A person named Bernard Jackson today is a free man, but he has many bitter memories. He spent five years in prison after a jury (陪审团) wrongly convicted (判处……有罪) him of raping two women. At Jackson’s trial, although two witnesses testified that Jackson was with them in another location at the time of the crime, he was convicted anyway. Why? The jury believed the testimony (证词) of the two v
ictims, who positively identified Jackson as the man who had attacked them. The court eventually freed Jackson after the police found the real criminal.
Many factors influence the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. For instance, witnesses sometimes see photographs of several suspects before they try to identify the person they saw in a group of people. They can become confused by seeing many photographs of similar faces. The number of people in the group, and whether it is a person or a photograph, may also affect a witness’s decision. People sometimes have difficulty identifying people of other races. The questions the police ask witnesses also have an effect on them.
Many people believe that police officers are more reliable than ordinary people. Psychologists decided to test this idea, and they discovered that it is not true. Two psychologists showed a film of crimes to both police officers and civilians. The psychologists found no difference between the police and the civilians in correctly remembering the details of the crimes.
Despite all the possibilities for inaccuracy, courts cannot leave out eyewitness testimony from a trial. American courts depend almost completely on eyewitness testimony to resolve (决定) court cases. Sometimes it is the only evidence to a crime, such as rape. Furthermore, eyewitness testimony is often correct. Although people do sometimes make mistakes, and convict innocent people, more importantly, eyewitness testimony has rightly convicted a larger number of guilty people.
American courts depend on the ability of the twelve jurors, and not the judges, to determine the accuracy of the witness’s testimony. It is their responsibility to decide if a certain witness could actually see, hear and remember what happened. Bernard Jackson was found guilty and sentenced 5 years’ prison because .
| A．the police discovered evidence leading to his guilt |
| B．he admitted the crime of raping two women |
| C．the victims insisted that he was the attacker |
| D．the eyewitness proved the victims’ testimony |
The following statements may be the reasons for why sometimes the eyewitness’ testimony is not accurate EXCEPT .
| A．the eyewitness is confused by the police’s questions |
| B．the eyewitness is shown photos of many similar faces |
| C．the eyewitness lacks the professional help from police |
| D．the eyewitness can’t identify people of other races clearly |
An inaccurate eyewitness testimony may lead to .
| A．the misunderstanding of the case | B．the disbelief in the court |
| C．the disrespect for the eyewitness | D．the conviction of an innocent person |
Eyewitness testimony is important because .
| A．it can be relied on to detect criminals in all cases. |
B．it is sometimes the only way to resolve court cases. |
| C．it is sometimes the only clue for police investigation. |
| D．it is more reliable than physical evidences to a crime. |
According to the text, we can infer that .
| A．police identification is more reliable than that of the ordinary people |
| B．eyewitness testimony is valuable, though sometimes incorrect. |
| C．crime victims often fail to give positive identification of the suspects |
| D．the jury relies on the judge rather than the eyewitness for a decision |
Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, reportedly blocked streets with their vehicles on Sunday in protest against unlicensed vehicles using taxi-hiring apps(打车软件) and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies.
On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal “taxi business” of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.
It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December.
Such regulations will cause a setback to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Besides, the market is uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from global investors.
Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China’s big cities. To be fair, these companies’ business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for businesspeople through the Internet and mobile phone apps.
Every link in this business model chain has legal companies and services. Hence, it is hard to define it as illegal and ban it.Why did taxi drivers in Shenyang block the streets with their vehicles?
| A．Because they wanted the government to increase their driving allowances. |
| B．Because they wanted to be educated how to use the taxi-hiring apps. |
| C．Because they wanted to make their main complaints known to the government. |
| D．Because they wanted to call on passengers not to hire the private cars. |
The author’s attitude to banning internet car-hiring service is______.
| A．positive | B．negative | C．neutral | D．unclear |
Which of the following statements is false according to the passage?
| A．The problem referred to in the passage exists in all cities |
| B．App-based car rental is helpful to some degree |
| C．The government should regulate the app-based car rental market |
| D．Didi Dache is a China-foreign joint company |
From the passage we learn ___________.
| A．Shenyang banned apps-based car rental companies |
| B．Shanghai is the second city banning Didi Zhuanche |
| C．some international investment companies have faith in the future of apps-based car rental companies |
| D．it is easy to describe the apps-based car rental companies illegal |
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was one of the most private women in the world, yet when she went to work as an editor in the last two decades of her life, she revealed（展现）herself as she did nowhere else.
