After a serious earthquake happened, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to his son's school, only to find that the building where his son studied had collapsed and looked like a pancake.
He was shocked. He didn't know what he should do for a while, then he remembered the words he had said to his son, "No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you! "And tears began to fill his eyes. He started digging through the ruins (废墟).
As he was digging, other helpless parents and the firemen arrived and tried to pull him off the ruins, saying, "It's too late! They're all dead! There's nothing you can do! " To them he replied with one line, "Are you going to help me now? " And then he kept on digging.
No one helped, however. He went on alone because he needed to know for himself: "Is my boy alive or is he dead? " He dug for eight hours. . . 12 hours. . . 24 hours. . . 36 hours. . . then, in the 39th hour, he pulled back a rock and heard his son's words. He shouted his son's name, "ARMAND! " He heard back, "Dad!?! It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, 'No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you!' You did it, Dad! "
"What's going on in there? How is it? " the father asked.
"There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We're frightened, hungry, thirsty and thankful you're here. When t he building fell down, it made a triangle (三角) , and it saved us. "
"Come out, boy! "
"No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you'll get me! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me! "The underlined word "collapsed" probably means " ".
| A．break down | B．shake away | C．stand by | D．fall into |
Who came to help the father when he was digging?
| A．His wife. | B．Other parents. | C．The firemen. | D．No one. |
Other parents and the firemen wanted to pull him off the ruins because they thought .
| A．he was mad |
| B．all the children had died in the earthquake |
| C．he was too dangerous to others |
| D．it was not his job to dig |
How many students were already dead when the father found them in the ruins?
| A．Fourteen. | B．Thirty-three. | C．Forty-seven. | D．Nineteen. |
We can learn from the passage that .
| A．it took the father one day to find his son and other students |
| B．his wife died in the earthquake |
| C．his son was the last one to come out of the ruins |
| D．the son didn't believe his father would come to save him |
How to Become Cleverer
Once a boy came to ask a fisherman how to become cleverer, because his mother always called him “foolish boy”.
“That’s easy,” answered the fisherman. “I know one way to make you become cleverer.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It is said a fish head is good for brain. If you eat one, you’ll become cleverer indeed. Pay only three pounds for one fish head.” The boy paid him three pounds and the fisherman cut off a fish head and handed it to him.
A raw fish head is not good—not even for a hungry boy to eat but the boy ate it up in two gulps.
“Do you feel anything?” asked the fisherman.
“Not in my head,” said the boy.
The boy lay on the ground and thought. “One whole fish costs only two pounds. I had paid him three pounds for the fish head. Why couldn’t I have the whole fish for soup, a head for brain and one pound left over?” He jumped up and shouted at the fisherman. “You thief! You are fooling me!” The fisherman laughed, saying, “The fish head works now, you see.”The boy ate up the raw fish head only in two gulps, because he __________.
| A．enjoy it |
| B．wanted to taste it |
| C．took it as a good medicine |
| D．was a foolish boy |
The boy came to the fisherman in order to __________.
| A．buy a fish head |
| B．ask the fisherman a question |
| C．become cleverer |
| D．A and C |
“Not in my head” means “__________”.
| A．The fish head was not in the boy’s head |
| B．The boy felt nothing came into his head |
| C．It’s difficult to give an answer right away |
| D．The boy didn’t feel that he was cleverer |
The boy paid three pounds. He should have had __________.
| A．a whole fish |
| B．a fish head and one pound back |
| C．a whole fish and one pound back |
| D．a whole fish, a fish head and one pound back |
__________ helped the boy become cleverer.
| A．A good meal | B．The raw fish head |
| C．Nothing | D．What had happened |
High-tech machines have made life easier for millions around the world. However, some people still prefer low-tech ways of doing things. Here’s an example of why this is happening. You can microwave a frozen hamburger in 60 seconds. However, it won’t taste as good as one you cook on the stove. And if you’re in that much of a hurry, you probably won’t take time to toast the bun. High-tech cooking saves time, but it doesn’t make for better-tasting meals.
