In a great many cities, hundreds of people ride bikes to work every day. In New York, some bike riders have even formed a group called Bike for a Better City. They declare that if more people rode bikes to work, there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown part of the city and so less dirty air form car engines.
For several years, this group had been trying to get the city government to help bike riders. For example, they want the city to draw special lanes(车道) for bikes on some of the main streets, because when bike riders must use the same lanes as cars there are accidents. Bike for a Better City feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes.
But no bike lanes have been drawn. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea—they say it will slow traffic. Some store owners on the main streets don’t like the idea—they say that if there is less traffic, they will have less business.
The city government has not yet decided what to do. It wants to keep everyone happy. On weekends, Central Park—the largest place open ground in New York— is closed to cars, and the roads may be used by bikes only.In New York, a group of bike riders__________.
A．are keepi ng practicing for health |
| B．have no cars of their own |
| C．are complaining there are not enough buses |
| D．are trying to settle the problem of air pollution |
The bike riders suggest that __________.
| A．bikes should be used instead of cars | B．bike lanes should be drawn |
| C．fewer buses or cars should be used | D．the number of special lanes should be decreased |
The advantage of the special lanes is that__________.
| A．they will make cars and buses run slowly |
| B．they will make it easier for bike riders to go to parks |
| C．they will make the city more beautiful |
| D．they will prevent accidents |
Equipped only with a pair of binoculars (双筒望远镜) and ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathers for a precious glance of a rare bullfinch(红腹灰雀). Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport. But new figures show birdwatching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering feathered friends.
Devoted birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for a sighting of a rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches (雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.
“Almost three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if you include everyone with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book—A Bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching—which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of birdwatchers today.
Television wildlife programmes have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million viewers and led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put up a box.
Birdwatchers’ networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera—a golden-winged songbird from North America—to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the network service Birdline, and the next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they visited the Tesco car park in Kent, where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sightings texted to their phones.
“Multimillion-pound spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of birdwatchers,” said David Cromack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine, “The number of people involved is so big that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the environment.”The word “satiated” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “_______”.
| A．affected | B．shared | C．satisfied | D．narrowed |
What happened after the message of seeing a Vermivora chrysoptera was put on the network?
| A．Birdwatchers helped the rare bird settle in Kent. |
| B．Large numbers of birdwatchers went to view the bird. |
| C．Many birdwatchers logged on to the website for details. |
| D．Birdwatchers showed their determination to protect the rare bird. |
Which of the following CANNOT be true according to the passage?
| A．Television wildlife programmes started the popular pastime of birdwatching. |
| B．The network service has contributed to the rapid development of birdwatching. |
| C．Birdwatching in Britain was long considered a sport with a small group of followers. |
| D．The current situation of birdwatching may promote the protection of the environment. |
The passage mainly tells us about ________ in UK.
| A．the history of bird watching |
| B．a growing passion for bird watching |
| C．the impact of media on bird watching |
| D．bird watching as a popular expensive sport |
Pet owners are being encouraged to take their animals to work , a move scientists say can be good for productivity , workplace morale (士气), and the well-being of animals .
A study found that 25% of Australian women would like to keep an office pet . Sue Chaseling of Petcare Information Service said the practice of keeping office pets was good both for the people and the pets . “On the pets’ side , they are not left on their own and won’t feel lonely and unhappy,” she said . A study of major US companies showed that 73% found office pets beneficial (有益的) , while 27% experienced a drop in absenteeism (缺勤).
Xarni Riggs has two cats walking around her Global Hair Salon in Paddington . “My customers love them. They are their favorites ,” she said . “They are not troublesome . They know when to go and have a sleep in the sun .”
Little black BJ has spent nearly all his two years “working” at Punch Gallery in Balmain . Owner Iain Powell said he had had cats at the gallery for 15 years . “BJ often lies in the shop window and people walking past tap on the glass ,” he said .
Ms Chaseling said cats were popular in service industries because they enabled a point of conversation . But she said owners had to make sure both their co-workers and the cats were comfortable .The percentage of American companies that are in favor of keeping office pets is .
| A．73% | B．27% | C．25% | D．15% |
We know from the text that “BJ”
| A．works in the Global Hair Salon |
| B．often greets the passers-by |
| C．likes to sleep in the sun |
| D．is a two-year-old cat |
The best title for this text would be .
| A．Pets Help Attract Customers |
| B．Your Favorite Office Pets |
| C．Pets Join the Workforce |
| D．Busy Life for Pets |
A qualified doctor who rarely practiced but instead devoted his life to writing. He once said: “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my lover.” Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, was a great playwright and one of the masters of the modern short story.
When Chekhov entered the Moscow University Medical School in 1879, he started to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support his family. After he graduated, he wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.
As a writer he was extremely fast, often producing a short story in an hour or less. Chekhov’s medical and science experience can be seen through the indifference(冷漠) many of his characters show to tragic events. In 1892, he became a full time writer and published some of his most memorable stories.