After the death of her second husband, Greek shipping magnate（巨头）Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline’s close friend and former White House social secretary Letitia Baldrige made a suggestion that she consider a career in publishing. After consideration, Jacqueline accepted it. Perhaps she hoped to find there some idea about how to live her own life. She became not less but more interested in reading. For the last 20 years of her life, Jacqueline worked as a publisher’s editor, first at Viking, then at Doubleday, pursuing（追求）a late-life career longer than her two marriages combined. During her time in publishing, she was responsible for managing and editing more than 100 successfully marketed books. Among the first books were In the Russian Style and Inventive Paris Clothes. She also succeeded in persuading TV hosts Bill Moyer’s and Jose Campbell to transform their popular television conversations into a book, The Power of Myth. The book went on to become an international best-seller. She dealt, too, with Michael Jackson as he prepared his autobiography（自传）, Moonwalk.
Jacqueline may have been hired for name and for her social relations, but she soon proved her worth. Her choices, suggestions and widespread social relations were of benefit both to the publishing firms and to Jacqueline herself. In the books she selected for publication, she built on a lifetime of spending time by herself as a reader and left a record of the growth of her mind. Her books are the autobiography she never wrote. Her role as First Lady, in the end, was overshadowed by her performance as an editor. However, few knew that she had achieved so much.We can learn from the passage that Jacqueline _________
| A．became fond of reading after working as an editor |
| B．was in charge of publishing 100 books |
| C．promoted her books through social relations |
| D．gained a lot from her career as an editor |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means that_________
| A．Jacqueline was more successful as an editor than as First Lady |
| B．Jacqueline’s life as First Lady was more colorful than as an editor |
| C．Jacqueline ended up as an editor rather as First Lady |
| D．Jacqueline’s role as First Lady was more brilliant than as an editor |
【改编】It can be inferred from the passage that______
| A．Jacqueline’s two marriages lasted more than 20 years |
| B．Jacqueline’s opinions and faiths were reflected in the books she edited |
| C．Jacqueline’s own publishing firm was set up eventually |
| D．Jacqueline’s achievements were widely known. |
【改编】The passage talks about ______________
| A．a brief introduction of Jacqueline’s career as an editor in her last 20 years |
| B．a brief description of Jacqueline’s lifelong experiences |
| C．an description of Jacqueline’s life both as First Lady and as an editor |
| D．an analysis of Jacqueline’s social relations in publishing |
Alice’s mother died when Alice was five years old. Alice, who grew up to be my mother, told me that after her mother’s death her family was too poor to even afford to give her a doll.
In December 2012, I had a job at a local bank. One afternoon, we were decorating the tree in the bank lobby(大厅). One of my customers approached me with her beautiful handmade dolls. I decided to get one for my daughter, Katie, who was almost five years old. Then I had an idea. I asked my customer if she could make me a special doll for my mother—one with gray hair and spectacles(眼镜): a grandmother doll. And she gladly agreed.
A friend had told me that his dad who played Santa Claus would be willing to make a visit on Christmas morning to our home to deliver my Katie her presents, so I made some special arrangements.
Christmas Day arrived and at the planned time; so did Santa Claus. Katie was surprised that Santa had come to see her at her own house. As Santa turned to leave, he looked once more into his bag and found one more gift. As he asked who Alice was, my mother, surprised at her name being called, indicated that she in fact was Alice. Santa handed her the gift, with a message card that read:
For Alice:
I was cleaning out my sleigh(雪橇) before my trip this year and came across this package that was supposed to be delivered on December 25,1953. The present inside has aged, but I felt that you might still wish to have it. Many apologies for the lateness of the gift.
Love,
Santa Claus
My mother’s reaction was one of the most deeply emotional scenes I have ever seen. She couldn’t speak but only held the doll she had waited fifty-nine years to receive as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. That doll, given by “Santa”, made my mother the happiest “child” that Christmas.【改编】Why couldn’t the writer’s mother have a doll when young ?_________.
| A．Santa Clause forgot to send the doll to her |
| B．her daughter couldn’t make a doll by herself |
| C．her parents left the doll in the Santa Clause’s sleigh |
| D．her family was badly off when she was a child |
【改编】What can be inferred from the passage ?__________.
| A．the writer’s father played the Father Christmas |
| B．the writer’s mother was already in her sixties when she received the doll |
| C．the writer urged one of her friends to make the doll for her mother |
| D．the Santa Clause was too careless to deliver the doll on time |
The best title for this passage could be __________.
| A．A Doll from Santa |
| B．An unforgettable Christmas |
| C．A considerate daughter |
| D．A help from Santa Claus |
【原创】In the " Mystery Spot" in California, you will be able to experience what it's like to live in a gravity-free world, without ever leaving the earth.