Most people get their news from high-tech sources like television or the Internet. This has many advantages. For example, electronic news is more up to date than newspapers or magazines. It’s also more exciting to see live and videotaped news events than photographs. However, newspapers and magazines have some important advantages. They give more background and details. They also let you read the parts that are important to you and skip the rest.
Other high-tech timesavers have similar disadvantages. For examples, most people use the phone or e-mail to stay in touch with friends and family members who live in other places. But when you use the Internet or the phone, you don’t always think carefully about what you are saying, and sometimes you forget the important things you want to communicate. Similarly, when you word-process a homework assignment instead of handwriting it, you can check your spelling electronically and put in fancy headings. However, some students are so busy with the computer that they don’t pay enough attention to the actual words they are writing.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The writer likes high-tech cooking. |
| B．Low-tech cooking produces better-tasting meals. |
| C．High-tech news programs always keep you reading what is important to you. |
| D．Handwritten homework is better than word-processed homework. |
How does the writer feel about high-tech tool?
| A．Better late than never. | B．Easy come, easy go. |
| C．Every coin has two sides. | D．Learn to walk before you run. |
What is the main subject discussed in the text?
| A．High-tech vs. low-tech |
| B．Advantages vs. disadvantages. |
| C．Newspapers and magazines vs. television and the Internet. |
| D．Word-processing vs. handwriting. |
Every time you go to the supermarket, you come away with your purchases in plastic bags. But wouldn’t it be kinder to the environment if you asked for paper bags instead?
The answer is not the easy as it might seem. Environmentalists say there are drawbacks to using both plastic bags and paper bags.
According to the American Plastics Council 80 percent of groceries in the US are packed in plastic bags.
“The numbers are becoming huge,” said Vincent Cobb, a businessman from Chicago who set up “reusable bags. com” on the Internet. He notes that consumers use between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags per year worldwide.
Some experts believe that all these bags harm the environment. Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down and, as it does so, poisonous materials are released into the water and soil.
Further damage is caused if plastic bags enter the sea. For example, endangered sea turtles cannot tell the bags from jellyfish(水母), their main source of food, and often choke on them.
Floating plastic bags have been spotted as far north as the Arctic Ocean and as far south as the southern end of South America. One expert predicts that, within ten years, plastic bags will wash up in Antarctica!
However, this kind of bag does have its advantages.
“Plastic grocery bags are some of the most reused things around the house,” explained Laurie Kusek of the American Plastics Council.
According to the Film and Bag Federation, a trade group in the US plastics industry, paper bags use more energy and create more waste than plastic bags. Plastic bags require 40 per cent less energy to produce and cause 70 per cent less air pollution, the group explained. They also release as much as 94 percent less waste into the water than paper ones.
But paper bags do break down more quickly than plastic bags. They don’t endanger wildlife, either.
So what should we do? One possible solution would be to use biodegradable(能被生物分解的)plastic bags. But until biodegradable technology improves, it might be easier to pack things you buy in reusable cloth bags.The best title of the passage is _____.
| A．Paper Causes Less Pollution |
| B．Plastic Causes Less Pollution |
| C．Paper and Plastics Cause Pollution |
| D．Paper Bags Break Down More Quickly |
The underlined word “drawbacks” might mean “_____”.
| A．Advantages | B．disadvantages | C．air pollution | D．waste |
According to the passage, which of the following in NOT true?
| A．Plastic takes longer to break down than paper. |
| B．Sea turtles usually mistake the plastic bags for jellyfish. |
| C．Paper bags require less energy than plastic bags. |
| D．You’d better pack things in reusable cloth bags. |
Which of the following shows that paper bags are better than plastic ones?
| A．Paper bags take less time to rot. |
| B．Paper bags cause less air pollution. |
| C．Paper bags are more reusable. |
| D．Paper bags cause less water pollution. |
What’s on stage
An acrobatic(杂技)show: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe(剧团)will present “ The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills(寒意)will run down your spine(脊柱) as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge.
Time: 7:30 p.m. , September 13-19
Place: Capital Theatre, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District
Exhibitions
Joint show: A group ink painting exhibition is running at the Huangshicheng Art Gallery in Beijing. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display.
