I lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a box car in a freight yard in Atlantic City and landing on my head. Now I am thirty two. I can slightly remember the brightness of sunshine and what color red is. It would be wonderful to see again, but a calamity(灾难) can do strange things to people. It occurred to me the other day that I might not have come to love life as I do if I hadn't been blind. I believe in life now. I am not so sure that I would have believed in it so deeply, otherwise. I don't mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes. I simply mean that the loss of them made me appreciate the more what I had left.
Life, I believe, asks a continuous series of adjustments to reality. The more readily a person is able to make these adjustments, the more meaningful his own private world becomes. The adjustment is never easy. I was totally confused and afraid. But I was lucky. My parents and my teachers saw something in me--a potential to live, you might call it--which I didn't see, and they made me want to fight it out with blindness.
The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself. That was basic. If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have collapsed (崩溃) and become a chair rocker on the front porch for the rest of my life. When I say belief in myself I am not talking about simply the kind of self confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase alone. That is part of it. But I mean something bigger than that: an assurance（确信） that I am, despite imperfections, a real, positive person; that somewhere in the sweeping, intricate（错综复杂的） pattern of people there is a special place where I can make myself fit.
It took me years to discover and strengthen this assurance. It had to start with the simplest things. Once a man gave me an indoor baseball. I thought he was making fun of me and I was hurt. "I can't use this." I said. "Take it with you," he urged me, "and roll it around." The words stuck in my head. "Roll it around! "By rolling the ball I could hear where it went. This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought impossible: playing baseball. At Philadelphia's Overbrook School for the Blind I invented a successful variation of baseball. We called it ground ball.
All my life I have set ahead of me a series of goals and then tried to reach them, one at a time. I had to learn my limitations. It was no good to try for something I knew at the start was wildly out of reach because that only invited the bitterness of failure. I would fail sometimes anyway but on the average I made progress.We can learn from the beginning of the passage that _______
| A．the author lost his sight because of a car crash. |
| B．the author wouldn't love life if the disaster didn't happen. |
| C．the disaster made the author appreciate what he had. |
| D．the disaster strengthened the author's desire to see. |
What's the most difficult thing for the author?
| A．How to adjust himself to reality. |
| B．Building up assurance that he can find his place in life. |
| C．Learning to manage his life alone. |
| D．How to invent a successful variation of baseball. |
According to the context, "a chair rocker on the front porch" in paragraph 3 means that the author __________
| A．would sit in a rocking chair and enjoy his life. |
| B．would be unable to move and stay in a rocking chair. |
| C．would lose his will to struggle against difficulties. |
| D．would sit in a chair and stay at home. |
According to the passage, the baseball and encouragement offered by the man _____
| A．hurt the author's feeling. |
| B．gave the author a deep impression. |
| C．directly led to the invention of ground ball. |
| D．inspired the author. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Miserable Life | B．Struggle Against Difficulties |
| C．A Disaster Makes a Strong Person | D．An Unforgetable Experience |
Dogs may help save the day in the Philippines, as they use their noses to smell out survivors buried by Friday’s mudslide(泥石流). The team of dogs arrived in the Philippines from Spain, and this Tuesday they were just beginning their work. Search officials told CNN they hope the recent rain will wash away the smell of rescue teams so the dogs can do their job more accurately.
The dogs were brought in after sound equipment found sounds coming from deep inside the ruins, at a place where a school stood before the mudslide covered it. The sounds could mean people are still alive under all the mud or it could just be the earth resettling.
On Monday, rescue workers worked at the school site until three in the morning, trying to locate survivors, and they will begin digging again as soon as the dogs think they find someone.
Human teams from the US, Malaysia, and Australia are all trying to help, too. But so far they have yet to locate any survivors. Rescue workers told CNN that an earlier report that 50 survivors had been found was false.
How did all that mud bury the village in the first place? On Friday, 2,400-foot Mt Kanabag turned into a mudslide after two weeks of constant rain weakened it. The mountain crumbled and the mud fell onto the village Guinsaugon, burying the 1,800 people who lived there . Out of the 300 houses in the village, only 3 were not covered by the mud . The village is on a southern Philippine Island called Levte. Rescue efforts have been difficult because the village takes six hours to reach from the nearest airport. Hopefully, the dogs can help their human friends find survivors.According to the search officials’ words in the first paragraph, we can learn that_________
| A．the smell of rescue teams can disturb the dogs |
| B．the dogs can follow the smell of rescue teams |
| C．the gods can’t smell the rescue teams |
| D．the dogs can tell the differences between people and rescue teams |
The main purpose of this passage is probably_______.
