Maybelle said she wouldn't be coming with me to the library. I asked why, and she said she could get all the short stories she wanted off the Internet. Saved walking all the way to the library, and putting up with my long chat on the way there, and on the way back. Maybelle is very direct like that, always has been.
"But, Maybelle, we've been walking to the library every Monday for the last fifty years!"
She said," Why don't you get Internet'? We can send each other emails."
So I had to get Internet. I called the local high school. They said they'd send me a good student to tell me all about computers and such.
Evil thing, this Internet. Makes you lose old friends, forces you to learn new complex ideas, even if you're too old. But Maybelle said you have to be modern; otherwise, you're dead.
The kid came the next day. Tall skinny black kid, by the name of Arsenius, said his work would cost more.
I said, "All right. As long as I get Internet."
"You need a computer, then you need to get hooked up," he said.
"Let's buy a computer and get hooked up, then."
"How much you want to spend?"
"Whatever it takes."
"How many rams you want?"
I wasn't going to show him my ignorance, so I said, "Whatever it takes."
"Let's go to the mall. You got a car?"
"In the garage."
When I opened the garage door, he gasped. Daddy's car is still there, a'57 Chevy. I never drive it. Walk everywhere.
I said," Let's walk. It's only a mile or so."
He said," Let's drive, or you will faint on me in this heat."
"Young man, I don't faint, never have. We're walking."
"I get paid by the hour," he said. "Walking will cost you a lot more. Also, you feel like carrying a computer a mile or so?"What kind of person is Maybelle?
| A．She always says what she means in an honest way. |
| B．She no longer likes reading in her old age. |
| C．She doesn't want to be friends with the writer any more. |
| D．She doesn't want to keep up with the time. |
Why does the writer want to have Internet at his place?
| A．Because the writer believes that one is never too old to learn. |
| B．Because the writer thinks that it is better late than never. |
| C．Because of the pressure from people of his age. |
| D．Because of the convenience the Internet will bring. |
Arsenius gives _________ reasons for driving to the mall.
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.
But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?
| A．Because there were few women in his country at that time. |
| B．Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers. |
| C．Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people. |
| D．Because he wanted to control the birth rate. |
Valentine was put into prison because ______.
| A．he killed one of the soldiers |
| B．he stole a lot of food |
| C．he didn’t obey the emperor’s order |
| D．he didn’t want to be a soldier |
The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.
| A．students in China send cards to their teachers |
| B．it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| C．it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| D．Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now |
People celebrate Valentine’s Day to _________.
| A．get gifts | B．honor a priest |
| C．enjoy romance | D．get married |
The best title for this passage should be ______.
| A．Valentine’s Day | B．A Brave Priest |
| C．Valentine’s Day in China | D．A Romantic Man |
Why do we laugh and get amusement from so many different things，from puns (双关语) to pratfalls? Why are some things funny to some people and not to others? How is that while a successful joke can cause pleasure，a sick one can cause serious harm?
Over the centuries，various scholars have attempted to produce a universally agreed-upon theory of humor．Plato and Aristotle introduced the superiority(优越感) theory，the idea that people laugh at the misfortune of others．Their theory seems to explain teasing，but it doesn’t work well for knock-knock jokes．Sigmund Freud argued for his relief theory，the concept that humor is a way for people to release psychological tension and reveal their inner fears and desires．His theory works well for dirty jokes，less well for most puns．
The majority of humor expels today agree with the incongruity theory，the idea that humor arises when there’s a gap between what people expect to happen and what actually happens．Incongruity has a lot going for it — jokes with unexpected funny lines，for example，fit well．But scientists have found that in comedy，unexpectedness is overvalued．
With the goal of developing a new，more satisfactory explanation，I produced “the gentle violation(违背)theory”，the idea that humor arises when something seems wrong or threatening，but is actually OK or safe．A dirty joke，for example，trades on moral or social violations，but it’s only going to get a laugh if the person listening is open enough to consider the subject OK to talk about．Similarly，puns can be seen as linguistic violations that still make grammatical sense．
And while most humor theories have struggled to account for tickling (挠痒痒)，or just avoided the phenomenon altogether，my theory accounts for even this kind of laughter．Tickling involves violating someone’s physical space in a gentle way．People can’t tickle themselves — because it isn’t a violation．What is the author’s attitude towards Plato and Aristotle’s theory?