Time: 9:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m. until September10
Place: Huangshicheng Art Gallery, 136 Nanchizi Dajie, Dongcheng District
Oil paintings: The Wangfung Art Gallery will host a joint show of oil painting by 10 young and middle-aged artists. On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture the wondrous variety of life in unique styles.
Time: 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. until September15
Place:136 Nanchizi Street, Dongcheng District
Literature museum: The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an in-depth study of the evolution of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949.
Time: 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. , daily
Place: 45 Anyuan Donglu, Chaoyang District (shaoyaoju area)
Concerts
Beijing rocks: “The Fashion Night of Chinese Rock” is set to bring rock fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals. The audience will be given a chance to decide what songs they want to hear, which is sure to bring a storm.
Time: September 16
Place: The Olympic Center
Belgium Orchestra(管弦乐队): La Petite Bande, the Baroque Orchestra of Belgium, will perform in Beijing at the Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities as part of activities across the world to commemorate(纪念) the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death.
Time: 7:30 p.m. September 11-14
Place: Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of NationalitiesWhat do you think of the acrobatic show mentioned here?
| A．When you watch it, you will certainly feel cold. |
| B．Something strange will puzzle everyone, including scientists. |
| C．Unexpected things will make you excited and surprised. |
| D．Even the bravest ones will be too frightened to go on watching. |
The most characteristic thing about the Fashion Night of Chinese Rock is that____.
| A．it will let the audience choose the performers and the music |
| B．it is to bring thousands of rock fans out of their homes |
| C．it will certainly cause a rock storm throughout China |
| D．it is to be held in memory of one of the greatest musicians |
Suppose it is September 14th today, how many activities can people choose to attend?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
On the whole, we can conclude____.
| A．people in Beijing prefer modern culture to something traditional |
| B．there are usually more culture actives in September than in any other month |
| C．most of the cultural activities in Beijing are for foreign visitors only |
| D．we can enjoy a large variety of cultural activities in Beijing |
Mom was a teacher most of her life. When she wasn’t in the classroom, she was educating her children or grandchildren: correcting our grammar; starting us on collections of butterflies, flowers or rocks; or inspiring a discussion on her most recent “Book of the Month Club” topic. Mom made learning fun.
It was sad for my three brothers and me to see her ailing in her later years. At eighty-five, she suffered a stroke and she went steadily downhill after that.
Two days before she died, my brothers and I met at her nursing home and took her for a short ride in a wheelchair. While we waited for the staff to lift her limp body back into bed, Mom fell asleep. Not wanting to wake her, we moved to the far end of the room and spoke softly.
After several minutes our conversation was interrupted by a muffled sound coming from across the room. We stopped talking and looked at Mom. Her eyes were closed, but she was clearly trying to communicate with us. We went to her side.
“Whirr,” she said weakly.
“Where?” I asked. “Mom, is there something you want?” “Whirr,” she repeated a bit stronger. My brothers and I looked at each other and shook our heads sadly.
Mom opened her eyes, sighed, and with all the energy she could muster said, “Not was, say were!”
It suddenly occurred to us that Mom was correcting brother Jim’s last sentence. “If it was up to me…”
Jim leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mom,” he whispered. We smiled at each other and once again shook our heads…this time in awe of a remarkable teacher.When Mom said, “Whirr”, what did she really want to do?
| A．She wanted to tell her sons her will. |
| B．She wanted to have something to eat before she died. |
| C．She wanted to correct the mistakes Jim made while talking. |
| D．She wanted to teach her sons more because she was dying. |
Which of the following statements is NOT right?
| A．Mom was a good teacher and never wanted to stop her teaching. |
| B．Mom was always making her teaching fun. |
| C．Mom didn’t forget her teaching until she died. |
| D．Mom was no longer a teacher when she was at home. |
What does the writer think of his mother?
| A．He loved her but was tired of his mother’s teaching at home. |
| B．His mother should forget her teaching and enjoyed the rest of her life. |
| C．His mother was great because she devoted herself to teaching. |
| D．His mother was an excellent teacher before she was retired. |
Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
| A．Once a teacher, always | B．Mom’s will |
| C．A teacher’s life | D．A teacher’s devotion |