HolidaysHolidayNewsVacancies(空-优题课

Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord．She did it her way．
I got the call at work, and 1 headed home quickly．Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven．I hated going there every weekend．There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception．
My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables．The place was rustic （乡下的）, with no indoor heat．We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me．
In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen．I sang the melody and Mom larmonized．Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over． Momtold me stones about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk．She loved to tell how my playpen （婴儿圈栏） sat in the kitchen next to the radio and there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower"．
As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit them every week or two．The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad．But I still hated the silence of the farm．While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle （喧闹） of my life at home．But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced．
Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio．Music always comforted me,
My heart skipped a beat．"Moon River" was playing on the radio．I sat there, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note．
Then the radio announcer of this old station came on．" Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began．I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves．"Come down; come down from your Ivory Tower…"
The writer didn't like staying in the farm for the following reasons EXCEPT that ______．

A．it was too cold and quiet

B．she could only sing one song in the small farm

C．there was nothing more that could make her excited

D．The place was rustic, with no indoor heat

From the First paragraph, we know that the writer's mother ______．

A．died four years ago	B．left the small farm with Lord
C．left for Lord to live her own way	D．preferred to be with Lord

The underlined word reminisced in Paragraph 5 probably means ______．

A．recalled

B．comforted

C．shouted

D．sighed

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage _____．

A．The writer was able to dance before she could speak．

B．The writer preferred to live a quiet life in the country．

C．The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower",

D．The writer forgot all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse．

Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A．Two English songs	B．My happy childhood
C．Our small farmhouse	D．Mom's music

Many people write to newspapers and magazines to express their opinions. Letters to the editor must carry the writer’s full name, address and telephone number, although the information is not necessary for publication. This requirement to provide personal particulars is a clear indication that writers are responsible for what they say. When a writer wants his voice heard, he needs to claim ownership of his voice. Responsibility is the name of the game.
“People today prefer living together to putting their signatures on a marriage certificate because they refuse to accept responsibility for the relationship,” said social worker Ken Yip, “and this is what is causing a lot of family problems.” When we sign a paper, for example, a business contract or a bank document, the signature is a seal of consent, an agreement to take the matter seriously. Most governments and many organizations will not process written complaints if they do not bear the writer’s signature. The absence of a signature, they explain, tells us that the writer cannot be too serious and therefore does not deserve a reply.
There are people who wish to remain anonymous(匿名的) for various reasons. Multi-billionaire Mr. King donates generously to charity several times a year. He gives simply because he wants to help but not for the publicity his donations may bring, and he doesn’t want his good deeds to make news. In other cases, people insist on anonymity because they are afraid of the consequences of revealing their identity. Crime witnesses may be willing to assist the police, but most are unwilling to give their names when reporting a crime.
Name or no name? The answer is very personal and lies in how much we want to get involved. We all have a name. It is a matter of responsibility to use it when we make a statement, a claim or an accusation. We all want to honor our own name, and it is only by stamping our expression of an opinion with our name that we honor what we say.
What does the writer mean by saying “Responsibility is the name of the game”?

A．Writers should be responsible for their names.

B．Writers need to provide their personal information in the game.

C．Names are required to indicate writers’ responsibility for what they say.

D．Publications must bear the writer’s full na

me, address and phone number.

The second paragraph suggests that a paper without a signature may______.

A．not get a reply	B．be accepted all the time
C．become a family problem	D．help to end a relationship

Some people don’t want their names known because they are_______.

A．ready for involvement	B．hesitant to make a donation
C．afraid of an accusation	D．unwilling to draw public attention

The passage is mainly about_____.

A．honor and writers	B．signature and responsibility
C．identity and signature	D．anonymity and signature

Over the last 70 years．researchers have been studying happy and Unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference．Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes．However of all the factors，wealth and age are the top two．
Money can buy a degree of happiness．But once you can afford to feed，clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference．
Researchers find that，on average，wealthier people are happier．But the link between money and happiness is complex．In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries，yet happiness levels have remained almost the same．Once your basic needs are met，money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends，neighbors and colleagues．
“Dollars buy Status(社会地位)，and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts，which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways-scientists or actors，for example-may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs．
In a research，Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires-not just for money，but for friends，family, job，health-rose furthest beyond what they already had，tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap(差距)．Indeed，the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone．“The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income，”says Michalos．
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age．Old age may not be so bad．“Given all the problems of aging，how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen．
Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it，or they're more realistic about their goals，only setting ones that they know they can achieve．But Carstensen thinks that with time running out，older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don't．
“People realize not only what they have，but also that what they have cannot-last forever,” she says．“A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85，for example，may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”
According to the passage，the feeling of happiness _________.

A．has little to do with wealth	B．increases gradually with age
C．is measured by desires	D．is determined partly by genes

Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs_________.

A．make them feel much better	B．provide chances to make friends
C．improve their social position	D．satisfy their professional interests

Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more_________.

A．optimistic

B．p

ractical

C．successful

D．emotional

Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if__________.

A．the gap between reality and desire is bigger

B．they have a stronger desire for friendship

C．their income is below their expectation

D．the hope for good health is greater

“My kids really understand solar and earth-heat energy,” says a second-grade teacher in Saugus, California. “Some of them are building solar collectors for their energy course.” These young scientists are part of City Building Educational Program (CBEP), a particular program for kindergarten through twelfth grade that uses the stages of city planning to teach basic reading, writing and math skills and more.
The children don’t just plan any city. They map and analyze (分析) the housing, energy, and transportation requirements of their own district and foretell its needs in 100 years. With the aid of an architect (建筑师) who visits the classroom once a week, they invent new ways to meet these needs and build models of their creations. “Designing buildings of the future gives children a lot of freedom,’’ says the teacher who developed this program. “They are able to use their own rich imagination and inventions without fear of blame, because there are no wrong answers in a future context. In fact, as the class enters the final model-building stage of the program, an elected ‘official’ and ‘planning group’ make all the design decisions for the model city and the teacher steps back and becomes an adviser.
CBEP is a set of activities, games and imitations that teach the basic steps necessary for problem-solving: observing, analyzing, working out possible answers, and judging them based on the children’s own standards.
The program is designed to_________.

A．direct kids to build solar collectors

B．train young scientists for city planning

C．develop children’s problem-solving abilities

D．help young architects know more about designing.

An architect pays a weekly visit to the classroom to ________.

A．find out kids’ creative ideas	B． help kids with their program
C． discuss with the teacher	D． give children a lecture

Who is the designer of the program?

A．An official.

B．An architect.

C．A teacher.

D．A scientist

The children feel free in the program because __________.

A．they can design future buildings themselves

B．they have new ideas and rich imagination

C．they are given enough time to design models

D． they need not worry about making mistakes

It was a winter morning，just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005．While most people 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 get 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 offered 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 it 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．

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