Chekhov often wrote about the sufferings of life in small town Russia. Tragic events control his characters who are filled with feelings of hopelessness and despair.
It is often said that nothing happens in Chekhov’s stories and plays. He made up for this with his exciting technique for developing drama within his characters. Chekhov’s work combined the calm attitude of a scientist and doctor with the sensitivity(敏感) of an artist.
Some of Chekhov's works were translated into Chinese as early as the 1940s. One of his famous stories, The Man in a Shell, about a school teacher’s extraordinarily orderly life, was selected as a text for Chinese senior students.Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ________.
| A．had a lawful lover | B．was an illegal writer |
| C．used to be a lawyer | D．was a competent doctor |
In 1880, Chekhov ________.
| A．became a full-time writer |
| B．studied medicine in Moscow University |
| C．practiced medicine in his hometown |
| D．published his most memorable stories |
Which of the following adjectives can’t be used to describe Chekhov?
| A．Sensitive. | B．Cool. |
| C．Quick-minded. | D．Warm-hearted. |
Which of the following is the right order of the events?
A. became a doctor B. became a full time writer
C. started to publish comic short stories
D. wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.
e. entered the Moscow University Medical School
A. e→c→a→d→b B. d→a→b→c→e
C. e→c→b→a→d D. a→e→c→b→d
About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and — WHUMP! — it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH...!!!! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. " That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please....I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!" begged the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. "It’s my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled of the curb (路沿) and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. "Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman," Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.
Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the black, shining 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE — a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent (凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you.The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because ________.
| A．the businessman drove at a high speed |
| B．he envied the brand-new car very much |
| C．he wanted to ask for some money |
| D．he wanted to get help from the driver |
Which of the following is the right order of the story?
A. The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car.
B. The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.
C. The younger brother begged Josh for help.
D. Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair.
e. Josh shouted at the younger brother.
A.b, a, e, c, d B. a, c, d, b, e C. b, a, c, e, d D. a, c, b, e, dWhat can we learn from the passage?
| A．Josh would accept the money from the kids. |
| B．The two kids were Josh’s neighbors. |
| C．Josh was a kind-hearted man. |
| D．Josh’s new car broke down easily. |
according to the passage, the last sentence means ________.
| A．trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life |
| B．driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous |
| C．trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble |
| D．protecting oneself from being hurt |
After too long on the Net, even a phone call can be a shock. My boyfriend’s Liverpudlian accent suddenly becomes too difficult to understand after his clear words on screen; a secretary’s tone seems more rejecting than I’d imagined it would be. Time itself becomes fluid—hours becomes minutes, and alternately seconds stretch into days. Week ends, once a highlight of my week, are now just two ordinary days.
For the last three years, since I stopped working as a producer for Charlie Rose, I have done much of my work as a telecommuter. I submit(提交) articles and edit them by E-mail and communicate with colleagues on Internet mailing lists. My boyfriend lives in England, so much of our relationship is computer-mediated. If I desired, I could stay inside for weeks without wanting anything. I can order food, and manage my money, love and work. In fact, at times I have spent as long as three weeks alone at home, going out only to get mail and buy newspapers and groceries. I watched most of the blizzard of 96 on TV.
But after a while, life itself begins to feel unreal. I start to feel as though I’ve merged(融合) with my machines, taking data in, spitting them back out, just another node(波节) on the Net. Others on line report the same symptoms(症状). We start to strongly dislike the outside forms of socializing. It’s like attending an A. A. meeting in a bar with everyone holding a half-sipped drink. We have become the Net opponents’ worst nightmare.
What first seemed like a luxury, crawling from bed to computer, not worrying about hair, and clothes and face, has becomes avoidance(逃避), a lack of discipline. And once you start replacing real human contact with cyber interaction, coming back out of the cave can be quite difficult.
At times, I turn on the television and just leave it to chatter in the background, something that I’d never done previously. The voices of the programs relax me, but then I’m jarred by the commercials. I find myself sucked in by soap operas, or needing to keep up with the latest news and the weather. “Dateline”, “Frontline”, “Nightline”, CNN, New York 1, every possible angle of every story over and over, and over, even when they are of no possible use to me. Work moves from foreground to background. Compared to the clear words of her boyfriend on screen, his accent becomes _______.
| A．unreal | B．unbearable |
| C．misleading | D．not understandable |
What does the last paragraph mean?
| A．Having worked on the computer for too long, she became a bit strange. |
| B．She is so interested in TV programs that she often forgets her work. |
| C．She watches TV a lot in order to keep up with the latest news and the weather. |
| D．She turns on TV now and then in order to get some comfort from TV program. |
What is the author’s attitude to the computer?
| A．At first she likes it but later becomes tired of it. |
| B．She likes it because it is very convenient. |
| C．She dislikes it because TV is more attractive. |
| D．She dislikes it because it cuts off her relation with the outside world. |
The underlined phrase “coming back out of cave” probably means _______.
| A．going back to the dreaming world |
| B．coming back home from the outside world |
| C．bringing back direct human |
| D．getting away from living a strange life |