Driving In America
Keep Right
The traffic follows the “keep right rule”. While driving, drive on the right side of the road. On one-way, multiple lanes(车道) road, the right-most lane would be slowest and left-most lane is fastest.
Hand Signals
Though indicators(车的指示灯) are used for the purpose of showing which direction you are going, knowing some hand signals is very important and are usually always asked in a driving test. When you want to turn right, you can put your left hand out of the window and point upward. When you want to make a left turn, you can reach your left arm out of the window and point to the left. If you want to slow down or stop, you can just point downward.
School Buses
Yellow school buses have flashing red lights and stop signs that reach out from the driver’s side. The drivers use these warning signals when letting pupils on and off. No matter which side of the road you are traveling on, if you come upon a school bus with its lights flashing and a stop sign used, you must stop. It’s the law. Remain stopped until the lights stop flashing or the stop sign is removed.
Using the Horn
Using horns is not common in America. Actually they are very rarely used. You may use your horn to warn walkers or other drivers of possible trouble or to avoid accidents. Do not use your horn to express anger or complain about other drivers’ mistakes or to try to get a slow driver to move faster.If Freddy is asked to go to Florida in the shortest time from Missouri, on which lane in the picture below should he drive his car according to Paragraph 1?
| A．Lane ①. | B．Lane ②. | C．Lane ③. | D．Lane ④. |
What could a driver do in America when turning left?
| A．Place left hand out of the window pointing upward. |
| B．Put left hand out of the window pointing downward. |
| C．Reach left arm out of the window pointing to the left. |
| D．Place left hand out of the window pointing backward. |
According to the passage, which of the following is possibly accepted in America?
| A．Use horns sometimes to warn passers-by of danger. |
| B．Drive on before the stop sign on a school bus is removed. |
| C．Use hand signals instead of indicators to show which direction you are going. |
| D．Do not use warning signals in the school bus until all the pupils get on the bus. |
Who is the passage most probably written for?
| A．Passers-by. | B．Pupils. | C．Policemen. | D．Drivers. |
“Have a nice day” may be a pleasant gesture or a meaningless expression. When my friend Maxie says “Have a nice day” with a smile, I know she sincerely cares about what happens to me. I feel loved and secure since another person cares about me and wishes me well.
“Have a nice day. Next!” The version of the expression is spoken by a salesgirl at supermarket who is rushing me and my groceries out the door. The words came out in the same tone ( 腔调 ) with a fixed procedure. They are spoken at me, not to me. Obviously, the concern for my day and everyone else’s is the management’s attempt to increase business.
The expression is one of those behaviors that help people get along with each other. Sometimes it indicates the end of a meeting. As soon as you hear it, you know the meeting at an end. Sometimes the expression saves us when we don’t know what to say. “Oh, you just had a tooth out? I’m terribly sorry, but have a nice day”.
The expression can be pleasant. If a stranger says “Have a nice day” to you, you may find it heart-warming because someone you don’t know has tried to be nice to you.
Although the use of the expression is insincere, meaningless social custom at times, there is nothing wrong with the sentence except that it is a little uninteresting. The salesgirl, the waitress, the teacher, and the countless others who speak it without thinking may not really care about my day. But in a strange and comfortable way, it’s nice to know they care enough to pretend they care when they really don’t care all that much. While the expression may not often be sincere, it is always spoken. The point is that people say it all the time when they like.How does the author understand Maxie’s words?
| A．Maxie shows her anxiety to the author. |
| B．Maxie really wishes the author a good day. |
| C．Maxie encourages the author to stay happy. |
| D．Maxie really worries about the author’s security. |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．The salesgirl is rude. |
| B．The salesgirl is bored. |
| C．The salesgirl cares about me. |
| D．The salesgirl says the words as nothing special. |
According to the last paragraph, people say“Have a nice day”_______.
| A．sincerely |
| B．as thanks |
| C．as a habit |
| D．encouragingly |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Have a Nice Day—a Social Custom |
| B．Have a Nice Day—a Pleasant Gesture |
| C．Have a Nice Day—a Heart-warming Greeting |
| D．Have a Nice Day—a Polite Ending of a Conversation |
Five-time world overall short-track speed skating champion Yang Yang(A)won China’s first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal with a runaway victory in the 500m final on Saturday.
Yang Yang, putting behind her a dismal fourth place finish in the 1,500 meters three days ago, got off to a sparking lead and never looked back to cross the line in 44.187 seconds.
World-record holder and four-time European champion Evgenia Radanova followed home 0.065 seconds behind.
Another Chinese, Wang Chunju, the world champion in the shortest distance came in third, two-hundredths of a second further behind.
Yang, 25, whose name is tagged with the letter A to distinguish her from her younger teammate and namesake, Yang Yang(S), is the overall World Cup winner this season, with the top points in the 1,000m and 1,500m.
In the 1,500m, the younger Yang, 24, who won two silver medals in Nagano four years ago, crashed out while chasing herd after two South Korean teenagers, KoGi-Hyun and Choi Eun-Kyungm who eventually finished first and second. Yang Yang(A) ended up fourth.
