A man was selling medicine at a fair(集市).At first he sold bottles of a cure(药剂)for colds(感冒)for just a dollar a bottle.
Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cure.
Then,when he had a big crowd, the man held up a very small bottle.
“And now,ladies and gentlemen,” he shouted,“Here is the medicine you have been waiting for.The cure for old age.Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever.”
“And,ladies and gentlemen,” the man continued,“I'm not going to charge you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine.I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle.I'm not going to charge you twenty-five dollars a bottle. Now,ladies and gentlemen,I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle. Think,my friends,for ten dollars you can live forever.”
Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this.
One person shouted,“If it can make you live forever,why don't you drink it?”
Then another person cried,“Yes,you look as if you're at least sixty years old.
“Thank you,sir,thank you,” the man answered,“I'm so glad you said that. My real age is three hundred and twenty-nine.”
The crowd laughed at this but there were still some people who wanted to believe the man. One of them spoke to the man's assistant as she passed by, “Is that true?”he asked.“Is he three hundred and twenty-nine?”
“Don't ask me,” the assistant said,“I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years.”What did the man sell at first at the fair?
A.a cure for colds |
B.bottles |
C.a cure for old age |
D.a medicine that made people live forever |
How much did the man charge for the cure for old age?
A.one dollar a bottle |
B.twenty-five dollars a bottle |
C.ten dollars a bottle |
D.fifty dollars a bottle |
What does the word “assistant” mean in this passage?
A.仆人 | B.朋友 | C.同伴 | D.助手 |
What does this passage really mean?
A.The cure for old age is very useful and not so expensive. |
B.The man is not honest,and neither is his assistant. |
C.The cheaper the medicine is,the more people will buy. |
D.The two men are very honest,and they would like to help people live forever. |
Much meaning can be conveyed, clearly, with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.
Do you have such kind of experience? In a bus you may look at a stranger, but not too long. And if he is sensing that he is being stared at, he may feel uncomfortable.
The same is in daily life. If you are looked at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down to see if there is anything wrong with you. If nothing goes wrong, you will feel angry toward other’s stare at you that way. Eyes do speak, right?
Looking too long at someone may seem to be rude and aggressive. But things are different when it comes to stare at the opposite sex. If a man glances at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to avert his gaze, his intentions are obvious. That is, he wishes to attract her attention, to make her understand that he is admiring her.
However, the normal eye contact for two people engaged in conversation is that the speaker will only look at the listener from time to time; in order to make sure that the listener does pay attention to hat the former is speaking, to tell him that he is attentive.
If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking, as if he tries to dominate you, you will feel disconcerted. A poor liar usually expose s himself by looking too long at the victim, since he believes the false ides that to look straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication.
In fact, continuous eye contact is confined to lovers only, who will enjoy looking at each other tenderly for a long time, to show affection that words cannot express.
Evidently, eye contact should be done according to the relationship between two people and specific situation. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.It is always very rude and aggressive to look at others for a long time. |
B.One’s feelings can be shown through their eyes. |
C.If a stranger looks at you for some time, he must be attracted at you.. |
D.If you are stared at by a stranger, you must look very awkward. |
How can we tell if someone possibly lying?
A.If he looks at you directly in the eye for too long. |
B.If he looks at you occasionally. |
C.If he looks honest. |
D.If he looks attentive. |
What is suggested if you ate talking to others?
A. You’d better look at the listener all the time.
B. You are advised to try to dominate the listeners.
C. You are supposed to look at the listeners from time to time.
D. You should not make eye contact with listeners.If two persons exchange eye contact gently for long, what is probably their relationship?
A.Father and son. | B.Strangers. | C.Lovers. | D.Teacher and student. |
Where can we read this passage?
A.In a textbook. . | B.In a science journal. | C.In a magazine. | D.In a psychology report. |
Statistically, air travel is by far the safest way to travel, and you can make flying even safer, just by following these simple rules. As your chances of being involved in an air accident are practically nil(不存在), many of these tips concern what you should and shouldn't do to make your journey safer when you are airborne(升空的).