| A．to show the way to rescue the victims in the ruins |
| B．to introduce the instruments to save victims in a disaster |
| C．to tell readers that dogs can smell out victims buried in the ruins |
| D．to show how to train dogs to save victims in a mudslide |
How many survivors were found by the dogs?
| A．50. | B．Only a few. | C．1,800. | D．None. |
The reason why the rescue work wasn’t going smoothly was probably that_______.
| A．the rain was heavy |
| B．so many people were buried |
| C．it was difficult to reach the village |
| D．these is little chance to save the survivors |
The underlined word “crumbled” in the last paragraph can be replaced by______.
| A．broke | B．shook | C．fell | D．moved |
Now let’s talk about doing well by doing good—many people who have ever been volunteers for the community find their place in relative jobs or even make their way to be corporate(团体的)leaders.
Consider the case of Kimberly Mulcahy. Throughout her career, Mulcahy has actively volunteered in her community, profession and industry. Though she put in long hours as Vice President at a Fortune 500 company, she also found time to professional and community organizations.
Then last year, the unexpected thing happened. The company where she’d worked for more than 20 years was bought out and she was laid off.
On hearing the news, those who she served were quick not only to offer her support—but actual jobs! In the end, Mulcahy was hired by a PR agency—she used to work as a director of her industry association. And she brought with her several accounts based on relationships she had formed through volunteering.
Volunteering was a godsend(天赐之物)to Todd, who has been a mid-level manager at the same company for many years. After he was out of work, he felt old and disappointed. But Todd knew he needed a change. Todd became involved in community service. He joined his town’s volunteer fire department and was soon appointed to the finance committee.
Sometimes volunteering helps you bring passion to your work, other times it can turn your life’s passion into your work. Cape Cod Baseball League President Judy Scarafile is a registered pharmacist(药剂师)whose love of the game led her to volunteered as league publicist(宣传员), secretary and deputy commissioner woman to hold the top post.
Whether you are to enter the workforce, build your resume, or follow your passion, volunteering is good for the soul and the career. By saying “doing well by doing good” in Paragraph 1, the author wants to_____.
| A．encourage us just to do it, and it will be better |
| B．encourage us to try as hard as possible |
| C．tell us not to give up |
| D．tell us that people who have volunteered their way into |
Which of the following is NOT true about Mulcahy according to the passage?
| A．Mulcahy put in long hours as Vice President at a Fortune 500 company. |
| B．Mulcahy becomes a famous football player. |
| C．Mulcahy brought with her several accounts based on relationships she had formed through volunteering. |
| D．Mulcahy was hired by a PR agency. |
Which of the following words can best describe Todd?
| A．Learned | B．Lucky | C．Rude | D．Realistic |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Volunteer Work Can Boost Your Career. |
| B．Mulcahy’s Voluntary Work Experience. |
| C．It’s a Good Chance to Be a Volunteer. |
| D．Volunteer Work. |
Does technology pose a threat to the purity of Chinese language?
Many Chinese use instant messenger tools such as MSN or QQ, listen to music on MP3 players and log on the Internet using ADSL—most without knowing the literal Chinese translation of the abbreviations(缩略词). But they don’t have to, as many English letters have become part of the local vocabulary.
A dozen abbreviations including GDP, NBA, IT, MP3, QQ, DVD and CEO are among the 5,000 most-frequently used words in the Chinese media last year, according to a report on the 2006 Language Situation in China.
The report said some parents are so keen on English letters that a couple tried to name their baby “@”, claiming the character used in email addresses reflects their love for the child. While the “@”is obviously familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word “at” to pronounce it “ai ta”,or “love him”.
The study collected more than 1 billion language samples from newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and websites. The annual report is jointly compiled by the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission.
“Nowadays, more and more English abbreviations are being used in Chinese, making them an important part of modern language,” said Hou Min, a professor at Communication University of China.
“The abbreviations have gained popularity because of the ease of usage,” Hou said. For example, DNA is much simpler to use than its Chinese version. “As more Chinese people learn foreign languages, especially English, in recent years, using abbreviations has become a trend among educated people,” she added.
Some language scholars fear such usage will contaminate(污染)the purity of Chinese and cause confusion in communication. Which of the following is TRUE about the report on the 2006 Language Situation in China?
| A．The report is compiled by the Ministry of Education alone. |
| B．The report is compiled every year. |
| C．The report is compiled every two years. |
| D．The report is based on over 1 billion language samples from websites. |
Why does the author use the example of a couple who tried to name their baby “@”?
| A．To show Chinese is badly polluted by English. |
| B．To express the couple’s love for the child. |
| C．To indicate “@”is a very common sign among the e-mail users. |
| D．To show some people are very enthusiastic over English letters. |
Why are the English abbreviations becoming more and more popular according to the passage?
| A．Because English is the most common language in the world. |
| B．Because using English abbreviations is a fashion. |
| C．Because English abbreviations are easy and simple to use. |
| D．Because English abbreviations are easy to pronounce. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．People should know clearly the exact Chinese translation of English abbreviations. |
| B．More and more Chinese people will use English abbreviations in the future. |
| C．Most parents like to give their child English names now. |
| D．Language scholars hate to use English abbreviations. |
Why did humans evolve to walk upright? Perhaps because it’s just plain easier. Make that “energetically less costly”, scientifically speaking.