Discovered in 1939, the area where Mystery Spot is located was originally marked for a summer cabin. But when people tried to chart the plot, their instruments started going out of control. Investigators that were sent to look into the strange phenomenon reported feeling light-headed as though some invisible force was trying to knock them off balance. The decision to build the summer cabin was abandoned. Instead, the owners decided to build a structure that they called the Mystery Spot and open it to the public so that everyone could experience it.
Over the years, thousands of tourists have flooded to the 150-square-foot area to see short people appear the same height as tall ones and experience leaning at impossible angles without falling over.
So what causes these strange things to happen? Some believe that it is because the area is an electromagnetic(电磁的) hotspot, while others are convinced that there are some unknown geological forces at work to contradict the law of gravity.
Rational scientists have thrown cold water on all these theories. In 1981, Ray Hyman, a psychology professor, conducted a study on this and other similar mystery spots that have been " discovered" in various parts of the country. His conclusion? It's because of the way the structures have been constructed.
Though they appear to be normal structures, they are like funhouses, filled with floors that are not level, corners that are not squared and walls that are not vertical.
Some experts believe that mystery spots such as the one in Santa Cruz are a product of the Great Depression, when the only industry that was growing in America was entertainment.What can we do in the " Mystery Spot" in California?
| A．To experience what it is like to have no gravity. ' |
| B．To make preparations to leave the earth for space. |
| C．To communicate with astronauts in space. |
| D．To look for answers to many mysteries. |
What does the underlined word "it" refer to in Para. 2 ?
| A．Charting a place with advanced instruments. |
| B．Being made light-hearted and happy by some force. |
| C．What it's like to have no gravity in a place. |
| D．Seeing short people grow tall. |
What's the explanation of some rational scientists to the strange phenomenon?
| A．The Mystery Spot is located in an electromagnetic hotspot. |
| B．There are some unknown geological forces underground. |
| C．The Mystery Spot is a normal structure like funhouses. |
| D．The Mystery Spot was built in a special way, |
After the Mystery Spot was built, it _________.
| A．has become a spot where hot movies are made |
| B．has become a tourist attraction |
| C．has been a place where short people always go |
| D．has become a scientific research center |
It was an autumn morning shortly after my husband and I moved into our first house. Our children were upstairs unpacking, and I was looking out of the window at my father moving around mysteriously on the front lawn. My parents lived nearby, and Dad had visited us several times already. “What are you doing out there?” I called to him.
He looked up, smiling. “I’m making you a surprise.” Knowing my father, I thought it could be just about anything. A self-employed jobber, he was always building things out of odds and ends. When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us.
Today, however, Dad would say no more, and caught ups in the busyness of our new life, I eventually forgot about his surprise.
Until one gloomy day the following March when I glanced out of the window. Any yet… I saw a dot of blue across the yard. I headed outside for a closer look. They were crocuses (番红花), throughout the front lawn. Lavender, blue, yellow and my favorite pink --- little faces moved up and down in the cold wind.
Dad! I smiled, remembering the things he had secretly planted last autumn. He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down. What could have been more perfectly timely to my needs?
My father’s crocuses bloomed each spring for the next four or five seasons, bringing the same assurance every time they arrived: hard times was almost over. Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon.
Then a spring came with only half the usual blooms. The next spring there were none. I missed the crocuses. I would ask Dad to come over and plant new bulbs. But I never did.
He died suddenly one October day. My family was in deep sorrow, leaning on our faith. I missed him terribly.
Four years passed, and on a dismal spring afternoon I was driving back when I found myself feeling depressed. “You’ve got the winter depression again and you get them every year.” I told myself.
It was Dad’s birthday, and I found myself thinking about him. This was not unusual --- my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived his faith. Once I saw him give his coat to a homeless man.
Suddenly I slowed as I turned into our driveway. I stopped and stared at the lawn. And there on the muddy grass and small gray piles of melting snow, bravely waving in the wind, was one pink crocus.
How could a flower bloom from a bulb more than 18 years old, one that had not blossomed in over a decade? But there was the crocus. Tears filled my eyes as I realized its significance.
Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon. The pink crocus bloomed for only a day. But it built my faith for a lifetime.【改编】What can we conclude From the first three paragraphs ? _________.
| A．the writer was unpacking when her father was surprised |
| B．the writer understood what the surprise was because she knew her father |
| C．it was not the first time that the writer’s father had made a surprise |
| D．it kept bothering the writer not knowing what the surprise was |
Which of the following would most probably be the worst time of the year as seen by the writer?
| A．Spring. | B．Summer. |
| C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
The writer’s father should be best described as_________.
| A．a full-time gardener with skillful hands |
| B．a part-time jobber who loved flowers |
| C．a kind-hearted man who lived with faith |
| D．an ordinary man with doubts in his life |
At the end of the passage, crocus was viewed as the symbol of _________ by the writer.
| A．belief | B．family | C．love | D．friendship |