Fly on non-stop routes
Most accidents occur during the takeoff, climb, descent and landing phases of a flight, so flying non-stop reduces your exposure to these complex procedures.
Choose larger aircraft
Although small aircraft have very good safety records, those with more than 30 passenger seats are designed to comply(遵守)with much stricter regulations and are tested more regularly to make sure they still comply. Also, in t he unlikely event of a serious accident, larger aircraft provide a better opportunity for passenger survival.
Pay attention to the pre-flight safety briefing
The information may seem repetitious(重复的), but it's worth listening to the flight attendants. And even if you’ve flown before, it doesn’t mean you know everything about the aircraft you're on, such as the location of the closest emergency exit.
Store things safely
Never put very heavy articles in the overhead storage bins. They may fall out when someone opens the bin and cause injury. Also, the bin may not be able to hold heavier objects during turbulence(气流).
Keep our seat belt fastened while you are seated
Cabin crew always tell you this, but it’s important. You would be seriously injured if the plane hits unexpected turbulence. Always fasten your seat belt if you are told to. The general rule of flying is this: If you are told to do something, do it first and ask questions later.
Let the flight attendant pour your hot drinks
Flight attendants are trained to handle hot drinks like coffee or tea in a crowded aisle on a moving aircraft, so allow them to pour the drink and hand it to you. Never ask to take a coffee pot from one of them. Whom is the passage meant for?
A.Pilots. | B.Flight attendants. | C.Passengers. | D.Airlines. |
The underlined word “those” in the second tip refers to”______” .
A.smaller planes | B.passengers | C.larger aircrafts | D.safety records |
What does the author really mean by saying “Cabin crew always tells you this, but it’s important.” In the 5th tip?
A.Many people don’t pay enough attention to fastening their seat belt. |
B.All passengers are glad to accept the crew’s advice. |
C.The crew are very responsible. |
D.There is no need to remind people to fasten their seat belt. |
Whi
ch of the following is not true according to the passage?
A.Larger planes have more safety checks and are safer. |
B.Take-offs are safer on non-stop flights than landings. |
C.Every aircraft is different, so the safety procedures may be different. |
D.Seat belts should be worn to protect against turbulence. |
The best title of the passage should be”_____”.
A.The safest way to travel | B.Air safety tips |
C.Non-stop routes | D.How to fly a plane |
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
A.Using too much packaging. |
B.Recycling too many wastes. |
C.Making more products than necessary. |
D.Having more material than is needed. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.
A.the tendency of cutting household waste |
B.the increase of packaging recycling |
C.the rapid growth of super markets |
D.the fact of packaging overuse |
According to the text, recycling ______.
A.helps control the greenhouse effect |
B.means burning packaging for energy |
C.is the solution to gas shortage |
D.leads to a waste of land |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
A.Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
B.Supermarkets ![]() |
C.It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
D.Other products are better packaged than food. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
B.Needless material is mostly recycled. |
C.People like collecting recyclable waste. |
D.The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
Rachael lives in Wisconsin and has lived there all her life. She is just an average girl; at first when you are around her, she seems to be very shy. If you get to know her, she’ll start to open up but always keep things to herself.
Sports are something that keeps her going, a way to release stress. Usually, you will see Rachael out with friends or just sitting down reading a good book. She takes pride in the fact that she can read a whole book in one day, and that she still doesn’t consider herself a bookworm.
Some people call Rachael strange because of things she does. She’s learned to disregard what other people think because she just doesn’t care any more. She likes to surround herself with people like her so it makes he feel like she is the less strange one in most situations.
Rachael wants to be two completely different people in her life. A communication journalist for one, she has always wanted to be that person. The second possible career would be lawyer. It’s a huge goal, and one day you’ll see her doing something she loves.