Bipedalism—walking on two feet, is one of the defining characteristics of being humans, and scientists have debated for years how it came about. In the latest attempt to find an explanation, researchers trained five chimps(黑猩猩)to walk on a treadmill(跑步机)while wearing masks that allowed measurement of their oxygen consumption. The chimps were measured both while walking upright and while moving on their legs and knuckles(膝关节).That measurement of the energy needed to move around was compared with similar tests on humans and the results are published in this week’s online edition of “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”.
It turns out that humans walking on two legs use only one-quarter of the energy that chimps use while knucklewalking on four limbs(肢).And the chimps, on average, use as much energy using two legs as they did when they used all four limbs.
However, there were differences among chimps in how much energy they used, and this difference corresponded to their different manner of walking and anatomy(解剖构造).One of the chimps used less energy on two legs, one used about the same and the others used more, said David Raichlen, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona.
“What we were surprised at was the variation(变异) ”, he said in a telephone interview. Interview. “That was pretty exciting, because when you talk about how evolution works, variation is the bottom line, without variation there is no evolution.”
Walking on two legs freed our arms, opening the door to drive the world, said Raichlen. “We think about the evolution of bipedalism as one of first events that led hominids(原始人)down the path to being humans.”
The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the L.S.B.Leakey Foundation. The underlined word “Bipedalism” in Paragraph 2 probably means____.
| A．moving sideways | B．walking upright |
| C．walking on four legs | D．running fast |
We can infer from the passage that____.
| A．scientists have no idea on how humans’ walking on two legs came about |
| B．scientists have had different views on why chimps walk on four legs |
| C．scientists have had different views on how humans’ walking on two legs vame about |
| D．scientists have had similar views on how humans’ walking on two legs came about |
What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
| A．How chimps saved energy. |
| B．Why chimps didn't walk on two legs. |
| C．David Raichlen studied chimps. |
| D．Different chimps consumed different energy. |
According to the passage, humans walk upright in order to____.
| A．conserve energy | B．differ from other animals |
| C．free their brains | D．strengthen their legs |
Observer 2007-03-28 13:54
Nothing could be more shameful for McDonald’s and KFC. They are violating labour’s rights. The government must immediately bring the guilty to justice. A stricter government inspection system must be enforced to protect the workers.
Nathan 2007-03-28 21:39
It is known that McDonald’s and KFC and other fast-food restaurants pay the lowest wage they possibly can to get their employees. I think it’s kind of funny that these two restaurants have not yet set up unions. It is also known that they also take every possible measure e(legal, and sometimes illegal) to prevent their employees from forming or joining unions. I think it is high time that government enforced the law that they have made.
Cushman 2007-03-28 22:32
The deepest reason is that China has a large population. If you complain that the pay is very low, the boss will tell you that can go to other places and that there are a lot of people waiting for the job. Today finding a job is not very easy, so you don’t have many choices, and you have to face the reality.
Chip 2007-03-29 20:33
If wages were too low, people wouldn’t work for them, but they do, so it proves the wages are reasonable. Sure, they could raise the wages, but why should they? The workers are still working, still willing to show up on time, and it keeps costs lower. Were they to raise wages, they would have to FIRE more workers, and the price of burgers would go up. Then people wouldn’t buy them, then McDonald’s would once again FIRE more workers because of a reduced demand, and you’d be back in the same boat, just with less people working.What are they debating about?
| A．McDonald’s and KFC pay too low a salary to their employees. |
| B．Setting up a social security system. |
| C．Fast-food restaurants have no rights to fire workers. |
| D．McDonald’s and KFC will be punished for their behaviour. |
According to Chip, it is____for McDonald’s and KFC to give employees a low salary.
| A．unacceptable | B．shameful | C．acceptable | D．illegal |
In the opinion of Cushman, the key to the problem is that____.
| A．the social security net has not been set up |
| B．China has too large a population |
| C．the government has not taken stronger steps to protect workers |
| D．the unions have not played an important part to raise the wages. |
The underlined word “they” in Nathan’s words refers to____.
| A．the employees | B．governments |
| C．all the restaurants | D．fast-food restaurants |