"?
| A．和他们一起学习 | B．自学 | C．向他们学习 | D．通过学习 |
Once there was a man who had two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was good-looking but the girl was not.
One day they found a mirror for the first time and they saw what they looked like. The boy was very pleased and he said to his sister, "How handsome I am! I look much nicer than you!"
The girl did not like what her brother said and gave him a hard push.
"Go away!" she said.
Their father saw what was happening. He went up to them and said to the boy,
"You must always BE good as well as LOOK good."
Then to the girl he said, "My dear, if you help everyone and do your best to please him, everyone will love you. It does not matter that you are not as good-looking as your brother." Once a man had ____.
| A．a good-looking boy | B．an ugly girl |
| C．two good-looking children | D．a boy and a girl |
The boy saw what he looked like in the mirror and was pleased because he ____.
| A．found a mirror | B．knew he looked as nice as his sister |
| C．and his sister were good-looking | D．was handsome |
The girl gave the boy a hard push because ____.
| A．she was stronger | B．what he said was wrong |
| C．she was not pleased with what he said | D．her father loved her |
Father told the girl that ____.
| A．it was important to be good-looking |
| B．it was a good thing to be ugly |
| C．if she did her best to help people, she would enjoy people's love |
| D．she was as good-looking as her brother |
What can we learn from this story?
| A．To be good to people is more important than to be good-looking. |
| B．To be good-looking is very important. |
| C．If you want to make yourself good-looking, you must be good to people. |
| D．If you often help people, you will become more and more beautiful. |
Accidents happen, but when they destroy the delicate balance of nature and cause the whole world to suffer, they become disasters, and we should do all we can to prevent them from happening again.
Bhopal chemical leak, December 1984, Bhopal, India
An explosion in the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, released a deadly gas called methyl (甲基) isocyanate(异氰盐酸), which is used to make pesticides. The gas formed a cloud that killed 2500 people; another 50000- 100000 people became ill. Trees and plants in the area became yellow and brittle. The explosion was caused by a mechanical failure that was not noticed in time to stop it.
Exxon Valdez oil spill, March 1989, Alaska, U.S.
On March 24, 1989, 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into Prince William Sound from the tanker Exxon Valdez when its hull hit a reef and tore open. The oil, which is not yet cleaned up after billions of dollars have been spent and the millions of birds, fish, and other wildlife have died, was caused by human error and could have been avoided.
Chernobyl, April 1986, USSR
At 1:23 A.M. on Saturday, April 26, 1986, the reactor blew at nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, ripping open the core, blowing the roof off the building, starting more than 30 fires, and allowing radioactive material to leak into the air. Some 31 people were killed and 200 people were treated for radiation poisoning. Still at risk are 135000 people from the 179 villages within 20 miles, of the plant who were exposed to the radiation before being evacuated. Glaring violations of safety rules were at the bottom of this tragic event.
Love Canal, 1953, New York, U.S.
Love Canal, a small town in upstate New York near Niagara Falls, was destroyed by waste from chemical plants. Beginning in 1947, chemical companies could legally dump their waste products into the canal. The area developed a foul smell, trees lost their bark, and leaves fell throughout the year. A health survey found that the drinking water contained excessive levels of 82 industrial chemicals, 7 of which were thought to cause cancer. The people of Love Canal had an unusually high rate of cancer and birth defects. Eventually, many of the houses had to be abandoned. Today, the town has been partly cleaned up and some families have moved back to the area.
Three Mile Island, 1979, Pennsylvania, U.S.
On March 28, 1979, the worst accident in U.S. nuclear reactor history occurred at the Three Mile Island power station, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. No one was killed, and very little radioactivity was released into the air when coolant (the fluid that keeps a machine cool) escaped from the reactor core due to a combination of mechanical failure and human error. After 10 years and $ 1 billion in cleanup costs, the lower extremes of the reactor are still so radioactive that workers must use remote - control equipment to remove the remaining fragment of fuel core.This passage mainly discusses_______.
| A．accidents that affected many living things |
| B．air pollution |
| C．water pollution |
| D．what people are doing to prevent environmental disasters |
You can infer from the passage that the Bhopal Chemical leak_______.
| A．happen at night | B．was the worst accident in the history of India |
| C．caused more deaths than sicknesses | D．could have been avoided |
It can be inferred from the passage that the people in Love Canal_______.
| A．didn’t know that chemical companies were dumping waste products into the canal |
| B．didn’t know that their water was becoming dangerous to drink |
| C．tried to stop companies from dumping their waste products into the canal |
| D．didn’t mind that chemical companies were dumping waste products into the canal |
The best title for the article is ________. A. Accidents in Some Countries B. Disasters in Some Countries
C. Our Earth Is Out of Control D How to Prevent Accidents from Happening Again