| A．Critical． | B．Approving | C．uncaring | D．Unclear |
According to Sigmund Freud’s theory，we can infer that __________ .
| A．people will laugh when they see others suffer |
| B．telling dirty jokes is a relief of one’s nervous feelings ’ |
| C．unexpectedness can explain how humor works |
| D．tickling doesn’t involve psychological tension |
According to the author，why are some things funny to some people but not to others?
| A．Because the sense of humor varies greatly from person to person． |
| B．Because people have different expectations for the same thing． |
| C．Because some people lack the sense of safety deep in their heart． |
| D．Because people’s understanding of violation is different． |
What is the author’s main purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To draw people’s attention to the research of humor． |
| B．To criticize people’s misconceptions about humor． |
| C．To explain what exactly causes people to laugh． |
| D．To prove the sense of humor can be developed． |
Coffee is a powerful beverage．On a personal level，it helps keep US awake and active．On a much broader level，it has helped shape our history and continues to shape our culture．
Coffee didn’t take off until the l400s when people figured out they could roast its seeds．By the l500s，the drink had spread to coffeehouses across the Arab world．Within another l50 years，it took Europe by storm．
“It actually had a major impact on the rise of business，” historian Mark Pendergrast says．Coffeehouses became a spot not just to enjoy a cup but to exchange ideas．The insurer Lloyd’s of London was founded hundreds of years ago in one of London’s 2,000 coffeehouses．Literature，newspapers and even the works of great composers like Bach and Beethoven were also spawned(涌现)in coffeehouses．
It is often said that after the Boston Tea Party of l773，when American colonists attacked British tea ships and threw boxes of tea into the harbor，Americans universally switched over to drinking coffee．In a letter John Adams wrote to his wife，Abigail，the Founding Father claims his love of tea but says he will have to learn to embrace coffee instead，because drinking tea had become a symbol of not loving the country．
For all the upsides coffee has brought the modern world，it also led to its fair share of downsides，too．Europeans carried coffee with them as they colonized various parts of the world，and this frequently meant they enslaved people in order to grow it．In Brazil — where slavery was legal until l888 — coffee plantations would use slash-and-burn agriculture，tearing down rain forests and planting coffee trees．Once the soil had been exhausted，growers would move on to another place．
And yet，coffee，as Pendergrast says，”had a very good impact in many ways on our civilization，even though it was，for a long time，grown by slaves．”Why did people enjoy going to coffeehouses?
| A．Because it was a fashion to drink coffee． |
| B．Because coffeehouses provided a better flavor． |
| C．Because they could stay awake and active there． |
| D．Because they could exchange ideas there． |
What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
| A．American colonists made great profits by trading in coffee． |
| B．Tea was regarded as a symbol of loving one’s country． |
| C．Coffee became very popular after the incident in Boston． |
| D．John Adams was the Founding Father of the Tea Party． |
In the fifth paragraph．the writer points out that __________ .
| A．Coffee plantation was closely connected with slavery |
| B．coffee plantation led to outdated agriculture in Brazil |
| C．slavery in Brazil had been against the law until l888 |
| D．slavery was responsible for the damage to rainforests |
What is mainly talked about in this passage?