Influenced by her parents, Rachael enjoys listening to all kinds of music. Rarely, if ever, do you see her without some sort of music. Every morning you can see Rachael in her bathroom getting ready for school with her player at maximum volume(音量).Her parents always get mad at her about that, but she can’t hear them anyway over the music. They don’t know that she uses their surround sound stereo when they aren’t at home! Rachael likes to be with people like her because_______.
A.she only wants to make friends with the people like her |
B.many people think she is strange and don’t like to be with her |
C.she knows there are many other people who are also strange |
D.it makes her feel like she is not so strange as people think |
The underlined word “disregard” in the third paragraph probably means “_______”.
A.ignore | B.realize | C.accept | D.mind |
Rachael’s parents don’t like their children to _______.
A.be late for school |
B.use their surround sound stereo |
C.listen to the music in the bathroom |
D.play music to loudly |
It can be inferred from the passage that______.
A.Rachael likes to be different from others |
B.Rachael never reads books carefully |
C.Rachael w![]() |
D.Rachael’s parents also like music |
The passage mentions the following about Rachael EXCEPT her_______.
A.hobby | B.personality | C.ideal jobs | D.appearance |
In this voyage I visited my new colony on the island, saw the Spaniards(西班牙人), had the whole story of their lives and of the villains(罪犯) I left there; how at first they treated the poor Spaniards badly,·how they afterwards agreed, disagreed, unired, separated, and how at last the Spaniards were forced to use violence with them; how they gave in to the spaniards, how honestly the Spaniards used them ---- a history, if it were entered into, as full of variety and wonderful accidents as my own part ---- particularly, also, as to their battles with the Caribbeans, who landed several times upon the Island, and as to the improvement they made upon the Island itself, and how five of them made an attempt upon the main land, and brought away eleven men and five women prisoners, by which, at my coming, I found about twenty young children on the Island.
Here I stayed bout 20 days, left them supplies of all necessary things, and particularly of arms, powder, shot, cloths, tools, and two workmen, which I brought from England with me, namely a carpenter and a smith.
Besides this, I shared the Island into parts with them, reserved to myself the property of whole but gave them such parts resoeetively as they agreed on; and having settled all things with them and encouraged them not to leave the place, I left them there.
From then on I landed the Brazils, from where I sent a bark, which I bought there, with more people to the island; and in it, besides other supplies, I sent seven women, being such persons as I found proper for service, or for wives to such as would take them. As to the Englishmen, I promised them to send them some women from England, with a good cargo(船货) of necessaries, if they would apply themselves to planting ---- which I afterwards could not perform. And the fellows proved very honest and diligent after they were mastered and had their properties set apart for them. I sent them also from the Brazils five cows, three of them being big with calf, some sheep, and some pigs, which when I came again were considerably increased.
But all these things, with an account how 300 Caribbeans came and invaded(入侵) them, and ruined their plantations, and how they fought with that whole number twice, and were at first defeated, and one of them killed; but at last a storm destroying most of their enemies’ boats, they destroyed almost all the rest, and renewed and recovered the possession of their plantation, and still lived upon the Island.
All these things, with some very surprising incidents in some new adventures of my own, for ten years more, I may perhaps give a further account of the story.From Paragraph l, we know _______ .
A.the Spaniards were always getting along well with the villains |
B.the Spaniards were always the rulers of the island |
C.the Spaniards and the villains both ruled the island peacefully |
D.the Spaniards and the villains once had battles witll each other |
In Paragraph 2, the place where I stayed was probably ________.
A.a wild island | B.a deserted downtown |
C.a primitive supermarket | D.a new city |
The underlined word “respectively” in the third paragraph probably means ______ .
A.separately | B.particularly | C.specially | D.surprisingly |
The writer of the story once went to _______.
A.Japan and Brazil | B.England and Brazil |
C.France and Spain | D.Korea and Caribbean |
From the story, we can judge the Writer might be _______ .
A.an invader | B.a carpenter![]() |
C.an adventurer | D.a prisoner |