Yang Yang(S) did not compete in the 500 meters.How long did Evgenia Radanova take to finish the 500m final?
| A．44.252 seconds. | B．44.187 seconds. |
| C．44.122 seconds. | D．None of the above. |
Why did not Yang Yang(S) compete in the 500 meters?
| A．She did want to. | B．She was wounded. |
| C．She was not qualified. | D．It was not mentioned. |
“Fire! Fire!” What terrible words to hear when one wakes up in a strange house in the middle of the night! It was a large, old, wooden house and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, opened the door and stepped outside the house. There was full of thick smoke.
I began to run, but as I was still only half-awake, instead of going towards the stairs I went in the opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I could see fire all around. The floor became hot under my bare feet. I found an open door and ran into a room to get to the window. But before I could reach it, one of my feet caught in something soft and I fell down. The thing I had fallen over felt like a bundle of clothes, and I picked it up to protect my face from the smoke and heat. Just then the floor gave way under me and I crashed to the floor below with pieces of burning wood all around me.
I saw a doorway in fire, then I put the bundle over my face and ran. My feet burned me terrible, but I got through. As I reached the cold air outside, my bundle of clothes gave a thin cry, I nearly dropped it in my surprise. Then I was in a crowd gathered in the street. A woman in a night-dress and a borrowed man’s coat screamed as she saw me and came running madly.
She was the Mayor’s wife, and I had saved her baby.When the fire arose in the middle of the night, the author was _______.
| A．at home | B．sleeping | C．sitting in bed | D．both A and B |
The author saved the baby _____.
| A．because he was very brave. |
| B．because he liked the baby very much. |
| C．but he just happened to save it. |
| D．because it was the Mayor’s baby. |
He ran in the wrong direction because he _______.
| A．was a stranger there | B．could see nothing |
| C．was not completely awake | D．Both A and C |
He put the bundle over his face and ran in order to ______.
| A．save the baby | B．call for help |
| C．protect his face | D．run quickly |
Form which group of words, we can learn the fire took place out of people’s surprise?
| A．old and wooden house, a bundle |
| B．crashed to, fell down |
| C．terrible, half-awake |
| D．bare feet, a borrowed man’s coat |
Pingyao, in the center of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage (遗产) site. It’s 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan on the Fen River.
People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as a county government seat has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of them are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Ancient City.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organized commercial (商业的) groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their center. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang (Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank checks rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branch (分支) banks were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its lacquer ware (漆器) became well known.
In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi’s history and culture, but this large number is valuable for studying its history, customs, ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people.
In 1997, Ancient Pingyao City was listed in World Heritage List as “World Culture Heritage Site”.What does the underlined word “them” (in Paragraph 2) refer to?
| A．Historic buildings and sites. |
| B．The three temples. |
| C．The county government seats. |
| D．The 2,700-year history. |
Which of the following about Pingyao is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Its location. | B．Its tourism. |
| C．Its business. | D．Its history. |
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Pingyao was a leading center in _____.
| A．agriculture | B．raising cattle |
| C．commercial trade | D．making gold coins |
If you want to know about the history of banking in China, which of the following places should you visit?
| A．Sunrise Prosperity. | B．Zhengguo Temple. |
| C．A lacquer ware store. | D．A commercial house. |
This week was busier than usual, and I was very tired today. All I wanted to do was to go home and enjoy a bowl of good hot soup.
But when I saw my daughter’s car, I knew that it was Bryan’s night. Since his parents separated, I had tried to have my six-year-old grandson spend a few hours with me at least once a week. I had always tried to make it a special time for him. We did many interesting things; Bryan loved all these activities, and so did I. But today I had to give up our evening. I said how tired I was feeling. “Bryan, I’m sorry. Tonight I don’t feel like having fun or playing games. We’ll have our night together some other time.” I saw the sadness in Bryan’s eyes. He said, “I like soup, Grandma.” I knew he meant “Please don’t send me away. Please let me stay.” I saw the shadow (阴影) in Bryan’s eyes. Something else was changing. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t want to have him come any more — not tonight, not next week, not ever. Finally, I said OK. I was glad to see his eyes light up. After I put the soup on the stove (炉子) and turned on the TV, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, there was a coat over my legs, and the soup was gone. Bryan was on the floor, reading a coloring book and watching a television show at the same time. The poor boy must have been so bored (烦躁的)! When he found I was awake, he ran over and gave me a big hug. “I love you, Grandma,” he said. “Haven’t we had a nice time together?” His big smile and happy eyes told me that this time he meant exactly what he was saying. That was the keyword — together. We had done nothing exciting or special. But we were together.What does the underlined part (in Paragraph 2) mean?
| A．It was time to cook hot soup for Bryan that night. |
| B．This was the evening when Bryan stayed with his grandma. |
| C．Bryan would have a good rest that night. |
| D．Bryan would stay with his parents that night. |
Why didn’t the author want to stay with her grandson that night at first?
| A．She was too tired to have fun or play games with him. |
| B．She was sick and wanted to have a good rest. |
| C．She was too busy and had to work overtime that night. |
| D．She had to prepare soup for the whole family. |
How many times did the author describe Bryan’s eyes?
| A．1. | B．2. | C．3. | D．4. |
From the passage, we can infer that _____.
| A．Bryan’s parents separated so he had to live with his grandma |
| B．Bryan was sad that night because his grandma didn’t play with him |
| C．the author wouldn’t want to stay with her grandson any more |
| D．the author and her grandson loved each other very much |