| A．Some interesting stories about coffee culture． |
| B．Important Roles that coffee played in history． |
| C．How coffee became the most popular beverage． |
| D．How coffee affected America’s independence． |
It is hard to imagine that such a small country，the size of Indiana with the population of Alaska，tucked in the Himalaya Mountains，accessible only by two airplanes，is the “Happiest Country’’ in the world and has one of the fastest growing GDP’S in the world．This country is Bhutan，“Land of the Thunder Dragon”，which is located in South Asia and is encompassed by India，China，and Nepal．
Bhutan is the last standing Buddhist Kingdom in the World and，until recently，has preserved much of their culture since the l7th century by avoiding globalization and staying isolated from the world．Internet，television，and western dress were banned from the country up until ten years ago．Over the past ten years globalization has begun to change in Bhutan，but things remain perfectly balanced．
Bhutan is the only country in the world that has a ‘GNH’，which refers to “Gross National Happiness．’’The process of measuring GNH began when Bhutan opened up to globalization．It measures people’s quality of life，and makes sure that “material and spiritual development happen together．”Bhutan has done an amazing job of finding this balance．Bhutan has continually been ranked as the happiest country in all of Asia，and the eighth Happiest Country in the world according to Business Week．In 2007，Bhutan had the second fastest growing GDP in the world，at the same time as maintaining their environment and cultural identity．
In 2008，in Bhutan’s first democratic election，28-year-old Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wang Chuck was elected president of Bhutan．He promises to “maintain a stance （立场)of protection against the worst aspects of globalization，maintaining the ‘Gross National Happiness’．”But Jigme himself is no stranger to globalization．He attended high school at Phillips Academy and university at Wheaton College and then graduated from Oxford．The underlined word “encompassed’’ in the first paragraph most probably means __________ .
| A．covered | B．surrounded |
| C．separated | D．guarded |
Why is Bhutan regarded as “the happiest country”?
| A．Because it changes its policy and begins to open up． |
| B．Because it uses “GNH” to measure its achievement． |
| C．Because it stresses both material and spiritual development． |
| D．Because it has the second fastest growing GDP in the world． |
What Can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．The election in Bhutan is far from satisfactory． |
| B．Globalization has influenced Bhutan’s religion． |
| C．Jigme’s educational background will cause distrust． |
| D．People in Bhutan will continue living a happy life． |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
The slavery drama “12 Years a Slave” won the Academy Award for best picture on Sunday, making history as the first movie from a black director to win the film industry's highest honor in 86 years of the Oscars．Can anyone tell me your ideas about this movie? —— GreatMartin
“12 Years a Slave is a surprisingly underwhelming movie．It is more of a string of picture about several heartless and evil white men(and women)who are just mean without the motivation of running a plantation on their minds．There is very little character development and most of the film relies on what the audience already knows and feels about slavery．” 一一GeminiJef
‘‘Never have I been stunned into an emotional silence after watching a film in the theater．I've come out of films before thinking” My god，that was unbelievable”，like when I saw The Lord of the Rings for the first time，but this film just hits you on another level entirely．You sit there after it’s over，wondering if what you’d just experienced was real．The day after．you feel the same．”一一Pauljohnson
“This movie is just an average movie about slavery．Are you kidding me，segregation movies are a dime a dozen and this movie beat out Gravity for Golden Globes? Gravity has never been done before．12 Years a Slave I watched once and will never watch again．I watched Gravity 5 times and still love it．’’一一Dominionator
“This movie was realistic and engaging at every second．Even the dramatic pauses were worthwhile and definitely not a waste of time．The script inferred and hinted at events rather than just plain saying them，and that was genius．Outstanding photography，amazing special effects and the acting is top notch．There were a few people that walked out during some scenes．What a shame!” 一一ApolsThe main purpose of GreatMartin’s writing is __________ .
| A．to give a brief introduction of the movie |
| B．to share his own opinions with others |
| C．to invite answers to his question |
| D．to explain why he asks the question |
The underlined word “stunned’’ in the third paragraph probably means __________ .
| A．puzzled | B．shocked | C．disappointed | D．concerned |
Among the four speakers，who made positive comments on the movie?
| A．GeminiJef and Pauljohnson | B．Pauljohnson and Dominionator |
| C．GeminiJef and Dominionator | D．Pauljohnson and Apols |
Which of the following best states Pauljotmson’s ideas about l2 Years a Slave?
| A．It leaves little room for character development． |
| B．It reaches the height of The Lord of the Rings． |
| C．It doesn’t deserve such high praise． |
| D．It amazes the audience with its special effects． |